In just two days, Lula was accompanied by ten ministers and a delegation of almost 200 people, giving his tour a very high level. "The goal was to highlight that Brazil has not actually left the region," considers an international analyst.
The passage through Chile of the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, left a series of cooperation agreements between both countries.
This is the president's first official visit after taking office in January of last year, which stands out for the vital importance of relations with Chile, as Brazil is its first trading partner in the region and the third worldwide.
Originally scheduled for May, during the state visit of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Chile and Brazil signed a total of 19 cooperation agreements in matters such as security, health, trade, culture, science and tourism, including an Extradition Treaty. , an Agreement for the Reciprocal Recognition of Driver's Licenses, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil and the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile on mutual recognition of analogies and similarities in their organic production regulations and for the application of quality control mechanisms for said production in both countries.
There were also MoUs for agricultural technical cooperation, on certification of wines and alcoholic beverages, on health matters, on Cooperation in Science and Technology, Knowledge and Innovation, as well as on Cooperation in Space Activities for Peaceful Purposes, Digital Transformation of the State and the Advancement of Public Management (Digital Government) and an Action Plan for the Implementation of the Tourism Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Government of the Republic of Chile.
BIOCEANIC CORRIDOR
This Tuesday, Lula da Silva and Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font led the closing of the Chile-Brazil Business Forum
This event, organized by the Brazilian Embassy in Chile and the Manufacturing Development Society (Sofofa), brought together authorities from both Governments and representatives of Chilean and Brazilian companies, from sectors such as transportation, mining, food and technology; and included sessions and panels on the economic relationship between both countries, agriculture and sustainability, new industry and technology, energy and strategic minerals, and regional integration.
In the instance, President Boric highlighted the importance of projects developed in Chile, such as the National Lithium Strategy, as well as those developed jointly with other countries, such as the Bioceanic Road Corridor, a project that was born in 2015, it is a route land that seeks to link, through new roads and existing roads, the central west of Brazil, the Paraguayan Chaco and the Argentine provinces of Salta and Jujuy with the north of Chile and the ports in Antofagasta, Mejillones and Iquique.
“Today, in this highly integrated world, the only way to become stronger in the face of international turbulence is to work more coordinatedly. That is why the Bioceanic Road Corridor is tremendously important because it is a concrete example that, from the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, passing through Salta, through Jujuy, through the Paraguay River, arriving at the ports of Antofagasta, Iquique and Tocopilla, they make up our towns,” said Gabriel Boric.
The issue of the corridor had already come up during the visit made by the Chilean president to Paraguay last July.
The geographical space included in this corridor brings together more than 30 million inhabitants and abundant mineral and agricultural resources coexist, mainly in northern Argentina.
“Chile can be the exit door for Brazilian products to the Pacific and Brazil can play the same role for the access of Chilean exports to the African continent,” said Lula da Silva, who added that the road route will save “a thousand dollars.” for each container exported to Asia."
“When there is good political dialogue between countries, trade and investments flourish, generating income, employment and innovations. The expressive participation of businessmen and women in this event reflects the strength of Latin American entrepreneurship and the commercial economic policy of our countries,” added the Brazilian President.
RETURNING REGIONAL LEADERSHIP
Brazil is a power that is also looking for a way to position itself globally as a global player," explains Gilberto Aranda, professor at the University of Chile, who has a doctorate in Latin American studies and a professor at the Institute of International Studies (IEI), to AméricaEconomía.
And the country of Lula, who assumed a new mandate on January 1 of this year, is in a special relationship with the BRICS, without withdrawing from the G20. One day he talks to Putin and the next he remembers his interest in Brazil being part of China's new Silk Road.
"However, in Latin America, there is a perception that the region has been deprioritized. That is, it is not that the region does not exist for Brazil, but apparently it has had less priority...", details the academic from the University of Chili.
Until Venezuela happened.
But for Aranda, the primary objective of the visit, which was to reconnect Chile with Brazil, was fully fulfilled.
"[Lula's visit to Chile] leaves behind a series of commercial, cultural, cooperative agreements, an impressive entourage (...) where Brazil itself gave the tour a very high level. Precisely to highlight that in reality Brazil is not has been from the region and has interest, and that precisely with Chile it has certain affinities at the political level and this relationship can be cultivated," he emphasizes.
Despite this, the academic remembers that the situation of the recent elections in Venezuela has occurred.
which has marked nuances of position between Brazil and Chile.
"I say nuances because I think there are not such fundamental differences, but Brazil has certainly been much more cautious. [Meanwhile] Chile has acted quickly to express its disagreement regarding the lack of transparency in the Venezuelan process and also to say that They will not recognize anything until that transparency is recovered, Brazil has rather played a negotiation to bring the Venezuelan ruling party closer and
opposition where he measures his words very carefully, just like the other two left-wing governments that accompany him, which are Colombia and Mexico.
The academic's analysis is that Chile, in turn, very interested in deepening the relationship with Brazil, has also been careful not to magnify this difference during the visit.
"That's why yesterday [President Boric] said that he was not going to talk about Venezuela until this afternoon, letting everything this year pass. So I think it has been a very interesting chapter," he adds.
The analysis of the different position between Brazil and Chile, "even though they are part of the presidents of the
[Latin American] left, we could say that [they unite] a Lula, with a López Obrador, even with a Petro, with the myth of the Cuban revolution and everything it means (...) and in the case of the Chilean president, who looks at it differently. There is a generational difference that also explains the type of response that is given," Aranda weighs.
STRATEGIC PARTNERS
In 2023, Brazil was Chile's first trading partner in the region, and the third worldwide.
According to figures from the Central Bank of Chile, Chile's accumulated investment in Brazil, from the period 2003-2022, was US$15,069 million. In 2023, trade between both countries reached $12.25 billion, higher than Brazil's trade with France or Italy.
In recent years, the interest of Brazilian companies in establishing themselves in Chile has increased. Proof of this is the evolution of Brazilian projects in InvestChile's portfolio, which currently has 28 investment initiatives for more than US$2,019 million, versus the US$152 million of the projects it managed in 2019.
The President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, highlighted that “Chile, which has no borders with Brazil, is possibly a country that is much closer to Brazil given relations since 1836.”
The Government also highlighted the flow of Brazilian tourists, which, so far this year alone, has grown by 74.8% compared to the same period last year and an increase of 16.5% compared to the pre-pandemic period.
Furthermore, it is known that Brazilian coastal cities are the favorite destinations for Chileans, whether during the holiday season or on long weekends or “getaways” of a few days.
