President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva removes ambassadors seen as associated with Bolsonarianism from positions considered key to the Brazilian chancellery and reinstates diplomats who had been put in the “refrigerator” by the previous administration. But the number of women is small and is generating internal concern in Emarati that promises of a greater role for women ambassadors have not been kept.
This Tuesday, in the Official Gazette, the Presidency has transmitted to the Senate a list of names to be questioned, therefore, to occupy Brazilian embassies around the world.
In the last days of Jair Bolsonaro’s government, Itamaraty tried to appoint ambassadors all over the world. But the list was aborted by the transition team.
One of the moves of the new government, now, was to remove the diplomats who were associated with the administration of Ernesto Araujo, in the first two years of Bolsonaro’s government. One of them was Nestor Forster, the Brazilian ambassador to the United States. For many, he was responsible for maintaining contact between Brasilia and Olavo de Carvalho, as well as contacts with key names of the American far right.
The Government Gazetted the name of Ambassador Maira Luisa Ribeiro Viotti to assume her post in the American capital. In fact, Forrester had already started farewell to the American political circles, including events with the participation of important names in the administration of Donald Trump.
The position of Brazil’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York was also changed, and in the Official Gazette, the government asked Sérgio França Danese to sit in the Senate on recess. The ambassador was forced out of his post in South Africa, after Bolsonaro asked then-ally Marcelo Crivella to replace him. South Africa never accepted the bishop, and the Brazilian position in Africa’s most important economy remained vacant. Now, the Danes occupy one of the most important diplomatic posts, hoping to resume Brazil’s normalization process with the multilateral system.
Among those who will benefit from a new position is Ambassador Antonio Patriota, a former adviser to Dilma Rousseff who was in Cairo. Now, your name will be considered by the Senate for the Brazilian Embassy in the UK.
Ricardo Niva Tavares, right-hand man to Chancellor Celso Amorim in Lula’s second term, will occupy the Brazilian embassy in France. His task will be to restore relations with the government of Emmanuel Macron, after four years of tension, irregularities and breaches of trust on the part of Bolsonaro and his allies.
Another strategic position will be held by Julio Glenternick Betelli, that of Brazil’s ambassador to Buenos Aires. This post was coveted by names associated with Bolsonarianism, at the end of the former president’s term.
At the Vatican, Itamaraty chose Ambassador Everton Vieira Vargas. Lula plans to pay a visit to Pope Francis in the middle of the year.
Finally, the diplomat who has served as Ernesto Araujo’s spokesperson and has led some of Brazil’s key negotiations over the past four years, Paulino Franco de Carvalho Neto, will take charge of the country’s embassy in Cairo.
Among diplomats, the ambassador was considered an articulator who tried to limit the extremes of Ernesto Araujo’s positions and to resume some of the traditional points of Brazilian diplomacy.
In the coming days, the Senate will also receive the names of the following ambassadors for Brazil’s posts abroad:
- Paulo Roberto Caminha de Castelos, France – Athens
- Kenneth Da Nobrega – New Delhi
- George Prata – Jakarta
- Gabriel Bove Moreira – Bratislava
- Arthur Villanova Nogueira – Malawi
- Frederick Meyer – Tel Aviv
- Christian Vargas – Havana
- Guilherme Patriota – World Trade Organization / Geneva
- Clemente Baena Soares – Lima
- Benoni Bailey – Organization of American States / Washington
However, the list drew attention for containing only one woman among the ambassadors. Officially, in 2023, Senator Katia Abreu stopped questioning the names proposed by Bolsonaro due to the absence of women in senior positions in embassies. Since Chancellor Carlos França did not present an alternative list, Saturdays were banned.
Now, however, the list contains one name of a diplomat.
In recent days, the Association of Women Diplomats in Brazil has warned that Itamaraty “has missed another opportunity to implement, in practice, the promise of promoting gender equality in the Brazilian diplomatic service.” “It is an effective constraint on the legitimate expectation of women diplomats in general, and particularly those at the top of their professional positions, that their merits and personal skills will be duly recognized,” she said.
For the association, this gesture indicates to the community that Itmarate “is not a place that welcomes the dreams of young Brazilian women to one day become diplomats and aspire to the highest positions in Brazilian diplomacy.”
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