The diminishing of Brazil

摘要

It has long been the dream of Brazil's politicians and diplomats to augment their country's stature in the world by positioning it as the undisputed leader of a united South America. But as Latin America's leaders gather this weekend in Vienna for a meeting with their European counterparts, their region has rarely looked so divided. And many Brazilians complain that their president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is being turned into an irrelevant bystander in his own backyard by Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's oil-rich populist leader.