海角大神

The world has a new global voice, and it belongs to Dilma Rousseff.

The Brazilian president鈥檚 fiery speech yesterday at the United Nations condemning the US spying program solidified her position on the world鈥檚 podium as a civil liberties champion unafraid to stand up to Washington, analysts say.

鈥淭his is about global governance,鈥� says Elena Lazarou, director of the Center for International Relations at Funda莽茫o Get煤lio Vargas in Rio de Janeiro. She says聽that Rousseff spoke "for those not respected equally, not just Latin America or just the developing world. She鈥檚 talking about justice.鈥�

But the forcefulness of her call for the US to respect national sovereignty and end state-sponsored espionage also took many observers by surprise, as Brazil is a longtime US alley normally accustomed to playing the role of peacemaker. President Rousseff delivered 鈥渟lams,鈥� 鈥渂lasts,鈥� and 鈥渁ttacks鈥� yesterday in a speech alternately described in the media as a 鈥渢irade鈥� and 鈥渟tinging rebuke鈥� to the US.

Rousseff is wading into uncharted waters, says Larry Birns, director of the聽Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington, who described her speech as a radical shift from the foreign policy laid down by her predecessors.聽Rousseff is now leading Latin America's largest economy in a new direction, asserting its needs in new ways.

鈥淏razil has chosen to take a rather fierce stance and has described the United States as if Washington was Pyongyang and this was North Korea and not a sacred alley," says Mr. Birns. 鈥淎nyone who says this is a mere permutation in a much larger pictograph is not comparing what Brazil was in the past and what 鈥� it is for Brazil to behave in this manner.聽The whole geopolitical map has been changed.鈥�

'Talking about justice'

Rousseff鈥檚 address yesterday at the opening of the United Nation鈥檚 annual general assembly聽was widely anticipated following her decision聽last week to cancel an official state visit to Washington amid revelations that the US National Security Agency spied on her private communications. The visit is 鈥減ostponed鈥� indefinitely until Brazil receives a full explanation of the surveillance program and a promise to cease spying, according to Rousseff鈥檚 office.

At the UN yesterday, Rousseff called the US spying program a 鈥渃ase of grave violations of human rights and civil liberties鈥� that undermined any basis for a relationship. 鈥淔riendly governments and societies that seek to build a true strategic partnership, as in our case, cannot allow recurring illegal actions to take place as if they were normal,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are unacceptable.鈥�

She also called for a new framework on how governments use the Internet that will guarantee privacy.

Rousseff is positioning herself, and Brazil, as a voice calling for norms that will govern global internet security, says Ms. Lazarou, from the Funda莽茫o Get煤lio Vargas. However, the president is not seeking to become a voice for all of Latin America, Lazarou says.

In criticizing the US surveillance program,聽Rousseff also drew on her personal history聽as a former guerrilla fighter imprisoned and tortured for her role opposing Brazil's military dictatorship in the 1970s. 鈥淚 fought against authoritarianism and censorship and I cannot but defend, in an uncompromising fashion, the right to privacy of individuals and the sovereignty of my country,鈥� Rousseff said.聽

The UN general assembly was an ideal platform for Rousseff to stand up to the US about the spying allegations, says Michael Shifter, president of the Washington-based think tank Inter-American Dialogue. 鈥淪he seized the high moral ground, which plays well domestically as well as internationally,鈥� Mr. Shifter says.聽

However, Rousseff鈥檚 decision to go beyond calling for a new set of internet security rules to lambaste the US highlights an attempt to gain political clout at home and across the region, says Eric Farnsworth, vice-president of the Council of the Americas. And to what end?聽

鈥淪pying will continue, as it does by China, Russia, and Brazil itself, so singling out the US for special treatment is regrettable in my view, especially given the [US] president鈥檚 commitment to review the US approach worldwide,鈥� says Mr. Farnsworth.聽

鈥淭he speech appears now to be an attempt to gain political advantage at home, but it also reinforces those in Brazil and across the region who seek to distance relations with the United States.鈥澛�

No going back?

Where US-Brazil relations go from here is up for debate. Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue believes the setback is temporary, as 鈥渢here is too much at stake for both countries for the relations to become adversarial and confrontational.鈥澛�

But Farnsworth and Birns both see a frozen agenda that shows no signs of thawing soon.聽To be sure, the US and Brazil have had fallouts before. 鈥淏ut this is different,鈥� says Birns.聽

鈥淚 just don鈥檛 see how there鈥檚 any going back on this,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he US relationship with Brazil has experienced an enormous sea change. The courtesy and the affable goodwill that gave most of the coloring to the US-Brazil relationship is now gone, it鈥檚 a remnant of history.鈥�