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Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim announced Sept. 22 that Brazil will enter into a formal military assistance agreement with France. The deal will include help in developing naval nuclear propulsion technology and the sale of four French-designed Scorpene patrol submarines, which will nearly double the size of Brazil’s submarine fleet. The agreement is part of a growing awareness in Brazil that the country needs to strengthen its regional military posture.
Being the largest country in South America and covering most of the continent’s eastern coastline, Brazil is the South American state with the greatest potential for continental dominance. Recent developments, such as massive oil deposit discoveries, have encouraged Brazil to seriously revise its military policies and seize this window of geopolitical opportunity. In the process, Brazil will have the chance to forge global partnerships that will define the course of its rise.
Brazil is blessed with an abundance of natural resources, a developing agricultural production capacity and a territory that constitutes the bulk of South America. However, since it gained independence from Portugal in 1822, Brazil has been engaged mainly in consolidating control over its territory and developing the industrial capacity necessary for economic progress. Its field of vision has thus been constrained by an inward focus, and Brazil has yet to make any significant progress toward regional dominance.
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