A inserção internacional do Brasil no continente africano durante o governo Lula (2003-2010): entre a cooperação para o desenvolvimento e os grandes conglomerados nacionais

Abstract

This study examines the space occupied by Lula’s African foreign policy (2003-2010). A period which was identified more intense activity in the region of Brazil. Considers an intense growth experienced by the African continent in the XXI century and a context of changes in Brazilian foreign policy strategies, which began to express the yearning for greater Brazilian leadership in the international arena. Then proposes the visualization of the elements that built the Lula’s presidential diplomacy for Africa and the importance of the concept of Brazilian Cooperation for International Development (COBRADI) within the Brazil international insertion strategy. Also highlights the role of the state in the process of internationalization of companies in Africa during the Lula's government through a case study that describes the Odebrecht Organization's process of inserting in Africa. This leads to the understanding that there is an effective action of the State for the construction of development cooperation, without a specific short-term goal. However, with regard to companies, such action is not as substantiated, since companies have acted on their own to settle on the mainland.