No, this is not true. The diversification of diplomatic ties and trade relations between Brazil did not imply the neglect of its relationships with traditional partners. It is true that weight of these countries in the Brazilian trade balance has decreased, but that was the result of trade diversification, ie, the growth or emergence of new partnerships. The proof is that even with the international crisis of 2008, the absolute value of Brazilian exports to the United States grew from $ 15.5 billion in 2002 to US $ 24.8 billion in 2013. Sales growth for the European Union was even greater: jumped from $ 15.1 billion to $ 47.7 billion in the same period of time.

Giving priority to Latin America means more than just negotiating tariff and trade barriers between the Mercosur partners. The foreign policy agenda for the region involves mainly the defense of democracy. The Brazil has acted, since the beginning of 2003 as articulator in the promotion of dialogue and ensuring that national sovereignty and the voice of the the peoples votes were respected in the region, as in conflicts or coup attempts in Venezuela, Honduras, Paraguay and Bolivia. This attitude contributed to increase the respect for Brazil among our neighbors.

The peacekeeping mission in Haiti was approved by the UN Security Council and Brazil agreed to assume a key role in the mission in solidarity with the poorest country in the the Americas and one of the world's poorest populations. And in Lula and Dilma’s foreign policy, solidarity is not an empty word, limited to ideas or the field of good intentions. Since 2004, Brazil has helped to reduce or avoid conflict between armed groups and to give a minimum of stability to the country. This help was even more important after 2010, when an earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and virtually destroyed Haiti.

In the 2010 episode, when Lula joined the Prime Minister of Turkey to try to convince the Iranian government to send uranium to be enriched in Turkish plants and returned ready to use in medical research. Brazil’s diplomacy has been motivated by the desire to take action that could avoid war and economic sanctions that could harm not only Iran's population, but of much of the Middle East. Despite Iran's agreement with Brazilian and Turkish arguments, the agreement did not move forward because the United States and the European powers, not satisfied in being relegated to the background, preferred to maintain the deadlock and make economic and military threats.

The countries of the block called BRICS (initials Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa) had the fastest growing economies in the world in recent years, especially after the international economic crisis of 2008, when trade between them doubled , going from $ 143 billion that year to US $ 276 billion in 2012. Participation in the block, can also ensure that the proposals of these five countries are considered by the superpowers and the other economic blocs. After all, countries that negotiate alone are always more vulnerable.

Brazil and Africa have never been so close as they are now. It is true that Africa was seen as an attractive market for Brazilian products, but not just that. Besides having forgiven $ 900 million in the external debt of 12 African countries, Brazil is transferring technology to Africa, especially in the food production area, through the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), which in 206 installed an office in Ghana to develop 42 projects that are helping to reduce hunger. The pharmaceutical manufacturing facility set up by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in Mozambique began operating in 2012, producing drugs for the fight against HIV / AIDS. More than 2.5 million Mozambicans suffer from the disease in the country.

No. The existing debts were old and kept Brazil from expanding trade with those countries. Waiving the payment of this amount (about $ 900 million) came out as a net win because our country opened up the possibility of creating new business with the African countries. Over the past decade, trade between Brazil and Africa quintupled, reaching US $ 26 billion . Now, it can increase still further.