Having recently completed a week-long trip to the cities of São Paulo, Brasilia, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I am struck with several observations that relate to relations with Venezuela, Russia, and the international business community.  The title of this post I borrow from Professor Marshall Eakin of Vanderbilt University, whose 1998 book does much to capture the country’s long-standing hope of ascendency in global relations – this nearly permanent sensation that the country is on the cusp of major change, only to see the opportunity escape due to unfortunate coincidences and mistakes.  There are many who believe that this time Brazil’s rise might be for real.

I had the opportunity to meet Professor Eakin last week at lunch, where over the course of a wide-ranging discussion, he expounded on several social and cultural underpinnings that have provided the Brazilian people with such generous amounts of pride and optimism.  Indeed, “pride” is the one word that I would take away from the country, as I found an inwardly focused nationalism nearly everywhere I turned, driven in part by grand ambitions:  the building of the capital Brasilia from scratch in just three years, the transformation of São Paulo into one of the leading automotive manufacturers of the Western Hemisphere, or any one of the hundreds of rich stories of Brazil exceeding expectations and nearing greatness.

This nationalism, though different from the dangerous American and Russian versions, also conceals some distortions and serious challenges for the country to confront and move forward.  Brazil, I discovered, really likes to talk about Brazil – and remains unaware of many things happening nearby.  One will find that after spending some time here and speaking with Brazilian observers, that the stereotypes of samba, beaches, and boisterous parties barely scratch the surface of what the country has to offer.