CNN - US should go big on Brazil

Op-Ed

By: Marco Rubio

On New Year's Day, President Jair Bolsonaro was inaugurated in Brazil, ushering in a new era in Brazilian politics that marks a dramatic departure from the leftist, anti-American governments of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. Our bilateral relationship improved under the administration of former President Michel Temer, and the new Bolsonaro government has already indicated it seeks an even closer security and economic relationship with the United States.

For the peace and stability of the region, it is crucial that the United States capitalize on this historic opportunity to bring closer together the two most populous nations in the Western Hemisphere.

A strong, vibrant and democratic Brazil that is more closely aligned with the United States as a strategic partner can be a force multiplier in addressing the ongoing crisis in Venezuela (where governance has deteriorated and there is widespread corruption), and in countering the malign intentions of authoritarian regimes like China, Russia and Iran that intend to expand their presence and activities in Latin America.

The Trump administration should move quickly to advance goals that would be welcomed by the Bolsonaro government, such as bolstering our defense and intelligence ties, increasing investment in trade, cooperation in the energy sector, supporting Brazil's ascension to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, expanding US access to Brazil's space industry, and additional cooperation against terrorism and transnational criminal networks.

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