RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Rising diplomatic and trade tensions between Brazil and the United States have fueled concerns among analysts and former diplomats that ideology and political alignment are increasingly displacing traditional state diplomacy.
The latest trigger was Washington's revocation of the visa of Brazilian Ambassador to the United States Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti last week, reportedly in response to the denial of visas to two American diplomats who sought to visit Brazil ahead of upcoming elections.
"The decision is not an isolated incident. It is part of a deliberate escalation of hostile measures against Brazil, motivated by ideological reasons," the office of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a statement.
The dispute came amid already strained relations, marked by Brazil's withholding of its formal approval for the ambassadorship of Daniel Perez, nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump in June without seeking Brazil's approval beforehand, as well as new U.S. tariffs of 25 percent on Brazilian products.
Victor do Prado, a former diplomat and current international consultant with the Brazilian Center for International Relations, said diplomacy as an "instrument of state" is being undermined by government interests and party politics.
He cited the handling of Perez's nomination as an example.
"Brazil could have been consulted about Perez. He is a state lawmaker, not a career diplomat, and he is fully aligned with Trump," Prado said.
He said the White House's decision to publicly announce the nominee before receiving Brazil's formal approval was an unprecedented reversal of diplomatic procedure.
Kessio Lemos, a professor of international relations, described the situation as "diplomacy in reverse," saying Washington's measures "completely depart from the tradition of international relations."
For Lemos, the problem is structural. "The State Department is losing control over major foreign policy decisions. Everything is being decided by the White House," he told Xinhua.
He said the U.S. government had created a political and diplomatic crisis on top of existing trade and economic tensions, arguing that the escalation was part of a deliberate strategy to influence Brazil's elections.
For Oliver Stuenkel, an international relations analyst and professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, the tensions reflect a clash between Brazil's pursuit of strategic autonomy and Washington's long-standing tendency to view the region as its "backyard."
He said U.S. punitive measures, including tariffs and criticism of Brazil's electoral system and the PIX payment platform, are viewed by the Brazilian government as interference in internal affairs and an attempt to influence the presidential election in October.
Despite the severity of the crisis, analysts do not rule out a shift in direction. Prado said that "a meeting in a hallway can change everything," referring to the brief contact between Lula and Trump at the United Nations General Assembly in 2025.
Lemos also said continued escalation benefits neither side.
"It is not in the interest of either the United States or Brazil for this crisis to continue," he said, noting that the two countries still have major economic issues to negotiate, including tariff reductions.
Although deeply damaged, the bilateral relationship may still seek a balance between pragmatic national interests and the growing ideological pressures that analysts say are eroding the foundations of modern diplomacy. ■