Speakers:

• Sergio Amaral, Trustee at CEBRI, former Brazilian Ambassador to the United States
• Brian Winter, Editor-in-Chief, Americas Quarterly
• Cecilia Tornaghi, Managing Editor, Americas Quarterly (moderator)

"We [Brazilians] think we are Europeans, but we are Americans," said former Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergio Amaral, showing his confidence of a continued solid bilateral relationship based on values and a friendship strenghened by the affinities between Presidents Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump. In a discussion with AS/COA Vice President for Policy Brian Winter about the implications of the U.S. elections on Brasília-Washington ties, Amaral presented tough choices for Brazil, no matter the results in November. A Trump reelection could mean a difficult position for Latin American economies that would involve juggling China and the United States, which, Winter pointed out, is already a very polarized discussion in Brazil. In the case of a Joe Biden win, the Democrat's support for a bigger state role on the economy and a Green New Deal would mean "our agendas will not match," said Amaral, explaining relations would still be cordial, but countries should prepare for recurrent frictions.