Deciphering the "tropical Trump": analysis of the perceptions of the United States think tanks about the election and the Bolsonaro government

• Main Authors: Luciana Wietchikoski, Eduardo Munhoz Svartman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Graduate Programme in International Strategic Studies (PPGEEI) 2020-11-01
• Series: Revista Conjuntura Austral
• Subjects: think tanks; relações brasil estados unidos; opinião pública
• Online Access: https://seer.ufrgs.br/ConjunturaAustral/article/view/96222/59132

Since the electoral campaign, the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro emulates United States’ President Donald Trump's rhetoric and attitudes while proclaims an alignment with Washington. Before this changing scenario, the present article assesses the perceptions that has been framing the new Brazilian government in Washington, especially within the think tanks devoted to international politics. These civil society organizations, whose ideas aim to influence the public opinion and the public policies cycle, play an important role in propagating narratives about Brazil in different USA social fields like the politics, private sector, media, and academia. Employing content analysis methodology, one argues that, despite the new administration bet on the alignment with the United States and the positive words from the Trump administration, the ideational production of the researched think tanks about Bolsonaro and his political agenda is more negative than positive.