The foreign minister for Brazil's new government following the suspension of president Dilma Rousseff has said Brasilia will now pursue economic interests over leftist ideological goals.
Jose Serra, nominated by acting president Michel Temer in the wake of Rousseff's suspension for an impeachment trial, yesterday signalled that Brazil would no longer be part of the loose leftist alliance that exists across several Latin American countries.
"Diplomacy will return to transparently and firmly reflecting the legitimate values of Brazilian society and the interests of its economy, serving Brazil as a whole and no longer the ... Ideological preferences of a political party and its foreign allies," he said.
Serra last week confronted the governments of Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela, which had denounced Temer's takeover as a coup against Rousseff.
Serra said yesterday that Brazil would play "a pioneering role" in climate change policies, underlining the country's role as guardian of most of the Amazon rain forest and some of the world's biggest supplies of fresh water.
Rousseff was forced aside by the Senate May 12 to face trial on charges of illegally manipulating government accounts. She will be removed from power if the Senate trial ends with a two-thirds majority vote against her.
Her suspension ends 13 straight years of rule by the leftist Workers' Party. Temer, a market-oriented centrist, is from the centre-right PMDB party.
