Brazil's Perceptions of the EU after Brexit: A weaker but desirable partner

Abstract

International audience ; This chapter aims to assess how the Brexit process may have affected the perceptions of the EU by Brazilian political, intellectual and entrepreneurial elites, as well as by the mainstream online and print media. Speeches and reports are collected from the Brazilian government's official websites, while media content is obtained through the Nexis database. The analysis is supported by semi-structured interviews with diplomatic officials in London and Brussels. Particular attention is paid to the following dimensions due to their saliency in the Brazil–EU agenda: economic/trade; migration/development; and political/security. Preliminary results suggest that Brazilian narratives of the EU are linked to the benefits of regionalism and the perception of the EU as a global (trade) power. Results contribute to a better understanding of how Brexit is reported to Brazilian audiences, and which narratives about the "new EU-27" are either reinforced or deconstructed due to the UK's decision to leave the Union. The working hypothesis – that Brexit has not significantly changed the perception of the EU among Brazilian elites and media apart from the trade aspects – is by and large confirmed.