Abstract
The chapter looks at how Lula and Odebrecht worked together to expand the web of Brazilian interests in Angola and the role of the local government in this process. It argues that Lula’s leadership and charisma mattered but only to a certain extent: whilst the Brazilian president believed in the benefits of strengthening the ties of Brazil to Africa and went out of his way to protect the interests of Odebrecht, he did not fully control the agenda. Indeed, by the time he came to power, the Brazilian company had already developed a mutually beneficial relationship with the Angolan government. Lula did, however, give a new dimension to an already existing alliance.
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24 December 2020
Correction to: Mathias Alencastro, Brazil-Africa Relations in the 21st Century: From Surge to Downturn and Beyond https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55720-1
Notes
- 1.
See, for instance, “homme le plus populaire de la planète,” Jeune Afrique, 21 April 2009.
- 2.
Created in 2011, the Lula Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the agenda of the former president. Since the beginning, the Africa Initiative was counted among the most well-funded and dynamic sections of the institution.
- 3.
In the most comprehensive public search engine dedicated to the Car Wash investigation, created by legal magazine Jota, “Angola” has more mentions than any other country. See http://www.jota.info/lavajota/.
- 4.
The delação premiada is commonly translated to English as plea bargain, although there are differences between the two practices.
- 5.
Public hearing of the Foreign Relations and National Defense Commission, 27 March 2019.
- 6.
Whilst this chapter focuses exclusively on the case of Angola, Odebrecht was also active in several countries in Africa and Latin America during that period, from Mozambique to Panama and Argentina.
- 7.
The expression “hands on,” a free translation of “chave na mão,” was used by a former executive of Odebrecht, in charge of liaising with the Brazilian government. Interview, Brasilia, 23 October 2017.
- 8.
This article is part of the postdoctoral project “The African politics of Brazilian multinationals,” funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation.
- 9.
Interview with Odebrecht employee in charge of liaising with political officials, São Paulo, 12 March 2018. Much of this information is corroborated by depositions pertaining to the Car Wash operation, of which at least one complaint involves Odebrecht and Angola. I consulted all these documents extensively and mention them whenever they are directly used as sources. However, I have prioritized information gathered from interviewees, some of which have contributed to the investigations with depositions and plea bargains.
- 10.
Idem.
- 11.
Interview with a diplomat who served in Angola, Brasília, 23 January 2016.
- 12.
The idea of a shared destiny between Brazil and Africa, frequently used in diplomatic circles, originates in the historical literature on Afro-Brazilians (Risério 2007).
- 13.
Marco Aurélio Garcia, who passed away in July 2017, was also interviewed for this research in October 2016.
- 14.
The United States only recognized the MPLA as the official Angolan government in 1993.
- 15.
Under UNAVEM 3 (1995–1997), the company, in a joint venture with Raytheon Technologies, entered a partnership with the United Nations for logistical support in all Angolan territory (Odebrecht 2014).
- 16.
Interview with a diplomat who served in Luanda during most of the second mandate of Lula, Brasilia, 28 October 2016.
- 17.
Interview with a staff member who worked for Ernesto Baiardi, the Angola director between 2006 and 2014, Luanda, 14 April 2013.
- 18.
The Foreign Trade Chamber (CAMEX – Câmara de Comércio Exterior) is an institution subordinated to the Ministry of the Economy in which different organs of the government are represented.
- 19.
The arrangements made during this meeting are at the centre of the accusation against Lula in the Operação Janus conducted by the MPF. According to investigators, between 2008 and 2015, Lula intervened at the BNDES to guarantee the approval of funding for projects in Angola (Ministério Público Federal 2015).
- 20.
Interview with a senior government official with personal access to the president, São Paulo, 24 September 2018.
- 21.
This information comes directly from an interviewee linked to the Lula Institute, São Paulo, 12 June 2017, and an Angolan former minister of communications, who helped organizing the event, Luanda, 4 May 2013.
- 22.
Interview with a former MPLA minister by telephone, São Paulo, 10 January 2020.
- 23.
Interview with a staff member of João Santana in Angola, São Paulo, 2 February 2018.
- 24.
It is worth noting that the MPLA had a long story of hiring Brazilian campaign managers. Some disembarked during the first presidential campaign in 1992 and made a career in Angola, actively participating in the construction of the post-war media and news landscape. However, the 2012 campaign was the first time that a leading Brazilian politician was involved in their workings in Angola. Interview with a Brazilian public relations consultant based in Angola, Luanda, 7 July 2013.
- 25.
Interview with a Brazilian public relations consultant based in Angola, Luanda, 7 July 2013.
- 26.
See Fellet (2017).
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The author would like to thank the support provided by FAPESP grant 2017/13092-1.
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Alencastro, M. (2021). Economic Diplomacy, Lula Style: The Case of Odebrecht in Angola. In: Alencastro, M., Seabra, P. (eds) Brazil-Africa Relations in the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55720-1_5
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