Western? Latinos! Notes on Brazilian latinity in the light of Lula's speeches

Abstract

The paper explores the tensions between Brazilian, Latin American and Western identities, emphasizing their overlaps and shifts. In a complementary way, it analyzes the contemporary configuration of these ambivalences at the institutional level, through three official speeches by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2023-2024), which exemplify a state project of rapprochement with Latin America and the Global South. It is based on the assumption that Brazil has more affinities with Latin America than with the developed countries traditionally associated with the West. The methodology combines a narrative literature review on Brazil, Latin America and the West, with an interpretivist documentary analysis of official pronouncements. The motivation for the research stems from data indicating the low self-identification of Brazilians as Latin Americans, in contrast to other countries in the region. The classification of Brazil as a Western nation is thus problematized, understanding it as a variable that depends on the criteria and agents involved, from the subjective distance of the Brazilian population in relation to belonging to Latin America to government efforts and state projects to build a Latin American identity.