Brazil’s earlier intervention not only failed to secure the Caribbean nation—it is also linked to Bolsonaro’s militarization of government.
By Oliver Stuenkel, an associate professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in São Paulo.
Haiti is on the verge of political collapse. As the country’s security situation deteriorates, the international community is debating whether and how to step in. One government that played a key role in Haiti over the past two decades has taken a conspicuous back seat.
From 2004 to 2017, Brazil led the military component of the United Nations-backed peacekeeping mission to Haiti known as MINUSTAH. Since the U.N. Security Council authorized a new mission to Haiti last October, however, Brasília has been shy about supporting the operation. Brazil has offered to train Haitian police forces, but it has declined multiple requests from both the United States and United Nations to provide forces or financing for a new mission.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s reluctance to play a more active role in Haiti today stands in stark contrast to his assertive stance 20 years ago. In 2004, Lula, then recently elected to his first term in office, was…
