Aspects in the construction of Brazil's transcontinental <i>lusofonia</i>

Abstract

RACT Through a marriage between academia (i.e. The Brazilian Institute for Afro-Asian Studies) and the Quadros-Goulart presidencies, Brazil underwent a gradual change in discourse starting in the early 1960's towards the idea that the country, like its African “brethren,” had been a victim rather than an extension of its former colonizer Portugal, in a turnaround of Freyrean ideology. This meant a move away from traditional alignments and towards a more autonomous foreign policy involving diversifying partnerships in the South. This paper examines some building blocks of Brazil's anti-colonial current and of the change in Brazil's use of lusofonia (Portuguese language and culture) bonds into a tool to reach Africa – initially hampered, then better able to flourish under later global scenarios.