Brazil's and Mexico's foreign policies for Latin America:

from the Contadora Group to the Rio Group

Abstract

The article analyzes an issue little addressed in the Brazilian literature on international relations: the performance of Brazilian and Mexican foreign policies for Central America in the 1980s, the political disagreements with the United States, the creation and objectives of the Contadora Group (1983), the Contadora Support Group (1985) and the Rio Group (1987). These groups played important roles in attempts to stabilize the political, economic and social problems of Central America in a peaceful manner. The article is divided into four parts: i) understanding of the creation of the Contadora Group, the Contadora Support Group and the actions of Brazil and Mexico, ii) highlighting the main objectives of these two groups, iii) analyzing the "dilemma" of the foreign policies of Brazil and Mexico in relation to US actions for Central America and iv) the creation and objectives of the Rio Group. Primary sources are used, official documents of the agreements signed and presidential declarations available on the archives of the websites of the presidency or foreign ministry of the countries, as well as secondary sources that analyze the international relations of Latin America and the decision-making processes of the foreign policies of Brazil and Mexico in the 1980s. The processes that contributed to the attempt at political, economic and social stabilization in Central America during the troubled 1980s demonstrate that the joint action of the two countries can be a facilitating element for other processes of political concertation in the regional scenario.