The Party Political Discourse on Foreign Policy in Brazil and Uruguay (2003-2014)

Abstract

Assuming that the ideational dimension of political parties is relevant to foreign policy, this paper analyzes the parliamentary discourse of Brazilian and Uruguayan senators (2003-2014) in order to propose a conceptual framework for the study of programmatic ideas in the legislative arena through the ideological dichotomic relation between the left and the right public philosophies. The left wing discourse promotes regional integration beyond commercial matters, emphasizing political integration and South-South relations, and focusing on productive integration by means of protectionist strategies according to the precepts of neo-developmentism. The right wing discourse stress its preferences on universal and unilateral trade opening, emphasizing commercial integration on liberal bases, and focusing on strategic political actions so-called as pragmatic.