A Guerra do Chaco

Este artigo analisa as circunstâncias que envolveram a Guerra do Chaco, entre Paraguai e Bolívia, na primeira metade do presente século. Faz-se um estudo da evolução da situação política e econômica na região desde a Guerra da Tríplice Aliança, ressaltando também os interesses dos países vizinhos na disputa dos dois países beligerantes pela região do Chaco. Paraguai e Bolívia enfrentaram-se em torno da posse da região por motivos econômicos, sobretudo no caso do Paraguai, e por motivos estratégicos, precipuamente no caso da Bolívia que teria, com a tomada do Chaco, acesso à bacia platina e, assim, maior facilidade de escoamento para a sua produção petrolífera. A deflagração do conflito envolveu mais diretamente os interesses da Argentina e do Brasil, que tiveram importante papel no desenrolar e na conclusão da Guerra do Chaco.This article analyses the circumstances that surrounded the Chaco War, between Paraguay and Bolivia, in the first half of the current century. It studies the evolution of the political and economic situation in the region since the War of the Triple Alliance, stressing also the interests of the neighbouring countries in the dispute of the belligerent countries over the Chaco. Paraguay and Bolivia fought each other in order to control the region guided by economic reasons, mainly for Paraguay, and strategic ones, mostly for Bolivia, which, by possessing the Chaco, would have access to the Plata Basin and easier drainage to its oil production. The deflagration of the conflict involved more directly the interests of Argentina and Brazil, two countries that played an important role in the development and in the conclusion of the Chaco War

The US, Brazil and Latin America : the dynamics of asymmetrical regionalism

Until its recent crisis, Brazil’s rise, combined with seeming US decline and distraction, led observers to declare South America a ‘post-hegemonic’ region. How have US and Brazilian ambitions and capabilities affected the countries’ relations within the shared neighbourhood of the Western Hemisphere? Building on work by Womack, B. [2016. Asymmetry and international relationships. New York: Cambridge University Press], the article analyses the US-Brazil-South America relationship as a regionally located, asymmetrical triangle. During two centre-left presidencies, Brazil sought to shift the dynamics of the hemisphere’s soft triangles. Brazilian diplomacy redefined its neighbourhood as South America, developed exclusive regional groupings, and assumed the role of pivot to shape relationships between the US and South America. In the face of sceptical neighbours and weakened Brazilian capabilities, the regional triangle is likely to return to a more ‘normal’ configuration in which the United States acts as a central, albeit often uninterested, pivot