From the NYT:At 7 p.m. Copenhagen time, Mr. Obama and Mr. Wen met again, joined by Prime Minister Mammoghan Singh of India and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil. [Later reporting suggests South African President Zuma also attended]That sentence captures much about the shift in world politics. But let's just take that final point for now. At the moment for the final push to rescue global talks on climate change, Brazil's Lula was one of the few world leaders at the table.
Is it Brazil? Or is it Lula? Does Brazil get this seat because they are a rising regional and global power with real political, economic and diplomatic influence? Or does Lula sit there because he's a global rockstar, someone whose sheer personal presence seems to be a force on the international diplomatic stage?
These are the questions every analyst thinking about Brazil and Latin America's role in the world is asking. Brazil's president is one of the most powerful people in the world today. When the next leader of the US, China or India come along, we know they'll be sitting at that table. Will the next person who leads Brazil be there too?
