In his first 100 days as head of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, Ernesto Araújo has managed to deteriorate relations within the ranks of Itamaraty and the military wing of the Planalto Palace.
But Araújo has forged a close relationship president Jair Bolsonaro by aligning the Itamaraty with a right-wing group of rulers led by US President Donald Trump.
This foreign policy shift is encountering resistance among military cabinet members and is questioned by academics, both of whom prefer a more pragmatic approach. But it has strong support in the ideological core of government, especially among followers of writer Olavo de Carvalho.
Presidential visits to the United States, Israel and Chile solidified Araújo's efforts in this direction.
Trump received Bolsonaro in Washington with pomp and circumstance and Bolsonaro left the American capital with several special announcements, including the end of mandatory visas for American tourists.
Washington signaled its support for Brazil's plans to join the OECD, kind of a club for rich countries, and said it would classify Brazil as a preferential ally of extra-NATO.
Trump governmental support comes at a price, however. Brazil will be required to abandon the differential treatment it receives in the World Trade Organization and open the national wheat market to the United States.
Brazil also took a pro-Israel stance in a UN Human Rights Council vote— another change in the diplomatic tradition of the Foreign Ministry.
In another example, Brazilian diplomats were asked to vote against including mentions of universal access to reproductive health in a UN document. Araújo said that the intention of supporters of inclusion was to promote abortion.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon