How
Russia Can Improve Brazil’s Military and Economy
Cooperation
Continues to Improve Between Russia and Brazil
by InfoBricsFebruary 19, 2020
Last week the Russian ambassador to Brazil, Sergey Akpov,
said that despite the acquisition of the Russian Pantsir-S1, air defense
systems not being a priority for Brasilia, Moscow continues to
consider Brazil as a promising market to sell weapons and military
equipment. For the diplomat, there are good prospects for cooperation in
the area to strengthen ties between the two BRICS countries.
Russia has proven it is willing to transfer sensitive
technology and sell widely to many different states, such as India. India can
manufacture the SU-30MKI fighter jet entirely itself because of technology that
was passed on by Russia. This has been possible because India, also a BRICS
country, has been receptive to Russian cooperation and investment. A major
problem that Russia has in Brazil is the powerful Western lobby which somewhat
attempts to prevent Brazilian companies from being interested in partnering
with Russian companies. Effectively Russian companies have difficulty carrying
out projects in Latin America’s biggest country.
Without a Brazilian partner capable of absorbing the
technology and that is reliable, Russia will not be able to sell to the country
unless they create their own factory and manufacturing bases. Effectively,
Russia needs to create an industrial base in Brazil if it wants to sell weapons
and military equipment to the country. As Brazil is in the middle of an
economic crisis, the South American giant is unlikely to reject a Russian
manufacturing base in Brazil.
Although the Western lobby is strong, it has been
unsuccessful in keeping Chinese interests out of Brazil, and if they tried to
lobby against China, economics demands that they will be unsuccessful. With
Brazil’s unemployment rate at 11.20% and 13.5 million people living in extreme
poverty as of in November 2019, it is unlikely that the Western lobby can
influence Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro himself was extremely
critical of China’s investments in Brazil prior to his election
before quickly changing his tune as forced by Brazil’s bleak economic
situation and under pressure for business sectors in the country.
The Pantsir air defense system offered an opportunity
to build such manufacturing in Brazil with the installation of two factories
and the transfer of technology, under a $1.5 billion contract, however, the
Odebrecht subsidiary that was Russia’s counterpart in the country, Mectron,
went out of business for legal reasons. The best solution for Russia would
be to create an industrial arms base in Brazil. The famed Russian AK-47
assault rifles are used by Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo police and Brazilian
alternatives to the same type of weaponry are not well regarded by the police
because of their quality and unreliability. Essentially, a Kalashnikov factory
in Brazil would be a good starting point. In addition, Russian helicopters are
very well evaluated by national pilots who had the opportunity to work with
this equipment and are desperately needed by the delapidating Brazilian
military who need good and cheap options. As part of modernizing Brazil’s
military, it also needs nuclear submarines, nuclear safety control systems, and
also space technology, all areas that Russia excels in and can assist Brazil
with.
In November 2019, Russian state-owned arms exporter
Rosoboronexport offered its potential customers in Brazil an integrated urban
security technology and critical facilities. The head of the corporation’s
marketing department, Sergei Larkin, presented at the meeting of the
investment forum of Russia and Brazil, held in Brasilia, the project for a safe
and intelligent city. This project is a comprehensive and scalable security
system designed to identify sources of terrorist threats and illegal
activities, anti-terrorism measures, law enforcement, protection of critical
facilities and even coastal protection. The project includes
solutions that cover all phases, from forecasting threats to prevent them,
and finding threats to eliminate them. For Brazil, a country with an
astronomical crime rate, the emphasis has been placed on facial
recognition technologies, smart cameras for financial institutions, panic
buttons and important business protection, and Russia has played a key role in
bringing these technologies to the South American country.
Bolsonaro himself reached the rank of Captain in the
Brazilian military, meaning the welfare of the military is one of his top
priorities. In the context of financial difficulties and the desire of the new
administration to reduce budgetary expenses, the acquisition of the Pantsir-S1
anti-aircraft defense systems is no longer considered by the Brazilian
leadership as a priority project. Despite this though, Brazil remains a
promising market for selling military weapons and equipment, such as the supply
and maintenance of Mi-35M combat helicopters.
Brazil is aware of the high tactical and technical
characteristics of Russian armaments and equipment, and this is what can bring
good prospects for cooperation in this area between the two countries. By
utilizing Bolsonaro’s fondness of the military, Russia invited him to attend in
Moscow the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great
Patriotic War, perhaps the most important non-religious celebration in Russia.
Therefore, although the West may lobby against Russo-Brazilian relations,
Russia has a lot to offer Brazil, particularly regarding the military.
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