Ideology and pragmatism in the bilateral relations with the United States: Brazil and Bolivia

Introduction. The article reviews the trajectory of international cooperation in the Western Hemisphere on the example of the case studies of Brazil-U.S. and Bolivia-U.S. bilateral relations, which experienced a significant change due to inner-political transformations in the countries. The main purpose of the study is to assess the degree of variability in the foreign policy, implemented by governments belonging to different political spectrum. Methods. The research is lined up on a comparison of the foreign policy of left governments of Luiz Inбcio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff in Brazil and Evo Morales in Bolivia, as well as the shift to the “right” of the administrations of Michel Temer and Jeanine Бсez are in focus. The study also reveals the activities of the current administrations of Jair Bolsonaro (since 2019) in Brazil and Luis Arce (since 2020) in Bolivia. Analysis. Thus, orientation towards independence and aspiration to oppose Washington during the period of the “left turn” was prevalent. At the same time, interim administrations’ denial of the principles of anti-Americanism did not lead to the long-term results and radical progress in relations. Nevertheless, there is no reason to point out a formation of a trend towards the dependence of the Latin American countries on the changes in U.S. policy. On the contrary, the line to the independence and sovereignty, which was developed in the previous decade, is being maintained. Results. The dynamics of the analyzed bilateral relations and the adjustment of the foundations of cooperation in multilateral formats indicate a strong subjective factor and an increasing influence of ideologyin the foreign policy of the states in the region.