The Brazilian cooperation with African countries gained importance during the time Lula da Silva was president, supported by the international solidarity discourse and the existence of a historical debt with Africa, as well as by a practice that seeks, above all, to structure the demands of these countries without imposing any conditions. It is noticeable, however, that the Brazilian presence in Mozambique – a country that received special attention during the Lula administration – points to an ambivalence of this cooperation. At the same time the discourse announces a cooperation that is not connected to economic interests, there is the presence of big Brazilian companies as benefactors in the projects of the cooperation, or even directly invested in the results produced by these projects. In this sense, this article showed this ambivalence and reflected upon it by analyzing two projects that will be significantly important for the Brazilian technical cooperation: a project for the implantation of an antiretroviral drugs factory and the Tripartite Cooperation Program for the Agricultural Development of the Tropical Savannah in Mozambique, the ProSavana.
Brazilian cooperation; Interests; Mozambique; Drug factory; ProSavana
