Brazil, US resume talks on use of Brazil launch base
Brazilian Defense Minister Joaquim Silva e Luna met early in the afternoon this Monday (Aug. 13) with US Defense Secretary James Mattis. Topics discussed in the meeting included the social landscape in Venezuela, military operations, including cyber operations and the resumption of a technological safeguard deal for the use of the Alcântara Launch Base, some 30 km from São Luis, state capital of Maranhão, northeast Brazil.
“The Americans are making changes to the proposal” in order to make it possible still this year, Silva e Luna reported.
He went on to say that “Defense Secretary [James Mattis] pledged to quickly work out the details in a bid to bring the deal in line with our interests and make it clear and understood by the whole country, by society—represented by our Congress.”
The launch base, founded in 1983 as part of the Brazilian Space Program, has attracted the attention of the US particularly due to its strategic location near the Equator, which demands a considerably lower use of fuel in rocket launches. A deal on the US use was thwarted in the 90s after it was met with significant resistance by the Brazilian Congress, which sought a greater transfer of technology and access to information about operations in the area.
Brazil is interested in the production of satellite information, said the defense minister. “The US has great capacity for information in the area—intelligence by means of imaging satellites,” Silva e Luna told journalists after a meeting with the defense secretary, without being specific about whether Brazil is interested in security, telecom, the weather, or the environment.
The deal with the Americans is fostered by the Brazilian Space Agency and by the Air Force Command. In a recently published article, Air Force Commander Nivaldo Luiz Rossato expressed his support for the negotiations and for keeping society informed. “The country must know that Alcântara is not for sale or lease, and that no action will be carried out to affect Brazilian sovereignty,” he wrote.
Venezuela
Also according to the defense minister, the Americans have taken up a spectator’s position regarding the developments of social, political and economic issues in Venezuela, which have caused a large number of Venezuelans to flee their country to Brazil and Colombia.
“The stance adopted by the US in this aspect is a very prudent one. They believe that the solution should be an effort spearheaded by Brazil, and they keep asking how they can help,” said Silva e Luna, which added that he talked to Mattis about a way to build “a solution to rid the country of the difficulty it’s going through.”
