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The paper analyzes Brazil’s foreign policy, particularly toward Africa from the beginning of the 2000s with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s rise to power in 2003 to the present day under Dilma Rousseff’s presidency. It revisits the widely accepted view that emphasizes Lula’s strong commitment to Africa, thereby highlighting Rousseff’s cutbacks to the budget of the Ministry of External Relations and reductions in the diplomatic corps. However, Rousseff’s difficulties in assuming power forced her to reduce foreign policy budgets in order to support internal ones. To boost Brazil’s economy and earn a return on Brazil’s investments in Africa and Latin America, Rousseff markedly guided foreign policy toward supporting exports. Given intense competition with China for trade and investment, sub-Saharan Africa represents an important market for Brazil and a potential ally in recognizing the country’s international role.