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ABSTRACT

On the night of January 31st at 11pm London time, the final-count-down came to
an end as the United Kingdom (UK) left the European Union (EU). After 47 years
of EU membership and three endless years of bitter division within the country
the formal parting happened. The 23rd June 2016 referendum during which a
52% majority voted to leave the EU has finally become a reality.

Montesquieu's principle of the separation of

Lawfare: the political
powers, which seeks to divide the various
instrumentalization of justice  functions of the state in order to limit
arbitrariness and prevent abuses of power. 
Although the concept of Lawfare (the
contraction of law and warfare) is not yet
In Latin America this phenomenon is
fully known in France, the idea is beginning
particularly present; the young democracies
to take hold. It is a when a government uses
are victims of destabilisation attempts by
its judicial system and the media to
political elites whose influence extends far
eliminate a political opponent, by
beyond the simple executive power.    The
destroying his reputation and his public
most famous example is certainly that of
image. The ruling power thus succeeds in
Brazilian President Lula Da Silva,
discrediting him in the eyes of a whole
incarcerated in January 2018 after a series
electorate. 
of scandals. 

Here is how Pope Francis denounced the

Lula: the disturbing man?
practice of lawfare:

Originally a metalworker from a small town,

"Lawfare, in addition to being a serious
Lula participated in the founding of the
danger to national democracies, is used to
Brazilian Workers' Party. Elected in 2002,
bring about the systematic violation of social
he implemented social measures that
rights. It results from a diversion of legal
significantly improved the economic
actions in combination with multi-media
situation. He was re-elected in 2006 but
operations".
was unable to run for a third consecutive
term, which is prohibited by the Brazilian
This interference of the judicial power in
constitution. He will be succeeded in 2011
the political process seriously calls into
by his chief of staff, Dilma Rousseff.
question
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Quickly suspected of corruption and money
laundering, he was sentenced in 2018 to 12
years in prison. The Petrobras scandal will
finally bring his political career to and end :
he was accused of accepting bribes in
exchange for awarding public contracts to
the Petrobras oil company.   huge failure of the Brazilian judicial system"
Then front-runner in the 2018 presidential
election, he was imprisoned and declared
ineligible. 
However, voices have been raised against
the legal validity of this conviction. In June,
the investigative website The Intercept
Brasil revealed messages that cast serious
doubt on the magistrates’ bias in regards to
the case, including Judge Sergio Moro, who
meanwhile became one of President
Bolsonaro’s minister.
J-L Mélenchon protests, September the 5th 2019 in Curitiba to demande Lula’s
liberation. Heuler Audrey. AFP
Strong European mobilisation
against political trials
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, then running for the
presidential election, visited Lula in his
prison in Curitiba. He is not the only
european politician to have expressed
concern about the
PAGE 03
treatment of the former Brazilian president.
An Italian MEP, Roberto Gualtieri,
representing the Socialists and Democrats
(S&D) party also travelled to Curitiba. He
denounced the extreme fragility of the case
and even goes so far as to describe it as "a
and "an alarm for the young Brazilian
democracy and for the image of the country
in Europe and the world".
The Chairman of the European Parliament's
Committee on Economic and Monetary
Affairs also commented on the exclusively
political nature of this court decision.
The MEP said the EU should closely
monitor Brazil's democratic process and be
very critical of the ongoing trade and
political negotiations within Mercosur.
An EU-Brazil relationship
doomed to collapse?
Brazil did not wait for Jair Bolsonaro, an
extreme right-wing president, to neglect
its diplomatic relations with the European
Union, but their decline has indeed
increased with his policies.
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In 2007, an EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership (a trade treaty establishing the free

was signed, paving the way for a deepening movement of goods, services and persons
of Brazil's direct relations with the in the area of its member states: Argentina,
european bloc through annual summits.  Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the
European Union.  However, tensions
The EU is indeed a strong partner; it is remain clear between Brazil and other
Brazil's second largest trading partner, countries, says Luis Lacalle Pou, Uruguayan
accounting for 18% of its total trade.The EU President.
is also the largest foreign investor in Brazil
with investments in many sectors of the Jair Bolsonaro, leader of this agreement as
Brazilian economy. president of the emerging force of the
continent has undeniable means of
In 2017, the stock of EU direct investment in pressure. Just like Donald Trump, Jair
Brazil reached €324.3 billion.But this Bolsonaro is very fond of making strong
partnership has quickly lost momentum: the statements. He notably declared that if
last summit between them took place in Argentina "causes problems, Brazil will leave
2014, and EU funding is no longer as Mercosur".  The EU-Latin American
generous as it used to be. partnership then seems to be built on a
Indeed, Germany and Sweden both very fragile foundation that could be shaken
suspended their financial contributions by the smallest occurrence.

Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s president shakes hands with president of European Council
Herman Van Rompuy after the press conference of the EU-Brazil Summit, October the
4th 2011
Thus the election of Jair Bolsonaro as
following Brazil's extreme right-wing turn
President of Brazil perpetuates the regional
and Bolsonaro's decision to refuse any
trend in Latin America, that is the rise of a
European financial aid to help fight the
variety of right-wing governments.  At a
Amazon fires certainly did not help the
time when the world's fourth largest
situation. Only one side could seem
democracy is turning to the far right, the
positive: the signing of a free trade
European Union will probably be obliged to
agreement between Mercosur
review its foreign policy towards Brazil.
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RESSOURCES

Le vent se lève - Vincent Ortiz - LAWFARE  : LA LÉGALISATION DES

PROCÈS POLITIQUES  ? - 16 septembre 2019 - https://lvsl.fr/lawfare-
la-legalisation-des-proces-politiques/

Britannica - Biography Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - Jeff Wallenfeldt- 19

novembre 2019 - https://www.britannica.com/biography/Luiz-
Inacio-Lula-da-Silva

Le Monde - Brésil  : Jean-Luc Mélenchon rencontre l’ex-président Lula

en prison - 6 septembre 2019
https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2019/09/06/bresil-jean-
luc-melenchon-rencontre-l-ex-president-lula-en-
prison_5506946_823448.html

France 24 - Au Brésil, Mélenchon rencontre Lula en prison et "puise de

l'énergie" avant son procès - 6 septembre 2019 -
https://www.france24.com/fr/20190906-bresil-rencontre-lula-jean-
luc-melenchon-prison-proces-politique-corruption

Brasil de Fato - Lula is an example for European progressists, member

of European Parliament says - Leila de Paula - 27 juillet 2018
https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2018/07/27/lula-is-an-example-
for-european-progressists-member-of-european-parliament-says/

London school of Economics - What next for Brazil-EU relations? -

Miriam Gomez Saraiva - 4 septembre 2019 -
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2019/09/04/what-next-for-
brazil-eu-relations/

European Union External Action - Brazil and the EU -  EU delegation

to Brazil - 11 mai 2016 -
https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/brazil_en/986/Brazil%20and%2
0the%20EU

Financial Times - «  South American tensions threaten Mercosur trade

deal  » - https://www.ft.com/content/b8988ab2-15f2-11ea-9ee4-
11f260415385