Doing Business With Brazil - Part 1, Respecting National Identity

Working as an exchange officer to the Brazilian Navy in Rio, and the Navy Section Chief in the Brazilian Embassy in Brasilia, I saw many mistakes made by U.S. companies, governmental agencies and individuals in their dealings with Brazilians. One of the worst blunders a company or individual can make in dealing with Brazil is to treat them like any other Latin American country. Worse yet, show up speaking Spanish with a recycled business plan for "Latin American Country X". You're not only off on the wrong foot, you're flat on your face before the negotiations begin. 

Brazilians are very nationalistic and very proud of the fact that they are not a "hispanic" nation. While they have many of the same social and political ills of their Spanish speaking neighbors, there are significant cultural differences between Brazil and other Latin American countries. Planning for entry into Brazilian markets or working with Brazilian companies or individuals has to take into consideration their unique national identity, and the diversity of their people and country.

In many ways, Brazilian business people and entrepreneurs are just as smart, ambitious and hard working as their counterparts in the U.S. and Europe. Working out of the embassy in Brazil, I have to admit that Europeans were often smarter in their dealings with Brazilians, and many times were certainly more effective at negotiating with them. Some U.S. companies have certainly figured out how to do business with Brazil and are reaping the benefits, but many companies view our largest neighbor to the South as a mystery. The trick is to acknowledge the cultural traditions of Brazilian society and business while keeping an eye on the fact that the person across the table is probably just as smart and savvy as you.

I'll be posting other tips on working with Brazil but, for now, the lesson to take from this posting is that Brazil is a culture apart from the rest of Latin America. You would do well to learn as much as possible about the country, its people and its culture before you charge South with contracts in hand.