Abstract
A radical shift in Brazilian foreign policy took place during the military government of Ernesto Geisel (1974-1979), when a pragmatic and ecumenical foreign policy was formulated. It broke with the neotraditional policy of the military regime in power since 1964, as it refused to be bound by ideological loyalities and accommodated itself to changing domestic and international circumstances in the pursuit of Brazil's needs and interests. Geisel's pragmatic foreign policy assumed a Third World orientation, reaffirmed many of the same principles of the independent foreign policy of the last civilian administrations, and followed the economic interests of Brazil. In the process it enhanced Brazil's international prestige in world affairs established an autonomous foreign policy.