"This paper offers an overview of the Brazilian foreign policy during thefirst decade of the present century, devoting special attention to president Luiz InácioLula da Silva’s years (2003-2010). It is based on an understanding of the Brazilianforeign policy as a policy founded on tradition with important traces of continuity andsees the inflections that still exist as a result from different governmental choices. Asystemic approach is proposed, which leads to the understanding that the change inthe Brazilian foreign policy is a result of two factors: the ideational and the pragmaticone. Both control political decisions that lead to conflicting directions. The result ofsuch conflicting pressure is a series of foreign policy positions scattered over time.This analytical model is visually represented by a pendulum sketch, whose movementbetween two extreme positions represents many political possibilities."