Did Brazil’s President Just Knock Down US Influence a Notch or Two?

Leaked data about secret US National Security Agency surveillance of foreign countries have claimed another casualty. Upset over alleged NSA spying of Brazilian government and institutions, President Dilma Rousseff has put off a late October visit to the United States, where she was to be honored with a state dinner. James Norton writes for the Christian Science Monitor that Rousseff describes alleged hacking of Brazil's oil company Petrobras amounted to industrial espionage. After a 20-minute phone conversation, President Barack Obama and Rousseff agreed to postpone the visit. Analysts see this as an unprecedented snub and a blow to US influence in the region. The fury over NSA spying may also delay if not endanger a Brazilian plan to buy US-made fighter jets worth $4 billion. The trip’s cancellation, though, might spur Rousseff’s popularity in the lead-up to the Brazilian election. – YaleGlobal