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alumni, have been the subject of much recent conjecture about the contemporaryLatin American left by those who fear its influence. It is by virtue of such networksthat Marco Aurélio Garcia, Lula’s foreign policy advisor, has been able to maintaingood relations, and further Brazil’s national interests, along with PT’s, inneighbouring countries.However, the prominence of these individuals tends to overshadow an importantfactor, namely the lack of depth in PT’s foreign policy expertise. With thepublication of a comprehensive foreign policy document for the first time in 2010,the relative unimportance of this policy area to PT’s fortunes (compared to morepressing domestic issues of education, land redistribution, and social welfare) wasunderscored.c. The party policymaking processPositions on foreign policy are developed in cooperation with the InternationalRelations office of PT. They are submitted to the Congress of the Party and theParty’s National Directorate for ratification. The International Relations office has abroad mandate to propose, develop and maintain Workers’ Party positions oninternational issues, ranging from regional integration, to PT positions on foreignelections. 559 More than this, it is responsible for a range of international activities tosharpen the profile of PT abroad. It is not clear to which extent Lula initiatedpolicy, or whether the bulk of this responsibility fell to Garcia and the Partyleadership 560 , and to a lesser extent, Pinheiro. Once Party positions were established,however, it is reasonable to assume that they became subject to the twin dynamicsof institutional freedom and legitimating capacity outlined more broadly in thissection.559 PT, 2010: 38-39.560 It should be noted that Lula was not PT president while he was President of Brazil.While he remains an Honorary President of PT – a position he could not hold whileserving as Brazilian President – the following served as party presidents during his twoterms as State President: José Genoino (2002-2005), Tarso Genro (2005) (interim),Ricardo Berzoini (2005-2006), Marco Aurelio Garcia (2006-2007) (interim), RicardoBerzoini (2007-2010), and José Eduardo Dutra (2010-2011). List obtained fromWikipedia, ‘Partido dos Trabalhadores’, accessed at:http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partido_dos_Trabalhadores on 26 June, 2011.220