Julia E. Sweig and Matias Spektor say that on his visit to Brazil, President Obama will encounter a transformed nation - and an opportunity to build a genuine partnership.

From March 19 to March 23, President Obama will make his first official visit to South America, stopping in Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador. Latin American experts Julia Sweig and Shannon O'Neil discuss the Obama administration's goals for this visit and opportunities to strengthen the U.S.-South America relationship.

President Obama's Upcoming Trip to South America and Opportunities to Strengthen The U.S.-South America Relationship

This study examines low-carbon technology innovation and absorption in China, India, and Brazil. It recommends a course for U.S. policy that promotes accelerated innovation and adoption of new technologies while protecting U.S. commercial interests.

Brazil's rapid economic growth has transformed the country into a new global heavyweight, but Brazil must not let an overly ambitious foreign policy agenda distract it from lingering domestic challenges.

Stewart M. Patrick says Brazil's recent involvement in tensions between Iran and the United States underscored Brazil's determination to play on the global stage, but it may also have harmed Brazil's chances for a UN Security Council seat.

Walter Russell Mead says that Brazil's recent involvement in the diplomatic dispute between Iran and the United States reveals the United States' need to identify ways to help Brazil reach its potential and help advance important American interests in Latin America.

Walter Russell Mead says that Turkey and Brazil's rejection of UN sanctions against Iran revealed that neither country had mastered the challenges of operating in the international system.

The nuclear fuel-swap agreement announced in Tehran put the United States in a bind. Contrary to its sponsors' intentions, it will not improve confidence between the United States and Iran, writes CFR's Michael Levi.

It is not yet clear whether a Brazil-brokered deal will complicate or help resolve the crisis over Iran's nuclear program. CFR's Matias Spektor says either way a newly assertive Brazil is likely to remain a lead player in diplomacy on this issue.

The so-called BRIC summit of emerging-market powerhouses raises new questions on whether Brazil, Russia, India, and China can overcome internal differences and pursue common goals.

Brazil's rebuff of U.S. efforts to toughen sanctions against Iran derives from its wariness of U.S. power politics, writes CFR Visiting Fellow Matias Spektor, but it's too soon to dismiss Brazil's role.

Julia E. Sweig states that Secretary Clinton's visit to Brazil "may reflect a political will to make the relationship with Brazil a strategic priority for American foreign policy."

Shannon O'Neil discusses the prospects for the United States' relationship with Brazil.

Eduardo Gomez writes that as President Obama pushes to pass healthcare reform in the United States, "he would do well to examine the praiseworthy successes -- and the worrying failures -- of a decades-old universal system in the region's second-largest democracy."

Brazil's economic dynamism has given it a stronger voice on global trade and energy issues. Experts say Washington can advance its regional interests more effectively through a more sophisticated relationship with Brazil.