Created as the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, Itamaraty was present during the consolidation of Brazil as an independent country, he explained today (26), in an interview with the program The Voice of Brazilthe coordinator of the Itamaraty working group for the Bicentennial of Independence, ambassador George Monteiro Prata.
The Coordinator of the Working Group for the Bicentennial of Independence, Ambassador George Monteiro Prata, is the interviewee on the program A Voz só Brasil. – Valter Campanato/Agência Brasil
“When we conquered our autonomy, we became a country with its own identity. Above all, it is a time to celebrate our Brazilianness. The 7th of September is a celebration for all of us Brazilians”, said the ambassador.
Prata recalled that the first diplomatic missions of the newly created secretariat were to establish Brazil as a sovereign State before the international community. The United States was the first country to recognize Brazil as an independent country. The agreement to recognize independence with Portugal, however, would only come a few years later, in 1825.
Pedro’s heart
Back in Portugal in 1832, D.Pedro was in dispute with D.Miguel, his brother, who had usurped the Portuguese throne from D.Pedro’s daughter, D.Maria. In the war that followed, D.Pedro had the decisive support of the City of Porto. Before dying, the regent expressed his desire to donate his heart to the city.
Preserved formally and contained in an elaborate container, the relic is in Brazil to commemorate the Bicentennial of Independence. This is the first time that D.Pedro’s heart has left Portugal. “The Portuguese are very jealous of this relic. We always count on the good will of the Portuguese authorities. The negotiations were complex. It was up to Itamaraty to head the negotiations,” explained the ambassador.
“I see the coming of the heart as an opportunity to pay tribute to the central figure in Brazil’s independence process. It was Dom Pedro who gave our first Constitution. With this tribute, we also celebrate the country we have become”, said George Monteiro Prata.
![[Video] They capture a subject accused of assaulting a police officer in Chía](https://latin-american.news/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Video-They-capture-a-subject-accused-of-assaulting-a-police.jpg "[Video] They capture a subject accused of assaulting a police officer in Chía")
