They are a "friend" like India. We have a good amount in common, but enough differences that neither of us will go out of our way for the other. Still, it is in both of our interests to not antagonize each other. If both countries could somehow manage to have intelligent leaders at the same time, we could have a very beneficial mutual relationship.
One note on the history of US-Brazilian relations is the 1945 Disney movie Three Caballeros. Basically a propaganda piece to promote friendly Western hemisphere relations in WWII. The three caballeros are Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. The U.S. really needed a friendly Brazil for all the rubber produced there, especially with French Indochina being cut off after 1941. Brazil also produced a lot of agricultural products needed for the war effort. We needed Mexico to stabilize after their years of civil wars to free up U.S. troops form the border. (There's an idea.) As for Brazil and Mexico, there was a subtle hint that you did not want to mess with us at that point in time.
