In May 1997, according to the schedule agreed at the Summit of Miami, another meeting of foreign commerce ministers was held in Belo Horizonte. It aimed at continuing the preliminary understandings regarding the possible formation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). During the meeting the opposite position sustained by North-American and Brazilian dealers became evident. Belo Horizonte served as stage for demonstrations by economic and social segment representatives who disagreed about the course negotiations were taking. The present study aims at analysing the action and positions of Brazilian domestic constituencies and their interaction with diplomatic corps, with a view to influencing the decision making process during the negotiations among Continent governments. Therefore, insights derived from two-levelgames metaphor, proposed by Professor Robert Putnam, are used to evaluate three aspects of Brazilian arguments: credibility, legitimacy and bargaining power of the Brazilian negotiating view. The central argument presented is that the Brazilian strategy for the FTAA, despite of a high level credibility, lacks domestic legitimacy which may seriously affect its bargaining power at international negotiations.