President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) opens this Monday (18) the meeting of G20 leaders, in Rio de Janeiro, with two of the main themes that he chose as priorities for this third term: the alliance against hunger and reform of the governance of the world’s multilateral institutions.
Since the beginning of last year, Lula has reiterated these two issues in his speeches in Brazil and around the world, in addition to the taxation of the super-rich through a global tax. The global governance reform aims to directly reach the United Nations (UN) Security Council, with the entry of Brazil and other developing countries.
Although the G20 does not have the power to create laws for its members, the group is the main forum for international economic cooperation on topics such as trade, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, environment, climate change and combating corruption.
On the eve of the G20, on Sunday (17), Lula participated in bilateral meetings with leaders such as Giorgia Meloni (Italy), Ursula von der Leyen (European Commission), Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), among others. It was expected that he would meet with Emmanuel Macron (France) and Luis Arce (Bolivia) this Monday (18), but the meetings were cancelled.
According to his and the ministers’ official agendas, only Fernando Haddad (Finance) will have a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart Antoine Armand, later in the afternoon.
One of Brazil’s main initiatives at the helm of the G20 is the creation of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, focusing on income transfer policies and incentives for family farming. As of this Sunday (17), 42 countries, including Germany, had already joined the proposal.
The alliance’s goals are to benefit 500 million people with income programs, expand school meals to an additional 150 million children and bring health services to 200 million women and children.
“It is an issue that is available to governments to resolve. What we did in Brazil: just put the poor in the budget and we will end hunger, poverty and inequality. We have 42 countries participating, all banks participating”, said Lula in an interview with TV Globo.
The Brazilian government also defends a reformulation of international institutions, such as the UN Security Council, to expand global representation. The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, reinforced this need on Sunday (17), highlighting that the current composition of the council, with only five countries with veto power, is outdated.
“The threats we face today are interconnected and international. But global problem-solving institutions desperately need an update, not least the Security Council, which reflects the world of 80 years ago,” Guterres said, adding that vulnerable nations are not receiving the support they need to face crises like the climate.
Upon assuming the presidency of the G20 last December, the Brazilian government defined three priority axes for its mandate: social inclusion and combating poverty, energy transition and sustainable development, in addition to global governance reform. In addition to representatives of the world’s largest economies, the meeting at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) in Rio also brings together the European Union and the African Union.
Over the 12 months of the G20 presidency, Brazil organized several meetings, including 24 ministerial meetings and 110 technical meetings. During this period, the government tried to keep controversial geopolitical topics, such as the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Gaza Strip, out of main discussions, focusing on established social and environmental priorities.
During the summit, Brazil launched the G20 Social, which involves the participation of civil society, and reinforced the importance of a coordinated response to face global challenges.
With the end of the summit in Rio, Brazil will hand over the presidency of the G20 to South Africa, which will take command in 2025.
