The president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT)stated this Monday (18), during the second session of the G20 summit meeting, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), that a 2% tax on the income of the super-rich could generate US$250 billion.
According to the Brazilian president, who also presides over the G20 meeting, this amount could be used in actions related to climate change.
In his speech during a meeting with the leaders of the world’s largest economies, Lula also assessed that “neoliberal globalization” has failed and defended the review of financial rules that disproportionately affect developing countries.
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“It is no surprise that inequality fuels hatred, extremism and violence. Even if democracy is under threat. Neoliberal globalization has failed. Amid growing turbulence, the international community seems resigned to navigating aimlessly through hegemonic disputes,” said Lula.
“We remain adrift, as if swept away by a torrent that pushes us towards a tragedy. But confrontation is not a fatality. Denying this is giving up our responsibility”, continued the President of the Republic.
Wars
Afterwards, Lula spoke about the main ongoing wars in the world, especially between Russia and Ukraine, in addition to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
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“From Iraq to Ukraine, from Bosnia to Gaza, the perception is consolidated that not every territory deserves to have its integrity respected and not every life has the same value,” said the Brazilian president.
“Disastrous interventions have subverted order in Afghanistan and Libya. Indifference relegated Sudan and Haiti to oblivion. Unilateral sanctions produce suffering and affect the most vulnerable”, added Lula.
Read, in full, Lula’s speech at the 2nd Session of the G20 Leaders’ Meeting: Reform of Global Governance Institutions:
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The history of the G20 is intertwined with the shocks suffered by the global economy in recent decades.
Timely actions prevented the 2008 crisis from resulting in a collapse of catastrophic proportions.
The reform impetus was insufficient to correct the excesses of market deregulation and the apologia for the minimal State.
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At that moment, we chose to save banks instead of helping people.
The decision was made to help the private sector instead of strengthening the State.
It was decided to prioritize core economies over supporting developing countries.
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The world grew again, but the wealth generated did not reach those most in need.
It’s no surprise that inequality fuels hatred, extremism and violence. Even if democracy is under threat.
Neoliberal globalization has failed.
Amid growing turbulence, the international community seems resigned to navigating aimlessly through hegemonic disputes.
We remain adrift, as if swept away by a torrent that pushes us towards a tragedy.
But confrontation is not a fatality.
To deny this is to give up our responsibility.
Around this table are the leaders of the largest economies and regional blocs on the planet.
There is no one in a better position than us to change the course of humanity.
This year, global governance reform definitively entered the G20 agenda.
For the first time, the group went to the UN and approved, with the endorsement of forty other countries, a Call to Action.
But this call is just a wake-up call.
The Security Council’s inaction has itself been a threat to international peace and security.
The indiscriminate use of the veto makes the body hostage to the five permanent members.
From Iraq to Ukraine, from Bosnia to Gaza, the perception is consolidated that not every territory deserves to have its integrity respected and not every life has the same value.
Disastrous interventions have upended order in Afghanistan and Libya.
Indifference relegated Sudan and Haiti to oblivion.
Unilateral sanctions produce suffering and affect the most vulnerable.
The Bretton Woods institutions imposed obstacles to the very sustainable development goals they were supposed to promote.
Recent impasses surrounding the Pandemic Treaty, the Pact for the Future and the Cali biodiversity COP show that diplomacy is losing ground to intransigence.
There must be no prohibited debates, nor insurmountable red lines.
Therefore, Brazil proposed, in New York, the convening of a conference to review the UN Charter, under the terms of article 109.
Only 51 of the current 193 members of the United Nations participated in its founding.
It is also urgent to review financial rules and policies that disproportionately affect developing countries.
The external debt service of African countries is greater than the resources they have to finance their infrastructure, health and education.
International tax cooperation is crucial to reducing inequalities.
Studies commissioned by the G20 Finance Track are revealing.
A 2% tax on the wealth of super-rich individuals could generate resources of around 250 billion dollars per year to be invested in facing the social and environmental challenges of our time.
Global stability depends on more representative institutions. The plurality of voices works as a vector of balance.
The future will be multipolar. Accepting this reality paves the way to peace.
It is also key in building governance that maximizes the opportunities and mitigates the risks of Artificial Intelligence.
The answer to the crisis of multilateralism is more multilateralism.
There is no need to wait for a new world war or an economic collapse to promote the transformations that the international order needs.
In 1940, Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade wrote a poem called ‘International Congress of Fear’, which reflected the prevailing sentiment during the Second World War.
To prevent the title of this poem from once again describing global governance, we cannot let the fear of dialogue triumph.“
Global Alliance against Hunger
Earlier, in the opening speech of the G20 Summit, .
The G20 is the group made up of the 19 largest economies in the world, plus the European Union and the African Union.
The alliance has 147 founding members, including 82 countries, the African Union, the European Union, 24 international organizations, 9 international financial institutions and 31 philanthropic and non-governmental organizations. Of the G20 members, only Argentina had not initially endorsed the movement.
The Brazilian president stated that Rio de Janeiro, host of the G20 summit, “is the synthesis of the contrasts that characterize Brazil, Latin America and the world”. “On one side, the exuberant beauty of nature under the open arms of Christ the Redeemer. On the other, profound social injustices. The living portrait of historical and persistent social inequalities”, he stated.
Lula also said that he found a world worse than the one that existed during his two previous periods as President of the Republic, between 2003 and 2010.
“We have the highest number of armed conflicts since the Second World War and the highest number of forced displacements ever recorded. Extreme weather phenomena show their devastating effects in every corner of the planet. Inequalities are deepening, in the wake of a pandemic that has claimed more than 15 million lives”, he stated.
“Hunger and poverty are not the result of scarcity or natural phenomena. Hunger is the biological expression of social evils. It is the product of political decisions that perpetuate the exclusion of a large part of humanity. The G20 represents 85% of the US$ 110 trillion in global GDP and 75% of the US$ 32 trillion in trade in goods and services”, continued the PT member.
“It is up to those around this table to have the urgent task of putting an end to this scourge that shames humanity. We place as a central objective of the Brazilian presidency at the G20 the launch of a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. This will be our greatest legacy. I want this summit to be marked by the courage to act”, concluded Lula.
(Com Reuters)
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