In August last year it was agreed that, for the first time, Brazil would assume the presidency of the G20, a group that brings together the 19 largest economies on the planet, in addition to the European Union and African Union blocs. With this, the country will also host more than 100 official meetings of the group and the G20 summit meeting, on November 18th and 19th, in Rio de Janeiro.
The mandates are rotated between the nations participating in the summit – the exchange is made in a symbolic act, through the delivery of a wooden gavel between the heads of state. Brazil presides over the G20 from December 1, 2023 until November 30, 2024.
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But what is the concrete impact of the presidency? Will Brazil be able to address issues and accumulate international economic gains? For Professor Vladimir Feijó, PhD in International Law from PUC de Minas Gerais, the answer is positive.
“The host country is able to guide the topics of the meeting and, above all, attract the attention of the international community, giving visibility to its demands. In addition to this unprecedented presidency, Brazil has in the figure of Lula, a head of state who enjoys international prestige, with the potential to advance in his positions as a permanent member of the UN security council, which is a historic demand of the country in the scenario global”, he assesses.
Officially, Brazil defined three axes of action during its G20 presidency period: combating hunger, poverty and inequality; the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) and the reform of global governance.
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“These are hand-picked agendas, as Brazil already has a recognized leadership in these areas, which guarantees support to address these issues during its presidency. It is an opportunity for the country to position itself as an international player leading these discussions, which are also urgent in the world”, adds Feijó.
Shared leadership, BRICS and defense of Russia
O Professor Roberto Goulart Menezes, from the Institute of International Relations at the University of Brasília (UnB), considers, however, that the presidency of the G20 is not isolated.
Through a system called “troika”, the country that preceded the current presidency (in this case, India) and the one that will succeed it (South Africa) actively participate in the agenda organized by Brazil.
“Through this instrument, the host country always has relative autonomy and must continue previous discussions. However, in this case here, there is an interesting configuration, as both Brazil, India and South Africa are members of the BRICS. This encourages them to develop joint agendas that touch on the bloc’s common interests”, says Menezes, who coordinates the Reflection Group on the G20 in Brazil, at UNB.
Brics is a bloc formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – the five largest emerging economy countries in the world. The acronym is a reference, in English, to the initials of each country. In total, they represent 23% of global GDP and 42% of the world’s population.
“One of the BRICS agenda is to discuss the representation of the European Union in the IMF, asking for greater participation of emerging countries in the fund”, says Menezes.
Despite being a space that brings together the world’s main heads of state, the G20 is not a forum for binding decisions, which imposes sanctions on other countries – whether they are members of the bloc or not. At the end of the summit, a final document is drawn up with signals and commitments made.
“Countries like Brazil have worked in the G20 to reform global governance spaces with decision-making power, such as the UN Security Council or the IMF. The G20, then, functions as a space for diplomacy to garner support in this sense, but there are disputes with other forces that intend to maintain the status quo”, points out the UNB professor.
Another theme that may appear emphatically at the meeting between G20 leaders is criticism of the economic sanctions against Russia, for the war against Ukraine, which began in 2022.
“President Lula has made an effort to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the meeting. This, while being a bold move, could be risky and promote emptying, as other state leaders refuse to attend”, ponders the professor.
The G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro will be held exactly 13 days after the presidential elections in the United States – which will define whether Democrat Joe Biden renews his term for another four years or whether Republican Donald Trump returns to the White House.
“The result of this election will certainly be present at the G20 meeting. And it could even decide whether or not the American president will attend. Even if he loses, Biden will still be president during the meeting in Brazil, but, in this case, it is possible that he will not go”, analyzes Menezes.
Finance and Sherpa trails
When it was created in 1999, the G20 meeting had an essentially financial nature and brought together ministers from the main global economies, which represent approximately 85% of global production.
Since the 2008 crisis, which began with the collapse of the American bank Lehman Brothers, heads of state also began to participate in meetings regularly, so that social issues became more relevant.
This history contributes to a division of work that organizes the summit meeting on two distinct fronts: the finance tracks and the sherpa tracks.
The first is commanded by the economy ministers and the presidents of the central banks of the bloc’s member countries – in a model that nods precisely to the beginning of the G20.
The finance track has seven working groups. They are: financial sector issues, international financial architecture; global economy; sustainable finance; financial inclusion; infrastructure and international taxation.
The Sherpa trail has a political bias. It is coordinated by the personal emissaries of the G20 heads of state. In Brazil, Lula’s nominee is Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio, Secretary of Economic and Financial Affairs at Itamaraty.
The group’s name is a tribute to an ethnic group that lives in the mountainous region of Nepal, an Asian country neighboring China and India. The word Sherpas means “people of the east” and they are known for guiding climbers to the top of mountains. The most sought after is Mount Everest – the highest peak on the planet.
The intended metaphor is an association with the technical support that emissaries provide when guiding discussions to final agreements, concluded between the heads of State.
The Sherpa trail has fifteen working groups. They are: agriculture; anti-corruption; trade and investments; culture; development; digital economy; education; women’s empowerment; research and innovation; environmental and climate sustainability; job; energy transitions; disaster risk reduction; tourism and health.
“Here Brazil can act very strongly by showing its portfolio of public policy initiatives, which have significantly improved our social indicators. This is the case of Bolsa Família, the breastfeeding bank and Pastoral da Criança. This brings protagonism to these discussions”, reinforces the UNB professor.
There are also two task forces, shared with the finance track: mobilization against climate change and alliance against hunger and poverty.
The Sherpas trail also includes a bioeconomy initiative, which in this edition is coordinated by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Brazilian initiative with the social G20
A pioneering initiative of the Brazilian presidency was the creation of the social G20, a space that will bring representatives of civil society to discuss social issues from different areas.
The model was tested by the Brazilian government in August last year, during the Amazon Summit. The meeting’s final document included points debated by representatives of various movements.
“This is a model that Lula probably learned during the World Social Forums in Porto Alegre, which took place parallel to the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland. The great intelligence is to unite the two agendas, enhancing Brazilian leadership as a global articulator”, points out Feijó.
André Uzêda – Freelance reporter
