Nov 10 2023 | Nº. 92

Editorial

The Lula government this week got closer to passing an expansive overhaul of the nation’s tax system, a longstanding policy aim that has frustrated presidents for decades. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has stressed the importance of revising the nation’s tax code to, among other things, spur internal and foreign investment and implement a more progressive system of tax collection. Haddad made clear since the start of the year that a tax overhaul was a major priority in addition to the new fiscal framework approved in late August. Amid ongoing tensions between the Lula administration and Congress over nominations and pork barrel spending, there was some doubt in recent weeks as to whether Haddad could drag the tax reform over the finish line. “There was a lot of action on the part of the opposition against the reform,” Haddad noted on Wednesday. He added: “In my opinion, this polarized the debate a little, which is a Brazilian issue. The proposed constitutional amendment was not even presented in this government. It had already been in progress since 2019.” While Haddad lamented some of the compromises necessary to ensure the reform passed in the Senate, he expressed confidence that the country’s economy would benefit from the new framework after its likely approval in the lower house of Congress. This would be yet another major victory for Haddad’s economic vision, one relatively more aligned with market priorities than some in the Workers’ Party would like. 

Another positive news story this week was the release of Brazilian citizens stuck in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing bombardment. Late last week, Celso Amorim, Lula’s closest foreign policy advisor, had said the Israeli government assured him Brazilians would receive permission to leave by Wednesday at the latest. As Wednesday this week came and went, the Brazilians still had not been granted clearance, leading to reports of increasing irritation with the Israeli government from the Lula administration. Finally, on Friday, it was reported that 34 Brazilians were included on the list of names allowed to leave Gaza across the Egyptian border. With its citizens now out of harm’s way, it would not be surprising if the Brazilian government takes a harder line in its criticism of Israel in the days and weeks ahead. Lula has already reportedly made clear, for example, that Brazil will vocally oppose an Israeli occupation of Gaza. Another complicating factor politically is the fact that Israel’s ambassador this week met with former president Jair Bolsonaro in a meeting the embassy later said had been intended only for members of Congress. Brazil likely will not recall its ambassador to Israel as Colombia, Chile, and Bolivia have done, but the Lula administration is likely to escalate its criticisms of the Benjamin Netanyahu government. 

Highlights

• HEZBOLLAH. Two men were arrested by the Federal Police accused of planning attacks against Jewish community buildings in Brazil. Two other Brazilians living in Lebanon were also accused of being part of the plan. Interpol issued arrest warrants abroad against them. As part of the operation, the Brazilian Court issued 11 search and seizure warrants in three Brazilian states: Minas Gerais, São Paulo and the Federal District. The men are suspected of having connections with Hezbollah, a Shiite group that supports Hamas in Gaza and has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces on the border between Lebanon and Israel.

• NEW CONVICTION. Former President Jair Bolsonaro was convicted in a third criminal case that takes away his political rights and prevents him from contesting new elections until 2030. In addition to Bolsonaro, retired general Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro’s vice-presidential running mate in 2022, was also convicted. In the case of Braga Netto, it was the second conviction of its kind. As the penalties are not cumulative, there is no practical effect, but the political damage is great for both. The duo is already banned by the Electoral Court from contesting elections for the next eight years.

• LIST OF CONVICTIONS. Bolsonaro's first conviction concerns the meeting he held with foreign ambassadors in Brasília to propagate lies about electronic voting machines and the Brazilian electoral system. The second, in which Braga Netto was condemned along with Bolsonaro, deals with the use of the Independence Parade on September 7, 2022 for electoral purposes. The third conviction concerns different aspects of this same event on September 7th.

• INDEFINITENESS. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been slow to nominate names of jurists for key positions in important judiciary institutions, including the Attorney General's Office, responsible for investigating high-ranking Brazilian authorities, including the president. This week, the press reported Lula's meetings with one of those considered for the position, Deputy Attorney General Aurélio Rios, who is considered progressive and critical of Lava Jato. Lula's appointments in the sector need to be approved by the Senate, where the president negotiates public positions and budget amendments in the name of greater political support.

• UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAMS. Thousands of Brazilian students participated this week in the ENEM, an acronym for the National High School Exam, which is the gateway for high school students to enter Brazilian universities. The test included questions that highlighted important themes for progressive sectors, including criticism of agribusiness and appreciation of important figures from the Left, such as educator Paulo Freire, who was demonized during the Bolsonaro government. In newspapers and on social media, right-wing politicians criticized the tone of the test, accusing the current government of ideologizing the test.

• TARGET ZERO. Last week was marked by an apparent divergence between President Lula and Economy Minister Fernando Haddad. Haddad defended the idea that the government should eliminate its current account deficit by the end of the year, but Lula said that it was more important to govern by building things and investing in public policies than by bringing cash accounts to zero. This week, Haddad received support in defending the goal from two strong allies: the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, and of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco. The different approaches to the issue, within the government, became a point to be explored by opponents.

NEWS FROM SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS AND MOVEMENTS:

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. On November 6 and 7, the WBO, the Special Rapporteurship on Freedom of Expression, the Special Rapporteurship on Economic, Cultural and Environmental Rights, Article 19, Brazilian Movement on Freedom of Artistic Expression (MOBILE), PEN International, ARC/PEN América, IFEX Global and the Regional Alliance for Freedom of Expression, Samambaia.org, the National Art Foundation (FUNARTE), and partner personalities held a seminar in Washington, D.C. to discuss the adoption of protection parameters for freedom of artistic expression and the human rights of cultural professionals in the Americas.

AFRO-DESCENDANT FORUM. The Peregum Black Reference Institute has information on its website about collecting suggestions for the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent that will take place in Switzerland from April 16 to 19, 2024. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights invites civil society to engage in the process of formulating the content that will be covered at the forum meeting.

CLIMATE EMERGENCIES. Greenpeace Brazil launched a signature collection campaign to pressure Brazilian public authorities to implement the National Adaptation Plan for Climate Emergencies. The organization notes that 345 million people were affected by the rains in Brazil from 2013 to 2022 and more than 8 million Brazilians live in areas vulnerable to these events, which are increasingly extreme.

Feature Article

by Benoni Belli

Brazil in the Organization of American States: in search of possible convergence

The OAS (Organization of American States) is the oldest active regional organization in the world. Its Charter was adopted in 1948, but the OAS is heir to the Pan-American conference processes that began at the end of the 19th century and led to the creation of the Pan-American Union in 1910. Throughout its history, the inter-American system was responsible for consolidating principles such as peaceful settlement of disputes, non-interference in the internal affairs of States and respect for the territorial integrity of States. With the founding of the OAS and in the following years, these principles were complemented by the defense of democracy, the protection of human rights and the search for development and security. As a founder of the OAS, Brazil actively participated in this process from the very beginning, helping to shape the system.

Despite these important principles, there has always been a clear asymmetry of power between the United States and other countries in the region. Unlike the UN Security Council, however, whose five permanent members have privileges, the rule of legal equality for all prevails in the OAS, as well as the principle of one country, one vote. Although this rule does not erase the reality of the differences in the size of economies, populations, per capita income, military power and levels of well-being throughout the region, it is clear that the multilateral environment imposes on everyone, without exception, certain constraints derived from common rules.

At times, due to international circumstances, the United States had a decisive influence on the direction of the Organization, especially in the immediate post-Second World War period. The end of the Cold War, the pacification of Central America and the democratic transitions in several countries in the region in the 1980s and 1990s changed the terms of the equation. Once a hostage of East-West bipolarity, the OAS began to reflect a more complex game and the growing independence of the countries in the region, which, freed from the constraints of automatic alignment, began to pursue their own interests, with moments of greater or lesser convergence between different actors over the last few decades.

It is from this period that the OAS develops new capabilities. Optimism and the feeling of convergence shortly after the end of the Cold War contributed to this evolution, which coincided, to a large extent, with the presence and leadership of Ambassador João Clemente Baena Soares as Secretary General of the Organization (1984-1994). During this period, the OAS became the Organization of all American States, with the accession of Canada, Belize, Guyana, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. The foundations were also laid for more robust Electoral Observation Missions and new rules for the defense of democracy that would lead to the adoption of the Inter-American Democratic Charter in 2001. The atmosphere that existed during the period allowed Baena Soares to play an active mediation role in conflicts in Central America and in Haiti, with intensive use of diplomacy.

Many observers of the OAS contrast that golden period with a more recent moment, which has had as its distinctive feature the increase in political polarization and the withdrawal of countries such as Venezuela and Nicaragua from the Organization. New divisions have emerged in a context characterized by the relative loss of civility in domestic politics, the increase in political extremism and denialism, combined with digital guerrilla strategies and the spread of misinformation in our era of social media. All of this also had a negative effect on the OAS. Political Manichaeism began to dictate both political bodies' decisions and posts on social media, contaminating the air that is breathed in the Organization's corridors. Despite this, the OAS continued to provide important services as a platform to address common challenges not only in democracy, electoral cooperation and human rights, but also in areas such as conflict mediation and prevention, combating organized crime and drug trafficking, access to healthcare, technical cooperation, and sustainable development and climate change.

This positive role of the Organization is often overshadowed by higher-octane political issues, so to speak, which end up projecting an image of fragmentation. The key for the OAS's image to be restored and its relevance strengthened lies in reviving the good old diplomatic dialogue, inspired by the example of Baena Soares. The difference is that today the political environment in the region and in the world is more charged, which will require additional doses of prudence and creativity. Brazil is proposing, in this sense, a discussion on negotiating practices and rules of procedure with the aim of expanding negotiation spaces, in order to allow any proposal from political bodies to be prepared with transparency and greater engagement of all, as opposed to texts being prepared in secret by small groups, a practice that tends to undermine trust and generate more polarization and dysfunctionality.

In addition to making procedural rules more participatory, guaranteeing legitimate decisions and real consensus whenever possible, it will be essential to employ temperance in the processes and ways of seeking to implement commitments in human rights and democracy. The high standards and obligations in these fields are not negotiable, but in times of great polarization, extra care is needed so that the defense of these commitments is not seen as biased, politically motivated or an attempt to favor different sides in internal disputes within the countries. Hence the importance of avoiding the automatic resort to punishment, which closes space for dialogue, causing counterproductive isolation. To put it in an illustrative and synthetic image: it is necessary to replace the demands made on “X” (formerly Twitter) with diplomacy and dialogue in order to preserve the ability of the OAS and its political bodies to speak with credibility on behalf of high common standards. Otherwise, there is a risk of a gradual emptying of the Organization, with the consequent dehydration of its weight and relevance.

Benoni Belli is a career diplomat and Permanent Representative of Brazil to the OAS.

Feature articles express the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or WBO.