One of the world’s largest agricultural producers and until recently a leader in the fight against hunger, Brazil is experiencing an embarrassing situation at the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). The Brazilian government could forfeit the right to vote in the institution in 2023 without completing the payment of its mandatory contribution.
FAO data obtained by the column reveal that Brazil last paid its contribution in 2019, the first year of Jair Bolsonaro’s tenure. Since then, the transfers have been stopped.
The rule of thumb dictates that a government that completes two years without paying full deposits forfeits the right to vote on the agency’s decisions. Today, Brazil contributes about 3% of the FAO budget, and if it pays its dues, it will make the eighth largest contribution to the agency’s budget.
Itamaraty, who wanted to comment on the situation, declined to comment, according to the report.
In 2023, the FAO Council meets to determine the direction of the fight against hunger in the world. But if it does not pay its debt by the end of the year, Brazil will not be able to speak up in the decisions.
Even if he eventually escaped forfeiting his rights, the situation with the Brazilian government has been described by agency officials as “shameful” and “revealing” the current foreign policy.
According to FAO figures, Brazil owed the asset $23.5 million and €16.6 million. In the FAO budget, part of the payments is in US currency and the second installment is in euros as a way to reduce the impact of exchange rate changes on the institution’s budget.
To retain all its rights in the FAO, Brazil had to pay the amounts for at least 2020. This would include payments of US$7.6 million and €5.5 million to at least retain the right to vote. Countries like Venezuela, Iran or Libya are also threatened with losing votes.
Brazil’s payments crisis is not limited to the situation at FAO. At the UN, the government also has to pay. However, the government elected to the agency’s Security Council had to find funds to guarantee the transfer of funds to the UN before the end of the year.
Brazil’s debt to the food establishment has angered Brazilian José Graziano da Silva, who ran the institution between 2012 and 2019. Graziano was a minister in the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and is considered the father of the Zero Hunger programme.
“Brazil has not paid the mandatory FAO contribution quota since 2019 and risks being excluded from the agency’s decisions,” he said. “If he does not pay at least part of his debt, he loses his voting rights,” he said.
“This is unacceptable. FAO has symbolic value at a time when Brazil is trying to re-establish itself in the world. World hunger-fighting measures will be discussed here. Brazil will have a lot to add. Take”, Graziano said.
He remembered that in 2002 the FAO had sent a special mission in Brazil that stayed for weeks and helped establish Zero Hunger.
Graziano underlined that Lula once again made it a priority to remove Brazil from the hunger map. Therefore, it is important for him to make a move to pay this bill. The former head of the FAO also highlighted how Bolsonaro distributed benefits to various sectors, including truck drivers, who had been part of the coup d’état in recent days, before the election as debts piled up abroad.
According to Senator Kátia Abreu, “The Bolsonaro government’s lack of appreciation for international organizations and for everyone is notorious”.
The former Minister of Agriculture in Dilma Rousseff’s government still cites the inconsistency between the president’s speech and his actions abroad. “FAO is particularly concerned with food and food production. So it should be the #1 priority, but Bolsonaro said no one is going hungry in Brazil,” said the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“I believe that in January 2023, the Lula government will repay Brazil’s debts to FAO and other organizations,” he said. “Brazil should be a leading player, not a supporting player, in front of the world,” he insisted. “Credibility is in the details,” the Senator stressed.
source: Noticias
