Data are from a UN-led survey; Experts say the debt has been affected by the current political context, but increased during Dilma’s government.
President and re-election candidate Jair Bolsonaro (PL) will deliver the opening speech of the plenary debate of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York this Tuesday (20/09). Brazil is coming to the event with a US$306 million debt equivalent to R$1.5 billion to the UN. The data was collected by the organization at the request of BBC News Brasil. The value does not include debts between Brazil and other international organizations.
Under UN rules, if a country accumulates two years or more of debt related to its regular contributions, it can forfeit its voting rights. Brazil made some debt payments to avoid this scenario.
The loss of voting rights has never happened in Brazil since the organization was founded in 1945. According to the UN press office, there are currently no signs of any change in Brazil’s voting rights.
When contacted, the Brazilian government offered different figures on the debt, saying Brazil was “sparing no effort” to repay its debt to the UN, but noting that it was dependent on budgetary support from the Executive and Legislature. solve debts..
debt details
According to UN rules, each member state has to pay a contribution for the regular functioning of the organisation. These values are calculated based on criteria such as the size of each country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Brazil is responsible for 2% of the normal budget of the organization. The United States is responsible for the highest rate: 22%.
In addition to regular contributions, countries are required to contribute to UN peacekeeping missions. Since the founding of the UN, Brazil has been one of the most active countries in peacekeeping missions around the world. For example, in 2004 he directed the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) in Haiti.
According to a UN study, $249 million of the $306.7 million Brazil owes the organization is related to Brazil’s debts to peacekeeping missions that have accumulated in other years.
The other 56.4 million US dollars is related to the amount that Brazil should pay as a regular contribution to the UN budget.
The remaining US$1 million relates to Brazil’s debts to international courts such as those set up to prosecute war crimes in the Balkans and the African continent.
BBC News Brazil asked the UN for a full list of indebted countries, but received no response. The organization reports that only 125 out of 193 member countries have paid their regular contributions by September this year.
Also, according to the UN, the amount of debt already includes partial payments made by the Brazilian government between May, June and July of this year.
Diplomats shyly interviewed by BBC News Brasil say these payments were made to prevent Brazil from losing its vote in the UN General Assembly for several years.
They compare these payments with revolving loan payments on a credit card where only a percentage of the debt is paid to avoid default.
what does the government say
Called, both Itamaraty and the Ministry of Economy presented different data to the UN on the value of Brazil’s debt.
Itamaraty said through its press office that Brazil owes the organization $296 million, which is about $10 million less than the amount offered by the UN.
The Ministry said that transfers for the payment of debts are the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy.
When contacted, the Ministry of Economy offered an even lower figure: US$232.6 million.
According to the data sent by the ministry, Brazil’s debt as determined by the UN will be more than the debt recorded in September 2021, totaling US$255.8 million. However, the amount will be lower than the debts recorded in previous years.
According to the ministry, Brazil’s debt in 2020 was US$352.1 million. In 2019, it was $411.6 million. In 2018, the debt was $352.1 million.
Experts state that the debt dates back to the Dilma period.
Experts interviewed by BBC News Brasil say Brazil’s debt to the UN has started to worsen in the second term of former President Dilma Rousseff (PT), but debt management is a reflection of international policy led by President Bolsonaro.
“If we look at the data, we can see that things have finally gone off the rails with the Dilma government. There is a cut in payments, and it’s getting worse,” said the federal professor of International Affairs. University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) Dawisson Belém Lopes.
For Mariana Kalil, Doctor of International Relations and Professor of the Defense Department’s War College (ESG), this isn’t the first time Brazil is indebted to the UN, but the country’s current debt has to be taken with the asset. Consider the political context of the country.
“The difference is context. No doubt there is the issue of the pandemic affecting several countries financially, but there is also an ‘anti-globalization’ rhetoric coming from Brazil. The contribution controls the country’s commitment to the post WWII multilateral order,” he said.
“Anti-globalization” is an ideological trend that questions the multilateral order in which countries will act in a coordinated manner through bodies such as the UN. One of the main proponents of this ideology in Brazil was Ernesto Araújo, the former Foreign Minister of the Bolsonaro government.
According to the Transparency Portal, the government has set aside $211 million for the payment of contributions to the UN. So far, only $33 million of that total has been spent.
In a note, the Ministry of Economy said Brazil’s debt to the UN was due to “inadequate budget allocation”.
When asked about the estimate for the payment of the debt, the ministry said that “there should be an additional provision to the LOA (Annual Budget Act) for the payment of debts”.
Itamaraty attributed the debt to “fiscal constraints” in the federal budget.
“Debts include amounts in various currencies, and their payments, like other budgetary transactions, are subject to fiscal restrictions applied to the federal budget within the amounts prescribed in the Annual Budget Act,” the ministry said in a note to the BBC. News Brazil.
Also, according to Itamaraty, the government is trying to “equalize” the debt with the UN.
“The Brazilian government spared no effort to resolve its debt situation with the United Nations, in keeping with the country’s historic commitment to the multilateral system and the UN Charter,” the agency said.
Bolsonaro is expected to deliver the first address of the heads of state of the UN General Assembly plenary discussion this Tuesday morning (20/9). The talk is scheduled to begin around 9 pm. He is expected to return to Brazil in the afternoon.
– This text was published in: https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-62966074
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source: Noticias
