Lula involved himself in civil society to reform global institutions, stop the climate crisis, and stop the war in Gaza

International multilateralism and social inclusion. World peace, environmental protection and a strong civil society. On the doorstep of the G20 heads of state meeting starting on Monday, Brazilian President Lula da Silva delivered a fiery speech at the conclusion of the G20 Social, which enables civil society leadership for the first time in history. G20. “The G20 should happen every day, because there are 733 million residents suffering from hunger. In recent years, the world spent between two trillion and 400 billion dollars on weapons and almost nothing on food for those who need it,” the Brazilian president said. Lula, received as a true rock star At the G20 Social, he was particularly critical against economic neoliberalism: “To reach the heart of the ordinary citizen, governments need to break the growing dissonance between the voice of the markets and the voice of the streets. Neoliberalism has exacerbated the economic and political inequality that plagues democracies today. to overcome impasseLula believes the G20 needs to urgently discuss a series of measures to “reduce the cost of living and promote more balanced working days”.

Two hours after meeting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the Copacabana military fortress, Lula emphasized reform of global institutions. Surrounded by representatives of social movements and international civil society, Lula called for democratizing the Security Council: “When the United Nations was created, 56 countries participated in it, today it has 196 countries. Where is the African continent in the Security Council? Where is the Latin American continent? Yemeni Tawakkol Karman, the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who thanked Lula for defending the Palestinian people against “Israeli genocide”, said a few minutes earlier that only by reforming international institutions will global peace be achieved.

For his part, Ronald Ramola, South Africa’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, committed to repeating the G20 Social next year when the country assumes the presidency of the G20. Ramola, who also added the voice of global civil society to the process of multilateralism, strongly criticized Israel and compared apartheid

Historic South African standoff with Israel’s occupation of Palestine: “We will continue to demand accountability from the Israeli government. We are with the people of Palestine. We are going to liberate Palestine. Free Palestine,” Ramola concluded. “The G20 needs to commit to peace,” President Lula said.

The Brazilian President also mentioned the climate emergency. Citing various recent environmental disasters, including Dana in Valencia, Lula urged urgent action on the climate issue: “We are responsible for the only home we have, which is planet Earth.”

Lula promised to hand over to the remaining G20 presidents the declaration of the social summit, highlighting the civil society proposals worked on throughout the year and discussed over the past three days.

G20, Side B

Brazil has placed great emphasis on G20 parallel programming. Since last Wednesday, the warehouses of the port of Rio de Janeiro, reclaimed by the city for the 2016 Olympics, have been a center of activity. Relying on the legacy of the World Social Forum (the context of civil society participation in the 2000s) and the participatory legacy of the PT governments (2003–2016), the G20 has been one of the Brazilian bets to revolutionize social vertical mobility. G20. Speaking at the inauguration of the Social G20, Marcio Macedo, Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, said, “Without the participation of the people, these arrogant people will never again take over the G20.”

In addition to meetings, debates, plenary sessions and hundreds of self-managed activities, Pier Moua in the port of Rio de Janeiro has hosted the Urban 20 (U20, the meeting of the world’s chief mayors), the Cria Rede (A). Space and music festival with talks and workshops (digital influencers) coordinated by Aliança Global Against Hunger and Poverty, Brazil’s First Lady Janja da Silva. The B side of the G20, in addition to serving for civil society debate, is a strategic springboard for the Brazilian government. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said, “If there was no dialogue with society, these issues could not be discussed effectively.” Brazilian Culture Minister Margaretha Menezes says the Social G20 wants to “leave to the world a global governance proposal that recognizes the participation of civil society.”

From food sovereignty to AI

Tiago Ribeiro from the Coleta de Sementes co-operative of the Movimiento dos traductors rurais sem terra (MST) sells native seeds at the G20 social solidarity fair. “This space is an opportunity to show that there are alternatives to the international farming system based on patents and pesticides,” he assured elDiario.esAgainst monoculture, Tiago defends agroforestry exploitation systems that combine the protection of native forests and agriculture. A few meters away, inside one of the warehouses, a panel on food security highlighted the importance of solidarity kitchens, popular restaurants, food baskets and family farming. The initiative that Brazil will join the global coalition against hunger is Brazil’s STAR Initiative for the G20, which will be launched next Monday and already has the participation of 41 countries.

G20 Social is an extension of the Lula brand. It echoes not only its historical flags but also more glorious times of the past. Inside the Favelas Warehouse of the World Stage, which aims to communicate to the global peripheries, famed soccer player Cafu presented Angela, a black teenager in the audience Friday, with the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the last World Cup won by Brazil. Was. Cafu, captain of the 2002 team, said, “The favela is a world power.” We will act at the local level against climate change,” Los Angeles City Councilwoman Neisi Shutley said at a U20 panel Thursday.

Although the Social G20 is an attempt to salvage the legacy of thirteen years of Workers’ Party (PT) governments, some historical flags are absent. Changes in the world have modified some of the debates. The union centers its proposals on universal basic income and measures against job insecurity caused by digital platforms like Uber. Technological sovereignty, the historic flag of the Lula government, has disappeared from both the G20 and the social G20. At the Crea Rio event, the world of influencer The historical debate over the use of free software And licenses like Creative Commons. “We have opted for collaborative partnerships to give voice to the network of partners who already have operations in the regions. Free technologies should be included in future meetings,” Marcelo Branco, historical activist free software and one of the speakers for the G20 Social Communication Coordination.

As a counterpoint, key people in the fight fake news He closed Cria Rio with a G20 talks panel fight against disinformationOne of the two. After three days of workshops on algorithms, TikTok filters and the keys to monetizing Instagram accounts, Felipe Neto stressed the importance of fighting hate speech, Humberto Ribeiro (founder of Sleeping Giants Brazil) explained how the organization Fights against companies whose advertising funds the far right. And Filipino activist Mitzi Jonel attacked climate denialism.

Brazil’s big tech bet for the G20 is related to artificial intelligence. The São Luiz Declaration, drafted in meetings held throughout the year, offers recommendations for an artificial intelligence without algorithmic racism, digital inequality and human rights violations. Aisha Sayuri da Rocha, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), assured that artificial intelligence technologies that do not respect human rights should be banned.

Review

Despite efforts by the Brazilian government, not all civil society organizations participated in the G20 Social. The Brazilian Press Association hosted the Cupula dos Povos, a counter-event led by social and union movements to criticize the “law of silence” imposed by the government on participants in the social G20. “In DOM, the public expenditure control model that only benefits the financial market and the environmental paradox of the Lula government, which tries to reconcile economic growth with a discourse of energy conservation and transition, have been criticized,” he explains. Are. eldiario.es André Lobao, from the Rio de Janeiro Oil Workers Union (Sindipetro).

While Lula welcomed Antonio Guterres at the Copacabana fortress, the Marcha dos Povos, organized by three hundred social organizations, sent a clear message on its main banners: “Lula, break with Israel against genocide”, “Out of the G20 and global genocide “.