Rosa-Luxemburg-Foundation Brussels is hosting this online discussion right after the election in Brazil to discuss the impact of the voting result on the sustainability of the economic relations between the EU and Brazil.
The world is eagerly watching the presidential election in Brazil, which will take place on October 2, 2022. The race is between far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and former president, Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva of the leftist Workers’ Party (PT), who achieved significant improvements in living standards for millions during his tenure.
Under Bolsonaro, indigenous peoples and the Amazon have been exploited on an unprecedented scale, with this ecosystem rapidly approaching a dangerous tipping point — more and more rainforest has been cleared for meat production and raw materials. At the same time, Bolsonaro stoked racism and class hatred.
But the significance of the election result goes far beyond Brazil’s borders: the planned free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay) would have serious consequences for climate protection and economic development: fires in the Amazon would continue to increase, greenhouse gases would continue to rise, and local food production would suffer. A recent study shows how much influence the European automotive industry has exerted to influence the text of the treaty in its favor: Access to cheap raw materials for car manufacturing on the one hand (copper, lithium, cowhide) and even better sales opportunities for European-made cars in Brazil through tariff reductions. This would also have consequences for the existing local vehicle production in Brazil: here a deindustrialisation and the loss of thousands of jobs are threatening.
Tuesday, 4 October 2022
from 20:00 to 21:30 CET (15:00 Sao Paulo, Brazil)
online (zoom link will be sent after registration)
Interpretation: English, German, Portuguese
Registration required: please register by sending an email to manuela.kropp[a]rosalux.org
You can find more information on the website of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Brussels.
Programme
We would like to discuss the following questions with our speakers:
- What does the present election result mean for Brazil and the left in Latin America and Europe?
- What are the implications of the present election result for the negotiations on the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement?
- What must a progressive trade agreement between Mercosur and the EU look like that ensures climate protection and good work in all regions?
- How can a threatening deindustrialisation in Brazil be prevented and local production in regional value chains be expanded?
Speakers:
- Celso Amorim, Former Minister of Foreign Relations and Former Minister of Defense, Brazil
- Helmut Scholz, Member of the European Parliament, Parliamentary Group THE LEFT (DIE LINKE.), Coordinator in the Committee on International Trade (INTA), Germany
- Terra Budini, professor and coordinator of the Professional Master for Global Governance and International Policy Making, PUC-SP, Brazil
Moderation:
- Dr. Arif Rüzgar, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Brussels