Brazil is against the economic sanctions resulting from the war between Russia and Ukraine, said today (19) the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes. On a trip to the United States, the minister asked for Russia to remain in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but said that the Brazilian government condemns the invasion of Ukraine, from a “geopolitical point of view”.
Guedes attended a meeting of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a center for international studies in Washington. According to him, the Brazilian Constitution only allows the country to support sanctions approved by the United Nations (UN), which did not occur in the current conflict, in which sanctions were decided by the United States, the European Union and other developed countries.
Guedes declared that Brazil is in favor of building “dialogue bridges” with Russia to negotiate an end to the conflict. The statement is in line with the statement made by Chancellor Carlos França, who yesterday (18) defended the Russia’s stay in the G20group of the 20 largest economies on the planet.
In the assessment of the minister, who will be in the United States throughout the week participating in IMF, World Bank and G20 meetings, an eventual expulsion of Russia from the IMF could worsen the conflict. According to Guedes, the current rules of the Monetary Fund do not allow the expulsion of any member and such an initiative would stimulate an even greater economic war.
Guedes, however, said that Brazil does not support the invasion of Ukraine. “From a geopolitical point of view, Brazil condemns the invasion. We are the only BRICS country [grupo composto por Brasil, Rússia, Índia, China e África do Sul] condemning the invasion,” he declared. The minister recalled that Brazil voted three times at the UN against the occupation of Ukraine.
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Earlier, Guedes met with representatives of US companies. At the meeting, held at the headquarters of the Brazil-United States Business Council, the minister presented updated statistics on the Brazilian economy and mentioned the recovery of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, sum of wealth produced) last year. Guedes also spoke about the structural reform agenda of the economic team and the timetable for concessions and privatizations.
The minister had lunch with the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Afonso Bevilaqua, and met with the Indonesian Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani. According to the Ministry of Economy, Brazil is negotiating free trade agreements with Indonesia and Vietnam, which could have an impact of BRL 25.7 billion on Brazilian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2040.
