▲ After a stopover in Panama, where Foreign Minister Martínez-Acha received her, the president arrived in Rio de Janeiro at midnight.Photo Presidency
Alma E. Muñoz
Sent
La Jornada Newspaper
Monday, November 18, 2024, p. 3
Rio de Janeiro., Amid strong security, the G-20 summit begins this Monday, which brings together the world’s main economies. In what is her first international tour, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo will participate in two plenary sessions: one on the global alliance against poverty and one on reform of global governance institutions.
The president arrived in Rio de Janeiro after midnight, local time, on a commercial flight – with a stopover in Panama – although by official protocol she did not leave the Galeão airport like the rest of the passengers, but rather through the diplomatic gate. Their trip from Mexico City lasted more than 11 hours.
During her stopover in Panama, she was received by Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha at the Tocumen International Airport. Both expressed their interest in consolidating cooperation on key issues, such as trade, migration, security and investment.
According to a statement from the Panamanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Mexican Foreign Minister, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, invited his counterpart to visit Mexico and coordinate a meeting between Sheinbaum and President José Raúl Mulino.
Before the G-20, Sheinbaum will present the Fourth Transformation project and the social development model applied in Mexico, emphasizing the increase in salaries and social programs, such as the Pension for the Well-being of the Elderly and Sembrando Vida. The latter will present it as an option to combat poverty, promote local development, reduce migration and contribute to the fight against climate change.
He will also propose to the G-20 that one percent of spending on arms be allocated to caring for those most in need.
The president has confirmed meetings with the presidents of Brazil, the host Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; France, Emmanuel Macron, and South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol.
He will also meet with the Prime Ministers of Canada, Justin Trudeau; from the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer; from India, Narendra Modi; from Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, and from Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh.
At this summit, Brazil will insist on its proposal – based on studies by French economist Gabriel Zucman – to impose a tax on large fortunes to finance the fight against hunger.
Zucman maintains that if all the billionaires in the world paid a 2 percent tax on their wealth, between 200 and 250 billion dollars could be raised, although the proposal has already been rejected by the United States, Germany and Argentina.
For this meeting, 1,300 media registered. Meanwhile, in the streets the strong security device stands out, which includes elements of the army with tanks.
In previous days, it was reported that 26,000 members of the security forces had been deployed by the Brazilian government, including 2,900 soldiers, to particularly monitor the streets surrounding the Museum of Modern Art, the area where the summit will take place.
President Sheinbaum will fly back to Mexico tomorrow.
