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Brazil’s presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) on Friday called on the United States to support the country in its quest to bridge developed world and the developing countries often referred to as the Global South.
Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (Lula) has had a longstanding objective to give the Global South a larger voice in decision-making in multilateral institutions.
He made this objective one of three pillars of this year’s G20 presidency, together with social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty, and energy transition.
Lula’s global governance priority appears to be UN reform and the expansion of the UN Security Council, but that is unlikely to happen during Brazil’s G20 presidency.
Additionally, Security Council expansion would not guarantee Brazil a seat on a reformed Security Council—a longtime Brazilian strategic goal.
While UN Security Council reform is a worthy ambition, alongside reform of the Bretton Woods Institutions, a more effective near-term opportunity for Brazil to position itself as a bridge to the Global South is to conclude accession talks to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
"It would also serve U.S. strategic interests for Brazil to have a seat at this table given the Joe Biden administration’s keen focus on the collective action of democracies and market-based economies, the two defining features of OECD members.
"The United States should support Brazil with whatever technical assistance it needs to finish its outstanding structural reforms to conform to OECD standards, primarily through the Inter-American Development Bank which already provided some initial assistance.
"The United States should galvanize other OECD members and international organizations to provide similar support," the presidency added.
