The Role of Brazil in the Global Governance

3 Introduction ― The government has made a political decision to insert Brazil into the world as a major country, a country which likes to respect others but at the same time a country which wants to be respected. We will not accept any more participating in international politics as if we were the poor little ones of Latin America, a „little country‟ of the Third World, a „little country‟ which has street children, which only knows how to play football, and only knows how to enjoy carnival. This country does have street children, has carnival and has football. But this country has much more. This country has greatness …this country has everything to be the equal of any other country in the world. And we will not give up on this goal.‖ (Fragment of a speech by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the lunch offered to the graduating students at the Rio Branco Institute in 2003 1 ) In the recent years, Brazil has emerged as a strong actor on the global stage. After several political and economic changes – among them the global financial crisis – the era of US unilateralism has ended and new centers of power have come out. Brazil is one of the countries that has benefited from the international disorder. It has come out from the 2008 financial crisis more quickly and much better than the other countries. The country has reached high levels of economic growth (the gross domestic product – GDP – was nearly 2 trillion dollars in 2008), it has reduced the inflation, it had attracted foreign investments and it had hold its currency – the real 2 – stable. This is 1 “Discurso do Presidente da República, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, em almoço oferecido aos formandos do Instituto Rio Branco” (“Speech by the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the lunch offered to the graduating students of the Rio Branco Institute”), September 18, 2003, available from http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/sala-de-imprensa/discursos-artigos- entrevistas-e-outras-comunicacoes/presidente-da-republica-federativa-do-brasil/18774501213- discurso-do-presidente-da-republica-luiz-inacio 2 The name of the current Brazilian currency came both from the Real Unity of Value (a transition currency) and from an older currency that existed until 1942. In Portuguese it is called "Real", meaning "royal", as it originated in Portugal, then a monarchy.