The conference cycle “The Brazilian Crisis” welcomes diplomat Rubens Ricupero on November 6th, at 10 am, to address the topic “The Crisis of International Relations” in the auditorium of the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM) at Unicamp. Born in São Paulo, he served as minister of the Environment and Legal Amazon and Finance in the Itamar Franco government (1992-1995) and headed Brazilian embassies in Geneva, Washington and Rome. Organized by the Institute for Advanced Studies (IdEA), the event is the fourth activity in the cycle, which began in September.
For Ricupero, in many aspects the crisis in Brazil's foreign relations is part of a global phenomenon that affects the international system. Despite preceding the election of United States President Donald Trump, this crisis was accelerated and worsened by the last North American election, says the diplomat.
Among the characteristics of the current scenario, he points out the progressive erosion of the principles and institutions that shaped the international system since the end of the Second World War and the tendency to return to the era of affirmation of nationalist interests by great powers, as occurred before 1914. . Furthermore, it cites the strategic competition between the United States and China in all areas – and the risk of pressure on other countries to choose one side or another – and the multiplication of violations of the UN Charter – such as the Turkish invasion in the north of Syria, interference in the civil war in Yemen and the reopening of old conflicts in Asia.
Ricupero also relates the worsening prospects for the economy and trade and the low growth outlook in Latin America once again shaken by popular protest movements. According to the diplomat, “the current Brazilian government is not capable of making a correct diagnosis of international problems and, based on a vision of extreme right-wing ideology that distorts reality, it has developed a foreign policy that breaks with the independent and balanced policy that Brazil had been following for decades.”
The consequence of this scenario, highlights Ricupero, is the isolation of Brazil, which has come to be seen as an enemy of the environment, human rights and most of the aspirations of the international community. “In the Amazon fire crisis, all of this appeared clearly. This increases the danger that foreign policy, including environmental policy, will end up causing negative consequences for the economic recovery policy, at a time when it will most need external support.”
Between 1995 and 2004, Rubens Ricupero held the post of secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), in Geneva. During the same period, he was Under-Secretary-General of the UN. He was also a professor of History of Brazilian Diplomatic Relations at the Rio Branco Institute and of International Relations Theory at the University of Brasília (UnB). In the academic area, he is currently director of Faculdade Armando Álvares Penteado (FAAP), in São Paulo.
He is the author of several books and essays on the history of diplomacy, as well as works on international relations, economic development and world trade. His most recent book is “A Diplomacia na Construção do Brasil - 1750-2016” (Editora Versal), published in 2017, which received the Senador José Ermírio de Moraes Award, from the Brazilian Academy of Letters, last year.
“The Brazilian Crisis” is an initiative that aims to bring important names from different areas of knowledge to Unicamp as a way of stimulating the discussion of current topics in search of diagnoses and solutions for the various crises that afflict the country's life. Every month, the event features a lecture by one or two experts, who address relevant topics with space for debate with the public.
Conference Cycle “The Brazilian Crisis”
Speaker: Rubens Ricupero
Topic: “The Crisis of International Relations”
Order date: November 6th, 2019
Open Hours: 10h
Location: Auditorium of the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM) at Unicamp
Address: Rua Tessália Vieira de Camargo, 126, Cidade Universitária, Campinas
Presented by: Institute of Advanced Studies (IdEA) at Unicamp
Registrations
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