Despite the cancellation of the President’s state visit Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to China, former President Dilma Rousseff will travel to Shanghai to officially assume the position of President of the New Development Bank (NDB). Dilma was nominated by Lula and elected president of the financial institution set up by the BRICs, the bloc of countries made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
President Lula and exPresident Dilma Rousseff during the BNDES board inauguration ceremony in early February
Photo: Pedro Kirilos/Estadão / Estadão
Dilma will begin shipping from the bank’s headquarters and move to Shanghai, but the inauguration ceremony originally scheduled for March 30 has been cancelled. The ceremony is scheduled to coincide with Lula’s state visit to the Chinese President, Xi Jinping. The two governments are working on a new date. Proposal is May.
Government officials and Brazilian agribusiness entrepreneurs suggested that Lula should travel around May 18 to attend the local food fair SIAL, where Xi Jinping usually attends. Lula could round off his state visit to China with a trip to the G7 summit in Japan. However, diplomats are weighing potential Chinese sensitivities and availability on the country’s president’s agenda.
the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos FavaroShe confirmed the proposal for the trip in May, but said the new date now depends on a decision by China.
Dilma’s trip was corroborated by the report from diplomats, advisers to the former president and members of the Lula government. The Brazilian Ambassador in Beijing, Marcos Galvao, will travel to Shanghai to welcome Dilma and help with the initial procedures. She starts working immediately.
According to government officials, Dilma was able to travel to China with the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) aboard the largest aircraft in the fleet, an A330, which is being relieved by Brasília, to pick up Itamaraty and Presidency officials of the Republic. They had arrived in advance to prepare for Lula’s state visit, which was canceled at the last minute.
However, the NDB itself pays its employees international travel when they are hired, in addition to a subsidy for the Shanghai office. How Estao As it turned out, the bank accelerated internal processes and last Friday, the 24th, unanimously elected Dilma as the new President. The idea was to coincide with the visit of the President’s delegation to China.
The Lula government encouraged intervention in the command of the Bank of BRICs. The mandate of the President rotates according to a rotation scheme of members appointed by the governments of the participating countries. The diplomat and economist Marcos Troyjoappointed by the government Jair Bolsonarowho left office last week to pave the way for change in agreement with the Lula government over differences in positions.
It is the first time that the government has made such an intervention in the bank. It displeased diplomats linked to the financial institution’s management and was seen as a political gesture to rehabilitate Dilma, who had turned down other positions abroad when she was under investigation.
The election marks Dilma’s return to public office after being sacked by the National Congress. Dilma did not return to hold political office, only taking part in lectures, debates and scientific and partisan discussions.
The former president was charged seven years ago in a political context with disqualification from government during an impeachment investigation Operation Lava Jatoofficially accused of “fiscal kicking,” a maneuver to obfuscate the public accounts exposed by the Condition.
The former president had her impeachment approved by the House and Senate in a court filing, alleging a felony of accountability for the practice of socalled “fiscal pedals” (delays in payments to public banks) and for the issuance of inaugural credit without congressional authorization. The move was ignored by the bank in a statement after the former president’s name was approved.
Dilma will live and work in the new and modern building built for NDB and inaugurated in 2021. The city is a global financial center. It will work in an office overlooking the metropolis, China’s largest city, and will receive compensation on par with other multilateral banks, according to the institution’s executives.
Dilma is said to earn around 500,000 US dollars a year. The exact amount is not disclosed by the NDB, but people with experience in managing the bank say the parameter is the amount paid by the World Bank. Wanted, the NDB has not manifested.
The BRIC bank was created following a summit of heads of state held in Fortaleza in 2014 during Dilma’s tenure as President. One of the intentions was to expand credit sources and provide a counterpoint to the financial system and multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Currently, the investment portfolio is around $33 billion.