Will we return to credit for exporting corruption?

Aside from the crazy rhetoric that compared the Israeli attack on Gaza to the Holocaust, Lula's trip to Africa showed more evidence of Brazil's loss of international trust in recent years.

As you mentioned valueUpon landing in Egypt on February 14, he was received by the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Ahmed Issa, a member of the Labor Party, at Cairo Airport. Four hours later, Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an arrival that was broadcast live on Egypt’s official internet channels.

Although Egypt is Brazil's second largest trading partner in Africa, and Brazilian exports of Egyptian products total $489 million, the volume of trade exchange between the African country and Turkey is greater.

The trade balance between these countries reached $5.875 billion in 2023, with a 28% increase in exports from Egypt to Turkey last year, with a total of $2.9 billion.

Business expansion without corruption?

The point of “Unjust revenge” Minister Dias Toffoli, of the Federal Supreme Court, for his clarification of the role of the judiciary in Brazil worsens in corruption perception ratingTransparency International said it was legitimate for Brazil to invest in South-South cooperation, as long as it was without the corruption that characterized its expansionist project in the past.

In its profile on the social network Odebrechtthe current Novonur.

“It is legitimate and desirable for Brazil to invest in South-South cooperation in the interest of economic and social progress. But without the corruption that characterized its expansionist project in the past. During that period, 80% of the export credit for BNDES services went to one company: Odebrecht.

Through subsidized credit, Odebrecht exported corruption to Africa and Latin America, generating poverty, political instability, and environmental destruction. Impunity persists in these countries, and this has been exacerbated by the recent decision taken by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Toffelli, who canceled all evidence and confessions of crimes.

More recently, BNDES announced that it will reopen the Services Export Credit Line. It is not a problem in itself, many countries do the same thing, with good results. The problem is that this once again becomes a source of export corruption.

In 2023, the Controller General of the Federation signed a cooperation agreement with the BNDES, among other measures, to strengthen compliance in companies benefiting from the credit. During Lula's trip to Africa, the two parties signed an anti-corruption agreement with Cape Verde. These are still very timid steps, but they are in the right direction.

It is essential that Brazilian institutions and society be attentive and active to prevent total corruption from once again contaminating the leadership that Brazil can and should have in the developing world.

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