The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) starting this Monday with very divided positions on the global geopolitical situation and in which the host president, Lula da Silva, promotes a new tax global for billionaires, an initiative that Spain supports.
According to government sources, The main countries of the world face this event with very divided positions on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, between the so-called countries of the global south, and those that make up the expanded G7, among which is Spain.
Specifically, in the first group there is a great influence from the so-called BRICS, powers such as India, China, Russia and Brazil that are acting in unison in a very forceful way to assert their vision and interests against Western countries. This circumstance makes work difficult to advance an ambitious and meaningful G20 final declaration and, therefore, it is likely that references to the global geopolitical situation will be left out of it.
Global initiative against hunger and poverty
The main issue promoted by the Brazilian presidency is a global initiative against hunger and poverty, which includes establishing a new tax for the super-rich and that Spain supports, as confirmed by government sources, who point out that the Government of Pedro Sánchez has approved similar initiatives. at the national level and, therefore, will support it through coherence and conviction.
In this sense, they indicate that they are pushing to mobilize innovative financing sources that will cover the needs that exist to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and climate objectives in the coming years.
Spain will support this initiative, but it is still not clear how it will be reflected in the final declaration. something that is negotiated intensely in the days before the start of the summit because not all countries have the same opinion about establishing this new tax.
In addition to the tax, this initiative against hunger and poverty tries to focus on the reduction of inequalities and will possibly be configured as a space within the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the exchange of good practices and with financial contributions that are yet to be detailed.
Sánchez intervenes in two sessions
Regarding President Sánchez’s participation in the summit, he is scheduled to speak in the first two sessions, which will take place on Monday, one dedicated to social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty and the second on reform of global governance institutions. The last one, which takes place on Tuesday, will be on sustainable development and energy transitions.
The Government is also pleased to have managed to incorporate into the final declaration the reference to the fourth International Development Financing Conference to be held in Seville in June 2025.
They consider that it is an important milestone because it will be one of the first occasions in which the desire to reform the multilateral system, specifically the international financial architecture, is expressed, with concrete actions, so that it responds effectively to the needs to meet the SDGs. .
Trump and Milei
On the other hand, the sources consulted emphasize the role of Argentina and how, in their opinion, it has changed in this forum since the arrival of Javier Milei to the presidency. In this sense, they point out that it is being deeply negative due to its lack of ambition and its efforts to block.
For example, they point out that it is very contrary to the tax issue and is also radically opposed to any mention in the working documents of gender equality, the SDGs or climate change.
Finally, regarding the influence of Donald Trump’s recent victory in the United States, they point out that they are in a transition process and the country’s representatives who are in the G20 belong to the administration of current president Joe Biden, with whom Spain shares a position. on several topics such as the reform of the international financial system, the treatment of debt, some points on climate change or the promotion of renewable energies.
The Government is aware, however, that with the arrival of Trump some of these positions may change, especially with respect to trade, although it will not yet be reflected in the final declaration of this G20.
