THE G20 SUMMIT IN BRAZIL

Milei: Bullshits and meetings with Georgieva and Xi Jinping

PCR Argentina, 

On November 18 and 19, the G20 meeting took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was the nineteenth meeting of the heads of state of the world's main economic powers. There was one major absentee at this summit: Russia. The International Criminal Court could arrest Putin if he moves to territories in America, Europe or Oceania.

Social inclusion, fight against hunger and poverty; support for the taxation of billionaires; measures for energy transition; speedy action against climate change, these were the main commitments made by the heads of state gathered at the G20.

Brazil presented the launch of a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, with the adhesion of 82 countries, including Argentina. At present, 1.5% of the planet's adult population owns 47.5% of the world's total wealth, while, at the bottom of the pyramid, 39.5% own only 0.5% of the wealth. Moreover, only 26 individual wealthy individuals accounted for 20.7% of total wealth in 2022.

On climate change, Lula proposed to bring forward the 2050 climate neutrality goals to 2040. And in a direct message to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, he said “there is no room for climate denialism and disinformation”.

The position against wars in the world could not be missed. Greater weight was given to the “conflict in the Middle East”, without mentioning Netanyahu's murderous government. The different interests at stake meant that there was no explicit condemnation of Russia, but there was a generic condemnation of the threat in the use of nuclear weapons.

Despite the apparent good intentions of the declaration, it is in the nature of the imperialist capitalist system to plunder the oppressed countries, and that is the basis of social inequality, global climate catastrophe and the growth of war factors.

The role of Milei

Argentina, although it is not an economic power, is part of the G20. This is because Argentina is a country with a strategic location with a path between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, with large natural reserves of minerals (including lithium and gas and oil), aquifers, and fertile land. All of these facts, among others, make from Argentina a country in constant dispute by the imperialist powers.

Milei, in spite of his well-known reactionary and fascist positions, signed the final declaration, He showed his genuflection and groveling before the great powers. In a communiqué from the Argentine Foreign Ministry (which is not a communication from the summit) he expressed that “Argentina disagrees with the expressions ‘disinformation, false information, hate speech and other online harms’, because -in the eyes of the Argentine government- they can affect freedom of expression in social networks”. This is a statement consistent with its actions, since this government bases its political propaganda on disinformation and hate speeches in social networks. He also objected to the word “gender”. And he again aligned Argentina with the fascist and murderous Netanyahu government in Israel.

As for the creation of a tax on the “super rich of the world”, Milei opposed it for implying “unequal treatment before the law”. He also disagreed with global warming as he considers it an imposition to limit market freedoms.

Milei took advantage of the summit to meet with Kristalina Georgieva, general director of the IMF, with the prime minister of India and with Xi Jinping, president of China. Argentina is negotiating the extension of the swap credits given to it by China, but does not clarify what concessions China is asking for in exchange. Milei went from saying that it was impossible for him to negotiate with a “communist” country, to considering that the Chinese are excellent negotiators because “they only ask not to be disturbed”. It is not clear in which areas the Chinese want “not to be bothered”: in the extraction of lithium, in their military base in Neuquén, in the construction of dams, in illegal fishing in the Atlantic, in the negotiation of the Paraná waterway … among so many examples that could be given.

As a colorful note, all the media reported Lula's affectionate greeting to all the presidents he received, while he gave a cold greeting to Milei and his sister from a distance, without even smiling in the photo. Milei was the only one absent from the official photo of the event with all the presidents. In addition to this, Milei was also absent for the historic photo of the Latin American representatives: Lula da Silva (Brazil), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Gabriel Boric (Chile), and Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (Mexico).

When it was Boric's turn to speak at the summit, he expressed his rejection of Milei's remarks against state intervention to curb poverty.

The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, made a proposal to allocate 1% of military spending to implement the “largest reforestation program in history”. And she elaborated: “It's about allocating 1% to six million farmers peasants who will be able to plant three to four times the area of Denmark. It is an interesting proposal for the redistribution of wealth, which should be renewable every year and not only once.

As a final touch, the president of Colombia Petro stated that he had a discussion with Milei, and that the discussion was not broadcast because the Argentinean delegation decided to hide the videos of the incident. The central theme of the discussion was the importance of working together for the progress of nations. He told Milei that he represents a “new fascism”, differentiating it from historical fascisms because of its focus on the free market.