Development: On 29 August, four of Brazil’s thirteen presidential candidates in the 7 October general election took part in an event organised by the national agriculture confederation (CNA) in Brasília, during which they criticised protectionism and defended the importance of free trade for the expansion of the country’s agroindustry.
Significance: Marina Silva, of the Rede Sustentabilidade (Rede) party, Geraldo Alckmin of the Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira (PSDB), Henrique Meirelles of the ruling Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (MDB) party, and Alvaro Dias of the small centrist Podemos party were invited by the CNA and the Agro Council (an umbrella organisation for the industry) to present their proposals on the agricultural sector. Brazil is the third-largest exporter of agricultural products in the world. The sector represents around 37% of the country’s exports, and is seen as a key industry to stimulate the flagging domestic economic growth. All candidates pushed for the increased presence of Brazilian products in the international market.
- Alckmin, considered to be the most market-friendly presidential candidate and who has already said that he will maintain the package of economic reforms implemented by the current government led by President Michel Temer, was particularly vocal in his criticism of protectionist economic measures. Alckmin emphasised that international trade was the way forward to guarantee economic growth, development, and peace.
- Meirelles, who is the incumbent government’s candidate and is polling poorly at around 1%, also advocated trade liberalisation, highlighting China as a particularly important partner. Meirelles supports strengthening ties with the European Union (EU), the Pacific Alliance regional trade bloc, and with the United Kingdom after it formally leaves the EU.
- While condemning protectionism, former environment minister Silva put the emphasis on Brazil maintaining its position as an agricultural powerhouse while also being an environmental one, notably by ending deforestation (agricultural expansion is the biggest cause of deforestation in Brazil).
- The CNA said that the left-wing presidential candidate, Ciro Gomes, and extreme-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, were also invited to take part in the event but declined to attend. “Those who did not come, it is because, clearly, they do not want to talk to those responsible of the Brazilian agricultural sector,” CNA president João Martins was reported as saying.
Looking Ahead: The ‘rural bloc’, representing the agroindustry’s interests, is the strongest in Brazil’s federal congress with around 40% of representatives in the senate and the chamber of deputies a part of it. With a large number of senators and deputies standing for re-election on 7 October, analysts suggest that the composition of the legislature is unlikely to change. This means that the winning presidential candidate will have to govern with a congress that remains heavily weighted towards the interests of rural landowners.
