MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil makes large payments to international organizations

This week's payment improves Brazil's position before most global agencies for when President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva takes office on Jan. 1.

Brazil has paid off “almost all” of its debts with international bodies such as the United Nations (UN) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), the South American country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

 In President Jair Bolsonaro's last week in office, the Economy Ministry disbursed R$ 4.6 billion (about US$ 886.7 million), it was explained.

The Government “has spared no effort to match the chronic irregularity of payments and the debt accumulated from previous periods,” Monday's communiqué also pointed out.

“The resources made available by the Ministry of Economy will make it possible to pay almost all of Brazil's debt, strengthening the country's position in the multilateral system and the international community,” it added.

(Read also: Brazil behind in contributions to global agencies)

The document argues that most of the debt stemmed from administrations previous to that of Bolsonaro but other sources insisted most of the arrears correspond to the last four years.
This week's payment improves Brazil's position before most global agencies for when President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva takes office on Jan. 1.

According to a report drafted last week by Lula's transition team, the country's debt with international organizations amounted to some R$ 5.5 billion reais (about US$ 1.058 billion), which represented “a serious loss for the country's image and for its capacity to act, and significantly compromises its foreign policy.”

Transition team coordinator and former Senator Aloizio Mercadante warned that the situation could result in Brazil being excluded from various forums. The UN reported in September that Brazil owed US$ 306 million to the organization, whose regulations specify that if a country accumulates a debt of two years or more related to its regular contributions it may lose its right to vote.