The articles written by the PÚBLICO Brasil team are written in the variant of the Portuguese language used in Brazil.
Free access: download the PÚBLICO Brasil application at Android or iOS.
During a pandemic, Brazil established a partnership that allowed countries in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries to have their own tests without having to pay the exorbitant price charged by the world’s leading pharmaceutical laboratories. This is an example of the cooperation that, according to Brazil’s ambassador to the CPLP, Juliano Feres Nascimento, should mark the relationship between the nine countries whose official language is Portuguese.
A hallmark of the CPLP is its extension: it brings together nations that share the same language on four continents. These are countries that seek a common path for their development. For them, the Portuguese language should be a channel of integration that goes far beyond the affirmation and dissemination of the language. An example of this is the action that has been taking place in health, agriculture and culture.
Created in July 1996, then with seven countries – Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe – the CPLP today brings together nine nations. At the time, East Timor was still fighting for its independence from Indonesia and Equatorial Guinea only chose to be part of the community later.
In Lisbon, the city where the CPLP headquarters are located, Nascimento spoke about the importance of the community for the population of Portuguese-speaking countries.
How does Brazil integrate into the community of Portuguese-speaking countries?
Our mission is to show that the reason for this organization is integration. We want to promote the Portuguese language around the world, show that the organization exists, that it has a role in the world of international organizations. It’s our very own organization. I say ours, because it has to do with our language and our culture. There is an entire shared universe that is provided by the Portuguese language. Through interactions that were established over many years of coexistence. All of this creates a very interesting dynamic for the organization, which is present on four continents, with very different regional arrangements. Portugal here with the European Union. We with Mercosur and Unasur, with our South American context. Africans with various arrangements such as the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (CDAA), among others. And now Timor-Leste joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In practice, how does this work?
At the moment I have a Brazilian company that is establishing itself in Asia. If you have any difficulties, I have a partner who speaks Portuguese, who can have access to a series of facilities due to being a member of ASEAN. For example, in an export to Thailand, which is also a member of ASEAN. Portugal plays a very important role in our dealings with the European Union. In the agreement we are making between Mercosur and the European Union, the partnership with Portugal has been fundamental in dismantling barriers. This agreement could be positive for everyone.
What is Brazil’s position within the CPLP?
Within the CPLP, we look for two things. First, value our contribution in every way, whether social, economic or cultural. We do this through several programs led by Brazil. Cooperation programs with Africa, for example, which are not limited to just one country. This cooperation is more universal, in the sense that it encompasses at least two more CPLP countries. I need at least a trio to do any type of activity within the CPLP.
Is this difficult?
It’s not a question of difficulty or ease. The question is to align the need with our ability to offer solutions. The same difficulty that a farmer will face in Angola is often the same in Cape Verde. The same difficulty that a cocoa producer has in São Tomé, perhaps our producer has in Bahia. So this alignment is relatively easy. Most of the countries are countries from the global south, with the exception of Portugal, which is inserted in the European context. We know the needs and difficulties. Just like in business, cooperation also goes both ways. When you cooperate with a country, you are also receiving, knowing the mechanisms so that it is effective and not just a project with good intentions.
And the role of Brazil?
Brazil’s role, in this context, is to be a conductor. Portugal sees us as an important player in building consensus. The differences between countries are very large. If we look at development indices or social indices, we have huge differences between the CPLP member countries. Brazil has this intermediary role, not just because we are not a developed country. We have needs and difficulties and we seek to escape the trap of social difference and inequality in the distribution of wealth. Brazil is not a poor country, but a country with an unequal distribution of our wealth. There is no lack of wealth in Brazil.
How does cooperation occur between countries at different levels of development?
I give the example of cooperation with Germany or Japan, two countries with which Brazil cooperates in different areas. But the cultural difference is very big. Due to the difference in culture and mentality, the exercise of cooperation can be more difficult. Not with CPLP partners. We speak the same language, we have a very similar cultural background.
Today, what are the main projects that Brazil undertakes?
We have more than 50 projects underway. Several of them have to do with the social component. Fiocruz does wonderful work in the health sector. The human milk bank is a project developed in Brazil that we export to the world. It has a major impact on societies, radically reducing malnutrition and child mortality.
In the area of vaccines too?
Covid is here to prove that, if we don’t work together, everyone suffers together. We have projects in the area of vaccines and epidemiology at CPLP. We have developed work so that CPLP countries can carry out their own Covid test. At the height of the pandemic, getting this test was a phenomenon, in addition to the exorbitant price they charged. We developed, in partnership with São Tomé and then with other countries, a center to carry out Covid testing. Often you have the kit, you do the test, but you don’t have the laboratory to process it. It was a very important effort and one that we are expanding now.
And other areas?
In water management too. The water issue is always a factor of great economic and social pressure. For example, Cape Verde is an archipelago that has little access to drinking water and has the National Water Agency (ANA) that participates in projects there. In the area of education, in several African countries the Portuguese language coexists with original languages, which have a lot of strength. In African countries, these languages coexist with Portuguese in people’s daily lives. Therefore, strengthening the Portuguese language is important.
Does Brazil operate in Timor-Leste?
We have a training and qualification program for teachers in Timor-Leste. Nowadays, this work no longer belongs to Brazil. We are doing this in partnership with Portugal, with the Camões Institute. It is a CPLP project. Before, it was cooperation that Brazil provided. In addition to learning, also in the training and training of teachers in Timor-Leste.
And in agriculture?
We have some interesting things regarding cotton and coffee. It is obvious that, in this case, Portugal has a less relevant participation, because they are generally tropical cultures. THE expertise She is Brazilian, Angolan and Mozambican. Portugal presents itself as a partner, sometimes only in financing.
What about security programs?
We have actions in the field of mobility, on the issue of travel documents and residence facilities. This has to do with combating organized crime. In the context of CPLP, we have some technological and training weaknesses. We count on the collaboration of Brazilian police institutions, such as the Federal Police, which have high quality investigations and access to technical material to carry out investigations. Recently, an agreement was reached with the Portuguese judicial police. Having fluidity in exchanging information, in the case of a police investigation, is crucial. Another important issue that we have to work on together is document guarantee. Brazil has made great progress in this area. 20 years ago, our passport was the most falsified in the world, the document’s security requirements were ridiculous. If the forger had at least expertisehe forged his passport with extreme ease. Nowadays, this has changed radically with a series of mechanisms that protect the document. Not all CPLP partners have this capacity. Our idea is to help them so that everyone reaches that level of safety.
What are the main challenges of CPLP?
The presidency is with São Tomé, which presented the theme of youth and sustainability for its two-year term. The biggest concern has to do with the engagement of this new generation. We are noticing a distancing and a certain disillusionment with the mechanisms of international organization, with politics itself. I think the big challenge for the coming years is to gain and maintain youth engagement. Technology is a double-edged tool. It can be very useful for this communication, especially with this younger generation, but it can be very dangerous because it can be alienating. In São Tomé, ministers adopted a bill of rights in digital environments. Nowadays, in the most remote corner, a person will have a cell phone. The challenge is to make this access transformative, in a positive sense, for language, culture and knowledge. Other than this bombardment of disconnected and often false and distorted information.
The CPLP was born on the impulse of minister José Aparecido. Today, does the institution represent what he thought?
At that moment, there was a very important political vision and cultural component. Brazil building Mercosur. Portugal recently joined the European Union. He had the vision of José Aparecido and the vision of the politicians of the time, characters of great stature. There were two aspects, cultural and political. It was truly a moment of great hope and a vision of a prosperous and shared future. Today, the international context is completely different. We live in a totally polarized moment. People are always looking to justify themselves at their extremes, instead of looking for areas of convergence. In this challenging context, CPLP becomes even more important. We have an organization that works with convergence and consensus. The role that the CPLP will have from now on is challenging and complex. The CPLP will have a very important role in our countries, which is the defense of one of the most spoken languages in the world.
