President and seven ministers attend events at World Social Forum

On Thursday, January 26, president Dilma Rousseff and seven ministers of state will participate in a special session (“Fórum Social Temático (- FST”), at the World Social Forum in the capital of Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul. The session will discuss the international financial crisis, public policy to combat poverty and guidelines for Brazil’s participation in the United Nations Sustainable Development Conference – Rio + 20 – which will take place in Rio de Janeiro in June.

The World Social Forum was created in 2001 as a kind of developing nation counterpart to the World Economic Forum in Davos with the idea of working toward a “a better possible world.”

Although the Forum is apolitical, Brazilian government authorities have been a constant presence. Former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attended all the Social Forums in Brazil, so Dilma is continuing a tradition. In 2011, she did not attend but was represented by her top administrative aide, Gilberto Carvalho (“Secretaria-geral da Presidência”).

This year Dilma will be accompanied by minister Gilberto Carvalho; and the ministers of Human Rights (“Secretaria de Direitos Humanos”), Maria do Rosário; Environment (“Meio Ambiente”), Izabella Teixeira; Social Development and Hunger Combat (“Desenvolvimento Social e Combate à Fome”), Tereza Campello; Policies for Women (“Secretaria de Políticas para as Mulheres”), Iriny Lopes; Agriculture (“Agricultura”), Mendes Ribeiro; and Racial Equality (“Secretaria de Políticas de Promoção da Igualdade Racial”), Luiza Helena de Bairros.

It is estimated that some 30,000 people will participate in the FST that ends on Sunday, January 29.

This year Dilma Rousseff will not attend the World Economic Forum in Davos although Brazil is the focus of a number of events there. She will be represented by the Foreign Minister, Antonio Patriota, and the minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Fernando Pimentel.