The Foreign Ministry, which went from Ernesto Araújo to Carlos França on Monday (29), controls around 3,100 people in 200 posts in 130 countries – including 1,547 diplomats.
The body is responsible for Brazil’s relations with other countries and for Brazil’s participation in international organizations. It is also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which executes the foreign policy defined by the president.
Ernesto Araújo stepped down from command of the portfolio after being subjected to frying by deputies and senators who demanded a change in the conduct of this policy, especially during the health crisis.
The now ex-chancellor was one of the main representatives of the so-called ideological wing of the Jair Bolsonaro government and has accumulated a legacy of controversy, controversial statements and management deemed ineffective in several ways.
Until 1970, the ministry was headquartered at the Itamaraty Palace, in Rio de Janeiro, and was unofficially referred to by the building’s name. Even after the move to the Palácio dos Arcos, in Brasília, the custom remained and it wasn’t long before the building designed by Oscar Niemeyer was also called the Itamaraty Palace.
In Brazil, among the main offices of the body, there is the State Secretariat for Foreign Affairs, which houses the minister’s office, and the Rio Branco Institute, responsible for the training of the diplomatic corps, both in Brasilia. .
Itamaraty maintains a network of over 200 stations in 130 countries. There are the embassies, responsible for bilateral relations between Brazil and the country where it is installed (this is why the headquarters are in the capitals); consular offices, which help Brazilians abroad; and missions or delegations, accredited by international organizations such as the UN (United Nations).
Last year Itamaraty added R $ 4.17 billion in spending – R $ 65 million above the cap.
This year the ministry lost resources and there was a reduction of around R $ 17 million in the amount of bilateral and multilateral negotiations after the approval of the 2021 budget.
Itamaraty was also one of the ministries most affected by the cut due to the delay in budget approval – last month Brazilian embassies and consulates around the world delayed paying rent, utility bills, Internet and water due to reduced resources sent. .
Around 80% of the portfolio’s discretionary spending is made abroad, mainly in hard currencies, in a period of severe exchange rate devaluation.
Chronology
1821
Separation between the Secretariat for Foreign Affairs and the Secretariat for War
1889
After the proclamation of the Republic, the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs is called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1902 to 1912
José Maria da Silva Paranhos Junior (1846-1912), Baron of Rio Branco, heads the ministry. Considered the patron of Brazilian diplomacy, his greatest legacy has been the peaceful consolidation of the country’s borders. A law graduate, he was a deputy and journalist before entering a diplomatic career. In 2010, his name was entered in the Book of Heroes of the Fatherland.
[1945[1945
The same year that Brazil became one of the 51 founding members of the UN, the Rio Branco Institute was created, responsible for the selection and training of Brazilian diplomats.
The competition has been held annually since 1946.
2011
In February 2011, Brazil was elected to the UN Security Council – by five permanent members with veto power (United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom and France) and ten rotating members, each with a mandate two years. Along with Japan, Brazil is the country that has fulfilled the most temporary mandates.
The next election is scheduled for June.