Good morning! Today, we’re talking about Economy Minister Paulo Guedes bad-mouthing the EU. Yet another worrisome deforestation report. And the ‘secret budget’ for 2023.
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How important the EU is to Brazil
Earlier this week, Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes told an association of Brazilian restaurant owners he openly bashed France during a meeting of the OECD — a club of rich countries of which Brazil seeks membership.
- Mr. Guedes said a member of the French government complained that the Brazilian government “is burning down the Amazon.” To which Brazil’s Economy Minister reportedly replied: “And you are burning down Notre Dame.”
- Moreover, Mr. Guedes said Europe is becoming “irrelevant” to Brazil and said if France doesn’t start “treating Brazil well,” the country should start “not giving a fuck” about France.
Why it matters. The episode is yet another chapter of the Jair Bolsonaro administration’s bickering with France, which has taken relations between Brasília and Paris to their lowest point in decades. It is also not true to suggest Europe is irrelevant...