'Don't Approve Brazil's OECD Membership', NGOs Ask

Over 60 Non-Governmental Organizations requested that Brazil's entry into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) not be approved because President Jair Bolsonaro's policies undermine the protection of Amazonian ecosystems and Indigenous peoples.

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"Current environmental protection and human rights policies are incompatible with what is expected of an OECD country and should be taken into account in an eventual process of Brazil's accession to the organization," states a letter sent to OECD Secretary Mathias Cormann by Greenpeace, the Pastoral Land Commission, the International Federation for Human Rights, and others.

The environment and human rights defenders also highlighted that the Brazilian president has maintained negligent behavior in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left 425,000 dead and 15.2 million infected in his country.

"Bolsonaro consistently underestimated the severity of the disease, supported the use of ineffective and unsubstantiated treatments, ignored the urgency in purchasing vaccines, attacked subnational government officials who adopted measures to combat the pandemic, encouraged crowds, and discouraged the use of masks and social isolation."

The NGOs recalled that Brazil is experiencing a "serious democratic crisis" because the Bolsonaro administration harasses and intimidates critical voices through the National Security Law, a legacy of the military dictatorship that allows rulers to treat political opposition "as a crime".

Since coming to power in January 2019, Bolsonaro has indicated his desire for Brazil to join the OECD, a multilateral institution committed to meeting minimum public policy standards to promote economic and social well-being among its 37 member countries.

In the report "Towards Growth 2021: Shaping a Vibrant Recovery" published in April, this multilateral institution insisted on the need to strengthen the effective protection of the Amazon rainforest and advised Brazil to increase efforts to combat illegal deforestation.