brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da SilvaOn Friday at the G7 summit he called for a global tax on the wealthy, to help combat inequality.
The Brazilian President, who is participating in the summit as a guest, stressed that the concentration of wealth in a few hands represents a “danger to democracy.”
“It is time for the super-rich to pay their fair share of taxes. This excessive concentration of power and income represents a danger to democracy,” Lula said, according to a statement issued by the Brazilian presidency.
Brazil submitted this proposal to impose a global tax on billionaires within the framework of the G20, a forum chaired this year by the South American country.
Lula explained that the goal of this proposal is to mobilize resources to “expand effective policies” to eradicate hunger and poverty that are being implemented in developing countries.
In this sense, he asked for the support of all those attending the G7 Summit for the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, which Brazil will formulate at the G20 Summit to be held in Rio de Janeiro next November.
The Brazilian President stressed that this global alliance “will be essential to ending this scourge that continues to haunt humanity.”
Brazil presented a proposal to impose a tax on large wealth during the G20 ministerial meetings at the beginning of the year, and it has so far received the support of some European countries, such as France.
Lula also advocated for the establishment of international mechanisms to regulate artificial intelligence.
“We need international and intergovernmental governance of AI, in which all countries have a place,” Lula said in his address to the summit.
The Brazilian president, who spoke in similar terms about artificial intelligence on Thursday in Geneva during a meeting at the headquarters of the International Labor Organization, said that “artificial intelligence highlights a scenario of opportunities, risks and asymmetries” between rich and developing countries.
The Brazilian President emphasized: “We are interested in artificial intelligence (…) which also has the face of the Global South, enhances cultural and linguistic diversity and develops the digital economy of our countries.”
AI, according to his vision, should be “safe, transparent and emancipatory”, should respect human rights, protect personal data and improve the ability of countries to adopt public policies in favor of the environment and contribute to the energy transition.
The previous day, at the International Labor Organization, Lula said that AI “cannot be limited to a few companies that own all our data without paying a cent.”
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) with information from EFE