Speech by the President of Brazil at the Closing Ceremony of the G20 Social Summit

Brazil's President Lula during the G20 Social closing ceremony. Image: Ricardo Stuckert.

This is a historic moment for me and a historic moment for the G20.

Over the course of this year, the group gained a third pillar which was added to the political and financial pillars: the social pillar, created by you.

This is where the collective will and expression take shape, motivated by the quest for a more democratic, just, and diverse world.

The engagement groups achieved an unprecedented level of interaction with chancellors, finance ministers, and central bank presidents from the world’s largest economies.

I had the pleasure of speaking personally with the representatives of each group.

In recent days, for the first time in the history of the G20, civil society from various parts of the world — in its most diverse forms of organization — met to formulate and present their demands to the Leaders' Summit.

Over the sixteen years since the inaugural Summit, the G20 has established itself as the premier forum for global economic cooperation and a vital platform for political dialogue..

However, the economy and international politics are not a monopoly of experts or bureaucrats.

They are not only in the offices of the New York Stock Exchange or the São Paulo Stock Exchange, nor only in the offices in Washington, Beijing, Brussels or Brasília.

They are part of the daily lives of each one of us, expanding or narrowing our possibilities.

The G20 members hold the power and responsibility to transform many lives.

For women, by fostering entrepreneurship and economic autonomy, as championed by the Women's Empowerment Working Group.

For traditional and Indigenous peoples, by promoting biodiversity-based products through the Bioeconomy Initiative.

For people of African descent, by adopting Sustainable Development Goal 18 on racial equality, as advocated by the Working Group on the Right to Development.

For the planet, by fostering climate ambition, in line with the goal of limiting global warming to one point five degrees Celsius, as pursued by the Climate Task Force.

None of this would have been possible without the contribution of all of you who are here today.

The Brazilian presidency would not have made progress on the three priorities it chose if it were not for the decisive participation of the organizations and movements that make up the G20 Social.

Your permanent mobilization will be essential to:

• drive forward the work of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty and advance on the taxation of the super-rich;
• ensure compliance with the goals of tripling the use of renewable energy and achieving emissions neutrality earlier;
• to advance our Call to Action on Global Governance Reform, ensuring that multilateral institutions are more representative.

The Brazilian presidency of the G20 will leave a robust legacy of achievements, but there is still much to be done to improve people's lives.

To reach the hearts of ordinary citizens, governments need to break off the growing dissonance between the “voice of the markets” and the “voice of the streets”.

Neoliberalism has worsened the economic and political inequality that currently plagues democracies.

The G20 must discuss a series of measures to reduce the cost of living and promote more balanced working hours.

It must listen to the youth, who will face the consequences of the tasks we leave unfinished.

We must preserve public space so as to prevent extremism from  threatening rights or leading to setbacks.

We must commit to peace so that geopolitical rivalries and conflicts do not divert us from the path of sustainable development.

I will take the recommendations contained in the final declaration which you gave me to the other G20 leaders and work with South Africa to ensure that they are considered in the group's discussions.

I hope that this social pillar of the G20 will continue in the coming years, increasingly opening our discussions to citizen engagement.

This closing ceremony marks the beginning of a new phase which will require continuous work — 365 days a year — and not just on the eve of leaders' meetings.

I also count on the willpower and dynamism of civil society for two other events that Brazil will host next year: the BRICS Summit and COP30.

Together, we will continue to build a fair world and a sustainable planet.

Thank you very much.