For the twelfth year, Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), will host, in Portugal, an event that is initially legal and academic, but which, in practice, has functioned as a fraternity of economic and political elites to define the country’s direction. It is not the only one of its kind – there are also “symposia”, “conferences” in the United States and other rich countries in Europe – but the Lisbon Forum is the most traditional and popular.
In this year’s edition, which takes place this week, large Brazilian businesspeople, almost always interested in negotiating with federal and state governments, will be side by side with politicians and public managers who direct and manage billions of public budgets. The event has been nicknamed “Gilmarpalooza”, in reference to a music show that takes place periodically in Brazil. In the same place there will be ministers from higher courts, lawyers and bureaucrats who invariably judge and work on judicial and administrative processes that affect the private sector.
According to a survey by the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, at least 160 authorities from Justice, federal and state governments, and public bodies were authorized by the State to participate in the event. The organizers claim that the trips are paid for by sponsors.
In the official program, the themes of the panels indicate hot topics in the economy and public policies. “Green agenda and economic development”, “financial regulation and carbon market”, “energy transition: legal and economic challenges” are some examples. They also indicate the forum’s propensity to discuss issues that go beyond Brazilian borders – after all, many executives who participate work in multinationals.
In the first panel, for example, on the green agenda, the participation of the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, is expected; the vice-president of Regulation and Institutional Relations at Eletrobras, Rodrigo Limp; and the president of the Board of Directors of EDP Renováveis, António Gomes Mota. EDP is a subsidiary of Grupo Energias de Portugal, which is the Portuguese “Eletrobras”, which, like the former Brazilian state-owned company, became publicly traded.
Bankers, authorities and financial market bigwigs discuss the environment
In the second panel, on the carbon market, the president of the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), João Pedro Nascimento, the main regulatory authority for the financial sector in Brazil, will be at the table; the president of the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban), Isaac Sidney, which brings together Brazilian bankers; the chief economist at Banco Safra, Joaquim Levy, who was Minister of Finance in 2015; and the executive director of Votorantim SA, Mauro Ribeiro Neto, attorney at the National Treasury, former vice president of Banco do Brasil and whose master’s degree at IDP, a private college owned by Gilmar Mendes, was supervised by the minister himself.
The panel on energy transition will feature congressman Aliel Machado (PV-PR); Claudio Oliveira, vice president of Institutional Relations and Sustainability at Cosan, a giant in the sugar, ethanol, fuel, lubricants and natural gas sectors; and Winston Fritsch, economist, owner of the consulting firm Struttura, former Secretary of Economic Policy at the Treasury and former director of foreign banks. Also participating in the panel are Solange Ribeiro, president of the Board of Directors of the National Electric System Operator (ONS), which coordinates energy generation and transmission in Brazil; and Fernando Mosna, director of the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel).
Tarcísio de Freitas participates in debate on infrastructure
In the area of infrastructure, the forum will host the governor of São Paulo, Tarcísio de Freitas, who became famous as minister in the area in the government of former president Jair Bolsonaro; Renan Filho, current Minister of Transport in the Lula government and former governor of Alagoas. This panel will include Vital do Rêgo Filho and Antonio Anastasia, ministers of the Federal Audit Court, which oversees the application of federal resources; and Andréa Häggsträm, director of Institutional Relations at Aegea Saneamento, one of the largest sanitation companies in the country, which gained traction after 2020, with the approval of the law that opened the sector to the private market.
Anielle Franco, Luiza Trajano discuss “ESG” with Chinese car manufacturer
In a panel on “ESG and corporate sustainability”, Anielle Franco, minister of Racial Equality and always remembered as the sister of councilor Marielle Franco, participates; Luiza Trajano, founder and owner of retail giant Magazine Luiza; and Alexandre Baldy, president of the Board of Directors in Brazil at BYD, a Chinese electric car manufacturer that received government support to build a factory in Bahia. Also at the table will be Nicole Goulart, executive director of the Transport Social Service and National Transport Learning Service (Sest Senat) and Lucinéia Possar, legal director of BB.
Gilmar deals with social responsibility with Bradesco and BTG Pactual
Gilmar Mendes, in addition to participating in the opening of the event, alongside the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, will also moderate a panel on social responsibility with the participation of the president of the Board of Directors of Bradesco, Luiz Carlos Trabuco, the partner of the bank BTG Pactual Martha Leonardis, and the Pedagogical Director of the J&F Institute, Luizinho Magalhães.
Politicians who held important positions in the Lula government will also sit down with a financial market shark. In a panel on development financing, the following will be present: the Minister of Science and Technology, Luciana Santos; the president of BNDES, Aloizio Mercadante; the president of Apex, Jorge Vianna; and José Berenguer, CEO of Banco XP.
Ronaldo Caiado is invited to talk about agribusiness
On the topic of agribusiness, the governor of Goiás, Ronaldo Caiado (União) will participate in a panel together with Jorge Bastos, president of Infra SA, a state-owned company of the federal government that works in the planning and structuring of projects in the transport sector, resulting from the merger of the former Valec, from railways, and EPL, from studies in the logistics area. On the same panel will be executives from BTG and Grupo Ecoagro, as well as former senator and former Minister of Agriculture Kátia Abreu, and former president of Embrapa Celso Moretti.
The event runs from Wednesday (26) to Friday (28) and according to the production – in charge of IDP, by Gilmar Mendes – all panels will be broadcast live on the internet. Registration for in-person participation is already sold out. The parallel agenda, of informal meetings at lunches, dinners and parties in the Portuguese capital, was not disclosed.
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