8<strong>Charting</strong> <strong>new</strong> <strong>directions</strong>: Brazil’s role in a multi-polar worldaddress, explained her government’s obstinate struggleto eradicate extreme poverty and create opportunitiesfor all. “I will not rest while there are Brazilians whohave no food on their tables, while there are desperatefamilies on the streets, while there are poor childrenabandoned to their own devices. Family unity lies infood, peace and happiness. This is the dream I willpursue!”Ipea seeks to contribute to this goal by developinga measurement of extreme poverty that will allowthe tracking and monitoring of government actionsaimed at reducing the number of poor citizens in thecountry over the coming years. The national rate ofextreme poverty fell from 42.9% in 1978 to 9.4% in2008. Furthermore, rural poverty declined from 72.5%to 22.9%, while urban poverty fell more rapidly, from18.4% in 1978 to 5.5% in big cities, and from 38.1%to 7.8% in smaller towns during the same period.Accordingly, when considering the rate of extremepoverty, for every existing destitute person in majormetropolitan centres, there are four times as manyin the rural areas. Overcoming extreme poverty,which still affects one in ten Brazilians, requiresfurther refinement of policies, targeting mainly ruralareas 3 . Therefore, these differences in rural and urbaneconomic and social structures are important whendesigning public policies, capable of addressingextreme poverty throughout the country.By sharing good practices in the formulation andimplementation of public policies - be they domestic orinternationally oriented - Brazil has been consolidatingits presence in the world. The major transformationsin the social and economic arena, resulting from theimplementation of inclusive public policies, designed bythe Brazilian government, have attracted the attentionof the international community. At the same time, anactive diplomacy promoting global development andthe increasing participation of developing countriesin international trade, gross fixed capital formation,south-south cooperation and major internationalforums have also helped consolidate Brazil’s presencein the international political arena.According to the minister of external relations,Antonio Patriota, “In the <strong>new</strong> multipolar configurationthat has been shaping geopolitics in the early yearsof this century, Brazil - with a tradition of peace andtolerance - stands out as an actor with favourableattributes for promoting more inclusive developmentmodels and strengthening cooperation among nationsthrough governance mechanisms that are morelegitimate and representative”. 4 In concert with theBrazilian Agency for Cooperation (ABC) of the Ministryof External Relations, Ipea conducted a survey whichindicated that the country spent R$2.9bn (from2005-2009) on development cooperation, includinghumanitarian assistance, scholarship for foreigners,technical, scientific and technological cooperation, andcontributions to international organisations. 5 For themost part, Brazilian cooperation has been intended forthe least developed countries in Latin America and theCaribbean, Africa and Asia.In a world marked by increasing globalinterdependence, understanding how internationaltrends affect local dynamics, and vice-versa, is anessential task for the success of any country. Hencethe importance and necessity of the Foresight projectdeveloped in partnership with the <strong>Alfred</strong> <strong>Herrhausen</strong>Society and Policy Network.It is the mission of Ipea “to produce, articulate anddisseminate knowledge to improve public policies andcontribute to the planning of Brazilian development”.In this maxim it is crucial for Ipea to help pursue and3 Household income per capita up to a quarter of minimum wage4 Patriota, Antonio A. Remarks by Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota during the Inauguration Ceremony for the Office of Brazilian Ministry of ExternalRelation. Brasília, Ministry of External Relations, 2 January 2011.5 See “Brazilian Cooperation for International Development: 2005 and 2009”. Brasília: Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea) and Brazilian Agencyfor Cooperation (ABC), 2010.Preface | Marcio Pochmann
<strong>Charting</strong> <strong>new</strong> <strong>directions</strong>: Brazil’s role in a multi-polar world9disseminate the principles and ideals of a nationaldemocratic state, of participatory governmentplanning and public policies as vehicles for economicand social development, both locally and globally. Thepartnership of Ipea with the Foresight initiative supportsthis process by bringing viewpoints from differentcountries to the domestic debate and internationallydisseminating national innovative practices.Marcio pochmann is president of the Institute for AppliedEconomic Research (Ipea).Preface | Marcio Pochmann
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