doCreated twenty-five years ago to provide global economic governance with a broader instrument than the G7, a club of the richest countries and more adapted to global financial crises, the G20 is in turn the expression of the breakdown of the international order. and the weakening of Western influence.
The summit held on November 18 and 19 in Rio de Janeiro, under the Brazilian presidency, without notable results at a time of great tension on the world stage, was a perfect illustration of this. To avoid showing the disagreement of the participants over the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva chose to avoid the issue.
However, it is the war that explains the absence of President Vladimir Putin, the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for war crimes and who prefers to avoid traveling to the signatory countries of this jurisdiction. But the Russian leader demonstrated his presence in another way, with a barrage of bombings on the cities of Ukraine: even powerless to debate it openly, the G20 participants could not act as if the war did not exist.
The shadow of Donald Trump, with trade and economic uncertainties linked to the prospect of his return to the White House in January 2025, inevitably loomed over the summit. During transition periods, outgoing American presidents are traditionally adorned with the image of “lame duck” (“lame duck”). In Rio, President Joe Biden appeared even more weakened as his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, largely stole the spotlight. The holding of the G20 in Rio, just after the summit of the Asia-Pacific countries (APEC) in Peru, accompanied by some bilateral state visits, in particular to Brazil, allowed the Chinese number one to carry out a diplomatic offensive of such magnitude that it gave the impression that his country’s influence had dethroned that of the United States in South America.
Crisis of multilateralism
At the moment no notable progress has been made on other issues. The fact that the G20 did not specifically mention in the final declaration the need to move away from fossil fuels was seen by negotiators present at COP29, meeting in Baku until November 22, as a sign of the negative effect of the choice of Donald Trump in the fight against climate change.
The tax on the fortunes of billionaires, imposed by President Lula and supported in particular by France, is in a phase of enchantment. The G20 certainly agreed that the efficiency of taxation of the super-rich needs to be improved, but limited itself to principled positions on the exchange of information and the necessary debate on tax evasion: no reform project has been launched. This could only come to light with the support of the United States, the country with the most billionaires.
The Biden administration was already skeptical of the project, promoted by economist Gabriel Zucman, to take away 2% of the fortunes of the 3,000 richest people on the planet. The arrival of Donald Trump, who promised to continue reducing taxes, risks paralyzing the G20 on this matter for the next four years.
If a new sign of the crisis of multilateralism were necessary, when the United Nations Security Council has once again demonstrated its paralysis, this G20 will have perfectly fulfilled its mission.
