Why is Brazil not a permanent member of the UNSC?

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the president of Portugal, has backed the bid of South American nation, Brazil, to be given permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which is one of the important organs of the United Nations.

While attending the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, the president of Portugal said that Brazil as a country must not be ignored. He called on the United Nations to allow Brazil to become a full member of the Security Council. 

Brazil has always been elected as a non-permanent member to the United Nations Security Council. Brazil is also one of the main contributors to United Nations peacekeeping operations. Even after being so important to the United Nations, why doesn’t Brazil have a permanent seat in the Security Council? Can Brazil become a permanent member of the UNSC in 2023?

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Why doesn’t Brazil have a permanent seat in the UNSC?

Brazil is among the most elected member states to the UNSC. Brazil was also voted to become a member of the UNSC for a two-year term during 2022-23. 

Over the years, Brazil has been elected 11 times to the Security Council, in 1946–47, 1951–52, 1954–55, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1988–89, 1993–94, 1998–99, 2004–05, 2010–11 and 2022–23. 

Brazil also asked other countries to support its bid to become the permanent member of the UNSC. Brazil also formed an alliance with Germany, the Republic of India, and Japan to support each other’s bids for permanent seats to the Security Council. 

Brazil was the only nation in Latin America to be directly involved in world war 1 (WW1). After WW1, Brazil was expected to become a permanent member of the Security Council. However, it did not happen due to political and diplomatic reasons. 

Brazil has already received backing from other permanent members of the UN: Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Indonesia and South Africa. 

Let’s see if Brazil gets a permanent seat in the UNSC.