Established 2005 Founded 2005 | Focus New Right, Economics | |
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Chairman Priscila Barbosa Pereira Pinto Key people Gustavo Franco
Rodrigo Constantino Budget Revenue (2012): $524,391
Expenses (2012): $494,330 Location Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Founder Patrícia Carlos de Andrade | ||
Instituto millenium entrevista com paulo uebel no jornal futura
The Instituto Millenium (Millennium Institute), also known by the acronym Imil (or IMIL), is a Brazilian "advocacy think tank" based in Rio de Janeiro. It was created in 2005 by the economist Patrícia Carlos de Andrade and the Philosophy professor Denis Rosenfield, to disseminate a world view based on economic liberalism (or "modern right"). According to Observatório da Imprensa, it has the support of large corporations and media groups, with the aim of influencing the Brazilian society through the diffusion of ideas of its representatives, experts and columnists.
Contents
History
The Instituto Millenium (Imil) was founded in 2005 as "Instituto de Estudos da Realidade Nacional" (Institute for the Study of National Reality), a name that curiously resembles the Centro de Estudios de la Realidad Nacional where Armand Mattelart was a professor-researcher at the Salvador Allende's socialist Chile. In 2009, Imil became a Civil Society Organization of Public Interest (OSCIP), the equivalent of a U.S. non-profit organization 501(c)(3).
Activities
Imil discloses its world view through "seminars, conferences and meetings around the country, contact with the press and publishing daily analysis on the portal." Of course, the fact that it is sponsored by media groups makes this outreach work more easy.
Ideological linkage
Officially, Imil declares itself as "unrelated to political parties." But its disclosed values ("individual freedom, property rights, market economy, representative democracy, rule of law and institutional limits to government action"), attracts thinkers, politicians and personalities linked to a conservative ideological spectrum and to economic liberalism. Imil, however, do not assume itself as "liberal", since according to its founder, Patricia Carlos de Andrade, this word was incorrectly translated in Brazil as "rightist" or "supporter of military dictatorships."
Imil aligns itself with similar institutions, Brazilian or international, linked to the conservative thought. Among them, are the Instituto Liberal, Instituto Liberdade, Instituto Ling, Instituto de Estudos Empresariais, the Chilean network Latinoamerica Libre and the global Atlas Economic Research Foundation.
Thinkers and writers identified with the political right are also among the founders, experts and regular contributors to Imil. Among them, Rodrigo Constantino, Reinaldo Azevedo, Olavo de Carvalho, Demétrio Magnoli, Marcelo Madureira and the anti-Castro Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez.
Funding and structure
By becoming an OSCIP, Imil became eligible to "receive income tax deductible donations from legal persons up to 2%." Among his supporters, partners and sponsors are media companies like Grupo Abril (Veja and Exame magazines) OESP Group (O Estado de S. Paulo) and RBS Group (affiliated to Rede Globo in southern Brazil), the second largest private university in Brazil (Estácio de Sá), the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Rio), industrial conglomerates (Gerdau Group and Suzano), service companies (Localiza Rent A Car), insurance companies (Porto Seguro), and financial corporations such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The institute also accepts donations from individuals.
Related personalities
Among other notable sponsors and partners, the Imil features the following personalities of the Brazilian business, cultural, and journalistic scenes:
The late Roberto Civita, Grupo Abril's chairman, was also one of the counselors of the Instituto Millenium.
Controversies
Imil has been pointed out by representatives of the left media and scholars, as the successor of the IPES and IBAD think tanks, which have played a leading role in the creation of an ideological environment conducive to overthrow the government of President João Goulart in 1964, that, in the view of those who took his power, led Brazil to the "path of communism". One of the supporters of IBAD was the Carioca newspaper "O Globo". In 2013, in an editorial that sparked little interest, the newspaper admitted for the first time that it had supported the establishment of the military dictatorship in Brazil. The movement who withdrew Jango from the presidency gathered various social sectors: industrial and agrarian elites (businessmen and large landowners), bankers, the Catholic Church, much of society in general, and the military itself, everyone feared that the Brazil was moving toward a socialist regime. The military coup did not find large popular resistance, just a few demonstrations that were easily suppressed.