The Institute of Development Studies and Partner Organisations
Browse

ProSAVANA and the Expanding Scope of Accountability in Brazil's Development Cooperation

journal contribution
posted on 2024-10-04, 13:38 authored by Lídia Cabral, Iara Leite
As Brazil becomes a visible player in international development, questions about accountability resonate loudly amidst wider scrutiny of the country's cooperation programme. This article takes the case of Brazil's flagship ProSAVANA programme in Mozambique to analyse changing accountability practices in Brazilian development cooperation. It documents the emergence of a transnational civil society movement contesting ProSAVANA, and analyses the interaction of this transnational movement with evolving domestic political contests surrounding Brazilian cooperation. This transnational mobilisation exposed weaknesses in Brazilian cooperation regarding transparency of action and lines of responsibility – contributing to shifts in both understanding and practices of accountability within Brazil. Campaigners called for the Brazilian government to accept greater responsibility vis‐à‐vis Mozambican constituents, and established direct lines of interaction between Mozambican and Brazilian civil society actors. To some extent, these links have enabled ProSAVANA target populations to communicate their preferences to Brazilian taxpayers, who can then call the Brazilian government directly to account. Such domestic‐transnational accountability interfaces can contribute to tackling ‘broken information feedback loops’ between donors and affected populations. However, the enduring significance of such changes will depend on the ability of emerging accountability practices to connect a broader range of stakeholders, both in Brazil and in Mozambique, and to establish constructive dialogue among competing visions and interests.

As Brazil becomes a visible player in international development, questions about accountability resonate loudly amidst wider scrutiny of the country's cooperation programme. This article takes the case of Brazil's flagship ProSAVANA programme in Mozambique to analyse changing accountability practices in Brazilian development cooperation. It documents the emergence of a transnational civil society movement contesting ProSAVANA, and analyses the interaction of this transnational movement with evolving domestic political contests surrounding Brazilian cooperation. This transnational mobilisation exposed weaknesses in Brazilian cooperation regarding transparency of action and lines of responsibility – contributing to shifts in both understanding and practices of accountability within Brazil. Campaigners called for the Brazilian government to accept greater responsibility vis‐à‐vis Mozambican constituents, and established direct lines of interaction between Mozambican and Brazilian civil society actors. To some extent, these links have enabled ProSAVANA target populations to communicate their preferences to Brazilian taxpayers, who can then call the Brazilian government directly to account. Such domestic‐transnational accountability interfaces can contribute to tackling ‘broken information feedback loops’ between donors and affected populations. However, the enduring significance of such changes will depend on the ability of emerging accountability practices to connect a broader range of stakeholders, both in Brazil and in Mozambique, and to establish constructive dialogue among competing visions and interests.

Funding

Default funder

History

Citation

Cabral, L. and Leite, I. (2015) ProSAVANA and the Expanding Scope of Accountability in Brazil's Development Cooperation, Gobal Policy, Volume 6, Issue 4, November 2015 Pages 435-445

Version

  • VoR (Version of Record)

IDS Item Types

Article

Copyright holder

© 2015 University of Durham and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Country

Brazil

Language

en

Project identifier

Default project::9ce4e4dc-26e9-4d78-96e9-15e4dcac0642::600

Usage metrics

    Brazil - Development Cooperation and Brazil in the World

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC