How to open a dialog with the Brazilian government
Foreigners who have to get in touch with the Brazilian government have probably found themselves in a difficult situation as they do not know to exactly they must contact. Learn in this article how you can get in touch with the Brazilian ministries that may be interesting for foreign investments.
Background
Getting in touch with the right person from the Brazilian government can be a very tough assignment. If Brazilians have a hard time finding out who in the government is the person in charge of this or that, can you imagine what it’s like for foreign investor?
Having that in mind we got in touch with some divisions from the Brazilian government in order to find out who could assist foreigners who want to invest in Brazil.
Contacting the government departments
If you visit the website of any of the Brazilian government department, you will find out that the majority of them (if not them all) are only available in Portuguese. On the bottom of most of them, you will find a telephone number that you can call. When calling this number, you will be speaking with a receptionist who probably does not speak English.
Having that in mind, we contacted most Brazilian departments (with the exception of the Ministry of Justice) and found out who exactly should you look for when calling them.
Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento: responsible for agriculture, livestock and supply.
- Who to contact?
The international department of agribusiness promotion (Departamento de Promoção Internacional do Agronegócio) at the telephone number + 55 61 3218 2817.
Ministério das Cidades: responsible for housing, sanitation and transportation.
- Who to contact?
The International Communication Department (Assessoria de Comunicação Internacional) at the telephone number +55 61 2108 1764.
Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação: responsible for science, technology and innovation.
- Who to contact?
The International Communication Department (Assessoria de Comunicação Internacional) at the telephone number + 55 61 2033 7620.
Ministério das Comunicações: responsible for broadcasting, mailing and telecommunication services.
- Who to contact?
The International Communication Department (Assessoria de Comunicação Internacional) at the telephone number +55 61 3311 6197
Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário: responsible for agrarian reform and for the promotion of a sustainable development of the rural sector.
- Who to contact?
The National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) at the telephone number +55 61 3411 7123.
Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior: responsible for the Brazilian industry and foreign trade.
- Who to contact?
The National Department for Commerce Registration (Departamento Nacional de Registro do Comércio) at the telephone number +55 61 2027 8800.
Ministério da Fazenda: responsible for the creation and execution of the national economic policy.
- Who to contact?
The Department of Foreign Relations (Itamaraty) at +55 61 2030 6681, or the Investment Department (Divisão de Investimentos) at + 55 61 2030 6644.
Ministério da Integração Nacional : responsible for the development of the national economy as a whole.
- Who to contact?
The Department of International Assistance (Assint – Assessoria Internacional) at + 55 61 3414 4279.
Ministério do Meio Ambiente: responsible for the creation of policies for the national environment, water resources, preservation, conservation and a sustainable usage of the ecosystem, biodiversity and forests.
- Who to contact?
The Department of International Assistance (Assessoria Internacional) at + 55 61 2109 5170.
Ministério de Minas e Energia: responsible for geology, mineral and energetic resources, usage of hidraulic energy, mining and metallurgy, petroleum and electricity.
- Who to contact?
The Department of International Assistance (Assessoria Internacional) at + 55 61 2023 5190.
Ministério da Pesca e Aquicultura: responsible for the development of policies for the fisheries production and aquaculture.
- Who to contact?
The Department of International Assistance (Assessoria Internacional) at + 55 61 2023 3490.
Ministério do Planejamento, Orçamento e Gestão: responsible for planning the governmental admnistration.
- Who to contact?
The Department of Foreign Affairs (Secretaria de Assuntos Internacionais) at + 55 61 2020 4761.
Ministério da Previdência Social: responsible for supporting the Brazilian workers when they are unable to work, so it is the institution behind retirements and leaves.
- Who to contact?
The Department of International Assistance (Assessoria Internacional) at + 55 61 2021 5179.
Ministérios da Saúde: equivalent to the ministry of health.
- Who to contact?
The Department of International Assistance (Assessoria Internacional) at + 55 61 3315 2826.
Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego: responsible for the creation of policies to the generation of jobs and income, as well as support to the worker, supervising work conditions.
- Who to contact?
Apparently, there is no department exclusive to the assistance of foreigners, so the only telephone number available is +55 61 2031 6000.
Ministério dos Transportes : responsible for policies related to transportation in Brazil.
- Who to contact?
The Department of International Assistance (Assessoria Internacional) at + 55 61 2029 7235.
Ministério do Turismo : responsible for policies and initiatives related to the tourism industry in Brazil.
- Who to contact?
The Department of Foreign Market (Diretoria de Mercados Internacionais) + 55 61 2023 8888.
RENAI
RENAI (Rede Nacional de Informações sobre o Investimento – or Brazilian Investment Information Network) is an organization that provides entrepreneurs with investment opportunities in Brazil. RENAI works as a showcase of investment opportunities in Brazil, classifying these opportunities according to the state.
The main purpose of the organization is to facilitate the process of investing in Brazil, so they intermediate the relationship between the investor and the state in which the investment is being made. And the good news is: they do speak English.
Here are the telephone numbers for some departments that work as a RENAI representative in eight Brazilian states:
- Ceará – Agência de Desenvolvimento do Ceará: + 55 85 3244 7967
- Distrito Federal - Secretaria de Desenvolvimento Econômico do Distrito Federal: + 55 61 3325 2433
- Goiás – Secretaria de Indústrias: +55 66 3201 5573
- Minas Gerais – INDI MG: +55 31 3915 2855
- Pará – Secretaria de Indústrias: +55 91 3233 3402
- Pernambuco – Agência de Desenvolvimento do Pernambuco: + 55 81 3182 7378
- Rio de Janeiro - Casa Civil do Rio de Janeiro: +55 21 2334 3259
- Rio Grande do Sul – Secretaria de Desenvolvimento do Rio Grande do Sul: +55 51 3288 6121
- São Paulo - Agência de Investimento de São Paulo: + 55 11 3218 5769
Other departments and organizations
According to Itamaraty, Secoms, which are the departments to promote commerce in Brazil and belong to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, can be an important first step for foreigners who want to invest in Brazil. Foreign investors can get in touch with these departments while they are still in their home country through the Brazilian embassy.
Also, another website with a lot of information about Brazil available in Portuguese, English and Spanish is Brasil Global Net, where you can find NCM codes, investment opportunities and information about fairs and events.