Instituto Liberdade (Brazil)
Background
Instituto Liberdade (Liberty Institute) is an independent Brazilian non-profit think tank based in Tecnopuc, Porto Alegre, in Southern Brazil. Instituto Liberdade began as “Instituto Liberal do Rio Grande do Sul” in 1986 and was renamed Instituto Liberdade on May 11, 2004. [1]
Instituto Liberdade’s stated purpose is to “foster the research, creation, and dissemination of educational and cultural assets displaying the advantages to all individuals of an organized society, based on the principles of individual rights, of limited and representative government, of respect for private property rights, contracts, and the free initiative. ” According to it swebsite, the group “supports multi-disciplinary theorists and intellectual entrepreneurs who endeavor to produce analyses or policy recommendations. It supports the rule of law, government decentralization, the free-market economy, and cultural freedom according to the principles of the Austrian School of Economics.” [1]
The institute carries out studies and research, edits books and publications, organizes courses, workshops, colloquia, debates, seminars and conferences and spreads “conservative/libertarian ideas among opinion leaders in the midst of entrepreneurs, magistrates, scholars, politicians, and artists.”
Three of the Instituto Liberdade’s board members are also members of the Mont Pelerin Society.
Stance on Climate Change
The Instituto Liberdade does not list an official statement regarding its stance on climate change. It regularly publishes articles by other think tanks that question or dismiss the existence of man-made climate change, however does not often post articles or studies of its own (based on a sample of articles on its website). [2]
Funding
According to their website, Instituto Liberdade is funded primarily by private contributions of individuals and institutions. Conservative Transparency lists seven transactions for the Instituto Liberdade, based on data retrieved from public 990 tax records: [1], [22]
Donor | Recipient | Amount | Year |
Pierre F. and Enid Goodrich Foundation | Instituto Liberdade (Porto Alegre Brazil) | $10,000 | 2011 |
Pierre F. and Enid Goodrich Foundation | Instituto Liberdade (Porto Alegre Brazil) | $10,000 | 2010 |
Pierre F. and Enid Goodrich Foundation | Instituto Liberdade (Porto Alegre Brazil) | $15,000 | 2009 |
Pierre F. and Enid Goodrich Foundation | Instituto Liberdade (Porto Alegre Brazil) | $15,000 | 2008 |
Pierre F. and Enid Goodrich Foundation | Instituto Liberdade (Porto Alegre Brazil) | $15,000 | 2007 |
Pierre F. and Enid Goodrich Foundation | Instituto Liberdade (Porto Alegre Brazil) | $15,000 | 2006 |
Pierre F. and Enid Goodrich Foundation | Instituto Liberdade (Porto Alegre Brazil) | $15,000 | 2005 |
Key People
Board of Directors
The following individuals are listed on the Instituto Liberdade’s website, as of October, 2015 (it is unclear when this list was last updated): [3]
- Ricardo Sondermann — President
- Margaret Tse — CEO and Public Policy Expert. Member of Mont Pèlerin Society.
- Ademar Xavier — Vice President
- Daniela Tumelero — Vice President
- Emiliano Gasque Rosenfield — Vice President
- Fábio Pesavento — Vice President
- Ricardo Santos Gomes — Vice President
Past Directors, listed listed as of March, 2011: [4]
- Henri Siegert Chazan — President. Member of Mont Pèlerin Society.
- Mathias K. Rodrigues — Chief Finance Officer.
- Leandro Gostisa —Vice President.
- Jorge Antônio Dib — Vice President.
- Paulo Uebel — Vice President.
- Claudio Teitelbaum — Vice-President.
- Gustavo Lepnitz Ene — Vice-President.
- André Buneder — Vice-President.
- Gabriel Barbosa — Vice-President.
- Fábio Ostermann — Project Manager
- Luiz Eduardo Fração — Vice President
Academic Council
- Paulo Uebel
- Carlos Fernando Souto
- Leônidas Zelmanovitz — Member of the Mont Pèlerin Society
- André Burger
Actions
July 7, 2014
Instituto Liberdade was a co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s 9th International Conference on Cilmate Chance (ICCC9) in Las Vegas, Nevada. [6]
May 21–23, 2012
Instituto Liberdade was a “Silver Sponsor” of the Heartland Institute’s Seventh International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC7). [7]
DeSmogBlog researched co-sponsors behind the conference and discovered that they had received a total of over $67 Million from ExxonMobil, Koch, and Scaife family foundations [8]
June 30 – July 1, 2011
Instituto Liberdade was a co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC6) in Chicago, IL. [9]
DeSmogBlog found that 17 of the 43 sponsors of the Heartland Institute’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change, including the Heartland Institute itself, had collectively received over $46 million from either Scaife Foundations, Koch Foundations, or ExxonMobil. [10]
August 31, 2010
Instituto Liberdade was a co-sponsor of a report organized by the International Policy Network.
The study is titled “Seven Myths About Green Jobs” (PDF) and purports to “reveals the hidden costs of so-called ‘green investments’, bringing a key policy of Britain’s coalition government into question,” writes Instituto Liberdad’s Margaret Tse. [11], [12]
May 16–18, 2010
Instituto Liberdade was a co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s Fourth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC4) in Chicago, IL. [13]
DeSmogBlog found that 19 of the 65 sponsors (including Heartland itself) had received a total of over $40 million in funding since 1985 from ExxonMobil (who funded 13 of the organizations), and/or Koch Industries family foundations (funded 10 organizations) and/or the Scaife family foundations (funded 10 organizations). [14]
June 2, 2009
Instituto Liberdade was a co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s Third International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC3) in Washington, DC. [15]
March 8 –10, 2009
Instituto Liberdade was a co-sponsor of the Heartland Institute’s Second International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC2) in New York. [16]
DeSmogBlog researched the funding behind Heartland’s Second International Conference on Climate Change and found that sponsor organizations had received over $47 million in funding from energy companies and right-wing foundations, with 78% of that total coming from Scaife Family foundations. [17]
Instituto Liberdade Contact & Location
As of June 2016, Instituto Liberdade listed the following contact information on its website: [21]
CEP 90619-900 – Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil
Fone: +55(51) 3384-7158 e 3384-6893
E-mail: [email protected]
Related Organizations
- Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change (CSCCC) — Past Member (the group’s website is no longer live, and it is unclear if they are still in operation). [18]
Instituto Liberdade regularly republishes articles form other prominent conservative think tanks including the Heartland Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Climate Realists, The Independent Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, the Sustainable Development Network, the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change, and numerous others.
Partners
Instituto Liberdade maintains over 300 partner organizations, blogs, and international groups. (See the attached spreadsheet for a full list of Institute Liberdade’s “Partners” (.xls). Below are some notable examples [19]
- Acton Institute
- Americans for Tax Reform
- Atlas Economic Research Foundation
- Ayn Rand Institute
- Brookings Institution
- Cato Institute
- Competitive Enterprise Institute
- Foundation for Economic Education
- Fox News
- Free Market Foundation
- Fund for American Studies – Latin America
- Future of Freedom Foundation
- Heartland Institute/Climate Change Conference
- Heritage Foundation
- Hoover Institution
- Hudson Institute
- Independent Institute
- Institute for Humane Studies
- Institute of Economic Affairs
- International Climate Science Coalition
- International Policy Network
- Mackinac Center for Public Policy
- Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
- Mont Pelerin Society
- National Center for Policy Analysis
- Property Rights Alliance
- RAND Corporation
- Reason Foundation
- Tax Foundation
In 2004, Instituto Liberdade joined Liberal Network for Latin America – RELIAL, a network of think tanks and parties involved in research on public policies, which represents, divulges and implements ideas of classic liberalism, standing its ground in Latin America.
Instituto Liberdade is listed as a partner/member of the Atlas Network. [20]
Social Media
- @InstLiberdade on Twitter.
- “Instituto Liberdade” on LinkedIn.
Resources
- “About Us,” Instituto Liberdade. Archived October 24, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cVTp0GIq
- “Climate Change,” Instituto Liberdade. Accessed October 23, 2015.
- “Board of Directors,” Instituto Liberdade. Archived October 24, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cWdb8H9A
- “Board of Directors,” Instituto Liberdade. Archived March 19, 2011.
- “Academic Council,” Instituto Liberdade. Archived October 24, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cWe7EHol
- “9th International Conference on Climate Change,” Instituto Liberdade, July 7, 2014. Archived October 23, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cVZZHGpY
- “Cosponsors,” 7th International Conference on Climate Change. Archived May 10, 2012.
- A Closer Look at Heartland’s ICCC7 Denial-a-Palooza Speakers and Sponsors,” DeSmog, May 23, 2012.
- Sixth International Conference on Climate Change Conference Program (PDF), the Heartland Institute. Archived July 25, 2015.
- Brendan DeMelle. “Denial-a-Palooza 6: Heartland’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change, Courtesy of Koch, Scaife & Exxon,” DeSmog, June 30, 2011.
- Margaret Tse. “’Green’ Subsidies Are Costly for Taxpayers and the Environment – New Study,” Instituto Liberdade, August 31, 2010. Archived October 24, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cVVPwsuu
- Andrew P. Morriss, William T. Bogart, Andrew Dorchak and Roger E. Meiners. “Seven Myths About Green Jobs” (PDF), International Policy Network, August, 2010. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.
- 4th International Conference on Climate Change Conference Program (PDF), The Heartland Institute.
- Brendan DeMelle. “Denial-a-palooza Round 4: ‘International Conference on Climate Change’ Groups Funded by Exxon, Koch Industries,” DeSmogBlog, May 13, 2010.
- “Co-Sponsors,” Third International Conference on Climate Change. Archived July 14, 2010.
- “Co-Sponsors,” The 2009 International Conference on Climate Change. Archived April 28, 2011.
- “Heartland Institute’s 2009 Climate Conference in New York: funding history of the sponsors,” DeSmogBlog.
- Margaret Tse. “News from Climate Coalition – CSCCC,” Instituto Liberdade, November 27, 2009. Archived October 23, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cVW9xRYo
- “Sponsors and Partners,” Instituto Liberdade. Archived October 24, 2015. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6cWcqdm6b
- “Instituto Liberdade,” Atlas Network. Archived October 24, 2015.
- “Fale Conosco,” Instituto Liberdade. Archived June 29, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6icMbOuYZ
- “Instituto Liberdade (Porto Alegre Brazil),” Conservative Transparency. Accessed May 31, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/6n8qA
Other Resources
- “Instituto Liberdade,” SourceWatch.
- “Instituto Liberdade,” Wikipedia.