When did the negotiations start? Whats the history of Brazil joining ESO?
The first informal discussions with Brazil started in early 2009, and included a colloquium about ESO in Sao Paulo given by the ESO Council President as part of the development of a strategic plan for Brazilian astronomy. Further discussions took place during the International Astronomical Union General Assembly, when ESO’s Director General, Tim de Zeeuw, invited the Brazilian Minister of State for Science and Technology, Sergio Machado Rezende, to visit ALMA and the ESO Paranal Observatory in February 2010. Brazilian astronomers agreed that they should apply for ESO Membership in May 2010, and accordingly made a recommendation to Minister Rezende. A formal expression of interest in accession was sent via the Brazilian embassy to Berlin, arriving just before the June 2010 ESO Council meeting. As a result, informal negotiations with the government took place throughout June, July and August 2010. An extraordinary ESO Council meeting on 5 October 2010 unanimously decided to formally invi
