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Correio newspaper | Brics defines list with 13 invited countries and without Venezuela, despite Maduro’s presence

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Brics defines list with 13 invited countries and without Venezuela, despite Maduro’s presence

Nicolás Maduro saw his plan to enter the group of emerging economies blocked behind the scenes by the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government

  • Photo by the author Estadão

Published on October 23, 2024 at 10:55 pm

Lula and Maduro

Nicolás Maduro saw his plan to enter the group of emerging economies blocked behind the scenes by the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government Credit: Ricardo Stuckert / PR

The Brics countries formalized this Wednesday, the 23rd, the creation of a new category of membership to the bloc and defined the list with 13 potential countries, leaving Venezuela out. Despite having the sympathy of Russia and China and having traveled to Kazan at the last minute, dictator Nicolás Maduro saw his plan to enter the group of emerging economies blocked behind the scenes by the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government

The Kazan Declaration, the final document of the 16th annual BRICS leaders’ summit, confirms the establishment of the category of “BRICS Partner Countries”. The leaders celebrated the “considerable interest from countries in the Global South.” In Kazan, the bloc’s current members evaluated formal expressions of membership expressed by 33 countries.

The official version of the Brazilian government is that the country did not sponsor new accessions, nor vetoed them. Asked about how Brazil positioned itself on Venezuela’s election, Chancellor Mauro Vieira stated that the discussion had not yet taken place – at least explicitly among the leaders.

“The discussion these days was about the criteria and principles that will guide the expansion of future BRICS. The list of countries will be decided from now on. The Russian presidency will hold consultations with each of the ten current members and then we will declare, We are going to announce which countries these are. This could happen in a shorter period of time, it could happen in a longer period of time, if not by the end of the year it will be transferred to next year and to the Brazilian presidency”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who took over as head. of the Brazilian representation after Lula canceled his trip on medical advice.

Behind the scenes, however, diplomats directly involved in the negotiations indicated to their peers that Brazil did have an objection to the Venezuelan entry plan. According to negotiators, they received instructions to this effect from Brasília at the highest political level – that is, from President Lula and his special advisor Celso Amorim.

Lula and Amorim were uncomfortable with the deterioration of relations with Caracas. In recent days, new provocations from Maduro and those around him have become public, such as the insinuation that Lula was an agent recruited by the CIA – the United States intelligence agency. With a long history of friendship and defense of the Chavistas, Lula and Amorim have so far failed to mediate a political understanding in the neighboring country and have not recognized the Chavista as the winner of the July presidential election, suspected of fraud.

In parallel, Maduro held a bilateral meeting with Putin this Wednesday and said that his country practices “all the BRICS principles out of conviction.” “Venezuela is on the path to BRICS, to balancing the world,” said the Chavista, after the meeting with the host.

He arrived in Kazan after he had already sent Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. Venezuela received the invitation through a letter from Putin. “We are already part of the gear, of this engineering of the multicentric, pluripolar world that is being born”, stated the Chavista still at the airport, in a clear movement of pressure to join the group. “The BRICS have already become the epicenter of the new multipolar world.”

During the meeting, Putin highlighted that “Venezuela is one of Russia’s long-standing reliable partners in Latin America and around the world.” The Russian once again expressed that he supports Maduro’s desire to join the Brics.

In Kazan, the ten current members – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates and Iran – participated for the first time in a BRICS summit after the 2023 expansion. assume the rotating presidency on January 1, 2025, when the category of “partner” countries will be created, to which another 13 countries are being invited.

Estadão had access to the document containing the “consolidated list of potential partner countries”. They are: Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Brazil indicated a preference for approving ten new members. The government indicated sympathy for the candidacies of Latin Americans, such as Cuba and Bolivia, for example, and also expressed to peers that it would bar the election of Nicaragua, whose dictator Daniel Ortega broke with Lula.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs said that there cannot be an “unreasonable increase” in the number of countries associated with Brics, which is not a formal bloc and does not have a base or secretariat.

According to him, Brazil will not disengage from the group, but it also does not see its participation as a movement hostile to the West – the United States and Europe. The strengthening of an alternative hub has been encouraged by the Russians and, above all, the Chinese, until now the main promoters of expansion at any cost and as large as possible, according to diplomats directly involved.

“Brazil is not against anyone. Brazil is in favor of cooperation and the development of our own national interest. I think there is a negative view of Brics, because they think that Brics is against one or the other. It’s nothing like that Brazil, as far as I know, is a Western country. So, Brazil will not want to be against itself.

Until the confirmation of the new accessions and the definition of the scope of participation and the prerogatives of the “partner” countries – one of the possibilities is that they do not have the right to veto matters -, Itamaraty expects new pressure to arise on the list closed in Kazan. This is because the rights of those who will have partner status may be displeased.

Among the criteria evaluated for the invitations were political relevance, balance in the regional distribution of countries, alignment with the global governance reform agenda, including that of the UN Security Council, and financial institutions, such as the IMF, rejection of sanctions not authorized by the United Nations within the council, and “friendly” relations with all members.

Venezuela’s return to the race, for now, is viewed with skepticism by the Brazilian government, because it would depend on a new discussion between the leaders to reach a consensus and, potentially, would strain the relationship with Lula, who has already indicated disagreement.

“There has to be a consultation between all countries, with a position that leads to a consensus, there are 10 or 12 countries, Brazil is in favor of there being a number of ten, since there are currently ten members, that the partners are also ten in this first step. Then everything will be done in consensus and consultation”, said Vieira.

Brics negotiators reached an agreement not to officially disclose, for now, the list of countries being explored to join the group. They stopped including the list of 13 in the summit’s final declaration, as they did last year.

This was a way of avoiding embarrassment after Argentina, under the Javier Milei government, waved to the United States and Europe and declined the invitation formalized in Johannesburg, South Africa. Saudi Arabia, treated as a member, also claims to have not yet decided for formal membership, having for now a precarious and underrepresented participation.

Now, the Russians will begin the survey process with the 13 countries. Moscow is interested in becoming the sponsor of new members to garner support for the Vladimir Putin government, especially because of the isolation caused by the war in Ukraine. The Russian summit organization has released images that help Putin combat the idea that he has become an international pariah.

This Thursday, the 24th, the heads of state and government of the Brics countries will participate in the summit segment intended for interaction with representatives of the countries invited by Russia, which are usually called Brics Outreach/Brics Plus. Among them are Maduro in Kazan and potential members of the category of “partner countries”, nations that have been in the group’s orbit for some time and regularly participate in activities. The summit is expected to end with a press conference by Putin.

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Michelle Williams

I'm Michelle Williams, an enthusiastic author specializing in captivating entertainment content on Rwcglobally.com. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for the latest trends, I aim to engage readers with compelling narratives that reflect the dynamic landscape of the entertainment industry. Join me on Rwcglobally.com to explore the world of film, television, music, and more, as we uncover the stories that define contemporary culture.

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