Brazilian president canceled trip to the Asian country after a domestic accident

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told the leaders of the Brics countries this Wednesday, 23, that it is time for the bloc to create alternative payment methods for transactions between themselves. Brics and other sectors of global politics, mainly led by China, are looking for ways to trade without having to resort to the North American currency, the dollar, which has dominated global business since the last century.

“The time has come to move forward in the creation of alternative payment methods for transactions between our countries. It is not about replacing our currencies, but we need to work so that the multipolar order we aim for is reflected in the international financial system. This discussion needs to be faced with seriousness, caution and technical solidity, but it cannot be postponed any longer”, said the PT member.

The BRICS summit meeting is being held in Kazan, Russia, but Lula participated via videoconference from Brasília. The Brazilian president canceled his trip to the Asian country after a domestic accident over the weekend.

Lula also defended interbank cooperation between the bloc’s members. “Through the interbank cooperation mechanism, our national development banks will establish credit lines in local currencies, which will reduce transaction costs for small and medium-sized companies”, declared the PT member.

“We represent 36% of global GDP by purchasing power parity. We have 72% of the planet’s rare earths, 76% of manganese and 50% of graphite. However, financial flows continue to go to rich nations. It is a Marshall Plan at reverse, in which emerging and developing economies finance the developed world. The Brics initiatives and institutions break with this logic”, said Lula.