RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Alberto Fernández today expressed Argentina’s intention to join the BRICS bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The government is expected to set out to join this group of countries with great economic and geopolitical weight.
In a letter sent to launch the activities ahead of the virtual summit of BRICS presidents on June 24, Alberto Fernández stated that “the BRICS represents an excellent alternative for cooperation in the face of a world order that works for the benefit of a few.”
In the letter, Fernández added: “The New Development Bank of the BRICS, in which my country could participate, is for me the institutionalization of a new world order focused on development, far from the financial speculation that has caused so much damage to our countries.”
With his clear gesture of joining the BRICS, the Argentine president concluded by saying, “Let us move forward in building a more just, secure, less unequal, and more cooperative world.”
In this way, Argentina is not only seeking the presidency of CELAC, but also joining this powerful group of developing countries that represent about 42% of the world’s population, generate 23% of the world’s GDP, occupy 30% of the earth’s territory and handle 18% of all international trade.
The BRICS countries have in common a large population (China and India have more than 1.1 billion inhabitants, Brazil and Russia more than 140 million), a large territory (almost 38.5 million km²) that gives them strategic continental dimensions, a gigantic amount of natural resources and a significant share in world trade.
From a world political point of view, Argentina’s decision to join BRICS is also a strong signal to the United States and the European Union, since it is a bloc that represents a strong counterweight to these countries in economic terms.
Moreover, Alberto Fernández’s request for Argentina to join the BRICS comes at the time of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which also puts the bloc in an awkward position in terms of relations with Vladimir Putin, who has been sharply criticized around the world.
In an effort to counterbalance the power of the BRICS, U.S. President Joe Biden is embarking on a trip to Asia this week that will include Japan and South Korea, the very two countries excluded from the bloc that Argentina wants to join.
As part of the BRICS accession strategy, Argentina’s Ambassador to China, Sabino Vaca Narvaja, read today the letter sent by the Argentine President, in his capacity as Chairman of the Justicialist Party, to the organizers of the BRICS Forum of Political Parties.
In addition, Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero will attend today the BRICS Foreign Ministers Summit, to which he has also been invited to speak. This is another gesture by China to include Argentina in this bloc.