“Economy and geopolitics are changing,” Lula says of new countries joining BRICS | Policy

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Thursday (24) in Johannesburg, South Africa, that the accession of six new countries to the BRICS group is an indication that “economics and geopolitics are beginning to change” in relations between rich countries. and the so-called “Global South”.

Lula said this in an interview after the BRICS summit in Johannesburg. The group currently consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

“The economy is also starting to change. The geopolitics are starting to change because things are happening and people are realizing that we have to organize ourselves. […] “Working on an equal footing and in a civilized manner, we start negotiating,” Lula said.

According to the Brazilian president, with the union existing in groups such as BRICS, the countries of the Global South – already dubbed “Third World” and “developing countries”, as Lula mentioned in his speech – could discuss global issues “on a collective basis”. equal “”.

Lula also mentioned that the BRICS countries should consider joining other countries from the Global South on other occasions. The six new accredited members were part of a list of more than 40 countries that have expressed interest in joining the group.

“It’s not about the person in the government, it’s about the country. Country importance. I don’t want to know what ideological thinking the ruler has, I want to know if the country is within the standards we set for the people I declare to be part of the BRICS group.

A single corporate currency “intraBrics”.

Lula also hailed that, as a step forward from the current summit, the two countries agreed to create a new currency for the “BRICS” negotiations – that is, the BRICS countries can trade with each other without resorting to a foreign currency, such as the single currency. dollar.

He added, “We decided with a lot of maturity to ensure that we study the economic field of the BRICS countries, so that we can, at the next BRICS meeting, which will be in Russia, present a solution to know if we will reach a consensus or not.” Lola said.

Security Council reform

The Brazilian president also hailed the progress made by the BRICS summit in uniting in advocating the reform of the UN Security Council. Brazil has a longstanding requirement for a permanent seat at the university.

Earlier, Camila Bomvim’s blog on g1 showed that Brazilian diplomacy conditioned the acceptance of the six new BRICS members on the group’s commitment to this campaign, which is being led by Brazil and India – and which China and Russia view with some reservations.

The Security Council has five permanent members since its creation, along with the founding of the United Nations in 1945: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China.

“We’ve been fighting for over 20 years about this […] “We realize that geopolitics today has nothing to do with geopolitics in 1945. The world has changed,” said Lula.

The Brazilian president also said once again that Brazil opposes the territorial invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Lula declared, “Russia did not consult anyone, but simply invaded a country. It knows that we are against the occupation of the territorial integrity of any country.”

The United Nations Security Council is one instance that can set sanctions or reprimand countries for territorial violations or aggression against other countries. But the five members have veto power and can single-handedly override any majority – including Russia itself.