The BRICS summit was covered extensively in major Latin American newspapers such as “Página12” (Argentina) and “La Jornada” (Mexico). On the eve of the summit, Dilma Rousseff, president of the BRICS Development Bank, announced the completion of the final step towards the accession of Colombia and Uzbekistan had. The bank now counts Brazil, Russia, China, India, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Egypt, Algeria, Colombia and Uzbekistan among its full members. Applications from other countries are being reviewed. Rousseff explained that the BRICS Bank is, unlike other financial institutions, referring to the World Bank and the IMF, a “bank of the countries of the Global South for the countries of the Global South.” “Our relationships are based on the equality of all members, so that no country dominates and all voices are heard. There is no right of veto.”
The principles of the BRICS Bank are based on solidarity, justice and respect for the sovereignty of its members. The BRICS Bank plays a key role in the development of the Global South. Although Rousseff ruled out the creation of a common currency or abandoning the dollar as the reference currency, saying “I don’t see any possibility of that happening”, she confirmed that the dollar will be replaced as the reserve currency in the long term. She argued that the hegemony of the dollar implies the supply of foreign currencies to the rest of the world, which leads to a weakening of the industrialisation process. The US trade deficit has resulted in the deindustrialisation of the US. Brazilian President Lula da Silva spoke out clearly in favour of taking measures to weaken the dollar. In his opinion, replacing the dollar in international trade is something “irreversible”. In his video message to conference participants, Russian President Vladimir Putin advocated the use of local currencies in trade between BRICS countries. For the first time, the finance ministers of the BRICS countries also agreed on a joint demand for reform of the IMF, which should give developing and emerging countries more weight with a new quota system. The traditional leadership of the IMF by a European was also called into question: “We must leave behind the anachronistic gentlemen’s agreement giving the leadership of the fund to Europe.”
The host country Brazil, which holds the BRICS presidency in 2025, was able to present itself confidently with its president Lula da Silva. During Brazil’s six-month presidency, around 200 events were held with officials, academics, experts and, for the first time, civil society groups. At the opening of the BRICS Economic Forum, Lula highlighted the enormous potential of the BRICS to lead structural change and strengthen cooperation between emerging economies. “Our countries can lead a new development model based on sustainable agriculture, green industry, resilient industry and the bio-economy.” He explained that the eleven BRICS countries account for 42 per cent of global agricultural production and are among the largest investors in renewable energies. In addition, 84 per cent of the world’s rare earth reserves, 66 per cent of manganese reserves and 63 per cent of graphite reserves are located in BRICS countries.
US President Trump’s threat to impose an additional 10 per cent punitive tariff on the BRICS countries and their supporters was met with opposition and widespread rejection. On the first day of the summit in Rio de Janeiro, the BRICS heads of state issued a joint statement expressing their serious concern about the unilateral imposition of tariffs and condemning their political instrumentalization.
The situation in Palestine also took up a lot of space. In his opening speech, Lula da Silva said we shouldn’t be indifferent to the genocide in Gaza. “Nothing justifies Hamas’ terrorist actions. But we can’t be indifferent to the genocide Israel is committing in Gaza and the mass killing of innocent civilians.” The final declaration also condemns the situation in Gaza in detail and calls for an immediate ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli military forces from the Gaza Strip and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. The final declaration also clearly expresses support for BRICS member Iran by condemning military attacks against Iran, even if it avoids mentioning the United States. None of the BRICS members “imposes or supports unilateral sanctions that have not been authorised by the UN Security Council”, the statement continues. •
Sources:
https://www.pagina12.com.ar/839862-colombia-y-uzbekistan-se-suman-al-banco-del-BRICS
https://www.pagina12.com.ar/841939-lula-defendio-la-desdolarizacion
https://www.pagina12.com.ar/839961-los-BRICS-exigen-un-cese-del-fuego-en-gaza-y-critican-los-arhttps://www.jornada.com.mx/noticia/2025/07/07/economia/condena-la-cumbre-brics-los-aranceles-y-acometida-de-eu-a-iran
gl. In its editorial on 8 July entitled “BRICS: Positive Contrast”, the Mexican newspaper La Jornada gives a hopeful summary of the summit, including for its own country, which is the United States’ most important trading partner. Mexico was invited to a BRICS summit as an observer for the first time. The Mexican foreign minister took part in Rio de Janeiro.
“Mexico finds itself in the paradoxical situation that the national humanism that has been promoted since the last six-year term1 is close to the BRICS message, while at the same time the country is anchored in the sphere of influence of the United States. Even if this peculiarity can be attributed to the country’s geographical proximity to the superpower, it should not be forgotten that the current degree of integration – or dependence, depending on how one looks at it – with our northern neighbour is the result of decisions made more than three decades ago by the architects of Mexican neoliberalism and formulated by the right wing in the form of undignified submission to Washington. Under the current circumstances, decoupling from the North American economic bloc would cause the total collapse of production and employment, resulting in immeasurable human suffering. However, Trumpism, with its unbridled tendency to blackmail even its closest partners and allies, reminds us that the United States will never be a friend and that Mexico must look south if it wants to build a sustainable economy and ensure its sovereignty in the long term.”
1 Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador 2017–2023
Source: https://www.jornada.com.mx/serviciosjornada/microservicios/edicionpdf/LAJORNADAPDF_12189.pdf
(Translation: Current Concerns)
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