Lula says the BRICS summit was “phenomenal” and defends expansion

Today, Saturday (August 26, 2023), President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defended the expansion of the BRICS group, with 6 new countries joining the group, and said that the bloc meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, went “rare”, Especially when compared to the performance of the blocs and other international organizations, such as the United Nations. However, the head of the Brazilian executive stressed the need for standards “So that the countries are not filled.” However, he said, “The more people the better.”

“The BRICS group was extraordinary. Even more strange is the number of countries that want to enter. But it is necessary to set standards because countries do not have to be filled in. People who want to participate are placed carefully. And more people for the better.” He said. The President gave an interview to reporters in Luanda, the capital of Angola, where he stayed for two days for a state visit.

formed by BBrazil, RRussia, IIndia, wHina and Africa sFirstly, the BRICS countries will also participate, from January 2024, in:

• Argentina;
• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
• Egypt;
• The United Arab Emirates;
• Ethiopia;
• will.

The result of the fifteenth BRICS summit practically ended with the strengthening of the influence of China and India on the bloc. But Brazil left without being able to make significant progress. He accepted the promise of rhetorical but futile support for pressuring the UN Security Council into accepting new permanent members.

However, the bloc has increased its international importance in order to oppose groups of rich countries, especially the G7 led by the United States.

For Lula, the nations of the group organized themselves and now the world no longer calls them “states”. “Third world” orunder development”, but how From the Global South. “You have become more elegant.”joked.

The president also said that the group balanced the geopolitical discussions. He added, “Now, a meeting between the BRICS and the Group of Seven can be held under conditions of superiority. Because the BRICS countries, in breakeven GDP, account for 36% [do PIB de paridade de compra global]And the Group of Seven 29%. He said.

With the new composition, the population of the group increased from 41% to 46% of the planet’s population, especially due to the presence of India and China, the most populous in the world.

The GDP of the enlarged bloc could reach US$32.9 trillion in 2024, according to IMF projections. The value will represent 29.7% of global GDP.

The total gross domestic product of the current member states is $25.9 trillion, which is equivalent to 25.5% of global economic activity. Data from the World Bank for 2022.

The criterion mentioned by Lula, purchasing parity GDP, takes into account the purchasing power of a nation’s currency at the international level. It is more beneficial for developing countries because it reduces the effects of converting depreciated currencies against the dollar.

Lula also mentioned that the bloc’s decision to form a committee with economy ministers to discuss the possibility of using local currencies in business among the members of the group is very important.

The President also celebrated the commitment of other countries, especially China and Russia, to press for more countries to join the United Nations Security Council. The election is historically defended by the Labor Party.

Lula said again that the United Nations no longer represents the world today and does not have the same credibility it did when it was created in 1945.

“It is necessary to have a geographical representation more in line with today’s realities. In 1948, the United Nations managed to create the State of Israel. In 2023, it fails to enforce the area designated for the Palestinians.”He said.

In his opening address to the journalists, the president stated that the bloc will help change the geopolitical reality in Brazil, as before I only looked at Europe and the United States.. He cited, for example, the debt the country had with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from the end of the 1990s until the first decade of the 2000s, and criticized the behavior of former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in relation to the international body. Lula paid off the debt, which at the time was US$15.5 billion, in 2005.

“It was a shame that we had a government like the FHC government, which was democratic, and no one can say it wasn’t, and which had a competent person in the Ministry of Finance, like the government.” [Pedro] Malan, a well-respected person, received people from the International Monetary Fund in Brazil to supervise the Brazilian accounts. It was shameful to know that a sovereign country was receiving economists from the International Monetary Fund to visit our accounts. How many times has Malan gone to Washington to ask for money from the International Monetary Fund and it hasn’t even been received. So I made the decision to pay. I learned from my mother. It has paid and lent $15 billion to the International Monetary Fund. Now we are the creditors, and they are the ones who are ashamed of us. One day I will send economists to check their accounts.” He said. But Lula lent the fund $10 billion at the time.

Lula reiterated that he would ask the International Monetary Fund to agree to convert the debts of African countries into investment in the continent. According to him, the deficit amounts to 760 billion dollars. “I have an idea that we need to start a new fight. The logic here is to educate the people who have this debt so that it turns into infrastructure support. Either you cancel this debt or you can extend it until countries find a solution to pay it. We have to find a solution because we cannot continue in the same way.” . He said.