Brazil blocks Venezuela's BRICS bid
Oct. 24, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin inaugurated the BRICS summit in Kazan, touting the creation of a new “multipolar world order.” (AFP) He closed it today, praising the bloc’s role as a counterbalance to what he called the West’s “perverse methods.” (Associated Press)
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio da Silva spoke to the summit by video conference, after an injury prevented him from traveling. He called for BRICS nations to develop new payment methods between them, and said the group's New Development Bank was designed as an alternative to what he called failing Bretton Woods institutions, reports Reuters.
In his speech yesterday, Lula called for "avoiding escalation" and “encouraging peace negotiations” in the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. (AFP) Chinese President Xi Jinping called for no escalation, and Indian President Narendra Modi called for peace — leading Ukraine’s foreign ministry to say that Moscow had failed to win support for its invasion of Ukraine at the summit. (Guardian)
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s attendance at the summit evinces the growing schism within the bloc: Putin welcomed the Venezuelan leader, who made his first international trip since the controversial July elections in which he is widely believed to have stolen.
Putin told Maduro, who was in Russia on a first visit since 2019, that Venezuela was a "reliable partner" for Moscow. Maduro, in turn, expressed his "admiration" of Russia for its "battle against Nazism," an allusion to the conflict in Ukraine (AFP)
But Brazil vetoed Venezuela’s candidacy to join the BRICS bloc as a partner member, sustaining Itamaraty’s pressure on Maduro’s government to produce valid electoral results. More broadly Brazil has sought to slow the blocs expansion, but supported applications from Cuba and Bolivia to join, reports El País. (See also Brazilian Report.)
More Regional Relations
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said in an interview that the U.S. would not use military force if Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro does not leave office. (The Hill)
The European parliament awarded its top human rights honor, the Sakharov prize for freedom of thought, to Venezuelan opposition leaders María Corina Machado and Edmundo González for “representing the people of Venezuela fighting to restore freedom and democracy”. (Guardian)
Lula is planning several engagements with his Chinese and U.S. counterparts, who will visit Brazil next month for the the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. (South China Morning Post)
Brazil’s agriculture minister called for the country to join China’s Belt and Road, as a way to counter E.U. and U.S. protectionism. (Bloomberg)
“The idea that Brazil and other nations in the region shouldn’t have to pick between close relations with the world’s two largest economies was front and centre at Bloomberg New Economy at B20 in São Paulo.”
“Britain has a legal and moral case to answer over its historical role in slavery, the chair of the Caribbean’s slavery reparation commission has said, as Keir Starmer continues to reject calls to put the issue on the agenda at the Commonwealth summit,” reports the Guardian.
Ecuador
Two men allegedly behind the January attack on a Guayaquil television station that triggered Ecuador’s war on gangs have been arrested in Spain. The news is a much needed boost for President Daniel Noboa’s reelection campaign in the midst of a severe electricity crisis, reports Bloomberg.
Haiti
Some 50 suspected gang members have died this week after attacking a coastal town in Haiti. Most were killed by police, but at least a dozen drowned after their boat capsized, reports the Associated Press.
Argentina
“Argentina’s government is in talks with several banks to obtain a loan agreement of around US$2.7 billion for about three years in order to meet its principal debt obligations next January,” reports Bloomberg.
The World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) are providing Argentina with $8.8 billion in financing, the economy ministry announced yesterday. (Reuters)
“Axel Kicillof, governor of Buenos Aires province and the most powerful elected official in the leftwing Peronist opposition, told the Financial Times that foreigners who see the rightwinger’s rise last year as proof of epochal change should think again,” and that many Argentines still want “a bigger and better state.”
Donald Trump and his supporters serve as model for rebellion for Argentina’s backlash against left-wing politics, largely fueled by those who feel left behind by progressive policies, writes Lucia Cholakian Herrera in The Dial. “For Milei, a second Trump term could mean a powerful ally in the White House …”
Uruguay
Security is a key concern for Uruguayans, who will vote in general elections on Sunday. “Despite Uruguay’s strong economy, low inflation, and a steady decline in certain crime rates, security remains a top concern, driven by rising violence and the nation’s increasing role in the international cocaine trade,” reports InSight Crime.
Peru
“Datum published a poll on Peruvian security that suggests the public’s perception of the security situation has worsened significantly and that the political elites and public institutions are taking the blame” — Latin America Risk Report