One of the more disturbing geopolitical shifts in recent years has been the growing transformation of the BRIC (later BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) grouping. Originally this was a nifty acronym coined by an economist at an investment bank back in 2001 who saw the original four as major emerging economic powers. He reportedly thought that the fifth, South Africa, was too small to be included when it was (2010). But by then the acronym had left Wall Street behind it and become a (looseish) political grouping designed to act as a counterweight to American power.
It was a mark of the declining clout of the U.S. that six more countries were set to join BRICS on January 1, 2024: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
And it is a mark of the fact that Argentina’s new president Javier Milei wants his country to keep better company that it will not be joining the group after all.
[Milei] succeeded left-wing Peronist Alberto Fernández, whose views were more aligned with those of the bloc’s existing members.
Mr Milei said in his letter that his government’s foreign policy “differs in many ways from that of the previous government”.
He added that although he did not consider it “appropriate” for Argentina to become a full Brics member, he was still committed to strengthening bilateral ties, particularly with the aim of increasing trade and investment flows.
Milei has made clear that he wants to align Argentina with the West. Good.
(There’s more on Milei in the latest Capital Letter.)