After pressure from Maduro, Brazil vetoes Venezuela in BRICS

São Paulo (EFE).- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tried to press “at the last moment” for Venezuela to be included in the list of BRICS countries, to which Brazil reacted by expressing its “strong opposition”. of. Government sources told EFE this Friday.

According to sources, Brazil refused to allow Venezuela to join the list of associated countries because, “at the moment,” relations between the two countries “are not friendly”.

The list of thirteen countries joining BRICS, which has not yet received official approval, was agreed unanimously among representatives of the nine members of the forum at a meeting held in the Russian city of Kazan on Tuesday.

According to sources, initially they were working on a list of twelve countries and Algeria was also included in that meeting.

The list of thirteen countries leaked to the press includes Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Brazil does not approve of Venezuela in BRICS amid Putin

According to sources, Maduro tried a “last minute move” by talking to Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to get the Caribbean country on the list.

This pressure led Brazil to demonstrate “more forcefully” against entry in Caracas, causing “irritation” to the Venezuelan government.

At the end of the summit, the government of Nicolás Maduro described Brazil’s veto as a “hostile gesture” and an “aggression” against the nation’s interests.

In a statement, the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry expressed that with this veto it is “reproducing, for the moment, the hatred, exclusion and intolerance propagated from Western power centers to prevent the entry of Bolivar’s homeland into this organization. “

Choices and their impact on relationships

Relations between Caracas and Brasília have deteriorated as a result of the Venezuelan presidential elections on 28 July, in which the National Electoral Council (CNE) declared Maduro the winner in a decision contested by the opposition.

Brazil has refused to recognize Maduro’s victory and has repeatedly asked that Venezuelan officials release electoral records to demonstrate Maduro’s victory over rival Edmundo González Urrutia.

Together with Colombia and Mexico, Brazil is trying to mediate between Chavismo and the opposition to resolve the crisis.

How were BRICS formed?

After disagreements at the Kazan summit, BRICS is left with nine member countries plus Saudi Arabia as a guest country and a list of thirteen potential affiliate countries.

The BRICS were originally the main emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), but last year the bloc expanded to include the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia.

Given the refusal of some members to continue enlargement, the bloc opted to create the associated country category at this summit.

The next step will be a round of Russia-led consultations with thirteen new partners, agreed by consensus, before completing its official entry into that category.