New Delhi: In a development that was much anticipated after far-right populist leader Javier Milei assumed office as the President of Argentina, the South American country has pulled out of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) intergovernmental organisation for which it was granted membership earlier this year.
Argentina was among six countries that were granted membership in BRICS during its annual summit held in South Africa this year, the others being Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The membership of these six nations was supposed to take effect from January 1, 2024. Established in 2009 with the inclusion of Brazil, Russia, India and China, the BRICS bloc later incorporated South Africa in 2010. However, now it aims to forge a more robust alliance of developing nations capable of effectively advancing the concerns of the Global South on the global stage. Ahead of the 15th annual summit held in August 2023 in South Africa, over 40 nations had expressed their interest in joining BRICS, and 23 had formally submitted their applications. Of these, six were approved members, including Argentina.
What is BRICS and what is its agenda?
BRICS brings together five of the largest developing countries of the world, representing around 41 per cent of the global population, around 24 per cent of the global GDP and around 16 per cent of global trade. The acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman Sachs in their Global Economics Paper, “The World Needs Better Economic BRICs” based on econometric analyses projecting that the four economies would individually and collectively occupy far greater economic space and would be amongst the world’s largest economies in the next 50 years or so.
As a formal grouping, BRIC started after the meeting of the leaders of Russia, India and China in St Petersburg on the margins of the G8 Outreach Summit in 2006. The grouping was formalised during the first meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers on the margins of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York in 2006. The first BRIC Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. It was agreed to expand BRIC into BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York in 2010.
The BRICS bloc was originally identified to highlight investment opportunities and had not been a formal intergovernmental organisation. Since 2009, the member countries have increasingly formed into a more cohesive geopolitical bloc, with their governments meeting annually at formal summits and coordinating multilateral policies. Bilateral relations among BRICS are conducted mainly based on non-interference, equality and mutual benefit.
The BRICS nations are considered the foremost geopolitical rival to the G7 bloc of leading advanced economies, implementing competing initiatives such as the New Development Bank, the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, the BRICS payment system, the BRICS Joint Statistical Publication and the BRICS basket reserve currency.
What is the reason behind the expansion of BRICS membership?
Since 2022, the group has sought to expand membership, with several developing countries expressing interest in joining. The aim of the latest expansion is touted as part of a plan to build a multipolar world order that puts weight on hitherto subdued voices of the Global South and brings them to the centre of the world agenda.
In August 2023, at the 15th BRICS Summit, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that six emerging market group countries (Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) had been invited to join the bloc. Full membership is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2024. However, the Argentine general election in November 2023 led to a change in president to Javier Milei, who had committed to withdraw the country’s membership application. On November 30, 2023, incoming Foreign Minister of Argentina Diana Mondino confirmed that Argentina would not join BRICS. On December 29, 2023, the Government of Argentina sent a letter to all BRICS leaders to officially announce its withdrawal from the application process.
Why did Argentina withdraw from BRICS?
President Milei’s predecessor, the former centre-left President Alberto Fernández, had endorsed joining BRICS as an opportunity to reach new markets. But, from the very outset of his election campaign, Milei had said that he would oppose Argentina’s membership in BRICS. Milei is the leader of the far-right Libertarian Party. During the 2010s, Milei achieved significant notoriety and public exposure in debates developed on Argentine television programmes characterised by insults to his rivals, foul language and aggressive rhetoric when expressing and debating his ideals and beliefs. He has been described as a controversial, eccentric and ultraconservative economist.
Milei is the leader of the La Libertad Avanza (Liberty Advances) coalition comprising his Libertarian Party and some other right-wing parties. La Libertad Avanza advocates for a reduction in the size and scope of the Argentine state, arguing that its current scale and regulatory framework are detrimental to economic efficiency and individual prosperity. The party emphasises that the primary role of the state should be to protect fundamental rights, including life, liberty, and property.
Milei is nicknamed “the madman” and is often compared to the Marvel character Wolverine and former US President Donald Trump. In fact, Trump congratulated Milei saying that he would “make Argentina great again”. Milei won the elections on the plank of radical views of fixing the economy that has been hit by three-digit inflation and an increase in poverty levels and is faced with a recession.
Since his election, Milei has consistently emphasised his three-pronged approach to trade and foreign policy during interviews with Argentine media. He categorises himself primarily as “an ally of the United States, Israel and the West”. Additionally, a key aspect of his philosophy involves refraining from endorsing or fostering connections with dictatorships, communists, or those who do not prioritise peace and democratic values. Lastly, Milei asserts the freedom of businesspeople to engage in trade with any partners of their choosing. With BRICS emerging as a rival to the G7 comprised primarily the US and other major developed nations of the West, Milei’s decision was only expected.
So, what does Argentina's withdrawal from BRICS mean for India? India will lose the support of a partner in the Global South. New Delhi has been projecting itself as the voice of the Global South during its G20 presidency that concluded in November this year.
