Argentina is looking to join the BRICS alliance of emerging economies. Argentinian President Fernandez stated that Argentina wants to be a full member of the bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Is the “BRICSA” a real possibility?
Argentina’s potential membership in the BRICS group, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has been in consideration for over a decade.
Xi Jinping invited Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández to participate in the 2022 summit. This is not the first time an Argentine president has attended a BRICS meeting: Mauricio Macri went to South Africa in 2018, and Cristina Fernandez attended Fortaleza, Brazil summit in 2014.
Alberto Fernández said that “this platform has the ability to discuss and create a plan for the future that will lead to a better and more fair time. We are making history. Peace is now necessary, and we must make it the new name of progress.”.
Fernandez added that “The institutional and economic weight of the BRICS can have an impact on financial stability,” and “the expansion of the bloc’s “New Development Bank” can be a useful tool to assist national infrastructure development.“
BRICS accounts for around 40% of the world’s population and almost a quarter of global GDP.
Argentina wants to get more involved in global affairs and increase its international influence. Adding Argentina to the BRICS bloc would increase the population covered and GDP represented by the group. However, Argentina’s economy is currently in a recession, and Fernandez is facing criticism for handling the coronavirus pandemic. The inflation rate is 58%, and the economy has grown less than expected in the first quarter as agricultural exports declined.
The integration as a new member into the BRICS is improbable since it would violate the bloc’s founding spirit of assembling the most important emerging nations from each continent.
Fernandez traveled to the Kremlin in early 2022 before the Ukraine-Russia war. He declared that Argentina should be “Russia’s gateway to Latin America.” It’s tough to figure out what Argentina would get from joining BRICS amid the existing geopolitical scenario. It would begin to participate in high-level talks with these countries, but it has already done so at the G-20 level. If Argentina is interested in joining the BRICS, it might be better for them to wait until after the war. Fernandez said that the war in Europe had consequences for the entire southern hemisphere. He said that the world needs to understand this.
Argentina’s inclusion in the BRICS might weaken Brazil’s position by adding another member from the same continent and a commercial competitor in the major agricultural markets.
Do you think Fernandez is making the right move by pushing for Argentina to join the BRICS? What would be the benefits and drawbacks of such a move? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
