Brazil’s Bolsonaro should understand role of BRICS in international relations

Brazil should be guided in international relations by its national interests, including cooperation in the framework of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), rather than ideology, Evandro Menezes de Carvalho, Professor of International Law at the Fluminense Federal University and expert at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, told TASS.

"A new political cycle is beginning in Brazil. Two political forces, which had dominated for more than 20 years, are taking a back seat. I’m speaking about the left-wing Workers’ Party and the center-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party and also major figures - ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Both of them were strong in foreign policy, and they liked to take an active part in international relations," the expert said, commenting on the victory of far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro in the second round of the presidential election.

"In case of Bolsonaro, it is not yet clear. It seems to me that this is a politician who is mainly oriented at domestic political issues, they are more interesting for him. His rhetoric is related to the standoff between the right-wing and the left-wing forces, aimed against the communists and addressing the needs of the domestic audience. Using it, Bolsonaro tries to cozy up to the voters," he said.

According to the expert, it is unclear whether this policy aimed at stirring up tensions between the right-wing and the left-wing forces will define Brazil’s relations with its international partners after Bolsonaro assumes office as president in January.

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry should have a vital role here and help Bolsonaro form a broader view on international relations, Menezes noted.

"Now his [Bolsonaro] rhetoric is related to ideology and this hinders his understanding of international situation. It’s high time he [Bolsonaro] understood the role of China and BRICS today. This is the only group, where Brazil is alongside with two permanent members of the UN Security Council and three nuclear powers," the expert said.

"The doors of BRICS are open for it and Brazil plays an important role in this group. I hope that the government of Bolsonaro will make national interests a priority. Now, when the trade war between the United States and China is in full swing, Brazil has even more reasons to remain in BRICS as it can serve as a mediator," he said.

BRICS is an acronym standing for an informal association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Its goal is to develop a consistent, pragmatic and transparent dialogue and cooperation between the countries. The participants also agreed that BRICS activity should be on a non-bloc basis and not be aimed against the third countries. Russia was the association’s initiator.

One of BRICS key goals is developing a global financial system, which will be independent from the current institutions relying on the dollar. Among the steps in this direction was the creation of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement.