The President’s Inbox Brazil and the BRICS, With Oliver Stuenkel
Jul 22, 2025
Oliver Stuenkel, an associate professor at Fundação Getulio Vargas and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discusses Brazil's strategic role within the BRICS group. He highlights Brazil's multi-alignment approach amid global tensions and its cautious stance on BRICS expansion, especially regarding China's influence. Stuenkel explores the geopolitical dynamics of BRICS membership in light of the Ukraine conflict, the diplomatic challenges posed by absent leaders, and Brazil's balancing act between the U.S. and other global players.
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Brazil's Multi-Alignment Strategy
- Brazil pursues a multi-alignment strategy to maintain relations with all major powers in an unpredictable world.
- BRICS helps Brazil diversify partnerships, especially with China as its biggest trading partner since 2009.
BRICS Internal Divisions on Expansion
- BRICS faces internal tensions with expansion, notably Brazil's opposition and China's push for inclusion of countries with anti-Western rhetoric.
- The group is divided between an anti-Western wing and more multi-aligned members like Brazil and India.
BRICS' Ukraine Conflict Position
- The BRICS final declaration criticized Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure but omitted mention of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
- BRICS membership offers diplomatic protection since members won’t actively isolate each other even amid conflicts.
