Paulo Nogueira Batista: The Limits of the IMF, World Bank — and BRICS’ Flawed Alternative

Paulo Nogueira Batista Jr., former IMF executive director and founding VP of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), discusses why both institutions fall short in serving the Global South.

He explains how IMF reforms to boost developing countries’ representation stalled because meaningful change would increase China’s voting share — something the West resists — while the U.S. insists on keeping veto power. This, he argues, entrenches geopolitical bias, with the IMF acting as a “North Atlantic Monetary Fund.”

Paulo also critiques the NDB: voting rules that entrench founding BRICS power, weak transparency, politicized leadership, and no resident board to engage members. He calls ex-president Marcos Troyjo “totally unqualified” and explains why Putin kept Dilma Rousseff in charge rather than nominating a Russian.

They also discuss the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement’s Melbourne origins, why private cryptocurrencies won’t drive de-dollarization, how the U.S. “GENIUS Act” could backfire, and why Trump’s tariffs might strengthen BRICS cohesion.

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