Brazilian and Colombian Presidents: Colombia Joining BRICS+

Russian state media outlets Sputnik News and RT led off their English and Spanish-language international reporting on Wednesday, April 18, 2024 with a joint statement issued by the Brazilian and Colombian Foreign Ministries: Colombia has applied to join the BRICS+ economic block. Brazilian readers can see the Brazilian Foreign Ministry announcement in Portuguese here.

If the unpopular leftist administration of President Gustavo Petro can follow through and Bogota joins BRICS+, it would represent a major coup for the Chinese and Russian-led bloc in the Caribbean/northern South American region--what Washington thinks of as its Monroe Doctrine backyard with a lengthy history of interventionism.

Given Petro's history as a former lawyer for the FARC narco-leftist guerrillas and his unpopularity with many Colombians, he should tread carefully. After the recent protests against the socialist dictatorship in Cuba, we could very well see a serious State Department/USAID-sponsored 'color revolution' attempt in Colombia this summer.

That being said, if Petro can deliver on his joint promise with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Colombia's joining BRICS+ would also represent a major boon to the country's similarly-flagged neighbor Venezuela joining the BRICS+. If there is one thing Venezuela needs urgently, it is a major Chinese boost to its infrastructure and the construction jobs that would come with such investment. We could also see the introduction in VZ of Russian financial plaforms like Yandex and MIR payments cards that cannot be blocked by Washington's sanctions. Venezuela's accession to the BRICS+ is expected to happen at this October's BRICS Summit to be held in Kazan, Russia.

On Friday afternoon at 3 pm ET/Caracas time, the ESW webcast will be discussing the impact of joining BRICS+ on the Venezuelan economy and potential Chinese boost to Venezuelan infrastructure with the founder Venezuela Insider, Andreas Villarroel. Please join us live or watch the playback on Rumble. If you prefer reading the ESW show transcripts, which are released 2-4 days after recording, subscribe to a paid $8 per month ESW Patreon subscription.

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