By GIOVANNI MESQUITA*
What would be the greater insult to imperialism, placing Venezuela in the BRICS or creating the BRICS?
When I learned that Brazil would veto Venezuela's entry into this BRICS round, I was a little confused. A colleague from a WhatsApp group posted an article from G1 Globo, with the following headline: “Venezuela is left out of the list of BRICS partner countries; decision coincides with what Brazil wanted”. We see that the authors of the article, Bianca Rothier and Ricardo Abreu, capitalized only the first letter of the acronym. It remains to be seen whether this is simply a spelling error, due to the low cultural background of those who work in the so-called “professional” press, or an unexpected flash of nationalism, since only Brazil is awarded the capital letter.
Daydreams aside, since only BRICS members from the same continent can nominate a country from their continent, it was clear to me that Brazil's failure to nominate was in fact equivalent to a veto. I didn't know what to think about this stance by the Brazilian government. In response to the post posted in the group, I stated that Venezuela "was vetoed by Brazil, I'm trying to understand why (what the criteria were)." The lack of interest that this political group shows in discussing politics generated only one comment to my question: "What criteria? But it's submission to the internal ruling classes and to US imperialism."
I appreciate the comrade's response, but I consider it inconclusive. What would be the greater insult to imperialism, placing Venezuela in the BRICS or creating the BRICS?
Journalists from G1, reported that the TV Globo It was discovered, who knows how, who knows from whom, that the Brazilian government had pressured Venezuela and Nicaragua to be left off the list of invited members. And the “sources” interviewed stated that Lula was irritated with Nicolás Maduro. The theory that Lula had a grudge against Nicolás Maduro would not, in reality, be entirely unreasonable. Look at the Venezuelan elections; Lula, at the request of the Maduro government, gave the greatest support to the electoral process, defending its fairness.
In the publication of Brasil de Fato, dated June 11, 2024, it is stated that “The vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Diosdado Cabello, said this Monday (10) that Brazil and Colombia […] “should come to Venezuela to see how an election is held, to learn how an election is held. It is not easy to learn how to hold elections. Some say they do not have time, well, that is a problem for each country, but they should come to learn from the best CNE (National Electoral Council) in the world”, he stated.”
The Maduro style is pure “class” wrapped in “diplomacy” and “modesty.” Brazil heeded this call and, what’s more, advocated the lifting of all sanctions against Venezuela. However, Brazil demanded that the electoral records be presented at the end of the election in order to recognize the result. The Maduro government manipulated what was available and did not present the said records. The Venezuelan Court of Justice prohibited their presentation. Even so, Nicolás Maduro demanded, believe it or not, that Brazil recognize his victory, arguing sovereignty and showing off his status as a champion of the anti-imperialist struggle. Lula and Brazilian diplomacy said that nothing would be done without the presentation of the records.
Some members of the more or less traditional left have stated that Brazil wanting to see the records in order to recognize them was an unacceptable intervention by the Lula government. Breno Altman, for example, stated that “The @LulaOficial government needs to return to the natural course of its foreign policy and respect Venezuelan self-determination. As soon as the supreme court of this sovereign nation rules on the final result of the elections, it can only be recognized immediately, without interventionist deviations.” Is it only possible to recognize it immediately?
Mr. Breno Altman, are you suggesting that Brazil submit to the wishes of Nicolás Maduro’s government? “…without interventionist deviations”? Has Brazil broken off diplomatic relations with Venezuela? Has Brazil ceased its trade relationship with Venezuela? Has it sent tanks to the border? No! What is this talk, Mr. Breno?
Altman believes that Brazil should base its international policies on submission to Venezuela, see this headline from his interview with Canal 247, on October 31, 2024: “Brazil wants to be the 'sheriff' of Latin America by vetoing Venezuela in BRICS”, […] Lula's decision generates tensions with Maduro and goes against the diplomatic tradition of the PT and the Brazilian left, says political analyst.” Why? Does Latin America already have a sheriff?
Breno Altman forgets that Brazil also did not recognize the victory of the opposition, proclaimed by the OAS. The same OAS that said that Evo Morales had rigged the Bolivian elections in 2019, which paved the way for the coup by the fake blonde Jeanine Áñez. Curiously, the G1, which presents as truth the current version of the OAS, which says there was fraud in the last election in Venezuela, is the same G1 who published the study on the “incorrectness” of the accusation of fraud in the 2019 election of Evo Morales, presented by the OAS. This recent disclosure, on the very same topic of the OAS, did not motivate the G1 no caution…
Breno Altman conveniently fails to mention the low-level political attacks and sordid accusations against Lula, his government and his party. Let's see. Brazil's failure to recognize Nicolás Maduro's supposed victory led his entourage, led by him, to curse our government with the seven plagues.
The most recent statement was made by Tarek William Saab Halabi, the Attorney General of Venezuela, anointed by the National Assembly of Venezuela, which means he was chosen by Nicolás Maduro, since he has 253 of the deputies, against 18 from the opposition (Wow, jealous!). Tarek, mixing conspiracy fables with tones of the logic of those who wear tinfoil hats, said that Lula is no longer the same. And this transformation occurred while he was in prison. While in prison, Lula was allegedly recruited by the CIA, and after that even his gestures changed.
Well, yes… Well, yes! As Chaves would say, not Hugo the other one. What is clear, beneath the political attacks that have little connection to reality, is that Venezuela is trying to set the agenda for the South American left. It doesn’t seem to be working. I don’t believe that Lula is leading Brazilian geopolitics with his liver, although calling him a CIA agent is like talking about your mother…
Another version, due to the lack of indication, is that BRICS would have to increase its size at a slower pace, constantly evaluating the global scenario and the impact of its growth. At least this is the official version of our government. In an interview with CNN, Celso Amorim said: “I do not support Venezuela’s entry. I think we have to go slowly. There is no point in filling [the BRICS] with countries, otherwise soon a new G77 will be created.”
Brazil's concern is based on the idea that a rapid increase in members would create a heterogeneity in the group that would make it difficult to achieve unity and quickly formulate a clear political guideline for this new moment in global geopolitics. In other words, it would bring as few conflicts of interest and political confusion as possible into the BRICS. And, between you and me, creating confusion has become the hallmark of Nicolás Maduro's government.
And what did no one say? I didn't hear anyone highlight the fact that Brazil nominated Cuba for the BRICS. Some say that all the talk about Venezuela served as a smokescreen against the reaction that all the right-wing parties that traditionally rail against Cuba usually do. And also the entry of the long-suffering, and indeed left-wing, Bolivia.
It remains to conclude with the following question: if Nicolás Maduro is the helmsman of the Latin American left, what is Lula, the bandit's horse?
* Giovanni Mesquita He is a historian and museologist. Book author Bento Gonçalves: from birth to revolution (Suzano).
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