President Milei Rejects Joining Argentina to BRICS

On Friday, the Argentine Foreign Affairs Ministry formally announced that President Javier Milei will not incorporate his country into the economic cooperation bloc formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS).

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The decision was communicated through letters dated December 22, sent to Lula da Silva (Brazil), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Narendra Modi (India), Xi Jinping (China), and Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa).

In his letter, the far-right politician, who assumed the Argentine presidency on Dec. 10, expressed that Argentina will not participate as a member of BRICS.

“As you are aware, the foreign policy imprint of the Government that I have presided over for a few days differs in many aspects from that of the previous Government. In this sense, some decisions made by the previous management will be reviewed. Among them is the creation of a specialized unit for the country's active participation in BRICS,” Milei said.

The text reads, "Serious: Argentine dictator Javier Milei decided to withdraw his country from the BRICS. I am imagining the concern of China and other nations upon knowing that their bloc will not have the presence of a country whose crazy leader allowed that salaries would be paid with bananas."

“I would like to inform you that at this stage the incorporation of the Argentine Republic to the BRICS as a full member as of January 1, 2024 is not considered appropriate,” he added.

In August, during the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, those countries decided to invite Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran to join the bloc. This invitation was positively received by the then-President, Alberto Fernandez (2019-2023).

During his campaign, however, Milei had already rejected this proposal, arguing that Argentina would align itself with the United States, Israel, the European Union, and the "free world."

Currently, BRICS collectively will have a production equivalent to 36 percent of the global GDP and a market representing 42 percent of the world's population. So far, Argentina has sent 30 percent of its exports to that market.