The number of countries present at the last BRICS forum in Russia was impressive. This does not bode well for the dollar.
BRICS are on the rise
Representatives from more than 120 foreign countries attended the sixth BRICS International Municipal Forum this week. The event brought together about 5,000 participants from 500 cities.
The forum was an opportunity to discuss issues related to the economy, digital technologies, industry, energy, urban infrastructure, transport, ecology, healthcare, education, science, culture, sports and tourism. The aim is to promote cooperation between megacities within the framework of BRICS.
The head of the Moscow Department of Foreign Economic and International Relations Sergey Cheremin said:
“This forum will allow us to strengthen relations not only between the BRICS capitals and Moscow, but also between our partners from all continents. Today, more than 60 official delegations have traveled.”
This is a success for President Putin, who had encouraged the representatives “from all countries wishing to cooperate with our organization” to participate.
Russia is therefore far from isolated. On the contrary, the waiting list to join the BRICS is growing rapidly. Several important emerging countries have officially sent their applications to join the alliance.
The five founding members are Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa and India. Five more countries joined earlier this year: Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Ethiopia.
The expansion adds the weight of the Middle East's major oil-exporting countries, and has helped strengthen relations with Iran and mend ties with neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Algeria, Vietnam, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Bangladesh, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Belarus, Kuwait, Senegal and Bolivia are also in the running.
An anti-imperialist alliance
Rumor has it that Russia will announce the creation of a group of “partner” countries in October. It will be a kind of antechamber to the BRICS club.
Each member country must provide a list of 10 countries out of the 33 countries that have applied to join BRICS. The principle is that the 10 common countries can become partner countries.
This reinforcement will not be insignificant since the BRICS are actively advocating for the reform of the United Nations Security Council and the abandonment of the imperial currency: the dollar.
Joining the BRICS means accepting currencies other than the dollar and connecting to new international payment systems. This is “address what we consider to be an unfair and costly payment system”South Africa's foreign minister said earlier this year.
According to Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, an alternative to the Western payment system SWIFT could be unveiled at the upcoming summit in Kazan.
In addition, Russia will launch a platform on September 1st that will allow large Russian companies to pay for their exports and imports in bitcoin. This pleasant surprise is to be compared with Donald Trump's endorsement of bitcoin.
Bitcoin is the absolute, stateless, uncensorable store of value the world needs to trade on a level playing field. It seems like the obvious currency for a world without monetary privilege. The American president seems to understand this.
Getting bitcoins today at a low price seems smarter than starting a third world war. It would be a war for nothing anyway. It is too late, the BRICS already weigh too much.
BRICS > G7
The BRICS have a major demographic and economic weight. They represent almost half of the world's population (46%), compared to just under 10% for the G7 (United States, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy).
The BRICS' global share of GDP (ppp) is now 35%, compared to 30% for the G7. Knowing that the G7's share was 42% twenty years ago.
Some projections suggest that the BRICS' share of GDP will be 50% by 2050, compared to 20% for the G7 countries.
For the Bank of France, “The heterogeneity of the BRICS club and the weak trade integration among them limit the group's ability to influence global trade and the international monetary system.”
Behind this facade of speech, the West is not holding back in putting obstacles in the way of the BRICS:
– Freezing of Russia's foreign exchange reserves (300 billion euros), disconnection from the SWIFT network and embargo.
-Prohibitive customs duties (100% on imports of Chinese electric vehicles to the United States, 38% to Europe)
-Embargo on machines for manufacturing semiconductors.
-Extraterritorial law to sanction multinationals that continue to trade with countries under embargo such as Iran or Russia.
So many imperial decrees that fragment the world, not to mention war… We are heading towards a deglobalization that will be painfully inflationary.
On this subject, we explained in this article why inflation is not about to subside. The following graph sums up the heart of the problem well. Growth is restricted by the physical limits of the planet (oil), which, faced with a monetary Ponzi, can only generate inflation.
In a fragmented, indebted, potentially war-torn and highly inflationary world, the store of value that is bitcoin is doomed to an insolent appreciation. A word to the wise…
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