Venezuela seeks to evade US sanctions by joining the BRICS

The government of Venezuela has made clear his interest in joining the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), a desire that, for experts, arises from the need to strengthen their international recognition and their ability to evade sanctions. USA and other countries to the Caribbean nation.

Venezuela is one of the 23 countries that have formally expressed their interest in joining this group of emerging economies that, during a summit in August, agreed to expand, with the incorporation of Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.

On his recent trip to China, President Nicolás Maduro asked for support from the Asian giant to gain entry to the bloc, which he described as “the great engine of hope for a different world.”

The internationalist Félix Arellano considers that Maduro, faced with the “conditions in which it is currently and in recent years”After his “questioned re-election” in 2018, he wants “desperately” be part of “any international group.”

“It has been a tough isolation (…) In such a relatively adverse scenario (…) being able to join any organization is of high importance”Arellano said.

The expert considers the BRICS, which have “acquired boom by confrontation” between China and the US and the “(Russian) invasion of Ukraine”like an alliance “eminently geopolitical and ideological”without a “trade program” and investment instruments that turn it into a “active economic space”such as the European Union (EU) or Mercosur.

“It could be that, in the near future, the BRICS will begin to work on investment and trade agreements, but they have not done so, so let’s not imagine that joining the BRICS “It will imply a change in Venezuelan economic policy,” he asserted.

In search of agreements

Maduro has invited the BRICS to invest in the “special economic zones”of which one of them includes more than 5.4 million hectares, where different types of food will be produced, according to the official announcement.

However, Arellano warns that the success of these areas will depend on there being favorable conditions for their development, which is called into question given the current crisis in basic services, especially electricity.

The ruling party deputy Ramón Lobo, former Minister of Economy, said that the country seeks to establish “economic exchange agreements” with the BRICS that allow a “greater mobility of productive forces”with the aim of energizing the “internal economic system, generating a greater supply of goods and services, as well as sources of work.”

The income, he continued, can also “accelerate the recovery of the oil and gas industry”affected by US sanctions.

Lobo indicated that Venezuela also aspires to have “access to project financing through the New Development Bank” of the BRICS, with whose president, former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, Maduro met on his trip to China, where he assured that the group and the institution see in the Caribbean country “a partner, an ally, a friend.”

Fight sanctions

In Lobo’s opinion, the block is “demonstrating autonomy in establishing relationships” without “ties”, which can favor Venezuela’s access to the oil market, and also for the acquisition of the “equipment, machinery, supplies and technology required by the industry” energy.

In this sense, the economist Luis Vicente León explained that, for Venezuela, being “Absolutely sanctioned, the BRICS are an opportunity to relaunch their economy in a different way”where, if admitted, it can “develop your businesses in a transparent manner” and “gain ground” amidst its Western limitations.

“The BRICS are an exit valve for Venezuela, but it is also a mechanism to regularize their exports to China without having to sell with brutal discounts”said.

On the other hand, with its notorious interest, Caracas tries to “pressure decisions in the US to abandon” his “inflexible position” and “its tough sanctions strategy”, because, if not, he will let the “largest oil mine in the world”, In reference to the Venezuelan, “incorporate the BRICS”, where they already are “the main producers” of crude oil.

“That would mean the strengthening of the BRICS in terms of global energy control.””he added.

Caracas has insisted that the country has the largest oil reserves on the planet, an asset that would be “service” of the block if admitted, according to the Government.

Source: AFP