Race is on to join BRICS, Mexico's plan to be latest candidate

From the report on Mexico, below:

The BRICS group was formed in 2009 as a way to challenge the dominance of the Western-led institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank. The BRICS have created their own development bank and contingency reserve fund to support their economic growth and stability. The BRICS also cooperate on various issues such as climate change, terrorism, health and education. The BRICS represent about 40% of the world’s population, 30% of the world’s GDP and 20% of the world’s trade.

The above percentages will skyrocket if all the present candidates joion BRICS.

Background on BRICS expansion:

The New Candidate Countries For BRICS Expansion - Silk Road Briefing
November 09, 2022

If accepted, the new proposed BRICS members would create an entity with a GDP 30% larger than the United States, over 50% of the global population and control of 60% of global gas reserves.

By Chris Devonshire-Ellis

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov has stated that ‘over a dozen’ countries have formally applied to join the BRICS grouping following the groups decision to allow new members earlier this year. The BRICS currently includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

It is not a free trade bloc, but members do coordinate on trade matters and have established a policy bank, the New Development Bank, (NDB) to coordinate infrastructure loans. That was set up in 2014 in order to provide alternative loan mechanisms from the IMF and World Bank structures, which the members had felt had become too US-centric. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was set up by China at about the same time for largely the same reasons and to offer alternative financing than that provided by the IMF and World Banks, which were felt to impose political reform policies designed to assist the United States in return for providing loans. Both the NDB and AIIB banks are Triple A rated and capitalised at US$100 billion. The NDB bank shares are held equally by each of the five members. In total, the BRICS grouping as it currently stands accounts for over 40% of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world’s GDP. The GDP figure is expected to double to 50% of global GDP by 2030. Expanding BRICS will immediately accelerate that process. [...]

Above report continues with world map graphic and individual listings of candidate countries; posted before Mexico's announced bid to join BRICS.

MEXICO

Mexico Plans to Join BRICS Amid Growing Tensions with US | Eurasia Media Network
By:Newsdesk
March 12, 2023

Mexico has expressed its interest in joining the BRICS group of emerging economies, which currently consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The Mexican Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said that Mexico shares the vision and values of the BRICS and hopes to deepen its cooperation with them in various fields, especially in medicine and trade.

Mexico’s move comes amid growing tensions with its northern neighbor, the United States, over issues such as immigration, border security, trade and human rights. The US has imposed tariffs on Mexican goods, threatened to cut off aid and demanded that Mexico do more to stop the flow of migrants from Central America. Mexico has also faced criticism from the US for its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and its alleged interference in the Venezuelan crisis.

Mexico sees the BRICS as an alternative platform to diversify its foreign relations and increase its global influence. Mexico is the second-largest economy in Latin America after Brazil and has a population of more than 120 million people. It also has a strong manufacturing sector that competes with China in some markets. Mexico has already established close ties with China, which is its second-largest trading partner after the US. Mexico has also participated in several BRICS summits as an observer and guest.

However, Mexico’s bid to join the BRICS faces some challenges and uncertainties. The BRICS group has not formally announced any criteria or process for admitting new members, although Russia has suggested that it could expand by five countries in 2023. The BRICS also have different interests and agendas that may not always align with Mexico’s. For instance, Mexico may have to balance its relations with China and India, which are rivals in Asia. Mexico may also have to deal with the possible backlash from the US, which may see Mexico’s alignment with the BRICS as a threat to its regional hegemony.

The BRICS group was formed in 2009 as a way to challenge the dominance of the Western-led institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank. The BRICS have created their own development bank and contingency reserve fund to support their economic growth and stability. The BRICS also cooperate on various issues such as climate change, terrorism, health and education. The BRICS represent about 40% of the world’s population, 30% of the world’s GDP and 20% of the world’s trade.

[END REPORT] 

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