Brazil Inserts US Rules-Based Order Into Criteria For Venezuela's 'BRICS Partner Country' Bid
The article explains Brazil's political prerequisites on Venezuela’s BRICS Partnership messages a strategic pivot towards aligning with US interests by reinforcing its neocolonial Rules-Based Order.
Brazil is being particularly blunt about the imposition of stringent criteria that Venezuela must comply with to have a chance in becoming a ‘BRICS Partner’. Under President Lula da Silva, Brazil is increasingly creating political hoops that Venezuela must jump through effectively affirming the US Rules-Based Order within the intergovernmental organization. The article explains Brazil's political prerequisites on Venezuela’s BRICS Partnership messages a strategic pivot towards aligning with US interests by reinforcing its neocolonial Rules-Based international order. For more context, readers might want to read my prior articles on the subject:
“Categorizing LACs' Loyalties In The Midst Of The Hybrid War Coup Attempt In Venezuela”
“Brazil, Colombia And Mexico Play Good Cop In The US Coup Attempt Against Venezuela”
“What Is Lula's Top Foreign Advisor's Role In The Hybrid War Coup Attempt Against Venezuela?”
“Venezuela Wises Up To Brazil's Role In The US Hybrid War”
“Interpreting Brazil's Reasons For Opposing Venezuela's BRICS Partner Country Status”
Celso Amorim, Lula’s main foreign policy diplomat has said Brazil’s veto occurred because there was a 'loss of confidence' with Venezuela which is directly related with the Bolivarian country's Democratic Security response after a Hybrid War coup attempt. Lula and Amorim for one reason or another do not believe the Venezuelan governments version of what transpired during and after its elections nor do they agree with its response to safeguard the Bolivarian state from organized violence. The veto suggests a strategic maneuver aimed at preserving Brazil's own influence within the bloc’s western hemisphere front, reflecting a reluctance to embrace a possible mayor energy partner.
Amorim recently told GLOBO that "The issue with Venezuela [in the BRICS] has nothing to do with democracy, it has to do with a breach of trust. The breach of trust was a serious thing. We were told one thing and it was not done… [Venezuela's entry into BRICS] is not a problem of the political regime, it is a matter of breach of trust. We acted in good faith, but with Venezuela trust was broken," who according to GLOBO also expressed Brazil's desire to "regain confidence" in the country. Amorim refers to the supposed promise he says Maduro made to him for the electoral minutes of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of the presidential election of July 28. According to Amorim, the day after the election, Maduro assured him, the advisor to President Lula da Silva, that he would present the minutes. There is no public evidence of this promise except Amorim's word alone, which highlights his centrality in this whole affair.
Venezuela Defiance In The Face Of Brazil's Veto
In an October 25 interview President Nicolas Maduro rejected the veto made by Itamaraty Palace against Venezuela in the BRICS summit stating, “Those who intend to veto Venezuela or silence it will never succeed, Venezuela is not vetoed or silenced by anyone”. Venezuela then criticized Brazil's decision suggesting it follows an exclusion policy reminiscent of the previous administration under Jair Bolsonaro and emphasized that the decision is politically motivated rather than based on objective criteria.
On October 24 the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela released a Communiqué which noteworthy fragments read as follows:
“[…] Venezuela, possessing not only the largest energy reserve in the world, but also the standard bearer of the values, principles and vision of building a fair, multicentric and pluripolar world, has had the backing and support of the countries participating in this summit for the formalization of its entry into this integration mechanism.
But through an action that contradicts the nature and postulate of the BRICS, the representation of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty), led by Ambassador Eduardo Paes Saboia, decided to maintain the veto that Bolsonaro applied to Venezuela for years, reproducing hatred, exclusion and intolerance promoted from the Western centers of power to prevent, for now, the entry of the Homeland of Bolivar to this organization, in an action that constitutes an aggression against Venezuela and a hostile gesture that adds to the criminal policy of sanctions that have been imposed […] The Venezuelan people feel indignation and shame for this inexplicable and immoral aggression of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty), maintaining the worst of Jair Bolsonaro's policies. […]“
By establishing these conditions for Venezuela's potential entry into a ‘BRICS Partnership’, Brazil is sending a message that the Bolivarian country must comply with U.S. interference in its country as a prerequisite for inclusion. Political analyst, Andrew Korybkos’ insight on Lulas intentions was correct when he wrote back in February 2023 that “The US’ “deep state” believed that their country’s interests would be best served by replacing increasingly independent Bolsonaro with a geopolitically repentant Lula, ergo why they worked so hard to reverse the same outcome that imprisoned the latter. They concluded that he’s no longer the multipolar titan that they previously thought he was, but is more akin to a Bernie Sanders-style leftist, which thus makes him amenable to manipulation in pursuit of their foreign policy goals.” In essence, Lula had made a deal with the US in order to be sprung from prison via the US hybrid lawfare in Brazil's judiciary.
This strategy aligns Brazil more closely with U.S. interests, effectively positioning the country as an enforcer of a new Monroe Doctrine with Brazil playing the role of the gatekeeper, aiding the US in its resistance against the systemic transition toward multipolarity. By demanding that Venezuela adheres to political Hybrid lawfare that resonate with the U.S. Rules-Based Order, Brazil is attempting to blackmail Venezuela into submission. Originally envisioned as a coalition of countries seeking to promote multipolarity and counterbalance Western influence, BRICS risks becoming a platform that prioritizes US ideological blackmail over genuine geoeconomic cooperation.