BRICS Summit: Underwhelming and Cautious | The American Spectator

At their latest summit in Brazil, the BRICS nations once again portrayed themselves as an emerging geopolitical heavyweight. Yet the internal contradictions within this expanding group remain plain to see. And the lure of American power still proves irresistible.
The numbers are impressive. Beyond its ten full members and thirteen associate states, the BRICS bloc is reportedly fielding membership applications from over 30 other nations. In their current configuration, BRICS full members represent 3.9 billion people — 48 percent of the global population—and nearly half of the global GDP. More than 35 percent of international trade is conducted through BRICS countries. There’s no denying the growing influence of the so-called Global South relative to the transatlantic West.
A Fragmented Alliance
But how substantial are BRICS’s internal decisions and strategic ambitions? So far, external pressure has been the main driver of any semblance of unity. Meaningful output — such as the creation of a joint payment infrastructure — has yet to materialize. “BRICS Pay,” launched in 2018, remains stuck in its pilot phase. The deep entrenchment of global trade within the dollar-based financial system appears to be a hurdle too high for quick solutions.
Yes, geopolitical events like Russia’s removal from SWIFT, the freezing of its central bank assets, and the tariff wars under President Donald Trump have all accelerated the BRICS dynamic. But a functioning bloc with a codified rulebook — reminiscent of the post-WWII Bretton Woods system — remains a distant dream.
No Putin, No Xi
On July 6, Brazil’s President Lula da Silva, as this year’s host, opened the summit in Rio de Janeiro. Much discussion preceded the event — not about substance, but about the absence of China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. The latter stayed away due to an International Criminal Court warrant. As Brazil is a signatory to the ICC, it would have been legally obliged to arrest him. With no legal guara…