Venezuelans ask BRICS council for support to join bloc

Venezuelan social movements today (5) formalized a request to participate in the BRICS and the bloc's Popular Council, formed by social organizations from member countries. The request was formalized through a letter delivered to the council itself, during the organization's first in-person meeting, in Rio de Janeiro.

Venezuela's entry into BRICS was rejected in 2024 at the Russian summit, which also recognized the Popular Council as part of the institution . Venezuela's rejection at the time generated tension between Brasília and Caracas.

The request for participation was submitted by Venezuelan deputy Blanca Eekhout, who is also president of the Simón Bolívar Institute for Friendship with the Peoples.

“As this council is precisely the People’s Council of the BRICS, it is the wish of the Venezuelan popular movements to participate,” said Blanca. She explained that the letter delivered to the council is the expression of the will of social movements, such as women’s movements, community councils and indigenous peoples’ movements. “The BRICS is a new, multipolar, multicentric world, which Venezuela has been betting on since the beginning,” she added, to Agência Brasil .

Alongside her, the representative of the United Indigenous Movement of Venezuela (MIUVEN), Cesar Carias , presented Venezuela's request for entry into BRICS. “We appreciate the invitation to be here [at the council event], but at the same time, with great respect, we request that the veto imposed on our country be eliminated and that our voice not be silenced,” he demanded.

“The indigenous peoples and social movements of Venezuela want to be included in BRICS. This is our request to this council,” the leader added, asking for support.

Last year, Brazil justified its veto on Venezuela's entry into BRICS by arguing that the neighboring country's presidential elections were not very transparent. On the other hand, Russia and China supported their political ally in South America and, according to experts interviewed by Agência Brasil , the country's accession to the bloc is only a matter of time.

Supporting Venezuela, but without expressly mentioning the country, the final document of the People's Council, which will be presented to the bloc's summit on Sunday (6), will call for the expansion of full members of BRICS in Latin America . Today, there is only Brazil. Cuba and Bolivia are considered partners. Argentina, invited in 2024, under the presidency of Javier Milei, refused to join.

In the view of João Pedro Stédile, representative of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) and Alba Movimentos, which brings together around 400 organizations in 25 countries, Brazil's veto of Venezuela came as a surprise . “As a position of the entire council, our position is to propose to the summit the maximum increase in the number of countries. Right here in Latin America, President [Luiz Inácio] Lula [da Silva] has already invited Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Chile. So, there is no point in excluding Venezuela, there is no reason,” he declared.

The economist and MST coordinator has argued that, to gain strength, the BRICS needs to grow in the Global South.

“For us, Venezuela alone is not enough, we need to include as many countries as possible from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Global South, because the more BRICS countries we have, the more strength BRICS will have to counter the current crisis of imperialism and the United States,” he concluded.

One of the main proposals of the bloc founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China is an alternative system that does not use the dollar as a reference currency in global negotiations.

The BRICS People's Council was created and recognized in the Kazan Declaration in 2024. Based on the initiative, councils were formed in member countries with the intention of fostering civil society participation in strategic agendas. In Brazil, the creation of the people's council involved social movements, unions, NGOs and researchers .