Days before formally joining BRICS, Argentine President Javier Milei sent letters to the leaders of member countries informing them of his withdrawal from the planned entry into the group.
In his letter to the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, Javier Milei said that the decision taken by the previous government had been reversed.
The term BRIC was coined by economist Jim O’Neill in 2001, then at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The main purpose of this term was to draw attention to the strong rate of economic growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China. The term was considered an optimistic scenario for investors. The BRIC Club held its first meeting in 2009. Then, a year later, South Africa joined the group, adding another continent and the letter S.
The bloc announced this expansion in August this year. BRICS, widely seen as the antithesis of the Western-led global order, said it would add six new members.
The announcement of the addition of six nations including Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates was to take effect on 1 January 2024. However, Argentina withdrew its name after Milei assumed the presidency. .
The letter, signed by Milei, read that Argentina’s membership “is not considered appropriate at this time”, according to media reports.
In his letters, he said that his foreign policy “differs in many aspects from that of the previous government. In this sense, some decisions taken by the previous government will be reviewed.”
Milei took office in December after Argentina’s traditional political parties faced a crushing defeat. Millais pledged during the election campaign not to join BRICS. He also supported America and Israel.
Earlier, Milei said that its geopolitical interests corresponded to those of America and Israel, and that Argentina was not going to put itself in the hands of communists like China and Russia.
“Our geopolitical connection is with the United States and Israel. We are not going to connect with the communists,” Milei said during his election campaign. After taking office, however, Mileio’s stance on China and Brazil weakened as he adopted a more conciliatory tone.
