Venezuelans ask the BRICS Council for support to integrate block

Popular Council document suggests expansion, without quoting Venezuela

Venezuela’s social movements formalized today (5) request for participation in the BRICS and the popular council of the bloc, made up of social organizations of member countries. The request was formalized through a letter delivered to the Board itself, during the first face -to -face meeting of the organization in Rio de Janeiro.

Venezuela’s entrance to the BRICS was rejected in 2024 at the Russian summit meeting, which also recognized the Popular Council as part of the institution. The rejection of Venezuela at the time generated tension between Brasilia and Caracas.

The request for participation was handed over by Venezuelan deputy Blanca Eekout who is also president of the Simón Bolivar Institute of friendship with the peoples.

“Since this council is precisely the Popular Council of the BRICS, it is the desire 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 original peoples. “BRICS is a new, multipolar, multiplar world, that Venezuela bets from the beginning,” he added to Agência Brasil.

Beside her, the representative of the United Indigenous Movement of Venezuela (Miuven), Cesar Carias, presented Venezuela’s entry request at BRICS “We appreciate the invitation to be here [no evento do conselho]but at the same time, with great respect, we ask that the veto imposed on our country is eliminated and that our voice is not silent, ”he claimed.

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

Last year, Brazil justified the veto at the entrance of Venezuela at BRICS arguing little transparency in the presidential elections of the neighboring country. On the other hand, Russia and China supported the political ally in South America and, in the evaluation of experts heard by Agência Brasil, the country’s adhesion to the bloc is just a matter of time.

Supporting Venezuela, but not expressly quoting the country, the final document of the Popular Council, which will be presented to the bloc’s summit, Sunday (6), will ask for the expansion of the 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 the ticket.

Sul Global

In the view of João Pedro Stédile, representative of the Landless Workers Movement (MST) and Alba Movements, which articulates about 400 organizations in 25 countries, Brazil’s veto to Venezuela was a surprise. “As a posture of all the board, our position is to propose to the summit the maximum expansion of the number of countries. Right here, in Latin America, the President [Luiz Inácio] Lula [da Silva] He has invited Colombia, invited Mexico, invited Uruguay, invited Chile. So it makes no sense to exclude Venezuela, there is no reason, ”he said.

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

“For us, it is not enough for Venezuela, it is necessary to include as many countries as possible in Latin America, Africa, Asia, finally, of the global south, because the more countries we have of the BRICS, the more force BRICS will have to counteract the current crisis of imperialism and the United States,” he concluded.

One of the main proposals of the block 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 Popular Council was created and recognized in the Kazan Declaration in 2024. From the initiative, councils were formed in the member countries, with the intention of fostering the participation of civil society in the strategic agenda. In Brazil, the construction of the Popular Council involved pum movements, unions, NGOs and researchers.

Originally published by Agência Brasil on 07/05/2025

Isabela Vieira – Reporter of Agência Brasil – Rio de Janeiro

Edition: Juliana Cézar Nunes