Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has extended an invitation to Mexico, Colombia, and Uruguay to participate in the upcoming BRICS summit, set to take place in July in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil holds the rotating chair in 2025 for the BRICS group of emerging economies.
During a visit to Uruguay Lula emphasized the need for a broader international dialogue that includes more nations. “The BRICS are not a small thing. They have almost half of humanity,” he stated, highlighting the bloc’s growing global significance.
The five priorities set by Brazil’s presidency
(1) facilitating trade and investment within the bloc through the development of alternative payment systems;
(2) promoting inclusive and responsible governance of artificial intelligence for sustainable development;
(3) strengthening financial structures to address climate change, aligned with United Nations efforts;
(4) fostering cooperation among Global South countries, particularly in public health; and
(5) reinforcing the BRICS institutional framework.
Currently, BRICS represents roughly 40% of the world’s population and a similar share of global GDP, with plans to strengthen trade and financial mechanisms that bypass the U.S. dollar in favor of local currencies.
Since 2018, the BRICS countries have surpassed the G7 in the share of the world’s total Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity (GDP-PPP).
The July BRICS summit will focus on consolidating economic and political strategies, promoting multilateral cooperation, and positioning South America as a stronger global economic player. Lula stressed the importance of drafting a joint document reaffirming the commitment to free trade and deeper cooperation among member nations.
Mexico as a strategic partner FOR BRICS
Mexico occupies a strategic location, and has the second-biggest economy in Latin America, with a GDP of $1.79 trillion. Although Mexico’s economy is tightly linked to the US, it has increasingly diversified its trade partners, with China now being its second-largest trade partner, with a trade volume of $100bn.
In 2023, there were reports that Mexico had expressed interest in joining BRICS, a move quickly dispelled by the then-President Lopez Obrador.
Brazil’s invitation to Mexico to attend the 2025 BRICS Forum decisively revives that spectre for the Trump regime.
The new, left-leaning President Claudia Sheinbaum Prado, is a cool-headed but fierce and highly popular leader, who has repeatedly stated that she will defend Mexico’s sovereignty. Mexico’s joining BRICS could turnout to be one of Trump’s worst nightmares.
As the US faces challenges to its global hegemony from BRICS in the Americas, especially from China, Trump’s brought back version of the Monroe Doctrine is emerging as an ad hoc justification for re-asserting US dominance over the region.
Indeed, the current attacks on Mexico by the US president suggest what he really wants is to use the US military buildup at the border to intimidate the Mexican president and to curb the influence of China in Mexico.
Sources:
MXM News, Mar 5, 2025. https://mxmnews.com/…/377535ff-39e2-4348-aa65…
The Intel Drop, March 6, 2025. https://www.theinteldrop.org/…/the-challenges-for…/
Al Jazeera, Mar 7, 2025. https://www.aljazeera.com/…/the-real-reason-behind…
China Environment News 