Venezuelans ask BRICS council for support to join the bloc.

Agência Brasil – Social movements in Venezuela today (5) formally requested participation in BRICS and the bloc’s People’s 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 summit in Russia, which also recognized the People's Council as part of the institution. The rejection of Venezuela at the time generated tension between Brasília and Caracas.

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

"Since this council is precisely the BRICS People's Council, it is the desire of Venezuelan popular movements to participate," said Blanca. She explained that the letter delivered to the council is an expression of the will of social movements, such as women's movements, community councils, and indigenous peoples. "BRICS is a new, multipolar, pluricentric world, which Venezuela has been committed to from the beginning," she added, speaking 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 lifted 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 of Venezuela's entry into BRICS by arguing a lack of transparency in the neighboring country's presidential elections. On the other hand, Russia and China supported their political ally in South America, and, according to experts consulted by Agência Brasil, the country's accession to the bloc is only a matter of time.

Supporting Venezuela, but without specifically naming the country, the People's Council's final document, which will be presented to the bloc's summit on Sunday (6), will call for an expansion of BRICS' full membership in Latin America. Currently, only Brazil is included. Cuba and Bolivia are considered partners. Argentina, invited in 2024 under President Javier Milei, declined membership.

Global South

According to 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 was a surprise. "As a stance of the entire council, our position is to propose to the summit the maximum expansion of the number of participating countries. Here in Latin America, President [Luiz Inácio] Lula [da Silva] has already invited Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Chile. So, it makes no sense to exclude Venezuela, there's no reason to," he stated.

The economist and MST coordinator has argued that, to gain strength, the BRICS need 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, in short, 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 the reference currency in global negotiations.

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