BRICS is the new expression of multilateralism, says Celso Amorim.

247 - Em article published in FSP On Thursday (31), diplomat Celso Amorim, special advisor to the Presidency of the Republic for International Affairs, argues that BRICS has become the new name for multilateralism in the 21st century. At 83 years old, with 62 of them dedicated to diplomacy, Amorim traces a historical analysis of the transformations of the international order and argues that the bloc is today the main platform for building a fairer and more representative global system.

“Today, their mission is to channel this momentum to build a world that is just and sustainable, where multilateralism prevails. We need nothing less than that,” Amorim writes at the end of the article, reinforcing the reformist character of BRICS in the face of an increasingly unstable and asymmetrical global order.

From historical crises to the collapse of traditional multilateralism.

Amorim recalls that he entered the diplomatic career during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and witnessed wars such as the Vietnam War and the Six-Day War. Despite the tension, according to him, there was confidence that rationality would prevail among the powers. Today, however, the scenario is more somber: “Modern wars are no longer driven solely by ideology or economic rivalry. They are inflamed by religious fervor and territorial disputes, echoing the tensions that preceded the First World War.”

According to the former foreign minister, the disintegration of the multilateral order became evident with the creation of the G7 in 1975. "Although the UN Charter established the Economic and Social Council to address global economic issues, the world's largest economies never gave it the attention it deserved," he states. The G7 and, later, the G8 functioned as exclusive clubs that made decisions in an oligarchic manner, even when they included developing countries only peripherally.

The emergence of BRICS as a systemic alternative.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, new paradigms have been challenged. The G20 emerged as a recognition that global problems demanded more voices. In this same context, BRICS—which initially was just an acronym created by a financial market economist—gained political weight.

“BRICS has gradually transformed into a political forum,” says Amorim. He recalls that, after a meeting with IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) in Brasília in 2011, South Africa formally joined the bloc. From then on, BRICS consolidated itself with a proactive agenda.

The expansion of the bloc in 2023, with the accession of new members, gave the group a balance that Amorim considers rare: "Today, BRICS achieves a fair balance between representativeness and efficiency."

A practical agenda focused on development.

Unlike other coalitions of developing countries, BRICS' performance is marked by concrete results. One of the most cited examples by Amorim is the New Development Bank (NDB), created in 2014, which offers public financing focused on infrastructure and sustainability.

At the 17th BRICS Summit, held this year in Rio de Janeiro, the bloc made progress on issues such as trade in local currencies, investment, artificial intelligence, the environment, and health. According to Amorim, this demonstrates that BRICS intends not only to challenge the existing order, but also to build viable alternatives.

“BRICS was not conceived as a rival to the G7. However, it increasingly offers something that the old order cannot: inclusion instead of exclusion, reform instead of stagnation,” the diplomat concludes.

The article reinforces the Brazilian government's view that BRICS is a strategic instrument for repositioning the country on the global stage and building a more democratic international governance—a central theme of President Lula's foreign policy during his third term.