Rio 2025: BRICS in a Position of Power?

The BRICS 2025 Summit is now over. This year in Rio, it reminds us that the heart of the global economy is gradually shifting from West to East. Beyond important declarations on global governance, and the obvious shift from a unipolar to a multipolar world, the BRICS are challenging the Enlightenment legacy advocated by the West in the face of the flaws in international law.

The order built in the aftermath of the Second World War favored Western countries, to the detriment of the rest of the world. But we can never repeat it often enough: every injustice carries within it the seeds of its own downfall. Western countries should take note of this statement, for they are helplessly witnessing the birth of a new world over which they no longer have control. The “double standards” that have reigned for over half a century are no longer acceptable, and the BRICS wanted to make this clear this year. This can be seen today in the unilateral sanctions and violations of international law (legal, commercial, etc.). The illusion of an international system, supposedly peaceful and universal, has become inaudible in the face of the realities of war in Ukraine and Gaza.

It's also a time of the return of the law of the strongest. Rising interest rates and the end of cheap money mean that peace on credit can no longer be guaranteed indefinitely, even less so with the BRICS, which have been short-changed by the international financial system over the past decades.

The summit produced a number of new declarations. In addition to the signing of joint projects (an agreement on space and solar technologies between Brazil and India, on pharmaceuticals and vaccine research between India and South Africa etc.), the theme in the spotlight was global governance. The aim is clear: to reform global governance in order to lead the world of tomorrow. For an alliance that represents almost half the world's population today, this is all the more essential. And talk of reform is always easier to put forward than of abolition or abrupt change, since human beings abhor a vacuum as much as they abhor imbalance... Reform of the financial institutions (IMF, World Bank) is therefore on the agenda, as is that of the UN, to bring new countries onto the Security Council, including Brazil and India. This is an important goal, as the Security Council remains the main body for economic and diplomatic sanctions. The rise of the New Development Bank (the BRICS bank) was also on the agenda, to bypass dollar borrowing and increase the circulation of local currencies (China already uses the yuan for 30% of its trade). On the financial front, the BRICS Pay system, an alternative to SWIFT, will be further developed. This payment system is already linked to 75 countries, is based on BRICS banking infrastructures, and is used extensively in Beijing and Moscow.

In the age of artificial intelligence, the possibility of a global regulatory framework was also raised, so that the powers of the East (or South) could take the lead in this area and be at the forefront of new technological innovations. Finally, preparations for COP30 were discussed. Climate change, largely caused by industrialization in the North, is a strategic lever for the BRICS alliance. By presenting themselves as the victims of a model from which they have benefited little, and acting in favor of the environment, they are seeking to redefine global balances by positioning themselves on the right side of history. After the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, the founding moment that created the COPs, it is in Rio once again this year that preparations are being made for COP30, which will take place in Brazil at the end of the year...

But the questioning of global governance is not just about its institutions. It is about Western thinking in the broadest sense. The BRICS have placed at the heart of their arguments the urgency of sovereignty for all nations, the end of globalization as we know it, and an ideological change in the face of the civilizational crisis that the West is undergoing. From an old world based on excessive financialization and limitless production, they present a model reconnected to human and natural realities. Western domination, inherited from secular Greco-Roman values, then from the humanism of the Enlightenment, has certainly reached its limits in the eyes of all. Technological and economic progress has been achieved at the expense of human progress, visible today in exacerbated individualism, growing inequalities, social tensions, the weakening of democracy, etc. Yet, in the face of this model, the BRICS are seeking to defend the need to put down roots and offer a different vision of community. And that's why this alliance is so appealing.

On the economic front, by asserting their ability to create real wealth, the BRICS aim for independence in a world where scarcity is making a comeback. Today, they control over 40% of oil production, around 36% of gas, and above all 70% of the rare metals market, thanks to China's domination. Given that the economy is based on transformed energy, and that growth drivers are less important, this position is becoming strategic. Their trade with Western countries remains very important, however, due to their strong interdependence. But their domination in the energy sector is now exerting increasing pressure on deindustrialized countries, particularly in Europe, in the manner of a hostage held in a foreign country. This is why Trump is seeking to reindustrialize the United States: he wants to move from a service economy (today 80% of the American economy) to a goods economy, so as not to depend on any foreign power in the future.

In terms of timing, the BRICS are several steps ahead. For several decades now, they have understood that their development must run counter to that of Western countries if they are to survive. Only half of their economies (China, India, Russia, etc.) are supported by services (especially financial services), while the remainder is based on industry and agriculture. Similarly, their public and private debt remains very low compared with the Western powers, with the exception of China, which has long sought to become the world's leading power. These political choices allow them to maintain economic stability over time, without artificially sustaining their growth through credit. For the same reason, the BRICS are the countries that purchase the most gold today: gold is not only an independent asset (which contributes to the return of sovereignty) but also limited in quantity, making it a scarce resource, and connected to physical limits. And this trend is not about to slow down on a global scale: 95% of central bank reserve managers believe that gold reserves held by central banks will continue to rise this year, particularly in the BRICS.

This 2025 summit in Rio was not intended to be revolutionary. In politics, timing is the best credo. But geopolitical change takes place over a long period of time, and is based on power relationships. This year, the aim of the BRICS was to remind us of this fact and to show that their common power is growing.