BRICS Challenges the Western Order

The BRICS bloc invites in six new members, and one existing member, Brazil, wants the group to challenge the dollar

(From L to R) President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of China Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, on Aug. 24, 2023. Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—the so-called BRICS bloc—have invited six other nations to join. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the offer at the bloc’s annual summit in Johannesburg to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Argentina to join. Most will likely accept. According to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the enlarged bloc will “raise the voice of the global south.”