Maduro Pins Venezuela’s BRICS Snub on Rogue Brazilian Diplomat

Mexico City, Mexico, October 29, 2024 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro addressed his country’s controversial snub at the recent XVI BRICS Summit, claiming that Brazil’s apparent veto contradicted personal assurances from Brazil’s top diplomat that Venezuela’s entry to the bloc would not be impeded.

The BRICS bloc of countries, which brings together nations with the shared goal of building a multipolar world, held its most recent summit Kazan, Russia last week, where the bloc welcomed 13 new “partner members” but excluded Venezuela despite intense lobbying by the Caribbean country.

“They said it one, two, three, four times; many times. Foreign Minister Mauro Viera told me to my face that Brazil would not veto Venezuela,” Maduro revealed on Monday during his weekly television broadcast. “There were meetings with the foreign minister, the Russian foreign minister, our foreign minister and the vice president; and Brazil, as the only country from the region, stated clearly and directly that it would not veto Venezuela.”

According to Maduro, however, when it came time to announce the new BRICS members, a Brazilian diplomat by the name of Eduardo Paes Saboia, who was involved in negotiations, vetoed Venezuela’s entry to the bloc.

“This was at the last minute, almost at the end of the summit,” said the president.

The Venezuelan leader called the move a “stab in the back” and said it was driven by Paes, who he called “fascist” and supporter of former far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Maduro also pointed the finger at Brazil’s foreign service, known colloquially as Itamaraty, named after the building that serves as the headquarters of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“It is not news to anyone when I say that Itamaraty has been a power within power in Brazil,” declared Maduro, adding that Itamaraty has been historically closely linked to the US Department of State.

News that Venezuela would not be allowed into the BRICS bloc came as a surprise to many, with news outlets reporting that neighboring Brazil had blocked their entry. The exclusion led to increased diplomatic tensions between Caracas and Brasilia, which were already heightened over the latter’s dissatisfaction with the results of the July 28 presidential election.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, together with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, had been trying to mediate in the post-election dispute that saw the Venezuelan opposition cry fraud. Maduro was declared the winner of a new six-year term following an intervention by the country’s Supreme Court.

Lula, however, had been pushing for the publication of detailed results that ultimately were not released. While the Brazilian president stopped short of saying they would not deal with the Venezuelan government, he had repeatedly suggested that there would be consequences for the countries’ bilateral relationship. 

Maduro said Monday he would give Lula time to respond. The Brazilian president, who did not attend the summit, has not yet commented on the reported veto.

Venezuela had been strongly campaigning for years to become a member of BRICS. US unilateral coercive measures, also known as sanctions, have battered the country’s economy and its ascension into BRICS was viewed by the Venezuelan government as a potential lifeline. 

Maduro, who attended the Kazan summit, called for the bloc to lead efforts to establish a “new international financing system” that is independent of Western dominance. US-led sanctions and its dominance of international trade via the US dollar have severely hampered Venezuela’s ability to sell its most important commodity, oil, on international markets. Since 2017, the US Treasury Department has imposed financial sanctions and an oil embargo on state oil company PDVSA, aimed at isolating the country from global markets.

Venezuela has in response been forced to sell oil via intermediaries and unreliable partners and further exposed the oil industry to corruption. Former Oil Minister Pedro Tellechea was arrested earlier this month over accusations of corruption and alleged ties to US intelligence, marking the latest in a long line of oil officials charged with misconduct. 

During his speech at the summit, Maduro placed heavy emphasis on the potential role of the so-called BRICS bank as a source of alternative finance mechanisms. The New Development Bank, as the institution is formally known, is headed up by former Brazilian President and Lula protegé Dilma Rousseff.

At its summit, BRICS—which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as original members and 2023 additions Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates— welcomed Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam to the bloc under the newly established “BRICS Partner Country Category.” 

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.