Sputnik Brazil reported that Diana Mondino, senior economic adviser to the country’s president-elect, Javier Milei, said on Monday that Argentina is not planning to join the BRICS alliance of developing economies on January 1st.
In August invitations to join BRICS were approved and extended to Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Currently the alliance counts Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa as member states.
Mondino said, “I don’t know why there is so much interest around BRICS,” adding that it’s unclear how Argentina would benefit from joining.
She added, the new government of the country will do an analysis of the benefits of joining the organization.
The new President, Javier Milei, who beat the minister of the economy Serio Massa in the presidential runoff on Sunday, had previously spoken critically of Argentina possibly joining the BRICS alliance. He has also voiced hesitancy in supporting economic relationships with Brazil and China, as he has indicated a desire to open and strengthen ties to the United States and Israel.
In August, Milei said, “I’m not going to push for deals with communists because they don’t respect the basic parameters of free trade, freedom, and democracy; it’s geopolitics,” adding “some countries are not along those lines.”
He also, however noted he would not interfere in any business in Argentina which was engaged in business dealings with any BRICS nations. He also has indicated a high priority for him was to “dollarize” the nation’s economy, in a bid to constrain massive levels of inflation which have long afflicted the nation.
Outgoing President Alberto Fernandez had referred to joining the BRICS alliance as an opportunity to open a “new scenario” for Argentina, when he accepted the invitation back in August.
Argentina is presently battling the worst economic crisis it has seen in decades, with inflation skyrocketing 60% in just the last year. As a result of its severely devalued Argentinian peso, the government was forced to refinance a $44 billion IMF debt.
