00:00Now let's stay on topic. We are going to welcome Analyst Juan Carlos Balareso to go deeper
00:07on the BRICS Little Summit held in New Delhi, India. Hello, welcome to From the South. Thank
00:13you for your time here with us. Thank you for having me here. Juan Carlos, BRICS is gaining
00:20importance in the midst of a very turbulent geopolitical context. What does this say
00:26about the changing global balance in power? Well, I think the meeting, the summit is rather
00:37important because it takes place in a moment where several of the pillars of international
00:42system are under pressure. We have the war in the Middle East, the disruption on the Strait of Hormuz,
00:49the continuing war in Ukraine, trade protectionism, all of these situations where BRICS
00:57gathering is trying to position itself as a platform through which the global south can
01:02influence these debates rather than just simply react to the decisions made elsewhere.
01:10Also, how has BRICS built this collaboration among countries that have different political
01:18systems, different economic models, different interests as well?
01:24Well, I think that's the particular thing about the BRICS right now. Some see it as an anti-Western
01:35alliance, but we have to be careful with that definition because, as you say, well, we have different
01:42members with different strategies. Probably Russia and China see the BRICS as a counterweight to Western
01:49dominance. But we have members such as India, Brazil, the UAE, and several other members that have
01:56much more complex relationships with the United States and Europe. So that makes it so that we can
02:04see BRICS probably better defined as a platform for strategic autonomy and reform of global governance
02:13than as a unified anti-Western alliance. So that's why I think the probably weakness right now of the BRICS
02:23is
02:23that it hasn't really come to a point where it can have a unified foreign policy like other organizations
02:32such as NATO or the G7, where we see a more political cohesiveness.
02:39How is BRICS reshaping the multilateral scenario that the world demands at this very moment? Is
02:48multilateralism an utopia or is it possible to achieve?
02:53Well, I think it's a very interesting question because multilateralism has been up until now used
03:01more as a concept to define the distribution of power. But we're seeing a step forward towards
03:10multilateralism becoming more institutionalized with platforms such as the BRICS. The question here
03:17arises, and for me, is it that is multilateralism the path to peace? I don't know. I'm not sure about
03:28that yet.
03:29Why not? Do you think that perhaps the cohesion of what has happened evolving the conflict in the
03:37Middle East being part of those doubts that you have regarding peace?
03:43Well, that's the thing because, I mean, I can see a lot of outcomes that come out of this declaration,
03:53the new Delhi declaration that was signed just yesterday. Among many of the commitments and positions were
04:01strengthening the cooperation with the expanded membership of BRICS and supporting the reform
04:10of the global governance, increasing representation, especially of the global south,
04:16right, of developing economies. So I think that those are very, very good steps forward towards a more
04:26cohesive position regarding situations that are happening right now. But at the same time, until we have
04:33some coherence when it comes to the positions of all the members, it's going to be hard to see a
04:43path
04:44towards peace. I mean, let's just analyze that we have members such as Russia that has the conflict in
04:51Ukraine. We have Iran and the UAE signing the declaration, but both on opposing sides of the
05:00current Middle Eastern conflict. So I think these are steps forward, but it remains to be seen whether
05:06these steps forward will take us on a common path. Thank you. Thank you very much, Juan Carlos,
05:12for your time hearing from the south.
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