BRICS social movements finalize proposals for heads of state
The first special session of the BRICS People's Council, a forum that brings together representatives of organized civil society from the group's member countries, chaired until the end of the year by Brazil, ended this Saturday (5) in Rio de Janeiro.
Institutions such as social movements, non-governmental organizations, unions and university representatives have prepared a booklet of recommendations that will be delivered to the heads of state and government of the BRICS. The summit will take place on Sunday (6) and Monday (7), also in Rio de Janeiro.
Related news:The proposals were drawn up by seven working groups (WGs) that dealt with issues in the areas of health, education, culture, finance, technology, environment and organizational structure. The document is almost one hundred pages long and will be made available to the public on the website of the BRICS People's Council.
International securityAccording to Emílio Mendonça Dias da Silva, researcher at the BRICS Study Group (Gebrics) at the University of São Paulo (USP), coordinator of the WG on BRICS institutionality, despite being numerous, all the proposals are important.
“The points that were raised are all, perhaps not priorities, but important,” he told Agência Brasil .
“The issues that were raised in terms of health and education are priorities, they are topics on the social agenda, they have a social impact, they have social importance, cultural issues too,” he added.
However, the professor understands that the topic of international security attracts a lot of attention.
“Mainly due to the increase in international conflicts, but we can never neglect the attention that must be given to society in terms of health, education and social issues,” he says.
Among the suggestions made by civil society representatives are: – Expanding the use of national currencies in BRICS trade. – Broad reform of the global governance architecture to enhance the voice and representation of countries in the Global South (developing nations that face social challenges) – Universal access to health care – Combating infectious and chronic diseases with joint production of vaccines and traditional medicine practices – Technological sovereignty and digital inclusion – BRICS climate fund with resources for mitigation, adaptation and nature protection
– Ethical guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI) in the cultural sector to protect creative work
In addition to delivering the booklet of recommendations to international leaders, the People's Council will have the opportunity to make a short speech to the heads of state on the first day of the summit.
“Itamaraty is audacious,” commented one of the council leaders and coordinator of the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), João Pedro Stédile, referring to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is organizing the summit, since Brazil holds the annual rotating presidency of BRICS.
João Pedro Stédile recognizes that many of the proposals are difficult for countries to implement, which is why he advocates more popular mobilization to put pressure on governments.
“Mass struggle,” he said. The MST coordinator emphasized that what is needed is “people on the streets” and not just mobilization through social networks.
For Professor Emílio da Silva, there are still other ways for organized civil society to participate in discussions that lead to the implementation of the proposals drawn up by the BRICS People's Council.
“There are forums, there are mechanisms, there are forms of dialogue that, if our leaders pay the necessary attention to the importance that the population has, they will know how to use these forums”, he considers.
Premiere in BrazilThe creation of the People's Council was decided during the last BRICS summit in Kazan last year, in Russia, while the Asian country held the rotating presidency of BRICS.
It was now up to Brazil to implement and hold the first formal meeting of the group of representatives of organized civil society. The new discussion forum has similarities with the G20 Social, a Brazilian initiative when the country presided over the group – formed by 19 countries and the European and African Unions – in 2024 .
João Pedro Stédile argues that there should be more institutionalization of the council, with an administrative structure so that it is not just an annual event.
He added that the Brazilian coordination of the council intends to hold another event this year, in October, in the city of Salvador, with delegates nominated by institutions from all the BRICS nations.
Understand the BRICSBRICS is made up of 11 member countries: South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, China, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, India, Iran and Russia. These nations represent 39% of the world's economy and 48.5% of the world's population.
The countries that have partner status are Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. Partners do not have voting power.
The BRICS group identifies itself as nations of the Global South and seeks greater cooperation among themselves and more equal treatment in international organizations. However, the group is not an international organization or a formal bloc. For example, it does not have its own budget or permanent secretariat, and it cannot impose internal decisions on other countries.
The member countries alternate year after year in the presidency. Brazil will be succeeded by India in 2026.
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