Brazil’s President Lula Voices Support for BRICS Currency

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has expressed support for the creation of a BRICS currency. His statement of support comes as the BRICS bloc is gaining global influence, with 19 countries seeking to join the group.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterated Wednesday that he supported creating a currency for trading between BRICS countries, Reuters reported. The BRICS nations comprise Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In a speech during a trip to Spain, he said without providing further details:

I am in favor of creating, within the BRICS, a trading currency between our countries, just like the Europeans created the euro.

Lula’s support for the creation of a BRICS currency followed his statement urging developing countries to stop using the U.S. dollar and adopt local currencies instead. The Brazilian president said on April 13 during his visit to the New Development Bank in Shanghai, which was established by BRICS countries: “Why can’t an institution like the BRICS bank have a currency to finance trade relations between Brazil and China, between Brazil and all the other BRICS countries? Who decided that the dollar was the (trade) currency after the end of gold parity?”

The BRICS nations have been pushing to gain global influence to counter Western countries’ “destructive actions” as they ramp up their de-dollarization efforts. Anil Sooklal, South Africa’s ambassador to the group, said this week that 13 countries have formally asked to join the BRIC bloc and six have informally asked, emphasizing: “We are getting applications to join every day.”

Other countries, such as Indonesia, have followed the BRICS’ lead to shift away from using the U.S. dollar in trade settlements in favor of local currencies. Lula’s chief adviser on foreign policy, Celso Amorim, recently said China and Brazil could play important roles in building a less centralized world with no hegemony.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said earlier that the issue of creating a common BRICS currency is expected to be discussed at the leaders’ summit set for the end of August.

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