BRICs Messaging is SO HOT Right Now
Man, BRICS is hot… at least if you’re a media writer.
Just in the past week, august magazines like Beef (Thesis: Mexico and Canada joining BRICs), Bitcoin Magazine (Rapid ‘Bitcoinization’... umm sure), SchiffGold (shocker, SchiffGold’s says the dollar is disappearing and to buy gold), and Epoch Times has their weekly article portending the end of the dollar (won’t link this CCP mouthpiece). The original disinformation champs, Russia Today, wrote “BRICS carries greater economic weight than G7 – study” (not linking RT, screw ‘em). Even more serious sources like Asharq al awsat (Tunisian politicians support joining so as not to be ‘dictated to’), Business Insider (Dollar Dominance is here to stay), and even Foreign Policy had to name check BRICS in their article on Brazilian-Russian diplomacy (“Lula has spoken positively of BRICS even as he aims to maintain good relations with Europe and the United States.”). The disinformation is coming from the usual suspects in high volume lately.
Chinese and Russian disinformation on BRICS is then amplified by useful idiots who can’t tell a dollar from a donut. The serious news sites are often forced to cover it, because world leaders talk about it or because the disinformation narrative is seeping into the mainstream.
I’m watching in real time as this otherwise boring financial topic is being forced from the paid disinformation world into the mainstream conversation.1 The main question is: Why BRICs?
Russia is Losing
Russia is getting smoked on the battlefield. Every day more Russians join the 178,150 dead and captured Russians along with the massive amount of war material being lost in Ukraine. Russia is already doing everything it is capable of, militarily–without the success they want. Large counts of dead Russians tell a tale on the homefront that their disinformation narratives don’t wholly satisfy. Internationally, it's even worse.
All the while, the United States continues the steady supply of weapons that Ukraine badly needs to defeat Russia. So what’s Russia got left? Disinfo. The goal is clear and obvious as ever: try and stoke economic fear to weaken the support for Ukraine. Since Feb 2022, their attempts have yet to work.
New Development Bank… Has Sanctioned Russia
But the reality is darkly comical against Russia: the lone BRICs organization that is a multilateral, international financial organization is sanctioning Russia! That organization is the New Development Bank. Formed in 2014-2015 with 100 billion each from all 5 of the BRICS nations, the New Development Bank exists to make loans to the Global South and compete with the IMF. Egypt, Bangladesh and the UAE have also since paid into the bank, albeit at significantly smaller amounts. By charter the founding countries can never dip below 55% ownership of their stake. The Bank is currently led by former Brazilian President Dilma Roussef. The New Development Bank also likes to work with the other major international bodies for infrastructure and investment in the Global South (e.g. the World Bank and the IMF). Notably, instead of creating or using entirely local currencies from the founding nations, the New Development Bank was founded with dollar deposits.
Further, almost immediately after the outbreak of the full scale genocidal invasion of Ukraine, in March 2022 the New Development Bank started pausing all projects in Russia and banning exchange into and out of Russia. So how’s that BRICS Development Bank working out?
If you can’t beat em… Join em!
BRICS still have no broad multilateral defense or political agreements, and the New Development Bank is sanctioning Russia heavily. Where does that leave BRICs? As a yearly junket for 3rd tier diplomats to do a photo opp. This allows the Chinese and Russian propaganda mills to keep threatening tHe EnD of ThE DoLlAr while not actually dealing with the difficult details and compromise of serious diplomacy.
I would be thrilled to go on vacation to Brazil, India, or South Africa 3 out of 5 years. Thus, I am announcing my personal intention to join the BRICS nations and all of their formal agreements. I promise to show for all of the paid for diplomatic junkets in the 3 BIS nations that believe in democracy, and will even do a photo opp with the Russian diplomat there (i cannot promise to keep a straight face or not give him bunny ears, or even wear a shirt).
The sheer volume of BRICS bullshit coming across the third tier newswire is awe inspiring at the moment. I am urged to keep writing about this massive tire fire by my beloved audience, but you know, i want to go even further. Do even more. Its high time I JOIN THE BRICS.
Thank you for reading.
Article by @PerceptionMoney, Cohost and finance analyst on @MriyaReport
Final Note: Given my distinct media work in support of Ukraine and general distaste for Russian windows and genocide, i cannot attend any BRICs junkets in Russia or China. But I do appreciate the future invites!
I do see the irony that in writing this piece, I am in some small way participating in this feedback loop. However, to combat the firehose of falsehood, it helps to have a good volume of articles talking about the serious way to view this. The even more effective way would be if the NAFO memefarm got on the case and all these people spouting nonsense got shibu-piled for their ridiculousness.