by Betsey Piette, published on Workers World, October 30, 2024
The potential power of a united Global South was on full display at the United Nations in March 2022. Representatives of many countries that
had experienced imperialist aggression at the hands of the U.S., France,
Britain and other NATO members collectively denounced U.S. sanctions as acts of war, calling NATO the greatest threat to global peace.
Led by member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), the representatives spoke out against U.S./NATO aggression against Russia and U.S. efforts to seek U.N. sanctions against Russia.
While the sanctions the U.S. proposed passed in the U.N. General Assembly, an analysis of the votes demonstrated that countries with the majority populations around the world, especially in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean — the Global South — opposed the move.
By expanding sanctions that punish countries and their populations, U.S. officials have created a boomerang, fueling a rapid shift in global currency exchange and undermining the hegemony of the dollar. These latest U.S. sanctions aimed at Russia were a tipping point.
Because many countries would lose so much economically by obeying the sanctions, their governments refused to follow them. By seizing funds of countries invested in dollars held in imperialist banks, the U.S. forced their governments to rethink how to store their currency reserves.
An International Monetary Fund report on March 24, 2022, noted “a decline in the dollar share of international reserves since the turn of the century.” Over 46 central banks have increasingly diversified their holdings, moving away from the U.S. dollar.
Fast forward to the 16th BRICS+ Summit held in Kazan, Russia, from Oct. 22 to 24, where this push to further the move from dependence on the dollar was on full display. BRICS, established in 2006, originally included four members — Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined in 2010, and Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) became full members on Jan. 1, 2024.
In addition to the full members, over 20,000 delegates from 30 other countries participated in the Kazan summit focused on the theme of “strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security.” The countries at the gathering together represented 46% of the world’s total population and around 36% of the global Gross Domestic Product.
Kazan Declaration
While the sheer numbers are impressive, what stood out in particular was the passage of the Kazan Declaration on Oct. 23 by the BRICS countries. It included provisions denouncing Israel and calling for an immediate ceasefire of the “unprecedented escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as a result of the Israeli military offensive, which led to mass killings and injury of civilians, forced displacement and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure.
“We stress the urgent need for an immediate, comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and detainees from both sides who are being illegally held captive and the unhindered, sustainable and at scale supply of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and cessation of all aggressive actions. We denounce the Israeli attacks against humanitarian operations, facilities, personnel and distribution points.”
With a political statement, the Kazan Declaration also addressed Israel’s escalation of the conflict into a regional war, with the “loss of civilian lives and the immense damage to civilian infrastructure resulting from attacks by Israel in residential areas in Lebanon and call for immediate cessation of military acts.”
The Declaration also called for comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including the Security Council, to more adequately respond to global challenges while supporting the aspirations of emerging and developing countries. It called for BRICS countries to play a greater role in international affairs, in particular in the U.N.
Beyond the Declaration, what will be the significance of the Kazan Summit?
BRICS is a contradictory formation. Prior to the summit, BRICS+ issued a historic report proposing the creation of new infrastructures to trade and transfer money using national currencies other than the U.S. dollar, further prompting the global call for de-dollarization.
On one hand, it is challenging the oligarchs of the West and will lead to their further isolation. On its own, BRICS will not change the class relations in these countries. Yet anything that further isolates the global imperialist camp, led by Washington, and undermines its use of the dollar as a weapon targeting countries the U.S. opposes, aids the struggle of nations oppressed by imperialism.