14 Comments
Oct 23Liked by Karl Sanchez

Humanity needs an alternative to Western colonialism. Hopefully BRICS is that alternative. May Western 'values', i.e., militarism, economic exploitation and deafening propaganda die peacefully. Free Palestine, boycott "Israel".

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BRICS is one of several similar alternatives that are all growing in geopolitical weight, although most are regional. Freeing Palestine also means boycotting the Outlaw US Empire and NATO.

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And the institutions, including the WTO. Removing the west's commodity exchanges and various methods to manipulate prices for speculation needs to be an urgent parallel track with de-dollarisation. Same goes for western insurance, Russia has had to deal with trade and shipping insurance, so this should also be removed from western control. Due to the genocide there's a strong case for trade embargo, resource embargo; time to bite the bullet.

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The need to reform/replace institutions was voiced, and the BRICS bureaucracy was vastly expanded. The Declaration has more info from my skim but needs to be closely examined.

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BRICS+ is not for abandoning or replacing the WTO.

Kazan Declaration Point 9. Support for WTO and Global Trade Reforms

BRICS leaders reaffirm their support for a rules-based, equitable global trading system under the WTO, while rejecting unilateral trade restrictions. They emphasize the need for WTO reform to enhance its effectiveness and include provisions for developing countries, aiming to restore the two-tier dispute settlement system by 2024. The BRICS Informal Consultative Framework will further discuss WTO issues.

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Oct 24Liked by Karl Sanchez

Everyone is familiar with the 80/20 rule; however in many cases it's actually 90/10 or even 95/5. With regard to BRICS, the association only needs one hit to make the whole thing begin to work.

I'm guessing it may be an affirmative element of the pseudo Swift system. Alternatively, it could even be simply just the contra aspect of its mere existence.

By that, I mean de-dollarization could be achieved simply through the process of not needing to earn/borrow dollars to satisfy inter-party debts.

Other than military backing, the crux of dollar power is controlling scrip usage for non-US transactions.

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Let me expand a bit: we have Swift & pseudo Swift. There are also dollars and non dollars.

Brics is shooting for non dollars on pseudo Swift, but conceivably, non dollars could be exchanged on Swift, or dollars could be transacted on pseudo Swift.

This is the type of flexibility the USA could consider as momentum builds for de dollarization. It would be the monetary equivalent of slowly pulling back the physical imperial footprint.

Not to join the league of nations, but rather to stabilize fortress America in order to eventually come back for another attempt at global conquest.

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Your closing sentence is at odds with the rest of your statement. The Outlaw US Empire is deeply destabilized and dysfunctional, and is deindustrialized to the point where it's incapable of finishing what it started 80 years ago and won't have another opportunity as the world works to eliminate hegemony as a behavior.

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Oct 24Liked by Karl Sanchez

The west has a 2,500 year old legacy conquest and empire. I don't believe it's merely taught behavior; there is something intrinsic in our pirate nature.

Like the black night, while what you say is true, I don't see the US ever giving up.

I mean, we could be a nation with 200m disenfranchised hispanics being forced to fight by a white majority who control all levels of power and control.

People like to say you can't kill an idea. This is just as true of Palestine as it is the USA. The thirst to conquer and control is eternal.

I don't believe China and Russia will ever be completely secure. The USA is/has been defeated for now, but all it takes is the political will to recognize that fact and get everyone pointed back in the same direction.

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Thanks for your further explanation. I've organized a thesis based on the work of Dr. Hudson and others that explain the roots of the contents of your opening sentence. Unfortunately, I'm tied up with all the BRICS events and don't have time now to devote to your query. Soon is all I can say at the moment.

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Oct 24Liked by Karl Sanchez

I am not even half way through, but I have noticed that Lula mentioned Erdogan in his speech, but there was no Erdogan's speech before Lula's. It would be interesting to read Erdogan's contribution!

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Erdogan wasn't at either session as a participant. He may have observed the expanded format, although I think not. He was at the reception and at the table for today's plenary session. IMO, Lula was referring to a statement Erdogan made previously at this year's UNGA as reported here, https://www.plenglish.com/news/2024/09/24/erdogan-describes-gaza-as-largest-cemetery-for-children-and-women/

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As predicted the BRICS put sovereignty and economic development ahead of any unilateral constraints on carbon emissions. Only a global effort can avert the crisis, and BRICS, the last hope, seems to be set to fail. 'At the same time, the members of the Mechanism are united in understanding that achieving the goal of carbon neutrality cannot run counter to other development priorities.'

https://www.planetcritical.com/p/brics-rejects-global-climate-action

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The BRICS+ Summit on finance, while facing high expectations, made limited progress on the complex issues surrounding financial cooperation. Key points include:

Reforming Financial Architecture: There is a strong call to reform the international financial system to address global financial challenges, aiming for a more inclusive and fair economic governance structure (Point 59).

New Development Bank (NDB): The NDB is highlighted as crucial for promoting infrastructure and sustainable development among BRICS nations, with support for improving its governance and operational effectiveness (Point 62).

Innovative Financial Mechanisms: The BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism (ICM) aims to expand financial practices, including local currency financing, and supports dialogue with the NDB (Point 63).

Cross-Border Payments and Local Currencies: There is a commitment to enhancing financial cooperation, particularly through faster, transparent, and inclusive cross-border payments, and the use of local currencies in transactions (Point 65).

BRICS Financial Infrastructure: The feasibility of establishing independent cross-border settlement and depositary infrastructure (BRICS Clear) and an independent BRICS (Re)Insurance Company will be explored (Point 66).

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