Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce is expected to attend the forthcoming BRICS Summit, which will take place on August 22-24 in Johannesburg, South Africa, as the Andean nation seeks to step up cooperation with the bloc's emerging economies. On Monday, Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta announced his country’s participation in the event on Twitter, adding that President Arce on June 12 officially notified of Bolivia's desire to join BRICS, an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. To date, over 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the group.
The desire to become a part of the bloc is a "strategic move of the government," because it could give the country "new partners in the multipolar world, who would have the opportunity to resist US attacks," according to international affairs expert and head of CENAC (Centro de Estudios Geopolíticos Nuestroamericano) Gabriel Villalba.
"If Bolivia officially becomes a member of BRICS, the United States will, of course, think twice before trying to openly and directly interfere in the domestic and international politics of Bolivia, as they did in 2019," Villalba told Sputnik.
The expert also noted that BRICS' plan to make financial settlements in their own currencies fits into La Paz's "Bolivianization" strategy. The Bolivian authorities are seeking to bolster the nation's currency, the boliviano, in order to start drifting away from the dollar.
"Not long ago, multipolarity was expressed only in political and ideological attitudes, but starting with the recent crises of global capitalism, financial and economic multipolarity has emerged," Villalba said.
Per the international affairs expert, it's very "inspiring" that Bolivia has also started to move in this direction. "Economic and financial multipolarity, which is built by BRICS member states, helps to deconstruct the old logic of the declining empire," he said, in reference to the fading power of the Pax Americana.
Latin American countries' desire to join BRICS is a "positive development," according to the expert. While BRICS accounts for over 31.5% of the world’s GDP, the South American region boasts its own riches, for example, biodiversity and the largest lithium reserves on the planet, as well as fresh water, he stressed. Lithium reserves in Bolivia are estimated at over 21 million tons. Together with Argentina and Chile, Bolivia is part of the famous Lithium Triangle.
"The country has the largest amount of this strategic resource," Villalba stressed, foreseeing an ultimate shift to the "lithium-ion era" in the future. He believes that Bolivia will be able to set the price for lithium on the international market, which may be of interest to BRICS.
In addition, Bolivia has seen steady economic growth over the past decade. According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), from 2009 to 2019, the country's economy grew by an average of 4.9% annually.
"Bolivia stands out among other countries due to its long-term economic growth and ranks first in this respect in Latin America. This stems from both the policy of strategic planning and with the decision to nationalize hydrocarbons," Villalba said.
"[Bolivia's] formula of politics and sovereignty corresponds to the approaches of the BRICS group in its international financial and economic policy and relations with other states," the expert concluded.