Milei said in a letter addressed to the bloc, which was written a week ago but released today by his government, that it is not "opportune" for Argentina join presently, AP News reports. This deviates from the prior plan put in place by former President Alberto Fernandez to join on January 1, 2024, after the country was invited back in August.
Milei, a libertarian, defines himself as an "anarcho-capitalist" and has implemented strong economic and foreign policy efforts since he took office to attempt to combat the economic and social turmoil brewing in the country.
He has proclaimed complete alignment with the “free nations of the West,” and particularly the United States. He has also declared he will not maintain diplomatic relations with communist countries.
Milei did however say in the letter addressed to the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that he would like to "intensify bilateral ties" and increase "trade and investment flows" and is willing to meet with them.
The outgoing Argentinian government had worked towards creating closer ties with China, Russia and Iran, shifting the country away from its neutrality in international conflict. Under Milei's new government, many Argentinians are hopeful the country will return to a sense of security and independence.
Towards the end of November, Argentina's foreign minister Diana Mondino stated to Benzinga: "The BRICS are still not a commercial bloc; for now, it is more akin to a political alignment, and in Argentina, we hope to achieve multilateralism, and not align ourselves with one group of countries or another."
She posted to X November 30: "We will not join the BRICS"
The US has been paying close attention to BRICS since their 2024 Summit took place back in August, with many believing a their goal is to replace the dollar as the global currency.
