Bolivia and the BRICS Objective

DOI: 10.58867/GKCK4009

Little has been said in the debates within Latin America regarding the rise of BRICS, primarily due to certain political actors who seek to reject and deny the relevance of the countries that constitute the block. In that sense, we are facing strong willpower from certain figures that deny reality and insist on the idea of a world that hasn’t undergone significant power shifts in the last thirty years. Notwithstanding, despite these efforts, it’s impossible to deny the importance of the geopolitical giants China, India, Russia, South Africa, and neighboring Brazil, founders of BRICS, who have an ever-growing weight within the international scene and who hold promise for many in incentivizing an internal readjustment of an international system inherited at the end of the Cold War. 

Parallelly, the recent XV BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, set a precedent with the founding members’ decision to expand the block, integrating six new members —Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and The United Arab Emirates— after years of internal debates as to in which direction the block should head towards.^[1]Evidently, this shift inside the BRICS opens up the possibility for many other countries to join the block in the future. One of the most interested candidates is the Plurinational State of Bolivia, which during 2023 requested its formal introduction to the block when President Luis Arce Catacora attended the summit in South Africa —invited by fellow President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa— and made the South American country’s interest in joining explicit.^[2]

It is worth mentioning that Brazil is the only country from the region that has representation in this block after Diana Mondino, Argentina’s Chancellor, announced the end of the country's short-lived integration in BRICS as a clear signal of President Javier Milei’s shift in Argentina’s foreign policy.^[3] This situation shows the ruminating fears of an authoritarian world order regarding future additions. Despite certain actors' caricaturesque portrayals, BRICS currently represents 32 percent of the worldwide GDP, which only increases with every new incorporation to the block.^[4]

Undoubtedly, BRICS's gravitation towards an international insertion makes it a worldwide showcase in commercial and geopolitical terms. For an emerging nation such as Bolivia, it could represent the opportunity to insert itself into a crucial project at an international scale. This has been an initiative taken by ex-president Evo Morales Ayma, who, through diversification of bilateral relations and under a devoted defense of the multipolar system, has ended with a subordinate foreign policy heavily influenced by the interests of the United States. Within this framework, Bolivia’s foreign policy has given clear signs that it seeks to strengthen ties with the founding countries of BRICS, which, except for Brazil, previously had a less relevant role in its foreign policy but that have nevertheless been subjected of interest for Bolivia during the last decade, particularly in regards to its commercial flow, political convergence and diverse issues of cooperation.^[5]

In the case of China, the Asian giant’s exportations reached a record-breaking 1.17 billion in 2023, all meanwhile establishing an agreement between the Bolivia Union Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to carry out operations with the currencies Bolivianos and Yuans as well as exchange agreement between the public Bolivian company Yacimientos de Litios Bolivianos (YLB) and the Chinese concierge CBC to build the Pilot Plan using of Direct Lithium Extraction (EDL) technology.^[6]

As far as its ties to the Republic of India, Asian Mogul has positioned itself as one of Bolivia’s main commercial partners during 2021, 2022 and 2023, surpassing traditional partners such as Brazil and Argentina.^[7] At the same time, India’s minister of foreign relations and culture, Lekhilíneas’ visit to Bolivia has allowed both countries to initiate the project “Centro de Excelencia en Tecnología de la Información y la Comunicación India” for the exchange of scientific tech production of knowledge and experiences, a joint network of traditional systems of medicine as well as the Binational Cultural Program during the period of 2023 and 2025.^[8],[9]

On the other hand, one of the most fluid exchanges in Bolivian diplomacy was with the Russian Federation, which gained relevance during the pandemic with the acquisition of the first batches of the Sputnik vaccine as well as, with the arrival of Luis Arce, other agreements in the areas of hydrocarbons, evaporitic resources, nuclear energy, lithium, among others. In this context, the Russian company Uranium One Group signed a deal with Yacimiento de Litio Bolivianos for the construction of a trial plant for direct lithium extraction, while the Russian corporation Rosatom began the construction and operation of Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Tecnología Nuclear (CIDTN) which ultimately aims to improve the medical use and development of scientific and productive investigation with the best interest of the Bolivian population in mind.^{[10],[11],[12]}

As far as the Republic of South Africa, the relations haven’t accelerated at the same pace as with China, India and Russia. Regardless, in 2023, both countries agreed to impulse a bilateral tie, heavily influenced by the visits of the South African ambassador in Chile and concurrent with the Plurinational State of Bolivia, where both countries have agreed to move forward and sign the Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment of a Mechanism for Political Consultations that will allow them to approach issues of common interest. Likewise, the presence of President Luis Arce at the XV BRICS Summit organized by South Africa and the recent bilateral meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, Celinda Sosa Lunda and the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Nalenda Pandor at the XIX Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) are examples of the attempts to strengthen the bilateral relationship.^[13]

Lastly, the relaunch of the bilateral relation between Bolivia and Brazil is one of the most relevant acts in the Bolivian foreign policy following its stagnant dynamic during Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency and especially after his explicit support of the democratic rupture that resulted in President Evo Morales’ exit. Without a doubt, the return of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has paved the way in reconstructing this transcendental tie. This initiative was solidified in 2023 with the launch of a robust itinerary that involves many areas of interest for both countries: the reactivation of bilateral mechanisms of dialogue, its physical integration, hydric resources, joint fight against contraband, bio-combustibles, the issue of Amazonia, cooperation in judicial, police, health and consulate matters as well as the key role Brazil’s president played in achieving the introduction of Bolivia to MERCOSUR after years of languish in its senate.^[14],[15]

Unquestionably, Bolivia’s foreign policy has shown clear signs of a desire to nourish and prioritize its ties to BRICS countries, which can be seen in its growing bilateral relation with China, Russia, and Brazil during the administrations of Luis Arce and Evo Morales, manifesting the continuity of international enterprise that characterizes the governments of MAS-IPSP. Furthermore, the need to strengthen ties between President Luis Arce and the Republic of India, which reached its peak with President Ram Nath Kovind's unprecedented visit to Bolivia in 2019, is still evident. A further reinforcement of the bilateral relation with South Africa is also needed, one that contemplates initiating an embassy to achieve an integration to the African continent finally.^[16]

Without a doubt, Bolivia must take on a more aggressive strategy to enter BRICS. This task will be left in the hands of Bolivia’s first Minister of Foreign Relations Celina Sosa Lunda, who has been up for the challenge, centering her efforts on the adhesion of the South American country. Hence, Bolivia must solidify its relations with the founding countries of BRICS through a series of high-level visits and a consolidation of embassies and consulates throughout the Asian and African continents to establish a strong presence in not-so-traditional spaces within its diplomacy, taking into account that in the short and medium term, this is how it can come into contact with other new members of BRICS such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.