Cuba asks to join BRICS

The Caribbean dictatorship has just formally applied to join the alliance and the dictator, Miguel Diaz-Canel, is scheduled to attend the summit in Kazan at the end of October.

The alliance, formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, decided last year to welcome new members.

As reported Tuesday by the director general of Bilateral Affairs of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Carlos Miguel Pereira, in a post on X, the request was made through a letter addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country holds the chairmanship of the group since January 1, 2024. The BRICS association, according to the official, "consolidates itself as a key player in global geopolitics and hope for the countries of the South.”

Since Russia took over the BRICS chairmanship, five countries have joined the organization: Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia. Putin recently claimed that 34 other countries have expressed their desire to join. Dictatorships and illiberal governments proliferate in the alliance. Their membership provides a strategic network to Russia, given that the BRICS group accounts for 34% of the world’s territory, 45.2% of the planet's population and 36.7% of the world's GDP.

The leaders of more than 30 countries confirmed their presence at the BRICS summit, which will take place in Kazan from October 22 to 24, according to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Riabkov. Representatives of Cuba have already participated in several BRICS meetings and the dictator, Miguel Díaz-Canel, is scheduled to attend the summit.