For the first time since the creation of the Brics, popular movements and civil society representatives had a formal space to present their ideas directly to the main negotiators of the member countries during the group’s second sherpas meeting. Sherpas are envoys from the governments of the bloc’s countries who guide the heads of state in discussions and agreements.
“It’s an opportunity for us negotiators to hear what society has to say about our work and how to improve it so that the results of the Brics include what the population wants,” said Mauricio Lyrio, Brazil’s sherpa in the group. He also pointed out that President Lula has said that the Brics needs to listen to society and make decisions that really have an impact on people’s lives.
Ten groups, that combined institutional representativeness and alignment with the Brazilian presidency’s priorities, were invited. Among the participants was João Pedro Stedile, a Brazilian economist and leader of the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST, in Portuguese). He pointed out that since the Brics 2024 Summit, held in Kazan, Russia, grassroots movements have been holding virtual meetings and drawing up documents, which have already been delivered to Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He stressed the importance of the meeting’s goal in Rio to present these proposals and establish a channel for direct dialog with government representatives.
“We, the grassroots movements, presented a written summary of the issues raised by Brazilian governance: education, health, global governance and technology. We took the opportunity to draw attention to urgent issues.”
“In addition, the movements demanded a more active stance from the Brics against the ongoing conflicts around the world. There is a civilizational responsibility that demands solidarity,” said Stedile. Another demand put forward by the MST is the formalization of the Brics People’s Council, a proposal approved in Kazan but still to be regulated.
“We need to define how many people per country, whether it will have a secretariat, resources, how many meetings per year. The council needs to be permanent, regardless of the ideological position of the government that takes the rotating presidency,” he explained.
Regarding the New Development Bank (NDB), there was consensus among civil society representatives that the financial institution needs to be the main financing agent for Global South industrialization. The argument is that, without industry, there is no way to reduce poverty or finance family farming, for example. The expectation is that the NDB will become a real alternative to the World Bank and the IMF, financing the development of emerging countries.
The proposals presented will be consolidated into official documents, and then the Sherpas will analyze them in the coming weeks. The Brazilian government stressed that the dialog with civil society will continue throughout the presidency, with concrete results expected at the Leaders’ Summit on July 6 and 7, also in Rio de Janeiro.
