(These two YouTube headlines below are the worst examples of misleading
click-bait, eh. Why? Once the most eloquent-ever proponent of BRICS,
Brazilian anti-imperialist journalist Pepe Escobar has just jumped onto
that familiar slippery slope, sliding fast from hype to hope to
helplessness. Ouch, it appears to be a very hard landing. Reading this
will be painful, for many multipolarists allergic to realism, or to
genuine liberatory thinking.
Liberatory thinking would obviously include a free Palestine from
the river to the sea plus planetary survival, neither of which feature
in the logic of either imperialism or subimperialism. That will become
more obvious than usual in the next two weeks, as Lula hosts the 30th
Conference of Polluters while his oil company, Petrobras, prepares to
drill both the Amazon and South Africa's Northern Cape coastline, and
continues supplying 9% of Israel's oil.
In contrast, liberatory critique is the approach of Colombian
president Gustavo Petro when dropping out of both NATO and the BRICS,
even after pursuing the latter's embrace for many months, as witnessed
in press reports below:
“If a North Atlantic government decides to ally itself with crimes
against humanity, what should we do there? These are drastic
measures, but I think they must be taken now.... *I’m not going to
be in the BRICS either, because the BRICS are oil-related*.”
Those who think the world is divided into a Global North - bad, filthy -
and a Global South - good, righteous and climate victimised - need to
contemplate the Petro critique of the fossil-addicted BRICS.)
*Pepe Escobar: BRICS Just Drew the Line — And Trump Is Pushing Back Hard!*
Dialogue Works <https://www.youtube.com/@dialogueworks01>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3RlnVCtTS4
Nima Alkhorshid: Are we witnessing the birth of a truly post western
world order?
Pepe Escobar: We are in the initial stages.*I always like to have
counter punches from reality, when many of us get too euphoric.* I was
extremely euphoric after the BRICS summit in Kazan last year. Okay, this
is, this is, this is it. This is the real deal. Starts now. It’s much
more complicated. There are the *internal frictions in BRICS are still
very very serious.* And BRICS is not united, not at all. And there are
some *very very dodgy players inside BRICS*. I’ll give you just one,
United Arab Emirates. We could go on about this forever, you know. So
another element - the geoeconomic element - I heard some*frightening
very serious inside information about the BRICS bank which I cannot make
public*. I first I want to discuss this in Moscow and then when I come
back to China early next year discuss this in Shanghai as well. So but
but these are very very worrying facts in fact of how *dysfunctional is
the BRICS Bank, the New Development Bank and this is not good*. It’s not
good at all.
***
*Pepe Escobar: Trump in DEEP Trouble as Putin Drops Missile BOMBSHELL,
Venezuela War ERUPTS ***
https://youtu.be/iY99PBVvURI?t=2415
Escobar: We still need to go back to the nitty-gritty of this on the
ground hybrid war against the global south as a whole against some BRICS
nations against prospective BRICS nations like Venezuela or BRICS
partners in the case of Nigeria. Trump already said that sooner or later
the US is going to intervene in Nigeria. So that brings us to one of the
key issues one year after the very successful BRICS summit in Kazan last
year. *Is BRICS as a group working on a concerted strategy to at least
stare down the empire unleashing its fury, revenge, impotence, hate,
pure hatred, ideological hatred all across the global south. How
cohesive is BRICS on this matter? We don’t know. We don’t know. And
there are many signs that this cohesiveness is still not there.*
This is a geopolitical issue. It’s a military geopolitical issue. It’s
quite different from what BRICS agrees in geocconomics and especially
what they agreed last year in Kazan and what of course they continue to
implement and this BRICS lab, as I call it, is still testing: all
different alternative settlement systems etc. I’ll be in Moscow in a few
days and I’ll have an on the ground update on where this is going. I
even have my first big meeting as soon as I arrive in Moscow be to
discuss that event. Very very important.
But on the geopolitical unity front, it’s much more complicated.*And of
course inside BRICS we have players that are, well, dodgy is a lenient
way of describing them. I’m talking about the United Arab Emirates for
that matter - which by the way in Sudan, is pitted against another BRICS
member, Egypt. *They are on opposite sides in Sudan. And Sudan, of
course. The Americans are also looking at Sudan. Of course, in terms of
Africa, there are so many different hotspots that the empire can use to
destabilize certain regions of Africa. For instance, the French were
directly involved, but the Americans are indirectly involved in this
latest al-Qaeda push in Mali, which apparently for the moment is under
control, but they’ll be they’ll be back. There’s no question. They need
to destabilize at least one of the members of the alliance of the Sahel
states. Nigeria, of course, energy producer and BRICS, allied with
BRICS. The war we should never forget the hybrid war in different levels
is the empire against the whole of BRICS including the BRICS partners.
That’s why it’s so dangerous.
But *so far we have not seen and I have not heard from people close to
BRICS officials in several nations that they are actually sitting down
to discuss this among themselves in detail. They discuss a lot on
geoeconomics, on settlement systems, on increasing trade in their own
currencies, but not an overall BRICS strategy to counteract the empire.
And this is this something that should they have they should have
started this thing yesterday, taking too long. And sooner or later we
could have a BRICS member falling or a BRICS partner falling or a direct
destabilization of the empire of a BRICS member or a BRICS partner. This
is extremely dangerous. Extremely dangerous but there’s still no
political will. Danny, unfortunately, I’m giving you the realist reading
of how this thing is going. And of course we all know that inside BRICS
everything depends on the two top deciders - the two, the Russia-Chinese
strategic partnership - and they have so many complicated fish to fry at
the moment. So I’m sorry to be a little disappointing on all that but
this is the realist reading you know.*
Danny Haiphong: Yeah. Well, it’s in my estimation that it would like,
you know, the the three BRICS members that have an orientation toward
really accelerating the process are Russia, China, and Iran. And
everybody else is kind of playing catch-up, especially geopolitically,
politically. so it really is it’s really up to them, especially Russia
and China, who are at a much more favorable position. than Iran is
surrounded by uh vipers of the imperialist order. that seems to be the
the need, you know, and and you you raised, you know, recently Malaysia
was just threatened by the US ambassador. Absolutely. You said they join
BRICS, it’s not in their interests. It’s in their interest to stay with us.
Escobar: Even after they treated Trump as one of their sultans, Trump
was treated almost like a Malaysian sultan when he visited with extreme,
the Malaysians are extremely generous, hyper polite, gracious, etc. And
Trump was extremely was not enough. And they knew who we’re dealing
with. They were trying at least to appease the king of the jungle, which
they did, but perhaps only for a few days. Not enough. And here in
Thailand as well, the Americans are, you know, that they are building
one of the largest embassies, consulates in the world here in Chiang Mai
in northern Thailand. Why? Very close to the Chinese border. And
obviously the government, they have to be very careful. They cannot
antagonize the Americans frontally. There are a lot of American
interests here, in the whole of Thailand. So it’s it’s a complicated you
know they have to have although the relation their relationship with
China is very very strong and very important the relationship between
the Thai monarchy and the Chinese Communist Party is very strong,
something that very few people know, right. Those infrastructure
projects speak for themselves I know that there’s many under way right,
yeah, well here is that threat. What’s so interesting is that Anwar
Ibrahim of Malaysia, he was very [visible] at the BRICS summit. I mean,
he was talking about Bandung and the spirit of anti-colonialism. And
then when Trump came, it seemed like the reverse of all of that, right?
No, but you cannot antagonize him directly.
***
Colombian President Gustavo Petro. Photo: Presidencia de Colombia.
https://orinocotribune.com/colombia-to-withdraw-from-nato/
Colombia to Withdraw From NATO
October 1, 2025 <https://orinocotribune.com/2025/10/>
During the Council of Ministers, President Gustavo Petro laid out the
foundations of what he called a new foreign policy for Colombia, marking
a break with historical alliances, criticizing traditional diplomacy,
and ordering drastic changes in the diplomatic and intelligence corps.
The president emphasized a geopolitical reorientation toward Latin
America, the Caribbean, and greater cooperation with Asia and Africa:
“There’s another international policy to pursue here, Madam Foreign
Minister. Not only on the military front, but also on the diplomatic front.”
One of his most forceful announcements was his decision to withdraw from
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), criticizing the
militaristic logic that, he said, has supported crimes against humanity.
“We do not belong to NATO. Madam Foreign Minister, please, we are not
from the North Atlantic. We are from the South Atlantic, and our land is
called the Caribbean, the Caribbean Sea. What are we doing there?”
He also added: “If a North Atlantic government decides to ally itself
with crimes against humanity, what should we do there? These are drastic
measures, but I think they must be taken now.” He also clarified his
rejection of other geopolitical structures like the BRICS: “I’m not
going to be in the BRICS either, because the BRICS are oil-related.”
The president announced a thorough purge of the diplomatic corps and
intelligence officers who have sabotaged his foreign policy,
particularly his relationship with China. “All the ambassadors — those I
call white because they were raised in feudal diplomacy — are leaving.”
He added: “The change in embassy staff in China sabotages relations,
changes my schedules, cancels appointments without our knowledge.” He
also criticized the intelligence representative in the US and proposed
suspending the deployment of officials to that country: “We’re going to
replace all those representatives. In fact, I think none of them should
go to the United States anymore.”
The president reaffirmed that Colombia’s priority in international
affairs will be regional integration: “Our alliance is Latin America and
the Caribbean — that is our alliance.” He also insisted that the country
must disengage from global powers to focus on its regional environment:
“Our alliance is here to defend Latin America and the Caribbean because
we are part of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
In line with his critical stance toward the US, the president proposed
revising the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with that country: “If the
United States has already amended the FTA, why don’t we? Trade is not
above life.” He also asserted that trade relations with Israel will also
be suspended: “And that means we’re also reforming the FTA, and that
means there will no longer be an FTA with Israel.”
The president also sharply questioned the US role at the UN,
particularly in relation to diplomatic visas and the genocide in Gaza.
“You don’t even have the right to take away the visa of anyone who comes
to speak at the United Nations. You’re breaking international law at the
United Nations.” He concluded: “The United Nations cannot kowtow to a
government that is complicit in genocide. So let’s act.”
Regarding the international handling of drug trafficking, he condemned
an unfair policy that “decertifies Colombia” based on an erroneous
report, and suggested that the Drug Commission should be led by Haiti.
“The United States’ problem is no longer cocaine. It’s called fentanyl —
30 times more deadly and powerful.” He added: “Perhaps the people most
harmed by cocaine today could be said to be Haiti more than we are.” In
that context, he stated: “We are not going to support the candidacy that
the United States has proposed.”
Finally, the president emphasized that Colombia will pursue a
non-aligned policy, critical of hegemonic power and focused on Latin
American interests. “I want relations with all the peoples of the world,
not just one. That’s not relations with humanity; that’s colonialism.”
He concluded with a definitive statement: “As long as we’re here … we
don’t belong in NATO.”
***
https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/petro-solicita-en-china-el-ingreso-de-colombia-al-banco-de-los-brics/89347283
Petro requests Colombia's entry into the BRICS bank in China
19 May 2025 - 17:29
Colombian President Gustavo Petro requested on Friday in China that his
country join the BRICS bank, the group of emerging economies, days after
joining China's Silk Road megaproject.
The leftist leader is strengthening ties with the Asian giant during a
visit to Beijing.
On Wednesday, he signed an agreement to join the multi-billion-pound
programme with which his counterpart Xi Jinping aims to expand China's
economic and political influence. That decision angered Washington.
On Friday, Petro filed a request to join the New Development Bank of the
BRICS, the multilateral bloc made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa, among others.
The Colombian government told the bank's president, former Brazilian
leader Dilma Rousseff, that the country is willing to purchase shares
worth $512.5 million, according to a statement from the presidency.
‘What Colombia has to do is be in all the multilateral banks in the
world without exception,’ Petro told the media.
The president assured that Colombia is not currently considering joining
the BRICS bloc due to its neutral position on the war in Ukraine and
that its request only contemplates joining its banking system.
The group, which has grown in membership in recent years with the
addition of countries such as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates,
represents almost half of the world's population.
Petro assured the X network that he presented the bank with a project to
link the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean with a railway network or
a canal built in Colombia, in order to ‘improve’ ‘transport costs’ with
Asia. His proposal comes amid tensions between the United States and
China over the Panama Canal.
On Thursday, the US State Department warned that it would ‘vigorously’
oppose Chinese Silk Road projects in Latin America and would not allow
disbursements by the IDB and other international financial institutions
to state-owned and Chinese government-controlled companies in Colombia.
Petro said he considers this position by his main trading partner to be
‘sensible’.
‘We can talk to the United States on equal terms if it wants, we have
talked to China on equal terms,’ he added.
***
https://www.gov.br/planalto/en/follow-the-government/speeches-statements/2024/04/president-lulas-statement-to-the-press-after-a-bilateral-meeting-with-colombian-president-gustavo-petro
President Lula's statement to the press after a bilateral meeting with
Colombian President Gustavo Petro
Transcription of the press declaration delivered by President Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva after bilateral meetings with the President of
Colombia, Gustavo Petro, in Bogotá, on 17 April 2024
... And here is what we must do: take care of the people with
tenderness, with much respect, and make them feel proud of being
Colombian and being Brazilian. Mark my words: today, we have a trade
flow of BRL 7 billion. By the end of my mandate, I will come back to
Colombia to talk to comrade Petro to see what happened in terms of the
evolution of our relationships, because we now have an extraordinary
chance — possibly one we have never had — to work together to unify
South America, to maybe make it possible for our dear Colombia to be
part of the BRICS.
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