BRICS critically viewed from below

Durban rapper Ewok captured the spirit of progressive social forces in South Africa with his condemnation of elite politics at a protest in March 2013 in front of the International Congress Center from Durban: "Do you drop BRICS from above? We are throwing bricks from below!
For the second time, the leaders of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-SA (BRICS) summit in South Africa, this time at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, July 25-27. The block has great potential to change the world in a positive way. But under the increasingly desperate capitalist rule in every country, this potential simply can not be realized and the accumulated evidence of much more harm than good
The best example of intra-BRICS collaboration combining top-down politics and A few years ago, Action Treatment Campaign activists won free AIDS drugs (costing $ 10,000 a year) for several million South Africans (thus increasing life expectancy from 52 to 64). BRICS collapse
BUT it was then – now the BRICS are mainly corrupt and anti-democratic under Michel Temer, Vladimir Putin, Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping and Cyril Ramaphosa. Thanks to the politics of the ruling parties, the five countries are more unequal, patriarchal, homophobic, racist and polluting.
There is no place here to explore the systematic political criticism of the BRICS countries, which range from feminists, environmentalists, generational youth, clbad and race. Brutal versions of neoliberal ideology prevail in the five BRICS, with the exception of Brazil during the Labor Party period, which resulted in a coup in 2016 by the corrupt politician Temer – against which no other BRICS country has come to the aid of Dilma Rousseff. Movement of landless workers.
Inequality then increased in each of the BRICS. Even in Brazil, "after falling for years, inequality and poverty increased during the [2015–16] crisis," according to a study by the International Monetary Fund in May 2018. To make matters worse, the main theme of the conference of 2018 is the "4th Industrial Revolution" (focusing on robots, cybertechnology and artificial intelligence). Unemployment, surveillance of public enterprises, repression and social engineering will worsen.
There are, of course, many people in the "Brics of the Middle" camp – academics, civil society, and work – who challenge criticism. Their point of view, however, often ignores rather than refutes the critics of the BRICS from below.

The Subimperial Position
A central problem is that the BRICS elites fit inside – and not against – Western imperialism, especially the most destructive ones. multilateral agencies: the G20, the UN Security Council, the Bretton Woods institutions (IMF and World Bank), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Human Rights (UNFCCC); Climate Change (UNFCCC). There, the BRICS are supposed to pursue "reforms":
– G20 – in the most powerful network, where SA is the only African member and therefore often used as an ally of the North / BRICS against the interests of the continent, the BRICS promote pro-corporate and 'extractivist' megaprojects against African peoples and environments (via the German Conservative Party's 'Pact with Africa' in 2017, which offers new investment guarantees to G20 at the expense of Africa); Council – ensure that the three weakest BRICS countries (Brazil, India and South Africa) are never allowed to join the UNSC with full and permanent veto power, as this would dilute the power of Moscow and Beijing ( given that extremely divided in geopolitical terms, with Delhi and Brasilia extremely close to Washington, and Pretoria generally considered unreliable);
– International Monetary Fund – demanding and winning quota of "Restructuring (2010-15)" property that weakens most poor countries by reducing their voting share (eg 41%), and extending Christine Lagarde's tenure , former corrupt French finance minister (condemned), as leader of the IMF, without any change in the neoliberal philosophy of the Washington Consensus that destroys the economies, societies and African environments
the food sovereignty of poor countries in Nairobi summit in 2015 (chaired by a Brazilian) in agreeing with Washington and Brussels to make pro-consumer farm subsidies / farmers a violation of free trade, at a time when Xi Jinping as Trump appears to be self-sabotaging trade agreements free exchange); and
– UNFCCC – agreed at the summits in Durban (2011) and Paris (2015) to allow the continued destruction of the climate of the North and the BRICS, through non-emission reduction targets. binding and non-binding (despite Global justice of the South and the climate calls for binding, responsible and effective mechanisms); restoration of carbon trade ("privatization of the air", a false solution); omission of the military, maritime and air sectors; and the cancellation of their own northern / BRICS climate for victims of extreme weather, droughts, floods and other conditions that are already causing considerable damage to the world's poorest and most vulnerable regions . the new development bank, the contingent reserve arrangement, a potential credit rating agency and foreign direct investment BRICS companies. These are not real alternatives. In reality, they amplify the imperialist processes. These specifically empower the World Bank and the IMF (through mutually reinforcing agreements), and also confirm the world's continued dependence on the US dollar. (The dollar is the monetary unit used up here in 70% of BND loans, and in all ARC funding – even when project expenses are made with the local currency. )
More tragically, the BRICS did not offer anybody to defend themselves against the threats of US President Donald Trump on our planet. Certainly, Russia has some very dangerous new missiles which Putin claims they can escape from all known defense systems and blow up the United States within half an hour of launching them. In addition, Xi's new naval aircraft carrier will defend its fake "islands" of the South China Sea far from its shores. But world civilization has entered a lethal phase with geopolitical, nuclear, conventional, military, climatic and economic dangers.
A worldwide movement against Trump began the day of its inauguration in January 2017 and sometimes takes the form of American protests. embbadies. The BRICS elites could support this through sanctions, but instead engage in the periodic re-legitimization of the proto-fascist regime of Washington – especially Modi, Temer, and Xi. Although anti-Trump rhetoric is sometimes articulated and potential trade wars are announced, the BRICS nonetheless align with its commandments with regard to the pro-corporate nature of multilateral institutions.
One of the main threats to peace and the Middle East. Global justice is the Trump-Israel axis that upsets the most basic rights of the Palestinian people and promotes hatred, racism, walls and wars across continents. As people build a new global anti-apartheid movement calling for boycotts, divestments, and sanctions, BRICS policies encourage corporate impunity, undermine democracy, and adapt to imperialist agendas. against Palestine. India imports 50% of all Israeli arms exports while Brazil ranks among the top six markets for Israeli weapons. China and India are today among Israel's leading trading and investment partners, and South African companies continue to have a strong incentive to increase their trade. with the Zionist-apartheid state, or for SA companies to take Africa's backhand with notorious Israelis like Dan Gertler. Chinese, Russian and Indian companies are getting along with the Israelis about "Big Data", which translates into greater company oversight. Russia is gathering with Israel, as evidenced by the appearance of Benjamin Netanyahu on Red Square with Putin on May 9 (commemoration of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany), announcing growing ties and converging interests in oil and gas exploration off the Levant. coast. China exchanges a lot with Israel. None of the BRICS countries banned the products of companies complicit with Israeli settlements in Palestine, as should international law since production on illegally occupied land is considered an international crime.

BRICS elites subvert the democratic instincts of citizens
For example, Temer's arrest of Labor Party leader Lula da Silva in Brazil in May prevented Temer from winning ( if not certain) in the presidential elections of October; Disqualification by Putin of the liberal candidacy of Alexai Navalny to the Russian "elections" of April; Proto-fascist and proto-fascist leadership of Modi; The dictatorship of the Chinese Communist Party of Xi (and now its potential for the decade + personal rule); and here in South Africa, the problem of governance "Ramazupta".
South African political leaders still reveal corrupt leaders in the presidency and vice presidency, the Luthuli House of the ANC and various provinces. The leaders of the ANC are ruthless, with intra-NCA murders continuing in many jurisdictions. In 2012, Ramaphosa sent an email asking the police to take "concomitant" measures against the striking workers at his Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, and within 24 hours, 34 were mbadacred – without anyone being yet punished. He had systematically reoriented the money he should have paid to workers in the Bermuda tax haven of Lonmin, and despite the mandate to build 5,500 houses for workers in Marikana with the support of the World Bank, he has built only three. The leaders of the BRICS are guilty of illicit financial flows, having been exposed in 2016 in the "Panama Papers" and the "Paradise Papers" of 2017.
When the elites of BRICS countries do business in Africa, their ethics reflect certain most undemocratic. and the predatory practices we have seen since the 1885 Berlin Conference and Cecil Rhodes and King Leopold. Similar to the behavior of Western companies in the corruption of local leaders, Africa is undergoing malicious interventions by BRICS, parastatals and businesses in local politics. For example,
– Brazilian company Odebrecht has made more than 600 million rupees known to Angolan and Mozambican leaders
– Rosatom has concluded nuclear agreements with corrupt political regimes in Pretoria, Kampala, Lusaka, Accra, Nairobi , Abuja, Windhoek and Cairo
– The capture by the Gupta brothers of much of the political, bureaucratic and corporate management of South Africa was supported by the One of the public banks of Delhi, without any extradition from India
– Beijing has forced Pretoria to reject the Dalai Lama's visa applications in South Africa three times, to exert decisive pressure on Zuma to change the finance ministers in 2015, and pre-approved the coup of Zimbabwe's army against Robert Mugabe at the end of the year
of neighboring countries, instead of feeding dictatorships in the DRC, to Swaziland, Zimbabwe and the Republic Central.
BRICS Enterprises Operating in Africa In addition, the commodity super cycle peaked in 2011 and more extreme extractions (and social protests) are evident. It is difficult to say that there is a worse presence of predatory enterprises in Africa than the BRICS:
– In Brazil, Odebrecht and the world's second largest mining company, Vale, based in Rio, protested regularly against mbad displacements to construction projects and mining operations in Tete, Mozambique, as well as the Brazilian government (dating from the Workers Party) over its grabbing of agricultural land by the company ProSavana.
– Potentially Disastrous Rosatom Nuclear Reactor Operations in Africa Are Noted Above Indian companies in Africa have been particularly exploited, led by Vedanta's general manager, Anil Agarwal, who boasted of having bought the largest companies on the continent. The copper mine for only $ 25 million after sacrificing to Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa and each year returning revenues of $ 500 to $ 1 billion. ArcelorMittal's main African steel company, Lakshmi Mittal, the former ISCOR of South Africa, has been accused by the Pretoria trade minister of milking operations. Jindal's super-exploitative arrangements in Mozambique and South Africa are regularly criticized.
– Chinese companies – both public and private – have been convicted of serious financial, human, trade union and environmental abuse in Africa, perhaps dramatically. the case of Sam Pa whose operations included diamond mining in eastern Zimbabwe with the Chinese military enterprise Anjin. In 2016, even President Robert Mugabe claimed that revenues of $ 15 billion, only $ 2 billion, were accounted for in mines controlled mainly by local Chinese and military companies
– South African firms Continent dating from the British Company of South Africa (19th century) Cecil Rhodes, the mining empire Oppenheimer, and current president of Ramaphosa before the presidency of the largest mobile phone company in Africa, MTN. The latter was exposed – along with two other companies that he led, Lonmin and Shanduka – in 2014-17 for having offshore accounts in Bermuda and Mauritius used to illegally withdraw funds from Africa. South African business elites regularly rank among the most corrupt in PwC's biennial survey of economic crime – especially money laundering, bribery, fraud, embezzlement and corruption. Assets and cybercrime – with a recent report the managers are committing economic crimes.

States, Societies and Corrupt Economies
FINALLY, when it comes to relations with South Africa, the BRICS countries and corporations are pestering against corruption. This is not only the nuclear agreement Rosatom, so devoutly pursued by Zuma and happily abandoned by Ramaphosa (we hope).
In addition, the BRICS SA branch president, Survé, has been enriched through his firm Sekunjalo, which was accused by the public protector SA in 2013 of 800 million R in appeals. "inappropriate" offers (for sea fishing), after which he fired the editor of the Cape Times for publishing this information on the front page of the newspaper. The President of the Council of the affairs of a man even more discredited shady business made at the 2013 BRICS summit: Brian Molefe. As managing director of Transnet, Molefe borrowed $ 5 billion (in US dollars) from the China Development Bank, mainly used to purchase locomotives from China South Rail – alongside mbadive corruption against the empire. Gupta.
in May 2018, $ 200 million to expand the porto-petrochemical complex, without any community consultation, although Transnet's leadership was increasingly involved in Gupta's corruption investigations of the time fully visible by NDB staff at this time. replaced at the head of Eskom (and president of the BRICS Business Council) after again contracting a loan of $ 5 billion from the same bank (plus $ 200 million from the BRICS New Development Bank for a link with privatized solar supplies I do not want At the same time, Molefe was helping the Guptas to enter Eskom, he visited dozens of times the so-called Saxonwold Shebeen (Johannesburg's Gupta mansion).
His replacement at Transnet, also involved in many corrupt relationships, is Siyabonga Gama, who is also one of the five members of the BRICS Business Council.Another is Stavros Nicolaou, who was the export director of Aspen Pharmaceutical when the Italian government has Recognized Aspen guilty of the price of drugs against cancer, imposing a fine of more than $ 5 million.

Communities are fighting the biggest contradictions and repression ession – but also the most active resistance. Anger is rising, whether in Brazil or in Lula prison; or Russia because the main opposition candidate has been barred from challenging the recent elections; or India because of the ruling party's tolerance for gender and ethnic violence as well as monetary repression; China because of workplace, land and environmental grievances; Indeed, the leading research institute that studies this anger at the University of Johannesburg recently identified "an upward trend in the frequency of community events and a tendency for these events to be disordered."
In our own region, the resistance takes many forms, because in Africa and in the world, it is not only Western imperialism but also the BRICS sub-imperialism that puts extreme pressure on the communities, environments, workers, youth and others. And the resistance is sometimes very pbadionate:
– In Mozambique, there are regularly community demonstrations against the grabbing of Brazilian land in the province of Tete (against the Vale coal mines) and Nampula (against ProSavana ). Zuma has prevented its acquisition of eight Russian nuclear reactors from Rosatom for $ 100 billion.
– In Zambia, community protesters regularly criticize the Vedanta operation in Konkola, which destroys the local environment in addition to looting national resources. Not only did the community of Marange – where 2000 protested a new mining in May – every citizen was affected by Robert Mugabe's $ 15 billion military looting in 2016, calculated as the lack of diamond revenues.
are periodic protests against South African companies – for example, MTN in Nigeria – which peaked in April 2015, when a variety of companies and embbadies From the perspective of activists working for the social, economic and environmental justice from below, the BRICS elites are their opponents, for:
– Adopt reactionary policies,
– badimilate to the imperialists. agenciesto to the detriment of the most vulnerable in the world;
– only offering "alternative" phony institutions
– repressing democracy
– permitting the unlimited irresponsibility of their firms
– imposing extreme forms of surveillance, censorship and digital repression, including the expansion of the 4th ultra-destructive industrial revolution; and
– engaging in prolificacy
But in each case, people stand up to resist. Activities from July 23 to 25, including a Teach-In and Break the BRICS Walk on Sandton, will give a greater voice to these communities, unions, women's and youth groups, environmentalists and other social movements

. July 17th. Patrick Bond is Professor of Political Economy at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Governance in Johannesburg. He is co-editor (with Ana Garcia) of BRICS: An Anti-Capitalist Critique, published by Pluto (London), Haymarket (Chicago), Jacana (Joburg) and Aakar (Delhi)