O BRICS is an economic grouping currently composed of five countries: Brasil, RUssia, ÍIndia, Çhina and africa of sul. It is not an economic bloc or an international institution, but an international mechanism in the form of an informal grouping, that is, not bureaucratically registered with statute and letter of Principles.
In 2001, economist Jim O'Neil formulated the expression BRICs (with a lowercase “s” at the end to designate the plural of BRIC), using the initials of four countries considered emerging, which had economic potential to surpass the great world powers in a period of, at most, fifty years old.
What was, at first, just a classification used by economists and political scientists to designate a group of countries with common economic characteristics, became, as of 2006, a mechanism International. This is because Brazil, Russia, India and China decided to give a diplomatic character to this expression at the 61st General Assembly of Nations United Nations, which enabled the realization of collective economic actions by these countries, as well as greater communication between they.
As of 2011, South Africa was also officially incorporated into the BRIC, which was then renamed BRICS, with a capital “S” at the end to designate the membership of the new member (the “S” comes from the country's English name: South Africa).
Currently, the BRICS hold more than 21% of the world's GDP, forming the group of countries that grows the most on the planet. In addition, they represent 42% of the world's population, 45% of the workforce and the greatest consumer power in the world. They also stand out for the abundance of their national wealth and the favorable conditions they currently have to exploit them.
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BRICS challenge the international economic order
During the V Summit of the BRICS, on March 27, 2013, the countries of the axis decided to create an International Bank of group, which deeply displeased the United States and England, countries responsible for the IMF and World Bank, respectively. The decision on the BRICS bank has not yet been made official, but it should materialize in the coming years. The idea is to promote and guarantee the development of the economy of BRICS member countries and other underdeveloped or developing nations.
Another measure that the US and UK did not like was the creation of a $100 billion reserve contingent. This measure was taken with the objective of guaranteeing the economic stability of the 5 countries that are part of the group.
With these decisions, it is possible to perceive the economic and political importance of this group, as well as the emergence of a rivalry between the BRICS, the USA and the European Union.
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PENA, Rodolfo F. Alves. "BRICS"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/bric.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
a) It is a group formed by countries considered to be emerging, forming one of the largest economic blocs on the planet, second only to the European Union.
b) Formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the BRICS is an international diplomatic agreement between nations considered to be emerging.
c) Until 2011, the acronym was known only as “BRIC”, being changed after the inclusion of South Africa in the group.
Ten years ago, on November 30th, I created the acronym Bric to describe the likely vigorous expansion of the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Compared to my predictions at the time, the Brics story turned out to be far more successful than I could have imagined. In the most optimistic scenario, it suggested that the BRICS would perhaps collectively represent 14% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in relation to its 8% at the time. In fact, they reached about 19%.
10 years ago, I thought China could become as big as Germany. However, it reached twice the size of Germany and passed Japan. Brazil surpassed Italy and is today the 7th largest economy in the world, much more than I had calculated (in last week, it was reported that Brazil passed Great Britain and is already the sixth economy in the world) [...].
O'NEILL, Jim. 10 years of Brics, a lot to celebrate. state, 01/01/12. Available in: estadão.com.br
Based on the above text and your knowledge of the Brics group, judge the statements below by checking V (for true) or F (for false).
1. ( ) The author of the text, Jim O’Neill, created the expression “BRIC” to designate the group of emerging countries until then: Brazil, Russia, India and China.
2. ( ) It can be said that the above-expected participation of the BRICS in global GDP was due to successive crises in developed countries in the 2000s associated with economic growth in countries emerging.
3. ( ) Among the BRICS, the country with the highest growth rates in recent years was China, followed by India.