To speak of BRICS is to speak of the future but build it today, step by step.

To calm shattered nerves in the west, the message is out: BRICS is not floating a new currency; BRICS is providing alternative economic structures and systems (and currencies) to trade with one another.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided a summary:

“BRICS is a main platform for promoting solidarity and cooperation of the Global South and a major force driving the reform of the global governance system. BRICS countries are always committed to multilateralism, fairness and justice, and common development. BRICS’s latest addition (Indonesia) follows the historic trend of the collective rise of the Global South”.

When put under pressure about India’s membership in BRICS by unfriendly journalists, FM Jashankar from India said in a television appearance that India should be congratulated for seeking alternative economic structures.

Eduardo Saboia, Brazil’s ambassador and head of its delegation to the bloc, emphasized that the discussion about local currencies does not hide “any intent to disrupt the order” but is instead an alternative to “stimulate trade, investments, and transactions” among the member countries. He stated that in 2025, Brazil, which holds the presidency of the BRICS, will focus on promoting trade in local currencies among the bloc’s members. “The goal is not to compete with the U.S. dollar but to leverage the dynamism of emerging economies.” He dismissed concerns expressed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who threatened to impose extraordinary tariffs on BRICS countries if they adopted a new currency—something that is not part of the bloc’s plans.

Saboia said that the way transactions are conducted has changed to the extent that even digital currencies are now considered, and the discussions within BRICS are “technical and measured.”

Mr. Putin stated it best: We did not leave the dollar; the dollar left us.

What we understand from the BRICS is that we do not need one common new currency because we have a number of national currencies. Countries need to focus on the strength of their currencies and trade relationships within the Bloc. There is more than one way to break the dollar and industrial hegemony and to grow the Global South and BRICS countries.

This is a wise move, for now.  I believe though that BRICS will need a currency in future, or at least a working number for currency swaps or currency for goods sales and trade, which we used to call The Unit.

Yet, we know it is in essence a softball segue, but it is true. BRICS has many currencies and crypto structures that avoid using the dollar altogether. The Tariff Trumpet has lost its voice on this issue.

Michael Hudson noted these three challenging points:

Cope with the foreign debt problem. There is no way that the BRICS countries can grow and at the same time pay the foreign debts that they’ve been saddled with for the last 100 years and especially since 1945 by the neoliberal philosophy that’s been pushed by the United States and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. On the one hand, the BRICS countries, in order to grow, have to write down their debts.

The market must be free of economic rent. All throughout the wealth of nations, Michael said, the landlords should be taxed.

BRICS countries should raise living standards and raise labor productivity. Because you can’t have a class war against labor and expect labor to be highly educated, well-fed, well housed, and productive. If you want productive labor, you’re going to have to raise living standards.

It is said that China solved their housing crisis without affecting the economy as a whole. China intentionally popped its housing bubble to make homes affordable for average people to live in, not speculative assets. This is after Xi Jinping said: Houses are for people to live in, not as speculative assets and China restricted lending to run-away developers. Indonesia’s new government launched a huge project to feed 90 million children and pregnant women to fight malnutrition. Not directly related to BRICS, but it’s a great program that will have a very positive impact in the 4th-most populous country. As BRICS countries get rid of extractive empire business and trade as a Bloc, the debt problem may become softer. I hope so!

Of course, Michael’s comments depend on individual countries. Will they work together on this? Just before the Kazan summit, the IMF visited Russia only to be told that if they don’t change their regulations to a standard of fairness, nobody is interested in their product.

Finally, there are efforts to push BRICS into ideological stances that are not part of their ethos. The one grouping that seems to be organized advocates for harsh right-wing values but hides this under the ‘traditional values’ language, and the other does not seem organized but are really hoping for a strong Islamic influence in BRICS. This is the year that we will see these kinds of contradictions emerge.

Viva BRICS!