China, Iran and Russia want Venezuela in the Brics, and Lula is in a tight spot

At that moment, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran became part of the bloc, in addition to the Saudis who are still evaluating membership.

But, in New York, Egypt and Ethiopia rejected supporting the meeting document which, once again, cited the aspirations of Brazil and its allies to join the Council. The two new Brics countries claimed that they did not have authorization to sign a document that named South Africa as a candidate for the Council seat.

Among Africans, there is a fierce dispute over who would be the continent’s representatives in a possible reform of the Security Council. The African Union, for example, only talks about the need for the new Council to have two permanent members from Africa and two more seats for non-permanents.

Brazil, alongside India, argued that these were the criteria for joining the bloc and that, therefore, these new countries could not now dissociate themselves or reject this part of the text.

According to diplomats, the first uneasiness within the bloc began a few weeks ago when, at a meeting in Russia, explicit references to Brazil, India and South Africa were replaced by “BRICS countries” as candidates for seats on the Council. The removal of Brazil’s name generated dissatisfaction within Itamaraty.

It will be up to the leaders, in Kasan, to define how these impasses will be resolved within the bloc.