Colombia Intends to Join BRICS as Soon as Possible

Colombia is moving closer to the BRICS. Following his encounter with President Lula of Brazil, Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed Colombia’s interest in joining the BRICS group. Brazil is a founding member of the international alliance. In a joint declaration, Gustavo Petro stated his will to join the BRICS as a full member “as soon as possible,” with President Lula committing to support an eventual Colombian candidacy.

Petro’s statement sends a strong signal to the United States, Colombia’s traditional and oldest ally. Heavily influenced by China and Russia, rivals of the United States, the BRICS are seen by many as a counterbalance to American influence.

Who are the BRICS?

Founded in 2009, the BRICS is an intergovernmental organization that has emerged in recent years as an alternative to the G7 led by the United States and its Western allies. Initially comprising China, Russia, India, Brazil, and later South Africa, the group recently began an expansion phase with other emerging countries. In 2024, the group welcomed new memberships from Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, 15 countries have formally applied for membership, including Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia in Latin America.

Through its New Development Bank and Contingent Reserve Arrangement, a reserve fund offering financial support to member states, the BRICS now presents itself as an alternative group to U.S. influence and the institutions of the Bretton Woods system.  

Colombia, closer to BRICS, farther from the US?

Since the beginning of his term, Gustavo Petro has demonstrated his intention to distance Colombia from the U.S. sphere of influence, a tendency that has not gone unnoticed in Washington.

Recently, US House Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, chair of the House Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, stated that US-Colombia relations have declined since President Petro’s inauguration in August 2022. Consequently, the US Foreign Assistance Budget for Colombia has been reduced, and the Biden Administration has commissioned a report to assess the state of US-Colombia relations, notably to determine if Petro’s policies align with US national security interests.

Although there has been no official or overt break, an official Colombian application to the BRICS would send a strong message to the United States as well as to other Latin American countries about Colombia’s new foreign policy direction.