For Brazil, the smartest strategy is neither to treat the BRICS as the central axis of its foreign policy nor to dismiss it as irrelevant. The more realistic path is multialignment: using the BRICS as a bargaining platform while simultaneously strengthening ties with the United States, the European Union, Japan, and regional neighbors.
The BRICS are best read without either cynicism or hyperbole. They are neither irrelevant nor the embryo of an alternative world order, but rather a forum for bargaining and cooperation. For Brazil, the group serves as a practical instrument—useful for signaling autonomy from U.S. dominance, building coalitions around specific issues, and hedging in a fragmented world.
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