An etiolated plan

The drums anticipating the entrance of the untold G2(China & Russia) and its economic & political group are rumbling throughout the whole international system and the former global hegemonic power shivers but what does the southern neighbor’s strategy says? The group of the BRICS+ representing a new big package of “reforming” economies have been showing to us that despite the supposed negative forecasts coming principally form the Anglosphere are nothing but a real threat to their reigning system but as it is nowadays that the global economies are more and more interconnected and at the same pace interdependent, what could Mexico strong economic ally of one of the leaders of the Anglosphere, the United States of America, has to say regarding the expansion of this strong economic group and even more, would Mexico join them and if so what would it mean for the global economy and principally for its economy which is deeply entwined with the neighbor of the north.

The development of the BRICS+ have left everyone wondering if this new generation of states economic community would mean a shift in the way the world economic organization and the running of the financial markets and intrinsically the global hierarchy of the United States of America. In a sense, the answer is yes and a strong possibility on the reorganization of the world powers and their influence in the international system. Everyday the analysis of the actual geopolitical context points to a possible future where the influence of the Anglosphere fades away and those nations which navigated through the tides of the United States’ foreign policy start to realize that there can be a reality without the actual hegemonic power of the US. One of the causes of that new path seeking seems to be the militarization of the dollar, the US took the power of their currency very far, thinking that there would never be any state, and even less a group of them, who would develop a different procedure against this pressure of fulfilling their desires and whims.

Of course, when we talk about members of BRICS+ we cannot ignore that they are giant in the global markets and even more, the population of all combined sums up to be around 45% of the world’s population and 30% of the world’s land surface but the point here to consider is that they have developed their economic policies differently as if we consider  Mexico’s which is one of the main trade partners of the United States with a reported export of goods in 2022 of $324.3 billion and imported $454.8 billion makes it not that easy just to turn away and focus on this new economic block. The levels of imports and exports that this two countries maintain are the result of one of the most important international trade treaties that works within North America and one of the most important trade policies in the bilateral commercial relation between USA and Mexico, the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA) enacted in 1994 aiming a free trade zone for Canada, Mexico and the United States. So, this translates into a strong point for consideration in future global trading and coalition, which in our case of study means that the Mexican nation has no intention to join BRICS+ but this may not mean that the country doesn’t have an eye on the group’s development. There were some comments during the last summit of the BRICS+ in Johannesburg when South Africa affirmed that Mexico is within the nations interested in joining, the president of Mexico Andrés Manuel López Obrador, clarified that Mexico would not participate in the group of emerging powers of BRICS+ as there are “reasons of economic, neighborhood and of geopolitics matters” which was after confirmed by the nation’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena, and emphasized that the president goals are to take care of their relation with the United States and Canada and will aim for an economic integration and a consolidation of the region of North America and of all the continent.

Nevertheless, the voices within the government are many and with different perspectives, some of them even more niche, if we could say it like that, such as the posture of the Mexican congressman Brasil Alberto Acosta Peña, shared with Tass, where he argues that Mexico aims for broadening its trading frontiers but due to the fact that Mexico has such strong trade agreements it prevents the nation to fulfill its aim. Peña even assured that the nation is planning in building cooperation with Russia in matters of renewable energy and nuclear power.

The positions vary, straight from the executive to the whole political system but the topic of debate stays the same, Mexico has to consider deeply its economic policy and trade strategies in order to ensure the best and most favorable resolution of a new strategy. We cannot determinate that soon the falling of the empire as there are many factors of consideration which still have a direct effect on the economy and in general the whole social structure of the nation. If the government of Mexico decides to leave in the past all the trade agreements and throw themselves to the arms of BRICS+ they might be further and incapable of carrying the country, more than a faux pas of the country’s diplomacy it could mean a possibly big and dreadful sequel for everyone, for Mexico, for the United States and the population of both nations.

Tass. (2024, March 3). Mexico denies applying for BRICS membership. TASS. https://tass.com/world/1754993

Tass. (2023, October 2). US main “obstacle” to Mexico joining BRICS — congressman. TASS. https://tass.com/world/1683411

Adler, N. (2023, August 22). Can BRICS create a new world order? Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/8/22/can-brics-create-a-new-world-order

Mexico. (n.d.). United States Trade Representative. https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/americas/mexico#:~:text=Mexico%20Trade%20%26%20Investment%20Summary&text=U.S.%20goods%20exports%20to%20Mexico,up%2064%20percent%20from%202012.

Urrutia, A. S. J. Y. A. (2023, August 9). México no se unirá a BRICS, aclara AMLO. La Jornada. https://www.jornada.com.mx/notas/2023/08/09/economia/mexico-no-se-unira-a-brics-aclara-amlo/