Venezuela criticizes Argentina for being 'stupid' for refusing to join BRICS

Venezuelan President Maduro said his Argentine counterpart Milei was "stupid" for deciding to reject an invitation to join the BRICS bloc.

"President Javier Milei did not act in the best interests of the Argentine people when he prevented the country from joining BRICS. This is one of the most clumsy and stupid actions Mr. Milei has taken against Argentina," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said in an interview with Le Monde on January 1.

Mr. Maduro commented after the Argentine president's office announced on December 29 that Mr. Milei had sent a letter to BRICS leaders to decline their invitation to join the bloc of five emerging economies .

According to him, Mr. Milei's decision "will bring Argentina back to the 19th century." President Maduro also expressed his wish for Venezuela to be admitted to BRICS at this year's summit.

Argentine leaders have not commented on the information.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on May 29, 2023. Photo: AFP — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on May 29, 2023. Photo: *AFP*

BRICS in August 2022 agreed to admit six new members including Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 2024. Then-Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said joining BRICS would open a "new context" for the country.

However, Argentina's policy changed after Mr. Milei, a right-wing politician , was elected President and was sworn in on December 10. He opposed Argentina's entry into BRICS and did not support economic relations with China and Brazil. Instead, he wanted to strengthen economic relations with the United States and Israel.

BRICS is a new group of economies with five members: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, accounting for more than 40% of the global population and about a quarter of the world's GDP. Russia is this year's BRICS chair. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on January 1 that Moscow would do its best to help the five new members "integrate into the way the organization works."