MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/. New President of Argentina, Javier Milei, who opposed the country's joining BRICS, may change his point of view over time, Dmitry Rosenthal, head of the Institute of Latin America under the Russian Academy of Sciences, expert of the Russian Council on International Affairs, told TASS.
"Yes, it was an official statement and the official position of Javier Milei that the country does not plan to join BRICS, despite the fact that they received an invitation to join the association. In this sense, we need to see and wait. We must understand that membership in BRICS is this is quite a beneficial thing. It may be useful for Argentina in the future," he said.
The expert added that Milei’s stance on BRICS is a pre-election statement that should not be taken too seriously. He also noted that the presidential faction does not have a majority in parliament, which will affect the decisions of the Argentine authorities.
According to him, it is unlikely that the new Argentine authorities will be able to make a quick turnaround from cooperation with Russia, China and countries of the global South.
"I think that it will not be possible to quickly make this reversal, [just as] it will not be possible to revise trade and economic policy, abandon the Central Bank, without having a majority in parliament, this is impossible," he said.
Milei advocates minimal state interference, wants to dismiss the Central Bank and proposes to replace the national currency with the dollar.
"It is very difficult to refuse a partnership with China, which is the country’s second trading partner. Given the difficult socio-economic situation we observe today in Argentina, refusing a partnership with such a major economic player as China, in my opinion, is impossible, to put it mildly. I think that Miley's rhetoric and real actions will be very different," Rosenthal concluded.
On November 19, Milei won the second round of presidential elections in Argentina. The politician repeatedly stated that he has no intention to promote the relations with Brazil, China and Russia due to his disagreement with the policies of these states, but will not prevent businesses from dealing with them. He considers Israel and the US Argentina’s priority allies. According to Milei’s Foreign Policy Advisor Diana Mondino, the Freedom Advances alliance currently sees no point in Argentia’s participation in the BRICS, where the country was admitted to after the August summit.