In a week marked by both diplomatic maneuvering and grassroots activism, the BRICS alliance—a bloc of major emerging economies—found itself at the center of renewed global attention. From Thailand’s formal bid for full membership to the rousing inauguration of the first BRICS People’s Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the events of early December 2025 paint a vivid picture of a world order in flux, with the Global South asserting its voice like never before.
On December 2, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had officially requested India’s support for Bangkok’s accession as a full BRICS member. The request, delivered during a meeting between Thailand’s Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, signals Thailand’s determination to join the influential economic bloc at a time when its reach and ambitions are rapidly expanding. According to a statement from Thailand’s Foreign Ministry, the Thai government hopes that India’s upcoming presidency of BRICS in 2026 will facilitate the accession process. This move follows Thailand’s notification to Russia in June 2024—when Moscow held the rotating presidency—of its intention to join as a full member. In response, Russia granted Thailand the status of “BRICS Partner Country,” effective January 1, 2025, a step that Bangkok described as “significant” on the road to full membership.
BRICS, originally founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2011, has steadily grown in both size and influence. Recent years have seen the addition of countries such as Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Nigeria, either as full or partner members. Thailand’s efforts reflect a broader trend among developing countries to seek greater agency in global affairs, especially through alternative institutions that challenge the dominance of Western-led organizations like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
This drive for a more equitable world order was echoed powerfully at the first-ever BRICS People’s Summit, which opened on December 1 in Rio de Janeiro. The summit brought together more than 150 representatives from social movements, unions, student organizations, and NGOs across 21 countries. According to the Brazilian news outlet Cubasi, the gathering marked the formal launch of the BRICS People’s Civil Council—a new, permanent body designed to institutionalize citizen participation in the bloc’s policymaking. The council, first established during the 2024 Kazan Summit, aims to transform social demands into concrete proposals for economic cooperation, global governance reform, and the creation of a financial system less dependent on the US dollar.
Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, now head of the New Development Bank, celebrated the launch in a video message: “For the first time, the peoples of the BRICS countries have a permanent channel for dialogue with their governments.” She called the council “an essential step toward consolidating a more democratic South-South cooperation.”
The timing of these developments is no accident. Brazil’s presidency of BRICS in 2025 has placed a strong emphasis on civil society participation, a theme that was first introduced under Russia’s leadership the previous year. As João Pedro Stedile, leader of Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement and the country’s representative on the council, explained, “We are going to formalize the permanent functioning of this space and initiate a cycle of debates on the reconfiguration of global geopolitics.”
According to summit organizers, BRICS countries now account for around 70 percent of global agricultural production, lead the world in fertilizer manufacturing, and serve as benchmarks in family farming, responsible for 80 percent of the planet’s food value. This collective economic heft, they argue, brings with it a responsibility to promote sustainable and equitable systems capable of addressing both climate and social challenges. The agenda of food security, in particular, is set to become a core focus for the newly established council.
The summit was not just about policy proposals—it was also a forum for frank critique of the current global order. As reported by Brasil de Fato, Maurício Metri of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro described BRICS as “the best chance to challenge the current system, which is based on extortion and punishment.” He argued that the post-World War II international system, largely shaped by the United States, has relied on coercive tactics—especially since the 1990s expansion of US influence in Eastern Europe. “It is an ethical imperative for the bloc to build this fairer alternative,” Metri said, pointing to the creation of the BRICS Bank as a concrete example of developing options outside the traditional financial system.
Other voices at the summit highlighted the tangible costs imposed by the existing order. Cuban representative Katia Chaple, from the Communist Party of Cuba, underscored the devastating impact of US sanctions on her country—sanctions that have been in place since 1962. “They prevent everything, from Cuban residents in the US sending remittances to relatives on the island to Havana expanding cooperation with other countries by sending trained doctors where they are needed,” Chaple said. Her remarks underscored the summit’s broader call for a system of cooperation that does not perpetuate inequalities.
Iranian analyst Hamid Reza Gholamzadeh, joining the event virtually, observed a shift in US foreign policy tactics. “US society has been losing its appetite for waging wars, especially after the fiascos in Iraq and Afghanistan, which cost enormous sums of money and countless American lives. That is why they now bet on trade wars. This is being seen around the world as a sign of weakness, decline, and a way to manipulate existing agreements in irregular ways,” he argued.
Adding a Latin American perspective, Argentine physician Emmanuel Alvaréz accused former US President Donald Trump of political blackmail during Argentina’s recent legislative elections, alleging that Trump conditioned new loans on an electoral victory by a far-right party. “From Argentina, civil society is committed to building a fairer society, like the ones dreamed by Túpac Amaru, José de San Martín, and Simón Bolívar. We must ensure that the peoples, not only their states, become the protagonists,” Alvaréz stated, concluding with a call for solidarity with Haiti—a nation he described as punished for centuries for its anti-imperialist stance.
As the summit drew to a close, its participants looked ahead to the next phase of BRICS evolution. With India set to assume the bloc’s presidency in 2026, the challenge will be to maintain the momentum of civil society engagement and to translate the council’s proposals into tangible policy shifts. For countries like Thailand, which are seeking a seat at the table, the coming years may offer new opportunities to shape the direction of global governance from the perspective of the Global South.
The events of December 2025 make one thing clear: the Global South is not content to be a silent partner in world affairs. Through forums like the BRICS People’s Summit and bold diplomatic bids for inclusion, its nations and peoples are demanding—and beginning to secure—a more prominent role in shaping the future.