BRICS UNDER ATTACK

Okello Oculi writes that BRICS must be geared towards development, justice and human solidarity

The impeachment on August 29, 2016 of Dilma Rousseff, Brazil’s first female President who emerged from a liberation movement against a brutal military dictatorship, was the first pulling out of a foundation brick of a new post-Cold War group of nations consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS). She had just defeated Brazilian Social Democratic Party’s Aeco Neves who scored 48 per cent of the votes against her 51 per cent. The election was held on October 25, 2014.

Neves was backed by Brazil’s rich and most prominent corporations including: a ‘’cartel of construction companies’’. For decades before Dilma Rousseff was elected in 2011, these business cartels had routinely bribed officials of the country’s petroleum company, PETROBAS. They were under investigation for corruption. Hundreds of their allies in Brazil’s Chamber of Deputees, including the Speaker, were also under investigation for corruption. Fearful of being targets if Rousseff remained president, 367 Deputees voted for her impeachment even though only 342 were needed for the two-thirds rule for her trial by the Senate. They were ready troops for attacking a founder of BRICS.

Although Dilma Rousseff was not found to have taken a single bribe, a massive demonstration on April 12, 2015 in Sao Paolo – the country’s leading industrial and corporate city, focused on her IMPEACHMENT. The sins of her accusers were turned against her by manipulators of the media and public opinion. Eduard Snowden had leaked the damning information that America’s Central Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama, was tapping Dilma’s phone.

The election campaign was described by Encyclopaedia Britannica as ‘’the most negative campaigns in the country’s recent electoral history’’. It was a campaign tactic first used in Australia and Britain before it reached the United States of America. It focuses on attacking families of opponents; broadcasts of false sexual scandals and allegations of fraud, and violent disruptions of campaign rallies and assassinations to generate a climate of fear and moral decay. Debates on policies and visions for development are avoided and sidelined.

Vladimir Putin accused Hillary Clinton of financing massive demonstrations on streets of Moscow against alleged corruption by top political figures in Russia. Similar demonstrations if organised in South Africa against President Jacob Zuma would, however, be resisted by his mass base of support in the African National Congress. Instead, opposition political parties have resorted to an onslaught of court cases. As a case in point, on August 13, 2017 a plan was announced to charge him with 837 crimes committed while in office.

Accusations of using public funds to build a lavish private residence has been overtaken by research findings about business group ‘’capturing’’ the state through extensive bribery of government officials and members of the ruling African National Congress.

The ‘’Coloureds/Mulatos’’ have reinvigorated their political party and are hoping to overthrow the African National Congress, the main party of the black majority population and Zuma’s support base. Together with a reawakened National Party, they may well be local troops against BRICS.

WITH BRICS’ 2018 MEETING DUE TO HOLD IN SOUTH AFRICA, THIS CAMPAIGN WILL HIT HYSTERIA LEVEL. THE IRONY IN SOUTH AFRICA IS THAT THE ANC IS BEING ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION AND PROMOTING ‘’STATE CAPTURE’’ WHEN UNEQUAL LAND OWNERSHIP AND INCOME IN FAVOUR OF WHITES IS A MORE DANGEROUS FORM OF CORRUPTION

The anti-Zuma campaign rose to a peak in the run to the August 2017 summit of BRICS in China. A drive to divide ANC members of parliament failed to overthrown Zuma in a coup by a ‘’Vote of No Confidence’’. With BRICS’ 2018 meeting due to hold in South Africa, this campaign will hit hysteria level. The irony in South Africa is that the ANC is being accused of corruption and promoting ‘’state capture’’ when unequal land ownership and income in favour of whites is a more dangerous form of corruption.

India has experienced efforts at building a constituency for ISIS among its over 100 million Muslim population. The August 2017 expulsion of a Muslim population from Myanmar into Bangladesh has aroused a protest by Muslims in New Delhi. Hindu demonstrators demanded the expulsion of recent Muslim immigrants from India. Prime Minister Mudih is unlikely to fall from this disturbance. An alliance by India, Japan, India and the United States to challenge China’s investments and trade with Africa will test India’s commitment to BRICS – with its focus on economic cooperation with South Africa and China.

BRICS best defence is to join the business of producing and distributing information as alternatives to the so-called ‘’international community’’ i.e. NATO countries by another name. South Africa must be supported to inject SABC into the lethargic Pan African News Agency (PANA), and out-compete Al Jazeera which is choked by fascist feudal governments.

It expresses aspirations of Russia’s and China’s massive, highly educated, and productive population. They must push Brazil, India and African countries to see power in promoting free and compulsory quality education for their huge individual and collective populations. Countries run on illiterate populations with bodies wasted by disease and poverty cannot anchor competition for world power that BRICS promises.

India, China and Russia benefit from ancient traditions of imperial administrations and cultural production. Africa and Brazil need to be aided to overcome colonial disruptions to intensive attention to effective governance. Russia, China and India must avoid pitfalls of caste and racial discrimination which capitalist Euro-America has too often used to bribe and weaken exploited classes and community groups.

China has undertaken constructions of infrastructure in Africa without humiliating dictation by the World Bank/ IMF. She must avoid the pull of her long history of planting land and business-grabbing immigrants across the continents. Africa is still struggling to humanise European immigrant communities across Southern Africa from Angola to Zimbabwe. An alliance with them is a dangerous temptation.

BRICS’ voice must be one that is bringing development, justice and human solidarity and not a Trojan horse for colonisation. Legacies of Lenin, Mao, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela are galaxies in the heavens that must guide BRICS and protect its current and growing ribs against internal and external violent and insidious attacks. Prof. Oculi is a member of THISDAY Editorial Board