As Brazil prepares to host the 2025 BRICS Summit, questions are swirling about the future of the group, as well as China’s growing presence in Latin America. In this episode, we explore the shifting dynamics of global influence with Oliver Stuenkel, professor of international relations at Fundação Getulio Vargas, in São Paulo, and a visiting scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. We discuss Brazil’s evolving role within BRICS, Lula’s foreign policy choices—including his skepticism toward BRICS expansion and the Belt and Road Initiative—and what it all means for U.S.-Latin America relations.
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Guest:
Oliver Stuenkel is professor of International Relations at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) in São Paulo, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC and a visiting scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center
Host:
Brian Winter is AQ’s editor-in-chief
For more on this subject:
Trump’s Iran Strikes Shook the Middle East—and Perhaps U.S.-Venezuela Ties by Brian Fonseca
Under Lula, Brazil Can Take On Regional Leadership. Will It? by Oliver Stuenkel
U.S. and China Spar for Influence on the Paraguay-Paraná River System by Gregory Ross
How China Is Seeking Dominance in Latin America by Leland Lazarus
