The Research Fellow at the BRICS Policy Center/PUC-Rio, Luis Gouveia Junior, wrote an article for the Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional

The article, entitled “Divergent status-seeking in elite clubs: Brazil, China, and the BRICS expansion in Latin America,” analyzes the divergent status-seeking strategies of Brazil and China in the context of BRICS expansion — a group initially composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The recent enlargement included new members and partner countries, generating internal tensions due to the different strategies adopted by Brazil and China to gain international prestige.

While China promoted BRICS expansion to increase its global influence and compete with the United States, Brazil sought to maintain the group’s exclusivity in order to preserve its status as a regional leader in Latin America. These divergent strategies were reflected in the membership bids of Latin American countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, and Venezuela.

The full article is available at: