Margherita Furlan
Written by Piero Messina for SouthFront
“While Europe decides to rearm itself, continuing to destroy its economic resources in the name of a war against Russia that only London and Paris want, the media information stream of the Old Continent abandons its role of garrison and sings in chorus the praises of Brussels and its flattening to the posture of NATO”.
Thus, it is almost a miracle that in Europe, in Italy, one can read a book that addresses a thorny and delicate subject such as the role of the BRICS countries in the geopolitical context that is consolidating.
The book is called “Scacco Matto. BRICS, Vivere o Morire” (Chessmate. Brics. Live or Die) and bears the signature of Margherita Furlan, journalist, writer and editorial director of “La Casa Del Sole TV”. An expert in geopolitics, Furlan is the only Italian journalist to have participated in the Kazan meeting last October, when the XVIth summit of the BRICS heads of state took place.
“There was no secret, no mystery in my participation in the Kazan meeting. I simply filled out the online forms on the official website of the Kazan summit. And I got accreditation. Any other Italian journalist could have done it, instead…”.
So, in boot-on-the-ground mode, Furlan went to Kazan. All the data she collected became a sort of toolbox for understanding the world of the BRICS countries.
The book makes a ruthless analysis of the destinies of the world and of Italy, addressing the real issues and the real stakes: from energy and trade corridors to finance.
“The stakes in Kazan, from 22 to 24 October 2024, could not have been higher – says Furlan – because there Eurasia has become AfroEurasia. Those who in the past were hegemons, and who are still used today, since the times of colonialism, to dominating the planet, increasingly often realize with amazement that others no longer obey as before. The original BRICS formation – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – was joined in January 2024 by Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates. In Kazan, the BRICS achieved a collective and intercultural effort potentially capable of designing a more equitable world, recalling the wisdom of living and the harmony of the stability of ancient state-civilizations”.
Click to see the full-size image
In Kazan, Furlan says, “delegations from thirty-six nations and six international organizations, including the United Nations, met. Thirteen countries were invited to join the organization as partner members: Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Uganda and Uzbekistan. On January 1, 2025, eight of these officially joined the new category, formally accepting the proposal received under the Russian presidency. Indonesia became an official member on January 6, while Argentina and Saudi Arabia have, in the meantime, frozen their invitation to join.” And here are the main data collected by the Italian journalist: “today the BRICS count ten countries, 40.4% of global wealth, 40% of global oil production, about 25% of global goods exports, 51.31% of the global population, about 50% of the world’s Muslim population.”
Click to see the full-size image
A comparison between the two sides of the world is necessary: ”The G7 countries represent 29.08% of world GDP (PPP), a decisive decline compared to 1990, when they expressed almost 52%. The main reason for this historic change comes from the enormous economic growth of China, which has become the world’s industrial superpower, responsible for 35% of global gross manufacturing production (almost three times that of the United States). The members and partners of the BRICS are world leaders in the production of crucial raw materials, cereals, meat, crude oil, natural gas and strategic minerals such as iron, copper and nickel. They are an energy power”.
Furlan dictates a royal road for the West to play a positive role in the geopolitical chessboard:
“the West must emancipate itself from the missionary dystopias that want it to be magister mundi. The great revolution of the BRICS concerns geoeconomics and revolves around connectivity corridors. With a new geopolitical architecture in full swing, Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, are getting closer and closer”
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
