People’s BRICS summit decries unfulfilled promise of alternative world order

By A Representative 

Over 200 delegates from people’s movements, trade unions, farmers’ organisations, political parties, student movements and civil society organisations gathered in New Delhi on 21–22 August for the People’s BRICS Summit, formally titled the Public Dialogue Forum: Global South Cooperation & Alternatives. The two-day event, featuring deliberations across 10 workshops, culminated in a resolution calling on BRICS nations to move beyond rhetoric and deliver concrete, time-bound action on the demands of working people across the Global South.

The resolution demanded that “South-South cooperation” be recognised “not by the sovereignty it grants to states and capital, but by the freedom, security and dignity it delivers to working people, farmers, workers, women, dalits, adivasis, minorities and communities across the Global South.”

It asserted that while BRICS continues to be viewed as a potential challenge to Western economic and financial dominance, its promise to break from colonial mindsets and build an alternative world order remains unfulfilled. Member countries, the resolution stated, continue to reproduce extractivist and inequitable development models and advance neoliberal trade and investment, corporate concentration, privatisation and financialisation—resulting in widespread destruction of ecosystems and livelihoods, violation of peoples’ rights, and forced displacement.

Key demands included concrete commitments to reduce inequality within and between countries; develop South–South cooperation that promotes food sovereignty, strong public investment in agriculture, accessible institutional credit, universal crop insurance, and the right to universal social security, pensions, healthcare, unemployment protection and income security; and pursue trade policies that preserve developing countries’ policy space to industrialise, protect strategic sectors, regulate capital, pursue full employment and drive structural transformation while safeguarding people and the environment.

The resolution further called for a democratic, publicly accountable and community-led just energy transition; debt restructuring and de-dollarisation; political representation and decision-making power for women at every level; protection of citizenship and political rights from digital exclusion; democratic and public-interest governance of data and digital infrastructure; stronger drug regulation and safety oversight; and the implementation of international human rights obligations, including an end to the persecution of individuals and organisations for their political views, race, ethnicity, religion or gender.

It also demanded that BRICS take a clear stand against unlawful military intervention, occupation, genocide, ethnic cleansing, collective punishment and coercive measures. People’s BRICS expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine and decried the “fascist occupation by zionist forces.”

Speaking at the opening plenary, Anuradha Chenoy, former Professor of International Affairs at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said: “While BRICS has the potential to stand up to the hegemony of the West, and challenge the existing structures of global power, we have to wait and see whether they will go beyond the rhetoric and live up to the expectations.”

Other speakers at the opening plenary included senior trade unionist Shaktiman Ghosh (National Hawkers Federation), Anjali Bhardwaj (Satark Nagrik Sangathan), Beena Pallical (National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights), Prafulla Samantara (Lok Shakti Abhiyan), and development economist and gender specialist Ritu Dewan.

Workshops covered Trade, Agriculture, Labour, Natural Resources, Inequality, Energy & Climate, Alternative Financial Architecture, Gender, Political Economy of AI, and Technology & Democracy. These were organised by a broad coalition including the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), Focus on the Global South, MAUSAM, National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ), Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Satark Nagrik Sangathan, Forum for Trade Justice, All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), Right to Food Campaign, National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), Centre for Financial Accountability and others.

The People’s BRICS concluded with a renewed commitment to solidarity across the Global South and to building a more just, democratic and people-centred world order. Participants reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening mutual solidarity, sharing experiences and learning from one another in ongoing struggles for justice, dignity and equality.