Unipolarization in Free Fall

In the same way that parachutists are launched in free fall before opening the nylon that supports their descent, so does the United States find itself as it observes how certain economic and financial powers have been advancing on the planet stanching the unipolarism that was imposed after the Soviet Union disappeared.

An increasing number of specialists are reaching this conclusion, while Washington is becoming more aggressive and trying by any means, especially military, to preserve its privileges as it watches the approaching outcome.

At the beginning of last month, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell issued one of the most outstanding statements about this — outstanding not only for what he said, but also for what he represents as a staunch defender of the most rancid capitalist system. “The United States has lost its status as a hegemon … and I see … China rising to the super-power status,” Borrell said.

Borrell told a conference at the U.K.’s Oxford University that, “the international system that we were accustomed to after the Cold War … What China has done in the last 40 years is unique in the history of humankind with a certain superiority over the European Union and the United States in many aspects, and the Asian giant is rising to the category of superpower.” *

By way of justifying his analysis, Borrell said that in the last 30 years, China’s share in the world’s gross domestic product, in terms of purchasing power parity, went from 6% to almost 20%, while the Europeans’ share dropped from 21% to 14% and that of the United States from 20% to 15%, representing a drastic change in the economic landscape.

Finally, Borrell admitted that today the world is much more multipolar, with the emergence of middle powers such as India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey. Of course, he did not mention Russia, because Moscow is a bitter enemy.

One of the direct consequences of this scenario is the alarming increase in U.S. debt, which reached a historic $34.1 trillion, exceeding its GDP by 24.5% and contributing to the growing poverty rate in the country.

Pedro Gustavo Cavalcanti Soares, who holds a PhD in political science from the Federal University of Pernambuco, explained that America’s persistence in investing heavily in international conflicts to boost its economy perpetuates an approach that dates back to the post-World War I period and leads to negative consequences disconnected from the country’s domestic needs.

Billionaire Elon Musk spoke along those same lines when he predicted the end of the dollar should Washington fail to address its national debt: “We need to do something about our national debt or the dollar will be worth nothing.”

The International Monetary Fund went a bit further in expressing its concern over excessive U.S. government spending and warned that it is undermining financial stability around the world.

With all this uncertainty in the United States, a process of de-dollarization is taking place at the international level as several countries diversify their monetary reserves.

This process is aimed at preventing financial catastrophes such as the 2008 economic crisis that began in the U.S. (and shook the world).

De-dollarization is aimed at offering protection against possible crises, allowing a more balanced relationship in the world financial system and reducing the economic and political influence that Washington has exercised for more than half a century.

The BRICS+ Group, made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, with the recent addition of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia and Iran, has worked hard to use its national currencies in commercial transactions.

During the first quarter of the 21st century, this economic reconfiguration has represented a financial revolution in which other nations can reconsider their commercial alliances without suffering the heavy pressure exerted by the dollar at the international level.

BRICS is currently developing a payment system that uses digital technologies and blockchain, which is a decentralized and distributed data structure that records transactions securely and transparently through a network of computers.

In 2023, the five BRICS pioneers conducted only 28.7% of their import and export transactions using the dollar, and by 2024, Moscow and Beijing will be doing almost all their trade (around $220 billion) in their national currencies.

Undeniably, the BRICS countries are driving a historic transformation in the international financial setting.

*Editor’s note: A portion of these quoted remarks, although accurately translated, could not be independently verified.