grouping

Although a middle class already existed throughout most of Europe by that time, in the form of urban bourgeoisie or yeoman-farmers or some other grouping, the concept gained special significance in a new country whose Constitution eliminated the aristocratic privileges enjoyed by European nobility.

And even if Brics were to gain more anti-West members, the grouping would likely struggle to implement the types of initiatives that could pose an actual threat to the West.

The Brics began as a grouping that unites Brazil with Russia, India, China and South Africa.

But in his attempts to strengthen the grouping as a counterweight to the Western-led world, he has also exposed other divisions, leaving relations between Brasília and Caracas at their lowest ebb since Lula's re-election two years ago.

The grouping, often referred to as a counterweight to the Western-led world, has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.