{"id":3257,"date":"2025-07-10T12:11:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T15:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bricsbrasil.com.br\/10-erros-nas-sancoes-ocidentais-que-fortalecem-o-brics\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T13:12:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T16:12:59","slug":"10-errors-in-western-sanctions-that-strengthen-brics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bricsbrasil.com.br\/en\/10-errors-in-western-sanctions-that-strengthen-brics\/","title":{"rendered":"10 errors in Western sanctions that strengthen BRICS+"},"content":{"rendered":"

Countries like the US sabotage themselves by applying sanctions that ultimately strengthen the bloc they seek to contain.<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

In recent decades, economic sanctions have been one of the main instruments of geopolitical pressure used by the United States, the European Union (EU) and their allies. This tool has been used with the promise of promoting political change, curbing abuses or isolating regimes considered to be \u201cthreats\u201d. But what was seen as an instrument of power has turned into a boomerang: sanctioning countries face the side effects<\/strong> of a system that is turning against them.<\/p>\n

Below are 10 critical mistakes made by sanctioning countries<\/strong> \u2014 and how they undermine governance and speed the rise of a multipolar financial system.<\/p>\n

1. Banalizing\u00a0sanctions <\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

It is estimated that more than 30% of the world’s population lives under some kind of direct or indirect sanction imposed by the US or the European Union. According to an article in the Washington Post<\/a>, the US now applies three times more sanctions than any other country or international entity, affecting roughly one third of the world\u2019s nations. Overusing sanctions drains their impact and causes diplomatic fatigue even among allies.<\/p>\n

2. Confiscating sovereign reserves: the breaking point<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The freezing of $300 billion in Russian reserves in 2022 along with assets in Afghanistan and Venezuela sent a clear message: no dollar reserve is entirely safe. That precedent eroded decades of confidence in the dollar as a neutral asset<\/strong> undermining its hegemony.<\/p>\n

3. Cutting countries off from SWIFT<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Russia\u2019s exclusion from the SWIFT system (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) \u2014 a global messaging network for more than 11,000 financial institutions in over 200 countries \u00a0\u2014 was a radical and unprecedented move.<\/p>\n

Yet it also spurred the BRICS+ countries to develop alternative payment systems<\/strong> to enable cross\u2011border transactions in local currencies. As a result the world now has alternatives like:<\/p>\n