The Brics states want to add six more members, including autocratically controlled countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia. Why the choice of the new partner was obviously not without controversy.
The least important question first: What will become of the name Brics now? The first letters of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa still form a concise group designation, which conveniently also sounds like the English word bricks. Solid. But when six new members join on January 1, 2024, every construction will be shaky. The newcomers are Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In English this would be something like: AEEISAUAE. It gets complicated.