• 

In an interview on Thursday with RT, Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated that abandoning the use of the US dollar will free the world from American hegemony.

Giving the dollar leverage around the world, according to the president, allows the US to pursue an “aggressive hegemonistic policy of building walls, imposing punitive sanctions, blackmail, aggression and slander". 

He added that the BRICS block of emerging economies “provides a brilliant alternative for economic integration, especially for developing economies.”

With the bloc countries representing nearly 40% of the global population, and accounting for approximately 25% of the world's economy, members have started to conduct more bilateral trade in their own currencies instead. 

Read more: De-dollarization: Slowly but surely

“It is at times like this that we get friends from other countries supporting us with real actions and under conditions that are not harmful to our independence,” Diaz-Canel said. 

Even though Cuba is not a BRICS member, it has been a close ally of Russia since the Soviet era, and bilateral trade between them tripled last year, amounting to $452 million.

'Lies and empty promises' 

Furthermore, Diaz-Canel believes that Russia can shrink the power of the dollar in international trade, and urged the need to "recognize the leading role of Russia in shaping this multipolar world".

The “de-dollarization,” he said, will lead to “more inclusive and more mutually beneficial trade” for those who reject the US' “lies and empty promises.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said back in April that the de-dollarization process has started, and this shows that the US has not been truthful about it being a shared global currency that will ensure the functioning of the mechanisms of global economies.

This followed Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's call to establish a common currency for the South American region to avoid depending on the US dollar on Tuesday. The shared currency idea has been discussed on and off within the Mercosur trade bloc - consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay - since its formation in 1991. 

Earlier this month, Argentine President Alberto Fernández and his Brazilian counterpart also announced a vow to initiate a mechanism to use local currencies in bilateral trade. 

Moreover, BRICS member states China and Brazil struck a deal in March to ditch the US dollar in their bilateral transactions, which is expected to reduce investment costs and develop economic ties between the two countries, as more nations, with the growing geopolitical and economic influence of the East, are paving the way to distance themselves from the US politically-oriented currency.

Read next: Havana and the world: Al Mayadeen interviews Cuba President (II)