🇳🇪 Vijay Prashad writes on why the recent wave of coups in West Africa must be understood in the context of widespread discontent with the ruling elites and their collaboration with imperialism. #FranceDégage #Niger
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/08/15/whats-happening-in-niger-is-far-from-a-typical-coup/

🇿🇲 Activists from different organizations such as the People's Forum, Friends of the Congo, ANSWER Coalition, Friends of Swazi Freedom, Black Men Build, protested outside the global headquarters of investment firm BlackRock in New York City to demand it cancel Zambia's debt.

70% of Zambia's debt is held by Western institutions, and 220 million is held by investment giant BlackRock. In 2021, Zambia was diverting half of its entire public income to paying its external debts. Activists argue that BlackRock, which is worth USD 10 trillion, could easily cancel the debt and allow Zambia to develop.

Check out the full 🎥report on our YouTube.

🇧🇷 The leader of the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST), João Pedro Stedile testified before the CPI on the MST for nearly 7 hours.

Here he explains to Brazilian congressmen why there is no MST-style org in China, AND what Brazilian leaders can do to get rid of the MST.

Hint: both have to do with agrarian reform.

100,000 women marched to Brazil's National Congress as part of the 7th Marcha das Margaridas (March of Daisies).

The march took place in Brasilia on August 15 and 16 is organized every 4 years by the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (Contag), and supported by dozens of Brazil's trade unions and social movements.

🇳🇪 Niger’s popular military government, #CNSP, consolidates domestic and regional support, while #ECOWAS, backed by #France & #US, is beset by disunity and domestic opposition after threatening to invade #Niger to restore ousted #Bazoum as the president.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/08/17/african-union-will-not-back-ecowas-intervention-in-niger/

🇪🇨 Amid Ecuador’s political, institutional, and security crisis, Guillermo Lasso has been attempting to use his power to rule by decree, that he gained by dissolving the parliament and activating the cross-death mechanism in May, to advance laws that would favor business sectors in the country and in some cases threaten hard fought for rights of the people.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/08/16/for-the-lasso-government-the-economic-interests-of-private-mining-companies-are-above-the-decisions-of-the-constitutional-court/

Don't miss our next episode of Give The People What They Want!

Vijay Prashad, Zoe Alexandra and Prasanth R will bring you the most important developments from the past week.
👉 https://www.youtube.com/live/pKMqf7owhjQ?feature=share

🇧🇷 João Pedro Stedile, of the MST's national board, was questioned by right-wing lawmakers for 7 hours on Wednesday August 15. Despite their efforts to catch the leader off guard and tire him out through hours of questioning and accusations, the testimony of Stedile ranged from explanations of Marxism, a defense of the organizational structure and vision of the MST, and a deep criticism not only of capitalism and agribusiness, but also of how the deputies carried out the work of the commission.

He was testifying before a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI), created by right-wing legislators to investigate one of the largest grassroots movements of Latin America.

“Among the organizational principles, everything has to be collective. Everything has to be in the form of a committee because it is the collective that protects [us] from the opportunism of false leaders. Don’t adopt this terminology of ‘president’, ‘treasurer’, ‘secretary’. The organizing principles are universal. They apply to the workers’ movement and they apply to Kim’s movement. I hope he’s taking notes. Any popular social movement has to adopt these principles,” Stedile explained in what many have deemed a master class on popular organization, provoking laughter from the audience.

For many in Brazil the investigative process has come to be known popularly as the “CPI Circus against the MST”.

https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/08/17/mst-founder-joao-pedro-stedile-faces-off-against-right-wing-in-congress/