Weekly Update: July 1

Short newsletter this week as I get back into routine after my concussion. I appreciate your patience.

International News

Liberation News

Kenya

President William Ruto of Kenya has declined to sign the finance bill, which has sparked widespread resistance in the East African country. Kenyans showed their government they would not accept foreign entities meddling in their affairs. Earlier this month, the Kenyan government passed a finance bill for the next fiscal year that included tax hikes to lower their deficit and, more importantly, appease the foreign and neocolonial lender, the International Monetary Fund (IMF). I discussed the IMF on my TikTok in the video titled 'Myths About China.' Both the IMF and World Bank were founded in the United States; the IMF, in particular, came at the end of World War II and was just on the cusp of decolonial movements of the global south. To receive an IMF loan, a country must make readjustments that restructure and liberalize their systems. Most notably, they have to privatize their nationally or publicly owned companies by selling to foreign capitalists under the guise of 'transparency.' In addition to selling companies, they must end subsidies that benefit their citizens and cut social welfare spending. Each step of their restructuring hurts the working class populations and makes their conditions harder to live under. It does not stop there. If the country does not accept the loan, a coup is orchestratedto seat a puppet who will. In Pakistan, the US forced the government to agree to an arms deal so the country could receive the loan. The IMF's loan programs and actions explicitly impede countries' sovereignty. Although not playing the old colonial game of seizing the land, they prop a facade of independence.

What is happening in Kenya is people resisting another neocolonial power grab by the IMF to gain further leverage over the country at the expense of their lives. 

Elections 2024

France; June 30 & July 7

After the far-right swept the European Union, French President Emmanual Macron dissolved the country's parliament and called for a snap election. The call for a snap election shocked many as it was unnecessary, and Macron still has three years left in his term. Macron and many other political figures were surprised by the EU election results. The snap election could be Macron's way of checking the population's temperature. Do they support the far-right, even on the domestic front? The EU is a supranational entity, but Macron does not believe voters are fully invested. Unfortunately, his bet will not likely go in his favor. Early results of Jun 30 polling show that the country's far-right National Rally party won the first round. The president could be attempting to give the people what they want in the hope that by the time his term ends, they would see the error of their ways by voting for the far-right, but that is another gamble he is taking. Macron hopes that people will end up hating the three years under the far-right, but he, a centrist, does not fully understand French people or what they are primed to support. France was a colonial power and is still attempting to maintain its colonial subjects in a neo-fashion way, and it is this reason why Macron will be wrong. France, being part of the imperial core, makes its citizens primed for fascism since that is what they engage in when in the global south. Fascism is nothing but imperialism turned inward. The French, like most Westerners, are complacent in the harm they cause around the world because they reap the benefits of cheap goods, access, and labor that come at the expense of their neo-colonial subjects. Centrists in the West believe in playing the game. Still, their inability to fully grasp the landscape will continue to backfire because they underestimate how right-wing their citizens already are and will give power away like Macron is doing.

From the Belly of the Beast

Presidential Debate

The first presidential debate for this election cycle was held last week. Biden's campaign called for this debate, hoping it would bolster him in polls and prove he can lead the country. Unfortunately for Biden, he did the opposite of that. Although only a three-year difference between Trump, Biden struggled to appear and sound strong. Democrat strategists blamed the president's hoarse voice and challenges on him having a cold, which does not help the "he's healthy" talking points they parrot. In the aftermath of the debate, many cannot believe these are the two options come November. However, this is the empire, the 'strong' democracy that the people love. Of course, these are the two options in the decaying empire. The CNN moderators did not fact-check and barely held Trump to denounce he would coup again. It is safe to say that liberals and centrists will be woefully unprepared come November as they still believe in the facade of maintaining the system at the expense of our collective liberation.   

America's Far-Right

Supreme Court

On Monday, Jul 1, the Supreme Court is expected to release its decision on Trump's immunity case Jan 6 trial on whether the former president is immune from criminal prosecution for his role in the attack on the Capital. If the 6-3 supermajority conservative court rules in Trump's favor, even if not a complete endorsement, we should expect Trump and his cult-like base to coup again. In the April hearing, a few justices, Amy Coney Barret, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch, all appointed by Trump, showed they were open to immunity if it fell under certain parameters. However, their recent decision ruled in favor of Jan 6 rioters, stating that the obstruction charges rioters and Trump faced were "improperly applied." The court's ruling makes it increasingly challenging for the Justice Department to hold anyone accountable for the attack. If they continue with this line of action, the court will likely side with Trump and put up a path he can follow in November to protect him from being prosecuted.