There’s no useful analysis here, since the author hasn’t bothered to ask any protestors why they’re protesting, but here’s hoping these are more steps towards a Red Africa.
Countries with active or recent protest movements mentioned in the article include Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Eswatini, Namibia, Mozambique, and South Africa.
Personally I’d find any protest movements in Zimbabwe, Angola, South Africa, Mozambique or Namibia incredibly suspect to say the least. Those don’t sound like a path to a “Red Africa,” they sound like a path towards a revitalized colonization of Africa, tbh for all of Uganda and Nigeria’s (also mentioned in the article) serious issues it still could sound like a strategic targeting of BRICS member states and applicants in the continent.
Full support to the protesters in Kenya, though. Ruto can get fucked.
Damn, that bad huh? So who are these “young people” leading the protests in places other than Kenya? Petty boog? Color revolutionaries?
South Africa
Why so? I think there are other revolutionary leftist parties ready to fill in the gaps for those countries
As to the other countries, they strike me as countries of similar political arrangement to Venezuela: Global South socialist-leaning ruling parties, that survived the Cold War, but whose political ideology, policies and leadership has been partially hollowed out as a result of such war, and the resulting domination of neoliberalism… (At one point or another, I think one of em’s a comprador state)
I’m hoping, for God’s sake, these countries get a turn around
This is my understanding as well. However revolutionary these governments once were, many if not all have been undermined by neoliberalism. Granted, of course it’s plausible that the US would try to exploit any discontent in its favor. But whether or not that’s the case here is still unclear.
Removed by mod
I know Libya and Syria were obvious color revolutions, but plenty of the uprising in the Arab Spring was legit, no? Tunisia, Bahrain, even the harshly suppressed and limited version in Saudi Arabia?
I also have trouble believing the US could have pulled off the scale of the uprising in Egypt. As much as 25% of the country was out protesting on Mubarak’s final day.
Not to mention that the State Department and even Obama himself were openly supporting Mubarak until it became clear it was untenable to continue. Only then, as Chomsky pointed out is the pattern of the US, did they flip the script and say they supported the demands of the democratic movement all along.
Dare to hope, but also dare to question being led astray by such hope.
True, but I prefer Mao’s version: dare to struggle, dare to win.
