(AMANDALA Ed. Note: As promised in our previous edition of Amandala, we hereby share with our readers the last article sent to us by columnist Clinton Canul Luna, who passed on August 1, 2023, Emancipation Day. Respect always, brother Clinton Canul Luna!)

The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, promised to give tens of thousands of tons of grain to African countries within a few months during the plenary session of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum within the framework of the second Russia-Africa Summit, held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 27, 2023. Using both commercial and aid-based backing, he claimed that Russia’s record grain crop would take the place of Ukrainian grain shipments to Africa. 25–50,000 tons of free grain would be given to nations, including Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, and Eritrea, with free delivery to the consumers. Putin disputed Western criticism of Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain agreement, claiming that grain exports from Ukraine went to richer nations while supplies to developing nations were disproportionately smaller. Azali Assoumani, leader of the African Union, encouraged Russia and Ukraine to live in harmony in order to safeguard food exports and save lives. The goal of the summit was to improve collaboration across a number of industries, including energy, media, commerce, agriculture, and education.

In addition, Putin focused on Africa’s impressive progress throughout the years, highlighting the continent’s tremendous economic development and expanding population. On the same note, President of the New Development Bank (NDB), established by the BRICS states, Dilma Rousseff also gave a speech at the 2nd Summit of Russia-Africa-Economic Humanitarian Forum and meeting bilaterally with President Vladimir Putin and South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa. Dilma Rousseff was imprisoned during Brazil’s military dictatorship. According to reports, judges hid their faces from the cameras when Dilma Rousseff, a teenage revolutionary who had just been tortured for 22 days, was on trial in 1970. Today, she serves as the president of the BRICS Bank. Furthermore, the New Development Bank’s press release stated, “The purpose of both bilateral meetings is to ascertain the views of both member countries regarding the role of the NDB in the upcoming BRICS Summit […] Any speculations concerning a discussion of new operations of NDB and Russia are unfounded,” i.e., they won’t violate the sanctions and launch a project in Russia.

Talks about a new type of BRICS currency, which is going to be gold-backed, has emerged. Contrary to the US dollar, which is essentially unbacked by anything and isn’t holding up for much longer due to Saudi Arabia’s trade with other major countries like Russia and China, and their opening of the door with Iran and Syria, this gold-backed currency is crucial. They are also aiming to divert away from the Swift Banking System, which means to create a new monetary system to utilize in place of SWIFT. This is something that president of Brazil, Luiz Lula da Silva has been pushing with the Mercosur in Latin America. Based on various reports, a trade deal between the European Union and the South American economic group, Mercosur, will be approved by the end of 2023, according to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, closing more than 20 years of talks. The comments were made by Lula during his speech at the beginning of the two-day EU-CELAC summit held in Brussels, Belgium, on July 17, 2023, which was also attended by the presidents of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), as well as European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen and Spain’s Pedro Sanchez.

Lula denounced the effort for restricting Brazil’s agricultural and industrial exports and questioned the new legislative framework that is now a part of the trade deal. The Latin American leader requested that Europe abandon trade accords built on distrust and the threat of economic sanctions in favor of one that promoted the reindustrialization of the area. Nevertheless, Lula’s declaration at the summit between CELAC and the EU signifies the end of hostilities between the two blocs.

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July 30, 2023
Finca Solana
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