Redlines: May 27, 2025

Daily revolutionary dispatches from the frontlines of global class war, settler empire, and technofascist recalibration.

Africa

World Bank Slashes Kenya’s Growth Forecast Amid Neoliberal Chokehold

The World Bank has cut Kenya’s 2025 growth projection from 5.2% to 4.5%, blaming “private sector constraints”—a euphemism for the strangling effects of debt, austerity, and IMF-mandated fiscal straightjackets. Kenya isn’t suffering from internal inefficiency—it’s being disciplined by the financial arm of empire. The so-called “budget deficits” are a pretext for further privatization, deregulation, and structural adjustment 2.0. As Kenya bleeds under ballooning external debt and foreign-currency obligations, the World Bank’s prescription remains the same: cut public spending, raise interest rates, and sell off the commons. This is not economic guidance—it’s neocolonial punishment for daring to breach the bounds of Western financial control. The contradiction is sharpened: African states must either obey the dollar or collapse. But what if they choose revolution?

Russia and Ethiopia Deepen Ties with Military, BRICS, and Currency Deals

Ethiopia is tightening its alliance with Russia through military cooperation, bilateral trade, and formal integration into the BRICS+ framework. This isn’t just diplomacy—it’s geopolitical realignment. The currency swap agreements and tech-defense collaborations signal a shift away from Western dependency and toward a multipolar economic alternative. Ethiopia is positioning itself as a sovereign actor, leveraging its strategic location and industrial ambitions to escape IMF tutelage and Western hegemony. Russia, for its part, is reasserting its role as a counterweight to Atlanticist dominance in Africa. This convergence isn’t about charity—it’s about a shared rejection of empire. The global South is slowly de-linking from the dollar matrix, and Ethiopia is placing a calculated bet on the emerging anti-imperialist pole.

Niger Unveils First Indigenous Tactical Vehicle—A Symbol of Strategic Sovereignty

Niger has rolled out its first domestically produced tactical military vehicle, marking a quiet but monumental step in national defense autonomy. In a world where AFRICOM, EUCOM, and corporate contractors dominate African military logistics, this move sends a defiant signal: Niger is not a permanent subcontractor to Western warfare. The vehicle itself may be modest, but the symbolism is revolutionary—it represents a rupture with dependency and a stride toward self-determined security infrastructure. After booting French and U.S. forces from its soil, Niger is now asserting technological and industrial control over its military apparatus. This is the material base of sovereignty being built in real time, one bolt at a time. The age of comprador armies is ending; the age of self-defense begins.

Asia

ASEAN Hosts Gulf-China Summit—U.S. Isolated as Multipolar Bloc Expands

As ASEAN opens its summit with Gulf nations and China, the geopolitical center of gravity continues to drift eastward. This is not just a regional conference—it’s the architecture of multipolarity under construction. With Beijing and Riyadh increasingly aligned on infrastructure, energy, and trade, and ASEAN at the nexus, Washington finds itself uninvited to a party it used to host. The meeting underscores a strategic consensus: the Global South is charting its own future outside of U.S.-dominated frameworks. The new alliances are not merely economic—they are ideological, rejecting the extractive arrogance of Bretton Woods and the militarism of Pax Americana. As old empires flail, a new order is being quietly negotiated across the Pacific and Indian Oceans—without the permission of Washington.

Japan Loses Top Creditor Status for First Time in 34 Years—Imperial Echoes Fade

For the first time in over three decades, Japan is no longer the world’s top creditor nation—a symbolic collapse of its postwar economic mythos. Once the obedient success story of American-imposed reconstruction, Japan is now watching its financial dominance erode amid debt deflation, demographic decline, and geopolitical drift. The nation that once underwrote the U.S. empire’s Pacific footprint now finds itself caught between collapsing Atlanticist hegemony and rising Asian multipolarity. This is more than a ranking change—it’s a generational turning point. Japan must now decide: double down as a junior partner to U.S. militarism, or pivot toward a regional identity rooted in Asia’s economic resurgence and political autonomy. The postwar leash is fraying.

India’s iPhone Exports to U.S. Surge 76%—But Who Really Profits?

India’s iPhone exports to the U.S. jumped 76% in April, with media hailing it as a manufacturing miracle. But the truth lies in the supply chain: Apple and its contractors reap the profits, while Indian workers face low wages, toxic factories, and anti-union repression. This isn’t industrial sovereignty—it’s imperial subcontracting in high-tech form. The Modi regime’s “Make in India” campaign has become a front for Western tech giants to flee China while maintaining colonial labor conditions elsewhere. The export boom is not a sign of Indian development—it’s a shift in the geography of exploitation. Until production is coupled with ownership and democratic control, these export numbers only map the contours of technofascist globalization.

Middle East

Russia Arms Haftar in Libya—Semi-Periphery Moves Within Imperial Rubble

Russia has stepped up its support for Khalifa Haftar in Libya, supplying armored vehicles and air defense systems in a calculated move to expand its influence in the wake of NATO’s colonial wreckage. But unlike the U.S. or France, Russia does not act as an imperialist power—it operates as a semi-peripheral force navigating the same global system structured by imperialism. Moscow’s engagement in Libya must be understood not as expansionism, but as a geopolitical counter-move within a battlefield already disfigured by Western regime-change aggression. Haftar remains a reactionary figure, and any alignment with him is a tactical maneuver, not a liberation project. The real tragedy is that Libya—once sovereign under the Jamahiriya—remains a pawn in post-NATO fragmentation. True liberation will not come from any foreign patron, but from the reconstitution of revolutionary unity on African terms.

Trump’s Iran “Good News” Is Another Nuclear Bluff Wrapped in Propaganda

Trump teased “good news” on Iran talks, triggering a round of media speculation and market optimism. But don’t be fooled—this is not diplomacy, it’s narrative management. The Trump regime is leveraging the specter of negotiations to deflect from its real goal: escalating pressure, deepening sanctions, and preparing the ground for a manufactured crisis. Iran, already under siege from sabotage, cyberwarfare, and economic warfare, knows better than to trust in settler promises. Any so-called “deal” will be laced with clauses designed to preserve Western supremacy and crush Iranian sovereignty. This isn’t détente—it’s a PR maneuver masking imperial intentions.

Cindy McCain Admits Gaza Starvation “Catastrophic”—But the Empire Keeps the Siege

Even Cindy McCain, head of the UN World Food Programme and widow of a war criminal, couldn’t downplay the horror: Gaza is facing “full-blown famine.” But her crocodile tears change nothing. The siege continues, enforced by the same imperial powers who armed it. Food aid is blocked, permits delayed, humanitarian convoys targeted. This is not a logistical failure—it’s a political weapon. Gaza’s starvation is not a side effect of war; it is the strategy. Technofascist empire prefers control through attrition: hunger instead of bullets, malnutrition instead of headlines. And while the UN pleads for crumbs, the U.S. bankrolls the bulldozers. Gaza isn’t just starving—it’s being exterminated by spreadsheet and border checkpoint.

Latin America & the Caribbean

Western Media Spins Venezuela’s Elections as “Authoritarian”—But the Real Crisis Is Imperial Defeat

The New York Times paints Venezuela’s recent regional elections as a farce, echoing the same tired script used since the failed coup attempts and lawfare campaigns orchestrated by the U.S. empire. Yes, voter turnout was low—but in a nation blockaded, sanctioned, sabotaged, and economically strangled for over a decade, this apathy reflects exhaustion under siege, not evidence of dictatorship. The opposition is fragmented, foreign-funded, and politically bankrupt. Their boycott was not a principled stand—it was a tactical retreat after successive electoral defeats. Meanwhile, Maduro’s coalition, rooted in Chavista mass organization and popular structures, swept the vote amid worsening conditions. The real falsification here isn’t by the Venezuelan state—it’s by imperial media laundering regime-change narratives under the guise of journalism. The elections are not perfect—but they remain expressions of sovereignty in a nation under sustained assault by the most powerful empire in history.

U.S. Unveils Counter-China Plan for South America—Another Round of Imperial Chess

The U.S. has launched a new “counter-China” initiative in South America, combining digital infrastructure, green energy partnerships, and military integration under the guise of “cooperation.” But don’t be fooled—this is imperial recalibration with a climate-friendly mask. The real goal is to reassert control over South America’s markets, resources, and digital space in the face of growing Chinese engagement. Washington’s fear isn’t that China will colonize the region—it’s that the region will have choices. The Monroe Doctrine is being rewritten with AI, satellites, and environmental buzzwords. But the core logic remains: suppress sovereignty, control the corridors of accumulation, and keep multipolarity from blooming on socialist or nationalist terms.

Nicaragua and Honduras Coordinate Militarily—Sovereign Security in the Shadow of Empire

In a rare move toward regional military cooperation, Nicaragua and Honduras have begun joint operations to combat “transnational threats”—a term often co-opted by empire, but here used to reassert territorial and civic control outside the bounds of U.S. interference. While the press downplays it, this alignment signals a pivot away from dependency on U.S. Southern Command and toward sovereign defense strategies. As U.S.-backed destabilization efforts escalate across Central America—from narco-paramilitarism to media psyops—this cooperation represents a modest but meaningful act of regional self-determination. The hemisphere remains a battleground, but the spirit of Sandino is not yet extinguished.

Europe

Spain Extradites to China—But Only When It Serves Eurocentric Interests

Spain has become the only major European country still extraditing suspects to China, citing “cooperation agreements” despite ongoing Western accusations of abuse in Chinese prisons. The irony is rich: the same EU that runs fortress borders, arms Israel’s apartheid regime, and turns the Mediterranean into a migrant graveyard suddenly discovers concern for human rights—except when it suits its geopolitical calculations. Spain’s selective application of “values” exposes the European project for what it is: a technocratic empire draped in liberal hypocrisy. These extraditions are not about justice—they are about maneuvering within the imperial chessboard, where the Global South remains disposable and sovereignty is traded for strategic gain.

EU Joins FBI in War on Encryption—Digital Fascism Goes Transatlantic

The EU is aligning with the FBI in a coordinated push to break mobile encryption, citing “child safety” and “national security”—the same tired excuses used to build the surveillance state post-9/11. What’s really unfolding is the codification of technofascist stabilization: predictive policing, behavioral modeling, and algorithmic control under the banner of liberal democracy. Europe once postured as a privacy champion—now it mimics the CIA playbook. If encryption falls, so does digital autonomy, especially for journalists, organizers, and resistance movements in both the imperial core and the Global South. This is not about crime prevention—it’s about preempting dissent before it breathes.

France Inks Tech Deals with Vietnam—Old Empire, New Circuits

Emmanuel Macron’s Hanoi visit culminated in a string of Airbus and satellite deals that dress up imperialism in aerospace packaging. France, fresh off its military eviction from West Africa, now seeks to reboot its global relevance through “civil” infrastructure contracts in Southeast Asia. These deals are not about mutual development—they’re about reasserting European market access, data sovereignty, and defense-industrial influence in a region tilting toward China. Vietnam is walking a tightrope: navigating between multipolar partnerships and Western overtures laced with historical amnesia. France may talk of “partnership,” but its real interest lies in resurrecting its colonial footprint—this time coded in satellites and supply chains.

North America

Vietnam and Mexico Deepen Ties—South-South Solidarity Finds New Bearings

Mexico and Vietnam have entered a new phase of expanded cooperation—focused on trade, technology, and aerospace—as part of a growing network of South-South engagement. In a global system dominated by imperialist finance and dollar hegemony, these agreements point toward an emerging strategic alternative. Neither Mexico nor Vietnam are free from contradiction: both are still tethered to Western supply chains and subjected to capital discipline. But within those constraints, new openings are being carved out. This isn’t just about trade—it’s about the material foundations of multipolarity, and the embryonic formation of alliances that bypass Washington, Wall Street, and Brussels. The question remains: will this cooperation evolve into structural realignment—or be absorbed into existing imperial frameworks?

Mexico’s Electoral Body Investigates “Interference”—Elite Panic as Judicial Reform Nears

Mexico’s election commission has launched a probe into alleged political interference ahead of a critical vote on judicial reforms—but what’s really at stake is elite fear of losing control over the judiciary. The Sheinbaum government’s reform plan would subject judges to democratic oversight—an existential threat to the neoliberal legal class that has long served as the enforcer of capitalist impunity. The outcry over “interference” is textbook lawfare: cloak class defense in procedural language, cry foul over popular mobilization, and call for foreign observation to police national sovereignty. The electoral body, like many “independent” institutions in Latin America, is a stronghold of the old order—now under siege by democratic currents.

King Charles Pushes Green Capitalism in Throne Speech—Settler Monarchy Meets Climate Commodification

In a surreal performance of post-colonial theater, King Charles delivered a throne speech in Canada extolling the “incredible opportunity” of green energy expansion. But this isn’t climate justice—it’s climate capitalism. Canada’s liberal settler regime is preparing to turn Indigenous land, water, and labor into carbon credits and lithium stockpiles for European and U.S. markets. The monarchy—symbol of genocidal conquest—now recasts itself as steward of sustainability. This is empire in ecological drag, a pageant where the Crown masquerades as caretaker while pipeline construction and arctic militarization march ahead. Green transition under colonial rule is not a solution—it’s a repackaged extraction scheme.

United States

1 in 4 Americans Are Functionally Unemployed—But Capital Calls It a “Strong Economy”

A staggering 25% of working-age Americans are now functionally unemployed—counting those who are jobless, underemployed, or forced into gig precarity. Yet the Biden-Trump corporate continuum still parades the economy as “resilient.” This is not resilience—it’s recalibration under technofascism. The U.S. economy is no longer structured to provide stable employment—it’s engineered for maximum disposability and debt servitude. Gig work, algorithmic shifts, and financial speculation have replaced production. What we’re witnessing isn’t a labor shortage—it’s mass abandonment. The capitalist state is shedding surplus populations and calling it flexibility. If this is recovery, then poverty is profit, and despair is the new full-time job.

Plantation Museum Burns in Louisiana—Settler Memory Wars Heat Up

A fire has destroyed part of the Nottoway Plantation Museum in Louisiana, a symbol of antebellum wealth whitewashed into “heritage.” It stood in contrast to the Whitney Plantation nearby, which centers the brutal legacy of slavery. While the cause is under investigation, the symbolism is unmistakable. Across the U.S., as monuments fall and narratives shift, settler memory is in crisis. Museums like Nottoway are not neutral—they are ideological battlegrounds, built to mask genocide, labor theft, and racial capitalism under the veneer of nostalgia. The fire is a spark in a broader cultural reckoning: a fight over who gets to define history, and whose suffering is allowed to be remembered. One burns down, the other rises—the dialectic of remembrance in a decaying empire.

SCOTUS Rejects Native Appeal—Copper Profits Trump Sacred Land

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Apache activists fighting to stop a copper mine from desecrating sacred land in Arizona. The mine, backed by foreign firms and U.S. corporate giants, will rip through Oak Flat—territory still central to spiritual and ceremonial life. The message is clear: settler law protects capital, not sovereignty. This isn’t just a legal defeat—it’s a reaffirmation of the U.S. as an ongoing colonial project, where extractive rights override Indigenous life. The court’s silence is complicity. In the eyes of empire, no land is too sacred to exploit, and no people too oppressed to ignore.