Good day comrades. Those of you who watched news recently surely heard about a “coup” in the Republic of Niger. Apparently Westerners are very mad because I am hearing of the west cutting diplomatic ties and thinking of imposing sanctions.
Now, as you know, Western news sources are not reliable when it comes to the happenings in other countries - especially in those that are either not west-friendly or part of the Global South. My question is, can anybody here explain to me what exactly happened in the Republic of Niger and if possible, provide a Marxist estimate of the situation? Is the “coup” (I’ll use the term for now because of a lack of better knowledge about the situation) good or bad for the working class of the Republic of Niger? Is it good for the global working class movement? I have seen pictures of protestors waving the Russian flag and some Western media is already claiming this somehow benefits Russia. What is going on?
Thanks in advance.
If mainstream media says it’s bad, then it’s likely good for the people of Niger.
I found this Twitter thread to be useful in explaining some background on the situation.
This is further complicated by the fact that coup supporters have been waving Russian flags and burning French flags; Putin meanwhile held a summit in St.Petersburg for strengthening economic ties with the African continent— forgiving $23 billion in debt owed by African states.
NATO keeps forcing Putin to actually do good things, then look around in awe as his international support grows. Sometimes I wonder if they’re that incompetent in geopolitics or they just really hate themselves really hard. Whoever convinced NATO officials to change course in adding Russia to it might’ve been a time-travelling comrade in disguise.
