Last month Russian President Vladimir Putin played host to more than 40 African heads of state. The summit solidified Russia’s growing presence and stronghold over the region, filling a vacuum left by a retreating U.S.
Just as the U.S. withdrawal from Syria left an opening for Russian troops to assert their military foothold, this week taking control of a former U.S. airbase in northern Syria (CBS News, 11/17), openings in Africa have provided in-roads for Russia’s growing global power.
As splits in the U.S. ruling class and the domestic wing’s control of the White House continue to give way to Fortress America policies, Russia has set its sights on the African diamond trade, seizing opportunities to flex economically, militarily, and most recently through cyber warfare. This growing instability and modern-day arms race is a flashing alarm that world war is looming.
The path to political gain is paved In natural resources
Madagascar, seemingly insignificant to Russia, was a hot bed for Russian meddling during the island’s 2018 presidential elections via time, support, money, and cyber influence.
Prior to the election a Russian company acquired a major stake in a government-run operation that mines chromium, a mineral valued for its use in stainless steel (New York Times, 11/19) explaining Russia’s new-found interest in the region. Chromium, is a relatively rare yet coveted mineral, with South Africa claiming up to 70 percent of the earth’s reserves (Engineer Live, 6/18). Madagascar has one of the world’s largest reserves of ilmenite (titanium ore), as well as important reserves of coal, iron, cobalt, copper and nickel.
Mica, another profitable mineral found in Madagascar, is currently being mined by “children as young as four years old performing long hours of labor-intensive work in often dangerous conditions to collect a mineral whose price will be inflated nearly 500 times by the time it leaves Madagascar’s shores” (NBC News, 11/19).
Imperialist gains over
workers lives
Madagascar’s working class faces unacceptable living conditions, unemployment, inadequate health care, poor access to food and economic resources, and severe power and water outages that have led to wide-spread riots and civil conflict since 1947 (Washington Post, 7/19).
The village of Andranondambo, known for its sapphire and mica deposits, is home to some of the most exploited members of our working class. NBC News calls the region “a 19th century slave trading center, where 75 percent of the population now lives on less than $1.90 a day” (NBC News, 11/19).
As in all capitalist countries, the state continues to hold power yet no responsibility for the living conditions of its workers. The sham of elections continues to play a central role in maintaining control of profits never seen by workers and Russia, keen to benefit from Madagascar’s rich physical land, saw an opportunity to gain political influence. Financially, Russia is still no match for China and the U.S., who both have billions of economic investments in the continent (NYT, 11/19), moving Russia to rely on back-room tactics.
Russian influence in Madagascar began in early 2017, ahead of the 2018 elections. The operation was directed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman and close adviser to Putin. Prigozhin was indicted in the U.S. last year, after being accused of information warfare and disrupting the 2016 election (NYT, 9/19).
Until Russia can surpass its global rivals financially, it has found a way to flex its power in the form of providing fringe political leaders an edge through meddling tactics, learned from the U.S.
A member of Prigozhin’s team wrote in an email: “’Russia should influence elections around the world, the same way the United States influences elections. Sooner or later Russia will return to global politics as a global player and the American establishment will just have to accept that”(NYT, 11/19).
Russia’s collusion efforts in Madagascar, unlike their U.S. meddling, is not about upending a global rival, but rather about profit (NYT 11/19). After a number of shifts in candidate support, Russia retained their ultimate goal: control over the chromium operation in Madagascar. Russia now maintains “a staff of 30 in the country, including engineers and geologists and the contract gives them a 70 percent stake in the venture” (NYT 11/19).
Under capitalism world leaders and super powers will always have their eyes on profit. Global watchdogs, election meddlers -- whatever they may be called, are tools of state power to control means of production and rob workers of their power. The only solution for the international working class to control and use the world’s resources sustainably for our own benefit is to destroy capitalism-imperialism by means of a mass PLP. Workers in Madagascar and everywhere: build the communist Red Army and organize for revolution!