Skip to content

Colonialism

The Terrible Origins Of July Fourth

“He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.” -- Declaration of Independence The July 4 holiday in the United States commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Anyone educated in this country has been propagandized with lies about patriotic colonists seeking freedom from a tyrannical British monarch. Our minds were filled with tales of Paul Revere and Betsy Ross which erase the role that indigenous and Black people played as they attempted to end true tyranny over their lives.

Colonial Mining Fuels Israeli Genocide: Global Protests Target Glencore

In a protest against Glencore, one of the world’s largest mining conglomerates fueling Israel’s genocide in Gaza and devastating the environment of the local communities in the mining towns in Africa and South America, activists organized a global day of action on Wednesday, May 28. Demonstrations were reported in South Africa, Colombia, Peru, Germany, and Switzerland, where the Anglo-Swiss multinational held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) that day.  The company’s shareholders have gathered in Switzerland “to celebrate the record profits” it makes by extracting and transporting coal to “the genocidal state of Israel” where it is “used to fuel the killing machine,” Socialist Youth Movement member Zaki Mamdoo told Newzroom Afrika.

Malcolm X And Human Rights In The Time Of Trumpism

52 years ago, on February 21st, the world lost the great anti-colonial fighter, Malcolm X. Around the world, millions pause on this anniversary and take note of the life and contribution of Brother Malcolm. Two years ago, I keynoted a lecture on the legacy of Malcolm X at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon. While I had long been aware of the veneration that Malcolm inspired in various parts of the world, I was still struck by the love and appreciation that so many have for Malcolm beyond activists in the black world. There are a number of reasons that might explain why, 52 years later, so many still pay homage to Malcolm.

Maduro Declares Economic Emergency Against US Tariff War

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro signed an economic emergency decree on Tuesday, April 8, during a televised meeting with telecommunications and economic leaders. He framed the move as a response to what he called a US-led “tariff war” destabilizing global trade systems, alongside the revival of the “maximum pressure” strategy aimed at suffocating Venezuela’s economy. The decree, pending approval by the National Assembly, seeks to bolster Venezuela’s economy amid escalating international tensions and US aggression. President Maduro accused the US of dealing a “definitive and total blow” to international trade institutions, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), in an effort to impose “single hegemonic dominance” over global economic rules.

Trump Plans To Make Ukraine A US Economic Colony

The fight that broke out in the White House between US President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, on February 28 was a stark symbol of the colonial relationship between the two countries. “You’re in no position to dictate”, Trump yelled at Zelensky in the Oval Office. “You don’t have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards”. The Trump administration has sought to impose an exploitative deal that will “make Ukraine a US economic colony”, in the words of the conservative British newspaper The Telegraph.

Javier Milei Is Destroying Argentina’s Economy

Argentina is governed by a right-wing libertarian named Javier Milei. He proudly identifies as an “anarcho-capitalist”. His career has been cultivated by powerful billionaire oligarchs, such as Eduardo Eurnekián, who employed Milei and several of his cabinet members. Milei has also enjoyed the support of US billionaires like Elon Musk and Silicon Valley oligarch Peter Thiel. US President Donald Trump considers Milei to be an obedient ally. When he campaigned for president in 2023, Milei embraced the nickname “el loco” (the madman). He brought a chainsaw to rallies, pledging to cut government down to the bone.

122 Years Of US Imperialism In Guantánamo

Colonialist Christopher Columbus landed in Guantánamo Bay on his second voyage to the Americas in 1494. The empires of England, France, and Spain later disputed Guantánamo, a territory of 45 square miles. This “discovery” of the Cuban island unleashed a Spanish extermination campaign against the indigenous population, through disease, starvation, and brutality. What followed the genocide was the “vertiginous growth of the slave trade based in Havana”. Today, Guantánamo Bay remains occupied by the United States. It is used as a detention center by the most powerful military in history.

Trump Vows To ‘Expand’ US territory, Invokes Manifest Destiny

Donald Trump began his second term as president by vowing to grow the US empire. In his inauguration speech, Trump used explicitly imperialist rhetoric, promising to “expand our territory”. He even invoked “Manifest Destiny”, a concept employed by 19th-century US colonialists to justify ethnically cleansing Indigenous nations and stealing their land. “The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons”, Trump said, adding, “And we will pursue our Manifest Destiny into the stars”.

Turkey Takes Aleppo

Before it fell under 20th century Anglo-American colonialism, Syria was the core of the Levant, encompassing (today’s) Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, the site of multireligious, multicultural cities between which people traveled and traded freely. In the countryside, peasants and herders tended an agricultural and pastoral landscape of olive and orange trees, pasture, forest, and drylands. This region was under the control of the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years (perhaps Erdogan’s dream is to take some of it back. He’s been accused of “neo-Ottoman” fantasies).

President Maduro Calls For Creation Of ‘Powerful Media Network For The People’

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, proposed the creation of a “powerful media network for the truth of the peoples across all continents, with all languages and on all existing social media of today and those that will be born as alternatives.” He made this proposal on Friday, November 29, at the International Conference in Solidarity with Palestine, held in Caracas. He commented that there is a consensus across the world for “the cause of the struggle for freedom and the right to life of the Palestinian people, and we must do more for Palestine, because still there are many people who are misinformed about the brutal genocide that is being broadcast live.”

African Nations Push For Urgent United Nations Reforms

In the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, heads of state from African countries reiterated their demand for an urgent reform in global decision making and greater representation of their continent in the Security Council. The African leaders claim that their current exclusion from the crucial decision making institutions is a legacy of colonialism and demanded urgent changes. They underlined that highlighting their exclusion is not merely an attempt to claim representation but to gain real say in crucial decision making on issues directly affecting the African countries and their future, such as peace and security challenges, conflict resolution, climate change, and sustainable development.

Colonialism As A Bulwark Against China

The 53rd annual Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), which opened Monday in Tonga, takes place amid a backdrop of simmering violence and confrontations between French security forces and protesters in New Caledonia that has so far left a dozen dead, as well as increased geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. with its regional allies. On the agenda are talks on the impact of climate change. But for the West, the political thrust of the gathering is keeping Pacific nations outside of China’s orbit and enmeshed instead in Western military architecture. The five-day meeting, which runs until Friday, is being attended by the 18 leaders of strategically important islands and archipelagos spread across the vast Pacific Ocean, as well as think-tank analysts and politicians from sub-imperial countries like Australia and New Zealand who are sounding the alarm over the supposed dangers of “malign” Chinese influence in the region.

The War In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo Will End

On 20 June, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned the attacks on civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ‘in the strongest terms’. In its press statement, the UNSC wrote that these attacks – by both the DRC’s armed forces and various rebel groups supported by neighbouring countries such as Rwanda and Uganda – ‘are worsening the volatile security and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the region and further exacerbating the current humanitarian situation’. Five days later, on 25 June, the United Nations peacekeeping force in eastern DRC withdrew, in accordance with a December 2023 UNSC resolution that pledged both to provide security for the DRC’s general elections on 20 December and to begin to gradually withdraw the peacekeeping force from the country.

France, Its Far-right, And Africa

Elections for the European Parliament took place on June 9, 2024. These elections are generally shunned by the French electorate, and the latest was no exception with nearly 50% abstaining from voting. This is one of the highest abstention rates in the region - a clear sign of the disconnect between the people and its institutions. The results[1] were clear-cut: over 30% of votes for France's main far-right party, the Rassemblement National (and around 10% more for the various conservative and nationalist right-wing movements),  less than 15% for the party of the current government, and less than 25% overall for the two main left-wing parties presented.

Israel Approves Largest West Bank Land Grab In Three Decades

Israeli authorities last month approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in over three decades, anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now revealed on 3 July. The activists said the approval allows for the appropriation of 12.7 square kilometers of land in the Jordan Valley, northeast of the West Bank city of Ramallah. By illegally authorizing their seizure, Tel Aviv is allowing the land to be leased to Israelis and banning private Palestinian ownership. According to Peace Now, this marks the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo Accords. The move comes after the seizure of 8 square kilometers of land in the West Bank in March and 2.6 square kilometers in February.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

Online donations are back! 

Keep independent media alive. 

Due to the attacks on our fiscal sponsor, we were unable to raise funds online for nearly two years.  As the bills pile up, your help is needed now to cover the monthly costs of operating Popular Resistance.

Sign Up To Our Daily Digest

Independent media outlets are being suppressed and dropped by corporations like Google, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for our daily email digest before it’s too late so you don’t miss the latest movement news.