The Age of Lithium, India, and Argentina

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/eye-on-china-india-inks-first-overseas-lithium-mining-deal-for-five-blocks-in-argentina/articleshow/106874549.cms?from=mdr

Milei is eager to please the Western and international banking establishment and he needs to generate revenue for the coffers of the Argentinean state.

And yet like many of his ilk he is walking contradiction – as free markets and nationalism don't always go together very well. Many nationalists hate to see their resources being sold off to outside parties – all the more if it's at the expense of domestic development, nascent industries, and domestic economies. Look at the farmer protests in France – Macron's nationalism is also in conflict with his market orientation.

Free Market-ism is technically internationalist and yet you will also find many in these circles decrying globalism – apparently unaware that it is but the next level or trans-national stage of the economic system they advocate.

And yet many so-called globalist economists, bankers, and investors, nevertheless retain national loyalties and a sense of prioritisation. They rely on the 'home' state for its laws, regulations, diplomacy – and in some cases its army.

For some in the US-Europe nexus this 'loyalty' falls under the aegis of Atlanticism – a limited trans-nationalism, or even something a bit broader like the G7.

In the case of Milei, he's written a big political and economic check and he wants to make sure it doesn't bounce. He needs money and investment to flow into Argentina and if that means selling off sectors of his economy, then so be it. In this case he would probably argue that he can use market principles to bolster the national interest. He wouldn't be the first to do so.

And the deal is certain to please elements in Washington – maybe less so in Manhattan. But for many, the fact that India is making this move and it effectively blocks China – then so much the better.

The article mentions the MSP or Mineral Security Partnership which includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. And of course now India has joined and one wonders if Argentina won't soon be signing on to this American-led club? It is but another mechanism of the Empire meant to check Beijing's influence and aspirations. I'm certain that one of the rules of the club (if unwritten) is that China takes a back seat and the US must approve all deals – even if this is done quietly with nods and handshakes.

Take note of Argentina's place in the Lithium Triangle – as well as Chile and Bolivia, the other nations in question. Look for more deals to come down the pike.

And one must immediately recall the 2019 soft coup in Bolivia that ousted longtime US antagonist Evo Morales as well as the cryptic statements made by Elon Musk in its wake – a man with serious interests in the Lithium market. Bolivia of course was then plagued by several years of political upheaval. Some might think the Left recaptured power with the ascent of Luis Arce, but his government represents the political and economic triangulation so typical of the pseudo-left. Nevertheless, Washington is less than fully pleased with Arce and you can be sure he's looking over his shoulder.

The Age of Lithium is now – and when you factor in all the geopolitics and the new Cold War with China, the stakes are high.

Finally the lithium deal (as well as India's membership in the MSP) represent a new point of tension with the BRICS bloc. These nations have been brought together in response to G7 and NATO domination of the globe – key mechanisms of the Atlanticist Empire.

The BRICS members are not natural allies – it is a friendship of convenience, a transactional relationship, not one born of filial devotion or shared ideology. Nations such as China and India do not have common interests and you can be sure the US will (at every opportunity) try and capitalise on this and promote such tensions.