The Trump administration has made the news recently with regard to South Africa and White farmers. I've been following the coverage and I must say I've found it frustrating. I think many outlets have more or less answered and/or explained the misleading nature of Trump's charges. A little more context would be helpful but such endeavours take time.
Some outlets have picked up on the fact that the US is in a tiff with South Africa over the fact that it brought genocide charges against Israel in the ICC. This is significant and the fact that the powerful Israel lobby has turned against South Africa is telling.
But the real reason is both obvious and nebulous at the same time. It depends on one's understanding of the world and whether they follow events.
It's the fact that South Africa is part of BRICS - the economic block that is effectively working to undermine the G7, the IMF, and World Bank, and eventually the dollar. These are are all critical aspects and tools of the US Empire. BRICS is an opposition bloc and Washington is angry that South Africa has a played a role in this. Further, South Africa has shown itself friendly to both Beijing and Moscow and so (in general) relations are in a state of downgrade.
BRICS was originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa in 2009 but did not become a significant player on the world stage for several years. The US originally targeted Brazil - Dilma Rousseff was ousted in 2016,Lula was imprisoned from 2017-2019, and with US backing, the fascistic Jair Bolsonaro became president in 2019. He attempted to overturn his electoral defeat in January 2023 and Lula returned to office - but as a politician that has tacked more to the centre. The struggle continues.
India is more complicated as the US needs New Delhi in terms of its Indo-Pacific geo-strategy. Washington is unhappy about Modi remaining in the BRICS framework as well as its continued ties with Moscow. Within BRICS, New Delhi and Beijing are partners, but outside this framework relations remain tense between the historical adversaries. The US remains hopeful that the latter reality will ultimately undo India's ability to stay within BRICS.
The US continues to work against Putin and hopes to bring down his regime. Xi Jinping is deeply entrenched and it is beyond Washington's power at this point to remove him.
That leaves South Africa - the weakest member of the bunch. The new members - Ethiopia, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates each have their difficulties. The US is the most upset about Egypt, followed by Indonesia and Ethiopia. Iran is of course already a target and the US relationship with the UAE remains complicated and dynamic.
South Africa is the easy target and that's what is motivating the hostility. The US wants to break Ramaphosa and the African National Congress (ANC). That's the goal and motivation of Trump's rhetoric and it's clear that the next few years are either going to see Washington's relationship with South Africa seriously damaged or there will be some kind of regime change. There are many possibilities.
The Al Jazeera article is the only one I found among major outlets that really touched on these issues - at least to some extent. It also touches on the larger question of the G20 - South Africa is the only African member and Ramaphosa is the current chairman of the group. It needs to be noted that all the core members of BRICS are also in the G20 - while none are in the G7. The American Right sees little utility in the G20. From their vantage point such talks and potential collaborations are pointless as several nations in the G20 are considered to be rebellious satrapies, and others are outright enemies. The economic nature of the bloc is also at odds with Trump's policy which (at least for the present) is one of trade war.
The Trump-South Africa antagonism is far from over. Ramaphosa (a corrupt multi-millionaire) was just re-elected in 2024 and the next election is not until 2029. Of course there may also be personal elements to this story. Trump is a well-known racist and many believe Elon Musk has played a role in this latest dispute. It's possible but there are numerous takes on his views and his South African past.
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