India-Canada, Mexico and South America: News and Discussion

[chetak]

hgupta ji,


turdeau is desperate to hit back at India, and also score some talking points in his own backyard....

His all round miserable performance, both at home in kaneda, and on the international arena, as part of the G7 circus and now an irrelevant private club, where kaneda actually has no business being a member.

This dynastic dumbass is still trying to score points against Modi and maybe try and save his rapidly sinking political fortunes. His messed up trade deal with India and the 40% drop in the numbers of Indian students seeking admissions in kanedian "colleges" are just the opening salvos. His domestic economic mess due to mismanagement is all his own doing. He and his woke commie pals deserve no better


he is now hoping to shine using borrowed amriki lights, a very temporary phenomenon at best

India has suffered a loss of face. We can try to brush it off and gloss over it, as we always like to do. But the reality is that India's international image has suffered damage.

In order to respond to a problem, we first have to recognize that it's happened. Otherwise, neither an ostrich mentality nor a sour grapes mentality will improve our situation.

sanman ji


Yes, India has indeed suffered a loss of face but that is no reason for us to sit quiet and allow them to push us around. This is a deliberate plot that has been hatched by the amrikis to have an adverse effect on Modi's international image just before 2024 and we have not seen the last of it. It will play out further as the dates gets closer..

A choreographed array of ranking amriki officials and security establishment luminaries being paraded in their sunday best in Dilli is an indication of how weak their hand really is but, for the world at large, eager to see India taken down a peg, or two, or three, will see it in a different light, as hard proof of India's complexity and duplicity

The attack on the parliament was exploited using a loophole that existed in the lax security that was being provided to protect an institution as vital as India's parliament. In spite of the warnings and the symbolic significance of the date, security was maintained in a lax manner. This plot has not been conceived in India but has off shore connections that are obscured using dumbass cutouts who are now in custody. Every link, on investigation, will lead to a dead end. The burning of the phones is not normal for a bunch of illiterate footpath dwellers who have allegedly carried out this sophisticated security breach and attack. All are Hindus, mind you, and that obviates the possibility of a communal flareup.

It's a load of codswallop for the amrikis to repeatedly keep bleating that this attack on us will not affect our bilateral ties and it will continue to be business as usual. It has certainly affected ties, as the amrikis well know, and it has also put us on notice that we are seen as perpetual inferiors in a relationship that the amrikis have specifically sought to further their strategic interests and as soon as there is a shift in those strategic interests, we will cease to be the flavor of the month and how can we forget that this is exactly what the amrikis have done to the pakis on multiple occasions with the pakis failing to learn their lesson each time. We cannot aspire for parity with the US, at least not in the foreseeable future, but that does not mean that India will accept being treated like an uncle tom and faithfully play the assigned role of a house ni**er obsequiously serving his/her masters.

We have our own long term strategic interests, our own specific current geopolitical concerns, our real politik threat perceptions, and we seek our own strategic arena where we will leverage our strengths and act in a manner that protects our own supreme national interests, just like any other nation does. We cannot allow any other country to see us in terms of a neocolonial state which has subjugated its own sovereignty to bolster the geopolitical interests of another state, no matter what the consequences may be

kaneda is inconsequential and a two bit player that is punching far above its weight, bolstered by it's white skin credentials and imagined proximity to the US and India should kick turdeau's backside hard with every chance that it gets. Blame the canucks and dump the trade deal all together, and more importantly, maintain strict parity as far as the diplomatic numbers go.

[sanman]

sanman ji


Yes, India has indeed suffered a loss of face but that is no reason for us to sit quiet and allow them to push us around. This is a deliberate plot that has been hatched to have an adverse effect on Modi's international image just before 2024 and we have not seen the last of it. It will play out further as the dates gets closer

That's what I'm saying. The best defense is a good offense. We need to go on the offensive, we need to change the global narrative on Canada. We can martial the global south for this, we can cultivate our media capabilities for counter-narrative purposes.

Do you remember how ferociously UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn used to attack India? He was the Trudeau of his day. And the backlash from Indian British voters was so strong that he and his party were badly knocked down. Corbyn's replacement Starmer promised to heal ties with Indians - he'd clearly received the message and learned the lesson.

But that assh0le Trudeau is more conceited and more desperate, and his party know how to play vote banks off each other. He also has dynasty factor on his side.
Indo-Canadian community are far younger, far less politically savvy than UK Indian community.
The violent Khalistanis are allowed to run riot in Canada in ways that they can't in UK.
In UK, an Indian can become PM, but in Canada it's a Khalistani vowing to become PM.

The attack on the parliament was exploited using a loophole that existed in the lax security that was being provided to protect an institution as vital as India's parliament. In spite of the warnings and the symbolic significance of the date, security was maintained in a lax manner. This plot has not been conceived in India but has off shore connections that are obscured using dumbass cutouts who are now in custody. Every link, on investigation, will lead to a dead end. The burning of the phones is not normal for a bunch of illiterate footpath dwellers who have allegedly carried out this sophisticated security breach and attack. All are Hindus, mind you, and that obviates the possibility of a communal flareup.

It's a load of codswallop for the amrikis to repeatedly state that this attack on us has not affected our bilateral ties and it will continue to be business as usual. It has affected ties and it has also put us on notice that we are seen as perpetual inferiors in a relationship that the amrikis have specifically sought to further their strategic interests and as soon as there is a shift in those strategic interests, we will not continue to be the flavor of the month. We cannot aspire for parity with the US, at least not in the foreseeable future, but that does not mean that India will accept being treated like an uncle tom and faithfully play the assigned role of a house ni**er.

We have our own long term strategic interests, our own specific current geopolitical concerns, our real politik threat perceptions, and we seek our own strategic arena where we will leverage our strengths and act in a manner that protects our own supreme national interests, just like any other nation does. WE cannot allow any other country to see us in terms of a neocolonial state which has subjugated its sovereignty to the geopolitical interests of another state, no matter what the consequences may be

kaneda is inconsequential and a two bit player that is punching far above its weight, bolstered by it's white skin credentials and imagined proximity to the US and India should kick turdeau's backside hard with every chance that it gets. Blame the canucks and dump the trade deal all together, and more importantly, maintain strict parity as far as the diplomatic numbers go.

Don't take an ostrich mentality about Canada. This only allows the problem there to fester and grow.
Canada is a free-rider on the international security system. It's not like Canada can really help US take on China or anybody else.
Therefore Canada's Woke Left politicos can merrily play their games to the hilt, without worrying about consequences.
Trudeau's economic mismanagement will likely lead to his ouster. But his party's longterm investment in importing vote banks will continue to pay dividends to his party. Hopefully he'll eventually be sidelined within his own party, who need not be forced to live with his ineptitude just for the sake of a dynastic brand that imported vote banks may not necessarily feel overly attached to.

[chetak]

sanman ji


Yes, India has indeed suffered a loss of face but that is no reason for us to sit quiet and allow them to push us around. This is a deliberate plot that has been hatched to have an adverse effect on Modi's international image just before 2024 and we have not seen the last of it. It will play out further as the dates gets closer

That's what I'm saying. The best defense is a good offense. We need to go on the offensive, we need to change the global narrative on Canada. We can martial the global south for this, we can cultivate our media capabilities for counter-narrative purposes.

Do you remember how ferociously UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn used to attack India? He was the Trudeau of his day. And the backlash from Indian British voters was so strong that he and his party were badly knocked down. Corbyn's replacement Starmer promised to heal ties with Indians - he'd clearly received the message and learned the lesson.

But that assh0le Trudeau is more conceited and more desperate, and his party know how to play vote banks off each other. He also has dynasty factor on his side.
Indo-Canadian community are far younger, far less politically savvy than UK Indian community.
The violent Khalistanis are allowed to run riot in Canada in ways that they can't in UK.
In UK, an Indian can become PM, but in Canada it's a Khalistani vowing to become PM.

The attack on the parliament was exploited using a loophole that existed in the lax security that was being provided to protect an institution as vital as India's parliament. In spite of the warnings and the symbolic significance of the date, security was maintained in a lax manner. This plot has not been conceived in India but has off shore connections that are obscured using dumbass cutouts who are now in custody. Every link, on investigation, will lead to a dead end. The burning of the phones is not normal for a bunch of illiterate footpath dwellers who have allegedly carried out this sophisticated security breach and attack. All are Hindus, mind you, and that obviates the possibility of a communal flareup.

It's a load of codswallop for the amrikis to repeatedly state that this attack on us has not affected our bilateral ties and it will continue to be business as usual. It has affected ties and it has also put us on notice that we are seen as perpetual inferiors in a relationship that the amrikis have specifically sought to further their strategic interests and as soon as there is a shift in those strategic interests, we will not continue to be the flavor of the month. We cannot aspire for parity with the US, at least not in the foreseeable future, but that does not mean that India will accept being treated like an uncle tom and faithfully play the assigned role of a house ni**er.

We have our own long term strategic interests, our own specific current geopolitical concerns, our real politik threat perceptions, and we seek our own strategic arena where we will leverage our strengths and act in a manner that protects our own supreme national interests, just like any other nation does. WE cannot allow any other country to see us in terms of a neocolonial state which has subjugated its sovereignty to the geopolitical interests of another state, no matter what the consequences may be

kaneda is inconsequential and a two bit player that is punching far above its weight, bolstered by it's white skin credentials and imagined proximity to the US and India should kick turdeau's backside hard with every chance that it gets. Blame the canucks and dump the trade deal all together, and more importantly, maintain strict parity as far as the diplomatic numbers go.

Don't take an ostrich mentality about Canada. This only allows the problem there to fester and grow.
Canada is a free-rider on the international security system. It's not like Canada can really help US take on China or anybody else.
Therefore Canada's Woke Left politicos can merrily play their games to the hilt, without worrying about consequences.
Trudeau's economic mismanagement will likely lead to his ouster. But his party's longterm investment in importing vote banks will continue to pay dividends to his party. Hopefully he'll eventually be sidelined within his own party, who need not be forced to live with his ineptitude just for the sake of a dynastic brand that imported vote banks may not necessarily feel overly attached to.

sanman ji,


kaneda is not a player in any sense of the term, and by extension, nether is turdeau.

turdeau's posturing is to keep his khalistani vote bank grateful for the international support and exposure that he is providing them, unmindful of the consequences that are and will continue to harm kanedian interests, for what is at best, a temporary benefit.

Things are changing in punjab and the khalistani influence in the political narrative may be coming off the boil

woke turdeau and his commie cabal are playing ball with the cheen, just like the aussies and the new zealanders are doing/did, but the right wing is steadily gaining ascendancy in all these ecosystems, as well as, in kaneda

turdeau's constant rants against India is more driven by his woke commie avatar and probably to please the cheen. His ties to the cheen are shrouded in mystery probably because election funding is involved, and that, by itself, is a very messy can of worms. The khalistanis are benefitting en passant, but in some of the kanedian provinces, many people are upset with him, especially those heavily invested in the growing and export of lentils to India.

with the departure of turdeau, when ever that may happen, the khalistanis will not only lose their state support, but also with it, their protection because the RMP is now being forced go easy and to lay off going after them.

turdeau is already on a sticky wicket and has been forced on the back foot by India.

That parity fiasco by itself is a major blow to the white dominated west and they have all been placed on (uncomfortable) notice....

Bidenwa not accepting India's invitation for the republic day parade is one thing but India cancelling the QUAD meeting that was scheduled to happen around the same time period was quite unexpected. Wheels within wheels is what the amrikis do so well but messaging within messaging is not what they expected from India.

The games continue..........

[sanman]

sanman ji,


kaneda is not a player in any sense of the term, and by extension, nether is turdeau.

The Khalistanis in Canada and elsewhere pose an ongoing threat to India's national security.
These overseas Khalistanis helped orchestrate the mayhem in New Delhi that occurred under the pretext of "farmers protests"
The Khalistanis hijacked those protests to inflict violence on the capital. We'd done nothing to provoke them. They're simply predators who were looking to carry out aggression. They don't want to live and let live, they only understand the language of force.
They're not interested in living peacefully in Canada, they have their eyes on breaking up India.

turdeau's posturing is to keep his khalistani vote bank grateful for the international support and exposure that he is providing them, unmindful of the consequences that are and will continue to harm kanedian interests, for what is at best, a temporary benefit.

Khalistani political influence in Canada is rising not diminishing. So the problem in Canada is getting worse, not better.

Things are changing in punjab and the khalistani influence in the political narrative may be coming off the boil

It would be nice, but I don't see any reason to be overconfident.

woke turdeau and his commie cabal are playing ball with the cheen, just like the aussies and the new zealanders are doing/did, but the right wing is steadily gaining ascendancy in all these ecosystems, as well as, in kaneda

That's what makes him a growing problem. He's invested in all the bad paths. He's too dumb to see that they're dead-ends.
If he wants to muck up his own country, it's not our business, but he's trying to harm India, and that makes it our business.

turdeau's constant rants against India is more driven by his woke commie avatar and probably to please the cheen. His ties to the cheen are shrouded in mystery probably because election funding is involved, and that, by itself, is a very messy can of worms. The khalistanis are benefitting en passant, but in some of the kanedian provinces, many people are upset with him, especially those heavily invested in the growing and export of lentils to India.

He doesn't want to lose Sikh votes to Jagmeet. The pair of them are wrecking Canada's economy and its future.
If they want to wreck themselves, that's up to them - but when they're looking to prey on India too, then we can't let it slide.

with the departure of turdeau, when ever that may happen, the khalistanis will not only lose their state support, but also with it, their protection because the RMP is now being forced go easy and to lay off going after them.

The fact that partisan politicians are able to subvert institutions in Canada means vote banks will take full advantage.

turdeau is already on a sticky wicket and has been forced on the back foot by India.

Turdeau doesn't know when to shut up and get off the stage.

That parity fiasco by itself is a major blow to the white dominated west and they have all been placed on (uncomfortable) notice....

Bidenwa not accepting India's invitation for the republic day parade is one thing but India cancelling the QUAD meeting that was scheduled to happen around the same time period was quite unexpected. Wheels within wheels is what the amrikis do so well but messaging within messaging is not what they expected from India.

The games continue..........

We have to stay firm and stand up for ourselves. Violent separatist extremism is no laughing matter. The KhalistanTaliban must not be allowed to make a comeback.

[Haresh]

‘Very concerning’: Hundreds of Muslims gather to pray on Toronto streets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJhWfqVbCDk

[chanakyaa]

The serial defaulter, Argentina, and its newly minted president is about to loose almost 100% of its $16bn foreign reserves to settle decades old lawsuits tied to state owned oil company....

Argentina’s new government faces crucial test over $16bn US judgment

Some background
Petersen v. Argentina: Unpacking a $16 Billion Judgment

and, IMF to the rescue
IMF to release $4.7bn to Argentina as Javier Milei pursues austerity

[sanjaykumar]

What is it with Argentina. It is a nice enough country with pampas a large coastline reasonably educated population but a perennial basket case much like Pakistan.

[SRajesh]

https://youtu.be/18RTtDVghfw?si=5-wndZ-dFlHXUAh0
A snapshot of the mess Sanjayji
Continuous miss management with probably initial white descent supremacy and rich and rancheros calling the shots and later socialist experiment and over spending has led to this state.
And thrown in the Malvinas conflict North Atlantic gore group shafting what do you expect!!
Not sure how much the Chinese have bought but there is a fair inroads!

[sanjaykumar]

Yes, it is the same story of colonisation.

Burnish Aries is still a pretty European style city.

I saw only two non Mediterranean people there. Both were indigent and in fact they were the only people I saw sitting by the roadside, on the ground.

I don’t have to do the polemics again, I am sure.

[Haresh]

Argentina is a nation born of genocide. That's when I hear these idiots claiming the Falklands as some sort of anti-colonialist struggle, I laugh. They have always flirted with fascism & nazism.

It is a big land mass, so Indians should move there.

https://www.google.com/search?q=genocid ... e&ie=UTF-8

[ricky_v]

https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/on ... al-moment/

Brazil’s enduring aspiration for great-power status will receive a significant boost through its leadership of the G20, BRICS and COP conferences in 2024–25.

Despite the many unprecedented political and economic challenges demanding his attention at home, Lula wasted no time in translating his rhetoric into action. During his initial year in office, he undertook close to 30 international visits in pursuit of Brazil’s foreign-policy vision centred around a more multilateral and representative world order. The country resumed its (benevolent) hegemonic role in Latin America by promoting regional economic integration and cooperation on climate-change mitigation efforts. He also addressed regional flashpoints, such as tensions between Venezuela and Guyana over the disputed Essequibo region.



Brazil’s upcoming G20 and BRICS presidencies and hosting of COP30 present it with a unique opportunity to articulate its vision for global priorities. It is important the country picks its battles strategically and focuses on areas in which it can exert maximum impact based on its strengths, such as leading on climate-change mitigation measures and increasing regional stability.

Brazil’s G20 is predictably built around fighting global hunger and poverty, reinforcing sustainable development and global-governance reform. The strategic rationale for the first two pillars is clear: on the international level they will boost global resilience to future shocks, while for Brazil such shocks present a challenge to its domestic stability and undermine its ambitions for great-power status. The third pillar, particularly its financial component, is necessary to progress towards a more sustainable and inclusive global order. Considering Brazil’s agency and leadership in climate mitigation, together with the horrific impact of the climate crisis on sustainable development (and food security), climate funding according to climate justice principles is an ideal strategic anchor for Brazil’s broader foreign-policy efforts.

[sanman]

Argentina's Milei tames runaway inflation

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/wor ... 624401007/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlf92o7tm1A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmO4-npyLOo

[sanman]

Massive Troop Buildup by Venezuela on Guyana Border

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnBcN-AVqJA

[chanakyaa]

Another great heist??

The mystery of Argentina’s gold: Milei admits that it was transferred abroad, without specifying the quantities or destination

While the government acknowledges that gold reserves have been sent outside the country, there’s no official information available regarding the purpose of the operation. The gold is now exposed to the risk of being seized, due to long-standing claims against Argentina made by foreign creditors
...

[Tanaji]

US claims it has evidence that opposition won in Venezuela

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd1d10453zno

This is not election interference, perish the thought…

[sanman]

Mexico Freezes Relations with US & Canadian Embassies, Complaining of Foreign Interference

Join the club, Mexico

[ricky_v]

not india related, but gives a good backdrop of brazil; in recent times, both the government and the people have demonstrated like-minded alignment with the indian viewpoint

https://www.compactmag.com/article/how- ... er-brazil/

Nov. 20, 2024, marked the first time Black Awareness Day has been celebrated as a national holiday in Brazil. The holiday already existed in some states, but President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made it national.

The attempt to identify a prominent Brazilian with a singular, exclusive ethnic identity is just the latest sign of a cultural shift. Since their country’s founding as an independent nation in 1822, Brazilians have seen themselves as a mix of indigenous, European, and African—not a mosaic of separate races, as in the United States, but an amalgam of the blood of all three races. But in recent decades, a quasi-American understanding of race has taken hold in many institutions, and is being promoted by the current left-wing government. Despite the ostensibly progressive origins of the new racial politics, its implications often resemble those of the one-drop rule of Jim Crow.

Although black skin carried the stigma of slave origins, the Brazilian Empire, which lasted from 1822 until 1889, granted noble titles to blacks and mulattos, some of whom also owned slaves. Some poor and middle-class people were also slave owners; even slaves had slaves.

This was a reversal from the prior historical pattern. In the 18th century, the majority-black city of Salvador was the second largest city in the Portuguese empire, while São Paulo was a poor backwater. Nowadays, Salvador is devoured by unemployment, while São Paulo is the largest metropolis in Latin America. In the United States, as Thomas Sowell showed, racial inequality is partly a result of regional inequality. In Brazil, the regional problem has been clear for decades: Just as black Americans left rural areas for cities during the Great Migration, in Brazil, northeasterners of all colors left home (and still leave today) to seek work in the southeast. There, they face regional prejudice. Even if they have very light skin, northeasterners are recognized by their accent, not unlike “white trash” in the United States. In Brazil, prejudice against skin color and region are both rooted in social class. Nobody wants to have the color or accent of the poor.


The other piece of the puzzle are indigenous Brazilians. When the Portuguese arrived, they encountered the Tupi people of the coastal region, who were divided into several tribes that spoke the same language and were always at war with each other. The Tupis were what anthropologists call patrilineal and matrilocal: When a Tupi man married, he would go live in his in-laws’ village, but his son was seen as a descendant of himself and his father. The chieftain’s mission was to use his daughters to recruit the best warriors for his own village.

After the Portuguese arrived, Tupi chieftains were interested in obtaining European axes and knives. As a result, the Portuguese became highly sought-after sons-in-law: Every Tupi wanted to be related to them. By obtaining a number of wives, the newcomers could ascend in rank within the tribe, resulting in many polygamous Portuguese chieftains with mixed-race offspring. Children of these Portuguese men and Tupi women were considered whites, because they were children of the father. Until at least the 18th century, mixed Portuguese and Amerindian people were called “whites of the land,” as opposed to “whites of the kingdom”—that is, of Europe.

Rejecting eugenic schemes to whiten the population, Freyre celebrated Brazil as a mongrel nation, instead of a divided, racially polarized country like the United States.

Freyre’s views held sway for some time, but later came under attack from the sociologist Florestan Fernandes. Turning Freyre on his head, Fernandes alleged that Brazilian society harbored a veiled racism more sinister than that of the United States, where it was at least out in the open. He also believed that black Brazilians, to achieve social progress, should establish themselves as a distinct racial community in the style of black Americans. The University of São Paulo, where Fernandes taught, became a center of attacks on Freyre’s legacy. The word “mulatto,” a widely used term for someone of mixed African and European ancestry, was condemned as racist; mulattos, it was argued, should be redefined as black. Fernandes’s theories enjoyed support from a powerful American sponsor. As the historian Wanderson Chaves shows in his 2019 book A Questão Negra (The Black Question), in the 1960s the Ford Foundation invested in “Afrocentric” groups worldwide, including in Brazil.

Average Brazilians tend to place themselves in three categories: black (preto), brown (pardo), and white. These self-declarations are descriptive, based on skin color, not on DNA. The “brown” category includes those who are neither black nor white, whether mulattoes or descendants of Amerindians. But as the historian José Murilo de Carvalho pointed out already in 2004, there has been a movement among academics and activists to reclassify as black (negro) all Brazilians who describe themselves as brown (pardo), while replacing preto with negro. The two terms are synonymous in vernacular Portuguese, but in the new classification, negro encompasses both pretos and pardos. The supposed anti-racist justification for this revival of the one-drop rule is that pardos are, in fact, blacks who are ashamed to declare their actual race.

[vera_k]

260 Canadian colleges are involved in human trafficking

[sanjaykumar]

I have previously posted on how Canada is losing its middle power status to countries such as saudia, Indonesia or Iran, and soon to include Nigeria. I have previously described how Canada is deindustialising.

Here is a gloomy concurrence. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/a-sha ... 8cK4S5UbXm

[sanjaykumar]

It is not just global supply chains Canada is becoming irrelevant for.

This is not a good state of affairs for anyone who lives here. Citizens here and other countries have got little but performative wokeism. And that’s coming from a self confessed liberal.

[sanman]

Has Argentina's Milei Pulled Off A Miracle?

[drnayar]

Another great heist??

The mystery of Argentina’s gold: Milei admits that it was transferred abroad, without specifying the quantities or destination

While the government acknowledges that gold reserves have been sent outside the country, there’s no official information available regarding the purpose of the operation. The gold is now exposed to the risk of being seized, due to long-standing claims against Argentina made by foreign creditors
...

OT but even India's gold is not safe in western banks !!!

[drnayar]

Has Argentina's Milei Pulled Off A Miracle?

[youtube]Crhqa_Ehqr8[/youtube

not really .. that is curtailing almost all social expenditure, no freebies , nor any support for the lower classes.. those are now suffering

miracle in book keeping ? ..yes indeed

[drnayar]

I have previously posted on how Canada is losing its middle power status to countries such as saudia, Indonesia or Iran, and soon to include Nigeria. I have previously described how Canada is deindustialising.

Here is a gloomy concurrence. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/a-sha ... 8cK4S5UbXm

maybe gu'vnor troodoo has options !

[drnayar]

https://www.youtube.com/live/WRKCNpM ... IPjDvah

Protests in Argentina..let's see how long the miracle lasts

[ricky_v]

forestry is under the concurrent list, the following might come to an area near you

https://www.compactmag.com/article/gree ... ng-brazil/

This year, at a meeting in Davos, representatives of the administration of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed an agreement that granted the green environmental management company Ambipar a major role in managing Brazil’s indigenous lands. “The unprecedented partnership,” as an Ambipar press release explained, “is part of [a] strategy to include the private sector in global accountability for the preservation of indigenous lands.” Although couched as a strategy for responding to “climate emergencies and sustainability,” the agreement looked to many like a de facto surrender of areas comprising 14 percent of the national territory to the control of a private entity.

The book argues that there is a neocolonial conspiracy to keep Africa and South America underdeveloped. In Africa, since the 1960s, huge ecological sanctuaries have been governed by private entities, and in South America, a similar privatized apparatus emerged in the 1980s. The authors describe how environmentalism and indigenous rights have been used as pretexts to undermine the sovereignty of nation states rich in natural resources, and to prevent the creation of infrastructure while shrinking the population (through poor living conditions, contraception, and abortion).

All this may sound like the stuff of a conspiracy theory, but there is a real basis for the concerns raised in Green Mafia. In a 1974 memorandum, the late Henry Kissinger presented population growth in a number of countries (including Brazil) as a risk to US national security and recommended, among other things, the promotion of abortion in these countries. This document is not about environmentalism per se, but it shows how a certain brand of Malthusianism has operated as the state policy of the most powerful country in the world.

Whatever the ultimate intentions behind their efforts, environmental organizations have long stood as a bulwark against modernization and economic growth in the Brazilian Amazon—often in defiance of the wishes of most inhabitants of the region. The most drastic case is perhaps that of the tiny state of Roraima, in which a once productive economic region was transformed into the Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous reserve in 2005, during Lula’s first presidency. The local rice farmers, who until then were operating legally, were expelled by the government, and economic activities were shut down. Today the region’s inhabitants rely mainly on state benefits.

There is a revolving door between environmental NGOs and the Brazilian state, especially in those agencies under Silva’s influence. It’s simple: NGO “experts” conduct “research” and give “technical” opinions that are always used to block construction of infrastructure, create more environmental or indigenous reserves, and expel Brazilians from Brazilian lands. They then contact the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which generally behaves like an NGO embedded in the Brazilian State. In fact, the bureaucrats hired to work for state environmental agencies are recruited from NGOs.

This brings us back to the government’s agreement with Ambipar. When news of the “partnership” appeared in January, media coverage treated it in a positive light, but soon critics began to present it as a handover of 14 percent of the national territory to the management of a private company. The government then published a note claiming this was “fake news”: The signed agreement was only a “preliminary document.” In addition, the government asserted that Ambipar will only be required to perform a few activities, such as providing “technical support for the prevention and response to extreme events and disasters such as fires, floods, among others”—that is, performing what would otherwise be state functions.

Another lawmaker to raise concerns about the Ambipar agreement was the right-wing congressman Filipe Barros, a supporter of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president. Barros was joined by indigenous congressman and army lieutenant Sílvia Waiãpi, also a Bolsonaro supporter. But they were largely alone; even other Bolsonaro supporters stayed quiet. The nationalist left in Brazil, once represented by Rebelo, has practically ceased to exist.

No tree or monkey should be worth more than the life of a poor Brazilian who needs economic development to enjoy better material conditions. But Lula’s government is taking the opposite position: that Amazonians should live in poverty and backwardness to ease the consciences of affluent North Americans and Europeans, while also enriching entities like Ambipar. And given the latter’s dubious track record—for instance, the Brasília newspaper Metrópoles reported that in April 2024 IBAMA, the main environmental agency, imposed three fines totaling nearly $4 million on Ambipar—there is little reason to even believe that environmental preservation is guaranteed. What we are left with, in the end, is transnational capital doing shady business at the expense of poor Brazilians.