US Eyes Resources In Latin America, Escalates Against China, w/ Ben Norton

02/13/23 • 73 min

With the United States hyper focused on Russia and China, it’s easy to forget that the empire is still up to its old tricks in the rest of the Global South. What does the insatiable U.S. imperialist appetite mean for the resource-rich countries of Latin America? After all, that copper, gold, zinc, silver, lead, iron, and natural gas in Peru, the lithium in Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, and the oil in Venezuela isn’t gonna steal itself. How is the Cold War with Russia and China playing out throughout the region as the United States dusts off the so-called Monroe Doctrine? And how can this new multipolar era benefit the forces of independence and sovereignty?

To discuss this and more, Rania Khalek was joined by Ben Norton, a Latin America-based journalist and founder of Geopolitical Economy Report.

Articles discussed in this episode:

https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/19/peru-resources-mining-gas-investment/

https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/29/latin-america-ukraine-weapons-brazil-colombia-argentina/

https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/23/china-military-spending-st-louis-fed-graph/

Listen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts.

Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK

To discuss this and more, Rania Khalek was joined by Ben Norton, a Latin America-based journalist and founder of Geopolitical Economy Report.

Articles discussed in this episode:

https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/19/peru-resources-mining-gas-investment/

https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/29/latin-america-ukraine-weapons-brazil-colombia-argentina/

https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/23/china-military-spending-st-louis-fed-graph/

Listen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts.

Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK

Previous Episode

NATO’s Fascist Inheritance & the Long War On the Third World, w/ Pawel Wargan

To understand how this new Cold War might play out, we have to understand the foundations of the original Cold War of the 20th century. What was NATO’s role? What did it mean for the Third World back then? What does it mean for the Third World today, particularly those countries that seek an independent, sovereign path? What is the danger of rising fascist movements? And what are the lessons for anti-imperialists who live and organize in the imperial core?

To discuss this and more, Rania Khalek was joined by Paweł Wargan, an organizer and researcher based in Berlin, the coordinator of the secretariat of the Progressive International and author of the recent Monthly Review article “NATO and the Long War on the Third World,” in which he looks to the past for lessons about the future, concluding that capitalism cannot be overcome until the arteries of imperial plunder are severed.

Next Episode

Ukraine War, China and the Decline of US Hegemony Under Biden

Two years into his presidency, Biden’s foreign policy has been defined by the war in Ukraine and a weakening American hegemony, one that also characterized Trump’s time in office. Some argue the American empire is in decline no matter which party is in control. So where will U.S. foreign policy go from here as the new Cold War era drags on? Does it even matter which party is in charge anymore? How are anxieties of a U.S. decline playing out in the media and in popular culture? And where does that leave the left?

To discuss this and more Rania Khalek joined by historian Daniel Bessner, an associate professor of international studies at the University of Washington, a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and co-host of the podcast American Prestige.

You can listen to all episodes of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts.

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK

Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW