Image is of Bolivian President Luis Arce (center, with glasses) face-to-face with General Zuñiga (in camouflage) during the coup attempt.
On the 26th of June, while Hexbear was in an 8-hour hibernation, General Juan José Zuñiga marched 200 troops and some armored vehicles on the government palace in an attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government of Luis Arce. This is somewhat reminiscent of Jeanine Anez’s coup in November 2019 where she overthrew the socialist president Evo Morales, but while that coup was due to a colour revolution likely orchestrated by the United States and had at least a tiny amount of political/public legitimacy and “followed the rules” in a certain sense (as Morales was trying to abolish presidential term limits, which is only evil if a socialist is doing it), this was a much more naked attempted seizure of power by a military general.
This coup was quickly terminated without even a momentary transfer of power. Democracy was saved.
Despite being in the same party, Morales and Arce have increasingly been in opposition. Morales champions anti-imperialism, rights for indigneous people, and poverty reduction. This last one especially has been threatened by Arce, though it’s not entirely his fault, as the Bolivian economy is threatened by the same crisis affecting so many developing economies around the world right now - say it with me now - a lack of dollars and mounting debt. The US Federal Reserve is carrying out a bloody offensive against the world’s poor, and this has combined nastily with a rather uninspiring “post”-coronavirus economic recovery in Bolivia, as well as diminishing natural gas production (and thus less exports with which to earn dollars).
While the coup was ongoing, Morales banded behind the government. Afterwards, however, Morales expressed his skepticism about whether the coup was, in fact, genuine, calling for an independent investigation into it, and saying that Arce “disrespected the truth, deceived us, lied, not only to the Bolivian people but to the whole world." This is because General Zuñiga made a series of very interesting statements to his family and colleagues, saying that Arce had “betrayed” him, and saying that Arce had told him “‘The situation is very screwed up, very critical. It is necessary to prepare something to raise my popularity.'" This does check out on the surface level, at least: Arce has suffered increasing unpopularity as the economy has suffered.
Interestingly, Morales’ narrative has been supported by the anarchocapitalist leader of Argentina, Javier Milei, who is currently busy completely destroying his own country and stripping the copper out of the walls to give to American capitalists. Milei said that the coup attempt was “fraudulent”. Meanwhile, those inside MAS opposed to Morales’ accusations of a false coup have accused him of allying with the fascist right and becoming an instrument of imperialism.
The COTW (Country of the Week) label is designed to spur discussion and debate about a specific country every week in order to help the community gain greater understanding of the domestic situation of often-understudied nations. If you’ve wanted to talk about the country or share your experiences, but have never found a relevant place to do so, now is your chance! However, don’t worry - this is still a general news megathread where you can post about ongoing events from any country.
The Country of the Week is Bolivia! Feel free to chime in with books, essays, longform articles, even stories and anecdotes or rants. More detail here.
Please check out the HexAtlas!
The bulletins site is here!
The RSS feed is here.
Last week’s thread is here.
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against Israel. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA daily-ish reports on Israel’s destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news (and has automated posting when the person running it goes to sleep).
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
Various sources that are covering the Ukraine conflict are also covering the one in Palestine, like Rybar.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia’s youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don’t want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it’s just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists’ side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR’s former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR’s forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster’s telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a ‘propaganda tax’, if you don’t believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
Ancap Update:
Brazil-Argentine Diplomatic Crisis (Milei Isolationism Speedrun any%)
Brazil will respond if Milei extends crisis; ambassador may be withdrawn.
Diplomatic Crisis Article
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government is not ruling out taking measures to retaliate against Argentine President Javier Milei if he escalates the diplomatic crisis during his visit to Santa Catarina this weekend.
Milei refused to attend the Mercosur summit, scheduled for Asunción on Monday, and opted for a meeting with Jair Bolsonaro and leaders of the regional far right, at an event organized by Eduardo Bolsonaro.
Until Friday, Milei had not even informed the Brazilian government that he would be arriving in Brazil, in a clear breach of diplomatic standards. The order in the Planalto Palace was not to fall for Milei’s provocations, who in recent days has once again poked at Lula and criticized the Brazilian government.
The logic is that it won’t be the Argentinian who sets the tone for the relationship between the two countries with his comments, which are seen as strategies to divert the focus from the domestic crisis. The government’s hope is that he will repeat his participation in a similar event in the US, when he held back on criticizing Joe Biden.
But the government’s understanding is that it cannot simply remain silent if Milei uses an event in Brazil to offend Lula. In this case, the Brazilian authorities are considering the following options, depending on the seriousness of the Argentine’s behavior:
Freezing Relations:
The Planalto Palace and Itamaraty may hold off on confirming the accreditation of Argentina’s ambassador to Brasilia. This would prevent the diplomat from carrying out his duties and would send a diplomatic message that there would be no tolerance for Milei’s involvement in Brazilian domestic politics, especially with an actor who has been declared ineligible.
Direct Relations with Province Governors:
One option being considered by Brasilia would be to expand the Planalto Palace’s relationship directly with the governors of Argentine provinces that are opposed to President Milei. The Brazilian government estimates that, in certain provinces, there would be more interest in expanding cooperation with the Brazilian market than the relationship with Milei.
Break off Relations:
If Milei’s comments and attitudes are considered excessively serious, Itamaraty would then permanently withdraw the Brazilian ambassador in Buenos Aires, until there is a formal apology from the Argentine president. In this case, the signal would be the strongest, in terms of the impact on bilateral relations
Both in Itamaraty and in the Planalto Palace, sources insist that they don’t want the relationship to reach this crisis level. The existence of large numbers of Brazilians in the neighboring country, the investment and trade relationship and the strategic consideration of contacts between the two largest countries in South America could not be overlooked.
Argentina’s beef consumption is the lowest in 110 years
This year, each Argentine is expected to consume 45 kg of beef, which is the lowest level in 110 years, according to a report published on Friday (5/7) by the Clarin newspaper portal (clarin.com), based on a report released by the Rosario Trade Exchange (BCR).
“Beef consumption in Argentina has been on a downward trend since the second half of the last century,” said the BCR. This downward trend in demand is aggravated by the current recession in the neighboring country, says the report, adding that many Argentine consumers have opted for other cheaper proteins, such as chicken and pork.
Al Jazeera: Protests and arrests as anti-Syrian riots rock Turkey
CW: SA, Xenophobia, Watermelon Seller
More than 470 people have been taken into custody after crowds attacked Syrian shops and cars in central Turkey.
Riots erupted after Turkish authorities arrested a Syrian man for allegedly sexually abusing a seven-year-old Syrian girl in the central city of Kayseri.
Weird that Al Jazeera calls them protests in the title of the article then calls them riots here.
Turkish residents, infuriated by online reports of the crime, flipped over cars in Kayseri and set Syrian-run shops alight on Sunday night, demanding that Syrians be kicked out of the country.
The violence spread to the southern province of Hatay, where protesters set a Syrian grocery store ablaze.
The riots “damaged houses, workplaces, and vehicles belonging to Syrian nationals”, said Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who accused those responsible of acting “illegally in an attitude that does not suit our human values”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the violence, which he blamed opposition parties for stoking.
“It is unacceptable to burn houses, vandalise and set streets on fire,” he said on Monday of the violence. “Nothing can be achieved by fuelling xenophobia and hatred of refugees in society.”
More than 3.5 million Syrians live in Turkey, the highest number in the region, who were initially welcomed as refugees when the civil war erupted in Syria in 2011.
Umit Ozdag, the leader of Turkey’s anti-migration Victory Party, blamed the violence on the government’s allegedly “privileged” treatment of Syrian refugees.
IDK bro, that’s a ton of refugees. I hope nothing bad is happening in the country they came from that could be causing this. Sounds like peace in that home country could go a long way to fixing this crisis you’re having, is that going anywhere?
Al Jazeera’s Koseoglu said another reason for the riots was the recent, separate announcements by Erdogan and al-Assad to restore ties.
Tensions have been rising in Syrian opposition-held areas over moves towards rapprochement between the two countries, including plans to open a crossing between government-held areas and those held by Turkish-backed opposition forces in Aleppo.
Hopefully this event speeds up the peace process instead of derailing it. It’s crazy how most of the world knows how immigration works and that you stop mass immigration waves by not having bloodbaths in the home countries (still took Turkey 10+ years to figure this out) but in the US how migrant waves appear is just they grew from the ground. The zombie hoarde from over there I guess.
ever imminent invasion of lebanon is now planned for second half of july (was ready in june allegedly ).
wtf lolmao - I say as I cringe to death
The balloons full of garbage that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been sending to South Korea for weeks are having an impact on air traffic. More than 110 flights have been disrupted by the balloon launches that have been going on since the end of March, said South Korean MP Jeong Jun Ho on Wednesday, citing the Ministry of Transport. More than 10,000 passengers were affected. The DPRK is using the balloons to respond to previous actions from South Korea in which propaganda material was also sent north in balloons.
