Amandla ! ISSUE NO. 97 | APRIL 2025

In the feature of this issue, we focus on the global era of Trumpism as the world which South Africa now has to inhabit.

The editorial makes no bones about identifying Trumpism 2.0 as neofascism, which it describes essentially as fascism with elections…of one sort or another. It argues that South Africa cannot continue along its current, already failed, path of ‘export-led growth. It must change course and reindustrialise around the basic needs of the population. Mass housing alone would provide a huge stimulus to the rest of the economy. None of this will happen without a powerful mass movement.

In the feature :

Gilbert Achcar outlines the massive geopolitical shift that is taking place with the ‘America First’ policy, including the Trump-Putin axis. The desire is to separate Moscow from Beijing. The question now is the direction that Europe will take. Away from the US and towards China ?

Will Shoki gives an overview of Africa, caught between internal crises, shifting global power dynamics, and the unraveling of the post-liberation political order. Ruling parties that once held legitimacy as national liberators are losing their grip, while fragmented opposition parties struggle to provide meaningful alternatives. He identifies elements that could bring change.

The conversation between Adam Tooze and Walden Bello unravels an understanding of the nature of the Trumpist project and its causes. Bello sums up his analysis as : “the return of the activist state, the reregulation of the market, the return of dynastic capital, and the emergence of Napoleonic capitalists.”

Jaco Oelofson develops the argument from the editorial on localisation, proposing strategic localisation initiatives. He emphasises that localisation is not easy, and there are few examples of success.

José Correa Leite brings a Brazilian perspective to an analysis of BRICS as it has evolved into “an economic space for the projection of China’s power”. He argues for a conscious strategy of deglobalisation as the way forward.

In our Local politics and struggles section, Mazibuko Jara examines the dilemma posed by the upcoming National Dialogue – the dangers of cooptation on the one hand and sectarian irrelevance on the other. A group of authors, mainly from the Bench Marks Foundation, known for its longstanding work in mining communities, present a picture of the Stilfontein massacre and propose a way forward. Siyabulela Mama, a water activist from Nelson Mandela Bay, asks why the Water Boards have been ignored in the critiques of the water delivery system. Tyla Cloete tells of a recent tribunal which heard testimonies of the problems faced by small-scale fishers around the country.

In the Economics section, Patrick Bond takes issue with the article by Rob Davies in Amandla 95 and very directly with Davies himself and his record as Minister of Trade and Industry : “He has a filthy track record, not green credentials.” A group of writers from the AIDC Economic Justice unit explain why the strategic diversion of government contributions to the GEPF would make the VAT increase unnecessary without threatening workers’ pensions in any way. Aliya Chikte analyses the budget. Whilst acknowledging that the Minister of Finance’s admission that austerity wasn’t working was a small victory, she clarifies that what we have got is nonetheless an attack on the poorest in our society.

We welcome back a section of the magazine which fell by the wayside a while ago – the What do we mean by ? section, in which we publish explanations of terms or analytic frameworks. In this issue, Andile Zulu kicks off the new series with an understanding of the fundamental role of private property in capitalism and neoliberalism.

In the international section, Joe Hanlon, most eminent of analysts of Mozambique over many decades, looks at the situation after the elections and what underlies the current conflict. And Nizar Visram tells us about how Palestinian football has been destroyed and Israeli football has been protected by the global football body, FIFA, against its own rules.

Sadly, we have to report on two comrades who died recently. Dale McKinley writes a moving testimony to Prishani Naidoo, and Alison Tilley celebrates the life of Mark Weinberg.

And the Reluctant President is still here in 2025, as reluctant to do or say anything decisive as he ever was. In this episode, he is bemoaning having Donald Trump 2.0 to deal with.