“The Demagogue” by Lila Downs is a popular Latin American song. She discusses how Donald Trump wanted to build a wall to keep out immigrants at the time of his presidency in 2016. Lila calls Trump a “monster” and “blue eyed devil who is trying to enforce hate towards Latin Americans.” This connects with the theme of structural inequalities amongst the Latin American people when we talked about colonization earlier in the semester. Latin American minorities of this generation are still facing problems they had to overcome in the past. During the time of colonization Latin Americans looked for political solutions to resolve the inequalities they faced, but it was hard to come by because indigenous people were mistreated. This song is powerful and demonstrates how Lila Downs and most Latin American people felt about Donald Trump and the political climate he enforced.

This is a song by one of my top 10 favorite artist and honestly, who I believe is one of the best electronic artists in the Americas. Marco Antonio da Silva, or DJ Marky, was born in Sao Paulo, and began his DJing career there. He got the attention of a a British record executive and DJ, and after impressing British radio listeners, would experience a decent amount of popularity in his native Brazil and the UK, where he frequently performs. DJ marky, who specializes in the genre of Drum and Bass, has released several mixes and albums, and has collaborated with several other artists, with some being fellow Brazilians or Japanese DJ, Makoto, who he regularly hangs out with on his Instagram Stories.

I initially heard of him from a radio mix by one of my favorite bands ever, a British duo named Lemon Jelly, and really got into some of his songs later that same year. Believe it or not, DJ Marky was how I learned that there was a black population in Brazil (a very significant one!). My favorite works of his are his collaborations with the Brazilian DJ S.P.Y, but his most popular song is LK by him and XRS with Stamina MC (all Brazilians). The song samples a Brazilian song from the 70s called “Carolina Carol Bela” by Toquinho and Jorge Ben.

(This video contains some flashing lights so please give a warning beforehand if it’s played in class)

DJ Marky is still very much active. He released a new single a month or two ago and just a few days ago had concerts in Argentina and Scotland. I follow his instagram, in which he documents his trips to cities where he performs concerts, hangs out with other DJs, shares other’s recordings of his concerts, and also promotes his weekly or twice-a-week live DJ sessions on Twitch, Twitter, and Youtube. If I could personally chime in, I would LOVE to go to a concert of his sometime.

After the Ethiopian government and military forces in the northern Tigray region agreed to a permanent cease-fire, Ethiopia started taking steps toward peace. The agreement, made by Ethiopia, paves the way for Ethiopian federal security forces to take control of all airports, highways, and federal facilities within the Tigray region. It also allows federal troops to enter Mekelle, the regional capital of Tigray. Ethiopia claims this transition will be “expeditious, smooth, peaceful, and coordinated.”

Nevertheless, the Tigrayan people are under high skepticism of Ethiopia. These are the same soldiers who have been fighting the Tigrayans for the past two years. The United Nations and human rights organizations have accused many of them of committing horrors that constitute as war crimes.

So, will Ethiopia help the Tigray people? Are justice and equity being sought out? Will the Tigrayan people continue to suffer at the hands of the Ethiopian government?

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/04/world/asia/india-air-pollution-sickness.html

The New York Times reports the start of air pollution season in northern India and its drastic impacts this week in New Delhi and across the state. The primary cause is due to straw burning from leftover rice harvests by farmers, a process that releases particulate matter into the air. The air quality has become so bad that schools have gone online, and residents have been asked to work from home to prevent exposure. Air pollution killed more Indians than any other risk factor in 2019 and is only increasing. Though the political debate is heating up as India’s 2024 elections approach, it is important to reflect on the colonialist history behind these events in the first place.

This article reminded me of the agricultural reforms set when India was under British rule. The zamindar system established was meant to collect taxes from local landlords, but landlords took advantage by increasing taxes and forcing poor farmers to become tenants under them. The establishment of a cash crop-based economy was to the benefit of the British, making it more challenging to create an internal market. Each of these reforms disproportionally affected, and still impact, the large, rural, and poor population who primarily work in agriculture. As such, crop burning is tied to systems established centuries prior to today.

The Guardian reported that leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the Brazilian presidential election. As we discussed with Professor Holt, Lula was originally elected president in 2002 leading to a leftist government that pushed social programs to address long standing structural inequalities in Brazil, like Zero Hunger, but became involved in political corruption that led to his arrest. Bolsonaro is dismissive of women, the LGBTQ, Brazilians of color, and social programs. He was elected in 2018 on a promise to crack down on corruption (see Duiker page 214). This latest election was followed by support from world leaders in the U.S., Venezuela, Canada, and Mexico as well as from outside of the Americas in China, Russia, Australia and others. This support comes with the hope for democracy in Brazil, stronger trade relations, and environmental action. This is in light of economic exploitation of the Amazon River basin for farming that may threaten the ecology of the planet according to our textbook readings (see Duiker page 214). The article mentions measures being taken by Norway, who will resume subsidies for the protection of the Amazon that stopped under Bolsonaro, who may reject Lula’s victory and threaten Brazilian democracy. This highlights Brazil’s growing power as China hopes to challenge the .US. with their combined economies. Through this election we can see the fragility of Brazilian democracy and its relationships with authoritarian leaders that have plagued the nation since its independence from colonial/imperial rule.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/31/a-new-era-world-leaders-react-to-lulas-victory-over-bolsonaro-in-brazil