Geopolitical Economy Report

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis published a jaw-droppingly misleading graph that portrays China as spending more on its military than the US. In reality, the Pentagon’s budget is roughly three times larger. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=tD4P-vWWGLc Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/23/china-military-spending-st-louis-fed-graph

Brazil and Argentina are making plans for a Latin American currency called the Sur, to “boost regional trade and reduce reliance on the US dollar”. Lula had pledged it while running for president. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=mudBO1iffOo Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/22/brazil-argentina-latin-american-currency-dollar Latin America’s plan to challenge US dollar with new currency and ‘regional financial architecture’: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/12/01/latin-america-us-dollar-currency

Historian Aaron Good discusses the CIA's coup against Guatemala's President to support United Fruit Company, US imperialism in Latin America, the CIA's assassination manual and techniques, US overthrowing Latin American governments, consequences of Guatemala's coup, and US involvement in third world operations.

BRICS challenge US dollar dominance, Saudi considers selling oil in other currencies; China counters US dollar hegemony with gold reserves; Economist Zoltan Pozsar declares the end of US unipolar era; China reshapes global financial system through de-dollarization and central bank digital currencies; Mainstream economist raises concerns about dollar's reserve currency status

Peru has large reserves of copper, gold, zinc, silver, lead, iron, and natural gas. After a coup overthrew left-wing President Pedro Castillo, the US ambassador, CIA veteran Lisa Kenna, met with mining and energy ministers to discuss “investments”. Europe is importing Peruvian LNG to replace Russian energy. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=WNR_CI2U__w Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/19/peru-resources-mining-gas-investment Interview with Peruvian activist about the coup: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/12/10/peru-coup-president-pedro-castillo CIA agent turned US ambassador met with defense minister day before Peru coup: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/12/14/coup-us-ambassador-peru-cia US now world’s top LNG exporter, as Europe boycotts cheaper Russian gas: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/04/us-lng-exporter-europe-russia-gas

In 2020 and 2021, the wealthiest 1% of the world’s population took nearly two-thirds of all new wealth – six times greater than the wealth made by the poorest 90% of workers. Yet while billionaires get richer, global poverty is increasing, Oxfam warns. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3YL_iAA06nY Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/17/rich-global-wealth-inequality-oxfam

The US claimed unelected coup leader Juan Guaidó was "interim president" of Venezuela from January 2019 to December 2022, when his former allies in the right-wing opposition removed him from the position. Washington however still refuses to recognize elected President Nicolás Maduro. Geopolitical Economy Report editor-in-chief Ben Norton discusses the end of the meme-worthy character with Venezuelan journalist Jesús Rodríguez Espinoza, who runs the independent news website Orinoco Tribune. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=sTjKvZmY7w4 Support Orinoco Tribune at https://orinocotribune.com

French intellectual Emmanuel Todd argues that the Ukraine proxy war is the start of WWIII, analyzing its impact on global stability and the US imperial system. The podcast explores the tensions between the US, Russia, and China, and the weakening of the United States empire. It also discusses the diminishing sovereignty of Europe and the flaws of using nominal GDP to measure Russia's economic power.

Economists Radhika Desai & Michael Hudson discuss the decline of US hegemony, explore the rise of a multipolar world, and highlight the contest between imperialism and anti-imperialism in international relations. They also delve into the economic structures of post World War II United States, the implications of the US debt bubble, and China's success in managing debt through their socialist system.

Former DIA analyst Ana Belén Montes was imprisoned for 20 years for sharing intelligence with Cuba that helped it prevent US attacks and sabotage. Upon being released, she condemned the “suffocating embargo” that makes Cubans “suffer.” VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=KuE7tVbD7qY Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/10/ana-belen-montes-20-years-prison-cuba-blockade Illegal US blockade against Cuba continues harming millions on 60th anniversary: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/02/03/illegal-us-blockade-cuba-60th-anniversary Entire world votes 185 to 2 against blockade of Cuba – US and Israel are rogue states at UN: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/11/03/un-vote-blockade-cuba-us-israel