G-7's 'Critical Raw Materials' Talk: Just Another Name for Resource Grab
📰 THE STORY: Bloomberg reports that G-7 finance ministers will meet in France to discuss 'securing supplies' of critical raw materials and providing ongoing 'support for Ukraine.' The narrative focuses on economic stability and aiding a nation under attack, framing these discussions as vital for global security and progress. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: The G-7 powers, and
their predecessors, have a long and bloody history of 'securing supplies' from the Global South. For example, during King Leopold II's reign over the Congo Free State from 1885-1908, the demand for rubber, a 'critical raw material' of its era, led to the deaths of an estimated 10 million Congolese people. More recently, the 2019 US-backed coup in Bolivia against Evo Morales was widely linked to
the country's vast lithium reserves, a 'critical raw material' for electric vehicle batteries. The rhetoric shifts, but the underlying drive for resource control remains constant. Double Standard: Western media and political bodies like the G-7 consistently frame 'securing supplies' as a matter of economic necessity when it benefits their industries, while ignoring or actively participating in the
resource exploitation that devastates developing nations. The immense wealth extracted from countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo – where minerals vital for modern electronics like cobalt and coltan are mined, often by child labor, while Western corporations profit – rarely merits G-7 level 'concern.' Instead, 'support for Ukraine' is highlighted, which involves funneling billions into a