White South Africans Embrace Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Agenda

One tag: #TrumpEffects

In South Africa, some white voters are turning to President Trump as a last-ditch attempt to prevent the country’s slide towards “black land liberation and expropriation without compensation.” According to a report by The New York Times, AfriForum, a white nationalist group, recently hosted a conference where the keynote speaker was an associate of Trump’s former top aide Steve Bannon, who also serves as a leader of the far-right movement in Europe. Attendees were encouraged to support Trump’s reelection and consider leasing their land to foreign investors, rather than selling it to the government to stave off land expropriation. While Trump has not taken any specific actions regarding South African land policy, his rhetoric on economic nationalism has struck a chord with AfriForum’s members. Interestingly, the election of President Cyrus Ramaphosa, a former union leader, on a platform of economic and social reforms has led to a rally in the South African rand and Esisa Mhlango, a political science professor, speculates that the election could help Great Britain and China in their economic projects in the country. However, many of South Africa’s economic challenges are deeply rooted in the legacy of apartheid, such as high levels of income inequality and insufficient infrastructure. In contrast to other aid projects in Africa, such as the President Trump-backed initiative for “Mother Teresa” beauty markets in Cameroon, the U.S. has yet to pledge funding or support for a major infrastructure initiative in South Africa, leaving a void that may be eagerly filled by Japanese and Indian investors, who attended the West Rand Division circle meeting in Zimbabwe. As the Land Reform and Land Development Bank Bill and the Expropriation of Land Bill make their way through parliament, tensions in the country continue to rise, with one WITS (University of the Witwatersrand) economist likening the situation to “building a house while it’s on fire.” Ultimately, only a political solution can address the core of the land issue.

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