Francisco Louçã
Like Leopold, king of the Belgians at the end of the 19th century, Donald Trump looks at Ukraine as his private backyard, which he could share with his friends, especially the super-oligarchs who surround him in the White House. Congo was Leopold's private property, which he exploited at his pleasure. The intensive production of rubber left a trail of deaths, but His Majesty grew rich. Is Trump's way of looking at Ukraine's wealth any different? Well, it isn't. Rare earth elements are the resources necessary for communication companies, and Trump guarantees them the plunder. All good chaps.
The numbers were the first statement of this extraction plan. Trump stated: they owe us 500 billion. In reality, American expenses and investment in the war were 175 billion, of which 70 were allocated to purchases from American companies. They were announced as loans and donations, but now the White House demands five times the actual expenditure. The lesson about the generous support from the United States has been learned.
The plan continued and Trump explained that he wanted half the profits from the sale of these rare minerals, from the value of future concessions and from the benefits obtained through the operation of ports and other infrastructure. Leopold had everything, Trump wants half of five times as much and, as one would expect, Zelensky accepted the next day by promising to defend his country from looting. European promises regarding Ukraine's risk in the hands of its "former ally", in the words of our president, counted for little—it was all for nothing, the capitulation was faster than the ultimatum. Blackrock, which had already distinguished itself in managing the invasion of Iraq, now returns to the attack. The world is small.
The alliance between Trump and Putin is the other side of this coin and, cunningly, the Russian leader offers American companies a business route to his country's resources. Peace among oligarchs is the result of this manoeuvre. And the European powers hold one meeting after another. Will we get used to this?
This text is part of Francisco Louçã's contribution to the podcast "A Little More Blue", which also features journalist Fernando Alves and poet Rita Taborda Duarte. The complete podcast here.