Good morning, Milton Allimadi joins the program today on a Michael Brooks Thursday to discuss the on-going protest and civil unrest in Sudan over President Omar al-Bashir’s austerity measures. Allimadi and Brooks will also preview the upcoming South African general elections set to take place in May. We’re live at 12:00 PM EST.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has ruled for over 30 years but recent protests over bread prices and a rise in poverty have led to anti-austerity marches against al-Bashir’s government. Last week, al-Bashir declared a year-long national emergency which according to France24, “dissolves the federal and provincial governments and appoints 16 army officers and two officers from the feared National Intelligence and Security Service as provincial governors.”  Allimadi believes there is now a chance for open elections which will not be led by opposition parties but by the professional class and those leading the bread price protests–i.e., unions and students. While there are several level of coercive power structures standing in the way of these unions and student organizers, these groups represent the best means towards a more equitable Sudanese representative government. Allimadi and Brooks then take a wider view on the issue of corporate media coverage across Africa which highlights peoples’ suffering without explaining the systemic structural issues of extraction and exploitation which fuel the cyclical atrocities across the continent.

South Africa will hold elections under Cyril Ramaphosa in May; it will be the sixth election held since the end of the apartheid system in 1994. Allimadi breaks down the issues animating voters in South Africa before they head to the polls this spring including land reform, expropriation and the larger economic disparity between white and black households. Allimadi believes if South Africa does not reconcile these gaping inequalities will threaten their democracy’s existence. Ending on a positive note, Allimadi suggests listeners interested in learning more about inequality and organizing in South Africa should check out Steve Biko’s speeches and lectures. Biko’s intellectual output provides a roadmap for how African countries can forge real autonomy in the contemporary global economy.

And in the Fun Half: AOC sets up inquiries into further Trump Organization investigations, Mark Meadows says his use of a black woman as a prop is not racist–the accusation of such is racist, Rashida Tlaib explains how white people can do something racist while not identifying as A Racist, but old Tea Party clips show that maybe Mark Meadow’s is a racist, and Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence wonders what Trump has said about race behind closed doors, Sam accepts Dave Rubin’s invitation to debate, how to address undemocratic government in Nigeria, the implication of a second Brexit referendum, Guaido’s trip to meet Bolsonaro in Brazil, Bernie wants a filibuster proof revolution, why congress should investigate real estate’s role in oligarchy, plus your calls & IMs!

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