Episode description

Following the 2019 uprising that deposed longtime leader Omar Bashir, Sudan is suffering from an economic disaster, another military coup, neoliberal rot and foreign interference from countries in the region and the West. 

To understand what’s happening and why, Rania Khalek was joined by Magdi El Gizouli, a Sudanese academic and fellow of the Rift Valley Institute, as well as frequent commentator and writer on Sudanese affairs on his blog Still Sudan.

Time Codes:
0:00 Intro

2:02 2019 uprising: What happened & why?

12:05 What are the military’s interests?

14:38 Foreign influence: Egypt, Israel & the Gulf

18:45 Importance of oil to Sudan’s economy

22:34 Consequences of neoliberalism 

27:14 Debt, Inflation, hunger & Western duplicity 

35:32 IMF pushing removal of subsidies

42:03 1964 failed revolution

46:48 Failed uprisings around the world and capitalist rot

54:50 What did Sudan do in Darfur?

1:01:27 South Sudan

1:04:23 How Ethiopia’s war & dam impact Sudan

1:10:37 Why Omar Bashir’s shifting positions couldn’t save him

1:14:24 Sudan’s integration into the pro-Israel regional security architecture

1:19:57 Why has hunger in the countryside increased?