The Trigger: A “Disputed” Election in a French Puppet State

Guinea-Bissau’s November 23, 2025, presidential and parliamentary elections were a textbook setup for imperial sabotage. Incumbent Umaro Sissoco Embaló, who clawed his way to power in 2020 amid gunfire and French whispers, was facing a legitimacy cliff: his five-year term had technically expired months earlier, but the Supreme Court—stacked with his allies—pushed the vote back to buy time. Opposition firebrand Fernando Gomes da Silva (better known as Fernando Dias), a 47-year-old reformer from the Social Renewal Party, surged ahead in early tallies, promising audits of the central bank and an end to the CFA franc’s colonial chokehold. But results? Suppressed. Both camps claimed victory, gunshots echoed near the presidential palace on November 26, and by evening, the military rolled in. Embaló was “arrested” in his office around 1 p.m., no violence reported, just a quiet deposition.  He fled to Senegal on a French-chartered jet the next day. ECOWAS and the AU condemned it faster than you can say “sanctions,” suspending Bissau and demanding “constitutional order.”  Classic: any whiff of African self-rule gets the globalist boot.

Is this a Revolution as seen in the AES?

The “High Military Command for the Restoration of National Security and Public Order,” led by Brigadier General Dinis Incanha, made a bold move that night by taking control of state TV. They announced measures including sealed borders, a 7 p.m. GMT curfew, a halt to the electoral process, and restrictions on media. Bissau remained calm, featuring checkpoints, quiet streets, and closed businesses as soldiers patrolled the area. By November 27, the military appointed Major-General Horta Inta-A Na Man as the transitional president, who took an oath with a salute and promised a one-year transition to “normalcy,” along with new elections overseen by the military. The junta claimed to have thwarted a “plot by politicians, a drug lord, and foreign nationals” to manipulate the vote, hinting at involvement from French intelligence and CFA enforcers. This marks Guinea-Bissau’s ninth coup since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974, but labeling it as “coup-prone” misses the bigger picture. With a population of 2.2 million and an average income of just $963 a year, the country has become a hub for cocaine trafficking, partly due to France’s complacency as long as profits flow. Under Embaló’s administration, the narco-trade flourished, according to a 2025 Global Initiative report, with French companies eyeing untapped offshore oil while locals suffer. The military’s actions did not involve widespread violence; instead, they arrested electoral officials and opposition leader Domingos Simões Pereira, but reports of bloodshed were absent. This represents a calculated approach: pause the fraudulent activities, review the financials, and prepare for legitimate elections.

The Stakes – Oil, CFA Slavery, and the Narco Veil

When you look closer, it’s clear that money drives France’s interests in Guinea-Bissau. While the country sits along key Atlantic drug routes, that’s just a facade for the lucrative offshore operations of Exxon and Total—fields that could compete with Nigeria’s if local hands controlled them. President Embaló’s strategy involves inviting French special forces, echoing anti-Russian sentiments, and signing IMF agreements that divert 50% of reserves back to Paris. The CFA franc remains a colonial throwback, allowing Bissau to print money under French oversight, which stifles industrial growth—raw cashews are exported, and oil ambitions remain unfulfilled. The coup’s real advantage? It postpones the electoral charade, creating space for renegotiation. Expect audits to uncover billions funneled through “cooperation agreements.” Globalists lament “instability,” but for them, stability means relying on Africans as constant cash sources.

AES – The Sovereign Model Guinea-Bissau Must Emulate

Now, let’s shift our focus to the AES model that Guinea-Bissau could adopt. Look at the AES—comprised of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger—these juntas expelled French forces in 2023 and transformed their deserts into goldmines by 2025. They’re not reckless; they’re fiscal nationalists achieving results that make France uneasy. The AES has formed a joint force of 5,000, established in January 2025, that has effectively tackled jihadists along their borders, utilizing Russian technology instead of the failed French Barkhane mission, which saw a staggering 2,860% increase in deaths. Burkina Faso’s Traoré planted 5 million trees in a single day to boost food sovereignty, while Mali’s Goïta promotes a new sense of Malian patriotism. The outcome? A drop in violence and approval ratings soaring above 90%.

Following its exit from ECOWAS on January 29, 2025, the AES launched the Confederal Bank for Investment and Development (CBID) in May, offering autonomous loans for mining without IMF conditions. Niger has nationalized its uranium, now sending it to Rosatom for regional reactors, while Burkina Faso is repurchasing gold mines at low prices, and Mali is refining its own gold. Trade benefits include zero roaming fees and a unified 0.5% import duty, with plans for a gold-backed Sahel currency to replace the CFA franc. GDP growth is projected between 5-7% in 2025, with APSA-Sahel promoting local seed production to reduce dependency on imports. Guinea-Bissau’s junta could quickly replicate AES successes: join the passport club, audit CFA transactions, and engage with BRICS for oil projects. Embaló’s escape to Senegal signals the empire’s retreat from its clients. The AES model demonstrates that by ousting the French and reclaiming resources, countries can achieve financial balance.

Imperial Rot Meets African Resolve

 As ECOWAS, often seen as France’s regional puppet, threatens further sanctions, remember that the AES has faced tougher challenges and emerged wealthier and more independent. Guinea-Bissau’s military leaders, like their counterparts in the Sahel, are choosing sovereignty over subservience.

Written By Tatenda Belle Panashe

Youth-led demonstrations denounced the election as rigged

Youth-led demonstrations, fuelled by social media campaigns using hashtags like #EndBiyaEra, have vehemently denounced the election as rigged, echoing the controversies surrounding the 2018 election, where international observers noted significant irregularities. Biya’s stance on globalization is rooted in his resistance to unchecked Western influence, prioritizing African agency and self-determination. A notable example of this is the “Chicken War” he sparked in 2007 by increasing tariffs on imported poultry, which led to a 300% boost in local production and protected farmers from subsidized European exports. This move was hailed as a victory for food sovereignty, and Biya has continued to advocate for reforming global trade rules, arguing that they perpetuate Northern dominance, at forums like the African Union.

Biya’s ties with China are also noteworthy, with the country funding 70% of Cameroon’s infrastructure projects, such as the Kribi deep-sea port, without imposing conditions on governance. This pivot away from traditional Western partners is a hallmark of Biya’s anti-globalist stance. However, this stance coexists with selective engagement, as Cameroon remains part of the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility, accepting fiscal advice while resisting deeper political conditions. For Biya, such policies embody conservative self-reliance, but critics argue that they enable elite capture, with corruption scandals siphoning billions of dollars amid rampant youth poverty. As Biya begins his eighth term, the country remains deeply divided, with many questioning the legitimacy of his rule and the future of Cameroon’s development.

Biya Western Ties: Independence or Puppetry?

How Biya’s Regime Hollowed Out Cameroon

Cameroon’s economy is a stark reminder of its unfulfilled potential, with growth stagnating at a mere 3% annually since the 1980s oil boom. The country’s crippling import dependency and lack of industrial base have resulted in a vicious cycle, where raw cocoa is exported to Europe only to be imported back as finished chocolate at a staggering 10 times the price. Officially, unemployment stands at 4%, but the reality is far more dire, with youth joblessness hovering between 13-15%, driving a brain drain that sees over 70,000 skilled workers fleeing the country every year. The state of Cameroon’s infrastructure is equally alarming, with potholed roads, frequent blackouts in the capital, and a healthcare system that fails to prevent one in five children from dying before the age of five. Corruption is the lifeblood of the regime, with Transparency International ranking Cameroon among the most corrupt countries in Africa. The Biya family is alleged to have amassed over $2 billion since 1982 through shell companies and secret Swiss bank accounts, while public funds mysteriously disappear into “ghost projects” and civil servants are left striking over unpaid salaries. The Anglophone crisis, sparked by Biya’s centralist crackdown on English-speaking regions in 2016, has claimed over 6,000 lives, displaced 700,000 people, and turned the Northwest and Southwest provinces into war zones of repression and militia terror. Biya’s response has been to impose internet blackouts, carry out mass arrests, and deploy French-trained troops to enforce a bilingual divide-and-rule policy straight out of the colonial playbook.

What is going on Cameroon is a classic case of neocolonial extractivism, where Cameroon’s economy is trapped in a state of perpetual subservience. The country’s currency, the CFA franc, is pegged to the euro and printed in France, ensuring that 50% of foreign reserves flow directly into Parisian banks. IMF loans come with strings attached, forcing Cameroon to privatize its resources to French companies like TotalEnergies, slash subsidies, and watch as inequality soars, with the top 1% of the population, including Biya’s inner circle, hoarding 40% of the country’s wealth. Biya himself rules Cameroon from the comfort of his villas in Geneva or his hideaways on the French Riviera, with decisions being faxed to Yaoundé from the French embassy. This is not sovereignty; it’s a debt-financed occupation, where global finance, dictated by Paris, calls the shots. Cameroon is forced to sell its uranium to Orano, its cocoa to Barry Callebaut, and keep the CFA printing press humming to benefit French interests. The result is a twisted game of economic colonialism, where Cameroon’s resources are exploited to enrich France, while its people are left to suffer the consequences. 

Milei’s La Libertad Avanza Wins Argentine Midterms with 40.7% Vote

On October 26, 2025, Argentine voters propelled President Javier Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party to victory in legislative elections, securing 40.7% of the vote and boosting its seats to 111 in the lower house and 20 in the upper house. The win strengthens Milei’s position to advance free-market reforms amid inflation over 200% and poverty above 50%. U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated Milei. Milei won so BIG in Argentina that his party surged its parliament deputies by 172%, from 37 and senators by 233%, from 6 to 20. This is HUGE! He has defied all media expectations by far.

Milei’s Midterm Triumph: A Sovereign Slap to the Globalist Elite

Argentina’s peso is skyrocketing, with a 10% overnight surge, as investors finally catch a whiff of real, earned money on the horizon, not just printed cash. This isn’t just a win for Buenos Aires; it’s a roadmap for every nation suffocating under the weight of IMF debt and EU-style bureaucratic red tape. For decades, Argentina has been a guinea pig for globalist experiments gone horribly wrong. The country’s history of Peronist populism, marked by endless subsidies, reckless money-printing, and kowtowing to international lenders, has left it with a staggering 200%+ inflation rate, a decimated middle class, and a sovereignty sold to the highest bidder in Washington. But then came Milei in 2023, the economist who boldly called out the IMF as a “scam” and vowed to blow up the central bank. While skeptics mocked him, two years in, his austerity measures have slashed the deficit from 6% of GDP to near-zero, tamed inflation to single digits, and sparked a private-sector resurgence. Now, with his coalition’s midterm mandate, Milei is poised to lock in deregulation, privatize state-owned dinosaurs, and tell the World Bank to take a hike.

I’ve seen countless “reform” promises fizzle out into cronyism, but Milei is different – he’s the anti-globalist antidote, prioritizing national wealth over transnational handouts. Milei isn’t just balancing the books; he’s restoring the family, faith, and fiscal virtue that Peronist hedonism has eroded. His coalition’s surge has crushed the socialists and their cultural rot, signaling that Argentines are done with identity politics and open borders that flood labor markets with cheap imports. Think of it as the Southern Cone’s version of MAGA: secure borders, Bibles back in schools, and no more taxpayer-funded gender clinics. And globally, this win has Trump’s fingerprints all over it – the Donald himself endorsed Milei pre-vote, tweeting that his “chainsaw economics” is the cure for woke socialism. It’s a tipping point, as Milei himself proclaimed, turning Argentina from a cautionary tale into a beacon for populists from Brazil to Budapest.

Financially, the upside is enormous. That 10% peso pop is the market’s way of pricing in lower default risk and higher yields on Argentine bonds, with spreads already tightening. With congressional cover, expect Milei to greenlight more mining concessions – lithium is the new oil – and slash red tape for agribusiness exports. Inflation is on track to dip below 5% by mid-2026, and GDP growth could hit 4-5% if he keeps the pedal down. Sure, the losers – unions, Peronist dead-enders, and their media megaphones – are howling about “austerity cruelty,” but that’s code for “stop stealing our future.”

As investors, we thrive on clarity: Milei’s victory screams “buy the dip on ARGT ETFs” and short the basket-case currencies still hooked on Soros-style sorcery. In the end, Argentina’s midterms aren’t about one man’s ego – they’re a conservative clarion call against the globalist grind. Milei is proving that you can slash spending without slashing throats, honor God and gold without groveling to Geneva.

Written By Tatenda Belle Panashe

This high-level event features a diverse assembly of African heads of state, government ministers, faith-based leaders, academics, civil society actors, social innovators, and youth leaders. Delegates have gathered to engage in strategic conversations, policy workshops, and interactive panels on the continent’s democratic challenges and opportunities.

With the theme “Building Resilient Democratic Institutions for Africa’s Future,” ICAD 2025 aims to address key issues such as electoral integrity, civic engagement, corruption, human rights, institutional reform, and inclusive governance. The agenda also explores the intersection between democracy and sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Speaking during the opening plenary, keynote speakers emphasized the urgent need to protect democratic institutions amid rising authoritarian tendencies and civic suppression in parts of the continent. The event also spotlighted the role of young people and digital technology in transforming governance models and political participation in Africa.

Representing LN24 International, Senior Correspondents Yvonne Katsande and Hillary Panashe are on the ground providing exclusive interviews, panel recaps, and behind-the-scenes insights from the conference.

Key Highlights So Far:

• Panel on Electoral Systems: Experts from Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa discussed how to build more credible and transparent elections.

• Youth Inclusion Session: Young leaders called for better representation and digital access to governance platforms.

• Faith and Democracy Dialogue: Religious leaders spoke on promoting peace, justice, and civic responsibility through faith-based initiatives.

The conference continues through the week with additional sessions focused on media freedom, constitutional reforms, regional cooperation, and post-conflict democratic rebuilding.

ICAD 2025 is widely regarded as a critical forum at a time when the future of democracy in Africa faces both significant risks and unprecedented potential.