{ "article": { "title" : "Hope Without Illusion: Astrology of Liberation, June 2025", "author" : "Jonathan Dent", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/astrology-of-liberation-june-2025-horoscope", "date" : "2025-06-14 12:01:00 -0400", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/Dinner-for-One_Sarah-Saroufim.jpg", "excerpt" : "The astrology of June 2025 unfolds with a sacred tension between care and grief. As the month begins, the two most positive planets in Astrology, Venus and Jupiter, move into their home signs of vitality, nourishment, and abundance. Venus enters Taurus on June 6, and Jupiter enters Cancer on June 9. These transits would typically suggest relief, abundance, and restoration. But in our current world, where Gaza has been starved of aid since March 2 and genocide has ravaged not only Gaza but also the Sudan and Congo, the question becomes: how do we hold hope in the face of so much devastation? Astrology teaches us that we must attempt to hold both truths: the potential for growth, and the reality of grief.", "content" : "The astrology of June 2025 unfolds with a sacred tension between care and grief. As the month begins, the two most positive planets in Astrology, Venus and Jupiter, move into their home signs of vitality, nourishment, and abundance. Venus enters Taurus on June 6, and Jupiter enters Cancer on June 9. These transits would typically suggest relief, abundance, and restoration. But in our current world, where Gaza has been starved of aid since March 2 and genocide has ravaged not only Gaza but also the Sudan and Congo, the question becomes: how do we hold hope in the face of so much devastation? Astrology teaches us that we must attempt to hold both truths: the potential for growth, and the reality of grief.Venus in Taurus and Jupiter in Cancer will bring our attention to the themes of resources, security, and the emotional sanctuaries we are still trying to build amidst collapse. These are soft transits, but softness does not mean weakness. In a time of global brutality, tenderness and community care are revolutionary. This month’s astrology asks us to reclaim communal care as a form of resistance.VENUS ENTERS TAURUS – JUNE 6, 2025Venus will remain in Taurus until July 5.Venus in Taurus is sensual, earthy, and life-affirming. Venus rules Taurus, and when in this sign, Venus wants to feed us. Literally. Taurus governs food, land, pleasure, and resources. How poignant that this ingress happens while the people of Gaza are being starved. While we cannot promise that astrology will provide material aid, Venus in Taurus reminds us of what must be prioritized: dignity, sustenance, and beauty in a world that has forgotten how to care.This is a time to ask: What are we hoarding? What are we willing to share? And what beauty are we still allowed to create in defiance of erasure?JUPITER ENTERS CANCER – JUNE 9, 2025Jupiter will remain in Cancer until June 30, 2026.Jupiter is exalted in Cancer, which means it is able to function with great dignity here. The planet of expansion, wisdom, and spiritual truth moves into the sign of ancestral memory, home, and emotional protection. In its highest expression, Jupiter in Cancer helps us expand our capacity to care, for ourselves, our families (chosen and blood), and our communities.But exaltation does not guarantee ease. Jupiter in Cancer will amplify whatever it touches, including grief. Cancer is a sign of both fierce protection and deep sensitivity. We are likely to see increased emphasis on borders, nationhood, and homeland throughout this transit. This is particularly poignant given the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Jupiter’s presence in Cancer will continue to raise global attention to humanitarian crises, but it will not undo them.We began 2025 with Mars retrograde in Cancer, a transit that brought the god of war into the most intimate of places, the home. We witnessed devastation, dislocation, and a spiritual exhaustion that only comes when the sanctuary is no longer safe. Then came the eclipses. We had the Virgo Lunar Eclipse on March 14 and then the Aries Solar Eclipse on March 29, which only intensified the genocide in Gaza. But now, finally, Jupiter enters the same terrain Mars ravaged. There is potential here for restoration—not in the sense of naive optimism—but as a spiritual reckoning. What have we lost? What are we still capable of rebuilding?FULL MOON IN SAGITTARIUS – JUNE 11, 2025The Full Moon in Sagittarius peaks at 3:44 AM ESTThis lunation is one of the more promising moments of the month. Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, and with Jupiter now in Cancer, this full moon is ruled by an exalted Jupiter, a powerful indication that a restoration of some type may be underway. Full Moons are revelations. And Sagittarius governs global affairs, justice, and the pursuit of higher wisdom.We may see moral awakenings, whistleblower revelations, or large-scale protests take center stage under this lunation. Already, more people in the U.S. and around the world are breaking their silence around Gaza. The atrocities are no longer deniable, and as the veil lifts, we are watching people risk jobs, reputations, and even safety to speak for Palestine and for the dream of collective liberation.This Full Moon echoes a truth that many have long held close: the path to healing requires unflinching honesty. We must understand the architecture of harm so intimately that we can begin to dismantle it from the inside out. The walls of silence are cracking. And from those cracks, truth pours in.Ask yourself: What truth am I now ready to live by? What story must be told? What risk am I willing to take for the world I want to help create?SUMMER SOLSTICE + CANCER SEASON BEGINS – JUNE 20, 2025The Summer Solstice marks the longest day of the year and the beginning of Cancer season. It’s a spiritual turning point that reminds us of the ongoing cosmic dance between light and darkness. Solstice energy is sacred across cultures because it affirms that cycles are real, and I hope that this Summer Solstice will indicate a departure from a cycle of devastation and the emergence of a new cycle of restoration.NEW MOON IN CANCER – JUNE 25, 2025The New Moon in Cancer occurs at 6:31 AM EST.The Cancer New Moon is an invitation inward. It brings us back to the emotional center of all this astrology. This is the first New Moon with Jupiter in Cancer, and it opens a new cycle of nurturing, remembering, and rooting.New Moons are planting moments. Let this one be a prayer. What needs to be protected? Where is the emotional ground you want to grow from? Set intentions around home, healing, lineage, and community care.CANCER IN YOUR CHART: WHAT TO WATCH FORSince the sign of Cancer will prove to be one of the main characters during June 2025, it’s important for you to track where you have Cancer within your own birth chart. We all have Cancer in 1 of our 12 Whole Sign houses. Below, you’ll find where you have Cancer in your chart based on your RISING sign, and also a few of the significations of that house. It’ll be helpful this month to reflect on the significations of your Cancer house, and to plant seeds of action on the Cancer New Moon that you can take within these life areas. ARIES RISING: Cancer in your 4th house — Home, ancestry, family, roots TAURUS RISING: Cancer in your 3rd house — Writing, communication, siblings, neighbors GEMINI RISING: Cancer in your 2nd house — Money, values, survival, self-worth CANCER RISING: Cancer in your 1st house — Self, body, personal rebirth, appearance LEO RISING: Cancer in your 12th house — Grief, solitude, spiritual renewal, hidden enemies VIRGO RISING: Cancer in your 11th house — Community, social impact, future dreaming LIBRA RISING: Cancer in your 10th house — Career, public roles, long-term goals SCOPRIO RISING: Cancer in your 9th house — Wisdom, publishing, teaching, travel SAGITTARIUS RISING: Cancer in your 8th house — Shared resources, debt, death, rebirth CAPRICORN RISING: Cancer in your 7th house — Partnerships, love, clients AQUARIUS RISING: Cancer in your 6th house — Work, physical health, daily routines, coworkers, pets PISCES RISING: Cancer in your 5th house — Creativity, children, erotic power, child-like joyThe Astrology of June 2025 is infused with transits that speak to the possibility of restoration and community care amidst the heaviness of grief. Let this month be a return to the soul of what matters. To hope, not as illusion, but as a decision we make to keep showing up for each other.May Palestine be free. May Sudan be free. May Congo be free. May all of the places currently struggling against the cruelties of imperialism become freer. May nourishment return. May community care guide us.And so it is." } , "relatedposts": [ { "title" : "Trump’s attack on Venezuela: An Exemplary Punishment", "author" : "Simón Rodriguez", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/trumps-attack-on-venezuela-an-exemplary-punishment", "date" : "2026-01-14 10:13:00 -0500", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/Uncle_Sam_Straddles_the_Americas_Cartoon.jpg", "excerpt" : "After four months of maritime siege in which the US military killed more than 100 people in alleged anti-drug trafficking operations and seized oil tankers, as well as the bombing of a small dock in northwestern Venezuela, Trump launched a large-scale attack and kidnapped de facto ruler Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who were in Fuerte Tiuna, the country’s main military complex in Caracas.", "content" : "After four months of maritime siege in which the US military killed more than 100 people in alleged anti-drug trafficking operations and seized oil tankers, as well as the bombing of a small dock in northwestern Venezuela, Trump launched a large-scale attack and kidnapped de facto ruler Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who were in Fuerte Tiuna, the country’s main military complex in Caracas.The invaders attacked civilian targets such as the port of La Guaira, the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research, the Charallave airport, and electrical transmission infrastructure, as well as military installations in Caracas, Maracay, and Higuerote. The preliminary toll is around 80 dead and more than a hundred wounded. The US government claims that it suffered no casualties and that it had the support of infiltrators working for the CIA. This internal collaboration was crucial to the success of the attack.The Venezuelan military defeat has political causes, beyond US technical superiority. Chavismo has prioritized coup-proofing over military effectiveness, going so far as to have one of the highest rates of generals per capita in the world, who have been given control of various economic sectors for cronyism. Furthermore, the government lacks a military strategy for asymmetric resistance to imperialist aggression.During Chávez’s administration, in 2007, there was debate over which military model to adopt. Retired General Müller Rojas criticized the large investments in sophisticated military equipment, proposed by then-Defense Minister Raúl Isaías Baduel, proposing instead a doctrine of popular resistance and asymmetric warfare. Chávez settled the debate in Baduel’s favor, and in the following years, the Venezuelan government spent billions of dollars on arms purchases from Russia and China. This equipment proved useless in the face of the US attack, as the late Müller Rojas predicted, but it was part of the patronage system that enriched the Chavista military. Ironically, Baduel died as a political prisoner in 2021.A corrupt military may be useful for repressing workers, students, or indigenous peoples, but it can easily be bribed. Maduro himself does not seem to have had much confidence in the military, having entrusted his security largely to Cuban personnel, 32 of whom died in the US attack.Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assumed the interim presidency. She declared a state of emergency to avoid the constitutional requirement to call elections in the event of the head of state’s absence. The US government has stated that, through the continuation of the naval blockade and the threat of a second attack, it hopes to ensure that the Venezuelan government serves US interests. When asked on January 4 whether they would use this pressure to demand the release of political prisoners, Trump responded emphatically that he is interested in oil, and everything else can wait. In spite of this, the Venezuelan government announced on January 8 the unilateral release of an unspecified number of political prisoners. Human rights NGOs estimate there are around 800 political prisoners.The rights of Venezuelans have never interested Trump, as demonstrated not only by his lack of interest in democratic rights in Venezuela, but also by the racist persecution of Venezuelan immigrants in the US, stigmatized by Trump as criminals and mentally ill people allegedly sent by Maduro to “invade” the country, a fascistic discourse endorsed by the Venezuelan right-wing leader María Corina Machado. Thousands of Venezuelans have been deported to Venezuela, while hundreds have been sent to the CECOT, Latin America’s largest torture center, run by the dictatorship of El Salvador, under false accusations of belonging to the Tren de Aragua, a gang classified as a terrorist organization by Trump.Delcy Rodríguez has reportedly already reached an agreement with Trump to deliver between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil. The US government would sell the oil, establishing offshore accounts for this purpose outside the control of its own Treasury Department; part of the petrodollars generated would be used to pay debtors, and payments in kind would be made to the Venezuelan state, including equipment and supplies for oil production itself, as well as food and medicine.This policy bears similarities to the “Oil for food” program applied as part of the sanctions regime of the 1990s against Iraq. That program became a huge source of corruption in the UN. We can expect something similar or worse from Trump’s corrupt government. Chevron, which already is the main oil extractor in Venezuela, is lobbying for a privileged role in Trump’s plans for oil theft, enforced through a naval blockade and threats of new attacks, as the stock capacity on land or in ships off the Venezuelan coast reached their limit and the alternative was to stop production. On January 9, Trump met executives from Chevron, Conoco-Phillips, Exxon-Mobil, among other oil companies, to lay out the profits opportunities in Venezuela enhanced by military intervention.We are facing a new version of imperialist “gunboat diplomacy” and the methods of the “Roosevelt Corollary,” on which the US based its invasion of Latin American and Caribbean countries in the first half of the 20th century, taking control of their customs, as in the cases of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nicaragua.Rodríguez’s capitulation has been interpreted by some as evidence that her rise to power was agreed with Trump, as startlingly quickly negotiations for the restoration of diplomatic relations, which were severed since 2019, have begun. For this purpose, a US delegation visited Caracas on January 9. Certainly, Chavismo’s anti-imperialism was always rather performative, it did not even nationalize the oil industry, and the US maintained an important presence through Chevron. The US remained Venezuela’s main trading partner until at least 2024.The regime is cooperating with the extortionist Trump, not resisting. The traditional right-wing opposition, which celebrated the January 3 attack (describing it as the beginning of Venezuela’s liberation), welcomes Trump’s measures. Not even Trump’s humiliation of Machado, when he declared she lacked “support” and “respect” within Venezuela, has led Venezuelan Trumpists to regain a modicum of sobriety. Their entire political strategy, after Maduro’s 2024 electoral fraud, has been solely to wait for Trump to hand them power.Trump’s priorities are different, although they could converge in the future with Machado: to distract attention from recently published documents reflecting his friendship with the criminal Jeffrey Epstein; to enhance his foreign policy based on extortion, refuting the Democratic slogan “Trump Always Chickens Out”, and to manage billions of petrodollars at the service of his business circle. And finally, in a more strategic sense, it represents the application of the new National Security doctrine, which gives priority to absolute US control of the hemisphere, expelling its imperialist competitors, China and Russia. Venezuela represented the most vulnerable point in the hemisphere for spectacular and exemplary military action. After the attack on Venezuela, threats against Colombia, Mexico, and even Greenland follow.Chavismo itself largely created its own vulnerability after years of anti-popular and anti-worker policies, such as imposing a minimum wage of less than USD$5 per month, eliminating workers’ freedom of association, persecuting indigenous peoples, defunding public health and education, and forcing the migration of 8 million Venezuelan workers, all while favoring the emergence of a new Bolivarian bourgeoisie through rampant corruption, creating new chasms of social inequality.Until 2015, Chavismo ruled with the support of electoral majorities. After its defeat in that year’s parliamentary elections, it took a dictatorial turn, relying on repression and electoral fraud, while bleeding the economy dry to pay off foreign debt, creating hellish hyperinflation. The economy contracted by around 80% between 2013 and 2021, most of this before US sanctions. The destruction was such that the export of scrap metal, obtained from the dismantling of abandoned industries, became one of Venezuela’s largest exports.It is illustrative to recall the cables from the US embassy in Caracas to the State Department, published by Wikileaks, which asked the Obama administration not to publicly confront Chávez, as this would strengthen him in the context of widespread popular rejection of the US. The current situation is different, with many Venezuelans cynically accepting US domination. Opposing imperialist intervention, on the other hand, does not save dissidents from persecution either. The presidential candidate backed by the Communist Party of Venezuela in 2024, Enrique Márquez, has been in prison for 10 months without formal charges.The humiliation to which the Venezuelan people are subjected today, under the double yoke of a dictatorship and a US siege, is brutal. The policy of aggression against Latin America and the Caribbean, the perceived sphere of US dominance, gains momentum with this attack. In the face of this we need a continental response, to defend the possibility of a free and dignified future for Venezuela and for all of Latin America and the Caribbean." } , { "title" : "A Lone Protester, Rain or Shine: One Man’s Daily Act of Dissent in Japan", "author" : "Yumiko Sakuma", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/a-lone-protester-rain-or-shine", "date" : "2026-01-13 10:00:00 -0500", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/Cover_EIP_Lone_Gaza_Japan.jpg", "excerpt" : "Photographs by Chisato Hikita", "content" : "Photographs by Chisato HikitaThe way Japan’s grassroots activism has shown up for the people of Palestine has been nothing short of extraordinary. In a country known for its low political engagement, I’ve met countless newly woken activists who not only joined the international movement but have also incorporated direct action into their daily lives through street protests, fundraising events and content creation, writing campaigns, etc. Many of them express frustration that demonstrations in Japan aren’t as large as those abroad, or that their efforts seem to yield little visible change, but their persistence and quiet stubbornness are unlike anything I’ve ever seen.One of the figures who has emerged from this movement is Yusuke Furusawa, who has taken to the streets every single day, seven days a week, for more than two years, usually for an hour or so each time. I came across him on social media and reached out while I was in Tokyo.The day we met was an excruciatingly hot Saturday in July. On my way to meet him near Shinjuku Station, a sprawling terminal of train lines, subways, and shopping complexes, he messaged to say he’d had to relocate because of a nearby Uyoku (right-wing nationalist) presence. As I exited one wing of the station, I passed a large crowd gathered around Uryu Hirano, a young hardline activist who had just lost her bid for a national council seat.Then I found Furusawa, delivering a monologue about what the Palestinian people have been enduring, about the complicity of the Japanese government, and about the tangled relationship between the U.S. military-industrial complex and the Israeli state. He stood in the middle of two opposing streams of foot traffic, turning every few seconds to address people coming from both directions, waving a large flag and holding a sign that read “Stop GAZA Genocide.”In October 2023, he had been home-bound for Covid. “I was frustrated because I wanted to go to the protests but couldn’t. Finally, feeling restless, I eventually stumbled out holding a placard, that’s how it all began. When I thought about how I’ve never really taken any actions on this issue while seeing these terrible situations unfolding every day, I just couldn’t sort out my feelings.”Furusawa makes his living as a prop maker for a broadcasting company while occasionally getting gigs as a theater actor. He wasn’t particularly political until a few years ago when he joined a local grass-roots movement to elect Satoko Kishimoto, an environmental activist and water rights activist who had lived in Belgium, to be Suginami Ward mayor against the pro-business, pro-development  incumbent. Especially, he was inspired by the Hitori Gaisen, solo street demonstration,  movement which was triggered by one person who decided to campaign by standing quietly on the street with a sign, which spread like a wild fire and resulted in a win by Kishimoto, a move viewed as a victory of the People, who were determined to stop the over development and gentrification.'I’m not really good at group activities, so rallies and marches aren’t really my thing. I get too tired trying too hard to chant or keep up with everyone else.”  Previously, he had been suffering from depression. “This has been helpful like as a daily rehabilitation activity.”Thus, he stands alone, daily and consistently. As I watched him speak under the glaring sun, I was struck by how most people don’t even look up, or notice him, seemingly so self-absorbed or focused on where they are going. Occasionally, non-Japanese people stop and take pictures of/with him. While I was there, a mother and a kid from Turkey stopped him to thank him through a translation app on her phone. She had tears in her eyes. Furusawa said he does get yelled at a few times a day and was once even choked by a person who identified as an IDF personnel.This was a few days after July 20th, when Japan had a national council election where more than 8 million people voted for candidates from the Sansei Party, which ran on “Japanese First” platform and a far-right, nationalist political messaging. Furusawa says, a few Japanese people who walk up to him with encouraging signs tend to be ultra nationalists and conservatives. “A lot of times, these guys who say to me ‘you are great for standing against the United States,’ are far right people, which makes me feel defeated.” And there are younger ones who mock him or laugh at him.Do you have an idea as to how long you’d be doing this? I asked him. Furusawa told me about the time an Aljazeela crew came to his apartment to shoot a segment on him. When he told them, “I will stop if Israel stopped bombing Gaza,” the reporter said, “That is how Japanese people forget about the Middle East.” Furusawa thinks about this episode daily. “I realized I hadn’t understood anything at all, and I felt this helplessness like all my actions over the past four months were being erased in an instant. That’s when I made the decision to do it every day. Those words swirled around me daily.”After I came back to New York, I procrastinated writing this story. I tried writing it many times in my head, but between being disappointed in the surge of xenophobia and racism in Japan, dealing with medical issues and being scared as an immigrant, my head was not in the right place to give a proper ending to this story. Then, so called “ceasefire” was announced. I thought of him and reached out.I apologized to him for not writing a story sooner. “I didn’t know how to write the story without glorifying the protest movements.”He told me attacks by people from Israel were happening increasingly, probably like three times more, especially after the UK recognized the state of Palestine. “They come at me with anger. I’ve also met a few people from Palestine thanking me with tears for what I do. I feel l need to keep a distance from these emotions because what I am really protesting against is the illegal occupation and apartheid of Palestine and how we are not really facing it.”He hadn’t stopped his protests, still standing out there every day with a flag and a sign, delivering his monologue. He does so because, for one, he did not trust the “ceasefire,” but also because what he stands against is not just the current wave of assaults, bombing, starvation, etc.“I want to keep going until we seriously tackle the issue, not just go through the superficial motions of Palestine’s state recognition. It isn’t about just stopping the war. It is about getting people to care so that nations collectively help them. I am not talking about months, more like years because it is going to take time.”Lately, after spending an hour on anti-genocide protest, he stands with another sign for 30 minutes or so before he goes home. The sign says “Delusion of Hate.” That is because he thinks Japan’s xenophobia and hatred come from delusions. “A mix of victim mentality and inferiority complex, plus delusions inflated by conspiracy theories that don’t even exist.”That is when I realized what he is really fighting is indifference. He went on, “Some might find my style of protests noisy, annoying, or unpleasant. I want them to reject it. I want to get on their nerves, or talk to their hearts. Maybe that is how we can break through the indifference. That is going to take time, like years of time.”" } , { "title" : "Sanctions are a Tool of Empire", "author" : "Collis Browne", "category" : "essays", "url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/sanctions-are-a-tool-of-empire", "date" : "2026-01-13 08:35:00 -0500", "img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/Cover_EIP_Sanctions.jpg", "excerpt" : "Sanctions & Embargoes only Hurt the People", "content" : "Sanctions & Embargoes only Hurt the PeopleIn light of the economic collapse and ongoing social and political unrest in Venezuela and Iran, we must examine U.S. economic sanctions and how they contribute to and exacerbate these dynamics.Although framed as something much more innocuous or even righteous, sanctions are a form of economic warfare used to enforce U.S. & Western empire.What Sanctions AreSanctions block a country’s sovereign ability to act freely in a global world. They restrict trade, banking, investment, and access to global markets.Despite the myth of “free markets,” sanctions show how capitalism really works: Markets are only free when they serve power.They are usually installed against nations that show signs of independence from US and Western (capitalist) interests, such as any meaningful socialist policies, nationalizing resources or limiting foreign ownership or resources or property.Although the claim is usually around “punishing” a government for human rights abuses, There are plenty of governments that commit egregious human rights abuses that are never sanctioned because of favorable business policies towards US interests (global western capital), The US is itself guilty of grave human rights abuses both at home and abroad, so cannot claim to have any moral authority, and Many of the abuses are either exaggerated, outright fabricated, or are simply scapegoats to cover the real motives. To be clear: this does not excuse human rights abuses by any government, but sanctions are never the answer: they are never driven by a moral imperative, and are never successful in improving the materials conditions of the people of the countries affected.How Sanctions are UsedUS foreign policy uses sanctions as a key part of a familiar playbook: Claim that a government is a “dictatorship” or “threat” to democracy or security Cut the country off from trade and money Cause shortages, inflation, and unemployment People suffer — food, medicine, fuel become scarce Blame the suffering on the government, not the sanctions Further stir up unrest by covert actions on the ground agitating dissent and violence Often, provide material support for right-wing political opposition that favors US intervention and resource privatizationThe goal is pressure, chaos, and instability.The End GoalSanctions are a foundational step in a long-term campaign to destabilize a country or region by creating enough pain to force one of the following outcomes: Install a pro-U.S. government Enable or justify a coup Pave the way for military interventionAll of these are about resource extraction and unfettered access for multinational and Western corporations.Fact 1: Sanctions Don’t WorkSanctions Don’t Achieve Their Stated Political GoalsSince 1970, nearly 90% of sanctions have failed — meaning they did not force the target government to change its behavior or leadership. Report after report show that sanctions don’t produce freedom, democracy or peace, they produce suffering.Fact 2: Sanctions Punish PeopleSanctions Hurt the People, Not LeadersAcross 32 empirical studies*, sanctions were shown to: Increase poverty Increase inequality Increase mortality Worsen human rights outcomesRegional oligarchs and elites adapt, while ordinary people pay the price.Example: IraqIraq (1990s) Sanctions destroyed water, food, and healthcare systems Hundreds of thousands of civilians — many of them children — died as a direct result Saddam Hussein retained power, up until the eventual US invasionSanctions weakened the population, not the ruler.Example: VenezuelaVenezuela (2010s–present) Oil and banking sanctions collapsed imports and currency Medicine and food shortages surged Tens of thousands of excess deaths Massive emigration as millions fled the countryThe government survived. The people suffered. If anything, the sanctions contributed to the rise of the right-wing opposition against the strong socialist base of support.Example: SyriaSyria (2011–present) Sanctions began early in the conflict and intensified economic collapse They worsened shortages, unemployment, and infrastructure failure Economic destabilization deepened social fragmentation and displacementSanctions did not overthrow the government, but they amplified collapse, suffering, and long-term instability, making recovery and reconstruction nearly impossible.Example: IranIran (since 1979, and especially 2018–present) Sanctions targeted oil exports and global banking access Iran was cut off from foreign currency earnings The rial collapsed; inflation surged sharplySanctions directly restrict access to dollars and euros — forcing rapid currency devaluation, import inflation, and rising prices for basics even when goods are technically “allowed.”Inflation hits civilians first.Sanctions are a Tool of EmpireSanctions are a tool of global capitalist imperialism, and movements against US intervention must include a call against sanctions. They do not bring freedom or democracy. They enrich global financial elites, preserve imperial control, and devastate everyday people — again and again." } ] }