| By Tricontinental
Photos: Tricontinental\YouTube Screenshots
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to immense mineral wealth (including 71% of the total production of cobalt in the world and 35% of its coltan) while its population remains mired in deep-seated poverty, a condition born out of relentless exploitation by foreign powers and local elites. This dossier unpacks the layers of this exploitation, spotlighting the DRC’s critical role in supplying cobalt, lithium, and coltan – minerals that are indispensable to modern technology, such as cell phones, computers, and electric vehicles, and the fourth industrial revolution.
Historically, the DRC has been a site of brutal exploitation, from the genocidal reign of King Leopold II to the neocolonial machinations that followed the country’s independence. The assassination of the country’s first democratically elected leader, Patrice Lumumba, and the subsequent rise of a comprador elite have ensured that the DRC’s vast resources continue to serve Western interests. Today, multinational corporations, in collusion with local oligarchs, perpetuate this legacy, reaping enormous profits while Congolese miners, including many children, toil in hazardous conditions.
Our dossier, The Congolese Fight for Their Own Wealth, closes with the words of young Congolese activists who have identified eight categories that are key to building their path to freedom. The Congolese struggle is a global struggle that demands a collective effort to rectify centuries of injustice and build a future grounded in dignity and sovereignty.
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