This Week's Brief

This Week’s News

(These pins mark the stories with deeply buried, but globally significant signals.)

📌 GenZ Discords Peru’s President

📌 GenZ Discords Mozambique’s President

📌 GenZ Discords Protests In Morocco

📌 China Hosts Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women

📌 Venezuela Shuts Down Oslo Embassy After Opposition’s Nobel Win

📌 UK Chancellor Set To Hike More Taxes

📌 Ivanka Trump Returns To A Knesset Spotlight

📌 Melania Trump’s 20 Minutes of Movie Fame

🧨 More Gen Z Protests - Another Few Governments Bite The Dust

The Crux

From Antananarivo and Lima to Casablanca, there is a clear pattern building in developing countries. Young people are mobilising around grievances about inequality, cost of living, corruption, and governance failures. Governments are being forced to respond, and in some cases, leaders are fleeing (or trying to) rather than facing the crowds.

This Past Week: Peru

A judge has rejected a bid to prevent former President Dina Boluarte from leaving the country while state prosecutors investigate her for alleged abuse of office and money laundering

.Boluarte, one of the world’s least popular leaders, was ousted last week when Congress voted 122 to zero in favour of her removal. She left office with approval ratings between 2 and 4 percent, amid GenZ led unrest over insecurity, extortion, and rising murders. Transport workers and young people have been on the streets throughout her presidency.

The Judge, Fernando Valdez has ruled Boluarte is not a flight risk and has called the prosecutors’ request “unfounded”. Boluarte denies any wrongdoing, despite allegations she collected money from a criminal group and failed to notify Congress during a surgical procedure (reportedly a 2 week nose job).

Context

Peru’s protests began earlier this year with hundreds of young people protesting pension reforms and President Boluarte doubling her own salary (to 35 times the minimum wage). Even after her removal, young people remain on the streets. These demonstrations are part of a regional and global pattern: Gen Z demanding accountability, systemic reform, and a new relationship with power.

This Past Week: Madagascar

Thousands of students and young people gathered in Madagascar, demanding President Andry Rajoelina step down. Parts of the military reportedly joined the crowds. The President was supposed to address the nation, but he chose insteaf to flee, reportedly on a French military aircraft to Réunion

At least 22 people have been killed in the clashes preceding his departure and over a hundred injured in anti-government protests, according to the UN. The government currently is disputing those numbers.

Context:

The unrest builds on long-standing frustrations with government mismanagement and economic hardship. Shortages and daily inconvenience were the immediate triggers, but underlying issues run much deeper. Gen Z protesters blame those in power for failing to manage basic resources, including electricity and water, which have been in short supply. Madagascar has considerable natural resources but also some of the highest poverty rates in the world, weak infrastructure, and exposure to climate shocks.

Youth and Citizens for Integrity (YCI), the group behind the initial protest in July, was founded by 35 students who had bonded over their shared desire for change. They met during the first edition of the Integrity Bootcamp run by Transparency International Initiative Madagascar (TI-MG) in 2024.

This Past Week: Morocco

Youth collective GenZ 212 has called for peaceful sit-ins across Morocco this Saturday after more than two weeks of protests

The group has demanded the release of “all prisoners of conscience” and reforms in education and healthcare, as well as government action on corruption and the cost of living. Since the start of the unrest, 3 people have died and more than 500 activists have been arrested. Some nights have seen violence and vandalism, though most demonstrations remain peaceful.

Context:

The movement’s organisers have named themselves after the country code of Morocco and largely organise themselves online. Led by young people, the demand is similar to other parts of the world - a sustained push for government reform and greater accountability.

Lead-Up: Global Wave of Youth Protest

Across the globe, Gen Z has taking to the streets in the second half of 2025. In common? Platforms such as Discord and TikTok are being used to mobilise and build momentum amongst a digitally native demographic.

• In Nepal, Gen Z demonstrated against censorship, corruption, nepotism, political dysfunction, and lack of accountability. Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki has been in place since 12 September.

• Indonesia saw weeks of unrest over legislators’ generous perks during a cost-of-living crisis. Ten people were killed before President Prabowo Subianto reshuffled the cabinet, ousting Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and other officials.

• In Kenya, largely leaderless protests organised via social media responded to police brutality, rising costs, and perceived government corruption.

• In the Philippines, thousands of young people have been protesting alleged corruption in bogus flood-relief projects, worth around $1.8 billion. This, as a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake shook the southern part of the country, triggering a Tsunami advisory.

🇨🇳👩🏽‍💼 President Xi Hosts Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women

President Xi Jinping co-hosted (with UN Women) the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women in Beijing this week and set out China’s plans for women’s development globally.

The meeting marking 30 years since the 1995 UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, which for many was lifechanging. Read more at UN Women

This time around President Xi announced the following commitments over the next 5 years: Read President Xi’s full speech at CGTN

• $10 million to UN Women

• $100 million from the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund for projects in the Global South

• Support for 1,000 livelihood projects benefiting women and girls

• Invitation of 50,000 women to China for exchanges and training

• Establishment of a centre for global women’s capacity-building

The Chinese Premier also met Mozambique’s Prime Minister Maria Benvinda Delfina Levi, to reaffirm 50 years of diplomatic ties between the 2 countries. He promised closer cooperation on governance, trade, energy, infrastructure, and women’s development.

PM Levi responded saying, President Xi’s speech at the summit was “profound and significant” and described China as a “trusted partner”, reaffirming Mozambique’s commitment to the one-China principle and willingness to learn from China’s experience.

Others in attendance including UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed and Iceland’s President Halla Tomasdottir, welcomed the initiatives and measures proposed by President Xi. Halla Tomasdottir described the proposals as significant, while Amina J. Mohammed thanked China for hosting the meeting and emphasised the importance of advancing women’s causes globally.

Context

China accomplished two goals with the gathering. Eyeballs and Attention. 46 countries participated in the plenary, with 800 delegates from over 110 countries and international organizations attending the closing ceremony.

The conference was shaped to be a showcase for China’s gender-equality credentials. But a $10 Mln (paltry) donation to UN Women, a $100m Global South fund (we’d love details on what that’s going toward), and a summit family picture that checks all the diversity and inclusion boxes does highlight the discordant messaging.

For Chinese feminists, the reality is very different from the policy announcements from the President. Activists say as a woman you can make private choices, but talking publicly about feminist ideals, advocacy of any kind, or collective action are severely restricted. Read this Guardian story to get a perspective.

President Xi has in the past few years overseen a crackdown on civil society and a patriarchal turn in politics. In 2022, the politburo appointed no women for the first time since 1997. Social expectations in his and the CCP’s communique’s continue to emphasise marriage and child-bearing as national duties, as public advocacy on women’s rights are progressively getting more tightly controlled.

But globally, the need to find allies (hypocritical as they may seem and with their own geopolitical agendas) is now essential. A report released in September by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) warned that none of the gender equality targets set out in the 1995 meeting in Beijing are on track for 2030. The Report’s stand out statistics?

The Global Problem

• Approximately 708 million women are now excluded from the labour market by unpaid care work.
• 351 million women and girls at risk of being trapped in extreme poverty in 2030.

The Global Potential

• Ensuring that women and girls acquire quality education and digital skills, 30 million people could be lifted from extreme poverty.
• Approximately $1.5 trillion potentially injected into the global economy in 5 years.

The engagement of 110 countries and International Organisations this week are a clear signal of China’s global ambitions. Add to that their visible wooing this year, of countries from the developing world further underscores their quest for reach and partnerships. All this even as domestic realities reveal that (for example) the “glorious chapter” of women’s progress that President Xi hails, is highly selective.

Other News

Diplomatic Tantrum

While the US is attacking boats off the Venezuela coast, the country closed its embassy in Oslo, days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In a statement, the Venezuelan government did not comment on Machado’s prize, saying that the closure was part of a restructuring of its foreign service. Read more at Sky News

Taxing Everything In Sight

UK Chancellor (Finance Minister) Rachel Reeves is eyeing more taxes . Turns out higher taxes on the wealthy will be “part of the story” of her November 26 budget. Forecasters expect she will need to raise about GBP 30 Bln ($40.1 Bln) through those tax increases, after the government’s borrowing costs jumped by more than expected, a plan to cut welfare costs was dropped and she signaling growth forecasts will need to be lowered. (We at The Chief Brief are waiting with baited breath to figure out where is she finding more stuff to tax!?) Read more at BBC

The Ivanka Who Came In From The Cold

Ivanka Trump is making her way back into the spotlight, including an honorable mention by her father, for her conversion to Judaism. The comments were made by US President Donald Trump in his speech at the Israeli Knesset, where he was being celebrated for his central role in seeing the return of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity. (The gazillion $ question is if he plans to reprise his idea for Ivanka to take on the role as UN Ambassador for the United States?) Read more in The Jerusalem Post

Melania - The Movie

Amazon MGM Studios will release ‘Melania’ in cinemas on 30 January 2026. The documentary, directed by Brett Ratner, who retreated from Hollywood amid sexual misconduct allegations, and executive produced by Melania Trump, offers “unprecedented access” to her life in the 20 days before her husband’s 2025 inauguration. Amazon reportedly paid $40 million for the film. Read more at The Independent

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