The Meridian – November 2025 Issue | Global South Economic Intelligence

The Meridian

Serious Analysis for Governments, Businesses and Media

The Meridian Magazine
Published Monthly

A monthly publication examining political economy, macroeconomic developments, governance, and structural change across Africa, Asia and the Indian Ocean. Each edition delivers long-form investigations and structured analysis of state capacity, fiscal systems and shifting global power dynamics.

Reports & Strategic Analysis

In-depth analytical reports examining political economy, sector strategy, regulatory risk and institutional capacity across the Global South. Each report is grounded in verified data and written for decision-makers seeking clarity rather than commentary. Publications are available through open access, direct request, or professional editions for purchase.

Volume 1, Issue 1 · November 2025 · Africa · Asia · Latin America · Indian Ocean · 28 Investigations

Edition Briefing

CoverWater Stress in Southern Africa KenyaTax revolt and fiscal legitimacy NigeriaManaged float and naira stability AsiaManufacturing, nickel, heat and debt BRICSAlternative financial architecture FocusFiscal stress, trade, climate, energy and labour ··· The Meridian · November 2025 · Inaugural Magazine Edition

November 2025 · Volume 1, Issue 1 · The Meridian · Inaugural Edition

November 2025 · Inaugural Edition

Twenty-eight investigations across three continents on fiscal stress, climate pressure, trade realignment and the future of Global South power

Edition Premise

The Meridian’s first issue maps the real economic forces reshaping Africa, Asia and Latin America through named authors, verifiable data and editorial accountability.

Core Inquiry

Can states across the Global South absorb fiscal adjustment, climate pressure, energy insecurity and labour strain while still preserving legitimacy and long-run stability?

Editorial Scope

From water stress and tax revolts to FX regimes, industrial strategy, food inflation, South–South trade and Indian Ocean vulnerability, this edition assembles a cross-regional map of structural pressure.

Why It Matters

The Global South is no longer merely reacting to the world economy. It is increasingly being forced to redesign itself under conditions of debt, heat, volatility and geopolitical fragmentation.

Investigations Water Stress · Kenya · Nigeria · Ethiopia · Sahel · South Africa · Mauritius · Climate Migration · AI · India · Indonesia · Sri Lanka · Bangladesh · Argentina · Chile · Colombia · Amazon · Brazil · BRICS · Gulf Power Shift · South–South Trade · Indian Ocean

Markets at a glance — THE MERIDIAN Data Desk

Ibovespa

158,360

+1.7%

MOEX

2,668

-0.2%

Sensex

85,720

+0.1%

SSE Comp

3,882

+0.1%

JSE All-Share

110,990

-1.2%

Foreign Exchange

USD/BRL 5.36

USD/RUB 78.3

USD/INR 89.5

USD/CNY 7.10

USD/ZAR 17.17

USD/AED 3.6725

USD/SAR 3.75

USD/SCR 14.0

Commodities

Gold $4,151/oz

Brent $62.89/bbl

NatGas $4.60/MMBtu

Data snapshot based on latest available quotes for indices, foreign exchange and commodities. Delayed 15–20 minutes.

Updated: 28 Mar 2026 • 18:59 London • © THE MERIDIAN Data Desk

Editor's Letter

Start Here

Letter from the Editor

Why this magazine exists: named authors, verifiable data and a commitment to publish methods, sources and corrections for Global South analysis.

Read the full letter →

Cover Story · Southern Africa

Water Stress in Southern Africa

Dams, droughts and debt: how water scarcity collides with power, mining and food imports across a thirsty region.

Fiscal Policy · Kenya

Kenya's Tax Revolt

When fiscal consolidation meets a young, connected electorate willing to push back in the streets.

Currency · Nigeria

Nigeria's FX Experiment

A managed float, shrinking parallel premium and the political cost of allowing prices to reset.

Fiscal Policy · Kenya

Kenya's Tax Revolt: Ruto's IMF Fiscal Gamble

When fiscal consolidation meets a young, connected electorate willing to push back in the streets.

Currency · Nigeria

Nigeria's FX Experiment

A managed float, shrinking parallel premium and the political cost of allowing prices to reset.

Post-Conflict · Ethiopia

Ethiopia's Peace Dividend Gamble

Ambitious reconstruction plans meet investor caution and unresolved political risk.

Security Blocs · Sahel

The Sahel's New Bloc

As Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso reconfigure alliances, a different regional order starts to take shape.

Energy Transition · South Africa

South Africa's Energy Transition

Blackouts, bailouts and the politics of opening the grid to independent power producers.

Finance Hub · Mauritius

Mauritius as a Financial Hub

Can a small island keep its role in global capital flows under tighter transparency and tax rules?

Climate & Cities · Africa

Climate Migration Inside Africa

Lagos, Nairobi and Kinshasa absorb internal migrants long before any reach European shores.

Technology · Africa

Africa's AI Moment

Data, talent and compute — and the battle to avoid a second wave of digital colonialism.

Cover Story · Southern Africa

Water Stress in Southern Africa

The new geography of urban thirst — and its implications for power, mining and migration.

Industry · India

India's Manufacturing Push: Is the PLI Model Delivering?

Incentives, supply chains and the reality behind the headlines of 'China plus one'.

Resources · Indonesia

Indonesia's Nickel Reckoning

Export bans, EV ambitions and the environmental cost of being indispensable to the green transition.

Climate & Labour · Asia

Asia's Heat Belt

Karachi, Dhaka and Manila move into a climate zone where work hours and health budgets collide.

Human Capital · South Asia

South Asia's Education Crunch

High enrolment but low learning outcomes — and a generation still carrying the scars of lost school time.

Debt & Politics · Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's Debt Democracy

What happens when IMF timelines meet electoral cycles and reform fatigue.

IMF & Reform · Bangladesh

Bangladesh After the IMF Review

A larger programme, energy tariff reforms and the politics of keeping reserves stable.

Trade & Wages · Americas

Cheap Food, Expensive Lives

The wage and trade architecture that keeps food cheap in the North and labour precarious in the South.

Shock Therapy · Argentina

Argentina After Milei

Dollarisation-lite, subsidy cuts and the social limits of radical economic experiments.

Lithium · Chile

Chile's Lithium Social Contract

Can a new model share resource wealth, fund the transition and still keep investors at the table?

Drugs & Policy · Colombia

Colombia's New Drug Policy

Petro's public-health experiment meets the entrenched economics of the cocaine trade.

Climate · Amazon Basin

Amazon Basin Tipping Point

What happens to local economies if the forest crosses a point of no return?

Fiscal Rules · Brazil

Brazil's Fiscal Anchor Fight

Markets, social spending and the search for a credible budget rule in a low-growth world.

Nearshoring · Mexico

Mexico's Nearshoring Reality Check

Are supply chains genuinely relocating, or are old flows being rebadged as 'nearshoring'?

Finance · Gulf

The Gulf's Quiet Power Shift

How Saudi Arabia and the UAE are rewriting bailout politics and development finance across the Global South.

Geopolitics · BRICS

BRICS 2025 in Rio

Beyond photo-ops: what an alternative financial architecture could realistically look like.

Trade · South–South

South–South Trade 2.0

Food, fuel and manufacturing corridors linking developing economies to each other rather than to the North.

Islands · Indian Ocean

Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles: The Archipelago Climate Wars

Tourism, sea-level rise and great-power competition across three vulnerable island states.

Food & FX · Global South

The Food Inflation Wave

Why the Global South is paying more for calories than ever — and how weak currencies act as a hidden tax.

Labour · Global South

Youth Unemployment Crisis

A broken ladder for a generation — degrees, debt and disappearing formal jobs.

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A new editorial map of fiscal stress, energy transition, climate pressure, trade realignment and institutional credibility across the Global South.

Letter from the Editor

Water Stress in Southern Africa

Kenya's Tax Revolt

Nigeria's FX Experiment

Kenya's Tax Revolt: Ruto's IMF Fiscal Gamble

Nigeria's FX Experiment

Ethiopia's Peace Dividend Gamble

The Sahel's New Bloc

South Africa's Energy Transition

Mauritius as a Financial Hub

Climate Migration Inside Africa

Africa's AI Moment

Water Stress in Southern Africa

India's Manufacturing Push: Is the PLI Model Delivering?

Indonesia's Nickel Reckoning

Asia's Heat Belt

South Asia's Education Crunch

Sri Lanka's Debt Democracy

Bangladesh After the IMF Review

Cheap Food, Expensive Lives

Argentina After Milei

Chile's Lithium Social Contract

Colombia's New Drug Policy

Amazon Basin Tipping Point

Brazil's Fiscal Anchor Fight

Mexico's Nearshoring Reality Check

The Gulf's Quiet Power Shift

BRICS 2025 in Rio

South–South Trade 2.0

Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles: The Archipelago Climate Wars

The Food Inflation Wave

Youth Unemployment Crisis