When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took the stage on June 2, 2024, his country was in crisis. Although the multiculturalism of post-apartheid South Africa once led Nelson Mandela to popularize the phrase “rainbow nation,” this ideal now hangs in the balance at a crossroads of South African politics. Alongside labor, South Africa has fallen victim to a variety of infrastructure issues, including a lack of clean water and electricity. However, forces outside of South Africa have already created a crisis. South African officials have professed that they cannot work around the budget squeeze, and the future remains uncertain as South African and American officials work toward a reduced tariff.