Portside

1. Imminent Threat to Rojava Women
2. Reports from Southern Europe
3. The African Union and Neocolonialism
4. Showdown in South Korea
5. Two Presidents Have a Warning for Trump
6. The Left Scene in New Syria
7. China Restores Cuba’s Electric System
8. Labor in Canada Pushed Back in 2024
9. Schafik Handal: From El Salvador to the Mideast
10. What’s Missing from Social Movements

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Imminent Threat to Rojava Women

Marilù Mastrogiovanni / il manifesto Global (Rome)

Rojava has never ceased to be a target for Turkey, the Assad regime and jihadist troops. We spoke with Rihan Loqo, spokesperson for Kongra Star, the confederation of all democratic women's organizations around the world that are aligned with Jineoloji, a new paradigm based on a transformative pedagogy for society that focuses on the liberation of women.

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Reports from Southern Europe

 • Italy   Jacopo Custodi / Jacobin (Brooklyn)

 • Greece   Panagiotis Sotiris / Jacobin

 • Serbia   / Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (Paris)

 • Croatia   Mark Johnson / Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières

 • Georgia   Giorgi Chagelishvili / Labour Hub (London)

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The African Union and Neocolonialism

Nicholas Mwangi / Peoples Dispatch (New Delhi)

Is the AU equipped to lead Africa into the much-hyped “Africa Prospects, rising, next giant” narrative? Can it meaningfully confront the structural inequalities perpetuated by global systems of power, or will it remain mired in the pitfalls of neoliberalism, neocolonialism, and deepening inequality?

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Showdown in South Korea

 • Solidarity with Pro-Democracy Protests   M. H. Lee / The Korea Bizwire (Seoul)

 • Women at the Heart of the Fight   Ahlem Faraoun / The Diplomat (Arlington VA)

 • Workers Stand Tall   Hyunsu Hwang / Global Labour Column (Johannesburg)

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Two Presidents Have a Warning for Trump

John Holman / Al Jazeera (Doha)

The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, and of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, have directly challenged Trump's plan for a mass deportation of migrants.

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The Left Scene in New Syria

Omar Hassan / Red Flag (Sydney)

It’s been less than a month since Assad fell, and people are still finding their feet. Still, there’s been an explosion of political meetings and actions. Every day, there are meetings and actions organised by socialists, feminists, liberal NGOs, artists, the families of those who were disappeared in Assad’s prison system, and more.

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China Restores Cuba’s Electric System

Gabriel Vera Lopes / Brasil de Fatro (Sao Paulo)

The donations come as the Caribbean country is facing a serious energy crisis that has worsened in recent months. This year, Cuba has suffered three total blackouts in the national electricity system, leaving the country completely in the dark. Currently, power cuts are becoming more and more constant, affecting over 40% of the population daily. 

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Labor in Canada Pushed Back in 2024

Tom Sandborn / rabble.ca (Toronto)

Strikes were more common and workers, still remembering the hypocritical Covid-era praise for them as heroes and the post-pandemic collapse into attempts to restore business as usual exploitation, are pissed off, and their anger has been expressed with increased levels of organizing and work stoppages.

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Schafik Handal: From El Salvador to the Mideast

Amy Fallas / NACLA Report (New York)

In 1981, the newly formed FMLN guerilla coalition, of which Handal was a leader, suffered setbacks following an escalation in armed resistance against El Salvador’s U.S.-backed authoritarian government. Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the revolutionary left was embroiled in civil conflict. Within this context, Handal traveled to Lebanon to build inter-regional networks of support. 

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What’s Missing from Social Movements

Fathimah Fildzah Izzati / Asian Labour Review (Hong Kong)

Popular uprisings during the Post-Suharto Reformasi period have tended to be short-lived and easily dissipated. It is important to analyse what material conditions cause this to happen. The point is to find out what is needed to sustain resistance actions so they do not stop at the protest stage. To answer this, we need first to understand the current situation of social movements in Indonesia.