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Global Left Midweek – August 13, 2025

A better world’s in birth

Demonstrators in London turn their backs on Parliament in defiance of an ‘anti-terrorist’ law banning public support for the solidarity group Palestine Action. Credit, Maktoob Media
  1. Uniting Against Milei
  2. Myanmar’s Latest Chapter
  3. Ecuador’s Anti-Mining Struggle
  4. Asia: Women Lead the Fight
  5. Strikes in Europe
  6. Iran and Anti-Imperialism
  7. Colombians and Palestine
  8. Fuel Cost Protests Shake Angola
  9. London: Historic Protests
  10. The Great Ruth First

 

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Uniting Against Milei

Camila Parodi / Truthdig (Santa Monica)

Every Wednesday, thousands of retirees march in Buenos Aires. Often, they are also accompanied by trade unions, students, women and LGBTQI+ activists. Many of these marches have been severely repressed, with police filmed violently beating these elders, causing serious injury, and arresting hundreds. And on June 18, up to a million Argentinians marched in the capital.

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Myanmar’s Latest Chapter

 • A Bloody History, A Call to Action   Benedict Rogers / Independent (London)

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 • Myanmar Junta vs East Timor   / The Irrawaddy (Yangon)

 • Free Labor Leader Myo Myo Aye   / Labour Behind the Label (Bristol)

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Ecuador’s Anti-Mining Struggle

Pablo Meriguet / Peoples Dispatch (New Delhi)

In June, the police harshly repressed demonstrators opposing the third-largest mining project in the country. Several social organizations have denounced links between the mining company and the president’s family, including the National Anti-Mining Front and the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE).

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Asia: Women Lead the Fight

 • South Korea   Hannah Kim / East Asia Forum (Canberra)

 • Bangladesh   Tangila Tasnim / The Daily Star (Dhaka)

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Strikes in Europe

 • Italy   Sarah Caudiero / Jacobin (Brooklyn)

 • Germany   Astrid Zimmermann / Jacobin

 • Spain   Daniel S Osipov / Simple Flying (Montreal)

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Iran and Anti-Imperialism

Araz Bağban / Socialist Project (Toronto)

Those who call on socialist and working-class forces to protect the Islamic Republic typically argue that Iran’s opposition to the US and Israel, despite the regime’s oppressive nature, carries a progressive dimension. But the Islamic Republic is not just another repressive state; it plays a distinctly reactionary role in both its internal dynamics and its external engagements. 

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Colombians and Palestine

Abigail Kret and Gabe Levine-Drizin / NACLA Reports (New York)

In recent weeks, President Gustavo Petro has gone so far as to order the navy to ensure that “not a single ton” of Colombian coal makes its way to Israel. Still, Colombia’s potent BDS movement is demanding their president do more by pushing for stronger legislation, and launching new campaigns to hold the government accountable.

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Fuel Cost Protests Shake Angola

Alyson Le Grange / Firstpost (Mumbai)

Angola is grappling with the aftermath of deadly protests sparked by a recent increase in fuel prices. The protests highlight public  discontent over economic hardship, with Angola facing high inflation, significant unemployment, and widespread poverty. Many accuse the long-governing MPLA party and President João Lourenço's administration of corruption and mismanagement of the economy.

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London: Historic Protests

 • Trans Pride Makes History   Samantha Riedel / Them (New York)

 • Sitting Down in Solidarity   Charlotte England / Novara Media (London)

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The Great Ruth First

Rob Davies / Amandla! (Cape Town)

Ruth First was a founding member of the South African Communist Party, born in 1925. “She was able to inject a greater openness to different kinds of ideas and different kinds of Marxist propositions than perhaps many of the long-serving members of the SACP at that stage were willing to accept.”