Global Left Midweek — September 24, 2025

The battle cry of democracy is heard far and wide

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Protesters in Rizal Park, Manila, on 21 September. Credit, Lisa Marie David/Reuters
  1. Italy: General Strike for Palestine
  2. Action in South Asia
  3. Left Parties Unite to Win Irish Presidency
  4. Focus on Canada
  5. Iranian Feminists Strategize
  6. African Youth Movements Push for Democracy
  7. UK: Rocky Road to New Party 
  8. Mass Protest Upsurge Spreads in Latin America
  9. Examining France’s ‘Block Everything’ Movement
  10. South Africa: National Dialogue and the Left

 

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Italy: General Strike for Palestine 

Luciana Cimino and Michele Gambirasi / il manifesto Global (Rome)

It is an unexpected show of support that reveals the depth of the opposition to the genocide in Gaza. The general strike was called by grassroots unions, with the backing of a wide range of anti-war organizations. But the numbers and makeup of the crowd in Rome – at least 300,000 people who marched for seven hours – signify a mobilization that goes far beyond the individual organizing groups.

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Action in South Asia

 • Region Fertile for Gen Z Revolutions   Yashraj Sharma / Al Jazeera (Doha)

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 • Thousands March Against Corruption in Philippines   Miriam Grace A. Go / Rappler (Manila)

 • Indonesia: Revolt and Repression   Muhammad Ridha / Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (Berlin)

 • Nepal: A First for an Electoral Democracy   Samik Kharel / Al Jazeera

 • East Timor Unrest   Ato ‘Lekinawa’ da Costa / Green Left (Sydney)

 • Bangladeshi Communist Calls for Reorganization   Badrul Alam / Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (Paris)

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Left Parties Unite to Win Irish Presidency

Pat Leahy / Irish Times (Dublin)

Sinn Féin will support Independent candidate Catherine Connolly in the presidential election, party leader Mary Lou McDonald has announced. Backing the Galway West TD [lower house member], who also has the support of Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and the Green Party, comes from hopes of creating a united left-wing force that can win the presidency next month.

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Focus on Canada

 • Organizing the Suburbs   Saima Desai and Aniket Kali / The Breach (Montreal)

 • The Return of the Wildcat Strike   Carlo Fanelli / Socialist Project (Toronto)

 • Pushing for New NDP Leadership   Nick Seebruch / rabble.ca (Toronto)

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Iranian Feminists Strategize

Bahareh Badiei and Ghoncheh Ghavami / Truthout (Sacramento)

In response to the June 2025 war between Israel and Iran, mainstream media outlets — both Persian-language and international — largely either backed their preferred state actor or maintained strategic silence about favored governments’ actions. But Iranian leftist feminists, even while facing brutal repression from their own government, refused to be co-opted into supporting external military intervention.

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African Youth Movements Push for Democracy

 • Protesters Resiliant   Obiora Ikoku / Waging Nonviolence (Brooklyn)

 • Kenya Left Alliance   Sungu Oyoo / Jacobin (Brooklyn)

 • Anamalala Ngimi in Mozambique   Tsitsi Bhobo / Waging Nonviolence

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UK: Rocky Road to New Party 

Owen Jones / The Guardian (London)

When the independent MP and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the former Labour MP Zarah Sultana announced the birth of a new leftwing party, the surge of interest shocked even its founders. Thankfully, a miscalculated game of chicken appears to have drawn to a close, and plans to launch a new party have resumed. 

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Mass Protest Upsurge Spreads in Latin America

 • Argentina   / Buenos Aires Times

 • El Salvador   / The Tico Times (San José, Costa Rica)

 • Peru   Shivangi Sharma / The Daily Jagran (Noida)

 • Brazil   Rafi Schwartz / The Week (New York)

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Examining France’s ‘Block Everything’ Movement

 • Strike Action and Nationwide Protests   / Al Jazeera

 • The Political Crisis   Pablo Castaño / Jacobin

 • Pointing the Way?   Emiliano Brancaccio / il manifesto Global

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South Africa: National Dialogue and the Left

Amandla! (Cape Town)

While the idea of a National Dialogue appeals to many, a “multi-class dialogue” risks becoming little more than a mechanism for the ruling elite to repackage neoliberal policies, stabilise their rule, and attempt to shore up ANC legitimacy. But the Left is in no position to ignore a process that will unfold across the country in thematic sessions and ward-based dialogues.