Global Left Midweek – May 18, 2022
- World Economy in Disarray
- Women Confront the Taliban
- Charter for People’s Power in Sudan
- Sri Lanka Explodes
- Lula Advances
- Philippines Prospects
- War Watch
- More on the French Left
- Malaysia’s Parti Socialis
- Left Administration in Zagreb: Year One
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World Economy in Disarray
C. P. Chandrasekhar / Independent Development Economics Associates (Oxford)
World leaders are clueless as to where the world economy is headed or what can be done to prevent a possible collapse. In the midst of an intensifying crisis, developed country governments are left with no options under the capitalist rule of the game.
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Women Confront the Taliban
Deepa Parent / openDemocracy (London)
Women’s rights activists march in Kabul against new face-covering order, despite threats and risk of imprisonment from Taliban. Women activists mobilised as soon as they heard rumours about the new edict. Carrying placards that read ‘No to obligatory burqa’ and ‘The burqa is not our hijab’, they were confronted by Taliban fighters carrying guns.
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Charter for People’s Power in Sudan
Fifteen Resistance Committees in Khartoum State endorsed a political charter establishing a unified political platform for the neighbourhood-based groups that lead the anti-coup protests.
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Sri Lanka Explodes
- A Political Awakening is Underway Adnan Abbasi, VaishnaviI Chandrasekar and Tejashree Murugan / CNN NEWS18 (New Delhi)
- Ablaze With Anti-Government Anger Chandani Kirinde / The Daily FT (Colombo)
- The People’s Message Jayadeva Uyangoda / Daily Mirror (Colombo)
- Regime Change and De-Militarization Janaka Biyanwila / Green Left (Sydney)
- Ethnic Conflict and the Debt Economy Nalika Gajaweera / Jamhoor (Toronto)
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Lula Advances
Afonso Bezerra / Brasil de Fato (São Paulo)
Lula’s vice-presidential candidate will be the former governor of São Paulo, Geraldo Alckmin (PSB). Despite being opponents in the past, both Lula and Alckmin quoted the educator Paulo Freire, who once said, “it is necessary to unite the divergent, to better confront the antagonistic”.
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Philippines Prospects
- Deconstructing a Dismaying Outcome Walden Bello / Rappler (Manila)
- Social Democracy or “Dutertismo”? Josua Mata and Liliane Danso-Dahmen / Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (Berlin)
- The Climate Justice Movement Antonio Gabriel M. La Viña / Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (Berlin)
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War Watch
- Oligarchs East and West Gaetano Lamanna / il manifesto Global (Rome)
- Russia’s Memories and Dreams of Empire Adam J Sacks / Jacobin (New York)
- Neoliberalism and Nationalism Ilya Budraitskis / Tribune (London)
- Azov is Nazi (From 2020) Michael Colborne / Bellingcat (Amsterdam)
- Counteroffensive Jonathan Landay and Tom Balmforth / Reuters (London)
- Ukraine’s Unions Will Herbert / Bright Green (Oxford)
- Russian Socialists Anastasia Vosstavshaya and Marie / Midnight Sun (Toronto)
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More on the French Left
Ell Folan / Novara Media (London)
A historic political coalition between Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s leftwing La France Insoumise (LFI), the centre-left Socialist Party (PS) and the French Greens has been announced. If the alliance holds, polling suggests this broad left bloc would win the popular vote by a 10pt-margin.
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Malaysia’s Parti Sosialis
Murray Hunter / Think Left (Kuala Lumpur)
PSM is a small party with a growing membership, especially among the young. The party is organized along parallel peoples’ groups across society, either directly or through affiliated networks.
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Left Administration in Zagreb: Year One
Paul Stubbs / LeftEast
Those who are not part of an inner circle of decision-makers, including even some elected officials, and those who are part of technical working groups, hear of policy initiatives through the media. At the same time, there is grassroots energy around the new activists who have been elected to local levels of governance even though their status within the platform remains unclear.