Global Left Midweek – August 21, 2024
- Multipolarity: Going Deeper
- The Venezuela Debate
- India: Doctors Strike to Oppose Gender Violence
- Germany: Die Linke at Rock Bottom
- Party Rumblings in South Asia
- Fascism and Antifascism in the UK
- Indonesian Unions’ Fight
- Sudan Civilians Take Up Arms
- Kenyan Peasants Fight IMF
- Neofascism and the Latin American Left
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Multipolarity: Going Deeper
Jerry Harris / Against the Current (Detroit)
As multipolarity grows, there are some who see this as a new stage of non-alignment, and even the creation of an anti-imperialist bloc. But the economic and political elites of the Global South are too deeply tied to transnational capitalism to be truly independent. Instead, multipolarity is a struggle within global capitalism for a larger share of markets, profits and political power.
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The Venezuela Debate
• Revolution and Elections Chris Gilbert / Venezuelanalysis (Caracas)
• Petro and Lula Propose a Second Vote Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón / Voz (Irving TX)
• Maduro Resistant Tom Phillips and Lauren Gambino / The Guardian (London)
• To the Left of the Regime Yoletty Bracho / NACLA Report (New York)
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India: Doctors Strike to Oppose Gender Violence
Tanya Arora / NewsClick (New Delhi)
Citizens and doctors march hand-in-hand, demanding safety, dignity, and freedom from fear for every woman after the heinous incident of sexual violence that emerged in West Bengal.
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Germany: Die Linke at Rock Bottom
Heinz Bierbaum / Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (Berlin)
The European election results demonstrated that focusing solely on social justice, as important as it is, is not enough, especially when issues such as peace policy are virtually ignored. It is necessary to redefine Die Linke’s strategic and political orientation, to determine what in fact constitutes a socialist party, before defining voter groups and deciding what issues are important to them.
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Party Rumblings in South Asia
• Bangladeshi Students Ponder Next Steps / The Daily Star (Dhaka)
• Communist Merger in India / ML Update (New Delhi)
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Fascism and Antifascism in the UK
• Four Theses Jonas Marvin / Marx’s Dream Journal (Edinburgh)
• Football Fans Against the Far Right Polly Smythe / Novara Media (London)
• Southall Revisited Frank Hansen / Labour Hub (London)
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Indonesian Unions’ Fight
Trade Unions for Energy and Democracy (New York)
Indonesian energy unions are working to keep energy public in a manner consistent with Article 33 of the country’s Constitution that was intended to protect state ownership of vital industries and sectors. Unions in Indonesia are also working together to develop a public pathway alternative to the transition away from coal that will require an end to the IPP system and a new mandate for the utility.
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Sudan Civilians Take Up Arms
Mohammed Amin / Middle East Eye (London)
In the wake of over a year of relentless conflict, Sudanese grassroots movements are mobilising for self-defence against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been clashing with the Sudanese army since hostilities erupted between the former allies in April of last year. International efforts to contain the violence have largely failed, leaving civilians to fend for themselves.
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Kenyan Peasants Fight IMF
La Via Campesina (Bagnolet, France)
In June, a significant protest erupted in Kenya, where outraged youth demonstrators stormed the Kenyan Parliament. Gen Z-led protests have directly accused the IMF, World Bank, and WTO of imposing harsh taxes and prioritizing creditor interests over the needs of the Kenyan people. Kenyan peasants have had enough of the overreach by these institutions.
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Neofascism and the Latin American Left
Tricontinental
The proximity between the right and the working class was forged not by the ‘traditional’ or ‘moderate’ right, which generally operate in spaces far removed from the working class, but during the most recent phase of neoliberalism in the form of a more radical and populist project known as neofascism.