Global Left Midweek – September 25, 2024
- World Demands Global North Climate Accountability
- South Asia Reports
- Abya Yala: A Continental Feminist Network
- Tunisia Pre-Election Protests
- French Left Challenges
- Martinique: Cost of Living Protests Meet Repression
- Parties Team Up for Austrian Regional Elections
- Kenyan Protests in Perspective
- Arce vs Evo: A Broken Alliance
- Fascism and Class
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World Demands Global North Climate Accountability
EnviroNews Nigeria (Lagos)
Activists worldwide are urging Global North governments to pay USD 5 trillion annually as a down payment for their climate debt to the disproportionately affected Global South. Several protests were organised the world over, asking that the developed countries pay for their overwhelming share in carbon emissions that have brought climate change on the world.
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South Asia Reports
• Left Candidate Wins Presidency in Sri Lanka R.K. Radhakrishnan / Frontline (Mumbai)
• Bangaladesh Left Discussion / Liberation (New Delhi)
• Myanmar Armed Struggle Advances Hein Htoo Zan / The Irrawaddy (Yangon)
• Pakistani Leader on Fighting the Right Farooq Tariq and Israel Dutra / Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (Liège)
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Abya Yala: A Continental Feminist Network
Romina Green Rioja and Nayla Luz Vacarezza / NACLA Report (New York)
After more than a decade of debates about plurinationalism within the National Women’s Encuentro, Feministas del Abya Yala, a transnational feminist network, became key proponents in rallying for common recognition of women, lesbians, trans, travesti, bisexual, and nonbinary people.
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Tunisia Pre-Election Protests
Walid El Houri / Global Voices (The Hague)
Thousands of Tunisians took to the streets in the Tunisian capital and other parts of the country on Friday, to demand the restoration of democratic freedoms and the release of political prisoners and journalists. The protests come less than a month before the country is set to hold its third presidential election since the 2011 revolution.
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French Left Challenges
Cédric Durand, Razmig Keucheyan and Stefano Palombarini / Verso (London)
La France Insoumise needs to bring together the trade unions, associations, and other parties in the Left, from the PCF to LFI’s own “dissidents”, to help form Assemblies of the Nouveau Front Populaire — an alliance that needs to lay down strong roots, within the perspective of a break with neoliberalism.
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Martinique: Cost of Living Protests Meet Repression
Loop News
Violent protests broke out on the French Caribbean island of Martinique last week over the high cost of living. France has sent a group of special anti-riot police that’s been banned for 65 years. The measure was met by defiance, with massive peaceful protests breaking out Saturday night. A transport and a health workers union each joined the protest effort, with strikes and civil disobedience.
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Parties Team Up for Austrian Regional Elections
András Juhász / LeftEast
Although on a smaller scale than the rise of the Austrian far right, another success story is unfolding in the Central European country. The Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ), supported by other left-wing organizations, is very likely to enter parliament for the first time since 1956. The Austrian left is determined to fight hard to prevent the far right from gaining power.
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Kenyan Protests in Perspective
Monicah Gachuki / Global Labour Column (Johannesburg)
The recent wave of rebellions was not an isolated development but rather reflected deep-seated frustrations among the Kenyan population, particularly the nation’s youth. These frustrations stemmed from a range of issues including economic hardship, unemployment, corruption, and a perceived disconnect between government priorities and the needs of the people.
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Arce vs Evo: A Broken Alliance
Thomas Graham / The Guardian (London)
The last time Evo Morales led a cross-country march, it was to defend the government of Luis Arce, his old ally from the Movimiento al Socialismo. Three years later, Bolivia’s former president is leading another such protest – but this time his aim is to “save” the country from the same man, who has become his bitter rival.
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Fascism and Class
Anton Jäger / Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (Berlin)
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the new far-right forces is their seeming ability to draw working-class support in a way historical fascist and reactionary parties could not. This fact raises difficult but vital questions for any left project in Europe, both now and in the future. How can the new proletarian swing to the right be understood, and more importantly, can it be reversed?