France: a struggle at the crossroads

The mobilisation against the pension reform in France is entering a decisive phase. All the days of action since 19 January have confirmed the extent of the opposition to the Macron government's planned attacks on pensions and, beyond that, its entire policy. But as we anticipated, these 24-hour mobilisations in and of themselves could not make Macron back down on the heart of his offensive: the postponement of the retirement age, the increase in the length of the contribution period, and the abolition of special regimes for certain sectors of the workforce. From now on, all eyes are on a new stage of the struggle, starting on 7 March.

The editorial board of marxy.com is proud to announce the publication of the 11th issue of ‘Freedom and Communism’, the Arabic-language magazine of the International Marxist Tendency. We publish the editorial here, translated into English for our international readership. [Click here to download the pdf]

70 years ago today, on 5 March 1953, Joseph Stalin died. In his wake, he left behind a legacy of brutality and betrayal that could not be further from the traditions of genuine Marxism upon which the Soviet Union was founded. To mark the anniversary of the death of the bureaucratic usurper of the Russian Revolution, we wish to draw readers’ attention to Leon Trotsky’s unfinished biography of Stalin: his last great work before his assassination. The IMT has produced the definitive version of this text, which holds vital insights into the life and mind of the man who would become synonymous with the USSR’s degeneration.

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Hugo Chávez. To honour the legacy of this courageous class fighter, we republish below an obituary, written by Alan Woods at the time of his passing. The article offers a detailed analysis of the role of the Venezuelan president in the Bolivarian Revolution, as well as his relationship with the masses. For a deeper understanding, we would also like to draw readers’ attention to Permanent Revolution in Latin America, published in 2018 by Wellred Books. The book presents a history of the revolutionary movements in Venezuela, as well as Cuba and Nicaragua, from a Marxist perspective.

The year is 2018. At the prestigious Christie’s fine art auction in New York City, a blurry portrait of a besuited gentleman hangs alongside an Andy Warhol print and a bronze sculpture by Roy Lichtenstein. It is titled: ‘Edmond de Belamy, from La Famille de Belamy’. An anonymous phone bidder purchases the portrait for a whopping $432,500, against an initial estimate of $7,000-$10,000. At the bottom of the frame, rather than a signature, there is a line of code. It was not produced by human hands, but by an artificial intelligence (AI).

With 8,794,726 votes, representing 36.61 percent of the total vote cast; Bola Hammed Tinubu, candidate of the ruling APC, won a highly contested and contentious general election. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the PDP, came second with a total vote of 6,984,520 votes, representing 29.07 percent of the total. But, the greatest upset in this particular election was the performance of the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, who scored a total vote of 6,101,533 (25.40 percent) coming in third but with an almost non-existing party structure. This is a clear indication that the Nigerian masses are looking for an alternative on the political front.

The global crisis of capitalism, including rising inflation, the devastating consequences of the war in Ukraine, the slowdown of the global economy and the second recession in just three years, has also been felt in Cyprus. This has provoked a number of important workers’ struggles. This rising class tension and polarisation set the tone for the recent presidential elections.

According to Donald Trump, he was brilliantly accurate when he predicted in 2019 that “America will never be a socialist country.” Why? Because, as he stated a few weeks ago, “the train didn’t stop at the socialist station… We hit the Marxist station and the communist station.” Meanwhile, the House of Representatives recently passed a bipartisan resolution denouncing the “horrors of socialism.” Based on these latest absurdities from the political establishment, one might be forgiven for thinking that we are on the brink of an imminent and glorious communist revolution. This article is the editorial for issue 38 of Socialist Revolution, the magazine of the US section of the IMT.

On Saturday 25 February, thousands took to the streets of Lisbon to protest against rising living costs. New demonstrations have been announced for the coming weeks. At the same time, the country is being shaken by a wave of industrial action, spearheaded by school teachers. Indeed, living standards are deteriorating dramatically amidst an unprecedented housing crisis. António Costa’s Social Democratic government, with an absolute majority in parliament since January 2021, is applying pro-capitalist policies, and bears full political responsibility for the crisis.

This week’s episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) welcomes back Jorge Martin – this time to speak about the continuing war in Ukraine, which recently passed the one-year anniversary mark.

For several months now, we have been bombarded with images about a supposedly imminent military escalation between Kosovo and Serbia. With the war in Ukraine as a backdrop, there is talk about old wounds potentially being reopened. However, in order to accurately assess the probability of such new conflicts in Southeast Europe, it is necessary to start with an analysis of the economic situation, and the interests of the ruling classes in the region, as well as the interests of imperialism. Note: this article was originally written in January 2023.

The situation exploded in Suriname on Friday 17 February. Protests against Surinamese President Chan Santokhi's policies in Paramaribo led to a storming of the National Assembly, followed by riots and looting of shops. After a one-day curfew and over 100 arrests, calm has now seemingly been restored. What is going on?

En un discurso explosivo, Nicola Sturgeon anunció el pasado 15 de febrero su dimisión como Primera Ministra escocesa y líder del Partido Nacionalista Escocés (SNP). La dimisión de Sturgeon se produce en un momento en el que su partido y su Gobierno parecen cada vez más sin timón: golpeados por una letanía de fracasos y arranques en falso, y ahora enfrentados a un tormentoso periodo de huelgas, austeridad y crisis.

Se cumple el primer aniversario desde el inicio de la invasión militar rusa de Ucrania. La aventura del régimen de Putin, que fue concebida como una “operación especial” que daría lugar a un gran premio político al final, se convirtió en una guerra prolongada y agotadora que podría acabar cuestionando la continuidad del régimen.

Se cumplen cien años del asesinato a manos de agentes de la patronal del dirigente anarcosindicalista Salvador Seguí, uno de los personajes más importantes en la historia del movimiento obrero de nuestro país. La vida del “Noi del Sucre”, como se le conocía cariñosamente, está entretejida con una de las etapas más convulsas y trascendentales del obrerismo catalán y español, en los estertores del régimen de la Restauración.

“El acusado era supuestamente la persona encargada de combatir al Cártel de Sinaloa. La realidad, sin embargo, es que era su colaborador más valioso”.

Philip Pilmar (Fiscal asistente).

На дворе 2018 год. На престижном аукционе изобразительного искусства Christie’s в Нью-Йорке размытый портрет одетых джентльменов висит рядом с гравюрой Энди Уорхола и бронзовой скульптурой Роя Лихтенштейна. Он озаглавлен: «Эдмон де Белами из семьи Белами». Анонимный участник торгов по телефону приобретает портрет за огромную сумму в $432 500, при первоначальной оценке в $7 000-$10 000. В нижней части рамы вместо подписи находится строка кода. Она была создана не человеческими руками, а искусственным интеллектом (ИИ).

Den 28. oktober adresserede formanden for det tyske Socialdemokrati (SPD), Frank-Walter Steinmeier, en række fornemme gæster på Bellevue Paladset, hans officielle residens. I sin tale om »nationens tilstand« påpegede han, at verden »bevæger sig imod en periode med konfrontationer« og at »kampen for dominans« nu er i centrum.

Наступила первая годовщина начала российского военного вторжения в Украину. Авантюра путинского режима, задуманная как быстрая операция с крупным политическим призом в конце, обернулась затяжной изматывающей войной, которая способна поставить под вопрос дальнейшее существование режима.

Der Beginn der russischen Militärinvasion in der Ukraine jährte sich am 24. Februar zum ersten Mal. Das Abenteuer des Putin-Regimes – angedacht als schnelle Operation – an dessen Ende ein großer politischer Erfolg stehen sollte, hat sich zu einem langwierigen, kräftezehrenden Krieg entwickelt, der sogar den Fortbestand des Regimes in Frage stellen könnte.

La lettura di questo articolo scritto dai nostri compagni britannici di Socialist Appeal è di grande interesse. Partendo dalla situazione nel loro paese, sottopone a una critica serrata le cosiddette “politiche identitarie”. Promosse da alcuni attivisti come strumento per combattere l’oppressione, le politiche identitarie vengono utilizzate in maniera crescente dall’establishment per attaccare la sinistra e il movimento operaio. I lavoratori e i giovani devono rispondere per mezzo della lotta di classe rivoluzionaria.

Há 90 anos atrás, a 30 de janeiro de 1933, Adolf Hitler foi nomeado chanceler da Alemanha, desbravando o caminho para a ditadura nazi. Neste texto, Ted Grant analisa e explica os acontecimentos que permitiram aos fascistas tomar o poder.

Zajedno sa bankarima i kapitalistima, stanodavci se posebno preziru. Oni se smatraju pohlepnim špekulantima, vlasnicima koji maksimalno crpe stanarinu, koji u najranijoj prilici podižu kirije i kupe kajmak sa djela viška vrijednosti stvorene od strane radničke klase. Jasno je zašto prezir prema njima raste. Samo u Britaniji, stanarina i troškovi stanovanja čine pola – a nekad i više raspoloživog dohotka radnih ljudi, za koje je to postao nepodnošljiv teret, posebno za one koji žive u glavnom gradu.