World

After the election results from June 21 were confirmed by the vote count, on Wednesday, June 24, Iván Cepeda formally acknowledged his defeat and accepted Abelardo de la Espriella’s victory. Thus, Cepeda assumes the role of parliamentary leader of the opposition, and Petro prepares for the transition to the new government. For his part, De […]

The mobilization succeeded in putting the government of Rodrigo Paz on the ropes. For several weeks, large regions of the country came under the effective control of the social organizations maintaining the blockades, particularly the Tupac Katari Peasants’ Federation (La Paz Department), sectors of the CSUTCB (Single Trade Union Confederation of Bolivian Peasant Workers), and other indigenous and peasant organizations in the Altiplano, such as the Bartolina Sisa Women’s Confederation and the Ponchos Rojos. In effect, a dual power structure has existed in Bolivia for over a month. It was these organizations that decided which goods, food, fuel, or vehicles could travel along the country’s main routes and which would be held up at the roadblocks. This situation led to growing supply difficulties, fuel and food shortages, as well as a sharp rise in prices, especially in the cities of La Paz and El Alto, where the economic and political impact of the roadblocks was most intense. While the government retained formal control of state institutions, the mobilized organizations demonstrated a significant ability to influence the movement of goods and the functioning of the economy. The slogan “Out with Paz!” became the unifying force of a movement that brought together miners, peasants, indigenous peoples, teachers, factory workers, neighborhood associations, and broad sectors of the populace. However, despite the enormous willingness to fight demonstrated by the masses, the movement failed to achieve its main political objective: the fall of the government. Understanding the reasons for this situation is essential for preparing for the battles ahead.

War lords and partners in interest in the Epstein scandals are gathering in Ankara on 7–8 July under the guise of the NATO Summit. It is clear that this summit, at which the strategies of US imperialism and its allies to turn the world into a plunder ground and a battlefield will be discussed, will bring no benefit whatsoever to either the Turkish working class or the peoples of the world.

As we explained in the first part of this article, the European Union (EU)—the unified apparatus of big capital in European countries created in a world where U.S. supremacy was unchallenged—is the product of a world order in crisis, one that no longer exists as we knew it after World War II. In this turbulent context, the EU has entered an existential crisis, with its economy in decline relative to those of the U.S. and China and doomed by Trump’s new foreign policy, which explicitly aims to dismantle it.

Last night, Leonardo Romero Negrín was arrested with extreme VIOLENCE and REMAINS IN CUSTODY His family was told they would be given an update at 8:30 a.m., but now it turns out his case file is missing and they’ll be told at 10 a.m. Leo was arrested in his neighborhood in Centro Habana for doing what every decent Cuban should be doing right now: participating in a cacerolazo. Pot-banging protests and demonstrations in Cuba are legitimate (they always are, but even more so in Cuba). How can you force a change in the economic system on a people who are sick, worn out, hungry, and without electricity—a people you didn’t give a damn about in your new measures because they don’t address political changes or basic rights? How can you do that when your people can’t even protest?

The European Union (EU), the unified apparatus of big capital in European countries created in a world where U.S. supremacy was unchallenged, is the product of a world order in crisis—one that no longer exists as we knew it after World War II. In this turbulent context, the EU has entered an existential crisis, with its economy in decline relative to those of the U.S. and China and doomed by Trump’s new foreign policy, which explicitly aims to dismantle it.

Throughout history, Armenia has been a fault line and a battlefield between East and West. Today, it remains a frontier between Western imperialism, centered on the US and the EU, and the emerging imperialist bloc in the East led by the Russia–China alliance. The liberation of the working class of Armenia and the Caucasus lies neither in the chauvinism of the old oligarchs who lean on Russia’s military and economic power, nor in Pashinyan’s pro-Western authoritarian liberalism, which presents the transformation of Armenia into a potential battlefield for the EU and NATO against Russia and Iran as a promise.

In June, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative became the latest target of the FBI in Ohio. Citing “voter fraud,” the FBI raided the NGO’s headquarters on June 11 in Columbus, seized computer files and documents, and sent agents to question activists affiliated with the organization across the state.

Official figures so far report nearly six hundred deaths and nearly three thousand injured (589 dead and 2,980 injured), although it is estimated that the total number of victims—including the dead, injured, missing, and those affected—could exceed ten thousand. The large number of collapsed structures (buildings and homes), including residential, lodging, and commercial properties, and obviously the fact that a large number of people are trapped under the rubble, suggest that the number of victims will unfortunately approach or exceed the estimated figure.

In this first fight, the political fault lines of the state have become clear. The TMC continues to wither away to dust, leaving the opposition space to the Stalinist parties, which maintain some grassroots support and organization, not enough to dislodge the BJP but still challenge it on the streets. The evictions have also made it clear that the BJP’s agenda is one of destruction. They seek to destroy the livelihoods of most of West Bengal’s poor, they are steadily clearing the way for their oligarch friends to take over the state’s economy, while crushing any opposition that stands in the way.

With a narrow margin of 250,830 votes (barely 0.96%), the Registrar’s Office’s preliminary count has declared far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella the winner over Iván Cepeda in the runoff election. The thousands of challenges, stemming from allegations of irregularities and fraud, call into question the legitimacy of any eventual confirmation of De La Espriella […]

Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PAK) has witnessed increasing unrest since the beginning of the month. The people have been protesting against the reservation of 12 seats along with 37 other demands. Police firing on the demonstrators resulted in the killing of 15 persons and the injuring of 200 others. The Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), which has been leading the protests, was banned by the government under anti-terrorism laws on June 5, claiming that the group "engaged in terrorism." The popular demand touches the core issue of how Islamabad has governed the territory it calls "Azad" or "free" Kashmir.

After 49 days of one of the largest mobilizations in recent years, the Bolivian Workers’ Confederation (COB) leadership participated in a roundtable discussion with Rodrigo Paz’s government on June 18. They abandoned the demand for Paz’s resignation, which had been approved at previous national plenary sessions. The COB presented itself as the representative of all […]

Long before this latest World Cup, FIFA has been practically synonymous with corruption and a craven, capitalist drive for profit at all costs. Still, while the reality of international sports under capitalism is marked by exploitation, injustice and imperialism, there is nevertheless a kernel of internationalist sentiment in organizing a global sporting event that invites the participation of teams from all over the world, even as the tournament becomes a flashpoint for worker and social movement organizing

The national battle over “AI” is sparking a discussion on public ownership, a discussion that reveals the weakness of Democratic reformers and Republican leaders alike regarding the real needs of U.S. working people in the fight against the tech oiligarchs. On June 3, an hour-long meeting was held between Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to discuss the “idea” of transferring a portion of the company to public ownership. The only solution to society’s problems is 100% public ownership under the democratic control of working people. The capitalist class has no interest in “sharing” power with the people whom they intend to exploit or over the destiny of a planet they intend to exploit.