World

Between Monday, March 16, and Saturday, April 4, a predominately immigrant workforce shut down one of the largest beef processing plants in the country. Beyond the “bread and butter” issues of wages, healthcare and safety this strike had much larger political implications about the ability of immigrant workers to organize and fight back against employer and government attacks in the workplace and community. The strike certainly raised questions about the difficulties workers face in winning contracts that deliver big economic packages and make meaningful long term gains. But what the strike lacked in financial impact it made up for as an example of fearless union members coming together from dozens of different ethnic backgrounds to stand up and fight.

Whether it's taking jobs, pricing out utilities or polluting neighborhoods, capitalist AI is an obvious menace. The fightback it's provoking also has immense potential

In the imperialist war initiated by the U.S. and Israel, the environmental consequences have been particularly vile for Iranian people. Although, at the moment of writing, a temporary and fragile ceasefire has been arranged, these consequences will last for decades and affect the whole region. Indeed, in the near future we can expect more environmentally destructive and ultimately pointless wars to be waged by U.S. imperialism, powered by AI and justified by genocidal rhetoric.

On 12 April, a new flotilla will set sail from Barcelona. Hundreds of activists are determined to break the blockade that Israel has imposed on Gaza, preventing any kind of humanitarian aid from entering. This is happening amid the inaction and complicity of European governments. This new flotilla aims to build on the mission of […]

Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary last Sunday. The results left no room for doubt: a massive rejection at the polls brought an end to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s sixteen-year rule. Moreover, Orbán’s defeat deals a serious blow to both Putin and Trump at the same time. As the results came in, a sea of people flooded the streets of Budapest and other cities. The Hungarian masses categorically refuse to continue down Orbán’s path. It remains to be seen—beyond his campaign promises—what course his successor, Péter Magyar, will take.

Pakistan’s role as an international mediator is not a sign of structural change, but a reconfiguration within the same system. The state uses its geographic position to enhance its relevance among competing global powers while managing internal instability. This external role is transformed into an ideological narrative domestically. State media and official discourse present Pakistan as an emerging global actor and an indispensable force for peace. At a time when the population faces inflation, unemployment, and severe economic pressure alongside repression, this narrative functions as a substitute form of hope—that international recognition is improving and future conditions will become better.

The recent detention of Guillermo Medina Reyes by ICE agents in San Jose, Calif., is a direct attack against immigrants and against the entire working class of this country. His arrest is part of a state offensive that combines immigration repression, the criminalization of protest, and a detention apparatus that clearly serves the interests of the ruling classes. Guillermo’s case cannot be understood outside the concrete functioning of the capitalist state—a set of institutions (police, courts, legislatures, national and local executive bodies, prisons, ICE) designed by the boss class to control, divide, and discipline the working class, particularly its immigrant sectors.

Six weeks into Trump’s Big Iranian Misadventure, fuel and food prices are soaring because of massive supply chain disruptions caused by the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran. In the context of the U.S.-Israeli war and Iranian retaliatory attacks, the price of oil rose worldwide. The Strait of Hormuz is effectively shut down with no end in sight. Approximately 20.3 million barrels of petroleum and crude oil, 25% of the world’s maritime oil shipments, passes through the Strait of Hormuz daily. Currently, about 95% of all traffic through that vital waterway is stopped.

Dr. Alter is one of many teachers, professors, and student activists on the front lines of attacks under the New McCarthyism, especially targeting the teaching of ideas about gender, race, and settler colonialism in Palestine. These attacks are only escalating as the ruling class increasingly turns to authoritarian methods.

Beril Saydam Shangun and Tahsin Mert Saygin speak on organizing at private schools in Istanbul, Turkiye as part of Historical Materialism Conference 2026

After 40 days of aggression against Iran, with over 15,000 bombings, widespread destruction, and 2,000 Iranian deaths, virtually none of the imperialists' main objectives were achieved. The imperialist-Zionist dream of a new Middle East under Israeli hegemony is slipping away. Iran emerges stronger and keeps its sights set on Israel’s main ally in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates, as well as other signatories of the shameful Abraham Accords, which normalized relations with Israel at the cost of Palestinian lives.

Last week, I was in Cuba. It is the country of the most celebrated revolution on the continent, a small Caribbean island that stood up to an empire and won not only independence, but also education, healthcare and, for a time, a planned economy geared towards the needs of workers and the Cuban people. Today, […]

While we are critical of the Cuban government, the efforts by U.S. imperialism to destroy the island must be opposed. The IWL participated in solidarity activities to provide aid and support the Cuban people

The No Kings mobilization on March 28 was a powerful outcry against the forces of war and reaction. It was the largest single-day outpouring of street protests in U.S. history. The massive flood of people was fueled by widespread opposition to the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, as well as by the resistance to ICE’s immigrant roundups shown by the people of Minneapolis in the winter.

Half a million people marched in London on 28 March against the far right and for many other reasons. It was organised by Together Alliance, a coalition formed in 2020 to oppose racism and the far right, which brought together over 80 organisations from trade unions to community groups, anti-racist organizations, and environmental activists.

During March, Starmer declared that military action against Iran is “not our war”, but then allowed three B-52 nuclear-capable American bombers to use Diego Garcia’s UK base in the Indian Ocean for ‘defensive’ strikes against Iran. As we write, the UK government is working with the USA on a ‘viable’ plan to open the Strait of Hormuz, and HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, is en route, with several minesweepers available.