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August 17, 2021

Consultas Populares en México: lo que dicen sobre el gobierno de AMLO

En las notas que escribió Marx que después se convirtieron en el Volumen III de El Capital, hay una frase que dice que “toda ciencia sería superflua si la forma de manifestación y la esencia de las cosas coincidieran directamente”. Parte de los grandes méritos que ha tenido el gobierno de López Obrador en México ha sido gracias a que su esencia se mantiene muchas veces oculta, ya que ha empleado métodos sumamente novedosos para disfrazar políticas pro-empresariales y pro-imperialistas y hacerlas pasar por políticas populares, así como de ceder diversas concesiones a las clases explotadas, al mismo tiempo que divide y debilita a sus organizaciones. Uno de estos métodos han sido las famosas “consultas populares”.

August 12, 2021

by Zack Frailey Escobar

Agitating for the “General Strike”: a shortcut to nowhere

If you’re plugged in to progressive social media pages, you might have heard the buzz around the date October 15. Apparently, there is going to be a general strike! According to the strike organizers’ website (https://octoberstrike.com/), workers will be refusing to show up indefinitely as they demand a 25% corporate tax rate, free healthcare, 12 weeks paid paternity and maternity leave, a $20 minimum wage, a 4 day work week, and “stricter environmental regulations on corporations”.
In spite of these lofty goals, the “organization” of this would-be strike does not inspire a great deal of confidence. So far, it consists of little more than the website referenced above and a change.org petition. Other than a simple call to action and the list of demands, the website contains some basic information on the right to strike and links to various associated social media pages which post essentially the same information. The activists or organizations

July 6, 2021

by Héctor Rivera

The Path to Socialism Requires Border Abolition

Although the Biden administration has attempted to differentiate its immigration policies from those of Donald Trump, the end result has been the same: deportations, abuse and negligence of children jailed in detention centers and refugees turned away at the border. What’s more, Biden’s refusal to allow in the refugees at the border has contributed to horrific human rights abuses. As Reuters reported, nearly 3,300 migrants stranded in Mexico have been kidnapped, raped, trafficked or assaulted since Joe Biden took office on January 20.

July 1, 2021

by Zack Frailey Escobar

Zionists Weep Crocodile Tears

As Israel bombs Palestinian civilians in Gaza, ethnically cleanses Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem, and deliberately unleashes right wing mobs to terrorize Palestinians everywhere, the whole U.S. congressional establishment has united to condemn Israel’s critics.

The entire Democratic leadership joined with the most rabidly racist sections of the Republican Party to slander congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s statements comparing Israel’s and the United States’ crimes with those of Hamas and the Taliban as antisemitic. The statement they issued on June 11th reads, in part: “Drawing false equivalencies between democracies like the US and Israel and groups that engage in terrorism like Hamas and the Taliban foments prejudice and undermines progress toward a future of peace and security for all.”

June 18, 2021

by Héctor Reyes

The U.S. Far-Right: poised to extend its reach and scale of violence

The January 6th storming of the U.S. Capitol by elements of the far-right—amateurish and pursued by a coalition of activists that grossly overestimated the extent of their power and support—constituted a breakthrough by far-right political forces. As conceived, it was destined to be easily repelled from the outset, and contrary to corporate and social media hyperbole, it fell profoundly short of constituting a viable coup attempt. Yet, it is in the reverberations of its political symbolism that it amounts to a victory for the far-right, for it constitutes a “proof of concept.”

June 7, 2021

by Zack Frailey Escobar

The QAnon Coup: hysteria and conspiracy at the end of the world

In the halls of Congress, Democrats are attempting (or at least feigning an attempt) to force an investigation into the January 6th riot, in which Trump supporters invaded the US Capitol building. Many on the left correctly view this step as a piece of political theater designed to simultaneously appease their base and generate a rationale for further expansion of the national security state. Despite the ridiculous charade of the capitalist parties, however, there is nothing frivolous about the riot or the horde of fanatical “QAnon” conspiracy theorists that spawned it. The events of January 6 portend the emergence of a new, radicalized Right which the Left must be prepared to combat.

June 1, 2021

by Edgar Franks

Our people can’t wait

Some people think that electing Democrats, especially elite figures from rich and powerful families with direct ties to the status quo of capitalism and imperialism, are going to push through the changes that we need. Given the scale of class inequality, the profound and radical changes needed, and the recent struggles nationally and internationally, is it possible to continue to place our hopes in the current two-party system or do we need to beyond for the vehicle(s) that we need to carry out the kinds of changes needed that much of the working class have been or are already fighting for?

May 13, 2021

by Zack Frailey Escobar

The Colombian Working Class Against Neoliberalism and Imperialism

In the aftermath of the pandemic, Colombians are striking and demonstrating against austerity and police repression in a historic rebellion. The uprising highlights the power workers hold – and if the rising is successful, it could spell the end of decades of right-wing rule.

May 12, 2021

by Susana Fuentes

Encapsulamiento: origen de la violencia del 8M en México

Tres días previos al 8M, el viernes cinco de marzo del 2021, los monumentos más
representativos de México amanecieron amurallados por vallas de acero de tres
metros de alto: el Monumento a la Revolución, el Ángel de la Independencia, el Palacio
de Bellas Artes, junto con el Palacio Nacional, residencia oficial del actual presidente
de México Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). Instituciones y residencias privadas
siguieron el ejemplo gubernamental en los siguientes días: la residencia privada de
Andrés Roemer en la colonia Roma, escritor y ex-embajador de buena voluntad de la
UNESCO quien presenta 61 denuncias por acoso y abuso sexual, así como el hotel
Hilton y banco Banorte en la Avenida Juárez, tapizaron la ciudad de acero y madera.

May 10, 2021

by Susanna de Guio y Gianpaolo Contestabile

El estallido colombiano: segundo acto

37 asesinatos de manifestantes perpetrados por la policía, 234 casos de agresiones violentas, incluidos 26 con lesiones oculares, 15 casos de violencia sexual y de género, 66 agresiones a defensores de derechos humanos y periodistas y 1728 detenciones arbitrarias es el saldo alarmante de los nueve días de Paro Nacional convocado por los sindicatos colombianos, según reportan la campaña Defender la Libertad y TembloresONG.
La masacre que están perpetrando las fuerzas policiales en Colombia ya alcanzó la atención internacional, desde los medios independientes y las redes sociales se solicita la difusión de los cientos de abusos registrados, mientras que en distintas ciudades se denuncia la censura a través de la interrupción de la señal de internet. Además el martes 4 de mayo un portavoz de las Naciones Unidas expresó una fuerte condena con respecto a la conducta de las fuerzas públicas colombianas: “Estamos profundamente preocupados por cómo evolucionó la situación en Cali durante la noche, donde la policía abrió fuego contra los manifestantes y varias personas murieron o resultaron heridas”.