Archive for the Category 'Statements'
Second general strike of the year on March 2
Trade unions in Northern Cyprus declared 2011 as the “year of social existence.” The world economic crisis has forced the government in Ankara to carry out neoliberal attacks against the rights of the working class in Northern Cyprus. The first general strike of this year was on January 28. The general strike took on an anti-colonial character: At the strike rally, banners against the Turkish occupation forces were held up. Then the verbal attacks against the people of Northern Cyprus began, both by the Turkish government and by Turkish fascists in Cyprus. On March 2, a second general strike will take place, and we want to analyze this movement from a Marxist point of view in order to develop perspectives. »»»»
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What are the Perspectives for the Revolution in the Arab Countries?
In the past two months, millions of people in Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Algeria and other Arab countries have gone out onto the streets against dictatorial regimes. These regimes, in power for decades (23 years in the case of Tunisia, 29 years in the case of Egypt), have been shaken. Massive police forces and secret services (180,000 police and spies in the case of Tunisia, 1.8 million in the case of Egypt) were unable to contain the revolt. The Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced to flee the country on January 14, while the Egyptian president Mubarak had to resign on February 11. »»»»
As we go to press, the revolutionary process that has opened in Egypt appears to be entering a decisive phase. This is the most important of a series of uprisings that are sweeping through different countries in the Arab world: in Tunisia, Jordan, Yemen, Morocco and Algeria, where the opposition has called for a general strike and demonstrations. »»»»
The League for the FIfth International attempts to expel RIO members from the New Anticapitalist Left (NAL) of the Czech Republic
The Prague group of the Revolutionary Internationalist Organization (RIO) formulated an open letter which named the current problems of the New Anticapitalist Left (NAL) in the Czech Republic. Our aim was to start a constructive debate about the future direction of the NAL and the work of all left-wing groups (RIO and also the League for the Fifth International, LFI) in this organization. »»»»
8 South Korean Labor Activists Face 5-7 Years in Prison
While we have important political differences with the SWLK and the initiators of this solidarity call, we unreservedly condemn the attempt by the South Korean state to persecute left communist activists for their political work. This kind of political repression by the capitalist courts can only be stopped by mass action of the workers and youth. Yet as internationalists we also support legal attempts to force the South Korean state to drop all charges. »»»»
After years, the first revolutionary process in an Arabic country is underway. Ben Ali’s Tunisian regime does not know what to do to curb the mobilization of the masses — unleashed because of the rise in prices of basic products — who, after yesterday’s announcements, are demanding his resignation. In Tunisia, a new revolutionary process is taking place, in which the vanguard is not Islamist, a process from below of young college graduates that are unemployed, lawyers, workers from industrial and mining cities, a two-hour general strike called for January 14, among other actions. »»»»
On 16th December there will be a worldwide day of action with striking colleagues of the UPS in Istanbul and Izmir. Since 5th May the UPS workers in Turkey are in action and on strike. They fight because they have tried to unionize but were aggressively oppressed and 160 colleagues were layed off for this reason. Poor working conditions and low wages are the causes for their decision to unionize. »»»»
Raúl Castro has announced that the much-delayed congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) will take place in April 2011. The fifth congress of the PCC was held in October 1997, and the sixth has been postponed countless times. But after an interval of thirteen and a half years, the PCC’s (formally) highest body will finally meet. »»»»
Where is Cuba Going? A Marxist Analysis of the Perspectives for the “Socialist Island”
Cuba seems like an anachronism in today’s world. Other formerly “socialist” states reintroduced capitalism in the upheavals of the 1990s. In Russia, the Communist Party was toppled and its system collapsed. In China and Vietnam, the Communist Parties themselves led a controlled process of reforms to reestablish a market economy. Cuba alone has maintained to this day an economy which is dominated not by the laws of the market but by a plan. Will Cuba experience a chaotic reintroduction of capitalism like in Russia? Or a controlled restoration like in China and Vietnam? Will it remain an “anachronism”? Or will it develop in an entirely new direction?
Introduction and Chapter 1: Cuba today
Chapter 2: The Cuban Revolution
Chapter 3: From olive green to red
Infobox: The Cuban Revolution began in 1917…
Chapter 4: Cuban Bonapartism
Chapter 5: A degenerate workers’ state
Chapter 6: The “Special Period”
Chapter 7: Stabilization
Chapter 8: The military, the bureaucracy and the party
Chapter 9: The development of the economy
Chapter 10: The trajectory of the Cuban regime
Chapter 11: The “Chinese” road
Chapter 12: Three possible roads
Chapter 13: Tasks of Marxists + Bibliography
The first draft of these theses was written by Wladek Flakin (RIO, Berlin) in April 2010 and discussed at RIO’s seminar on Latin America in June 2010 and its Summer Academy in August 2010. Based on these discussions the text was expanded by Victor Jalava (RIO, Kiel). Members of the Left Block (LiBRo) from Rostock, the Marxist Initiative (MI) from Berlin and the New Anticapitalist Left (NAL) from the Czech Republic contributed to the discussion. Following, we will publish one chapter from the theses every two days for a month.
Revolutionary Marxists outside Cuba have several fundamental tasks. We must defend the gains of the Cuban revolution against imperialism, particularly opposing the criminal US blockade of the island. At the same time, we must defend these gains against the plans of the ruling bureaucracy itself when it tries to take further steps towards capitalism. For this, we must strengthen the only conceivable social base of a second Cuban Revolution, an independent workers’ movement on the island. »»»»
The PCC’s last congress was in 1997. The sixth congress, originally scheduled for 2008, has been postponed indefinitely. This is a sure sign of cracks within the bureaucracy which the top leadership is working to mend before they can show themselves at a congress. »»»»