Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt

The articles in this issue of the CADTM Newsletter collectively narrate a story of a world grappling with overlapping crises, misleading alternatives, and ongoing struggles for justice. From COP30 in Brazil to the streets of Nepal, from Palestine to New York, and from the halls of BRICS summits to anti-fascist gatherings, they outline the landscape of a global system in chaos and highlight movements that refuse to back down.

We begin with COP30 and the Brazilian Dilemma, which highlights the contradictions faced by so-called progressive governments in the Global South. Brazil, as the host of the upcoming COP, finds itself caught between the promise of ecological leadership and the pressures of extractivism driven by global capital. The article underscores that a genuine ecological transition cannot occur without addressing the financial architecture of debt that ties countries to fossil-fuel interests. The North’s “climate pledges” continue to obscure its outstanding climate debt to the South — a central theme of our international analysis.

We also present several articles on the BRICS and the mirage of alternatives which critically examine the BRICS. In Are the New Development Bank and the BRICS Monetary Fund an Alternative?, The BRICS are the New Defenders of Free Trade, and The Passivity or Complicity of BRICS with Imperialist Wars, the author analyses the bloc’s transformation from a symbol of Southern assertion to a pillar of global capitalism. Additionally, India after the Tianjin Summit and in the Midst of the Climate Crisis and The BRICS and De-dollarization underscore how even emerging powers perpetuate dependence and inequality while presenting themselves as champions of multipolarity. Collectively, these pieces raise an important question: Can a world structured around the Bretton Woods model of debt and extractivism ever be genuinely multipolar for the common good?

The articles on Nepal’s 'Gen-Z revolt' capture the essence of popular defiance, as illustrated in the articles Nepal’s Republic in Crisis, After the Streets Erupted, and Nepal Joins a Regional Wave of Revolt. These pieces explore how the spectre of Nepal's unfinished revolution has resurfaced, igniting a new generation’s anger over corruption, oppression, and the stagnation of democratic progress. Their struggle reflects a widespread disillusionment throughout the South Asian region while simultaneously nurturing hope for the resurgence of radical politics at the grassroots level.

There’s some good news from the United States, at last. The three pieces, The Struggle Beyond the Ballot, Zohran Mamdani after his election as Mayor of New York, and Zohran Mamdani, Eugene V. Debs, and Dawn, follow the arc of a new optimistic moment at the heart of the empire. Mamdani's campaign, which was rooted in working-class neighbourhoods and immigrant communities, defied the bipartisan consensus about war, debt, and austerity. His election as New York’s mayor in November 2025 signals that even the urban core of global capitalism can become a site of rupture.

By invoking Eugene V. Debs in his victory speech, Mamdani connected today’s struggles—for housing, public services, and economic democracy—with the radical traditions of US socialism. Together, these articles show that the battle against illegitimate debt and financial domination extends beyond the Global South: it is also being fought in the metropoles, where local resistance challenges the empire from within.

The articles on Palestine - The World Stands with Gaza, No Illusions: Neither Zionism nor its state can be reformed and International Feminist Call against the Instrumentalisation of Peace, emphasizes that contemporary solidarity is inextricably linked to the struggle against imperialism and colonialism. These articles illustrate how the resistance in Gaza, global feminist movements, and the anti-genocide efforts in South Africa and Latin America converge, fostering a renewed internationalism among the oppressed.

This issue also underscores the anti-fascist struggle emerging through initiatives such as The International Anti-Fascist Conference. In an era marked by rising authoritarianism, these interventions reaffirm the CADTM’s steadfast position: opposition to all forms of imperialism, oligarchy, and oppression—whether disguised as neoliberal democracy or nationalist demagogy.

Amid these global struggles, two key articles entitled Who Are the CADTM? What Is Illegitimate Debt? and The CADTM at the Summer University of Social Movements and Solidarities (UEMSS)—reaffirm our collective task. The first offers a clear primer on the politics of illegitimate debt, while the second highlights CADTM’s active role in building spaces of popular education and movement convergence. Together, they remind us that the fight against debt is also a battle for consciousness, organisation, and new internationalism.

Developing the website in four languages (French, Spanish, English and Portuguese) and the electronic bulletins in three languages ( French, English, Spanish) are a couple, among the numerous projects of CADTM. A new site set up recently and we hope likewise to provide more articles for a possible maximum number of readers around the world. The members of the CADTM international network will actively participate in the research and production of articles so that we can provide you with better information.
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