Social movements

President Lula’s “realpolitik” and the “alterglobalisation” movement

13 January 2020 - by Eric Toussaint, Frédéric Lévêque

An interview with Eric Toussaint of the CADTM (Committee for the Abolition of the Third World Debt) by Frédéric Lévêque, in Geneva, in the context of the “Illegal G8” counter-summit, following his meeting on 2 June 2003 with President Lula of Brazil Context: On the occasion of the annual summit of (...)
The conservative offensive and the return of class war in Latin America

16 December 2019 - by Franck Gaudichaud, Antoine Pelletier

Several countries in Latin America are currently experiencing very powerful class conflicts and extremely violent repression on the part of reactionary forces and the state. The following report is an overview by Franck Gaudichaud on the situation in various countries and the dynamics of their (...)
Extractivism and resistance in North Africa

23 November 2019 - by Hamza Hamouchene

Northern African countries are key suppliers of natural resources to the global economy, from large- scale oil and gas extraction in Algeria and Tunisia, to phosphate mining in Tunisia and Morocco, to water-intensive agribusiness paired with tourism in Morocco and Tunisia. The commodification (...)
« We are at the beginning of the end of neoliberalism in Chile »

19 November 2019 - by Franck Gaudichaud

Franck Gaudichaud is a specialist of contemporary Chile, president of the association France Amerique Latine and member of the editorial board of Contretemps. He is a political scientist and teaches Latin American history at the University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France (1). Here he develops (...)
More than just a “Spring”: the Arab region’s long-term revolution

14 November 2019 - by Gilbert Achcar

The Arab region is immersed in a long-term revolutionary process that pits youth-led movements against authoritarian rulers and neoliberal capitalism, explains Gilbert Achcar. When in late 2018 the people of Sudan took to the streets demanding an end to Omar al-Bashir’s authoritarian rule, (...)
Final Declaration of the Global Campaign to Claim People’s Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and End Impunity in Relation to the V Session of the OEIGWG

22 October 2019 - by Stop corporate impunity

Final Declaration of the Global Campaign to Claim People’s Sovereignty, Dismantle Corporate Power and End Impunity in Relation to the V Session of the OEIGWG. Mr. Chair President and delegations of the States present, This statement is made on behalf of the Global Campaign to Reclaim (...)
The revolution in Sudan is far from over

27 August 2019 - by Mohammed Elnaiem, Dr. Mohammed Abdelraoof

Today (August 17, 2019), the Sudanese military and civil opposition are singing a political agreement — meanwhile the revolution is carried forth by grassroots organizers. A political agreement has been reached between the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) — the broad alliance of civil society (...)
Puerto Rico rises...

24 July 2019 - by CADTM AYNA

CADTM Latin America and the Caribbean (CADTM - ABYA YALA - Our America) stands in solidarity and marches along with the brave Puerto Rican people and, among them, the comrades with whom we participated in the Latin American and Caribbean Week against Illegitimate Debts, held from December 2 to (...)
Puerto Rico: people are in the streets against sexism, homophobia, austerity and corruption

21 July 2019 - by Pierre Gottiniaux

A political scandal recently pushed thousands of Puerto Rican people into the streets to march under the catchword ‘Ricky Renuncia!’, Ricardo, quit! - Ricardo Rossello is the island’s current governor. On 11 July 2019, an anonymous source published personal messages from the governor’s Telegram (...)
Post-Bouteflika Algeria: For a Democratic Transition

6 July 2019 - by Jérôme Duval

In Algeria, the slogan Yatnahaw ga’, “that they all blow off”, sums up the widely shared popular will to put an end to the “Bouteflika system”. It is a question of setting in motion a process of transition to a Second Republic. In homage to Ramzi Yettou, a victim of repression who died at the age (...)
Chase those crazy baldheads out of town: Resisting the rise of authoritarianism in occupied Haiti

12 June 2019 - by Kolektif Anakawona

Editorial Statement: As protesters prepare for another manifestation on Sunday, June 9, LeftEast publishes this piece on the current events in Haiti by the Anakawona Collective in cooperation with Commune. “To change things, we need to be outraged./ If we are outraged, we will organize./ If we (...)
The Sudanese revolution is our honour! Down with the Transitional Military Council!

6 June 2019 - by CADTM International

Since mid-December 2018, Sudan has been going through a major popular uprising. The social explosion has been driven by poverty, precarious living conditions and unemployment (which strongly affects young people, as elsewhere in the Middle East and North Africa). It was triggered by the record (...)
Call for mobilization to defend our alternatives against the G7

6 June 2019 - by Alternatives G7

France is the host country of the next G7 meeting to be held in Biarritz from 24 to 26 August 2019. For decades, the G7 has played the role of an economic and financial directorate alongside the IMF, the WTO and the World Bank. Today, it is the space where seven of the world’s greatest (...)
Welcome to the new Algerian revolution: an interview with Hamza Hamouchene

22 April 2019 - by Hamza Hamouchene

In 2011, a wave of revolutionary struggle swept the Middle East and North Africa, often bringing down dictatorships that had governed for decades. Millions protested on the streets, occupied public spaces and demanded “bread, freedom and social justice”. Having broken through the fear produced by (...)
Algeria in revolt: “We woke up and you will pay!”

9 April 2019 - by Hamza Hamouchene

The abdication of President Bouteflika is a historic victory for the Algerian people — but the struggle for a true democratic transition is far from over. What is happening in Algeria is truly historic. The people won the first battle in their struggle to radically overhaul the system. (...)
Socialise Housing across Europe!

5 April 2019 - by Collective

Tomorrow, Saturday 6 April, many actions will take place across Europe to cry out loudly that it is time to stop the financialisation of housing and to defend the right to decent housing for all. CADTM supports these actions and signed this call made by several European associations (Portugal, (...)
“We will not be silenced” – Women’s stories from the frontline of Sudan’s revolution must be told

25 March 2019 - by Sondos Al Ali, Nazik Awad

Women are leading Sudan’s revolt against religious fundamentalism. As in Egypt and Saudi Arabia they face a violent backlash. But they must win. Sudanese women are fighting back against the Islamist state of Sudan after 30 years of oppression and humiliation. Major hikes in basic living (...)
The “Hirak” Movement in Algeria Against Bouteflika’s “Mandate of Shame”

8 March 2019 - by Jérôme Duval

Announced as a candidate for a fifth term, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who celebrated his 82nd birthday on Saturday, 2nd March has been hospitalised in a clinic in Switzerland since Sunday, 24th February. The Algerian head of state, who could not have been quieter since he fell (...)
Rage and Liberation. Bulgarian women against violence

11 February 2019 - by LevFem

March 8th – The Weekly Striker n. 1 : Rage and Liberation. Bulgarian women against violence For the third year, the global women’s strike is landing on dozens of countries on the 8th of march. The unexpected and enduring strength of this movement is testified by the tremendous circulation of (...)
The Sudan uprising: “This is a people’s revolution”

1 February 2019 - by Mohammed Elnaiem

In Sudan, a multifaceted civil opposition is posing a serious threat to the continued existence of Bashir’s dictatorial regime after weeks of protests. If a hospital is not a sanctuary for an injured person, what is? And what level of hatred, what kind of viciousness can be satisfied by the (...)
In Zimbabwe, capitalist crisis + ultra-neoliberal policy = “Mugabesque” authoritarianism

28 January 2019 - by Patrick Bond

Once again, a formidable burst of state brutality against Zimbabwe’s citizenry has left at least a dozen corpses, scores of serious injuries, mass arrests, Internet suspension and a furious citizenry. The 14-17 January nationwide protests were called by trade unions against an unprecedented fuel (...)
Crackdown on the French Yellow Vest Movement: an Undeclared State of Emergency

21 January 2019 - by Jérôme Duval

According to Vincent Brengarth, a lawyer at the Paris Bar, in recent years we have been witnessing a disturbing drift in police repression in France, more specifically since November 2015 when the state of emergency was pronounced and extended several times, before being integrated into common (...)
Alliance statement: Solidarity with the popular uprising in Sudan

14 January 2019 - by Alliance of Middle Eastern Socialists

We the Alliance of Middle East Socialists support the ongoing uprising which erupted across Sudan starting December 19th, 2018. The protests were set off by the lifting of subsidies on bread, wheat, and electricity as well as spiking inflation. The United Nations Development Program has (...)
Adam Smith and the Yellow Vest Movement

23 December 2018 - by Eric Toussaint

It is sad to see how completely misrepresented Adam Smith (1723-1790) is when pundits call upon him to vindicate neoliberalism and the status quo. It seems many have not really bothered to read his works. Some passages in Adam Smith’s major work, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the (...)
Macron’s Announcements: Smoking to preserve tax injustice and gifts to the rich

13 December 2018 - by Attac France

While the whole country has a strong desire for more social and fiscal justice, Emmanuel Macron has finally spoken out, after three weeks of silence, but refuses to change course. Behind some “social” measures that hide a weakening of social protection and the refusal of a general increase in (...)