Bolivia’s Coup: Was it a coup attempt, a rehearsal or a self-coup?
This article was originally published by Revolutionary Workers League for the Fourth International in Spanish After the failure of yesterday’s [June 26, 2024] coup attempt, the scenario remains open and unstable. The state crisis takes a leap, introducing itself into the Armed Forces and further delegitimizing the degraded Bolivian democracy. The Armed Forces became a […]
Chilean Plebiscite: Significance
Samuel Flewett, a socialist from New Zealand based in Chile, sends this report on the recent victory at the polls there. On Sunday, the 25th of October, 78% of us voted to send the Pinochet-era constitution to the dustbin. The masterpiece of Pinochet’s chief political theoretician Jaime Guzmán, admirer of Francisco Franco, and one-time activist […]
Chile: The beginning of the end of neoliberalism?
Samuel F, a former member of the ISO now active in Chile, offers these reflections. After more than 40 days of almost non-stop demonstrations things are on the surface somewhat quieter on the streets of Chilean cities. Quieter does not mean “normal” in any sense of the word – the streets are filled with political […]
Rebel Lives: José Carlos Mariátegui
José Carlos Mariátegui was born in Perú in 1894. While his father was of an old, elite family, José Carlos was raised in relative poverty by his mother and grandparents. Having had very little schooling, Mariátegui was apprenticed as a printer’s assistant at age 15. From these humble beginnings, he would go on to become […]
Keeping the Faith – RIP Fidel
Fidel Castro has died. We mourn him from the depth of our hearts; for his victories and for his failings, for the achievements of the Cuban revolution and for its weaknesses but most of all for the achievements of his generation, for our own parents and our grandparents. Fidel Castro “invaded” Cuba, his homeland, in […]
The Panama Papers, New Zealand and Imperialism
The Panama Papers have given us an insight into the secret world of offshore. Offshore refers to the secrecy jurisdictions that exist all around the world where the wealthy can hide their wealth. New Zealand has been pushed into the spotlight as a major South Pacific tax haven, with itself and the territories it manages, […]
Making the Zika threat worse
Images of Black and Brown people suffering an epidemic viral disease are flooding television screens yet again. This time, however, it isn’t Ebola but the Zika virus that is the culprit. The current outbreak of the Zika virus evokes similar racist fears to those surrounding the 2014 Ebola epidemic–but more than that, the explosion in […]
The Free Fare struggle rises up
Sean Purdy, a member of the Party of Socialism and Freedom (PSOL) and activist in the Free Fare movement in São Paulo, reports from Brazil on a police assault. SÃO PAULO was a war zone the night of June 13 as riot police viciously attacked a peaceful demonstration of the Free Fare movement, which is […]
The Legacy of Hugo Chavez: Venezuela and the Bolivarian Revolution
Hugo Chavez was a figure that had the neoliberals of the world worried. He led a democratic sweep of changes across his country, appropriating businesses, nationalizing oil wealth and providing services for the people and the poor, something that, according to the logic of the market’s apologists, cannot work. For all that Time magazine called […]
Hasta siempre Chavez! The revolution must continue
Revolutionary movements invariably produce great leaders. The name Hugo Chavez stands among these. Judging the role individuals play in historic processes is a precarious affair. But having some estimation is important to understanding the challenges that may await. The US Marxist, George Novack, observed that the “leadership, collective and individual, embodies the conscious element in […]
