Articles
On 17th October Lebanon erupted. 2 million people have since come out in cities and towns across this country of 7 million. People from all walks of life, except the crême de la crême, have since staged demonstrations, blocked roads, occupied Martyrs’ square in Beirut and other public spaces, marched to ministries, the Central Bank, and other agencies they hold responsible for the plight of the country, and waged strikes by workers in different industries. For a period of two whole weeks all public schools and universities were shut down, with children and teenagers of all ages, from elementary school pupils all the way up to university students, joining the demonstrations. Lebanese University, the biggest public university, was a major centre of agitation, especially its main campus in Hadath. Schools then opened, but students have kept up their political activity.
Renaissance Ouvrière Révolutionnaire, our sister organisation in France, was naturally present in the ranks of the French workers and people during the big general strike in that country. Here is a first report form our comrades.
The French working class has been preparing for this day for months. December 5 was chosen as the starting date of the general strike against the law that makes it possible for the ordinary French worker to get his or her pension only in the grave! The organization of the French bourgeoisie MEDEF had demanded this for years and President Emmanuel Macron who executes without any reserve when ordered by MEDEF rolled up his sleeves to pass this law. The answer was clear. Meetings were held at each station, leaflets were distributed in every corner, and almost every day another sector or layer of the working class declared their support for the strike. The D-day came and the switches started to turn off as from the evening of 4 December, and on 5 December in all the important cities of France, the streets were taken by the working class.
The rolling general strike in France, which started on 5th December, may drag on for some time. It will be an important event, especially in the context of the uprisings that have shaken the Middle East and North Africa region and Latin America. We are publishing below the leaflet prepared on this occasion by our comrades of the ROR (Renaissance ouvrière révolutionannaire), our sister organisation in France. (RedMed)
Los trabajadores y los pobres de Irán esperaban una señal. La señal llegó el viernes 15 de noviembre. El gobierno decidió cancelar los subsidios a la nafta y aumentar el precio del litro de nafta en un 50% para los primeros 60 litros mensuales y en un 300% para los litros siguientes. Todo Irán se rebeló. Lo mismo ocurrió con el evento de los Chalecos Amarillos en Francia (ver artículo “The Yellow Vests...”), con la revolución sudanesa (ver artículo “Sudan Revolution”), con la “Revolución de media jornada” de Ecuador (ver artículo “Yarım günlük...”), e incluso en Chile, donde la explosión no fue el resultado de una subida del precio del combustible, sino de una modesta subida de los precios del subte (ver artículo “Tahrir’den Tahrir’e...”). Las subidas de precios y tarifas no son la razón de los levantamientos recientes. Los pueblos del mundo están sencillamente esperando agazapados a que la clase capitalista haga un movimiento erróneo. Eso es todo. Ahora se ha unido Irán, una vez más, como veremos más abajo, a la tercera ola de la revolución mundial (ver artículos “Tahrir’den Tahrir’e...”, “Tremble with fear...”, y más anterior “2018: year of the resurgence...”). Una aclaración...
Levent'te bir araya gelen Filistin dostları, “'Yıkılsın Siyonist İsrail devleti” yazılı pankartın arkasında, Filistin bayraklarıyla konsolosluk önüne yürüdü. Filistin dostları eylem boyunca “Yıkılsın Siyonist İsrail devleti!”, “Nehirden denize özgür Filistin!”, “Kahrolsun ABD emperyalizmi!”, “Katil ABD Ortadoğu’dan defol!”, “Kahrolsun Avrupa emperyalizmi!” sloganlarını attı. Konsolosluk önünde “ABD defol! Kudüs Filistinlilerindir!” pankartı açan Filistin dostları “Elçi defolsun, ilişkiler kesilsin!” sloganıyla Filistinlilerin Siyonist İsrail ile ilişkilerinin kesilmesi talebini yükseltti.
قام أصدقاء فلسطين ضد الإمبريالية والصهيونية بتنظيم احتجاج أمام القنصلية الصهيونية في ٢٩ نوفمبر، يوم التضامن الدولي مع الشعب الفلسطيني.
مشى الحشد من محطة المترو في ليفنت إلى مبنى القنصلية الصهيونية بشعارات: "ليسقط الكيان الصهيوني" ، "من النهر إلى البحر، ستكون فلسطين حرة"، "لتسقط الإمبريالية الأمريكية" ، "ليسقط إمبريالية الاتحاد الأوروبي ". كما هتفوا بشعارات تطالب بترحيل السفير الصهيوني.
ثم، أمام مبنى القنصلية ، قرأوا البيان الصحفي، و دعوا الناس إلى النضال ضد الإمبريالية و الصهيونية. كما طالب أصدقاء فلسطين ضد الإمبريالية وصهيونيزم بإنهاء فوري لجميع العلاقات مع إسرائيل.
The Friends of Palestine Against Imperialism and Zionism (FPAIZ) Platform held a demonstration on November 29 in front of the Istanbul Consulate of Israel in Levent, in order to mark the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People.
The demonstrators gathered at the Levent metro station and then marched to the Consulate with placards, Palestine flags, and the banner read “Down with Zionist Israel state”.
During the protest, Friends of Palestine chanted the slogans “Down with the Zionist Israel state”, ”From the river to the sea Palestine will be free!”, “Down with the US imperialism!”, and “Down with the European imperialism!”
Before the press release, they unfurled the banner “USA go home! Al Quds belongs to the Palestinians”. Chanting slogans “the Ambassador be deported!” and “all relations be cut off!”, the Platform raised the demand that Turkey sever its relations with Zionist entity.
In the press release, the Platform called the people to struggle against Zionism within the country and in the region.
On 1st October last month, precisely on the 70th anniversary of the second most important revolution of the 20th century, the Chinese revolution, the Iraqi revolution broke out in particular in the Shiite region of the country. The Communist Party of China has long abandoned the path of the revolution it had once led, but the working people of Iraq were saying, as it were, that revolution was not left out in the cold.
Iraq’s revolution is based entirely on the rightful grievances of its toiling population: joblessness, extremely poor social services, and immense corruption. The rate of unemployment has reached 30 per cent among the youth. The importance of this piece of statistics comes through when one remembers that 54 per cent of the population of 38 million of the country are under the age of 24. The lack of services bears bitterly ironic dimensions, since the supply of electric power is extremely unreliable even in the oil-rich city of Basra. There is also a lack of sanitation across the country: water is not available in potable quality and even agriculture suffers from this miserable supply of water. As for the corruption, this is a systemic ill through which the...
İran’ın işçileri ve yoksulları bir işaret bekliyordu. O işaret 15 Kasım Cuma günü geldi. Hükümet benzin sübvansiyonunu kesti ve benzinin fiyatına ayda kullanılan ilk 60 litre için %50, daha sonrası için ise %300 zam yaptı. Tüm İran ayağa kalktı. Bunun benzeri, Fransa’da Sarı Yelekliler olayında, Sudan devriminde, Ekvador’daki ‘yarım günlük devrim’de, ve hatta Şili’de, her ne kadar burada ayaklanmanın tetikleyicisi yakıt fiyatlarındaki artış yerine metro fiyatlarındaki ufak bir artış olsa da, yaşanmıştır. Fiyatlar ve ulaşım bedellerindeki artışlar bu isyanların nedeni değildir. Dünya halkları adeta pusuya yatmış ve sermayedar sınıfın yanlış bir hareketini beklemişlerdir. Olan bundan ibarettir. İran, az sonra anlatacağımız gibi tekrardan, dünya devriminin üçüncü dalgasına katılmıştır.
Les travailleurs et les pauvres d'Iran attendaient un signe. Ce signe est venu le vendredi 15 novembre. Le gouvernement a décidé d’éliminer les subventions pour l'essence et d'augmenter le prix d'un litre d'essence de 50% pour les premiers 60 litres mensuels et de 300% par la suite. L’Iran tout entier s’est révolté. C’est la même chose avec ce qui s’est passé en France lors des événements Gilets jaunes (http://redmed.org/article/yellow-vests-la-republique-en-marche-arriere), de la révolution soudanaise (http://redmed.org/article/sudan-revolution), dans la "révolution d'une demi-journée" en Équateur (https://gercekgazetesi.net/uluslararasi/yarim-gunluk-devrim), même au Chili, où l'explosion était le résultat non pas de la hausse du prix du carburant mais d'une hausse modeste des prix du métro (https://gercekgazetesi.net/uluslararasi/tahrirden-tahrire-dunya-devrimin...
The workers and the poor of Iran were waiting for a sign. That sign came on Friday 15th November. The government decided to cancel subsidies for petrol (gasoline) and raise the price of one litre of petrol 50% for the first monthly 60 litres and 300% thereafter. The whole of Iran rose in revolt. This was the same with what happened in France in the Yellow Vests event (http://redmed.org/article/yellow-vests-la-republique-en-marche-arriere), in the Sudanese revolution (http://redmed.org/article/sudan-revolution), in Ecuador’s “half-day revolution” (https://gercekgazetesi.net/uluslararasi/yarim-gunluk-devrim), even in Chile where the explosion was the result not of a rise in the price of fuel but of a modest rise in metro prices (https://gercekgazetesi.net/uluslararasi/tahrirden-tahrire-dunya-devrimin...). The price and fare rises are not the reason for the recent...
We are publishing below the English translation of the statement DIP (the Revolutionary Workers Party) issued in Turkish on the very first day of the coup in Bolivia. This is why it does not refer to the phenomenal mass movement that erupted against the coup later, starting with the march from the city of El Alto neighbouring La Paz and using the slogan “Ahora sí, guerra civil!”, putting a civil war on the agenda. Support for this movement is the key to any serious opposition to the coup. Given the right conditions, the defensive struggle against the coup can even turn into a revolutionary crisis. (Note added by RedMed)
A demonstration took place in Athens on Thursday night, October 24th, for the liberation of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah. Over 100 comrades participated in the demonstration in front of the French embassy in Athens.
Georges Ibrahim Abdallah has been held in the French prisons since 1984, for 35 years -he is the most long-held political prisoner in the world. His crime is that he has joined the struggle for the liberation of Palestine, he is a communist and he struggled and keeps struggling against imperialism, Zionism and the Arab bourgeoisies.
The working-class, student and rural Latin America is rising up. We have entered a new period dominated by strong rebellions against brutal austerity policies and the governments that impose them.
Ecuador and Chile are testimony of this tendency, which had already been underway with the revolt against President Ortega’s austerity measures in Nicaragua and with the revolutionary days in Haiti against huge service rate hikes.
Değerli FİT-U’lu yoldaşlar,
Sizlere, dört farklı devrimci ve sosyalist partiden oluşan ve 27 Ekim 2019’da Arjantin’de gerçekleşecek seçimlere katılacak olan FİT-U’ya (Frente de la Izquierda y de los Trajabadores-Unidad, Solun ve İşçilerin Cephesi-Birlik) desteğimizi ifade etmek için yazıyoruz.
Ülkenizin, şu anki kapitalist dünyada en şiddetli yaşanan, çok derin bir ekonomik krizin pençesinde olduğunun, hatta iflasın eşiğinde olduğunun bilincindeyiz. Arjantin’de işçi sınıfının bir kısmının özellikle işsizlerin, yoksulların açlık tehlikesiyle karşı karşıya kalmasını üzülerek takip ediyoruz. Bu kriz 2001-2002 yıllarında yaşanan krizin neredeyse bir tekrarı oldu; Arjantinli işçiler ve emekçiler o krize karşı şanlı Argentinazo eylemlerini gerçekleştirmişlerdi. Hal böyle iken yaklaşan seçimlerde, Arjantin halkının önüne o kötü ünlü krizden beri ülkeyi yöneten iki güç çıkmış bulunuyor. Bir tarafta IMF ve Trump’ın emrinde olan Mauricio Macri, diğer tarafta ise Peronist eski başkan Cristina Fernández Kirchner ile onun ekran yüzü olan Alberto Fernández, Macri’ye karşı başkan adayı. Sürekli olarak, Arjantin halkını ekonomik yıkımın ve felaketin eşiğine getiren işte bu burjuva...
La operación “Peace Spring” (Primavera de la Paz) fue suspendida en su octavo día a través de un acuerdo entre los EE.UU. y Turquía. Una evaluación preliminar apunta claramente a la derrota política de Erdogan y el AKP (Partido de la Justicia y el Desarrollo). Erdogan se vio obligado a detenerse en la línea de 120 km de Tel Abyad - Ras al-Ayn, sin siquiera alcanzar el control total de Ras al-Ayn, cuando apenas un día antes había afirmado que Turquía no se detendría hasta establecer una zona segura de 30 km de profundidad y 440 km de longitud desde el río Éufrates hasta la frontera con Iraq.
Nos dirigimos a ustedes para expresar nuestro apoyo al Frente de la Izquierda y de los Trabajadores-Unidad (FIT-U), formado por cuatro diferentes partidos revolucionarios y socialistas , en las elecciones que se celebrarán en Argentina el 27 de octubre de 2019.
Somos muy conscientes que vuestro país se encuentra en medio de una crisis económica muy profunda, la más profunda del mundo capitalista en este momento, e incluso posiblemente en el umbral de un default. Somos conscientes de que, desgraciadamente, una parte de la clase obrera, en particular los desempleados, los pobres y los indigentes de la Argentina, se enfrentan con la dura perspectiva del hambre. Esto es casi una repetición de la crisis de los primeros años de este siglo, la que los obreros y trabajadores de Argentina enfrentaron con el glorioso Argentinazo de 2001-2002. Sin embargo, las principales opciones que se presentan al pueblo argentino en las próximas elecciones son las dos fuerzas que han gobernado el país desde esa infame crisis. Por un lado, Mauricio Macri bajo el mando del FMI y Trump y, por otro, la ex presidenta peronista Cristina Fernández de Kirchner y su testaferro Alberto Fernández,...
Gli Amici della Palestina contro l'imperialismo e il sionismo hanno tenuto una manifestazione di fronte al consolato generale francese a Istanbul e hanno chiesto l'immediata liberazione di Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, un rivoluzionario libanese e un coraggioso amico dei palestinesi.
Fu arrestato dalla Francia nel 1984, e in seguito accusato di essere un membro delle Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions , un'organizzazione che ai poteri imperialisti a sostegno dell'occupazione israeliana in Libano nel 1982 fece pagare un prezzo per la loro parte nelle atrocità che affrontarono i popoli della regione. Secondo la legge, Abdallah potrebbe essere liberato dopo 14 anni, ma gli Stati Uniti e lo stato illegittimo di Israele hanno richiesto il contrario dalla Francia. Di conseguenza, la Francia, "État de droit" d'Europa, ha mantenuto la prigionia di Abdallah fino ad oggi. È il più vecchio prigioniero politico in Europa e la sua prigionia ha raggiunto il suo 35 ° anno.
Выражаем нашу поддержку FIT-Unidad, состоящему из четырёх революционных и рабочих партий, на предстоящих 27 октября 2019 выборах в Аргентине.
Нам хорошо известно, что ваша страна переживает очень глубокий экономический кризис, самый глубокий в капиталистическом мире на данный момент, находясь, возможно, даже на пороге дефолта. Нам горько от осознания того, что часть рабочего класса, в частности безработные, бедные и нищие в Аргентине, сталкиваются с серьезной угрозой голода. Это почти повторение кризиса первых лет этого столетия, с которым рабочие и рабочие Аргентины справились тогда в борьбе, известной как славная Аргентиназа 2001-2002 годов. И все же главный выбор, который встанет перед народом Аргентины на предстоящих выборах, - это выбор между одной из двух сил, управлявших страной после того печально известного кризиса. С одной стороны, Маурисио Макри под командованием МВФ и Трампа, а с другой - экс-президент перонист Кристина Фернандес Киршнер и ее фронтмен Альберто Фернандес, бросающие вызов Макри. Одни и те же буржуазные силы постоянно тянут народ Аргентины на грань экономических разрушений и катастроф.
H επιχείρηση «πηγή ειρήνης» τέθηκε σε αναστολή στην όγδοή της μέρα, μετά τη συμφωνία ανάμεσα στις ΗΠΑ και την Τουρκία. Μια προκαταρκτική εκτίμηση ξεκάθαρα επισημαίνει την πολιτική πανωλεθρία του Ερντογάν και του ΑΚΡ. Ο Ερντογάν υποχρεώθηκε να σταματήσει στην γραμμή Τελ Αμπγιάντ - Ρας αλ-Άιν των 120 χιλιομέτρων, χωρίς καν να αποκτήσει τον πλήρη έλεγχο του Ρας αλ-Άιν, όταν μόλις μια μέρα πριν είχε βεβαιώσει ότι η Τουρκία δεν θα σταματήσει προτού εγκαθιδρύσει μια ασφαλή ζώνη βάθους 30 χιλιομέτρων και 440 χιλιομέτρων μήκους από τον ποταμό Ευφράτη έως τα σύνορα με το Ιράκ.
The Friends of Palestine Against Imperialism and Zionism (FPAIZ) held a demonstration in front of the French Consulate General in Istanbul, and demanded the immediate release of Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, a Lebanese revolutionary and a brave friend of Palestinians.
He was arrested by France in 1984, and afterwards accused for being a member of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions, an organization that ensured the imperialist powers backing the Israeli occupation of Lebanon in 1982, pay a price for their share in the atrocities that the peoples of the region faced. According to the law, Abdallah could be liberated after 14 years, but the USA and the illegitimate state of Israel demanded the opposite from France. As a result, France, the "État de droit” of Europe, maintained Abdallah’s captivity until today. He is the oldest political prisoner in Europe and his captivity reached its 35th year.
We are writing to you to express our support to the Frente de la Izquierda y de los Trajabadores-Unidad (FIT-U or the Front of the Left and Workers-Unity), composed by four different revolutionary and socialist parties, in the elections to be held in Argentina on the 27th October 2019.
We are very much aware that your country is in the grip of a very deep economic crisis, the most profound in the capitalist world at this moment, even possibly at the threshold of a default. We are bitterly aware that a part of the working class, in particular the unemployed, the poor and the destitute of Argentina are facing starkly the prospect of hunger. This is almost a repeat of the crisis of the early years of this century that the workers and labourers of Argentina countered with the glorious Argentinazo of 2001-2002. And yet the major choices put before the people of Argentina in the coming elections are the two forces that have governed the country since that infamous crisis. On the one hand, Mauricio Macri under the command of the IMF and Trump, and, on the other, the Peronist ex-president Cristina Fernández Kirchner and her front man Alberto Fernández, facing Macri as candidate...
The “peace spring” operation was put on hold on its 8th day according to an agreement between the US and Turkey. A preliminary assessment clearly points to the political rout of Erdogan and the AKP. Erdogan was forced to stop at the Tel Abyad - Ras al-Ayn line of 120 km, without even attaining the full control of Ras al-Ayn, when just a day before he had asserted that Turkey would not stop before establishing a 30 km deep and 440 km long safe zone from the Euphrates river to the Iraq border.
“Barış Pınarı harekâtı” 8. gününde ABD ile Türkiye arasında varılan anlaşma ile durduruldu. Hemen bir ilk bilanço çıkarıldığında Erdoğan ve AKP iktidarı açısından bir siyasi hezimet tablosu ile karşı karşıya olduğumuz açıktır. Bir gün öncesine kadar Fırat nehrinden Irak sınırına 440 km sınır hattında 30 km derinliğinde güvenli bölge oluşmadan durmayacağız diyen Erdoğan, 120 km'lik Tel Abyad – Resulayn hattında, üstelik Resulayn’da henüz kontrol sağlayamamışken durmak zorunda kalmıştır.
Türkiye’nin “Barış Pınarı” ismiyle gerçekleştirmeye hazırlandığı operasyon planı, Fırat Kalkanı ve Zeytin Dalı ile Suriye toprakları içinde oluşturulan NATO koridorunu, Fırat nehrinin doğusuna sınır hattı boyunca uzatma girişiminin parçasıdır. Üzerinde “Made in USA” etiketi vardır. ABD yönetiminin verdiği karışık mesajlar bugüne kadar Türkiye’yi hizaya çekmek için kullandıkları havuç sopa politikasının tezahürleridir.
Le texte suivant a été publié sur le site de DIP en turc la nuit avant le commencement de l’opération « Source de Paix » que la Turquie a entamé en Syrie. Ici on publie la version française. Une traduction en anglais a déjà été publiée sur RedMed.
Esta declaración fue lanzada por DIP en su sitio web Gerçek (www.gercekgazetesi.net) una noche antes de que Turquía comenzara la operación llamada “Manantial de Paz” en el norte de Siria. Aquí reproducimos la traducción al español de la declaración, interpretada inmediatamente para la audiencia internacional.
La operación “Manantial de Paz” que Turquía se está preparando para llevar a cabo, es parte de un intento de extender el corredor de la OTAN, a lo largo de la frontera hacia el este del río Éufrates, establecido dentro del territorio sirio con las operaciones Euphrates Shield (Escudo del Éufrates) y Olive Branch (Rama de olivo). Tiene pegada la etiqueta “Hecho en EE. UU.”. Los mensajes mixtos dados por la administración estadounidense son la manifestación de una política de palo y zanahoria que utilizan para someter a Turquía hasta el día de hoy.
This statement was launched by DIP on its website Gerçek (www.gercekgazetesi.net) one night before Turkey started the operation named “Peace Spring” in Northern Syria. Here we reproduce the English translation of the statement, immediately interpreted for the international audience.
Estimados compañeras y compañeros del FIT-U
Como comunistas revolucionarios tenemos por sentado presentarnos sistemáticamente a las elecciones, sin dejar de denunciar las ilusiones electoralistas, lo que nos permite aprobar completamente y estar en pleno acuerdo con vuestra decisión de participar a vuestras elecciones, conscientes del esfuerzo militante que esto requiere.
A pesar de no tener los elementos necesarios para juzgar la línea política de vuestra campaña ni el contenido de vuestras listas, compartimos ampliamente vuestro punto de vista sobre la crisis del capitalismo, así como también, vuestra denuncia contra la fuerte contraofensiva de la burguesía en contra las condiciones de vida de los trabajadores.
Reciban, compañeras y compañeros, nuestra solidaridad y nuestro apoyo.
Por Lutte Ouvrière:
Nathalie Arthaud, Arlette Laguiller, Armonia Bordes, Jacque Fontenoy
A. El verano del terror
April the cruelest month... Abril el mes más crue ... El famoso verso de TS Eliot del Wasteland podría parafrasear nuestros calurosos días de verano de 2019: Agosto, el mes más cruel... para el capitalismo mundial .
El 12 de agosto, fue el "Lunes Negro", como se llamó al colapso de la Bolsa de Buenos Aires, el peor de su historia, después de la derrota del presidente derechista Macri en las primarias elecciones(PASO).en Argentina, evento que provocará incendios en todo en todos los mercados bursátiles del mundo. Con Wall Street hundiéndose el 14 de agosto,Rana Foroohar escribió en FinancialTimes:
Αύγουστος 1971-Αύγουστος 2019:
Από το τέλος της Συμφωνίας του Bretton Woods στο χάος
του Σάββα Μιχαήλ
Α. Το Καλοκαίρι του Τρόμου
April the cruelest month.. Απρίλης , ο μήνας ο πιο σκληρός…Ο περίφημος στίχος του T. S. Eliot από τηνΈρημη Χώρα θα μπορούσε στις καυτές μέρες μας του καλοκαιριού του 2019 να παραφραστεί: Αύγουστος ο μήνας ο πιο σκληρός...για τον παγκόσμιο καπιταλισμό.
This is the English translation, in somewhat abbreviated form, of an article published in Turkish on the web site of DIP on 11 August 2019 (https://gercekgazetesi.net/gundemdekiler/firatin-dogusunda-nato-koridoru...). An even more emphatic article along the same lines was published on the web site of DIP several days ago (https://gercekgazetesi.net/gundemdekiler/dun-de-bugun-de-yarin-da-plan-a...).According to the latest news, the analysis in the article you are about to read to the effect that, despite all appearances to the contrary, the United States is, in fact, more than happy to let the Turkish army control the north of Syria, west and now east of the Euphrates, since this would mean NATO control of the region against the twin targets of the US, Iran and Syria. The concept “NATO corridor”, it should be noted, is the answer given by DIP to the supposed “Kurdish corridor” that the US is alleged to be building with a view to create a “greater Kurdistan” extending all the...
Desde el DIP (Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores de Turquía), estamos hablando desde un país que es casi un espejo exacto de la Argentina. Ustedes están saliendo del invierno yendo hacia la primavera, mientras que nosotros estamos dejando atrás el verano y avanzando hacia el invierno. Cuando ustedes están aún en cama nosotros despertamos, y vamos a la cama mientras ustedes aún están en medio de la tarde. Sin embargo, nuestros pueblos, la clase obrera, las grandes masas trabajadoras y los pobres, comparten exactamente la misma situación objetiva. El desempleo se dispara, la inflación los empobrece, los bajos salarios llevan a hambrunas, la represión policial golpea a los pobres y a los indigentes cuando levantan la voz, y la burocracia sindical se pone indefectiblemente del lado de la burguesía. En términos de crisis económica, camaradas, si dejamos de lado el caso tan especial de Venezuela, ustedes son el número uno del mundo, ¡pero nosotros los seguimos de cerca!
On the 27th October 2019, general elections, including a presidential vote, will be held in Argentina, a key country of Latin America, rocked by the deepest economic crisis in the capitalist world at this moment and an ascendancy of workers’ struggles, be it the piquetero movement of the unemployed, the resistance of workers of factories that are closing down, the state workers of Chubut in Patagonia and still others. The major candidates for president are Mauricio Macri, the incumbent president, and Alberto Fernández, joint candidate of various Peronist tendencies with the definitive stamp of Cristina Fernández Kirchner, twice president between 2007-2015 and considered to be the nationalist left-wing of the Peronist movement. The result of the presidential election is almost certain: The primary elections (so-called PASO) of 11th August have clearly given a quasi insurmountable lead to Alberto Fernández.
We publish this Notebook based on an analysis by E. Ahmet Tonak, which was first published in www.thetricontinental.org:
In Notebook 2 from Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, we sketch out the outlines of the contemporary production process that results in Apple’s iPhone. We move from a look at the iPhone’s production to the inner workings of profit and exploitation. We are interested not only in Apple and the iPhone, but more particularly in the Marxist analysis of the rate of exploitation at play in the production of such sophisticated electronic devices. It is necessary, we believe, to learn how to measure the rate of exploitation so that we know precisely how much workers deliver into the total social wealth produced each year.
The great poet of the dawn of the bourgeois age, William Shakepeare, in what is probably his most renowned play, Hamlet, has one of his charaters say, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”, words that have become engraved, like many a Shakespearean line, in the common memory of humanity. Had Mahmoud Darwish, the great poet of the Palestinian revolt, not passed away in 2008, he would possibly have written a verse today, in allusion to that of Shakespeare, depicting out times: “Something is bleeding and seething in the Arab world”.
We wrote on behalf of the thousands of medical professionals in Bulgaria who have been "on the street" for 7 months now, protesting, resigning, striking and blocking roads in opposition to unhealthy working conditions and inadequate healthcare pay. Due to the chronic shortage of personnel in the sector, we have to work under difficult conditions, for which we receive a basic salary of less than 250 Euro per month. Therefore many of us are forced to work in two or more places in order to survive. There is a huge lack of staff in the system (about 30,000 short) due to workers who have left the country and their places are currently occupied by pensioners (over 70 years old) or carers (students or people without medical education). We work for 0.12 euro cents an hour night work rate, overtime is almost never paid, there are no mandatory medical standards (one nurse cares for between 30-40 patients in one clinic), which physically does not allow us to take good care of the patients. In kindergartens and schools, one nurse is responsible for 800-1200 children.
11 Ağustos’ta gerçekleşen ön seçimler (PASO) Arjantin’de neredeyse eşi görülmemiş bir durum yarattı. Derin bir ekonomik krizin bir yıldan fazla süredir yıkıcı bir hal izlediği ülkede, iktidardaki Macri hükümeti krizin yükünü emekçi kitlelerin omuzuna yüklemek ve böylelikle burjuvaziye verdiği sözleri yerine getirmek için İMF ile olan iş birliğini devam ettirmek adına ikinci bir dönem daha iktidarda olmak istiyordu. En büyük rakibi tarihi Peronist hareketin Kirchnerci kanadıydı. Macri'nin 2015 yılında iktidarı devralmasına kadar iki kez cumhurbaşkanı olan Cristina Fernández Kirchner, sözüm ona sol yönelimi nedeniyle uluslararası burjuvazinin günah keçisi idi. Günün somut koşullarını değerlendiren bu burjuva siyasetçisi, kendisine ortak aday olarak uluslararası finans kapitalin adamı olan Alberto Fernández’i (sadece isim benzerliği, mevcut iki aday arasında akrabalık yok) seçti. Kirchner’in Frente de Todos’u (Herkesin Cephesi) Macri’nin Cambiemos’unun (Değişelim) ana rakibi oldu.
Las PASO del 11 de agosto han creado una situación casi sin precedentes en Argentina. En un país donde una profunda crisis económica ha causado estragos durante más de un año, el gobierno de Macri buscaba un segundo mandato con el propósito de continuar su colaboración con el FMI para poner toda la carga de la crisis en los hombros de las masas trabajadoras, cumpliendo así sus promesas al capital financiero internacional y a la burguesía doméstica. Su principal competidor era el ala kirchnerista del histórico movimiento peronista. Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, dos veces presidenta hasta que Macri asumió en 2015, fue un chivo expiatorio de la burguesía internacional, por su supuesta orientación de izquierda. Calculando para las circunstancias concretas del día, esta política burguesa escogió a un lacayo del capital financiero internacional, Alberto Fernández, un homónimo pero sin relación, como su compañero de fórmula. Su “Frente de Todos” se convirtió así en el principal contendiente al Cambiemos de Macri.
El sistema político-administrativo turco está históricamente moldeado según el sistema francés clásico (es decir, pre-UE) de centralismo unitario, de modo que los gobernadores de las 81 provincias de Turquía (la contraparte de los departamentos en Francia) son simplemente funcionarios del estado central, cuyas carreras pueden también incluir, y a menudo lo hacen, el puesto de jefe de policía, o los puestos de gobernante y superintendente de policía, ambos vinculados al ministerio del interior. Así, la nueva configuración implica que la administración de las tres ciudades de Diyarbakır, Van y Mardin será ejercida por la administración central, prácticamente aboliendo, para estas tres provincias principales, el así llamado sistema municipal o sistema de gobierno local, que ha sido un pilar histórico de la burguesía turca. De hecho, para encontrar una situación en la cual los cargos de gobernador provincial y de alcalde fueran ocupadas por una misma persona designada centralmente, ¡hay que remontarse al periodo anterior a 1960!