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‘Caravan of Steadfastness’ caught between neo-colonial regimes and repressive militias

Caravan of Steadfastness supporters
Featured article, Africa, Workers' struggle and solidarity  

18 June 2025 Since last week, we have been following the exceptional event of the Caravan of Steadfastness, which set out from Algiers and Tunis on June 8–9. This convoy, even if only briefly, unified the masses in the region, inspiring solidarity, collective organization, and grassroots decision-making. From that point of view, one can say it partially succeeded in its mission, despite the many obstacles it faced—especially upon entering the areas controlled by Khalifa Haftar’s militias in Libya. The Palestinian cause has surged to the forefront of mass political and humanitarian concern, leaving a profound impact on global public opinion. It has forged a new consciousness, especially for younger generations who have directly witnessed the horror of this genocide in a small part of the world —unfiltered and undistorted. The entire world has seen one of the most grotesque and brutal wars, and yet it continues despite the tireless efforts of countless people everywhere. Despite all the support and solidarity for Gaza, the crimes of the Zionist government continue and have persisted for more than a year and a half. What the Zionist state —embodied by Netanyahu’s government, and facilitated by its collaborators across a large portion of the world’s ruling classes— does with its arrogance against oppressed and colonized peoples, is being met with the resolute conscience of people who call for liberation: from the siege, from ethnic cleansing, and from one of the worst massacres of the century. We cannot ignore the millions who have taken to the streets in numerous countries, denouncing Netanyahu’s barbarity and demanding an end to the bloodshed of innocents. This wave of struggle and broad solidarity —particularly the support from Tunisian, Moroccan, and Algerian masses, and from all the peoples in the region— was the driving force behind the convoy. It became a test for its organizers and participants to persist and not retreat until they reached the Rafah crossing. The Palestinian cause: a barometer of Arab solidarity Many activists, left-leaning organisations and ordinary people in Egypt have welcomed and blessed the convoy. They held protests demanding it be allowed to cross the western Libyan border into Egypt and move toward Rafah. But betrayal and submission to reactionary forces proved stronger than these voices. Many who had flown into Egypt to take part in the global solidarity movement (Global March to Gaza) were surrounded, had their passports confiscated, were assaulted, and then threatened with forced deportation. These scenes remind us, in logic if not in scale, of the siege tactics imposed by the Zionist government on the West Bank and Gaza. They come as no surprise from capitalist governments that effectively abide by the far-right dictates of this regime and of its Western backers. Yet amid this betrayal and blockade, demonstrations erupted in Tunisia and several provinces over two days to support and help the convoy continue its journey to Rafah. Marxists have emphasized through their statements and analyses that successful revolutions in the Middle East and North African countries and the liberation of their peoples—by overthrowing the client regimes with the organized strength of the working class—are an essential ingredient in the liberation of the Palestinians. This would shift the regional class balance of forces and profoundly alter the course of the Palestinian struggle.  The slogan “The people want to overthrow the regime,” since the revolutionary uprisings of 2011, has remained the most relevant and accurate expression of the aspirations of the region’s masses. However, setbacks, counter-revolutions, coups, and the unreadiness of the masses and the working class have delayed this outcome. That slogan lost its luster when it was hijacked by populist forces and ruling dictatorships. But today, in contrast, it seems more grounded in reality than ever —especially with the growing realization of the artificiality of the region’s borders and the potential for building common links stronger than the illusions fostered by neo-colonial regimes. The Caravan exposes local regimes, and provoke more brutality from their henchmen The Caravan’s initiative exposed the lies and collaboration of these regimes. From the moment the Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement claiming it could consider allowing the convoy to enter by land only if it fulfilled “necessary administrative conditions” (i.e., applying for visas from the country of origin and other absurdities), militias began mobilizing. This led to disruptions in the convoy’s movement, especially near the entrance of Benghazi, close to the Egyptian border. The convoy was held up for more than two days without media coverage or internet, deprived of food and water for long hours, and even denied the basic right to relieve themselves —especially the women— subjected to humiliation and harassment. The militias even pointed weapons at them and threatened to kill them, despite the convoy’s peaceful and humanitarian nature. Yet, the convoy’s participants and organizers demonstrated remarkable composure and discipline. These vile actions by Haftar’s forces reveal that these regimes are, as some have put it, “even more Zionist than the Zionists themselves”, just like the —now deposed— Syrian Assad regime, the Egyptian Sisi government, the UAE, and others who leave behind a legacy of shame that cannot be erased. These practices only fuel the anger of the masses and make it ever clearer who the true enemies of the region’s peoples are. This suffering experienced by the Arab and broader Middle Eastern peoples is nothing but the accumulation of pressure that will one day explode into liberation. But that liberation needs clear-headed leadership and cadres who can guide and organize the masses, ensuring the movement doesn’t lose direction. We saw this, on a small scale, in the courage and discipline of the convoy’s organizers, even amid betrayal, abductions, and sabotage as they approached Benghazi. The lessons offered by this convoy are building blocks for erasing these artificial borders. This movement may well be the start of forging stronger ties between the working, poor and oppressed peoples of the region, and of reexamining their mutual relationships and collective future amid global upheavals and major shifts. A false division enforced by

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Iranian workers demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to genocide and repression

Fires blaze in Tehran
Featured article, Imperialist conflict and war, Middle East  

18 June 2025 The decision by Netanyahu to escalate the brutal genocide of Gaza by launching new and unprecedented attacks on Iran has dramatically increased the danger of an all-out regional war raging across the Middle East.  Fast shifting events are taking place, with the situation changing on an hourly basis. Already it is clear that there is significant loss of life, particularly in Iran, and huge material and environmental damage – especially with oil and gas supplies being targeted. On top of this is the real danger of a nuclear catastrophe.  The potential for further escalation and for unpredictable, dangerous consequences is implicit in the threats uttered by Trump, who is demanding the immediate capitulation of Iran, and is discussing the use of US air forces to support the Israeli military. Over the last 48 hours, Trump has called on the residents of Tehran to flee, argued he knows where the Ayatollah Khamenei is “hiding”, and deployed military aircraft and warships into the region.  The attack on Iran also conveniently shifts attention away from the genocide in Gaza where the daily massacres and humiliation of the starving masses — over 300 people have been slaughtered and more than 2,000 wounded while trying to collect aid from the US backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since May 26 — merits little more than a passing comment from the rulers and media outlets of the imperialist powers.  Indeed the statement by Macron, Starmer and Carney in mid-May criticising the attacks of the food aid convoys have been quickly forgotten as once again, the western powers have swung behind Netanyahu. Starmer has already sent fighter jets to the region ready for action if needed.  As public pressure, fueled by the harrowing images of deliberately starved children, mounted and began to create visible cracks and shifts in tone within Western governments, it is clear that the timing of Israel’s attack on Iran was no coincidence; it was designed, in part, to disrupt that momentum and restore a degree of consensus among key allies by resurrecting the narrative of the Israeli state’s supposed victimhood. False claims As if mirroring the attack by western powers on Iraq in 2003, with its non-existent weapons of mass destruction, the ongoing barrage of attacks started on Friday (the Israeli military itself claims it has hit 1,100 targets in Iran in 5 days) is based on the spurious claim of the imminent production and use against Israel of nuclear bombs.  Netanyahu has partly built his political career on claiming that Iran was on the point of producing nuclear weapons – in 1992 he claimed the regime was only three to five years away…and he has been making the same claim, as well as urging military intervention, for over 33 years. Yet in recent months an IAEA report concluded that it had “no credible indications of an ongoing, undeclared structured nuclear programme” and the US Director of National Intelligence has discounted the idea that Iran was involved in a nuclear weapons programme. Ironically, as a result of the attacks, the Iranian regime is now threatening to leave the NPT, or nuclear non-proliferation treaty. By leaving the NPT, Iran would no longer be obliged to forgo nuclear weapons or to accept international inspections.  Rather than preventing the Iranian regime from going nuclear, this attack is providing it the strongest incentive to do just that. As for the official claim that these attacks would enhance the security of ordinary Israeli citizens, it is fundamentally undermined by the deadly missile retaliations launched by Iran in response, which have directly harmed civilians within Israel —including Palestinian citizens living within the ‘48 borders, many of whom are excluded from access to the country’s bomb shelters.  Trump jumps on bandwagon With the Israelis apparently winning aerial dominance, Trump seems to be now more explicitly jumping on the bandwagon to claim credit, although he changes his position from day to day. Trump now says that the Iranians should negotiate, forgetting the fact that there was already a programme of negotiations underway which Israel’s actions effectively torpedoed. Echoing the way in which Israel killed Hamas leader and Chief negotiator Ismail Haniyeh last year to delay peace talks, the recent attacks against Iran have targeted Iran’s nuclear negotiators. Israel has clearly not been interested in negotiations at all as they deem violence and destruction to be the most effective method of changing the regional balance of forces more decisively  in their direction.  And it shouldn’t be forgotten that the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the so-called Iran nuclear deal, was the result of a painstaking process of negotiation between Iran and the US, China, Russia and other countries, which was sabotaged in 2018 during his first term when Trump unilaterally abandoned US involvement with the support of Netanyahu and the right wing in the US and Israel. Much of the brutal strategy adopted by the Israeli military in Iran follows the Gaza playbook. It is not just military and nuclear sites that are attacked, but key infrastructural facilities, including telecommunications, television and radio and energy as well as a hospital in western Iran, all of which directly impact on ordinary peoples’ lives. And ordinary workers with no stake in the regime live by or work on these facilities, as cleaners, technicians, secretaries, and they are now paying for this with their lives. Meanwhile, echoing events in Gaza, millions of residents of Tehran are told by the Israeli regime to flee for their lives. What of the sick or the old? And what will be left of their neighbourhoods if and when they return? Trump now repeats the call, grotesquely suggesting that he does so out of concern for saving life. Israel seeks more than just an end to the uranium enrichment process. The aim is to degrade Iran’s overall military capability, especially the missile programme, as well as seeking the disbandment of the militias linked to the Iranian regime.  The logic is to exploit the window of opportunity

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Interview with Iranian socialist feminist activist

Women in Tehran protest Israeli strikes
Featured article, Socialist feminism, PRMI, Middle East, Uncategorized  

18 June 2025 After 620 days of aggression and genocide in Palestine, the genocidal state of Israel drove the region further into despair and instability by launching attacks against Iran. Our comrade Shayda, an Iranian socialist feminist activist currently living outside Iran, answered some questions that give an insight to the situation. PRMI: First of all, solidarity with you, your friends, and family and all those in Iran living through this devastating and traumatic time. I can only imagine the fear, horror and anxiety people are living in right now. What is the current mood in Iran?  Shayda: Tehran, with just above 17 million inhabitants (London and New York City combined), is the second largest metropolitan area in the Middle East, making the evacuation orders (read: methods of psychological warfare) all the less realistic. Additionally, the most exploited layers of the working class who are already struggling to put food on the table, cannot stop working for even a day which means they are unable to evacuate. This inability to evacuate also extends to prisoners, disabled people or those with immediate medical needs such as chemotherapy and dialysis, and those with pets. Furthermore, fuel and gas are being rationed which makes evacuation more difficult, and even impossible for those living in farther cities. And finally, Israel has also been bombing roads out of Tehran – a tactic straight out of their Gaza handbook. “I’m scared of evacuation. All I can think about is Palestinian people who held onto their keys for decades and never returned.” This was one of the very first messages I received from my best friend in Iran after the attacks. Her family had to evacuate a few hours after this. The mood is somber, filled with terror, and uncertain. But Iranians are a resilient bunch, and I hope they persevere. PRMI: There is a lot of propaganda from the Zionist regime on the purpose of these attacks and who they target. What is the goal of Israel’s attacks?  Shayda:The illegitimate, genocidal, and bloodthirsty state of Israel has long craved a regional war and a ‘Greater Israel’. Israel has no interest in ‘freeing Iran’, and they made that abundantly clear less than 24 hours after the first attack, with tweets so clearly out of their Gaza handbook, stating anyone who does not condemn the Iranian regime is complicit in the deaths of Israeli civilians and will be attacked by Israel. First, they wanted Palestinian people to use their dying breath to condemn Hamas, then they wanted Lebanese people to make dying declarations condemning Hezbollah, and now it’s Iran’s turn.  Furthermore, Netanyahu claims to be preventing a “nuclear holocaust” by attacking Iran while having already dropped the equivalent of 6 nukes on Gaza. On top of that, Israel has been saying Iran is dangerously close to obtaining nuclear weapons since the 1980s, this is all a ruse. What were ‘tunnels’ and ‘human shields’ in Gaza, are now ‘military bases’ and ‘nuclear sites’ in Iran. For decades, civilians have paid and continue to pay the price of imperialist divisions and wars in Palestine, and now they will in Iran, too.  Additionally, I think these attacks are serving as a mask off moment for Israel among ordinary Iranians whose abuse by the Iranian regime has led them to Zionism, and non-vocal support for Palestine in fear of their solidarity being co-opted by the regime that oppresses them. It has also been preyed upon by opportunist, pro-Zionist royalists for decades – attempting to brainwash them into thinking their enemy’s enemy is their friend. But it is becoming clear to the world and to Iranians that Israel’s ultimate dream is to exterminate innocent civilians across the Middle East and drive the region into a full-blown, further destabilising war, and no country can ever be bombed into freedom. And of course, we have seen how such attempts and imperialist interventions pan out before: in Iraq, in Syria, in Libya, in Afghanistan, etc. – dictators more ruthless than before, infrastructures non-existent, and lives lost, worlds ruined.   PRMI: Iran has retaliated. It’s understandable that after more than 600 days of Israel’s unrelenting genocide many will cheer on any potential blow against the Zionist regime. But what do you say to those on the left who see the Iranian state as a genuine form of resistance?  Shayda: I want to preface this by saying there is a big difference between the problematic cheerleading of the Islamic Republic (IR) by many on the global left and the celebrations by people affected in the region, especially in Gaza. In the context of the endless horrors of occupation and genocide and the fact that Arab regimes have not only abandoned Palestinians but are actively complicit in the extermination campaign we have to understand why any perceived blow against Israel would be welcomed and applauded. But then there are many on the global left commenting from afar who theorise and defend this as the IR being a bastion of anti-imperialism – they are my audience here. I think ironically the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” mentality is peeking through here as well. As those residing in the belly of the beast that is imperialism and neo-colonialism, we must not forget how this regime came to power by hijacking a workers’ revolution and has done everything in its power to ruin the Iranian left, and any voices of dissent, in the decades that have followed. Activists, scholars, and ordinary people are still missing, assumed dead as a result of the 1988 Mass Executions which systematically targeted leftists and revolutionaries. Political prisoners taken hostage at various points during this regime’s rule are still being tortured in their prisons. And the courageous people who took it to the streets in 2022 and during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” revolt are still paying the price: some blinded by the regime’s rubber bullets, some imprisoned for decades, and some given the death penalty. On top of this, the IR is actively occupying and oppressing people

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Trump’s racist raids provoke thousands to protest in LA

Anti-ICE protesters in Los Angeles
Featured article, Americas, Racism and fascism, Uncategorized  

16 June 2025 Since Friday, June 6, 2025, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has deployed, on Trump’s orders, a massive raid operation in at least seven locations in Los Angeles, California. In addition, Trump has called in the National Guard to carry out the raids in what appears to be a provocation to California’s Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom, whom he has already threatened with arrest. The raids have resulted in at least 44 arrests, 11 of which are Mexican nationals.  In the face of this Trumpist offensive, an immediate popular response emerged; thousands took to the streets to demonstrate for three consecutive days. They directed their forces toward detention centers, including the Edward Roybal Federal Building. Neighborhood groups and community organizations blocked access, raised barricades, confronted the National Guard, and shouted slogans such as “We are LA!” and “CHINGA LA MIGRA!” and waved Mexican flags as a symbol of dignity and resistance against racist raids by the federal government. Racist persecution The federal government’s reaction has been brutal. The following day, 2,000 National Guard troops were mobilized in Los Angeles to reinforce the repression. Border czar Tom Homan declared that they were seeking to “make LA clean and safer,” a clear covert militarization of an anti-immigrant and racist policy against those he considers dangerous to the state: undocumented latino workers.  The police attacked Latino neighborhoods with tear gas, non-lethal weapons, and stun grenades. A typical repressive repertoire, classic of theTrumpism like the one seen in 2020 against Black neighborhoods during the Black Lives Matter movement.  Meanwhile, representatives of the federal government accused Democrats—Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass—of being complicit in allowing “anarchy.” This is part of the rhetorical game between Democrats and Republicans, while local government remains absent and neglectful of Latino communities. So far, police have arrested 33 Mexicans and injured hundreds in the streets, schools, and homes of Latino families. Videos circulating on social media have shown the horror of an unprecedented offensive against Latino and migrant communities.  Federal Attorney Bill Essayli, executor of Trump’s racist and criminal policies, confirmed on social media that federal law enforcement operations “are proceeding as planned this weekend in Los Angeles County.” He warned that anyone who attempts to interfere with their enforcement will be arrested and prosecuted.  The arrest of David Huerta, a union leader with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU–United Service Workers West), during the protests illustrates working-class solidarity in action. He was arrested for standing in front of official vehicles, stating that his action is a collective rather than an individual act: “This is not about me, but about how we stand together as a community to resist injustice.” “Our community is under attack and has been terrorized,” Angélica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), told the crowd of protesters. “These are workers, these are fathers, these are mothers.”  Los Angeles is in a state of panic over the apparent martial law imposed by the federal government. Entire families are fleeing the state seeking refuge, undocumented workers are hiding in broad daylight, and urban skirmishes between Chicano communities and the National Guard erupt on the streets.  At Apparel Ambiance, after a couple of hours, a legion of federal agents in riot gear arrived to confront more than 100 people who had set up barricades to block entry to their neighborhoods. Amidst firecrackers and shouts of “pigs” and “fascists,” the agents were repelled in one of the largest confrontations of the operation. The Latin resistance against the Trumpist offensive Amid the offensive, thousands of Latino workers took to the streets to protest the federal government’s inhumane policies. In the Mexican neighborhoods of Paramount to Compton, resistance escalated to the point of direct confrontations with the National Guard. Chicano communities rode out on motorcycles with flags and catapults in hand to repel the advancing gangs.  Videos of the fighting, which has been going on for more than two days, show burned police cars with graffiti proclaiming “abolish ICE,” grenades exploding on the sidewalk, people wounded by rubber bullets, and dozens of arrests being loaded into police trucks. In front of the Edward Roybal Federal Building detention center, Latino workers blocked the entrances and occupied the building’s outskirts to protest the arrests, while police fired tear gas through the windows at the crowd that numbered hundreds. Mothers are also leading the demonstrations demanding the return of their children, the same mothers who have been beaten by the batons and shields of immigration authorities.  Marches along the city’s main avenues display signs with slogans such as “Fuck migra,” “Fascist pigs,” “Viva la raza,” and “ICE get the fuck out of our communities,” while Mexican flags wave in defense of the roots of migrant generations who defend their neighborhoods, friends, and family. Beyond the borders, the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles, led by Carlos González Gutiérrez, denounced that the detainees were residents with roots and established families. These raids sowed terror in our communities.  At the same time, the Mexican government declared its condemnation of the persecutions and called on consulates to safeguard and protect families threatened by immigration services. Consulates across the country published a message of support for their fellow Mexicans last Saturday. Claudia Sheinbaum, for her part, has publicly condemned them, stating that “Mexicans residing in the United States are good citizens who went to seek a better life; they are not criminals. They have the full solidarity of the Mexican government.” Defend our migrant sisters and brothers. This event is a clear example of how capitalism employs structural and militarized violence to protect profit and discipline the migrant proletariat. Its offensive endangers families and entire generations who, day after day, constitute the most precarious and discriminated against workforce in the United States.  In a country where being brown is synonymous with being a criminal, our response must be an active anti-racism and a militant internationalism that defends those who work in search of better living conditions for their children, mothers, fathers, and siblings.

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Poland’s Presidential Election: A Victory for the Far Right

Billboards with two Presidential candidates
Featured article, Europe  

12 June 2025 Just a year and a half ago, Poland was hailed as the greatest success story of liberal democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. After eight years of right-wing populist PiS (Law and Justice) rule, the 2023 parliamentary elections brought a broad liberal coalition to power. Western politicians and media responded with jubilation — congratulating Poland for “returning to European values” and proclaiming the beginning of the defeat of right-wing populism in the region. That narrative has now collapsed with the victory of the PiS candidate, Karol Nawrocki, in the 2025 presidential elections — a man with alleged ties to far-right and criminal networks. Nawrocki’s narrow victory over the centre right liberal candidate Rafał Trzaskowski by only 370,00 votes has been hailed as a triumph by far-right leaders internationally. Donald Trump, Viktor Orbán, and Marine Le Pen were quick to send their congratulations. From the start, the far right performed disturbingly well, with significant support for extremist candidates — especially among young men. Nawrocki’s eventual win, backed by an even broader base, confirmed this wasn’t just a fringe protest. And all this comes just weeks after the defeat of a far-right candidate in Romania’s presidential elections — a moment that, for many in the West, seemed to confirm that the political winds had begun to shift (although this was accomplished only after the first round was annulled following the surprise victory of an almost unknown far-right candidate).  Following the liberal coalition’s victory in Poland’s 2023 parliamentary elections and then the result in Romania, commentators prematurely declared the far right to be in retreat. But with Nawrocki’s win in Poland — on the heels of Donald Trump’s return to the White House and the meteoric rise of Reform UK — it is clearly the right-populists and the far right who now feel the wind in their sails. Why the far right Is winning in Poland In the first round of the election, as many as 21% of voters supported the far-right Konfederacja candidate Sławomir Mentzen and ex-Konfederacja politician Grzegorz Braun. This result confirms not only rising far-right support, but also a deepening rejection of the entire political establishment by a growing section of society.  This rebellion did not come out of nowhere. It is not only the product of right-wing propaganda in the media and schools, but also the legacy of capitalist restoration and decades of neoliberal policies, including privatization of state assets, deregulation, privatisation and cuts in public services, labour law changes and the raising of the retirement age These policies have deepened inequality and marginalised large parts of the population. Added to that are years of betrayal and compromise by the so-called left, and the discrediting — in the eyes of many — of anything even loosely associated with left-wing politics. And of course the decades-long experience of Stalinism continues to cast a long shadow over Poland, even impacting on the consciousness of generations that were born years after Stalinism collapsed. The decades of neoliberal hegemony have created fertile ground for the far right, particularly around Mentzen, whose ultra-liberal, economic libertarian rhetoric resonates with significant segments of the youth. In the absence of a credible left-wing, anti-establishment alternative, more and more young people are being drawn toward far-right forces that cynically present themselves as “anti-establishment” — offering simplistic solutions to complex crises.  For some, already indoctrinated to believe that neoliberalism is the only viable economic framework, Mentzen’s slogans come across as “common sense.” His reactionary social views are either downplayed or actively embraced. For others, however, shaped by years of anti-communist and nationalist indoctrination, it is the authoritarian and nationalist elements of his politics — rather than the economic libertarianism — that prove most compelling. This internal division within Mentzen’s base was made visible in the second round of voting, when around 30% of his supporters backed Trzaskowski — a clear sign that not all were driven by the same ideological motivations. Konfederacja has skillfully exploited this dynamic, redirecting legitimate anger and frustration into hatred toward scapegoats: immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and so-called ‘corrupt elites.’ Indeed, corruption is big in Poland, but Konfederacja never defines these ‘elites’ in class terms. The polarization among youth The deep polarization among young people is clearly reflected in voting patterns. On the one hand, there is a sign of potential for radical, left-wing, anti-capitalist politics in the strong support for Adrian Zandberg and his Razem party (19% support among voters aged 18–29). On the other hand, Mentzen and Konfederacja enjoy even more support among younger voters (35% in the same age group, especially among young men), revealing the scale of the danger. This vacuum is exacerbated by the co-optation and fragmentation of organized labour. While the OPZZ trade union federation backed Nowa Lewica’s Magdalena Biejat, the influential Solidarity (Solidarność) endorsed Karol Nawrocki. Nawrocki secured this by pledging to maintain social benefits, defend the minimum wage, and crucially, oppose the EU’s Green Deal – issues resonating with workers facing economic precarity. You can’t drink a beer with fascism That Rafał Trzaskowski and the Civic Coalition (KO) are incapable of reversing this trend, and particularly of stopping the rise of the far right is becoming increasingly evident. It is their history of neoliberal politics and longstanding contempt for poorer regions, the countryside, and the working class that first created the conditions for PiS’s success, and now for the far right’s rise. Recent gestures of “normalization” toward Mentzen by KO’s Radosław Sikorski and Rafał Trzaskowski, with them shaking hands and sharing a beer with Mentzen in an attempt to win over some of his voters in the second round — are not just repulsive. They legitimize Konfederacja and draw it deeper into the political mainstream.  Media pundits swooned over this as a “brilliant move” and a new, modern style of politics. In reality, this is cynical image-building — attempting to win over Mentzen’s voters for the second round and preparing the ground for Mentzen and Konfederacja to become a possible ally in the future.

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Pride 2025: Corporations will not sponsor Queer liberation

Trans pride in Dublin
Featured article, LGBTQIA+  

By Yash Sinojia, Socialist Party Ireland. 9 June 2025 The news hit like a gut punch: Indeed, the global job-search giant withdrew its sponsorship from Dublin Pride. Their hollow justification? A desire to “focus on internal diversity and inclusion efforts.” This corporate cowardice isn’t isolated – it’s the predictable collapse of rainbow capitalism under the pressure of Trump’s fascistic regime. Three quarters of Prides in the UK have seen a decline in corporate sponsors, with one quarter of organisers seeing corporate sponsors decline by 50% or more.  Across the Atlantic, the retreat is even more staggering: Target, Anheuser-Busch, Boeing, Mastercard, Pepsi, Walmart, and over 20 other major corporations have slashed Pride sponsorships this year.  The timing is deliberate – corporations signal compliance with authoritarian agendas while abandoning the communities they commodified for decades. In Ireland, this manifests as corporate cowardice disguised as fiscal prudence, leaving Pride organisers scrambling for resources as Dublin’s celebration faces a €50,000 shortfall after Indeed’s withdrawal.  Yet this moment lays bare the fundamental contradiction of rainbow capitalism: corporations seek profit from queer communities while funding far-right politicians who criminalise our existence. Capitalism’s LGBTQ+ “allyship” vanishes when confronted with reactionary backlash, exposing how homophobia and transphobia are in its DNA. The corporate exodus proves their allegiance was never to liberation, but to market calculations. Consider the hypocrisy: This betrayal isn’t just ideological – it has material consequences. Pride budgets fund critical year-round programs: gender-affirming closets, holiday meals for LGBTQ+ elders, security against neo-Nazi threats. When Target’s support vanished, Twin Cities Pride lost resources for its Rainbow Feast, feeding 300 people. Corporations starve these lifelines to appease the fascistic far-right. Why corporations have no place in Pride All corporations must be barred from Pride not merely for their hypocrisy but because their presence embodies capitalism’s fundamental contradiction with queer liberation. Capitalism relies on the nuclear family – a heteropatriarchal unit ensuring unpaid reproductive labour and generational transfer of private property – making queer existence inherently antagonistic to its logic. When corporations drape logos in rainbows during Pride month while exploiting LGBTQ+ workers through poverty wages and union-busting, they perform “pinkwashing”: using queer symbolism to mask how their profit model depends on oppression. This exploitation extends globally, as banks like HSBC and Barclays march in London Pride while investing in US puppet regimes where LGBTQ+ people face execution – proving their “allyship” serves imperialist capital, not liberation.  Big Tech corporations are actively complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, deploying technologies like Google’s Project Nimbus, Microsoft’s Azure and Open AI, Amazon’s AWS, Palantir’s Quiver, etc that automate genocide and apartheid. Their participation in Pride sanitises a business model that treats Palestinian lives – including queer and trans people – as disposable testing grounds for “battle-proven” technologies later sold to authoritarian regimes worldwide. There is no solidarity in genocide profiteering. As Israel’s weapons exports boom – fueled by AI systems refined through Gaza’s destruction – these corporations exemplify how capital commodifies both queer joy and Palestinian blood. Corporate participation also sanitises Pride’s revolutionary origins, transforming a riot against police brutality into a “marketing opportunity”, thereby neutralising its threat to systems that criminalise queer bodies. Ultimately, allowing corporations to march signals complicity in commodifying queer resistance, turning communities facing “disproportionate homelessness and suicide rates” into target demographics rather than comrades in collective struggle. Reclaiming Pride’s radical roots This moment, however, is not a defeat. It’s an unmasking. The Stonewall uprising of 1969 – where Black trans activist Marsha P. Johnson and Latina trans activist Sylvia Rivera led collective resistance against police brutality – wasn’t an isolated event but the culmination of decades of militant queer struggle against systemic oppression under capitalism.  It erupted in a context where homosexuality was criminalised, trans people were targeted for “cross-dressing,” and bars like Stonewall served as rare sanctuaries amid constant police raids. Johnson and Rivera extended this revolutionary praxis beyond Stonewall by co-founding STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) in 1970, providing shelter for homeless trans youth and sex workers while centering the needs of queer people of color – all while organising with the Black Panthers, Young Lords, and anti-war movements in explicitly intersectional solidarity. The subsequent Gay Liberation Front explicitly linked queer liberation to global anti-imperialist struggles, drawing inspiration from Vietnam and Algeria, demanding worker control over means of production, and condemning racism, militarism, and patriarchy as intertwined systems requiring revolutionary dismantling. The crumbling façade of corporate allyship reveals the path back to Pride’s revolutionary essence: community autonomy. This was the missing ingredient after Liverpool Pride rightfully cut ties with Barclays, without replacing it with community involvement and support, ultimately leading to the event being cancelled. Elsewhere, when corporations fled, working class queers filled the gaps. Amid this collapse of corporate support, Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin has built something extraordinary: a thriving, grassroots Pride entirely sustained by community power. Their 2025 campaign has raised around €10,800 from thousands of small donors, accepting no money from any corporation. This isn’t merely a funding tactic; it’s a political manifesto embodied in anti-capitalism, queer, and Palestinian liberation. Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin consciously points to the root cause of the oppression of trans and all LGBTQ+ people – the capitalist system. Only a socialist fightback uniting the struggles of all the exploited and oppressed can overthrow this system which promulgates transphobia, homophobia, misogyny, racism, and economic exploitation.  To build liberated Prides, we must:

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Marxist approach to the struggle for Palestinian Liberation

Woman holds Palestinian flag on shoulders of other demonstrators
Featured article, Imperialist conflict and war, Middle East  

By Eddie McCabe & Donal Devlin, Socialist Party Ireland. 9 June 2025 Palestinian socialist and writer Ghassan Kanafani described the Palestinian struggle as “a cause of the exploited and oppressed masses in our era.” These are apt words. The unrelenting horror in Gaza has laid bare the depravity of capitalism today. That a veritable holocaust could happen in the 21st century, with live-streamed massacres almost daily, has exposed all of the hypocrisy, shamelessness and inhumanity of the system and its leading representatives, particularly among the Western imperialist ruling class. The world will never be the same again after this genocide. People across the world have been awakened to political action. Tens of millions have mobilised in solidarity with Palestine. The savagery being inflicted on a defenceless population crammed into a small, blockaded strip of land has been met with a global protest movement not seen since the Vietnam War. The occupation of Palestine is one of global capitalism’s fault lines, serving to radicalise and educate many as to who is ultimately on the side of freedom and justice in our world and who is not. Repression of a movement Throughout it all there has been an uninterrupted flow of arms to the Israeli State from the United States and Europe. Multinational corporations, the giant household name monopolies, are directly complicit in the genocide. Google and Amazon have competed to provide the Israeli military with AI and cloud tools, which it has used with lethal effect against Gaza’s civilian population, including children. In the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians face a new wave of mass displacement, the largest of its kind since the occupation began in 1967, companies like Hewlett Packard and Microsoft have provided the occupiers with the technology to engage in mass surveillance of its populace. Facebook has platformed more than 100 advertise-ments promoting settlements and far-right settler activity.1 The capitalist media – from the BBC, RTÉ, The Irish Times, The New York Times, CNN, and many more – largely act to either under-report, justify, minimise or contextualise the actions of the Israeli State. They sanitise the dynamics of the genocide by refusing to even use the word to describe this appalling campaign of state terror, nor even words like ‘massacres’, ‘atrocities’ or ‘war crimes’. They promote a narrative that two equal sides exist in this ‘conflict’. This wilfully ignores the blatant asymmetry that characterises the relationship between the high-tech, highly militarised, nuclear-armed Israeli State and a dispossessed, impoverished, traumatised people: the Palestinians. Imperialist support for Israel’s agenda has meant a clamping down on basic democratic rights in many so-called democracies in the West. In the US, the recent cruel kidnapping by ICE agents of Mahmoud Khalil, a Syrian-born Palestinian refugee whose wife is expecting a baby in April, is one blatant example of this. Khalil was one of the main organisers of the solidarity encampment at Columbia University in New York City in 2024. His arrest, which Donald Trump publicly boasted about, is designed to create a chilling effect on the broader Palestine solidarity movement. Further arrests and threats of deportation, such as those of Georgetown scholar Badar Khan Suri and Cornell student Momodou Taal, have followed. All of this comes in the wake of the brutal repression of the encampments last year, with thousands of students expelled or suspended from their courses. The scale of pro-Zionist censorship in the US was illustrated by the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land failing to receive a distributor in the US. A Florida mayor went so far as to threaten to close down a cinema in Miami Beach for showing it.2 In Germany, the second-largest exporter of weapons to Israel, the state has engaged in an unprecedented level of suppression of Palestine solidarity protests, targeted in particular against migrants, Muslims and people of colour – arresting activists, banning protests, raiding and forcibly breaking up meetings. This is what happened during a public meeting featuring Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Occupied Territories, an outspoken critic of the genocide. Two Irish citizens are among four foreign nationals facing deportation at the time of writing because of their Palestine solidarity activity. Demonstrators have even been arrested for chanting and speaking in Arabic at a protest in Berlin. Germany’s citizenship law was amended to require new citizens to affirm Israel’s ‘right to exist’. Meanwhile, there is a rush by governments to adopt the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of anti-Semitism, which, in essence, equates this vile prejudice with any criticism of the Zionist State. This includes the Irish State, as the government in the South scrambles to prove its pro-Zionist credentials to the Trump administration. Likewise, the government has ditched its commitment to support the Occupied Territories Bill, a basic measure that would ban goods and services from the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The arrest of women from the group Mothers Against Genocide (some of whom were outrageously strip-searched) who were peacefully protesting outside the Dáil at the end of March is a warning that the Irish State is willing to follow the example of other repressive states if it can get away with it. Settler colonialism Western imperialist support for the existence of a client Zionist state in the Middle East has a long history. As far back as 1839, senior Tory politician Lord Shaftesbury, in an article in The Times, wrote of the need for a homeland for Jews in Palestine, speaking of an “Earth without people – people without land”. This was the perpetuation of a myth that Palestine was a desolate land and, therefore, could be easily populated by Jewish migration. A variant of this phrase – “a land without a people for a people without a land” – became the Zionist movement’s rallying cry, notably in Theodor Hertzl’s 1896 pamphlet The Jewish State. This notion consciously ignored the existence of the Palestinian Arab population. It became the justification for ethnically cleansing Palestinians from their land to build a Jewish majority state, a

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What is behind Trump’s tariffs?

Trump holds up list of tariffs
Featured article, Global economy  

By Conor Murray, Socialist Party Ireland. 6 May 2025 What is a tariff?  A tariff is a tax on importing goods from abroad. The tax is paid by the business which imports the goods, however, in order to maintain their profits they will typically pass this cost on to consumers by increasing prices. By making imported goods more expensive, tariffs can function as a type of subsidy to domestic corporations by insulating them from international competition. Why are Trump’s tariffs so significant?  Many countries already have tariffs, including the US. However, Trump’s have a much bigger scope and scale. On 2 April, Trump announced tariffs of at least 10% against every country on earth, much higher in many cases. This threatened to seriously disrupt global trade and supply chains and sent stock and bond markets into crisis. The reaction of the capitalist markets seems to have forced Trump to make a limited retreat, reducing tariffs on all countries other than China to a still significant 10%, to be reviewed after 90 days. Meanwhile, tariffs on China were raised to a prohibitive 145%, with China reciprocating with its own tariffs. There is now a significant trade war between the US and China, with trade between the world’s two largest economies likely to virtually cease unless there is a climbdown or a deal.  What is the background to these tariffs?  Much of the coverage will focus on Trump’s personality, which is certainly erratic and bizarre. He also has a long record of advocating tariffs. In his first administration, Trump tended to be influenced or hemmed in by more traditional elements of the political establishment, but in his second term, Trump is surrounded by ideological co-thinkers, influenced by nationalist fantasies about returning to America’s past. They harbour hostility even towards US-allied countries, such as those in Europe, and seek to force them into an even more subservient relationship.  However, these tariffs are also a reflection of the struggle for global influence, markets and resources between the US and China, the two main rival imperialist powers in the world today. Tariffs against China began in Trump’s first term but continued under Biden. The US capitalist establishment has been seeking to end its reliance on China, particularly for key strategic industries by moving manufacturing to the US or to ‘’friendly nations”. Trump’s tariffs are massively accelerating this broader process.  What will this mean for working-class people?  The tariffs are bad news for working-class people in the US and worldwide. They will mean even more inflation and possibly even shortages in goods. Workers will face layoffs, cuts in hours and in pay. While the ups and downs of the stock market may seem very removed from our lives, unfortunately, many workers’ pension funds are being gambled on those markets. In the Global South, tariffs could be even more devastating with many poorer countries reliant on exporting commodities or cheap manufactured goods to the US. In Ireland, the state’s reliance on US multinationals to drive growth could be in crisis as global trade contracts, already there are fears for jobs at Intel and other companies could follow.  Can tariffs bring well-paid manufacturing jobs to the US?  Whatever his real motivations, Trump has been publicly promising a return of well-paid manufacturing jobs to the US, where many areas have undoubtedly been devastated by deindustrialisation. It is an empty promise. Developing an industrial base will not just be achieved by tariffs but would require massive investment in infrastructure, skills and training, constructing new factories etc. There is no indication that either US big business or Trump’s administration is willing to do this – they are actually preparing massive austerity and US capitalism has been focused on increasing profits through speculation. Meanwhile, many existing US manufacturers are dependent on importing parts from China and other places.  Nor is it guaranteed that manufacturing jobs would bring security or high wages for workers. While the manufacturing jobs of the post-war period often did, this was a result of strong trade unions, high taxes on the wealthy and other things which Trump vehemently opposes. When Trump talks about bringing manufacturing back to the US, he consistently refers to the 19th century when millions of US workers toiled in factories with low wages, unsafe conditions and virtually no labour rights.   Is returning to ‘Free Trade’ the solution The era of ‘Free Trade’ (or neoliberal globalisation) from the 1970s onwards was marked by attacks on the working class around the world, including privatisation, deregulation, assaults on unions and public services and a huge growth in inequality. In the Global North, it eliminated the relative economic security that some workers had achieved and replaced it with precarious work, increased indebtedness and housing crises. This model was discredited by the 2008 economic crash and the resulting austerity. In the Global South, much has been made of the alleged benefits of globalisation; however, with the exception of China, industrial development has actually stagnated or gone into reverse and many countries have been simply exploited as sources of commodities for the rich countries.  Free trade and protectionism are just different methods for capitalist governments to pursue the interests of their country’s corporate and big business interests at the expense of workers and the oppressed. While clearly opposing these tariffs, socialists should not be advocates for either model.  How can working-class people respond?  First, working-class people did not create this crisis and must not pay the price for Trump’s tariffs or for any disputes between the different capitalist powers. This means organising to resist pay and job cuts, price rises and austerity. The trade unions in Ireland and internationally should be preparing a serious campaign of resistance, including strikes and workplace occupations where necessary.  Second, this poses the need for an alternative to the current economic model based on multinationals. We need a socialist industrial policy based on public investment and ownership geared to producing the things we need: housing, infrastructure, green energy etc.  Finally, the tariffs are just

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