National politics -

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

Featured article, Africa, Workers' struggle and solidarity 18 June 2025

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

Featured article, Imperialist conflict and war, Middle East 18 June 2025

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

Featured article, Socialist feminism, PRMI, Middle East, Uncategorized 18 June 2025

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

Featured article, Americas, Racism and fascism, Uncategorized 16 June 2025

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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Prospects after defeat of the Left in Portuguese election

Outgoing premier Montenegro celebrates re-election in Portugal

Europe 15 June 2025

15 June 2025 On May 18, 2025, the Portuguese people were called to the polls for the third time since 2022 to “choose the representatives of the ruling class who will represent and oppress them in parliament.” Faced with demands for clarification regarding his family business’s dealings with companies dependent on state concessions, Prime Minister (PM) Luís Montenegro submitted a motion of confidence to the Assembly of the Republic (AR), knowing it would be rejected by the majority opposition, thereby leading to the government’s resignation. Aware of a favourable economic context—expected to worsen—Montenegro saw an opportunity to strengthen the electoral weight of the Democratic Alliance (AD), the centre-right governing coalition of PSD-CDS, and weaken the centre-left Socialist Party (SP), which since 1974 has been the other main historical party of capitalism. In 2024, the SP won almost as many votes and MPs as AD. In fact, during its one-year in power since March 2024, the AD government used part of the budget surplus inherited from the PS government to reduce some taxes and to concede to various demands from public sector workers—such as police officers and teachers—who had mobilised for career improvements. Turning the election into a plebiscite on the PM’s ethics and blaming the PS for political instability, AD’s tactic was partially successful, gaining 140,000 more votes and 11 more MPs than in the previous year’s snap election—securing 31.8% of the vote and 91 MPs out of 230. However, the gain was insufficient for an absolute majority, even with the 5.4% and 9 MPs from Iniciativa Liberal (IL, a recent ultra-liberal right-wing party). Even together, AD and IL increased their votes by less than that of the big winner, the far-right party Chega, which increased its vote count by nearly 270,000 to over 1.4 million votes (22.76%) and gained 10 more MPs, now holding 60 seats. For the left, the elections ended in tragedy. The PS had one of its worst results ever, losing 370,000 votes and 20 MPs, dropping to 22.83% of the vote and 58 MPs—thus becoming, for the first time, the third-largest political force in the AR. To the left of the PS, losses were also severe. The Left Bloc (BE) was another major loser, dropping over 150,000 votes to just 125,000 votes (2%) and being reduced to a single MP. The CDU (coalition of PCP-PEV—Portuguese Communist Party and Ecologist Party “The Greens”) continued its steady decline in influence, losing 20,000 votes and 1 MP, but still maintaining a parliamentary group of 3 MPs and 2.9% of the vote. Only Livre, the pro-European green left, increased its vote count by 50,000, strengthening its parliamentary group with 2 more MPs, reaching 4% of the vote and 6 MPs. Overall, the parliamentary left secured only one-third of the votes and 70 MPs. Parliamentary arithmetic has not changed radically with these results, as AD still depends on either PS or Chega to pass laws in the Assembly of the Republic. However, from a political standpoint, the situation has changed profoundly. On one hand, Chega has become the party with the second-largest number of MPs, consolidating its position as the main opposition force and appearing as a potential alternative to power. On the other hand, the right now holds an unprecedented two-thirds majority in the AR, giving it the power to change the Constitution without PS approval. As part of a global trend, the legitimacy of traditional parties and institutions has eroded further, along with the rise of the far right. How is such an electoral defeat for the parliamentary left possible—on top of the previous year’s loss—in a country that, over the past decade, was seen as a model for reformist left-wing politics? And how is it possible that, in a country where the far right only elected its first MP in 2019, this political force has already become the second most important in parliament? The Road to This Point: The Troika and Its Programme of Social Regress Following the 2008 financial crisis, the conditions for financing the Portuguese economy deteriorated throughout 2010 and 2011. The Socialist Party government at the time, which resigned after its own austerity programme was rejected in parliament, decided to “submit a request for financial assistance to the European Commission in order to ensure the financing conditions for our country, our financial system, and our economy.” The words of the then-resigning Prime Minister, José Sócrates, marked the beginning of one of the most traumatic periods for the Portuguese people since the end of the dictatorship. Under fierce attack from financial speculators, the country was thrown—under the guise of European “solidarity”—into a draconian austerity programme designed by the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), collectively known as the troika. Between 2011 and 2014, Portugal became, alongside other European countries, a testing ground for neoliberal policies aimed at achieving specific macroeconomic results regardless of their social consequences. The troika programme, initially negotiated by the PS, was enthusiastically implemented by the PSD-CDS government that came to power following the 2011 snap legislative elections. The new Prime Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho, even declared his intention to “go beyond the troika”—that is, to implement even harsher austerity measures in order to meet budgetary goals faster than stipulated in the programme. This eagerness to be the “model student” of unelected foreign bureaucrats serving the interests of big financial capital translated into a “brutal increase in taxes,” cuts to pensions and public sector salaries, attacks on labour and tenants’ rights, increased costs for accessing public healthcare and education, and the privatisation of public stakes in strategic companies, among other measures serving the interests of big capital. These measures had tragic consequences for the lives of millions of Portuguese people. Between 2011 and 2015, more than half a million Portuguese emigrated in search of better living conditions, fleeing from unemployment, which exceeded 17%, and from precarious employment conditions. During these years, the seeds of the current housing crisis were also sown. The introduction of

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“Caravan of Steadfastness” heads to Gaza to break the siege

Caravan currently waiting permission to proceed as it waits in the Libyan desert

Africa, Workers' struggle and solidarity, Imperialist conflict and war, Middle East 13 June 2025

13 June 2025 North Africa’s ‘Soumoud’ caravan, or “Caravan of Steadfastness” is currently heading to Rafah to break the siege on Gaza. It emerged in an extremely complex context, amid the ongoing suffering of the people of Gaza. It represents a unique event —not just a humanitarian gesture, but a defiant response to the deafening silence and ongoing complicity of the Arab rulers in the face of the relentless massacre of the Palestinians. It serves as a message of pressure, sent by the Tunisian masses and the wider public across North Africa to decision-makers in Arab governments. From the beginning, this initiative was rooted in a continuation of a series of mobilizations that erupted across the region after October 7, 2023. Though it carries only symbolic aid like some medicine, food, and clothing, its primary goal is political: to confront state collaboration and help bring an end to the catastrophe in Gaza. At the time of writing, the caravan is near the western Egyptian border, on the Libyan side, making its way toward the Rafah crossing to contribute to breaking the Israeli-led —but also Egyptian-enforced— siege on Gaza, especially after the obstinance of the Zionist government and its ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing. How did coordination and preparation for this caravan begin? What are its expected goals? This caravan is part of the broader international solidarity effort known as the Global March to Gaza, called for by voices from all over the world standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people—who are killed, starved, besieged, and brutalized on a daily basis. Even worse is the silence, betrayal, and permissiveness of global powers, who continue supplying weapons that are used to murder innocent children and civilians—whose only “crime” is their attachment to their land and their right to live. We might call this the Maghreb Caravan, as it includes a significant number of people who set off from Algiers on June 8. They were proudly and enthusiastically received upon reaching the Algerian-Tunisian border, and then joined the Tunisian caravan in the heart of the capital to proceed toward the border crossing between Tunisia and Libya in the early hours of June 9. Preparations for the caravan began over three weeks before its launch, a relatively short period but sufficient to complete all logistical arrangements that could otherwise delay its journey. To clarify, and in light of today’s confusion and conflicting reports on whether the caravan will be allowed to enter Egyptian territory, the Coordinating Committee for Joint Action to Free Palestine officially submitted a request from Tunisia to the Egyptian embassy to facilitate the caravan’s passage toward the Rafah crossing. The main idea was that people from all walks of life decided to participate in this symbolic solidarity action by traveling through Libya and Egypt to reach Rafah by the scheduled date of June 15, joining other caravans and solidarity delegations arriving by land, sea, and air. Thanks to social media and the rapid spread of the idea, coordination was made with activists and volunteers interested in joining. As noted, it was agreed to wait for the Algerian caravan to merge with the Tunisian one before heading to Libya and then Egypt—hoping to reach besieged Gaza, break the blockade, and deliver much-needed aid: food, water, and medical supplies that have been stuck near the border for a very long time. The caravan has been met with widespread public support since the early morning of June 9 at major assembly points throughout Tunisia. According to statistics from the Coordinating Committee for the Defense of Palestine, over 1,500 people are participating—many of them prominent activists from labor unions and human rights organizations, such as the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), the General Union of Tunisian Students (UGET), the Bar Association, and others. The caravan also includes doctors and medical personnel, in case emergency care is needed on the long journey. This is not just a Tunisian caravan—it includes people from across North Africa. If they are allowed to continue, they are likely to receive significant support in Egypt, where hundreds more are expected to join them in solidarity. All those who joined or supported the caravan did so voluntarily, driven by deep belief in the Palestinian cause. They carry, every day, the anguish and tragedy of their siblings who have endured hunger, bombings, and genocide for two years. Their decision was to uphold justice and add their voice to the global movement heading toward the Rafah crossing, saying “Enough!” to the genocide and joining this international call to act. The participants and supporters of this caravan strongly believe in its potential to effect change. They see their initiative as a step toward awakening dead consciences in the region, rekindling determination, and strengthening the daily struggle against Zionist oppression—toward lifting the siege once and for all. What has the caravan achieved so far, even before reaching the Egyptian border? In just the past two days, the caravan has covered over 1,500 kilometers. Many have asked about the conditions on the ground. One can respond by pointing to the long history of solidarity between peoples. Many lessons have been learned about mutual support and cooperation. Since entering Libyan territory, the caravan has not had to pay for vehicle fuel or phone charging costs (for internet access and communication). Solidarity has been overwhelming—both materially and morally—including facilitation of movement. These acts of support show how artificial the borders are, and how capitalist governments have failed—subservient to colonial powers and determined to repress their peoples, even denying them the right to move freely. Now, having reached the outskirts of Benghazi, near the Egyptian border—and after the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s statement two days ago—the caravan has slowed down. Reports say Egyptian authorities have deployed reinforcements at the border with Libya to block the Caravan, and have been demanding that participants present visa applications before being allowed to proceed. At the time of writing, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s regime has still not granted permission to the “Caravan of Steadfastness” to

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

Billboards with two Presidential candidates

United States: ICE raids spark mass protest

Protestors confronted by riot police in Los Angeles

Workers' struggle and solidarity, Racism and fascism, Americas 11 June 2025

11 June 2025 The first four months of Donald Trump’s second term as US president have been punctuated by the names of some of the thousands rounded up, imprisoned, and deported by the administration’s intensified fear campaign carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Among the tens of thousands of victims of the increasingly aggressive and militarised ICE raids include Mahmoud Khalil, Columbia grad student and mediator for the Palestine solidarity student encampment; Alfredo ‘Lelo’ Juarez, 25-year-old lead farmworker union organiser in Washington State; Rümeysa Öztürk, Tufts PhD candidate and Palestine solidarity activist; Kilmar Abrego García, who was kidnapped and deported to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison despite his legally protected status; and Jeanette Vizguerra, a prominent migrant rights and labor organiser since her 2009 attempted deportation under the Obama administration. LA uprising It’s in this context that demonstrations have erupted in Los Angeles and several other cities in the US. After several raids by ICE led to the force kidnapping over 100 people, protestors began clashing with them and with the LA Police Department. The following day, Trump “federalised” the national guard – a rarely used power which allowed him to command those troops directly – allowing him to deploy 2,000 national guard troops to attack the protests, rising to 4,100 by 9 June, including 700 marines. The last time this had been done without the support of the state governor was 60 years ago, in 1965 (when troops were sent in to enforce desegregation in schools against the wishes of racist local administrations). Troops have clashed with the thousands of protestors, shooting rubber bullets into crowds and at members of the press. Although the rate of Trump’s arrests and deportations quantitatively falls behind the ruthless efficiency of the Biden years, this administration’s audacity and chaotic extra-legal methods are honed to incite maximum fear, repression and a chilling of speech in immigrant communities, amongst labour organisers, and Palestine solidarity activists. That these groups are in the crosshairs isn’t a unique expression of Trumpian malice, this is by systematic design. The ideological fear tactics engaged against these groups specifically make perfect sense when stripping back the propaganda to look at the circuitry powering the oppressive machine. New surveillance tools As part of the Biden administration’s ‘virtual border wall’, towers along the Arizona/Mexico border were built and operated by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer (with a massive 2024 contract awarded to expand their operations over the next decade). Israeli phone hacking software company Cellebrite has continuously been awarded contracts by ICE since 2008. Vice President JD Vance’s financial backer Peter Theil’s mass surveillance company, Palantir, has supplied ‘new tools’ to the Israeli state from the start of the genocide, while leaked internal messages show the company’s role in physically locating people marked for ICE deportation. Google and Amazon’s cloud storage hosts military data for the Israeli state as well as data and AI systems for US Customs and Border Protection’s ‘machine learning surveillance tools’. The same companies who have participated in and profited off of Israel’s AI and hyper-surveillance fuelled ‘mass assassination factory’ in its genocide in Gaza and terror campaigns in the West Bank have been some of the major players in the tech-washing of state violence against people who have migrated to the US. Trump’s embrace of the big tech broligarchy that undergirds both Israeli genocide and US ICE terror is only the latest of his administration doing what it does best: ripping the mask of decorum off US empire and parading out the grotesque reality of capitalist violence that’s been there all along. Fightback needed The interconnected web of profit-driven terror can seem overwhelming, but at every turn communities throughout the US are organising to effectively protect themselves against state violence; a bottom-up fight back is mobilising mass protest actions and building local resistance organisations. The video footage of Rümeysa Öztürk’s abduction was found and publicised through LUCE, an organised community defense group that mobilised its members door-to-door throughout the neighbourhood to find the footage. This helped mount the public pressure to get Öztürk released from ICE detention. These community defense networks crucially focus on building real face-to-face connections of trust and reliable information in direct resistance to the atomised big-data-powered ICE assault that is aiming to repress solidarity through isolation, fear, and chaos. Unions are mobilising to defend abducted siblings – rallies, campaigns, and protests resulted in SEIU member Lewelyn Dixon’s release from ICE imprisonment, and a growing number of unions have signed on to demand collective action to ‘stand up to Trump’s campaign of terror’. In 2019, just the mention of the threat of a general strike from Association of Flight Attendants union president Sara Nelson had a first-term Trump government shutdown ended in less than a week. With budget charter airlines like Avelo – which is staffed by AFA union-represented flight attendants – facilitating deportation flights, targeted protests are mounting to pressure organised union action to grind Trump’s deportations to a halt. Key to these successful and growing organised struggles is their clarity on the link between migrant rights and Palestinian solidarity. The same companies, the same tech institutions that are building the infrastructure for the Israeli state’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza are the architects of the high-tech surveillance police state against migrants in the US. Their quarterly profits rise with every algorithmically-generated target they churn out, be they Palestinian family or US migrant worker (or person crossing state lines for trans or reproductive healthcare). The capitalist system is united in creating and profiting off of all aspects of its unrelenting, extractive misery. A successful resistance struggle must be equally united against all aspects of capitalism.

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Socialist Feminism against Repression, Impunity and Transphobia in Mexico

Workers' struggle and solidarity, Americas, Socialist feminism 9 June 2025

By Rosa México. 9 June 2025 The 8th of March, International Women’s Day, is a day born out of the exhaustion and pain of thousands of working-class women who faced exploitation, the double burden of waged and domestic labour, lack of political rights, and systematic violence. Today some of the conditions that gave rise to this day not only persist, but are more cruel than ever. Last year’s landslide victory of MORENA and the election of Claudia Scheinbaum – the first woman president in Mexico’s history – certainly reflected the radicalisation and progressive aspirations of millions of working class women. The significance of this victory cannot be downplayed. But while some significant reforms are being introduced we also see the contradictions of operating within the confines of capitalism and its inherently patriarchal state apparatus. Mexico is a country where being a woman means living under the constant threat of violence. Every day, thousands of women are assaulted, murdered and threatened in the country. What’s more, when we go out to demand respect for our rights and our bodies, we face criminalisation and repression. This year’s International Women’s Day once again demonstrated the great strength of the feminist movement, but it also exposed the systematic violence of the state against our struggle. The mobilisations during 8M were once again repressed with tear gas, beatings, unjustified arrests and harassment in several cities of the country. Instead of listening to our demands, the state responded with violence and stonewalling. In Chihuahua, comrades were dragged away by the police; in Oaxaca they were gassed; in CDMX they not only gassed the demonstrators, but also turned off the street lights to force them to disperse. In San Luis Potosí there were no physical confrontations, but there was a threatening military presence. The compañeras were harassed while government buildings were guarded by soldiers. In Saltillo, police sprayed fire extinguisher powder in front of the Palace of Congress, tear gas was thrown into a play area where children were gathered, and a transgender compañera was assaulted by the authorities, who also used overtly transphobic discourse. The case of Nicola, who was assaulted in Saltillo, highlights the reality that many transgender women face. Being a trans woman in Mexico means living exposed to hate crimes, impunity and job insecurity, violence that is replicated by the State and by the authorities. According to the National Observatory of Hate Crimes against LGBTIQ+ People, in the last three years more than 200 trans people have been murdered. Furthermore, most cases go unpunished and the authorities do not even attempt to investigate from a gender perspective. Impunity for sexual violence While the movement is repressed, the state continues to protect sexual abusers. The most recent case is that of politician Cuauhtémoc Blanco who, despite being accused of rape, was protected in the Chamber of Deputies, where they voted against removing his immunity to prevent him from answering for his accusations before the law and his victim. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened: Senator Félix Salgado Macedonio, who, despite the public accusations and the accusation of rape, has been able to live quietly, protected by his political influence. These cases represent not only the way in which political structures protect aggressors, but also the hypocrisy of the state in condemning women for protesting or defending themselves, while rapist politicians are protected at all costs. How can we trust a state that refuses to punish the aggressors in its ranks? Nor can we ignore the role of the female MPs who openly supported Cuauhtémoc, those who call themselves feminists but chose to protect a sex offender rather than believe the victim. It is clear that the fact that a woman holds political office does not guarantee a real commitment to the feminist movement; a perspective born out of the struggles of oppressed women is needed to achieve real change. In the face of this reality, we need to question the system that exploits and violates us. Machismo is one more tool of capitalism to control our bodies and our lives, that is why we need more than reforms, we need to transform the system from its deepest roots. In addition to this situation, the recent tariff disputes and Donald Trump’s accusations of drug trafficking have led Claudia Sheinbaum’s government to give in on migration issues, for example, with the establishment of more elements of the National Guard on the southern border or mass detention in immigration stations. In this situation, we cannot forget our fellow migrant women: they are the ones who suffer most from the escalation of border violence and militarisation. Many are detained in immigration detention centres, some even with their children (which is illegal), and in these spaces the violence that migrant women already face is intensified, as they are exposed to sexual abuse, physical and emotional violence, and extremely precarious conditions. Women’s Bill of Rights and dual pensions Last March, the president and the women’s secretary, Citlalli Hernández, presented the Cartilla de Derechos de las Mujeres, an initiative to inform women about their rights, including health, political participation and other key issues. In addition, during the same month, the Pensión Mujeres Bienestar began – a pension programme aimed at women aged 60 to 64. This programme aims to support a sector historically plagued by inequality and precarity. Although these initiatives represent a step forward in the recognition of women’s rights, the dissemination of this information does not guarantee the structural changes necessary to eradicate deep-rooted gender inequalities (we saw this days later with the rejection of the desafuero of Cuauhtémoc Blanco). As for the women’s pension, while it is a support that can temporarily alleviate the situation of many women, it is necessary to ask whether such programmes transform the structures that perpetuate women’s economic and labour inequality. Although it is a significant step forward, they only represent a temporary band-aid on a capitalist system that perpetuates male violence. Therefore, in addition to these measures,

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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 9 June 2025

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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Starmer’s Britain – a spectral nightmare of racism, misogyny and transphobia

Europe 27 May 2025

By Paul Moorhouse PRMI in Scotland. 27 May 2025 11 months ago British voters decisively voted to reject the increasingly crisis ridden right-wing Tory party which had been in government since 2010. The incoming Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer claimed that with 411 out of 650 parliamentary seats he had a ‘clear mandate to rule for all four nations’. How does that stack up nearly a year on? Just who is Starmer ‘ruling for’? However, this impressive parliamentary majority never reflected more than lukewarm support in any part of the (increasingly dis-) United Kingdom. Labour contested none of the 18 constituencies in the north of Ireland. Those seats they fought were won mostly because Labour was not the Tories in England and Wales and neither the Tories nor the ruling Scottish Nationalist Party, north of the border. On 33.7% Labour only increased its share of the vote by 1.6% compared with its ‘worst ever’ result in 2019, whilst the Tory vote plummeted by almost 20%. The threat of right-populism Lack of enthusiasm for any establishment parties was demonstrated on the one hand by low turnonout and voter registration, barely half of those eligible too vote did so, and on the other by the election for the first time of the far-right racist Reform UK and a number of independent candidates, opposed to the genocide in Gaza (especially in constituencies with large Muslim populations). Thus Labour’s victory only superficially contradicted the world-wide eclipse of the political ‘centre’. Growing polarisation below the surface reflected popular frustration with the social and economic cost of the crisis of the profit system. Without organised resistance by the oppressed and exploited, this can only strengthen the far right, and fascistic, reaction. The reality of this was brought home barely three weeks after the election when racist riots broke out across England and the north of Ireland targeting asylum seekers threatening to break into and burn down their hotels and hostels. The potential for a mass fightback however was shown when hundreds of thousands joined anti-fascist demonstrations and vigils over the first weekend in August, and in Belfast 15,000 people turned out on 10th August (an equivalent mobilisation in London would be approaching a third of a million). Starmer’s Labour acts in interest of big business The lack of any enthusiasm for Labour stemmed from its anxiety to present itself as a ‘safe pair of hands’ to British and International capital. Before and after the election Starmer and his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, fawned on big business and financiers promising to stick to Tory austerity rules and became obsessively anxious to dampen down voter expectations by avoiding ‘unrealistic’ or ‘unaffordable’ pledges in their manifesto. This was bad enough, but the reality however proved far worse. Three weeks after being elected, Reeves told Parliament that Winter Fuel Payments made to 11.6 million disabled and older citizens were to be scrapped for all but the 1.8 million poorest pensioners. The payments, worth between £200 and £600 in the previous two years, were capped at £300 at a time when 6.1 million households were estimated to be in fuel poverty and energy prices were driving a cost of living crisis. A year on, whilst forced by widespread opposition into a promise to ‘review’ these cuts in 2026, Labour has announced swingeing cuts to health and disability benefits which, if implemented, will push 400,000 more people into poverty. 100,000 hospital posts are threatened in England alone in plans announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting and yet more cuts are certain to be announced when Reeves delivers her spending review on 11th June. Many of these have already been implemented by freezing recruitment, leaving essential posts empty. The potential to resist these attacks is shown by the firm rejection of a derisory 4% pay increase by the doctors’ union the British Medical Association. However, effective action requires a strong united front based on rank and file organisation and accountability in all unions. It was frankly an insult to their members that the right-wing bureaucracy of the biggest health union, Unison, invited Streeting to address its health conference this year. The right-wing “Reform” party wins local elections In view of their shared record of pursuing vicious class war politics, forcing the poorest to bear the brunt of capitalist crisis, it is little surprise that Labour and the Tories both took a beating in council elections across England on May 1st. Both parties lost control of all the councils they had held prior to the elections. However they faced little resistance to their diet of austerity. The closest to an effective opposition came from the Green party, which is largely untested in power in Britain and managed to double the number of seats it holds. In the absence of any real alternative, the biggest gains were made by the racist far-right Reform UK party, which was able to present itself as ‘anti establishment’. In reality ,however, most of the councillors running the 10 local authorities Reform now control are well-heeled business people, many of them (including Sarah Pochin who won the Runcorn by-election, the same day, to become the party’s fifth MP) have defected from the right of the Tory Party. Reform adminstations have set about emulating the ‘slash and burn’ far-right policies of Donald Trump and Elon Musk, on occasion this has an air of farce, for instance their pledge to ‘abolish Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’ – despite the fact that none of their councils have any! Resistance needs to be built Women, trans-people and above all people of colour living in many of the poorest communities have every reason to be very afraid in the face of the racist, misogynistic and LGBTQ+-phobic rhetoric and actions of these suburban mini-Hitlers. It is vital that in every area rank and file union activists, community organisations and user groups establish conferences of resistance and other organs of struggle to build a democratically organised intersectional fight-back against these council attacks and the cuts raining down

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Three thousand march to demand trans rights in Belfast

Head of trans-rights protest in Belfast with banner reading "No going back"

LGBTQIA+, Europe, PRMI 22 May 2025

By Ann-Katrin Orr, Socialist Party Ireland. 22 May 2025 On Saturday, 17 May, Belfast was filled with a 3,000–strong March for Trans Rights. It was initiated by ROSA, the Socialist Feminist movement and backed by various organisations across the LGBTQIA+ sector, trade unions and political organisations, including the Socialist Party. The march took place in response to the recent brutal attacks on trans rights. The mood was angry, determined and filled with deep solidarity. The main banner held at the beginning of the march was a Pride Progress Flag with the words “No Going Back!” – which summed up the sentiment that there is no acceptance of the attempts by the political establishment in Stormont and Westminster, by the courts or the far right across the UK or internationally to drag us back when it comes to our rights. “Go Piss Girl”, “Fight the real enemy” and “Support all sisters not just cis-ters” were some of the slogans on hand-drawn placards that accompanied colourful banners and pride flags as the march made its way from Writers’ Square to City Hall. Referencing the Stormont ban on puberty blockers as well as how some MLA’s including Executive Members have welcomed the UK Supreme Court Ruling, with Paul Given, the DUP’s Education Minister, for example stating he would be amending guidelines for schools in to be in line with the judgment the crowd chanted: “Stormont you’ve picked your side – We don’t want you at our Pride” and “We know you can – lift the ban”. Other chants were against homophobia, racism and misogyny. The slogan of no going back was a reference to the examples in the North of people standing united in the face of division as it was adopted by trade union and socialist activists in the past to stand against pressure and influence of paramilitaries and sectarian forces intent on dragging society back towards open sectarian conflict. At its core this slogan is about the ability of ordinary people to stand together in solidarity and struggle and Saturday’s demonstration was a clear example of that. A counter-protest also took place at City Hall with 150 – 200 people. The call for this came also from figures connected to the far-right, leading to United Against Racism mobilising also in a protest which was also supported by the Socialist Party, ROSA and many other organisations. That the far-right mobilised in opposition to trans rights, shows again the importance of a struggle now for trans rights and why all who seek to challenge the far-right and racism must take an active role in fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights also. Speakers included ROSA activists and spokespeople from Mermaids NI, Trans Pride NI, The Rainbow Project and a speaker from Unite the Union’s Irish Regional LGBT+ Committee who pointed out that the trade union movement is not a bystander but a vital line of defence and force for progress. ROSA organiser and Socialist Party Keighley spoke about the urgent need to organise a socialist feminist struggle and quoted the trailblazing socialist revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg words – “those who do not move do not notice their chains” before concluding with this powerful call to action: “Because when we move on the streets, when we move in our workplaces, when we move in our communities; when we move together, in solidarity with one another against our oppressors and against this system of profit and greed and violence then we will finally break free of our chains. The fight for trans liberation, and the fight for the liberation of all, is a Socialist Feminist fight! And this fight needs you! Because we are not going back!”

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