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Social Movements

Prefigurative Societies In Movement

December 21, 2022 Marina Sitrin, Resilience. , , ,
Something new is happening – something new in content, depth, breadth and global consistency. Societies around the world are in movement. Since the early 1990s millions of people have been organizing similarly, and in ways that defy definitions and former ways of understanding social movements, protest and resistance. There is a growing global movement of refusal – and simultaneously, in that refusal is a creative movement. Millions are shouting No!, as they manifest alternatives in its wake. What has been taking place in disparate places around the world is part of a new wave that is both revolutionary in the day-to-day sense of the word, as well as without precedent with regard to consistency of form, politics, scope and scale. The current frameworks provided by the social sciences and traditional left to understand these movements have yet to catch up with what is new and different about them.

Peru Rises Up After Coup Against Elected President Pedro Castillo

December 11, 2022 Ben Norton, Multipolarista. , , ,
Peru’s democratically elected left-wing President Pedro Castillo was overthrown and arrested in a coup on December 7 by the right-wing-controlled congress, which has an approval rating of between 7% and 11%. Castillo is a humble teacher and union organizer from a rural, indigenous-descent community in a country whose political system has long been dominated by racist elites. As soon as Castillo entered office at the end of July 2021, far-right elements in the congress, loyal to the US-backed former dictator Alberto Fujimori, constantly tried to overthrow him and destabilize his government. Multipolarista editor Ben Norton interviewed Peruvian activist Daniela Ortiz about the protests going on across the country calling for a new constitution and demanding that Castillo be freed from prison.

Radical Tactics Are Likely To Help The Climate Movement, Not Hurt It

December 9, 2022 James Ozden, Waging Nonviolence. , ,
Radical actions across the climate movement are gaining popularity. From Just Stop Oil in the U.K. to Save Old Growth in Canada to Letzte Generation in Germany, there is a wave of activists employing increasingly disruptive tactics to demand climate action. These tactics include throwing soup at a Van Gogh painting, going on a hunger strike and blocking motorways during rush hour. Why are people resorting to these tactics? The common view among activists is that conventional methods have failed to bring about any meaningful change on climate issues. Report after report outlines how we’re on track to overshoot globally agreed targets of 1.5 degrees Celsius, and will quite likely go above 2.5 C. This means catastrophic consequences for millions of people around the world, like we’re already seeing with floods in Pakistan or extreme heatwaves in India.

Sudan’s Revolutionary Forces Reject Transition Deal

December 7, 2022 Tanupriya Singh, People's Dispatch. , , ,
On Monday, December 5, the Forces of Freedom and Change (FCC) in Sudan, a coalition of centrist and right-wing political parties, signed an initial deal with the military junta as part of a political framework arrangement. The agreement will pave the way for a two-year “civilian-led” transition towards elections, a year after the military led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan staged a coup on October 25, 2021. “The Agreement is a critical first step towards the restoration of a sustainable transitional period and the formation of a credible, civil, democratic, and accountable government,” the Trilateral Mechanism comprised of the United Nations Integrated Assistance Mission in Sudan, African Union, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development said in a statement.

A Report-back From The COP27: Building A People’s Movement To Solve The Crisis

December 5, 2022 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. , , ,
Clearing the FOG speaks with Kali Akuno, who is a member of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance and the It Takes Roots delegation to the recent COP27, about what happened at the meeting and how they are building a growing global movement to address the climate crisis. Akuno talks about how this COP compared to previous meetings such as the greater influence of the fossil fuel and nuclear industries, repression of political expression, preventing access to movements on the front lines and the destructive influence of the United States' representatives. The COP process is failing and in response, people are creating alternative spaces for strategy and organizing.

Why Movements Need To Start Singing Again

December 3, 2022 Paul Engler, Waging Nonviolence. , , ,
Social movements are stronger when they sing. That’s a lesson that has been amply demonstrated throughout history, and it’s one that I have learned personally in working to develop trainings for activists over the past decade and a half. In Momentum, a training program that I co-founded and that many other trainers and organizers have built over the last seven years, song culture is not something we included at the start. And yet, it has since become so indispensable that the trainers I know would never imagine doing without it again. The person who taught me the most as I came to appreciate the impact that song can have on movement culture is Stephen Brackett, an activist and hip-hop MC known on stage as Brer Rabbit.

Bringing The People’s Voices Into Government

December 2, 2022 Teri Mattson, WTF is Going on in Latin America and the Caribbean. , , , ,
This episode was broadcast LIVE FROM BOGOTÁ with guest Lilia Solano, Vice Minister of Social Dialogue and Equality for the government of Colombia Host Teri Mattson has been in Bogotá since 24 November attending several encuentros organized by Vice Minister Lilia Solano.  In this episode Teri and Lilia discuss the Petro government’s vision of bringing the 1991 Constitutional reform of direct democracy to reality among the Colombian people and the creation of social movements to develop informed citizens, build political formation and continue to create electoral candidates for the continuation of the Pacto Historico.

Peace In Rome

November 27, 2022 Robeto Morea and Roberto Musacchio, Transform Europe. , , ,
This act of protest is significant not only for Italy, where an enormous popular reaction is emerging in the face of a far-right government and a defeated, divided, and discredited centre-left government, but also for Europe, where the European Commission and governments have failed in their role as mediators in the Russia-Ukraine war and have submitted to NATO, with the ambition to assume a military leadership role alongside the USA. The demonstration in Rome had a diverse social composition around the idea that the key point is to insist on what the powerful, Putin and NATO in the first place, do not want, that is, a ceasefire and negotiations. Negotiations that, as a document signed by many prestigious former diplomats, would start from a negotiating table and lead to a ceasefire, that provides for troop withdrawal, and an end to sanctions, a peace and security conference for the area, letting the populations of the Donbass decide on their own future.

Bolivians Will Not Allow A New Coup D’état To Take Place

November 19, 2022 Tanya Wadhwa, People's Dispatch. , , ,
The indefinite strike called by the conservative opposition sectors in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz department has been ongoing for almost a month. The primary demand of the opposition, regarding the Population and Housing Census, was resolved last weekend, nevertheless, they continue to remain in the streets against the progressive President Luis Arce and the government of the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party. The strike, which began on October 22, has not only affected the livelihood of the residents of Santa Cruz, but has also caused great distress to the population due to the climate of violence and insecurity in the department. The strike has been marked by acts of violence, vandalism, racism and discrimination against those who oppose it.

Those Who Struggle To Change The World Know It Well

November 18, 2022 Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. , , ,
In 1845, Karl Marx jotted down some notes for The German Ideology, a book that he wrote with his close friend Friedrich Engels. Engels found these notes in 1888, five years after Marx’s death, and published them under the title Theses on Feuerbach. The eleventh thesis is the most famous: ‘philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it’. For the past five years, we, at Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, have considered this thesis with great care. The most widely accepted interpretation of this thesis is that, in it, Marx urges people not only to interpret the world, but also to try and change it. However, we do not believe that this captures the meaning of the sentence.

From Crisis To Transformation

November 8, 2022 Kali Akuno, Resilience. , , ,
We are living through an age of profound transition. Political upheaval is the order of the day. Economic inequality is rising. People around the globe are being displaced by conflict and climate emergencies. Racism, xenophobia, and religious intolerance are on the rise. The COVID-19 pandemic cast new light on the injustices and irrationality of our current economic and social systems. The crises we face today are social and political, but they go deeper. The life giving systems of the earth are under threat as a result of the system of production which has been foisted upon the world over the last 250 years. Fuelled by petrochemicals, driven by profit, and based on the hyper-exploitation of both workers and natural systems, this mode of production has overtaxed and disrupted many of the cycles that kept the global ecosystem in balance — including carbon cycles.

Teaching Solidarity: Education In Grassroots US Social Movements

October 26, 2022 Tenaya Summers Lafore, Grassroots Economic Organizing. , , ,
Tenaya Lafore was kind enough to allow us to excerpt this section of her doctoral dissertation, the entirety of which will be of interest to anyone interested in the intersection of education and social movement organizing. This particular section stands out as an example of some issues with non-profit led worker co-op development that we have seen and tried to draw attention to. While the issues faced by the Grassroots Empowerment and Leadership program that Lafore recounts below are different than those at play in non-profits doing worker co-op development, the overall dynamics of the hierarchical "non-profit industrial complex" extend beyond any particular movement or campaign.

Ecuador: Anti-Neoliberal Resistance

October 16, 2022 Irene León and José Agualsaca, Resumen English. , , ,
A neoliberal ‘redesign’ of the State is underway in Ecuador, activated since 2017 through different surreptitious tactics, especially “lawfare”, known for resorting to judicial and media plots as ruses to reverse alternative projects.  Also on the scene are different expressions of authoritarianism, which are con-substantial to the pursuit of the neoliberal model, to impose the dominance of the market over the interests of society.  It is a programmatic agenda, which is made possible by the conversion of State institutions into minimal operational agencies, in charge of executive aspects to attend primarily to private actors, especially transnational and national corporations, financial capital and related. In this case, the imposition of a radical neoliberalism brings with it the destruction of a sovereignty project, constitutionally based (2008) on a perspective of the common good and the public, with a horizon projection that places Good Living as a counter-hegemonic proposal, aiming at the primacy of life rather than the reproduction of capital.

British Unions And Leftists Hold Mass Mobilizations Over Cost Of Living

October 3, 2022 People's Dispatch. , , ,
On Saturday, October 1, massive mobilizations were witnessed in the UK against the Tory (Conservative Party) government for failing to tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis. According to reports, over 100,000 people participated in the protests called by the Enough is Enough campaign across the country. Protests were held in over 50 cities, including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Cardiff, Brighton, and Nottingham. On Sunday, trade unions and left-wing sections joined a protest demonstration called People’s Assembly Against Austerity outside the venue of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. The protesters expressed solidarity with postal and rail workers who are on strike against poor pay and work conditions.On Saturday, October 1, massive mobilizations were witnessed in the UK against the Tory (Conservative Party) government for failing to tackle the ongoing cost of living crisis. According to reports, over 100,000 people participated in the protests called by the Enough is Enough campaign across the country. Protests were held in over 50 cities, including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Cardiff, Brighton, and Nottingham. On Sunday, trade unions and left-wing sections joined a protest demonstration called People’s Assembly Against Austerity outside the venue of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. The protesters expressed solidarity with postal and rail workers who are on strike against poor pay and work conditions.

From Crisis To Transformation: What Is Just Transition? A Primer

September 29, 2022 Kali Akuno, Cooperation Jackson. , , ,
We Are Living Through An Age Of Profound Transition. Political Upheaval Is The Order Of The Day. Economic Inequality Is Rising. People Around The Globe Are Being Displaced By Conflict And Climate Emergencies. Racism, Xenophobia, And Religious Intolerance Are On The Rise. The COVID-19 Pandemic Cast New Light On The Injustices And Irrationality Of Our Current Economic And Social Systems. The Crises We Face Today Are Social And Political, But They Go Deeper. The Life Gi- Ving Systems Of The Earth Are Under Threat As A Result Of The System Of Production Which Has Been Foisted Upon The World Over The Last 250 Years. Fuelled By Petrochemicals, Driven By Profit, And Based On The Hyper-Exploitation Of Both Workers And Natural Systems, This Mode Of Production Has Overtaxed And Disrupted Many Of The Cycles That Kept The Global Ecosystem In Balance — Including Carbon Cycles.
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