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Social Movements

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.

A People’s Analysis Of A World On Fire

September 24, 2022 Manuel Bertholdi, People's Dispatch. , , ,
As several popular movements, together with many organic intellectuals, have been warning, we are undergoing a crisis of the capitalist system globally. The results of this crisis are unpredictable. Contrary to what liberals and even some heterodoxy argue, this crisis is a product of neoliberalism. That is to say, the crisis is a product of the intrinsic development of capital itself and not a problem alien to the “normal functioning of the system”. It is the very development of capital itself that creates all the contradictions which, when they become more acute, lead to crisis. This crisis does not affect the entire population equally. It is poor and working people who are subjected to the disastrous economic, social and political consequences of the crisis. Never in human history has the degree of inequality been as acute as it is today.

What Killed America’s Peace Movement?

September 5, 2022 Robert Scheer, Scheer Post. , , ,
The feminist anti-war group CODEPINK, with its mission to “educate, inspire, and activate” Americans about the need for peace and how it intersects with crises such as climate change, stands out as one of the few effective peace movements in the U.S. today. Its co-founders Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans join Scheer to offer their perspectives on the war in Ukraine and the reasons they still have hope for a peaceful future. Benjamin has reported from conflict zones and written a dozen books, with the most recent, “War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict,” forthcoming from OR Books in October.

Over One Million Bolivians Mobilize To Support President Arce’s Government

August 31, 2022 People's Dispatch. , , , ,
On Thursday, August 25, under the banner of ‘March in Defense of Democracy and Economic Reconstruction’, over one million Bolivians mobilized in support of the government of President Luis Arce and Vice President David Choquehuanca and its socialist economic policies. Workers from diverse sectors, peasants, students, and members of various Indigenous organizations and social movements from all nine departments of the country arrived in capital La Paz to ratify their support for the national government of the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party. The call for the march was given by the Pact of Unity (PU), a national alliance of grassroots organizations, and the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), the country’s trade union center, in the face of attempts by far-right opposition sectors and capitalists to destabilize the national government and the country’s economy.

There’s No Place For Burnout In A Burning World

August 31, 2022 Charlie Wood , Waging Nonviolence. , , ,
By the age of 10, I was terrified about the state of the world. I wanted to quit school and volunteer for environmental and human rights groups. Instead, I distributed leaflets in my neighborhood and attended rallies with my dad. At 14, I watched “An Inconvenient Truth.” At 15, I read a National Geographic article about coal — how it planted cancer in people’s lungs, stole their breath, and polluted their water. This broke my heart and, in the midst of that brokenness, I devoted my life to stopping climate change. Fast forward a decade, and I’d had the privilege of working in several nonprofits, including co-founding one. Together, we have achieved a lot — mobilizing record numbers of people to the streets, pushing dozens of institutions to defund coal and gas, building hundreds of local groups, and empowering countless people to take action.

Greater Peril, Greater Reward? A New Risk Assessment Tool For Activists

August 23, 2022 Phil Wilmot, ICNC. , ,
In March 2019, following numerous community pleas to curb graft among local police that had fallen upon deaf ears, residents of Kyere, Uganda tricked a notoriously corrupt police officer into a bribery arrangement. They caught him red-handed. Emerging from their hiding places in a community market, they seized the officer and arrested him—a man who had often used the same power of arrest to extort from them! This effective sting operation occurred without any of the usual police brutality toward activists. As democracy erodes at an Increasing Pace, slipping our species toward the normalization of authoritarianism, protesters are understandably exploring how they can stay safe. But reducing the risks of our nonviolent actions can also come at a cost—the cost of our power.
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