Mass mobilization, political crisis and capitalism in Eastern Europe

Many of the capitalist regimes in Eastern Europe have faced continued instability as they are challenged by mass movements from below. What is the historical background to these struggles and what are the challenges and limits of these movements?

‘We Are Coming to Save Our Lives’

“We are human beings, where are our rights? Where are human rights in France? We are not coming to die, we are coming to save our lives,” says Baby, an Ethiopian woman in France who speaks poignantly about her experience in “The Jungle,” a temporary refugee encampment outside Calais, France. The camp was originally formed about eight years ago. Today, there are upwards of four thousand migrants struggling to survive in squalid conditions as they bear constant attacks by local police who systematically bulldoze tents and fire tear gas and rubber bullets at the migrants. The people have fled from imperialist wars and civil wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and now, Syria, where the European powers are vamping up their war machine. Baby speaks at an NPA conference that took place on November 24, 2015.

German Capitalists Celebrate Record-Low Unemployment Rates

The unemployment rate is at its lowest since 1991, but this “record” is based on precarious working conditions, attacks on labor rights and repression against workers. That is the essence of the “German miracle."

Germany: Faster Deportations through ‘Transit Zones’

Faster, more inhumane. This sums up the newest hardening of the asylum laws in Germany. But even that is not enough for the reactionary forces within the German regime. Deportations of refugees are supposed to be accelerated even further by installing so-called “transit zones” close to the borders.

A Quarter of a Million in Berlin Against TIPP and CETA

The German capital hasn't seen a demonstration this big in more than ten years. On Saturday, up to 250,000 people marched against TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) and CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement).

Nothing to celebrate, but much to fight for

This past week marked twenty-five years since the territory of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), also known as East Germany, was incorporated into the West German Federal Republic. The period of capitalist and “reunified” Germany had begun.

Thousands Welcome Refugees in Germany

Almost ten thousand people took to the streets in protest on Saturday in Dresden, Germany to express their solidarity with refugees coming to Europe, against the growing wave of xenophobia in Germany.

Exit the Euro? Polemic with Greek Economist Costas Lapavitsas

Spanish version from La Izquierda Diario, July 27, 2015. A broad spectrum of people from Nobel Prize in Economics winners Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz to members of Syriza’s Left Platform, are defending – with more or less resolve – the need for Greece to abandon the Eurozone. “The Case for Grexit” (1) is the […]

Internal disputes in German government over pressure on Greece

Last Friday, the German parliament approved a colonialist pact against Greece. Although a broad majority voted in favor, the governing parties faced an internal opposition. A dispute that even reflected itself within Merkel's cabinet.