IVP601- February 2025

In a highly confrontational speech delivered at the Munich Security Conference opening on 14 February, US Vice President JD Vance declared that the “internal threat” facing Europe was more serious than that posed by Russia and China. He criticised the annulment of a recent election in Romania, the prosecution of an anti-abortion protester in the United Kingdom, and the exclusion of far-right and far-left German politicians from the event itself.

Serbia’s prime minister has resigned after months of protests over the deadly rail-station canopy collapse in Novi Sad. No isolated incident, the disaster has become the latest symbol of government subservience to unscrupulous multinational developers

On Thursday 13 February, 2025, 100,000 people marched through the streets of Brussels in response to a call from the trade union common front: a multitude of sectors (trade unions, feminists, anti-fascists, among many others) mobilised against the all-out attacks by the new federal government, the “Arizona coalition” which has been in power in Belgium since the beginning of February. This remarkable turnout represents a real acceleration in social tension. The Gauche anticapitaliste (Belgian section of the Fourth International ) was present and marched with Commune Colère, a unitary pole bringing together workers from many backgrounds (trade union left, feminist, anti-racist and anti-fascist collectives, environmental activists and so on), whose bloc brought together several hundred people around combative slogans.

Trump’s narrow victory in the popular vote in the November 2024 US presidential elections has given rise to speculation that the US is headed towards authoritarianism and even fascism. While a full discussion and definition of fascism is beyond the scope of this article, and the Trump presidency at this writing is only one week old, a flurry of presidential decrees issued within the first few days give an indication of what can be expected.

In a matter of seconds, the time it takes to sign, Trump and Musk put the lives of millions of people in danger, confirming the precariousness of aid from rich countries.

Fred Leplat and Liz Lawrence explore the situation facing Ukraine today and key solidarity tasks in the months ahead.

Roland Rance explores the continuity between Trumps outrageous proposals for Gaza and the longterm approach of all currents of Zionism

For several days, Rennes and the surrounding region have been experiencing an unprecedented episode of intense rainfall, resulting in river flooding the likes of which has not been seen for decades.

President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have been on a rampage, closing government agencies, firing thousands of workers, and pressuring two million federal employees to resign, actions that threaten the well-being of millions of Americans—children, the elderly, the disabled, federal workers, and others who depend on the federal government. Their actions constitute an on-going technocratic coup from the top and from within the government itself, what in Latin America is called an auto-golpe (a coup against one’s own government) as Musk’s techies, mostly young men employed by him, effectively take control by commandeering the state’s computer systems. Trump’s assault has left the country in a state of shock and confusion.

On Sunday 19 January 2025, the ceasefire in Gaza and the release of prisoners came into effect. Within a very fragile framework, 1,967 Palestinian political prisoners from all over Palestine were to be released. Released but, as is often the case, only to be re-arrested. Since 1967, according to the UN, 800,000 Palestinians have spent time in Israeli jails. In the first phase, 69 women and 21 children were released, while 70 of those released in the second phase were sentenced to deportation and exile.