International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

• China

  The social cost of China’s resistance to Trump’s tariff war

  3 July, by An Dexin, Au Loong-Yu

  Trump’s tariffs bullied the whole world. Both Canada and China reacted strongly against them, most countries did not. This garnered a lot of international support for Beijing,. A global poll conducted by Morning Consult showed that in January last year, the U.S. in various countries scored more than 20 points while China scored negatively. However, by the end of May this year, after Trump’s “Liberation Day”, the perceptions reversed, with the U.S. at -1.5 and China at +8.8. Many see this as a reflection of people’s sympathy with China’s resistance to Trump. This comes with a heavy price, however. China’s exports have already slowed down since early 2025, and in May it plunged 34.5% year-on-year.

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• Serbia

  Serbia: controlled, decentralized chaos across the country, but power is waning

  2 July, by Tara Mirković

  Since Sunday night, a veritable game of cat and mouse has been played out on the streets of Belgrade between citizens and the police. The principle is simple and highly effective: erect improvised barricades, block a street or intersection, wait for the police to arrive, then disperse peacefully before starting again further on. In this ballet of non-violent resistance, each withdrawal is a new opening. While the police dismantle the roadblocks, sometimes violently, others form elsewhere. And this elusive movement is spreading throughout the country.

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• Argentina

  Mobilisations in Argentina: Brief considerations on the current political turmoil

  1 July, by Eduardo Lucita

  “Everything is moving toward the eventual establishment of a new political regime in the country. Massive and sustained popular mobilisation is what can put a stop to this reactionary process, but this must not sideline the national midterm elections next October, which are also a decisive arena for struggle.”

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• Madagascar

  Draft laws play hide-and-seek in Madagascar

  30 June, by Paul Martial

  In Madagascar, parliamentary bills are kept secret until they are passed. Neither citizens nor MPs can debate texts that are sometimes crucial to the life of the country. In the face of this authoritarian closure, civil society organizations are denouncing an anti-democratic drift orchestrated by Rajoelina’s government.

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• USA

  Can Democratic Socialist Mamdani become Mayor of New York?

  29 June, by Dan La Botz

  “Mamdani’s campaign, platform, and victory point a possible new direction for the Democrats and for the left. But it will be hard to beat the billionaires.”

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...and the rest of the current issue

• Africa

  Overfishing is plundering waters in Africa

• Denmark

  Enhedslisten: Support for more defence - but which defence?

• Mexico

  A mixed success for the President in Mexico

• USA

  State of the Resistance

• Argentina

  Cristina Kirchner condemned and banned from election

Recently posted Features

• Series: The banks and the “Too Big to Jail” doctrine (Part 7)

  The Big Banks Organise Massive Tax Evasion on an International Scale

  31 August 2014, by Éric Toussaint

  Another example of the “Too Big to Jail” doctrine: International tax evasion and fraud organised by UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank.
  UBS, which had to be saved from failure in October 2008 by massive injections of Swiss public money, was involved in the LIBOR manipulation scandal, the currency markets manipulation scandal (UBS is the subject of several inquiries by controlling authorities in Hong Kong, US, the UK, and in Switzerland) and the abusive sale of structured Mortgage-Backed (…)

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• Series : The banks and the “too big to jail” doctrine (Part 5)

  Big banks’ tampering with interest rates

  31 August 2014, by Éric Toussaint

  The extremely tolerant approach to the manipulation of interest rates by the governments of the main industrialised countries shows the extent to which the ’Too Big to Jail’ principle is applied. In 2010 the media revealed that a group of eighteen banks had been manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) from 2005 to 2010. LIBOR is a benchmark rate used for a market of $350 trillion, in assets and financial derivatives, which means it is the second most important benchmark rate in the world after the dollar exchange rate. The rate is based on information provided by eighteen banks about their funding costs in interbank markets. In 2012 evidence was provided of collusion among big banks such as UBS, Barclays, Rabobank, or Royal Bank of Scotland in order to manipulate LIBOR in their own interests.

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• Series : The banks and the “too big to jail” doctrine (Part 4)

  HSBC: the bank with a shameful past and scandalous present

  31 August 2014, by Éric Toussaint

  The British bank HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) employs 260, 000 people, has offices in 75 countries, and 54 million customers. [1]
  From its earliest days, it has been involved in the international narcotics trade. It was founded in the wake of the British victories in the Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1860) against China. These two wars were very important to the strengthening of the British Empire and the century and a half waning of China. Through the Opium Wars, the British Empire forced China to accept opium importations coming from British India. China tried to oppose this commerce, but British arms, backed by Washington, proved stronger. London established a colony in Hong Kong in 1865, where HSBC was created by a Scottish merchant specializing in the opium trade— the basis of 70% of Hong Kong trade with the Indies.

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• Series: The banks and the “too big to jail” doctrine (Part 3)

  Drug and Bank Lords

  30 August 2014, by Éric Toussaint

  The British bank HSBC, which employs 260, 000 people worldwide, is present in 75 countries, and claims to have 54 million customers [2] is another example of the “Too Big to Jail” phenomenon. [3] Over the last ten years, HSBC has laundered $881 million [4] for Mexican and Columbian drug cartels that are responsible for tens of thousands of firearm related assassinations. These relations continue in spite of dozens of warnings from different US government agencies including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The profits from this business are so important that not only does HSBC continue, but it has also opened specialized services in its Mexico offices where drug dealers may simply hand in stocks of cash for cleaning. [5]

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