The RGA defines its task as building a new Left in opposition to Social Democracy and to the right wing. The focus will no longer be appeals to or demands towards Social Democracy, but rather building our own political and organisational alternative and taking on responsibility for building social movements.
What if the Greek government had heeded the Truth Committee’s recommendations?
14 October 2015, byDuring a press conference held by the Truth Committee on the Greek Public Debt at the Greek Parliament on 25 September 2015, Éric Toussaint, the Committee’s scientific coordinator, provided a detailed answer to a question from a journalist who asked what would have happened if the Greek government had heeded the Committee’s recommendations and suspended debt repayment. Toussaint explained that, far from resulting in a catastrophe, a suspension of payment combined with other measures would have made it possible for Greece to find a much better outcome to the crisis than the current implementation of a third memorandum.
Illegitimacy, Illegality, Odiousness and Unsustainability of the August 2015 Memorandum of Understanding and Loan Agreements
13 October 2015, byIn August 2015, the Tsipras (SYRIZA/ANEL) government agreed to a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a Financial Assistance Facility Agreement [loan agreement]. The terms of the August 2015 MoU [Third MoU) and loan agreement entered into by the Tsipras government brings into question two particular aspects of odious debt doctrine; namely: a) the proper place of economic self-determination (as expressed by popular vote) in debt restructuring and; b) the actual outcomes of these agreements on the Greek people, the fiscal and financial impositions on the State and the sustainability of the debt overall. These aspects of the agreements will determine the odious, illegal or illegitimate nature of the aforementioned outcomes.
27S: an earthquake that doesn’t stop here
13 October 2015, byThe Catalan parliamentary elections of September 27, 2015 confirmed the slow motion earthquake that has shaken Catalan society in the past four years, buffeted by the policies of austerity and the explosion of 15M at first, and by the independence movement afterwards. The system of traditional parties has broken up. And from the polls a roadmap emerges that shows that what is to come will be equal to or more profound than what has already happened.
Confronted by the ecological emergency: project of society, programme, strategy
12 October 2015, byIn April 2014, two different teams of American glaciologists, specialists in the Antarctic, reached - by different methods, based on observation - the same conclusion: because of global warming, a portion of the ice sheet has begun to dislocate, and this dislocation is irreversible.
Millions Are “Feeling the Bern,” but What’s Next?
10 October 2015, byWhy are so many people attracted to Bernie Sanders’ campaign? The self-described socialist has won the support of millions. More than 100,000 people were excited enough to attend 3,500 meetings throughout 50 states on July 29. In August and September Sanders drew huge crowds in Minneapolis, Denver, Madison, Phoenix, Council Bluffs, Phoenix, Seattle (12,000), Portland, Maine, Portland, Oregon (20,000), Los Angeles (27,000) and Boston (somewhere between 25-30,000). By the end of September he’d received donations from 650,000 people—including $25.5 million mostly in small donations in just three months. On the labor front, he held a conference call of 26,000 union members in September, with 1,350 of them volunteering to work on his campaign.
About the elections of September 20
8 October 2015, byIf the result of the elections in January expressed the hope (along with the illusions it included) of the working class for abolition of the memoranda and austerity through the parliamentary route and a “Government of the Left”, the same, more or less, result in the election of the 20th of September has a totally different meaning: it depicts the limits of the working class’ movement until now. The victory and the only slight weakening of SYRIZA a few weeks after it introduced the 3rd memorandum show that a big part of the workers accept that, for the moment, there is no alternative. At the same time, the transformation of SYRIZA is maturating, as the party got rid of its left wing, as well as of the (not so big anyway) older makeweight it had in the trade unions, with quite a small cost.
The struggle against private electricity suppliers and illegitimate tariff hikes
7 October 2015, byBy the time this statement reaches people, a group of activists united under the banner of the Peoples Movement Against Power Tariff Hike will have entered the fourteenth day of their hunger strike. The network at present is small, and there could well be debates about some of the tactics it has taken. Some remarks in social media tend to show that such debates about purity are taking place.
Slowing economy – Chinese Strikes in Manufacturing: from Offensive to Defensive?
6 October 2015, byChina’s slowing economy, especially its weakening export sector, has framed the recent wave of labor protests in the manufacturing sector. Seven years after the Great Financial Crisis, China has been dealing with unstable export market in the North America and Europe. While the government puts the economic growth rate at a steady 7 per cent, there are visible signs of economic distress reflected in declining industrial activities. And there is no easy fix. In fact, the government has hoped to upgrade manufacturing, and to some degree turned a blind eye to the decline of low-tech export processing.