The 2009 Election Results: Reflecting the state of the class struggle in South Africa The workers and poor of South Africa voted massively for an ANC that had been purged of its right wing. Now that the ANC is once more in office, the bourgeois – having failed to stop this – are putting enormous pressure on its leaders to steer away from any radical pro-worker policies. What is required is a struggle within the South African labour movement to anchor its organisations to genuine socialist policies.
Political Situation in South Africa on the day of the 2009 elections We have received these observations about the election day in South Africa and comments about the general political situation in the country.
The Working Class in the April 2009 South African Elections Today South Africans are going to the polls. The elections come after the December 2008 Pholokwane Conference of the ANC, where the Mbeki-led right-wing clique was resoundingly defeated, breaking away to form the Congress of the People, while the new Zuma leadership took over. For years workers in South Africa have waited for the "second stage" of the South African revolution that never materialised. It is about time the socialist agenda were taken up again by the ANC!
Madagascar: Troops defy orders to put down opposition protests "We no longer take orders from our hierarchy, we are following our hearts. We were trained to protect property and citizens, not to fire at people. We are with the people," one rebel soldier is reported as saying.
Nigeria: Police brutality ‑ Symptom Of Capitalist Decay Scenes of innocent people being killed at the hands of the police are becoming ever more common in Nigeria. Here a Nigerian Marxist links this phenomenon to the ever deeper senile decay of capitalism.
Nigerian workers begin struggle for a living wage Most Nigerian workers earn miserably low wages. The present minimum wage is set at 5,200 Naira (US$36) per month. The workers have now raised the demand for a 52,000 Naira (US$360) minimum wage, still low compared to international standards, and yet the Nigerian elite complain that this will damage the economy!
Interview with Moroccan Marxist - Massive ferment expressed through Gaza solidarity demonstrations We publish here an interview with Hosam Benhamza, a Moroccan Marxist. He is talking about how young people and workers in Morocco reacted to the attack against Gaza by organising massive demonstrations in a lot of cities and villages all over Morocco.
[Video] The youth of the youth on the streets of Morocco We publish this impressive video of a school students' demo against the Israeli imperialist aggression in Gaza. It illustrates well the sea change in the consciousness of young people in the Arab world, in Morocco in particular.
Nigerian economy - a turbulent period ahead Not so long ago Nigerian economists were claiming Nigeria would be immune from the world financial meltdown. Now the Nigerian economy is being hit very hard as the world economy is pushed more and more into recession. The dramatic fall in the price of oil is having a devastating impact on Nigeria's finances and the coming period will see this translated into even greater suffering for the working masses.
Yar'Adua’s Seven Point Agenda: any hope for the Nigerian people? The present Yar'Adua administration in Nigeria elaborated a so-called "Seven Point Agenda" as it came into office. None of its goals have been achieved and will not be achieved on the basis of the present capitalist economic set up.
Nigeria: Lagos doctors go on strike over low wages The crisis in Nigeria is affecting all layers of society. Significantly the Lagos doctors have taken a decision to embark on militant strike action for better wages, but also better and cleaner working conditions.
Moroccan youth rise against attack on Gaza The barbaric attack of Israeli forces on the people of Gaza has provoked widespread mass opposition within the Arab world. Here we provide a brief report on youth mobilisations in Morocco, where the Marxists have intervened connecting well with the militant youth.
The abyss facing Nigeria in the face of the growing world crisis of capitalism Just a few months ago all the talk was of Nigeria avoiding the effects of the world crisis of capitalism, the idea being that the local economy was not as integrated into the world financial markets as the more advanced economies. Then suddenly things started to change...
Ethiopia: which way forward? As food prices soar world-wide it was reported recently on the BBC that ‘Ethiopia has launched an urgent appeal to international donors for more than $300m (£154m) of emergency aid’. According the news item, ‘a total of 4.6 million people are now thought to need food aid’.
Nigerian Union of Teachers’ Strike: the beginning of a wider movement? A major teachers' strike has broken out in Nigeria over the question of a Teachers' Salary Scale. What is significant is that 88% of the population is backing the strike. This fact alone reveals the real feelings of the Nigerian working class and poor masses. It reveals the potential for a much wider movement involving the whole of the working class.
