Italy


Italy: Rifondazione Comunista turns left – Interview with Claudio Bellotti Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Friday, 29 August 2008
Claudio Bellotti is a leading member of FalceMartello, the Italian section of the International Marxist Tendency. Claudio is also the spokesperson of the Marxist left wing of the Communist Refoundation Party (Rifondazione Comunista). Our interview will be about the intervention of the Italian Marxists in the congress of Rifondazione.
 
Italy: Conference of FalceMartello – on the verge of a new leap forward Print E-mail
By Fred Weston   
Wednesday, 07 May 2008
Last week, (May 1-4) the Marxist Tendency in Italy, gathered around the journal FalceMartello, held its national conference. More than 175 comrades took part in the four-day event. One could feel that the comrades are on the verge of another leap forward in their development.
 
Italy: Berlusconi’s victory will prepare a massive workers’ backlash Print E-mail
By Fernando D’Alessandro   
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Berlusconi has won. We can already hear the wailing voices about "black reaction" and a "turn to the right". A closer look at the situation reveals a different picture. It reveals a polarisation between the classes of an unprecedented nature.
 
The decline and fall of Romano Prodi exposes the rottenness of Italian capitalism Print E-mail
By Mauro Vanetti   
Friday, 01 February 2008
The centre-left government led by Romano Prodi was put out of its misery on the night of January 24th, when a vote of confidence was lost by five votes in the Italian Senate. As we predicted, the Left has wasted years in supporting class-collaborationist policies in a coalition government with the bourgeoisie that just paved the way for the return of Berlusconi to power.
 
Italy: The inevitable failure of the centre-left coalition – Interview with Claudio Bellotti Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Friday, 01 February 2008
This interview with Claudio Bellotti, Editor of FalceMartello and Partito della Rifondazione Comunista National Executive Committee member, was released two weeks ago, before the fall of Prodi's government. It gives a general outlook of why the coalition failed and the general significance of these developments.
 
Rome: Red Square photo gallery Print E-mail
By FalceMartello   
Thursday, 25 October 2007
A huge demonstration took place on Saturday in Rome, the biggest for some years. Here you can see a photo gallery of the demo, including the section organised by the Marxist tendency, FalceMartello.
 
“Red square”: hundreds of thousands of workers and youth take to the streets of Rome Print E-mail
By Roberto Sarti – FalceMartello Editorial board   
Thursday, 25 October 2007
Last Saturday, October 20th, hundreds of thousands workers and youth marched through the streets of Rome, called out by the main left papers to put pressure on the Prodi government to change its policies in favour of working people.
 
The inglorious decline of Italian Stalinism Print E-mail
By Alessandro Giardiello   
Thursday, 25 October 2007
In what to many may seem an amazing transformation, the bulk of the old Italian Communist Party, the biggest Communist Party in the West, has fused with a bourgeois party known as the Margherita, to form the Democratic Party. Here we provide the background to how this came about.
 
Italy: Antiracist demonstration in Pavia – Marxists at the forefront Print E-mail
By FalceMartello - www.marxismo.net   
Tuesday, 02 October 2007
On Saturday, September 29, around 2000 workers and youth took part in an anti-racist demonstration in Pavia, south of Milan (Italy), the biggest rally in the small town for many years. In the recent period Rom families, from Romania, have been the victims of an almost pogrom-like atmosphere whipped up by right-wing reactionaries. The local Young Communists and the supporters of FalceMartello were in the forefront of the mobilisation. Here we provide the photos.
 
Italy: “Festa Rossa” – very successful first ever festival of FalceMartello Print E-mail
By FalceMartello - www.marxismo.net   
Monday, 09 July 2007
The Marxist Tendency in Italy gathered around the journal FalceMartello organised its first ever open air festival in Bologna between June 21st and 24th. It attracted several thousand people and was a success in every sense of the word, financially and politically. Here we provide a brief report of the four days and also some short videos (in Italian).
 
Italy: First Red Festival of FalceMartello in Bologna Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Thursday, 28 June 2007
The comrades of FalceMartello organised their first ever national festival, "Festa Rossa", in Bologna on June 21-24. About 4000 people passed through the festival over the four days, where they could take part in debates, eat traditional local food at the restaurant, browse through a big selection of books, listen to free concerts, etc. Next week we will provide a more detailed report, but for now we invite you to watch short videos of the four-day event.
 
What kind of demands should the Italian Marxists be raising inside Rifondazione Comunista? Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Friday, 30 March 2007
At the last congress of Rifondazione Comunista (2005) the Italian Marxists of FalceMartello presented their own national document. A comrade sent a letter questioning the kind of transitional demands presented. Here we publish the letter with a reply from the Italian Marxists, an interesting debate on what kind of demands should be raised at each turn of events.
 
The fall of the Italian government also represents a defeat for the PRC majority Print E-mail
By the Editorial Board of Falcemartello – www.marxismo.net   
Friday, 23 February 2007
On Wednesday the Prodi government was forced to resign after losing a crucial vote in the Senate. This reveals the extreme instability of the political situation in the country, but it also poses sharply the contradictions in which the PRC has placed itself.
 
Italy: 150,000 people march against new US base Print E-mail
By Roberto Sarti   
Tuesday, 20 February 2007
In spite of having promised no more NATO or US bases in Italy, the Prodi government has gone ahead and agreed to a big expansion of the Vicenza base. This has provoked anger among the left electorate which was clearly seen on last Saturday’s massive demonstration of at least 150,000.
 
Why Italian Workers and Youth Oppose the U.S. Base at Vicenza Print E-mail
By Socialist Appeal USA - www.socialistappeal.org   
Tuesday, 06 February 2007
An interview with Roberto Sarti of Falce Martello on growing opposition to plans for the expansion of a U.S. air base in Northeast Italy.
 
The choice before Humanity Print E-mail
By Alan Woods   
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
From 11 to 13 October in the FAO building in Rome the Fourth Gathering of Intellectuals and Artists in Defence of Humanity took place. We publish today the text of a paper presented by Alan Woods to that conference.
 
Alan Woods speaks to HoV meeting in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Caserta Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Friday, 20 October 2006
Last Saturday another successful meeting was held with Alan Woods speaking near Caserta in Southern Italy, the area where Spartacus started his slaves’ revolt centuries earlier.
 
Alan Woods’ speaking tour in Italy concludes in Milan Print E-mail
By Claudio Bellotti   
Friday, 20 October 2006
Last night Alan Woods concluded his speaking tour of Italy with a lively meeting in the CGIL headquarters in Milan. The local Milan PRC collaborated in organising the meeting and the party’s parliamentary group leader, Gennaro Migliore, also spoke. Over 150 people turned out to discuss the Venezuelan revolution.
 
Some remarks on the International Gathering of Intellectuals and Artists In Defence of Humanity Print E-mail
By Alan Woods   
Monday, 16 October 2006
From 11th to 13th October in the FAO building in Rome the Fourth Gathering of Intellectuals and Artists in Defence of Humanity took place. Present were intellectuals from many countries, representing many different points of view, but united in their concern for the crisis that is affecting the whole world and threatens the future of civilization, culture, the environment and possibly the very survival of the human race.
 
Picture gallery of Alan Woods' speaking tour in Italy Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Thursday, 12 October 2006
Futher to yesterday's report on Alan Woods’ speaking tour in Italy we added a picture gallery of some of the meetings.
 
Extraordinary beginning of Alan Woods’ tour in Italy Print E-mail
By Roberto Sarti, HOV-Italy, national coordinator   
Wednesday, 11 October 2006
Alan Woods is presently on a speaking tour of Italy organised by Hands Off Venezuela-Italy and the Marxist tendency FalceMartello. There is keen interest in hearing a Marxist analysis of the events taking place in Venezuela as the successful meetings so far held clearly demonstrate. See also the picture gallery.
 
Assemblee con Alan Woods in Italia - Il Venezuela e la rivoluzione in America Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Wednesday, 27 September 2006
Alan Woods sarà in Italia dal 5 al 20 ottobre per una serie di assemblee sul Venezuela e la rivoluzione in America Latina. Alan è il promotore della campagna internazionale "Giù le mani dal Venezuela", direttore del sito web In defence of Marxism ed uno fra i principali dirigenti della Tendenza Marxista Internazionale, a cui FalceMartello aderisce.
 
Press statement on July 9 picket organised in Sassuolo Print E-mail
By the Comitato Casa San Pietro (Sassuolo, Moden, Italy)   
Tuesday, 11 July 2006
Over 100 Arabs took part calling for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
 
Fascism collapsing - Europe’s Revolution has begun Print E-mail
By Ted Grant   
Monday, 26 June 2006
When Mussolini was removed by a palace coup in July 1943 the masses came out onto the streets, rejoicing at the fall of the hated dictator. Ted Grant wrote an article shortly after those events stressing that this was the beginning of the revolution in Italy and beyond.
 
Aid the Italian revolution! Land to the peasants! Factories to Workers! Print E-mail
By Ted Grant   
Monday, 26 June 2006
Following on from his previous article, Ted Grant writing in August 1943 explained the meaning of the palace coup that had removed Mussolini from power and underlined the growing mobilisation of the Italian masses that were clearly moving towards socialist revolution.
 
The Italian revolution and the tasks of British workers Print E-mail
By Ted Grant   
Monday, 26 June 2006
Ted Grant in 1943 analyses the origins of Italian fascism, how it came to power and then how it lost its base of support within society, leading finally to the fall of Mussolini and stresses the need to support the revolutionary struggle of the Italian workers.
 
Stalin recognises Badoglio Print E-mail
By Ted Grant   
Monday, 26 June 2006
Badoglio, having overthrown Mussolini in July 1943, then proceeded to impose military rule over the Italian masses. His role was to hold back the masses with the help of the Allied forces. Scandalously Stalin recognised the Badoglio government. Here we reproduce an article by Ted Grant on this turn of events written in 1944.
 
Italian elections - A hung parliament will prepare new explosions Print E-mail
By Roberto Sarti and Fernando D’Alessandro - www.marxismo.net   
Wednesday, 12 April 2006
How do we explain the fact that Berlusconi made such a surprising comeback in the recent Italian elections? He waged a rabidly reactionary election campaign, attacking “Communists” everywhere, defending the better-off layers of society. Prodi’s coalition offered the workers only more “sacrifices”, dampening enthusiam for the Centre-Left coalition. Now a new period of instability opens up in crisis ridden Italy.
 
November 25th, Italy paralysed by general strike - Unite all struggles against the Berlusconi government Print E-mail
By Roberto Sarti   
Thursday, 01 December 2005
Last Friday Italy was shaken by yet another general strike. Tomorrow the engineering workers march on Rome. On Saturday there is a protest against detention centres for illegal immigrants. Last October 25th, 70,000 students protested in Rome. The right wing Berlusconi government is under constant pressure from the workers and youth. It could be brought down today if it were not for the trade union leaders and leaders of the left parties.
 
Italy: Sassuolo - The struggle of the “Green Block” continues! Print E-mail
By Simona Bolelli   
Friday, 07 October 2005
In June 58 working class families, most of them North African immigrants, were forcibly evicted from their homes in Sassuolo (northern Italy) to make room for speculative development. They either owned or were legally renting their homes. With the help of the Italian Marxists they are fighting back on a grand scale.

See the original article in Italian
See the Arabic translation 
 
Italian National Metal Workers Union support Venezuela Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Tuesday, 19 July 2005
As a result of the Hands Off Venezuela tour in Italy (see: Successful conclusion to the Hands Off Venezuela speaking tour in Italy), good links were established with the Metal Workers Federation of the CGIL, Italy's main union. Resolutions in support of the Bolivarian revolution and recognising the UNT as the representative of the Venezuelan workers were passed at the FIOM regional congresses in Campania, Emiglia Romagna and Lombardia (see: The trade union situation in Venezuela - Recognising the UNT as the union organizing the majority of workers). Now the National Congress of the FIOM-CGIL, which took place in Livorno on June 2nd to June 5th passed the same resolution, and the union's national secretary Gianni Rinaldini signed the Hands Off Venezuela appeal.
 
Successful national meeting of Italian Marxists Print E-mail
By our Italian correspondent   
Wednesday, 01 June 2005
On the weekend of 28-29 May, the picturesque town of Cortona in Tuscany was the scene of a very successful national meeting of the supporters of the Fifth Motion, the platform organised by the Italian Marxist tendency, Falce Martello. The rally was attended by over 140 comrades from about forty different federations of the Italian Communist Party.
 
Italy: the beginning of the end for Berlusconi Print E-mail
By Fernando DAlessandro   
Friday, 08 April 2005
The right wing in Italy suffered a devastating defeat in last weekend’s regional elections. Berlusconi’s party, Forza Italia suffered the most, losing 1.8 million votes compared to the regional elections in 2000 and 4.5 million compared to the 2001 general elections. This marks the beginning of the end for Berlusconi.
 
Comment of the Italian Marxists on the death of the Pope Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Tuesday, 05 April 2005
Yesterday we republished the article Wojtyla and Teresa, or a Case of Saintly Overproduction to mark the death of John Paul II. The Italian Marxists also published a translation of the same article, together with their own brief comment which we are making available here for our English language readers.
 
Claudio Bellotti speaking at the national congress of the PRC Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Friday, 11 March 2005
This is the intervention of Claudio Bellotti at the national congress of the PRC last week, available as a transcript and as a video. When viewing the video you have to be a little patient as there are about 15 minutes of organisational proceedings before the comrade starts to speak.
 
Italy: The Marxists in the congress of Rifondazione Comunista Print E-mail
By Claudio Bellotti and Alessandro Giardiello   
Wednesday, 02 March 2005
Tomorrow the 6th national congress of Rifondazione Comunista opens in Venice. The party is being called on to join a future Centre-Left governmenet headed by Prodi, as it looks very likely that Berlusconi will lose the next general election. The Marxists of FalceMartello have intervened up and down the country in over 1000 local party congresses warning the ranks of the party that to go down this road would be a disastrous policy. We provide here a brief introduction by Fernando D'Alessandro and Part One of the document the Marxists are defending in the congress.
 
Break With Prodi: Prepare a Workers' Alternative - Part Two Print E-mail
By Claudio Bellotti and Alessandro Giardiello,   
Wednesday, 02 March 2005
In Part Two of the document of the Italian Marxists, presented at the national congress of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista (PRC) which opens today in Venice, the comrades draw a balance sheet of the previous congress and deal with the questions of the war in Iraq, the crisis of capitalism in Italy and Europe and draw up a programme of transitional demands that the party should adopt.
 
Break With Prodi: Prepare a Workers' Alternative - Part Three Print E-mail
By Claudio Bellotti and Alessandro Giardiello   
Wednesday, 02 March 2005
In the final part of their document the Marxists in Rifondazone Comunista (FalceMartello) outline the crisis of Social Democracy and the Trade Unions. In answer to both the leadership who are preparing to join forces even with bourgeois parties and also the sectarian fringe who believe these mass organisations can simply be wished away, the comrades develop a strategy based on the best traditions of the Communist International in the days when Lenin's ideas dominated.
 
Tide turning in Italy: Open conflict between right-wing government and trade unions paves the way for a general strike Print E-mail
By Claudio Bellotti   
Monday, 28 February 2005
The political and social position in Italy is developing at a fast pace. After several years of social truce under the centre-left coalition government, a sharp conflict is developing. Although we are still at the beginning of the process, we can say that its consequences will be far-ranging, and that the struggle that is now opening will affect all layers in the society and will provoke an earthquake in the Italian workers' movement, in the unions and in the left in general.
 
Important meeting of Italian Marxists: Preparing to fight Print E-mail
By our Italian correspondent   
Monday, 06 December 2004
On the weekend of 4-5 December, the national meeting of the comrades of the Fifth Document took place. The meeting was held in the premises of the PRC branch of via Confalonieri, Milan, with 140 comrades present from all over the country.
 
Italy: The Marxists at the 6th congress of the PRC Print E-mail
By Claudio Bellotti, Member of the National Executive of the PRC   
Wednesday, 01 December 2004
In March the PRC is holding its 6th congress. Bertinotti, the party secretary, has made a very sharp turn to the right. For instance, he is no longer calling for the immediate withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq. All this is part of a deal which would allow the party to be part of a grand coalition if the Centre-Left, “Olive Tree” alliance wins the next elections in 2006. At this congress the Marxists of Falcemartello have succeeded in getting their opposition congress document accepted as an official document, which is an enormous step forward for them.
 
Militant mood among Italian workers Print E-mail
By Paolo Grassi   
Friday, 11 June 2004
We are publishing two articles from the Italian Marxist journal Falcemartello which give a clear indication of the level of militancy that is developing among the workers in Italy. Both the FIAT Melfi and the Alitalia disputes highlight the growing contradiction between the will to struggle on the part of the workers and the constant striving to hold down the movement on the part of the union leaders. This cannot last for ever.
 
A precious lesson from Trotsky on the Constituent Assembly and other matters Print E-mail
By Fred Weston   
Wednesday, 09 June 2004
This article should be read in conjunction with Trotsky's Problems of the Italian Revolution. It draws the lessons from Trotsky's work and how they can be applied today.
 
Successful conclusion to the Hands Off Venezuela speaking tour in Italy Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Tuesday, 18 May 2004
Jorge Martin's speaking tour of Italy came to a close last week with visits to Calabria, Sicily and Rome. All in all this was a very successful speaking tour, with some 1150 people participating in 20 meetings. (May 18, 2004)
See also in Spanish Termina con éxito la gira de la Campaña Manos Fuera de Venezuela en Italia 
And in Italian Ottima chiusura della campagna "Giù le mani dal Venezuela" in Italia
 
Problems of the Italian Revolution Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Friday, 14 May 2004
A letter written to the Italian Trotskyists in 1930 in which Trotsky deals with the question of the Constituent Assembly and the perspectives for Italy at that time. He severely criticises those who attempted to mix the slogan of the Constituent Assembly with that of workers' soviets, and also showed incredible insight into how the process would unfold once the Mussolini regime collapsed.
 
Italian metalworkers' union supports Venezuelan UNT Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Tuesday, 11 May 2004
As part of his speaking tour of Italy for the Hands Off Venezuela campaign, Jorge Martin spoke to the provincial congress of the Caserta FIOM (metalworkers' union). As a result the delegates unanimosuly voted a resolution supporting the UNT, the new union set up by the Venezuelan workers after the old CTV had passed over completely to the counter-revolution. (May 11, 2004) See also Italian version: Unità di classe fra i lavoratori italiani e venezuelani!
 
Big welcome in Southern Italy for the Hands off Venezuela Campaign Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Tuesday, 11 May 2004
Jorge Martin's speaking tour of Italy has moved south to Naples and the surrounding region, where there have been some very successful and also very generous meetings. (May 11, 2004)
See also in Spanish: Gran Bienvenida a la Campaña Manos Fuera de Venezuela en el sur de Italia
And in Italian: Caloroso benvenuto alla Campagna "Giù le mani dal Venezuela" nel Sud Italia
 
Very successful Hands off Venezuela meetings in Emilia-Romagna (Italy) Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Thursday, 06 May 2004
Successful meetings in Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna and Ferrara, with good collections and some added excitement provided by the presence of provocateurs from the Venezuelan "opposition"! May 6, 2004
Se also in Spanish: Gran éxito en los actos de "Manos fuera de Venezuela" en Emilia Romagna (Italia)
And in Italian: Prosegue la Campagna "Giù le mani dal Venezuela" - Assemblee molto riuscite in Emilia Romagna
 
Italy – big strike at the FIAT Melfi plant: Only by deepening the struggle can victory be achieved! Print E-mail
By Paolo Grassi   
Monday, 03 May 2004
A very important dispute has been going on for nearly three weeks now at the FIAT plant in the southern Italian town of Melfi. Once used as an example of a "difficult factory to organise" it is now in the vanguard of the struggle of the Italian workers, with a display of militancy and determination to win. The strike has provoked hundreds of spontaneous solidarity strikes up and down the country.
 
Update of Hands off Venezuela tour in Italy Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Monday, 03 May 2004
Jorge Martin's tour of Italy continues to be a success. Also photos of the meeting in Milan are available (May 3, 2004).
See also in Spanish: Actualización de la gira "Manos fuera de Venezuela" en Italia
And in Italian: Aggiornamenti sulla Campagna Giú le mani dal Venezuela in Italia
 
Excellent opening of the Hands off Venezuela campaign in Italy Print E-mail
By In Defence of Marxism   
Friday, 30 April 2004
Despite the torrential rain, some 200 people attended a meeting in solidarity with the Venezuelan revolution in Milán, on April 29th. The meeting had been organised by the Party of Communist Refoundation (PRC), with the support of the Red Point Association and the “Hands Off Venezuela” Committee in Italy, and took place in the Milan Labour Chamber. (April 30, 2004)
See in Italian: Eccellente debutto della campagna "Giù le mani dal Venezuela" in Italia
See in Spanish: Excelente debut de la gira nacional de la Campaña “Manos Fuera de Venezuela” en Italia
 
Italy: over a million of workers and youth say no to the occupation of Iraq! Print E-mail
By Roberto Sarti, FalceMartello Editorial Board.   
Tuesday, 23 March 2004
On Saturday, March 20, more than one million workers and youth marched through the streets of Rome, in one of the biggest demos against the occupation of Iraq anywhere in the world. This massive turnout reflects more than just opposition to war, but also a growing militancy among Italian workers and youth.