crisis of capitalism

Planet Watch

Podcast: world revolution & the digital contradiction

Protests break out in Russia over the new internet restrictions imposed by the Putin regime, while social media and instant messaging have become the “new public square” for the Gen Z protests that have swept the planet over the past months. Exemplifying the identification with online culture, a pirate flag from a Japanese anime series has become the global emblem of the Gen Z resistance. The new youth social media bans in a growing number of countries are opposed by human rights and civil-liberties groups for good reason. Yet the dystopian side of digital technology becomes more apparent each day—from the climate impacts of data centers, to cynical attempts to sell nuclear power as “clean energy” (sic!) to meet the surging electricity demand, to the digital colonization of human consciousness. Protests are also emerging to the new techno-fascism, and this critique must be central to any true oppositional movement. In Episode 321 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg grapples with the contradiction. (Composite image via GIGA. Gen Z protesters in different countries use appropriated image from One Piece manga. Fair use rights asserted.)

Iran

Iran & Minneapolis: fearful symmetry

As ICE agents open fire on protesters in Minneapolis, Portland and Los Angeles, Trump frames his military threats against Iran in terms of human rights and democracy—an atypical nod back to the neocons. Following mass deadly repression, the protests in Iran appear to have abated—for now. In Minnesota, both Trump and protesters are turning up the heat. Trump’s blatant hypocrisy highlights the imperative of international solidarity. The challenge for stateside protesters is to repudiate the calumny that the Iran protests are CIA or Mossad astroturf, and recognize them as a genuine self-organized popular uprising. The challenge for Iranian protesters is to repudiate Trump’s bid to exploit them for his imperial ends, as well to reject the ambitions of the reactionary “crown prince” Reza Pahlavi to install himself as leader. In Episode 313 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg urges that explicit mutual support between the anti-authoritarian struggles in the US and Iran is what can move the historical process forward at this grim hour. (Photo: Chad Davis)

Iran

Protest wave spreads across Iran

On the third day of protests by Tehran bazaar merchants in response to the dire economic situation in Iran, the strike started to spread across the country. Shopkeepers in Isfahan, Ahvaz, Shiraz, Kermanshah and Najafabad closed their stalls and held protest gatherings, where they were joined by students who walked off university campuses. Security forces responded with multiple arrests and the use of live fire and tear-gas, with one student reported severely injured in Tehran. Protest slogans escalated beyond economic grievances, openly targeting clerical rule and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A photo of a lone protester blocking a column of police motorcycles on a Tehran freeway has gone viral, drawing comparisons to the iconic “tank man” photo from Tiananmen Square in June 1989. (Photo via Twitter)

Southern Cone

Chile’s turn to the hard right

The rising wave of far-right populism has arrived in Chile with the victory in the presidential race of José Antonio Kast, an ultra-conservative who campaigned on fighting crime and carrying out mass deportations. Emulating Donald Trump, Kast exploited a backlash against migrants—especially Venezuelans—and pledged to build a separation wall on the border with Peru. His victory marks the country’s sharpest shift to the right since the restoration of democracy after the brutal dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet 30 years ago—an era and figure that Kast has openly admired. (Image: Nicolas Raymond via Flickr)

Africa

Post-electoral violence sweeps Cameroon

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over the protests and repression that have swept Cameroon following contested presidential election results. Demonstrators immediately defied a ban on public gatherings to support the opposition after the election, but the situation escalated after the Constitutional Council announced five days later that long-ruling President Paul Biya had won. The opposition rejected the results and proclaimed their candidate, Issa Tchirola Bakary, as the legitimate winner, urging citizens to demonstrate peacefully. Thousands took to the streets demanding recognition of an opposition victory, to be met with repression; clashes between protesters and security forces led to fatalities and numerous arrests. The protests have shaken the capital, Yaoundé; the economic capital, Douala; and the northern towns of Garoua and Maroua. Local jails are filled with opposition supporters who accuse Biya of rigging the polls. Biya is now to assume his eighth term in office as the world’s oldest president at age 92, having ruled Cameroon for 43 years. (Photo: Twitter via Peoples Dispatch)

The Andes

Bolivia: far-right candidate defeated —at least

Rodrigo Paz, a center-right senator and son of a former president, won Bolivia’s run-off election—defeating former far-right president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who ran on a platform that pledged an IMF bailout for the troubled economy and widespread privatization of state industries and natural resources. For the first time since 1997, there was no candidate on the ballot from the Movement toward Socialism (MAS), the party of former president Evo Morales. A candidate from MAS, which had ruled all but one year since 2006, was eliminated in the first round in August. However, some of the social policies put in place by the MAS have now been adopted by Paz. (Photo: Dan Lundberg/Flickr)

The Andes

Peru: new government prepares security crackdown

Peru’s Congress voted unanimously to remove President Dina Boluarte from office for “moral incapacity,” replacing her with congressional leader José Jerí. Once in office, Jerí quickly appointed as head of the Interior Ministry the former commander of the Peruvian National Police (PNP), Vicente Tiburcio Orbezo. Tiburcio has had a long career fighting organized crime and armed insurgents, having been part of the team within the PNP’s Special Intelligence Group (GEIN) that carried out the arrest of Shining Path leader Abimael Guzmán in 1992. He subsequently served in campaigns against both the Shining Path and Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). He was chosen by Jerí with a mission of addressing the crisis of “citizen security” in Peru. (Photo: Wikipedia)

The Andes

Popular protests turn deadly in Ecuador

Widespread protests in Ecuador, sparked by cuts to fuel subsidies, reached a boiling point, as an indigenous land defender was killed by the armed forces, a government aid convoy was reportedly attacked by protesters, and 12 soldiers went missing. Meanwhile, the government continued to advance its plan to rewrite the constitution—an initiative that has further intensified public anger. Undeterred, the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (CONAIE), which initiated the nationwide strike, announced that it would extend the action. (Photo: CONAIE via Peoples Dispatch)

Africa

‘Gen Z’ uprisings in Morocco, Madagascar

Youth-led protests demanding better education and healthcare in Morocco escalated into violent clashes with security forces. The protests were organized online by a loose network calling itself “GenZ 212,” after Morocco’s country code. In the southern cities of Tiznit, Inzegane and Ait Amira, as well as the eastern city of Oujda and Temara near the capital Rabat, hundreds of protesters hurled stones at security forces attempting to disperse the gatherings. At least two protesters were killed when police opened fire in Lqliaa, near the coastal city of Agadir. But there was far worse violence in Madagascar, where President Andry Rajoelina announced the dissolution of the government in response to youth protests over power and water shortages. The UN criticized Malagasy authorities’ response to the demonstrations, reporting at least 22 people killed and hundreds injured. The Madagascar demonstrations were also organized under the banner of “Gen Z.” (Photo via Mika R/Twitter. Madagascar protesters use appropriated image from One Piece manga series.)

Southeast Asia

Police automotive terror sparks Indonesia uprising

Days of popular protest in Indonesia exploded into violence after Affan Kurniawan, a motorbike delivery worker, was fatally struck by a police vehicle in Jakarta. The worker had not even been participating in the protest when armored vehicles ploughed into the crowd, mowing him down. Kurniawan’s helmet, lying in the rainy street after he was struck, has become an online viral image that fueled further demonstrations across the country. Six were killed and the army called to the streets before the protests were called off when the government agreed to revoke controversial perks for lawmakers, including lavish housing allowances. But the underlying grievances of unemployment and inflation remain. (Image via Twitter)

Africa

Protests rock Togo after ‘constitutional coup’

At least seven have been killed and many more injured in anti-government protests that broke out in Togo’s capital, Lomé. The demonstrations were called over recent constitutional reforms that could cement President Faure Gnassingbé’s long hold on power. Gnassingbé, who has ruled since his father’s death in 2005, was sworn in last month as president of the Council of Ministers, a powerful new post without term limits, allowing him to be re-elected by Parliament indefinitely. Gnassingbé’s family has ruled Togo since 1967, and the new “Hands Off My Constitution” movement denounces the government reform as a “constitutional coup.” (Photo via Twitter)

The Caribbean

Will US-Cuba deal survive Trump?

Outgoing President Joe Biden informed Congress in his final days in office that he would lift the US designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT), as part of a deal facilitated by the Catholic Church to free political prisoners on the island. The Cuban government announced it would release 553 prisoners who had been jailed in connection with the 2021 protests on the island. However, the durability of the deal was immediately cast into doubt. Just one day after the policy change, Republican Senator Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, said during his Senate Confirmation hearing that Cuba belongs on the SSOT list. (Photo: Falkenpost/Pixabay)