Masses in Cairo and other cities demand end to military rule

Yesterday, 25th January, marked the first anniversary of start of the revolutionary movement of the masses in Egypt, which eventually led to the fall of the dictator Hosni Mubarak. Yesterday, millions of Egyptians again took to the streets, celebrating the achievements of the revolution and remembering the martyrs killed by the police and army. Many protesters also demanded the removal of General Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the leader of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), as well as calling for genuine democratic rights, real social change and to end poverty and joblessness.

An Eyewitness Report

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Total shut down across the country as the working class shows it owns society

On Monday 9 January, 2012, tens of thousands of Nigerians marched through the streets of Lagos in a demonstration against the removal of the fuel subsidy by the Nigerian government. As a result of this policy, the petroleum price has shot up from N65 to between N140 to N200. The cost of food, transport and basic services have soared by several percentage points as the market reacts.

Meanwhile salaries remain fixated despite soaring inflation while the N18, 000 (around US$120) national minimum wage remains unpaid in a lot of states. It is against this background that the huge burst of anger of the mass of working and poor people so early in the New Year can be understood.

By Democratic Socialist Movement (CWI in Nigeria) reporters

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The occupy movement brought opposition to capitalism from the margins into the mainstream

Despite near universal demonisation of socialist ideas in the corporate media and political establishment, according to a new Pew Research Center Poll half of young people aged 18-29 view socialism positively while only 43 percent react negatively to the term. In the same age group, only 46 percent have positive views of capitalism, while 47 percent view capitalism negatively.

While these numbers remain close, its notable that just 20 months ago, last time Pew asked the same questions, the numbers were reversed. At that time, according to Pew’s findings, a slim majority of young people, 49 to 43 percent, viewed socialism negatively.

By Ty Moore, Socialist Alternative (US section of the CWI)

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Peter Taaffe, from the International Secretariat of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI), looks at the outlook for 2012.

Government debt soars to ‘European’ levels following massive stimulus programme

As the global economy lurches towards renewed recession and financial turmoil, concerns are growing over the state of China’s largely state-owned banking system. For more than two years an unprecedented surge of bank credit has powered the biggest construction boom in history, sucking in raw materials from around the globe and ‘supersizing’ GDP (gross domestic product) growth rates for commodity exporters. But the chickens are now coming home to roost as Beijing’s mega-stimulus also sent debt levels soaring.

For over a year the government has imposed a credit squeeze to rein in rising debts especially at local government level, and to bring inflation under control. But Beijing’s clampdown has in turn led to a dramatic growth of the shadow banking system – of so-called underground banks (which are illegal) but also ‘off-balance sheet’ lending by state-owned banks.

By Vincent Kolo, chinaworker.info

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Stalinist nightmare continues

The death of the long time Stalinist dictator of North Korea brings no relief to the workers of the country. They suffered many years under Japanese occupation (1905-1945), then during the Korean war (1953-1955) and many, many years of the most ruthless Stalinist rule. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economy of North Korea suffered setbacks and it is estimated that more than two million people lost their lives during famines at the end of the 1990s. North Korea is now one of the poorer countries in the world, but until well into the 1970s, the income per head of the population was higher than in South Korea.

By Gerbrand Wisser, Ofensief (CWI in Netherlands)

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SP Newsletter No.384

Last night Yarra Council, in inner-city Melbourne, held a special ‘ceremonial’ Council meeting to elect the 2012 Mayor. The meeting’s proceedings put a spotlight on the true nature of the Greens. Despite having more Councillors than any other party on Council, the Greens refused to accept the Mayoral position and instead voted for the most right-wing ALP Councillor, Geoff Barbour.

The current make up of the Council is 3 Greens, 2 Socialists, 2 ALP and 2 right-wing Independents. Alison Clarke from the Greens had the Mayor’s position this year and the Socialist Party encouraged them on several occasions to retake the position in 2012. The combined votes of the Greens and Socialist Party could have easily made this happen.

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Below we publish a perspectives document written by the CWI’s International Secretariat. This document will be discussed, and voted on, at the International Executive Committee of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) which will be held in Belgium next month.

A world in turmoil

1. Since the last World Congress, just over a year ago, the world has been in almost continuous turmoil. We have witnessed the Middle Eastern and North African revolutions, which still endure, as the bloody conflicts in Cairo and elsewhere in late November indicate. This in turn has been followed by the elections in Egypt. In the first stages of the Egyptian parliamentary elections the Islamic parties appear to have won two thirds of the vote. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party got 36.6%, according to preliminary results. However, the ultra-conservative fundamentalist al-Nour party, with its doctrine of Salafism gained nearly one quarter of the vote in areas which encompass nine of Egypt’s 27 provinces, including the main urban centres of Cairo and Alexandria. On the other hand, parties supporting the regime of Mubarak received only 3% of the vote! By the time of the IEC, the elections will have been completed and we will have a better picture of what this signifies.

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SP Newsletter No.383

As we go to press crisis meetings are taking place across Europe - the countdown to “save” the euro and possibly even the European Union.

Even if an agreement is announced there is no certainty at all of how long it will last. 2011 has already seen previous ’solutions’ rapidly consigned to the dustbin.

While the financial markets are increasingly expecting, at the very least, a restructuring of the eurozone, with one or more countries leaving, the major powers are striving to avoid the probably catastrophic effects of a eurozone collapse on the European and world economies.

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In recent months there has been a steadily rising chorus in Australia of calls for protectionism, tariffs, and for people to ‘Buy Australian’. In this article Stephen Jolly looks at what is behind these calls and the socialist view on such measures.

The mining boom has been a profits bonanza for some companies but it has had a sometimes negative impact on the 90% of the Australian economy that is non-mining. The commodities boom has bumped up the Australian dollar, making manufacturing exports more expensive. Similarly, the education and tourism industries have suffered.

Around 70% of all investment in Australia is being captured by the mining sector. To limit the inflationary impacts of the mining boom, the Reserve Bank has in the past raised interest rates which have raised the cost of borrowing for manufacturing.

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