#Worldwide Information Blogger #LucSchrijvers: Update: #anarchist information from all over the #world - SATURDAY 6 JUNE 2020

Today's Topics:

   
1.  anarkismo.net: A Raging Fire in the United States -- The
      Rebellion for African-American Lives by Wayne Price
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  Britain, anarchist communisms ACG: Slaughter in the Care
      Homes (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  Solidarity Federation - Bristol: It can feel really
      disempowering to see a revolutionary struggle unfolding thousands
      of miles away and not be able to help. (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
  
 4.  Britain, anarchist communisms ACG: The Fire This Time
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
5.  bandilang itim: Social Revolution is the Solution
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
6.  France, Union Communiste Libertaire UCL - Latin America new
      center of the pandemic (fr, it, pt)[machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
7.  Britain, freedom news: Let's Get Rooted - For a New Working
      Class Strategy! (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


8.  zabalaza.net: What is authoritarian populism and why should
      it be combated? * (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1



An anarchist view of the U.S. rebellion against police actions and racism. ---- The explosion of rage and sorrow across the cities and towns
of the United States is about more than the police murder of George Floyd. It is about the series of Black and Brown people murdered by cops
recently and going back to the days of slavery. It is about men and women assaulted by armed police or vigilantes as they sat in their
homes, walked or jogged on the street, drove their cars, birdwatched, stood in their building's vestibule, shopped, or hung around at a
street corner. It is both about completely innocent and respectable citizens or people who had committed very minor "crimes" (George Floyd
was accused of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit bill) for which they got the death penalty. It is about millions of young men in prison
for often trivial offenses such as the ownership of marijuana.

But it was about more than the usual mistreatment by the police, including murder. It was about the whole oppression of African-American
people and other people of color. It is now decades after the end of Jim Crow, of racial segregation, which had been enforced by the police
and by the extra-legal terror of the Klan. Yet there is an attack on Black people's right to vote (voter suppression) all over again.

The terrible pandemic has fallen heavily on Black people, causing many more infections and deaths than in the general (white) population-due
to greater poverty and rates of ill-health, plus less available health care. This is true of other people of color. Native Americans have
suffered badly; the Navajo Nation has been especially hard hit.

An economic recession (or depression) has been triggered by the pandemic and the methods used to counter it, such as the shutdown of much of
the economy. The unemployment rate is higher than in the Great Depression of the 1930s. African-Americans, Latinos, and the Indigenous have
been the worst affected by these conditions. "Last hired and first fired," they have been laid off, losing their incomes and their
employer-paid-for insurance. That is, except for the "essential workers" who are disproportionately "minority" and therefore most exposed to
the coronavirus.

Adding insult to injury, the U.S. has a president who ran on racist and nativist appeals to the bigotry of sections of the white population.
This president has proven to be utterly incompetent and inept in dealing with any of the nation's crises, but he has continued to direct
blame onto Black and Brown people.

The murder of George Floyd by police, out in the open, publicly recorded, with witnesses calling on the police to stop, was a lighted match.
The underlying rage of so many burst into flame. No one could justify the actions of the cops, not the establishment politicians, the police
unions, nor the right-wing media. Not even President Trump. Millions of ordinary white working class and middle class people were on the
side of the Black population. Demonstrations began immediately and (at the time of writing) have not stopped. They have taken place in at
least 140 cities and, overall, nearly 500 localities. The government almost immediately fired all four cops and charged one with murder; it
has since expanded the charges to the other three. This is unlike the usual months-long foot-dragging.

The demonstrations have mostly been "peaceful" in the sense of law-abiding, if angry. Many white people have participated. Even some police
have shown some support. But there has also been a fringe of violence and lawbreaking, including smashing windows of buildings, looting
stores, fighting police, burning police cars, and setting fires to buildings (one police station was burned down). In big cities, there are
reports of neighborhood watches being locally organized to prevent "outsiders" from setting off violence and destruction.

There is controversy about who is doing these violent actions ("violent" but almost entirely against things, not people). One claim is that
it is done by (or led by) left-wing "antifa" activists and/or anarchists. There is also evidence that right-wing militants, including white
supremacists, are mixing in, hoping to set off a "race war" or "boogaloo." Whether there are many of these fascists is not known. To some
extent blaming white "extremists of the left and right" serves to deny the real anger of Black people which could lead to such actions. (In
any case, the looting of poor people of Target is nothing compared to the looting of billions of dollars in government aid supposedly for
the unemployed or small businesses but instead grabbed by big businesses)

The authorities have varied in their reactions. The Democrats have tried to emphasize their sympathy with the protesters, while calling for
police-enforced nonviolence and legality. They try to get the people to "join" with the police, and direct their anger to voting for
Democrats. The right, after giving a quick nod to the righteousness of the protests, focused on the violence and destruction. They denounce
the Democrats as being too "weak" toward the "rioters."

President Trump, as usual, has posed as a tough guy to cover up his cowardliness. During demonstrations at the White House, he huddled in a
basement bunker. He has called for the use of the military against demonstrators, announcing the need for "dominance," and quoted, "When the
looting starts, the shooting starts." Meanwhile he posed for a photo-op in front of a well-known Washington Episcopal church which had some
fire damage; to do this he had the military clear away a crowd of peaceful protesters with tear gas. (The Episcopalian hierarchy was
displeased with him.) Hundreds of military personnel have stated that they will not serve to attack their fellow citizens who are peacefully
asserting their rights.

While the police have posed as being cooperative in some places, in many places they have demonstrated what the protest is all about. They
have assaulted marchers, shot rubber bullets at them, thrown them to the ground, beaten them with nightsticks, driven cars into crowds,
cursed and threatened them, and probably set them up to act violent.

Meanwhile the events are being used to whip up hostility toward anarchists. The extent of right-wing violent intervention has been played
down or ignored. There has long been an image of anarchists as bomb throwers, assassins, and terrorists. It is true, that more than a
century ago, a few anarchists did kill a number of government leaders, businesspeople, and ordinary people who were around them. More
recently the "Unabomber" (who regarded himself as an anarchist) sent mail bombs to people he did not like. Otherwise this has been uncommon
for a long time.

Anarchists have a wide range of views (as do liberals, conservatives, and Marxists). A large number are absolute pacifists. U.S. anarchists
often get involved in demonstrations to serve as medics and legal aides. While it is counterproductive to urge disorganized violence,
anarchists are correct to oppose trust in Democratic politicians and sweet-talking police officers.

Liberals make all sorts of proposals for improving the police. They have been doing so for decades. While some reforms may be useful, they
have never made a big difference and never will. This society cannot exist without police. The conflicts between rich and poor, white and
Black, men and women, different sections of the corporate rich, different sections of the working class, etc., make for a constantly
clashing and conflictual society, in a continual state of almost civil war. It needs a state, with bodies of armed people (military and
police), to hold it together. The charge that the removal of the state and its police would create chaos is exactly backwards. It is the
chaos of capitalist society which requires the state. In a cooperative and free society of anarchist-socialism, there would be no need for
the police.

Rather than focusing on "improving relations with the police," it would be better if at least some of the young militants were to link up
the issue of police brutality with other issues of oppression. This includes ideas of restarting the economy under the control of workers
and working class communities of all races and nationalities. It includes taking away the wealth of the one percent and distributing it
fairly among the population in useful ways. It means dealing with the plague in a safe and healthy fashion.

By themselves, these demonstrations and rebellions have an tremendous impact on society. But for really strong leverage, it would be
necessary to mobilize people as workers, using their potential power at the workplace. If the workers stop working, society grinds to a
halt. And if they start it up again, they could do so in a new and better way. Even now, bus drivers in New York and elsewhere have refused
to take police and arrestees in buses from the demonstrations-with the support of their national union. Workers should demand support for
the demonstrations from the unions. The slogan of a general strike should be raised, as a few radicals have already done.

Meanwhile neighborhood and local groupings, however informal, should organize themselves and create citywide committees. Such committees
could coordinate actions, decide on programs, and raise demands on the government.

This society is in deep crisis. Its present government might qualify as a "failed state," it is so incompetent. The corona health crisis has
been handled completely ineptly. But whenever it is brought "under control," the economic crisis will still be here for a long time.
Meanwhile the climate catastrophe and ecological cataclysm are constantly worsening, giving us only decades to bring them "under control."
Racial oppression is an integral part of an overall oppressive and exploitative capitalist system. Capitalism has got to go.

These protests are a rebellion. They are evidence that the U.S. population is not forever passive and demoralized. That there is great anger
and a thirst for justice and freedom. This will not lead to an immediate revolution. But it raises the eventual possibility.

https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31918

------------------------------

Message: 2



More evidence for the unloading of elderly people from hospital into care homes has come to light. ---- Replying to ITV News, NHS
commissioning groups and councils in 17 English regions said they had reserved 1,800 beds in care homes. Until mid- April patients were not
tested for coronavirus as a matter of routine. As a result the coronavirus spread rapidly through care homes. ---- The Johnson government's
advice to hospitals before April 15th was that "negative tests are not required prior to transfers/admissions into the care home." ---- In
spite of the phenomenal number of deaths from COVID-19 in care homes, some care homes are continuing to take in patients who have tested
positive. At a care home in Scarborough, a care home is currently housing six patients who have tested positive. This and other care homes
are under pressure to accept patients from hospitals.

The Health Secretary Matt Hancock has not denied that the Johnson government had a plan to discharge patients into care homes. It becomes
clearer that this was a deliberate plan by the government. The Scottish government has already admitted that more than 900 patients were
discharged into care homes before mandatory testing took place.

As a result of these policies, at least 16,000 residents of care homes have died.

Despite officials at Public Health England (PHE) calling for a lockdown of care homes on April 28th, which would have saved many lives, the
government refused to implement this.

As we pointed out in a previous article on this website about the large number of deaths in care homes, the virus was spread by patients
being discharged from hospitals into care homes, by care home workers being allowed to move from home to home, as well as building layouts
where socialising rather than isolating was encouraged.

The PHE plan was that staff should "live-in" in homes over a four week period. The government turned this down, saying that only care home
workers "who proactively choose it should be offered accommodation on site or in hotels" and that care home operators should help staff
"minimise risk of picking up Covid-19 outside of work." Similarly, PHE's recommendation to "use NHS facilities and other temporary
accommodation to quarantine and isolate residents before returning to their care home" was also turned down.

In fact, the virus was confirmed to have been spread in care homes by temporary staff moving from home to home, in a PHE study that came out
only last week.

Similarly, another point in the suggested PHE plan was rejected, which was to "stop staff from Covid-19 positive homes being rotated to
those who are Covid-19 free." As we said previously, the Johnson government is culpable in the slaughter of thousands in care homes. They
must be held responsible.

https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2020/05/31/slaughter-in-the-care-homes/

------------------------------

Message: 3



The situation in the USA has given us both horror and hope. The treatment of People of Colour and protesters at the hands of the Police is
gut-wrenching, but the courage of those fighting back should be an example to the rest of us of what a people can do when they've had enough
of being ground down. ---- If you want to show solidarity with the Minneapolis resisters in a real, practical way, there are a few things
you can do. We've made a list below. ---- * Head over to the minnesotafreedomfund.org. The fund pays bail payments for people on low income
and has been very active in supporting people arrested while protesting in Minneapolis. Remember, America is one of only two countries in
the world that has a cash bail system, where people accused of a crime have to pay huge sums of cash to avoid being imprisoned before their
trial. You can donate on their website
* Check out Black Visions Collective, A Minnesota-based organisation fighting for Black autonomy and community-led approaches to safety.
Again, you can donate on their website https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
* Support the North Star Health Collective- a collective of health workers in Minneapolis who are providing first aid and medical support on
the ground to injured protestors. You can read more and donate here https://www.northstarhealthcollective.org/
* Consider donating to Reclaim The Block, an organisation based in Minneapolis who campaign to defund the Minneapolis police department and
redirect the money to community and education projects, to build a genuinely safer city. Find out more at https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/
* Show some love and support to Unicorn Riot, a grassroots media collective who have done amazing work fighting the reactionary propaganda
and reporting on the realities of the protests, including documenting some shocking footage of police brutality. Find out more here
https://unicornriot.ninja/

We've been in touch with comrades in the USA for more information and we'll try and add to this list if we can. All these organisations are
based in the Minneapolis area but the fighting hasspread to cities across the USA. If we get information about how to support protestors in
other cities then we'll share this here as well.

We know that times are tight right now and not everyone is in a position to give money. If you want to help without donating, please please
please share this post! Make sure you talk to your friends, neighbours, colleagues, family and anyone else who will listen about the real
situation, and try to combat the poisonous anti-protestor rhetoric wherever you hear it.

We have sadly heard a few negative comments from Bristolians about the insurrectionary nature of the actions in Minneapolis. Comments like
"protests should be peaceful!", "they're destroying their own communities!" and "rioting is just living up to a stereotype!" are unhelpful
in current situation. To the people denouncing the protests for their supposed violence, we'd like to say the following:

* Riots work. They force administrations to change. Learn your history.

* Property is replaceable. Lives are not. This is about George Floyd. If you're more worried about property damage than a man's life then
you need to do some soul searching.

* No social movement is perfect, and things can get messy. These protests weren't planned and the activists aren't all working from the same
script. Not every action carried out during these protests may make sense from the outside, but just because a few protestors smash up the
‘wrong' shops, doesn't mean the whole movement should be seen as invalid.

* There's a growing body of evidence that a lot of the property damage was instigated by undercover police and agent provocateurs. There are
scores of examples of police brutality towards protestors across the USA in the last few days where peacefully protesting people have been
targeted for violence. Violent protest is a response to a violent state. People have a right to defend themselves. We're not going to list
or link footage of police brutality here, but if you don't believe us then google it.

* Big chain retailers are in no way "part of the community". They charge the community as much as they can for their goods, and they pay the
community as little as possible for their labour. Meanwhile, the profits they make are siphoned off to senior managers, CEOs and
shareholders who almost certainly do not live in the affected communities. Even smaller businesses are guilty of this to an extent.
Capitalism is not worth crying over. Robbing a superstore is not "destroying your own community", it's redistribution of wealth that rightly
belonged in the community in the first place.

* In fact, there are reports of activists distributing goods and resources taken from shops like Target, Robin Hood style, to protestors and
residents. This clearly benefits their community more than having food and other essentials locked up behind a paywall. Don't forget how
many have been plunged into poverty recently by COVID-19 and the US government's shitty response to its' people's suffering. When people
complain about "looting", this is the point that they are missing.

https://www.facebook.com/bristolsf/posts/2827911677337269

------------------------------

Message: 4



The United States was built on slavery, that of thousands upon thousands of Africans kidnapped from their home continent to work on
plantations and as domestic servants. It was built on genocide of Native American peoples. It was built on the exploitation of the working
class, many of whom had fled from Europe because of poverty and starvation, persecution and intolerance. ---- Despite the alleged aim of the
Civil War being fought to liberate slaves, in fact that war, the first war involving modernised means of mass killing, was fought to
establish the ascendancy of the Northern industrial capitalists over the Southern plantation owners. Oppression of black Americans continued
with a form of apartheid surviving into the 1960s in the South. This oppression was reinforced by racist vigilantes like the Ku Klux Klan,
and an equally racist police force, which carried out a campaign of terror via beatings and lynchings. In the North, where many Southern
blacks fled to work in the factories, blatant forms of apartheid did not exist, but discrimination was still very much alive, and many black
Americans there lived in ghettoes.

The US ruling class has always been fearful of insurrections and rebellions against the continuing system of racial oppression and
discrimination, from the Nat Turner uprising and the John Brown raid, through insurrections in Los Angeles and Detroit and Memphis in the
1960s to today's unrest.

What is significant about the latest unrest is that it is happening during the pandemic that has claimed over 100,000 lives in the USA. The
various crises that capitalism is facing are coming together more and more and we see how flimsy the whole capitalist edifice is and how a
social revolution could burst forth.

The horrific murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police once again ignited the powder keg of seething anger among black Americans.
There have been too many shootings, too many beatings, too many judicial murders by the racist police.

It was compounded by the statement of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman who said there was "other evidence that does not support a
criminal Charge". This, despite the evidence of the video, which clearly shows the cop Chauvin heavily leaning with his knee on a handcuffed
Floyd's neck, and robbing him of life. Freeman is the County Attorney who failed to charge cops for the murder of Jamar Clark in 2016, which
itself brought days of rioting. He delayed six months in charging the cop who shot and killed Justine Damond in 2017. There is widespread
disbelief that the loaded legal system can bring justice in the murder of George Floyd. Derek Chauvin already had 18 criminal misconduct
charges filed against him, but he was allowed to continue as a cop.

Thousands swarmed into the streets of Minneapolis. Unrest soon spread to the twin city of St.Paul across the river. Department stores like
Target and Urban Outfitters were burnt down, as well as a police station. Goods taken from Target were distributed amongst the crowd. The
unrest didn't just involve black Americans, but many from different ethnic backgrounds. Also important was that the warring street gangs
called a truce, in a common front against far right vigilantes. Bus drivers refused to transport people arrested by the police during the
unrest. The local churches offered aid to those gassed and batoned by the police and National Guard.

The unrest spread to thirty other cities. Twelve of these, including Minneapolis, were put under a night curfew, which was ignored by many.

Despite massive police violence, thousands turned out in Minneapolis every night. In Phoenix, Arizona, the crowd attacked the police
station. In Los Angeles, a police car that drove into demonstrators had its windows smashed. There were large demonstrations in many towns,
with the police responding with gas and rubber bullets. In Columbus, Ohio, the Statehouse was attacked. In Louisville, Kentucky, barricades
were thrown up. Here as well as anger at the death of Floyd, the killing of Breonna Taylor by police in March was a factor in bringing
people out on the streets.

Oscar Grant, Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Marcus David Peters, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud
Arbery, Justine Damond, George Floyd, just a few of those who have been killed in police custody. And despite the many protests over the
last few years, despite the Black Lives Matter movement, the murderous nature of the increasingly militarised and heavily armed police,
their arrogance and blatant homicidal racism has not abated.

Meanwhile Trump's tweets spur on the cops. Trump's comments about looting leading to shooting, his "vicious dogs" and "ominous weapons" give
encouragement to a deeply racist police force. In New York police cars were filmed driving directly at demonstrators.

Trump also tweeted about "anarchists" being behind the unrest. Certainly anarchists mounted demonstrations in various cities in solidarity
but the unrest in Minneapolis and elsewhere was not the work of "outside agitators" but an increasingly angry local population. Liberals may
bleat about the looting of Target and the attacks on police stations, but fail to see the incandescent anger of many black Americans, to say
nothing of Latino and Asian communities.

In the past, the Ku Klux Klan, in most circumstances, carried out their lynchings at night. The murder of many black Americans in plain
daylight are modern day lynchings. White supremacy is a part of American capitalism, it is integrated into the system.

The pandemic has amplified the protests. Numbers are far greater on these protests than previously. Many are struggling because of the
lockdowns, many are without jobs. The murder of George Floyd, has acted as a focus, not just for anger about racist murders by the police,
but for a general dissatisfaction with the system.

https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2020/05/31/the-fire-this-time/

------------------------------

Message: 5



Written by Bas Umali in October 2011. Published in May 2020 by Alimpuyo Press. Translation into English and edits by the author with help
from Maku Felix. (Basahin sa Filipino.) ---- This is a republished article written by anarchists in the archipelago known as the Philippines
or its diaspora. We at Bandilang Itim wish to highlight and disseminate these works to better propagate the ideas of anarchism in the
archipelago. ---- The political exercise that is taking place in the United States is a manifestation of the worsening crisis of capitalism,
where one percent of the population of the world has the sole control of the labor, resources, facilities and tools that were supposed to
develop and expand the potentials of the world populations' 99 percent.
The Occupation of Wall Street is one process of empowering the masses dedicated to destroying the domination of the few. With the
intervention of states and corporations, the wealth of the society is controlled by the few that pass around benefits while the majority of
the people in the other areas of the world experience poverty, hunger and loss of social justice. The destruction of resources further
worsen the conditions of the marginalized communities, families and individuals that experience scarcity of basic needs for living with
dignity and opportunity to improve themselves and their way of life.

Here in our archipelago, our agricultural industry, education, water services, electricity, housing, health and other societal services are
controlled by few corporations and families that are protected by the state. Through these government institutions, corporate domination is
strengthened. If we base our data on the NSCB (National Statistics Coordination Board), in the three years from 2006 to 2009, only the
slightest change from 21.2% to 20.9% in the incidences of poverty was recorded.

According the latest national survey from the Social Weather Station or SWS from 1200 respondents last March 4-7 of this year, there were
20.5% of families that say they have experienced hunger and 51% of them say they are experiencing poverty .The 20.5% have the distribution
of 15.7% (sometimes experiencing hunger); 4.7% often experience hunger. At stake are 3.2 million families that sometimes go hungry while
950,000 families live in hunger.

This data is conservative for the people and groups that do not trust the data stated by the government. There is a huge reason for the
government to conceal the real status of the masses; for if there is enough information for the masses, the interests of the few rich
individuals that control the benefits, nature and society.

In our own context, the political view that is carried by the word "occupy" is being used by the movements in different areas of the globe;
the word occupy will take on a concrete meaning here if the masses will participate in this political exercise. Yet with the information on
the activities at Wall Street and the other parts of the world limited to only a few groups and people, it is difficult to declare that we
are occupying a particular place with the political awareness of the people. In line with this, the biggest challenge that we face is how we
will distribute information to the wider masses and marginalized communities on the stories of Occupy Wall Street and how this affects us
and our current situation.

For now, the actions that we take in Luneta are to reach out in solidarity with the movements of the people in the United States - one truly
awesome movement that displays the absence of leaders and political divisions that always assumes and claims the movement and victory of the
people to forward their own selfish interests.

MABUHAY TO THE LEADERLESS MOVEMENTS! MABUHAY TO THE PRACTICE OF DECENTRALIZED MOVEMENTS BASED ON THE INITIATIVES OF THE MASSES, MARGINALIZED
SECTORS AND COMMUNITIES!

OCCUPY LUNETA

Tags
Bas Umali, English

https://bandilangitim.noblogs.org/post/2020/05/30/social-revolution-is-the-solution/#more-571

------------------------------

Message: 6



The coronavirus epidemic has claimed more than 40,000 lives in South America and the Caribbean since its beginning according to the latest
counts, placing Latin America as the new epicenter of the Covid-19 epidemic. Certain measures obtained by the struggle from the beginning of
the crisis, such as the establishment of social minima, helped to slow down the spread of the epidemic a little, allowing the working
classes to be a little less exposed. But they have never been really sufficient, and without any consequent responses to the health and
social problems of working-class neighborhoods, it is once again those below who will suffer and be the first and first concerned. by losses
due to the virus. "
"With more than 25,000 deaths and at least 400,000 confirmed cases, Brazil is by far the most affected country in the region and poised to
become the most affected in the world. Chile recorded a new record on Monday with 4895 new infections in 24 hours, Argentina sees the
figures increasing in a very worrying day by day since the epidemic affects the most disadvantaged districts. With more than 100,000
contaminations, Peru is the second country Most affected on the continent, the government dragging on to put in place social measures for
the working classes, hotbeds of contamination have developed all over the country and, like elsewhere, hunger has forced them to go out
despite their quarantine.

As one could foresee, the situation is worsening in a sharp and violent way and already, while the continent still seems far from reaching
the supposed "epidemic spike" which would let glimpse the downward wave, the various public health systems are already unable to absorb the
need for ventilators and resuscitation beds. In the working-class neighborhoods, hunger becomes omnipresent, for the working classes the
possibilities of coping with it diminish as government decisions harden. Repression is set up and falls on those who revolt to demand real
social decisions and policies. In Chile riots have exploded in several neighborhoods, residents demanding the minimum income, how to stay at
home when you have nothing to eat?

"Our lives matter"
The answer is a violent repression, which echoes those that marked the huge social movement at the end of last year, the country is still in
an extremely tense climate and the management of the pandemic by the patriarchal government , racist and murderer of Piñera only accentuates
social tensions. In Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, the situation gets worse every day in the working-class neighborhoods which
represents around 10 million inhabitants of the megalopolis, it is feared that contamination could spread as close to 70 % Population.

The "Villas" (shantytowns) are the most affected, due to overcrowding and sanitary conditions including the lack, see the absence, of
running water. The ruling Peronists chose to segregate by triggering a plan of total isolation for the districts where the virus would
spread strongly. The "Villa Azul" has been used as a test since the start of the week, soldiers are placed at all entrances / exits
preventing any movement. Since the beginning of the epidemic, activists of popular organizations have faced and are exposed in the
foreground, largely to ensure the maintenance of comedor, popular canteens, and already many of them and they are affected by the covid. Two
died,

"No to militarization in working-class neighborhoods and shantytowns ! We want to eat for forty without hunger ! Tests and health vigilance
! No to militarization ! Food and clean water ! "
In Peru nurses deplore a disaster worthy of a horror film, patients dying in the corridors of hospitals with no possibility of taking care
of them as the hospitals are overwhelmed by the events. Brazil is suffering the full force of the pangs of far-right president Jair
Bolsonaro, determined to do everything to prevent the implementation of substantial social and health protection policies under the guise of
"economic protection", dragging the country to second in the world in terms of contamination. The Minister of Health has resigned,
denouncing attempts to intimidate him and his ministry to recognize chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as safe treatments against the virus.
Last week Brazil, with more than 1,100 deaths on average, the country had the highest number of deaths per day, in a country where nearly
40% of the intensive care beds are in private clinics, public hospitals are unable to take the shock. The emergency aid of 600 R $ (100 € -
A little less than half the minimum wage) that the government must release for informal workers could concern at the height of the crisis
until 59 % Population.

"#LuiJamais"
In this context, it is not less than 27 requests for dismissal against Bolsonaro which were lodged before the parliament by the opposition,
despite everything it is not in jeopardy, and on the contrary it is rather the support which he benefits the military as an integral part of
his government which is to be watched, casting the shadow of a coup. The great imperialist powers, as usual, turn their backs on the
countries of the South and the economic situation of the Latin American countries depends in part on their attitude and policies, impacting
the deterioration of health systems and the lack of means to implement public policies. In this context we, libertarian communists, we must
highlight the struggles of our comrades in order to make them even more visible, internationalist solidarity is today as yesterday essential
and crucially needs to be made concrete. The UCL through the International Relations Commission continues to accentuate and strengthen its
links with the various social and political organizations of our camp.

"Racism and state terrorism in the favelas"

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?L-Amerique-Latine-nouveau-centre-de-la-pandemie

------------------------------

Message: 7



The following statement was originally posted on the Let's Get Rooted blog on 25.05.20 ---- Dear friends, ---- Over recent weeks Croydon
Solidarity, AngryWorkers and other comrades have started a debate about how to intensify our collaboration and make it open for others (1).
This debate was compounded by the Covid-19 crisis around us and encouraged us to pronounce more clearly our need for a new form of working
class organisation. This article is written in the spirit of this organisation. It is not a pompous programatic proclamation, but a work
schedule, a discussion paper for the next strategic steps. ---- Our efforts have to be based on a broadly shared understanding of how
capitalism works and how to overcome it. We will discuss these general questions, but our organisation will primarily distinguish and
thereby open itself to others by concrete work, mutual committment and research. The general spirit is not to grow the organisation for the
sake of it. Instead we want to help to grow the ability of the working class to self-organise internationally and to demonstrate the
potential for communism in the actual movements of the class and the crisis of capital. For the moment our common platform is summarised here.

The focus of our activities will be the setting up of local solidarity networks in strategically important working class areas, activities
in and around bigger workplaces, and the circulation of a regular local working class publication. We want to discuss openly and
self-critically the experiences of setting up such minimal structures and support each other. We invite existing local initiatives to join
in and potentially expand their activities. We are aware that not everyone is able to participate on this level for various reasons, but
encourage those comrades to help the effort, e.g. through their research work or by help running the organisational infrastructure. We see
the last six years of AngryWorkers activities in west London not as a template, but as something that has to be critically reviewed, also
according to specific local conditions,

We need more than just a federal structure of local collectives. We need a common discussion and decisions that can shape local practice.
The second focus is therefore to meet regularly to discuss the local experiences against the background of both the UK and international
developments of class struggle. We feel responsible to help international comrades understand the situation in the UK and to establish
contacts to local workers if needed.

We are in the process of preparing for a constituting and planning conference for the end of 2020. In order to make all this more concrete
we write down some preliminary ideas for a 1-year plan, based on the assumption that 20 to 30 people and 4 to 5 local collectives take part,
who are willing and able to meet quarterly.

Initially we will have to focus on establishing a basic infrastructure, e.g. an online platform, to discuss our local experiences and to
create a productive feedback loop: local experiences will inform our general discussions and out of our discussions we can provide valuable
information for the local working class.
This is where the concept of ‘getting rooted' comes in. Rather than trying to squeeze the class into some organisational shape, we want to
have our ears to the ground in working class industries and neighbourhoods in all their complexity - and base our organisational proposals
on these concrete conditions. This also means making and then strengthening connections with militant workers, so that our research can be
diffused and debated in key sectors.
As part of the wider collaboration we should discuss bi-monthly ‘editorial articles' that we can circulate in our local publications.
Currently the most pressing subject would be an assessment of the global Covid-19 regime and the responses of the working class so far.
Another basic step would be the develop of a self-schooling program for new comrades and working class militants: a series of texts and
discussions which help to generalise the theoretical and practical knowledge amongst us and encourage critical thinking.
Based on this organisational fundament we have to develop knowledge and infrastructures that have use value for the working class. At the
upcoming constituting meeting we should decide on certain questions that seem the most pressing to answer in order to understand the current
developments within our class. This could be the impact of automation as we experience it on the shop-floor or migration or the crisis of
working class families. Another strategic research question would be the current division of labour between ‘science and technical staff'
and ‘manual workers' in the essential industries. We can then develop a research and interview schedule in order to structure a collective
work process. Results of the research should be fed back into local publications and the wider debate.
Most importantly we have to create in-depth reports about strikes and struggles in the UK. Unfortunately most of the current left and union
formations don't see the importance of such in-depth reports or see a critical reflection of strong and weak points of struggles as a threat
to their organisational reputation. The working class can only learn out of failures. For these reports we need a sharp view, which comes
out of collective debates - and the will to visit strikes and to engage in longer open conversations with those involved. We have to find
ways to feed this information back into the local class and make an extra effort to bring it to workers who have a strategic interest, e.g.
because they go through a similar situation or work in the same sector. We appreciate the efforts that comrades of groups have undertaken in
that regard, but feel that their efforts so far have lacked working class roots for the feedback.
Over the course of a year, through local work and these struggle visits, we should be able to invite interested working class militants to
an independent ‘struggle conference'. Currently we don't see an independent forum for workers' to discuss their experiences. The National
Shop Steward Network is dominated by the official trade union apparatus and party politics. The World Transformed is geared towards the
Labour Party and not a space for reflection. Initially these meetings won't have a mass character, but a conference of 100 people in 2021
seems a realistic goal.
On the upcoming constituting meeting we should also agree on steps to take part and contribute to the international debate. The most basic
task is to write bi-annual reports about the general development of the crisis and class struggle in the UK. Here we see the
internationalist summer-camp structure with comrades from, amongst others, Grupao in Brazil, Bad Kids and Asap Revolution in France, Wildcat
in Germany, TPTG and Assembly of Workers and Unemployed in Greece, as our primary reference point. Depending on the general developments we
should also systematise our participation in the internationalist website feverstruggle.net, on struggles against the Covid-19 regime.
These are just the bare bones of organisation. We hope that a mutual focus and commitment towards the wider working class will mean that
relations within the organisation will be supportive and constructive, without having to spend too much time on discussing ‘how we discuss'
or organise ‘how we organise ourselves'. The focus is outwards and patience is required. We know that class struggle is not gradual and we
want to bear that in mind in our day-to-day organising. We want to prepare ourselves for the leaps of struggle that will inevitably come.
These leaps will be contradictory, like the Yellow Vests in France or the recent protests and strikes in Bolivia. We want to prepare
ourselves not in order to ‘capture the flag' of these movements, but in order to detect and support the emancipatory tendencies within them
theoretically and practically.

If you are interested in taking part in the preparatory process of the constituting meeting, please drop us an email.

letsgetrooted@protonmail.com

To reiterate, this meeting will not be an exciting happening (although it might be exciting, too), it will perhaps not feel like a hip and
historical moment, but a moment of commitment to work together.

In solidarity
Comrades from Croydon Solidarity, AngryWorkers and others

(1)See:
https://angryworkersworld.wordpress.com/2020/03/29/ideas-for-our-angryzoomcalls
https://angryworkersworld.wordpress.com/2020/04/06/ideas-for-our-angryzoomcall-2
https://angryworkersworld.wordpress.com/2020/04/29/ideas-for-our-angry-zoom-meeting-3

https://freedomnews.org.uk/lets-get-rooted-for-a-new-working-class-strategy/

------------------------------

Message: 8



The rise of an authoritarian populist politics, which presents itself as against the "Establishment,"" for the "common" people and
"anti-globalisation," is happening worldwide - and there are dangerous signs in South Africa. The populist upsurge sees voters reject big,
established parties that embraced neo-liberalism after the economic crisis of 2007, in the context of a retreating working class and left.
The author argues that the solution is to build from below for a new society beyond the state, class rule and capitalism based on
self-management and production for need. ---- What is authoritarian populism and why should it be combatted? ---- by Shawn Hattingh ----
Like maggots crawling out of a decaying carcass, authoritarian populist parties and politicians have emerged in many parts of the world over
the last few years. All of these parties and politicians practice a vile form of politics based on hatred, crass stereotypes, blatant lying,
spectacle, bigotry, anti-democracy, misogyny, racism, and militarism.

This brew of toxic politics has been served up as "anti-establishment" and in the interest of the common people by the strongmen that are at
the heart of these authoritarian populist movements. In reality such politics are profoundly frightening - they point to the possibility of
a future not of hope and greater egalitarianism, but decay, intolerance, enforced inequality through extreme violence and ethnic cleansing.
They are, in many ways, the frightening side of identity politics.

Prime examples of hatred

The prime examples of such authoritarian populist politicians, in Europe and North America include the likes of far right wing fanatics such
Donald Trump in the United States (US), Marine Le Pen of Front Nationale in France, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, Danish People's Party,
Alternative for Germany, Golden Dawn in Greece and the League in Italy. All of these parties and politicians share a platform of white
supremacy and islamophobia.

Their "anti-establishment" politics goes no further than blaming immigrants or minority groups for all problems. They claim to oppose the
unfairness of free trade, yet deny that internal class rule lies at the heart of economic inequalities that are driving discontent.
Likewise, few of these right-wing fanatics identify capitalism as the cause of people's misery. Given their deliberately shallow and crude
analyses, for these politicians the solution is the ridiculous and racist notion of keeping immigrants out and for the return to some
mythological past - which never existed - of a white Europe or North America in which prosperity reigns under capitalism.

While sharing racism, nationalism and a commitment to some form of capitalism, not all of the authoritarian populist parties and politicians
in Europe and North America share exactly the same economic policies, at least on the surface. While all rail against the "establishment"
and claim to be for the "common" people and even to be "anti-globalisation", some like Trump on a domestic front follow a rabid form of
neoliberalism that has involved huge tax cuts for corporations, which he falsely sells as a stimulus to encourage investment in production
and to create jobs, along with slashing welfare for the working class. Yet others like the openly fascist Golden Dawn in Greece (who are not
in power), rhetorically are proponents of bringing back welfare capitalism for ethnic Greeks.

Such politicians and parties are not just present in the heartlands of imperialism; they are also to be found in parts of Asia, Africa,
Latin America and the Middle East (this does not even include the long established authoritarian regimes in places such as Russia and
China). In India there is Narendra Modi. He harks back to a mythical golden age when only Hindus were supposedly citizens and seeks to
ultimately ethnically cleanse India of people that are part of religious minorities - such as Christians and Muslims - who he blames for the
country's ills. In Brazil, the far right misogynist Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to kill progressive activists from the Landless People's
Movement. He is also fanatically anti-immigrants having called people from Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean coming to Brazil the
"the scum of humanity".

During his rise to power, Recep Erdogan in Turkey - an authoritarian Muslim fundamentalist and right wing nationalist - railed against the
Kurdish minority blaming them for all tribulations in Turkey; while claiming that he would provide welfare for ethnic Turks should he become
president. Once in power, however, he imposed further neoliberalism. But the one frightening promise he did keep was to ethnically cleanse
hundreds of Kurdish villages. As the economy declined, far from moving away from neoliberal policies that were driving the crisis, he began
to blame unnamed foreign powers for Turkey's economic woes. In this Erdogan followed the long history of far right, authoritarian populist
and fascist politicians scapegoating specific ethnic/race groups or immigrants.

In the Middle East and parts of Africa we have also seen the rise of the authoritarian Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This is a
fascist movement based on religion that is misogynistic to its core. Thousands of people have been killed and raped by this movement on the
basis of not fitting into ISIS's view of religion. ISIS, like all of the above authoritarian politicians, grew out of a crisis - in its case
it was birthed in the chaos of war and economic collapse in which the US played a central role.

Why the rise of authoritarian populists globally?

The reality is that the rise of authoritarian populist politicians can largely be traced back to the worldwide crisis of capitalism that
erupted in 2008. In the prelude to the crisis, established political parties around the world had imposed neoliberal policies that set the
stage for the crisis. In Europe, it was mostly the established social democratic parties that had imposed these policies. In the US it was
both the Republicans and Democrats; and in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America it was former liberation movements.

It is these policies that freed up financial capital, which then set the crisis off: through unregulated financial institutions and
speculation on debt derivatives on a massive scale. Along with this, in most countries, neoliberal policies that allowed corporations to
shift to regions of the globe where wages were lower caused discontent amongst the working class who lost their jobs in the process.
Sections of the ruling classes in such cases did not blame themselves or neoliberalism; they blamed the "other" and turned to racism to
deflect attention - for example, against the "Chinese" or "Mexicans". Adding to the working class's misery, established parties then bailed
out the very same corporations that were central to the crisis and made the poorest pay for it by ransacking social benefits. Since then,
such established parties have been unable to resolve the capitalist crisis - all they have done is to protect the interests of their class,
the ruling class, and shift the burden to the poor and workers.

The attack of neoliberalism also restructured the working class on a global scale. There has been a weakening of the traditional
organisations of the working class, such as trade unions. The working class has become more fragmented. Permanent lifelong jobs have largely
disappeared, and there has been a rise in low paid and precarious work. In many countries unemployment has grown and the share of wages to
gross domestic product has declined. Coupled to this, the ruling classes around the world have pushed the ideology of individualism and
large sections of the working class have inculcated this. The consequences have been that progressive working class struggles have been
weakened and it is in this context that authoritarian populism has been arising.

Since 2008, voters in numerous countries have been electing authoritarian populist politicians and have rejected established parties. Social
democratic parties across Europe have shrunk; numerous established parties in countries like India have been ousted, and even in South
Africa an established party such as the African National Congress (ANC) has lost significant support. Many voters are voting for so-called
"anti-establishment" authoritarian parties and politicians to punish the established parties with some hope that such politicians will be
messiahs that bring back a mythical golden age, fix the economy or at least keep out immigrants that they see as taking their jobs or
encroaching on social benefits.

This has posed a problem for the ruling classes in countries such as France, Italy, Hungary, India, Philippines, Brazil, and to a lesser
extent the US. This is because the established parties were the traditional parties of the ruling classes. Through these parties the ruling
classes could govern through consent and push through their agenda whilst still getting sizeable sections of the working class to vote for
these parties. With established parties collapsing, sections of the ruling classes have now turned to politically and financially supporting
authoritarian populist politicians such as Trump, Modi, Bolsonaro, Erdogan and Rodrigo Duterte.

Sections of the ruling classes are now backing these authoritarian parties and politicians precisely because they scapegoat minorities and
immigrants; while keeping class rule, capitalism and the state's coercive power firmly in place. They are now seen by some within the ruling
classes as the only means to keep capitalism going under its permanent conditions of crisis. The primary means of this is violence or the
threat of violence. As such, they guarantee that they will violently maintain the interests of the ruling classes under the notion of
defending tradition and order. It is precisely why authoritarian parties strengthen the repressive arms of the state, shut down debate and
it is why sections of the ruling class are funding, backing, joining and founding such parties.

Authoritarianism in South Africa?

South Africa has not been fully spared the rise in the popularity of authoritarianism. A study in 2017 by the University of Stellenbosch
found although a minority of people felt some form or another of authoritarian government in South Africa could be a good way to run the
country, the data showed that that minority is growing. In fact, it more than doubled from 1995 to 2013 and such sentiments were expressed
by 46 percent of the sampled respondents in 2013. The legacy of apartheid has also ensured that racial and ethnic identities - rather than
class and non-racialism - remain a dominant lens through which much of South African politics is practiced. The space is, therefore,
unfortunately ripening for authoritarian populist politics to grow, and signs are it is already happening.

With capitalism ailing in South Africa, numerous small political parties have arisen on overtly authoritarian populist, xenophobic and/or
racist platforms. These include the likes of the African Basic Movement, the People's Revolutionary Movement, and Black First Land First.
There are also a number of far right wing parties that are still based on the notion of white supremacy, including the ludicrous Cape Party
that wants independence for the Western Cape in the name of protecting white and "coloured" interests.

While there is need to battle such parties, if an authoritarian populist party or politician ends up gaining very wide popularity or even
power, their rise will probably not come from the quarters of these fringe parties (although this should not be ruled out). Rather it would
most likely come from one or the other of the two competing sections of the ruling class - one section being an aspirant black elite tied to
the Jacob Zuma[former president]faction in the ANC and leaders of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF); the other section being white
capitalists, their allies in the Democratic Alliance (DA) and a section of the ANC leadership opposed to Zuma and his cohorts. If it does,
neither one of these broad factions would in the end claim to be far-right (to do so would be their political death knell in South Africa),
but authoritarian populist they could most certainly be.

Part of the reason why the possibility exists of an authoritarian form of politics gaining dominance in South Africa lies in the deal that
led to the 1994 elections. This deal saw the established capitalist class (a small section of the white population) dump the National Party
and enter into an alliance with sections of the ANC leadership. In exchange for gaining state power, the capital of the largest corporations
was left untouched and a few of the[black]elite in the ANC were incorporated through Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and heading the state.
Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, the ANC then drove through policies that favoured corporations and the wealthiest individuals
(i.e., neoliberalism), all whilst maintaining the majority of the working class' vote. That began to change gradually with the rise of the
global capitalist crisis and the emergence of the Zuma faction (which included the likes of Julius Malema of the EFF), who were a part of
the ANC leadership that had not benefitted from the BEE of the 1990s and early 2000s.

The rise of the Zuma faction, therefore, represented an aspirant black section of the ruling class that intended, and did, use its rise to
power within the state to accumulate wealth. In the process it began stepping on the toes of the white section of the ruling class and their
business interests. As a consequence, two sides of the ruling class have been engaged in a battle over the wealth and the future of the
country. One of the results of the fallout however, was a decline in the ANC's popularity at the polls.

This posed a major threat to established white capital and their allies - now spearheaded by Cyril Ramaphosa - in the ANC leadership. In the
process, they chose to back Ramaphosa's rise to the top of the ANC and the state, in the hope that this would revive the ANC's fortunes and
deal a deathblow to the rival faction of the ruling class that backed Zuma. White capital, however, was and is not opposed to the Zuma
faction because of corruption; white capitalists have a very long history of corruption, as it was key to colonialism and apartheid. Rather,
white capital found Zuma's corruption too blatant and it was leading to the decline of the ANC's popularity. The Zuma faction - while not
fundamentally opposing white capital - did to a degree also favour handing out contracts to black capitalists. This was beginning to impact
on white capital's business interests with the state.

These are the reasons white capitalists generally backed Ramaphosa's faction to oust the Zuma and return to a status in which established
companies were favoured when tenders were handed out. Along with this, it was a ploy to try and revive the ANC's popularity at the polls
under a new leadership that would supposedly deal with blatant corruption. If this fails, however, white capital in alliance with sections
of the ANC could turn to more overt authoritarian means to maintain power - in fact, signs of how this could happen have already been seen
in events such as Marikana.

The scapegoating of immigrants frighteningly already forms part of the politics of this faction of the ruling class (it also forms part the
politics of Zuma's faction too). Indeed, the largest parties in South Africa in the form of the ANC and DA already have significant numbers
of members who have targeted immigrants, and both parties have leaders that have made overtly xenophobic statements blaming "foreigners" for
unemployment and calling for greater control. In late March 2019 such forms of xenophobic electioneering by politicians in KwaZulu-Natal saw
immigrants being attacked and their shops and houses looted. In parties such as the ANC, violent forms of authoritarianism already are a
problem at the lower levels of the organisation, with rivals for positions being assassinated rather than engaged in debate.

The possible threat of full-blown authoritarianism does not just come from that section of the ruling class based around established
capitalists, but also from remnants of the original Zuma faction within and outside the ANC. The faction fights within the ANC are far from
over. Those backed by white capital currently have the upper hand; but this could easily change. When the Zuma faction gained control of the
ANC there was already a creeping authoritarianism; should they (re)gain state power there is no reason to believe that their authoritarian
politics would not continue. If challenged electorally and faced with the prospect of again losing their grip on power, this faction could
easily turn to a renewed and even more virulent form of authoritarianism.

There are also the remnants of the Zuma faction that are outside of the ANC, most notably in the form of the EFF. While the EFF likes to
claim economic freedom for the majority as its key objective, despite what many people believe it is not anti-capitalist nor opposed to rule
by an elite -even according to its own documents. It rather favours a combination of private and state capitalism.

The reason for this is that the group of aspirant black elites that head the EFF wish to use state power to free up economic opportunities
for themselves to accumulate wealth. As was clear from the conduct of EFF leader Julius Malema before the EFF was formed, this group were
already engaged in this approach at the provincial and local levels within the ANC before their expulsion.

What the EFF does, however, do is that they opportunistically tap into the very justified frustration of the black working class (defined
here as workers and the unemployed) - including their on-going experiences of racism and exploitation - to gain votes and a following. The
fact that in South Africa the full liberation of the black working class was not achieved in 1994 as a result of the institutional (state)
and economic (ownership) status quo being kept intact, meant the continuation of their impoverishment. The reality is that if the EFF came
to state power, it would probably throw some crumbs to the black working class as its own form of populism, but it won't mean liberation.

At the heart of this is the fact that the EFF does not seek to genuinely end capitalism or expand democracy - it only wants another form of
capitalism in which its leadership has power. This can be seen in the plans, contained in its 2019 election manifesto, to provide billions
in support to black industrialists/capitalists and to make R2 trillion (about US$143 billion) available for black asset managers to gain
shares within companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Indeed, authoritarianism already defines the politics of the party; it fetishes millenarianism and a militarised and male dominated
hierarchy, all summed up by the title of Commander in Chief. In other words the EFF is defined by a personality cult. In state power, those
authoritarian tendencies and the tendencies to violently silence any opponents would be amplified. Their overt nationalism and race baiting
of all Indians and all whites - often defined by crass stereotypes - is South Africa's own version of authoritarian populism; it is
dangerous and needs to be combatted.

Given all of the above it is not beyond the realms of possibility that in some form or another, South Africa too could easily drift towards
a fully-fledged authoritarianism; the warning signs are there. This would be especially the case if the capitalist crisis continues to
deepen, since ruling classes and factions therein, have a history of turning towards authoritarian populist politicians during such crises.

The question though is how to combat it.

Resistance to authoritarianism

In most countries resistance to the rise of authoritarian populism has occurred. For example, Antifa (Antifaschistische Aktion) in Europe
and North America has resisted the rise of the far right and fascism. In Brazil, formations such as the Landless People's Movement have
protested and mobilised against Bolsonaro. These, however, have mostly been defensive; a reality that is directly related to the weakness of
progressive working class struggles as a result of the onslaught of neoliberalism. One area in the world where there has been an offensive
struggle against authoritarian politics has been in the north of Syria. There activists - mainly, but not exclusively Kurdish people - have
successfully fought against the authoritarian Assad regime and the fascist ISIS. These struggles though have not been to defend a
parliamentary system, but rather to create a new and more directly democratic, egalitarian and feminist society under the name of the
Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.

Through this, a new system of direct democracy based around federated communes and councils has been created to run society from the bottom
up - in other words to expand democracy into all spheres of life to combat the threat of authoritarianism. Much of the economy too has been
socialised and democratised and is now largely based around democratic workers' co-operatives that produce to meet people's needs.

If we are going to successfully fight and defeat the rise of authoritarian populist politics, we are going to need a vision of creating a
new society beyond the state, class rule and capitalism. It is these systems that authoritarian populism ultimately defends. The struggle in
the north of Syria, while not without its own contradictions, is important as it give us a glimpse of what can be done. It also shows that
South Africa too could follow another path beyond the state and capitalist systems; a path that holds the promise of an egalitarian future
as opposed to the current situation, or even worse a future of authoritarian populism.

* Shawn Hattingh is a researcher and educator for the International Labour Research Information Group, South Africa.

This was also published in Pambazuka News, 10 April 2019.

https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31907
https://zabalaza.net/2020/05/31/what-is-authoritarian-populism-and-why-should-it-be-combated/

------------------------------