Contents> 1. Seoladh an Chathaoirligh 2. Nua-Ghaeltachtaí ag teastáil chun an Ghaeilge a chothú mar theanga pobail 3. The Current Situation in Syria 4. Brazil Lurches Closer to Rightwing Dictatorship 5. Interview with Brazilian Left Front Activist 6. Clann Éirígí Interview 7. Campaign Against Low Pay
Seoladh an Chathaoir ligh
Illusion of Democracy Further Exposed by Presidential Election Some years ago, Pat Rabbitte spoke with unusual honesty during an appearance on an RTE current affairs discussion panel. Following repeated questioning about Labour’s betrayal of their pre-election promises a clearly frustrated Rabbitte stated “Isn’t that what you tend to do during an election?” Rabbite knew the answer to his rhetorical question, which he had delivered as an absolute statement of fact. It was a rare public admission by a senior establishment politician that election promises are made to be broken; that lying is the stock-in-trade of the career politician in the Twenty-Six Counties. He could as easily have said “Everyone knows that we’re lying bastards, what’s the big deal?”. A Twenty-Six County Magic Show The political system in the Twenty-Six Counties operates on much the same basis as a magic show. The establishment magicians present trickery and slight-of-hand as a genuine democracy while the public suspend their disbelief and play along with the farce. Pat Rabbitte’s admission was the political equivalent of showing the audience how the glamorous assistant was seemingly cut in half. A golden rule was broken. A truth was spoken that could not then be unspoken. The other magicians in Leinster House cannot have been happy. The breaking of election promises is one aspect of an entire political system that is built on the illusion of a democracy that doesn’t exist. At the heart of the illusion is the notion that the Dublin government has
the significant powers that come with independence and sovereignty – powers that were long ago diluted by a native gombeen class and more recently by the restrictions of EU directives on competition, spending and budgets. Social Rights Without Economic Rights Governments are therefore free to deliver certain social rights, such as gay marriage and legal abortion services, so long as the granting of those admittedly important social rights does not impact on the undemocratic control of the economy by private capital. Nothing has changed in the more than a century since Connolly stated that ‘Governments in capitalist society are but committees of the rich to manage the affairs of the capitalist class.’ Of course, for every false government there needs to be a false opposition. Leinster House may want for many things, but it has never wanted for opportunists who loudly proclaim that they are different to the other crowd that are in government. But once again the word of the political magicians cannot be trusted. At an ideological and policy level there is virtually no difference between Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats and the Green Party. All are broadly committed to the current political and economic model. On banking, property ownership, corporation tax, education, housing, healthcare, EU membership and other key issues their policies are largely interchangeable. Personality Trumps Politics This is one truth that none of the Leinster House party’s will publicly admit. To do so would be to undermine the very reason for their existence. Instead they furiously proclaim their differences on relatively minor policy issues. The politics of personality, by necessity, have thus been elevated to greater importance than the politics of policy. In the aftermath of the last general election Fianna Fail and Fine Gael spokespeople were unable to come up a single significant policy difference to prevent them entering coalition
Seoladh an Chathaoir ligh
together. Instead they referenced their sperate histories and conveniently vague differences in ‘ethos’. To enter coalition together would have blown the illusion of difference out of the water. Instead they cobbled together a farcical ‘confidence and supply’ pact; a fig leaf to allow Fianna Fail to present itself as part of the opposition while in fact it is also in government. Labour and The Green Party have repeatedly proven their willingness to work in harmony with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael at a local and state level. Even Sinn Féin, the once bogeyman of the Right, are now openly preparing for false-government with Fine Gael or Fianna Fail. While the Social Democrats have yet to prop up a right-wing government, nothing in their organic history, ideology or policies to suggest that they are willing to take on the all-powerful property profiteers. Same Values Same Candidate The recent Presidential election was yet another exposure of the Great Illusion. Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, Labour, the Green Party and the Social Democrats all backing a single candidate who encapsulated values they all support. How can one person simultaneously represent the values of so many parties that claim to have radically different values and policies? The simple answer is they can’t. Sinn Féin’s decision to run a candidate had more to do with political opportunism than political difference, a fact that was borne out by an election campaign where the Sinn Féin candidate failed to distinguish her vision of, well…..anything. Peter Casey, a last-minute candidate of very limited ability, was only able to garner a quarter of the popular vote because of the complete dearth of vision from half a dozen political parties that are ideologically identical and clustered on the perceived middle-ground. A more astute, anti-establishment candidate from the Left or Right could have exploited the vacuum of opposition even more effectively. All across the world the contradictions and limits of capitalist liberal democracies are being exposed. Ireland will be not be excluded from this phenomenon.
Of The Working Class And For The Working Class The political and economic system in the Twenty-Six County state serves the interest of the political and economic elite above all else. The economic and social benefits that accrue to the wider population from the current system are necessary concessions made by the elite to maintain control. To believe otherwise is to believe the Great Illusion. The need for a party of the working class and for the working class has rarely been greater – a party which understands the very real limits of the current system and advocates for a radical republican alternative. Éirígí is just such a party. For the last twelve years our activists have fearlessly spoken truth to power. Through the Celtic Tiger, economic collapse, austerity and through to today, our core analysis and message have remained consistent. Nothing short of the total replacement of the current corrupt political and economic system with one based upon democratic control of the economy has the potential to deliver true equality, justice and environmental sustainability. Nothing short of a New Republic in name and substance. Join us in the fight for that new all-Ireland Republic.
Nua-Ghaeltachtaí ag teastáil chun an Ghaeilge a chothú mar theanga pobail Ó bunaíodh an stát 26 Contae, rinneadh iarrachtaí tréimhsiúla chun Nua-Ghaeltachtaí a bhunú taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht fhad-bhunaithe, iarrachtaí a tháinig ón mbun aníos agus nach bhfuair tacaíocht ón stát chun na pobail Nua seo a thógáil. Is eiseamláir ar leith é an pobal Gaeilge a tógadh i mBéal Feirste le linn na 1960aí agus moltar an tionchar a d’imir an pobal seo ar leathnú phobal na Gaeilge sa chathair sna blianta ina dhiaidh sin. Bunaíodh Nua-Ghaeltacht uirbeach Bhóthar Seoighe i 1969 ar imeall chathair Bhéal Feirste ag grúpa cairde a bhí den tuairim go raibh pobal comhtháite Gaeilge ag teastáil chun páistí a thógáil leis an teanga i dtimpeallacht a bhí tacúil go teangeolaíoch agus áit a mbeadh Gaeilgeoirí in ann idirghníomhú trí mheán na Gaeilge. Cé go raibh suim ag naoi lánún déag dul chun cónaí sa Nua-Ghaeltacht ar dtús, faoin am a cuireadh an scéim i gcrích, bhí cúig theaghlach ann chun cónaí ar Bhóthar Seoighe. Bhí buntáistí ar leith ag na lánúin ón tús toisc go raibh tacaíocht ó thaobh cúrsaí dlí acu agus cúnamh ó ailtire ar fáil dóibh. Bhunaigh muintir an phobail úir banc Gaelach darbh ainm Gléas chun iasachtaí airgid a thabhairt do thionóntaí nua ar mhaithe le tithe a cheannach sa phobal agus d’aisíocadh an t-airgead nuair a d’éirigh leo morgáiste a fháil. Tógadh trí theach breise i 1970 agus faoi dheireadh na bliana sin bhí seachtar páistí ina gcónaí ar Bhóthar Seoighe a bhí ag aois scolaíochta mar sin, d’osclaíodh an chéad Ghaelscoil i mBéal Feirste, Scoil Ghaeilge Phobal Feirste (athainmnithe
Bunscoil Phobal Feirste ina dhiaidh sin), ag tús Mhí Mheán Fhómhair 1971 le rang amháin agus seachtar páistí. Gan maoiniú stáit don chéad trí bliana déag, reáchtáil an pobal beag an bhunscoil iad féin agus bhailigh siad airgead le híoc as costais na scoile agus as pá an mhúinteora. Is i 1984 a fuarthas maoiniú stáit don scoil faoi dheireadh. Nuair a shroich páistí an phobail aois na meánscoile, ní raibh sé de chumas ag na tuismitheoirí bunscoil agus meánscoil a mhaoin-
iú agus braitheadh ar mhúinteoirí deonacha chun oideachas a chur ar fáil do na daltaí ach níor éirigh leo an córas seo a choinneáil ach ar feadh dhá bhliain agus dúnadh an mheánscoil i 1980 le roinnt daltaí ag dul go Coláiste Íosagáin i mBaile Átha Cliath chun oideachas Gaelscoile a fháil. Leis an dara hiarracht, bunaíodh Meánscoil Feirste i 1991 i gCultúrlann Mac Adam Ó Fiaich le naonúr páistí agus beirt mhúinteoirí, arís gan maoiniú ón stát. I 1995, áfach, d’éirigh leis an meánscoil maoiniú
£100,000 a fháil ón gcomhlacht Making Belfast Work agus tugadh aitheantas oifigiúil don scoil i 1996. Chuaigh rath na meánscoile ó neart go neart agus, idir na blianta 1991 agus 1996, bhí méadú ollmhór ar líon na ndaltaí, a thosaigh le naonúr daltaí agus a mhéadaigh go 150 dalta. Inniu tá níos mó ná 600 dalta ag freastal ar an meánscoil, ainmnithe Coláiste Feirste inniu, agus tá an scoil ag dul ó neart go neart. Le linn na nóchaidí, tógadh seacht dteach breise ar Bhóthar Seoighe agus, i 2005, tógadh sé theach nua, le 22 teach san iomlán i Nua-Ghaeltacht Bhóthar Seoighe. Ó bunaíodh an pobal i 1969, tógadh beirt pháistí is daichead le Gaeilge sa phobal agus cónaíonn seachtar acu anois sa phobal, iad ag tógáil an tríú glúin anois le Gaeilge ar Bhóthar Seoighe. Feictear an tionchar ollmhór a d’imir pobal Bhóthar Seoighe ar an bpobal máguaird sa mhéad daoine a bhfuil eolas acu ar an nGaeilge, is é sin breis agus 20,000 duine atá lonnaithe in iarthar Bhéal Feirste. Tá níos mó ná 1,300 páiste ag freastal ar bhunscoileanna lánGhaeilge in iarthar na cathrach agus tá fás le feiceáil i líon na bpáistí atá ag freastal ar naíscoileanna chomh maith. Is é pobal Bhóthar Seoighe a chur an síol ó thaobh na Gaeilge de sa mhórphobal seo agus léiríonn siad an tábhacht a bhaineann le timpeallacht Ghaeilge a thógáil don ghlúin úr agus pobail nua a chruthú taobh amuigh den phobal féin. Chuir an pobal seo leis an dioscúrsa a bhaineann le seachadadh
na mionteanga ó ghlúin go glúin agus an teanga féin a bheith lárnach sa teach agus tá tuismitheoirí an phobail seo ina n-eiseamláir do na Gaeil atá ag teacht aníos agus ag smaoineamh ar chlann a thógáil le Gaeilge i dtimpeallacht ina bhfuil an lámh in uachtar ag an mBéarla. Léiríonn an pobal seo chomh maith an suntas a bhaineann le meon féin-inmharthanach sa mhana, ‘Ná habair é, déan é’, agus chruthaigh muintir an phobail seo go bhfuil forbairt pobail Gaeilge indéanta má tá díograis agus diongbháilteacht ann i measc na ngníomhairí. Moltar Nua-Ghaeltachtaí a thógáil in áiteanna eile ar fud na tíre chun glúin úr de chainteoirí Gaeilge orgánacha a chruthú agus chun an tionchar céanna ó thaobh tógáil phobail Ghaeilge níos leithne a imirt ar fud na hÉireann.
The Current Situation in Northern Syria Earlier this month, before the agreement between Turkey and Russia, there was a big showdown shaping up in Idlib province. The Syrian Arab Army was preparing to launch a major assault on all the remnants of Islamic fundamentalist rebels with Russian air support. Up until now, in order to put an end to each siege or stand off, Islamic rebels have been allowed to slip away to Idlib. Now there are up to 20,000 fighters there, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)/al-Qaeda and the remnants of defeated fighters from various campaigns across Syria. This motley crew of cutthroats and gangs are now - publicly - under the full protective shield of the first and second most powerful NATO powers, the US and Turkey. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, had threatened Syria with a deadly military assault if they dared to enter Idlib and harm these Islamists! How did we get to a place where Turkey is able to stand up publicly and confidently represent Islamic fundamentalist groups like Al Qaeda? Where does this close relationship come from? The history of modern Turkish adventurism with Islamic fundamentalism can be traced to the last century and the ruthless Armenian Genocide of 1915. Skip forward a hundred years to 2014 and, as Islamic State was expanding its Caliphate across Northern Iraq and Syria, we witnessed the relaxed attitude to Turkish officialdom to the Islamic State siege of Kobane, a Kurdish held town right on the Syrian/Turkish border. Turkey had hoped for the crushing of the Kurdish YPG which was then three years into their revolutionary transformation of three Cantons under their control in northern Syria (Rojava). The YPG/YPJ breaking of the invasion with steadfast and determined resistance to ISIS, who, despite having Turkish assistance and throwing their own best fighters from other areas at the battle, were expelled with the help of US airpower, marked a milestone in the turning of the Syrian conflict against the Islamists.
The PKK ceasefire with Turkey declared in March 2013 had opened up space for the development of politics on the ground without armed conflict. Kurds make up 20 million people in Turkish Kurdistan (Bakur), the majority of whom were represented by the People’s Democratic Party (HDP). Despite attacks and bombings, the HDP went on to surpass the 10% threshold of the vote in the 2015 general election, taking control 24 of the 28 municipalities in Bakur and taking seats in parliament, thereby denying Erdogan the possibility of the overall majority required to transform the Turkish government into a presidential system, hugely enhancing his powers. This shock result, together with the ongoing success of the YPG/YPJ campaign in driving ISIS back in Syrian Rojava, brought a ruthless military reaction from Erdogan’s government to the Kurdish community within the Turkish state. In August 2015 Turkish troops in armored personal carriers, tanks and bulldozers moved against Kurdish cities, particularly Cizre and Diyarbakir. Kurdish citizens along with Turkish communists and socialists organised into defence committees, threw up barricades, and organised themselves into small armed groups in a hopeless exercise against the Turkish forces who rained down artillery shells from the surrounding hills for weeks before entering the cities, going house to house shooting and bulldozing buildings as they went. At the time this was largely unreported and unknown to the vast majority of Western populations. The EU had done a deal with Erdogan on the refugee crisis and Erdogan was left free to do as he pleased. This was a prime example of the labelling of a whole people as ‘terrorists’ as a prerequisite to blunt repression in order to create blanket cover for the elimination of dissent. The particularly gruesome way in which 178 people were shot and burned while hiding out in three basements after a long stand off with the military, and while some were still on the phone making SOS calls, outraged Turkey’s Kurds. The phone recordings of these SOS calls were harrowing; desperate pleas for help broken suddenly by gunfire, then silence. The Turkish government hyperbole of an air offensive against IS was nothing more than a cover to launch a series of bombing missions against PKK positions beyond the reach of ground troops. In January 2016, Turkey launched an invasion into Syrian territory when it captured Jarablus after a short staged battle against its ISIS ‘defenders’. This came after the Kurdish led SDF had captured the Tishrin Dam and crossed the Euphrates River. It was a Turkish attempt to form a bridgehead within Syria, in alliance with Islamist groups consisting of Jabhat Al Nursa, Ahar Sha, Nuretting Zengi along with other local gangs, who banded together as the ‘North Army’ in order to prevent the unification of the Rojavan Cantons into one block under Kurdish control. This proved largely ineffectual as the Kurdish led SDF continued to extend its control of more and more areas leading to the siege and defeat of ISIS in Raqqa last year. The Kurdish city of Afrin in the Idlib province was the next target on Turkey’s list. In January 2018, it launched its second invasion into Syria under the cover name ‘Operation Olive Branch’, along with its consortium of allied Islamist fighters, this time including Al Qaeda and former ISIS members, and using Turkish air power against the armed and mobilised civilian population under the YPG/YPJ leadership. The collapse of the Kurdish resistance and the Turkish victory has brought misery and persecution to the Kurdish inhabitants and strengthened Turkish power and standing in Idlib province amongst the hordes of ISIS/Al Qaeda/Islamist fighters who have sought sanctuary there for years now. Defeated in various sieges and campaigns, they have travelled there with their families and supporters and established a strong base from where to persecute the conflict against both Assad and the Kurds. Who gains from instability and conflict in Syria? A conflict that consumes all the energies, econo-
my and time of an Arab nation that has historically acted as a bulwark against Israel. It is no coincidence that it has been Iraq, Libya and Syria have been attacked and decimated by NATO led direct invasion and subversion. These states formed a block against Western / Israeli interests and rallied Arab peoples together outside Gulf influence. It is in US and Israeli interest to have a weakened Syria racked by internal conflict for as long as possible to give time to completely solidify the state of Israel amongst its Arab neighbours. Turkey, for all its anti-Israeli rhetoric, is acting as a willing partner in this project in order to subdue its Kurdish people and avoid the potential succession of the Bakur region. Syrian Kurds, under attack from Syrian Baathists, the Iranian Shia government, the US puppet KRG regime in Iraqi Kurdistan, Erdogan’s Turkey and from Islamic fundamentalists, have no one to rely on but themselves. They have made a temporary tactical alliance with the US in order to get protection from firstly ISIS, secondly Turkey and thirdly Assad. The agreement between the YPG/ YPJ and the US includes the establishment of US run airfields to land the huge arms shipments to aid the Kurdish dominated SDF in it’s fight against ISIS. These airfields have of course now become US bases in Rojava, on Syrian soil. This tactical alliance is hugely unpopular amongst the Left outside of Kurdish areas. The KCK leadership are in full knowledge that this is not a suitable arrangement long-term. While mindful of US imperialism, they have chosen to take full advantage of the Trump administration’s willingness to supply arms and supplies. $600m of supplies landed
last year alone. For its part, the US will use its enormous influence to soften the Kurdish positions on aspects of the revolution, to use them to put the brakes on Assad, and also to use them to
agitate opposition to the Iranian regime with the possibility of promoting further conflicts down the road aimed at blocking further expansion of Iranian influence which has grown since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. If the battle for Idlib were to open up as a full scale assault on Turkey’s motley crew of fundamentalist gangs, the SAA (under Russian air cover) could find themselves at the gates of Afrin within a week. Afrin would fall to the SAA and the massive rump of fundamentalist co-travellers would flee to Turkish protected territory, be it in Turkey or in Turkish occupied Syria. This would mark the beginning of the end of Turkish ambitions to topple Assad, leaving Assad to focus on the Kurds. In this scenario there wouldn’t be much else to entice Assad into negotiations on autonomy with the Kurds except for the prospect of battle with the YPG/YPJ and the SDF, armed not just with an abundance of small arms and light artillery but with a solid determination to defend the gains of the revolution on their own land. The revolution being implemented in Rojava since the withdrawal of Assad's forces in 2011 is one that has divided leftist opinion and put the brakes on full scale support from socialists and communists across the world. The ideology behind it is neither Marxist, Anarchist nor Socialist but what could be described as a hybrid of all of them. It’s an idea adopted by imprisoned PKK leader, Abdullah Ocalan, from the communalist ideas of American revolutionary thinker Murray Bookchin. Ocalan calls it Democratic Confederalism, an idea which espouses a bottom-up grassroots system of democracy using local communes/assemblies and municipal communes/assemblies. These are organised in a confederation and exert control over all aspects of life, including economic activity, so as to gear it towards the production and supply of quality goods and services according to their environmental sustainability and necessity. This revolution is absolute in the equal rights and participation of women in social life with men. Every committee has a dual chair, one man and one woman, from the bottom right to the top. Women are also organised into their own separate organisation, Kongreya Star, which promotes consciousness-raising, self defence and women’s awareness of their rights. The YPJ is the women’s army and takes part in all battles alongside the male YPG under a co-leadership. Gender equality on a scale like this is unheard of in the conservative Middle East outside of the Kurdish areas and was seen as a threat by the surrounding Arab communities - until their patriarchal leaders suffered the embarrassment of being freed from ISIS control by these same women fighters, whereupon they couldn’t really argue that a woman’s place is in the home. Arab women are slowly taking notice of the ways of the Kurdish women whose influence by example can be quite powerful. At the end of the day, the Syrian government will have to negotiate with the Syrian Kurdish representatives to form a lasting stable arrangement for northern Syria. The pre-negotiation jostling for the most advantageous position is what is unpredictable in its cost of life and suffering. If Assad were to negotiate a deal with the Islamist factions he’d be back to a shaky pre-2011 situation, but with up to six hundred thousand deaths and the annihilation of many cities, towns and villages along the way. A negotiated agreement between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Kurdish controlled Democratic Federation of Northern Syria would offer the best prospects for a lasting stability in the region and an end to the combined Turkish/US/Israeli/ Saudi/Qatari project of Islamic fundamentalist chaos and instability.
Brazil Lurches Closer to Right-Wing Dictatorship Brazil, the largest country in South America, is the sixth most populace place on Earth. Its vast natural resources have helped build an economy that is second to only the United States in the Americas; an economy that now ranks among the global top ten. It is therefore accurate to describe Brazil as a regional super-power as well as an emergent global power. The
fact that it i s on track to today elect a fascist to the highest office in the land is therefore of immense concern. Jair Bolsonaro, a military strongman and leader of the far-right Partido Social Liberal is on course to be elected as Brazil’s 38th President after beating Fernando Haddad of the Workers Party in the first round of Brazil’s Presidential election. Bolsonaro, infamous for his racist, misogynistic, and openly genocidal views garnered 46% of the vote compared to Haddad’s 29.3%.
The momentum behind Bolsonaro has been fuelled with extreme right-wing rhetoric including the following quotations – “I wouldn’t rape you because you don’t deserve it” to Congresswoman Maria do Rosario of the Workers’ Party during a debate in Brazil’s Congress; “It was a mistake to torture, not kill” left-wing activists during Brazil’s Military dictatorship (1964-1985), and perhaps most startling of all he has promised to stop funding human rights organisations “because human rights are a disservice to Brazil”. Those who don’t fit into Bolsonaro’s vision of an ideal society are rightly petrified at the idea that Brazil’s past of military dictatorship, bigotry, torture, and extra-judicial murder could once again become a reality. In March of this year, Brazil’s lurch to the far-right became apparent to the world with the targeted assassination of Marielle Franco, a gay, black Rio de Janeiro city councillor. Franco had been an outspoken critic of police brutality and extrajudicial killings, as well as the February 2018 federal intervention by Brazilian President Michel Temer in the state of Rio de Janeiro which resulted in the deployment of the army in police operations. Many suspect that right-wing elements of Rio’s police force were involved in Franco’s murder for which nobody has yet been charged. Bolsonaro’s popularity within the police and military is founded on promises to introduce a “shoot-tokill” policy against “criminals” and to loosen Brazil’s already liberal gun laws. In a country with Brazil’s history, winning the support of these two institutions of the state is hugely important.
The parallels between the rise of Donald Trump and the rise of Bolsonaro are striking. Both men have been able to tap into the insecurities of the population in relation to corruption and crime. Both men target and blame minority groups for societal ills. Both men are ideoligically committed to the neo-liberal economic agenda. And both men are (or were) actively supported and advised by the fascist strategist Steve Bannon. Bolsominions will rejoice in a victory, but it is humanity who will suffer. The poor, ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples, those belonging to the LGBTQ community, and anyone seen to be remotely left-wing will be in the firing line of Jair Bolsonaro. As well as the human cost of Bolsonaro’s presidency there is also the material cost, with him pledging to privatise industry,
further deforest the Amazon rainforest, withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, and re-establish the military’s ‘rightful’ place in Brazilian society. Speaking on television on the 23rd of May 1999 Bolsonaro said what he would do on the first day he was elected President “There is no doubt. I would launch a coup on the same day. The Congress doesn’t work and I’m sure that at least 90% of the population would clap its hands. The Congress nowadays does nothing; it votes only for what the president wants. If he who rules, who decides and who gloats above Congress, then let the coup be launched, let it be a dictatorship”. Bolsonaro’s dream looks set to become a reality. For many others it will be a nightmare.
Interview with Brazilian Left Front activist Maila Costa, on the ground in Brazil. The Following is an interview with Maila Costa, Left Front activist in Brazil, in the wake of Bolsonaro’s election victory. Éirígí: Hi Maila, with Jair Bolsonaro’s victory over Fernando Haddad in the recent presidential elections what is the political atmosphere like in Brazil at the moment? MC: Brazilian left-wing parties, social movements and civil society are campaigning hard given the scenario. The polemic declarations of Bolsonaro are seen as a threat to Brazilian democracy, although his supporters are more inclined to to be active on social media, through internet group chats and sharing content on Facebook. Thanks to this, face-to-face spaces are available to Fernando Haddad’s supporters, Workers’ Party of Brazil (PT) members and other progressive activists. These elections were different from the previous ones. People publicly took positions and engaged in discussions, which has frayed personal relationships and made them very tense. Haddad’s supporters have been attacked and murdered in recent weeks while the opposite hasn’t been seen for Bolsonaro’s supporters. Violent speech is one of the worst features of Jair Bolsonaro. Over the years he has spoken bigotry against women, black people, Brazilian native people, the LGBTI+ community, the poor and so on. After the first round of the elections he said that if he won, he will end all kinds of activism. The Sunday before the second-round run-off he said that “the reds” will have to leave the country or go to the jail. Those declarations create an atmosphere of terror, but not enough to pacify the resistance. Éirígí: What has been behind Bolsonaro’s popularity? MC: There are many factors behind his popularity. The political and economic crisis in which the country finds itself, together with high-profile government corruption cases revealed in recent years and historic anti-left propaganda have created an electorate which sought a quick resolution to all of Brazils problems. Adding to this, there’s the evangelical ‘Christian’ appeal, covering a vast part of the population and the hate speech that summons up the racism, homophobia and classism that were hidden in our racist and patriarchal society. Lastly, Bolsonaro was successful by using the social media as his main platform, in Brazil, half of the population can access the internet. He has campaigned since the coup, in 2016, addressing his speech and fake news to young, impressionable people, in other words people more likely to believe and spread his far-right, populist ideas. Éirígí: What has been the failure of the Brazilian Left in preventing this far-right resurgence? MC: The weakening of the social movements has been the main factor. Although Lula and Dilma’s governments were crucial to the inclusion of millions of citizens, they operated a system of class conciliation. The social inclusion created a well-being scenario, which masked the structural issues and put the struggles aside, while raising the profit of banks and big companies. The Workers’ Party didn’t use the State rigging to develop class and historical awareness. However, not only should the WPB not have had neglected his base,
but all the components of the left failed to reach the working, the religious and people not included in ‘mainstream’ society. These spaces were gradually occupied by the conservative and neo-liberal parties, mainly through the evangelical churches, which have grown massively in Brazil. Éirígí: What sectors of the population stand to benefit from a Bolsonaro victory, and what sectors stand to lose out? MC: Bolsonaro is a neo-liberal so he tends to adopt measures that benefit big national and international companies. He has promised to ‘relax’ working rights and conditions in order to revitalise the economy as well as to sell state-owned companies to private interests. Those who will lose out are the vast majority of ordinary, working Brazilians, but especially those who don’t fit in with Bolsanoro’s racist and backwards ideas. Éirígí: How has the Brazilian state reacted to this rise of Neo-Fascism, especially since its main proponent openly boasts about resurrecting Brazil’s authoritarian, military junta past? MC: The current illegitimate president Michel Temer supports Bolsonaro and his neo-liberal plans, so he’s not interested in confronting him. Although many judges and politicians openly expressed their support to Fernando Haddad, they didn’t take any initiative to stop Bolsonaro and his racist outbursts. It’s important to point out that in Brazil racism is a crime and Bolsonaro previously said in a TV show that his sons wouldn’t date a black woman because “my sons were brought up very well and they haven’t lived in environments such as those black people do” and nothing happened to him.
Éirígí: What do you think Brazil under Jair Bolsonaro will look like? MC: It’s not clear what he’ll do, since he constantly changes his stance on numerous issues depending on public reaction. What is known is that he intends to keep the illegitimate president Michel Temers’ neo-liberal policies and will continue incitement of discrimination. He has said that a pension system reform is a priority and that he will ‘relax’ working rights and conditions. Every day more cases of attacks by Bolsonaro supporters arise. This is the main worry because the Congress can help control Bolsonaro’s measures, but they cannot control all those violent, intolerant people who have been given support and confidence under his regressive narrative. The Brazilian left, the social movements, autonomous collectives and individuals will have to resist and find ways to minimize the effects of this new
government. Éirígí: What is now the future of the Workers’ Party in Brazil? MC: Much has been spoken of it since the legal, parliamentary and media coup suffered by Dilma Rousseff, that WPB is over. With part of the population clamouring for drastic change and the rise in popularity of Bolsonaro this was assumed as true, including by much of the Brazilian left. However, with these last elections we can see that this statement was perhaps created mostly by the desire and intent of opponents of the WPB and other partisan opponents than by the real feeling of the electorate. A dead party does not elect the largest bench in the chamber of deputies and the largest number of governors, among them the only woman. Even here in Rio Grande do sul, one of the most Anti-Petistas states, the Workers Party elected the largest number of chairs in the legislative assembly, dividing the post with the MDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement). These results show that although the WPB has lost some seats, the so-called ‘revolt’ surrounding loss of WPB support is much more linked to the controversies involving the country’s highest office than a rejection of their proposals and representatives. This phenomenon is easily explained when looking at the abundant coverage by formal and informal media surrounding the subject of the office of President, which therefore reflects the content of popular debates. It is almost impossible to measure the size of the influence of all factors in the result of an election, but what we do know is that this time there were new factors that were against Fernando Haddad's candidacy. Still, the WPB candidate came out with originally less than 10% in the intentions of voters in the first polls, to the second-round, reaching a 5% negative difference with respect to the eventual winner, Jair Bolsonaro. Haddad amassed more than 47 million votes despite the Anti-Petismo fervour, a “Communist” running-mate for VicePresident, Lula being arrested, biased news, the absence of Ciro Gomes and a short campaign time. With the widespread defeat of the MDB in these elections, the WPB appears as the largest party in Brazil and one of the most important in Latin America, which converts it into a kind of voice of the Brazilian people, even more considering their links with social movements of extreme importance. For this reason and for having a social obligation with its voters and all workers in the country, it is essential that the party use these two remaining months prior to Bolsanaro’s inauguration to re-structure itself in order to elevate and consolidate its ethical and moral standards by introducing a internal and external structure consistent with the current demands of the various sectors of society. Within this transformation, it is necessary for the Workers’ Party to take part in the political process in order to commit ideologically to truly progressive laws and the advancement social
justice causes, definitively abandoning alliances that may distort their purpose. The WPB needs to overcome its culture of moral flexibility by interests - no matter how laudable, it needs to make it clear to its electorate and to the world what its goals and limits are. In the coming months, we will face turbulent times, for which we will need a strong and coherent opposition and that does not mean that WPB should lead this opposition. But as the largest party in Brazil, with its electoral capital renewed in these elections and a new leadership that has gained popular sympathy, in the figure of Haddad; it is the WPB who has the privilege and moral duty to put itself in a decisive leadership role to all of the Brazilian left. They need to represent their mandate, abandoning once and for all the illusion of class reconciliation, which has shown more than once its negative consequences, as well as it’s heroic adoration for ex-president Lula da Silva. The Workers’ Party of Brazil cannot hide forever behind their past improvements to the country, putting themselves as eternal victim, as if that will annul all their mistakes. They need to step up and help the people fightback.
Clann Éirígí Clann Éirígí is the name of our party’s support network. As membership of Éirígí is open only to people resident in Ireland, Clann represents a mechanism for activists outside Ireland who agree with our aims and principals to participate to some extent within the party. This is the first part of an interview with a Clann Éirígí activist and Antifascist who is based in the North East of England. Nuacht Éirígí: So lets start at the beginning when and how did you get involved in left wing political activism? Clann Activist: I got involved in socialist activism when I was working in another country, and it was at the tail end of the ‘anti-globalisation movement’. I had views on subjects but was very cynical of politics, left, centre and right. Over time I came to view society through various experiences, and seeing the way society works in a city that has feral capitalism at its heart, I eventually came to realise the social dynamics at play. Then I met a socialist, and it all went from there. There was one particular experience where I seen a young woman sat next to a bin, picking rice out of it and feeding her baby. Upon closer inspection the baby was dead, it had starved to death and the mother was obviously mentally ill. The mother’s story was that she was kicked off land in a village where she lived with her entire community, and on that land yuppie flats, Starbucks, and plush new businesses were built. To this day, most of those yuppie flats are uninhabited. This poor woman and her child were literally forced straight out onto the streets to fend for themselves. As a result, through poverty, her child died. This was 13 years ago, and I dread to think what has happened since. In the moment of seeing this woman and her child, something inside of me just snapped, I had gone over the edge so to speak. I had seen the psychotic hand of capital at work, and now I couldn’t play ignorant nor apathetic. I had to try and do something. I started out in anti-globalisation stuff and then moved in to workplace organising, and then onto anti-gentrification. Then a few years later I
moved back to England, and I hit the ground running here. NÉ: You have mentioned you are not of Irish Heritage, so what drew you to the Republican cause? CA: Despite not being of Irish heritage, the thing that drew me initially to the Irish Republican cause was the realisation that it is within the direct interests of the working-class in England, Scotland and Wales (But especially England, as this is the Brit seat of imperial power) to break the connection between London and Ireland. In short, we have a common enemy. As Karl Marx said: “it is in the direct and absolute interests of the English working-class to get rid of their present connection with Ireland. For a long
time I believed it would be possible to overthrow the Irish regime by English working-class ascendency. Deep study has now convinced me of the opposite, the English working-class will never achieve anything until it has got rid of Ireland...English reaction in England has its roots...in the subjugation of Ireland”. Marx was on the money with that, and it is as true today as it ever was, as that connection is still yet to be broken whether in the occupied Six Counties, which is still under sectarian partition, military dominance and London/Stormont economic/political rule. Then we have the 26 counties, which the British state still very much has a hand in economically and politically, as James Connolly said: “If you remove the English army tomorrow and hoist the green flag over Dublin
Castle, unless you set about the organisation of the Socialist Republic your efforts would be in vain. England would still rule you. She would rule you through her capitalists, through her landlords, through her financiers, through the whole array of commercial and individualist institutions she has planted in this country...”. The cause of Ireland is still very much a central issue within the class struggle, and will remain so until Ireland is free politically, culturally, socially and economically. The left in England doesn’t like to touch the issue for various reasons, mainly because the issue is too thorny for them. I am confident that this can change with some very hard work but, as it stands, the left won’t touch the issue. For me this makes it even more important and imperative that we push the cause of Ireland to the forefront of the political work that we do here. The left here have swallowed the bullshit propaganda about sectarian Irish Republican gunmen and women, and still view Irish republicanism as a sectarian cause. They’ve swallowed the Brit ruling-class’ propaganda. The armed conflict as we know it is over in the occupied Six Counties, but there are still a lot of illusions and lies about Irish republicans still floating around from that conflict. Until those lies are overcome, which is a job of Irish republican supporters here, the left and the wider English working-class will still have a one-dimensional view. We need to hammer home to our class here in England, Scotland and Wales, that Irish republicans are not our enemy, and should in reality be our closest allies. This may be a fanciful way to view the Irish republican cause and British imperialism in Ireland, but such a notion is written into the very heart of modern Irish republicanism, in the Fenian Proclamation of 1867: “Republicans of the entire world, our cause is your cause. Our enemy is your enemy. Let your hearts be with us. As for you, workmen of England, it is not only your hearts we wish, but your arms. Remember the starvation and degradation brought to your firesides by the oppres-
sion of labour. Remember the past, look well to the future, and avenge yourselves by giving liberty to your children in the coming struggle for human liberty.” Never can a more true and emotive word be said, for whilst Irish children and other Irish working-class people were being shipped off to other colonies as indentured servants and labourers by the ruling-class here, that same ruling-class was also kidnapping English, Scottish and Welsh children and putting them to work in work houses and also as indentured servants and labourers. To this day the dynamic remains the same, for example austerity since 2008. I have more in common with the common person in Dublin, Galway, Derry, Belfast, Armagh, or wherever else in Ireland, than Tarquin and Pippa in London, the Home Counties or the Cotswolds (In fact, I have nothing in common with the latter). There is also a section of the Irish population in Ireland which largely feels invested with this state of affairs and the British occupation, but I say to them that whilst you think you’re displaying solidarity with other “British” people, you’re really displaying a loyalty to a system and a ruling-class that if truth be told, has nothing but contempt for you. Your place is in a free and united Ireland, with other Irish people. I support Irish Republicanism not only because its within
the interests of the English working-class, but also simply because its the right thing to do.” NÉ: Is there a large Irish Community in the area you live in?
CA: There is traditionally a large Irish community in the region where I live, and there’s an active Irish community centre. Sadly though a lot of the descendants of Irish people are now assimilated, but this is where the element of the cultural fight comes into play. British imperialism has taught Irish people here and in Ireland to assimilate, and so Irish culture becomes a weapon against that state of affairs and a method of continuity. NÉ: You are quite involved in Anti-Fascism in the North East of England, is that area quite a fertile ground for fascism? If memory serves that area was one of the real strong holds of the EDL, and even the NF had a fairly strong presence there? Is the Free Tommy Movement / Football lads alliance getting much traction there at the moment and what is being done to organise against this rising threat in local communities? CA: That area where I live is fertile ground for fascism and the populist-right. This is due to a
number of factors, the state of the left in England generally, and the North-East of England especially. Since the mid-90s large parts of the region have fallen to the devastation caused by Thatcher and neoliberalism. This has led to economic problems and resulting from that social problems such as a rise in heroin, crack cocaine and spice abuse, as well as a rise in the reactionary thinking of the right. The left here is offering little to no alternative to this trend, so its hardly surprising it is the way it is. The left is not offering an alternative narrative or when it does, it borders on delusional. It is hardly surprising that people are turning away from the left here, but there are those of us who are working hard against this. The North-East was a stronghold for the EDL and the National Front, and still is a flash point for right-wing groups. There is one particular area which is almost colonised not by sympathisers, but active right-wingers. Its hardly surprising that this particular area has played host to loyalist flute bands, and also once con-
tained a weapons dump for the loyalist paramilitary butchers. The Free Tommy Movement/Football Lads Alliance is gain a lot of traction here at the moment, especially around the very real issues of sexual abuse and rape. They have no real interest in tackling such issues, it is just political opportunism for them. It is only recently that people have started to sit up, give ourselves a kick up the arse and take notice. Up to now we are trying to work on becoming a real threat to the status quo, as well as a political alternative to those that may be attracted to these rightwing vultures. In the last two years we have also begun to take the physical fight to card
carrying members of these groups, especially its most prominent figures. We are developing a political, physical and cultural strategy to deal with this problem. This involves providing a political alternative to the right and the status quo which feeds the right, through community and workplace organising. It also involves providing a cultural alternative through media work (Such as video work, and we’re working on a couple of new magazines). We also engage in low key physical work which, for very good reason, not many people hear about. We have our work cut out for us big time, and we are constantly on the go. However with a bit of hard graft, I am confident in the future.
Campaign Against Low Pay The Campaign Against Low Pay, or CALP in its abbreviated form, is a coordinated group of Left Wing political parties, trade unionists, community support groups and activists. Its purpose is to offer cross community support and proactive encouragement to all workers, under the duress of low pay and poor conditions as they struggle for improvements and to achieve their right to trade union membership and recognition. The fledgling formation derived from a meeting held on the 15th of August in Dublin earlier this year, in which those in attendance were given an informative briefing on the ongoing (at the time) Lloyds Pharmacy dispute. While the issues at the core were of pay and conditions, it rapidly became a dispute over union recognition. McKesson Corporation, owners of Lloyds Pharmacies and UDG Healthcare, despite Labour Court recommendations, had decided to refuse to recognise Mandate Trade Union’s right to represent its 270 members - approximately 40% of its pharmacies workforce -forcing union members into strike action. The company’s management had taken the brazen and extraordinary step of establishing its own employee representative group, the CRC in an attempt to deflect from its anti trade union position and subvert labour legislation in the area of employee representation rights. This was seen by those present at the 15th of August meeting as a dangerous precedent, and one that had to be opposed, not only from within the trade union movement but also from outside, where restrictions regarding picketing,or secondary picketing, as imposed by the Industrial Relations Act 1990 could not be sought by a massively wealthy multinational corporation (McKesson Corp turned over €183 Billion euros in 2017). Those present at the inaugural meeting agreed to support the Lloyds Pharmacy Strikers and a series of actions were agreed. As part of these actions hundreds of posters were produced and erected, thousands of leaflets were printed and delivered door to door or handed out to members of the public at community information
events outside Lloyds Pharmacies on Official Strike dates and in advance of same. The purpose,to provide support for those striking in outlets,by having a presence outside,where scabs and management being in the majority,maintained their opening on official strike dates. The effect was positive, the community response encouraging, and in essence a community based activist response successfully complimented organised industrial action.
The issue of low pay and poor conditions such as zero hour contracts, nonexistent sick pay schemes or premium pay rates effects us all. We all know somebody who is inflicted with repressive labour conditions, therefore it is a community matter and one that requires a community response. Our communities will benefit from improvements in pay and conditions and these can only be achieved and protected through a strong trade union movement. It is up to us to create the conditions in which workers will feel secure in being members of that movement and unscrupulous employers will fear the consequences of repressive actions.
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