Five years ago, the G20 launched the ‘Compact with Africa’. It turned out to be just another iteration of neoliberal imperialism

by Martin Tsounkeu

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A very interesting discussion, organized by The Great Transition, of utmost importance for the World Social Forum:

https://greattransition.org/gti-forum/can-human-solidarity-globalize

por Boaventura de Sousa Santos

Los ciudadanos y las ciudadanas no están hartos de la política, sino de esta política; la inmensa mayoría de la ciudadanía no se moviliza políticamente ni sale a la calle a manifestarse, pero está llena de rabia en casa y simpatiza con los que se manifiestan; en general, no se afilian a partidos ni participan en movimientos sociales ni están interesados en hacerlo, pero cuando salen a la calle solo sorprenden a las élites políticas que han perdido el contacto con “las bases”.

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por Oscar Gonzalez

Ahora, en los tiempos que corren, no solo la tierra, el fuego, el agua; también el aire, la atmósfera y los cuerpos astrales pueden ser objeto de apropiación privada. Star Wars anticipa ya las nuevas guerras intergalácticas por la dominación de los espacios interestelares. En la realidad material pura y simple, Jeff Bezos compite con sus rivales, Richard Bronson e Elon Musk, por la nueva apropiación privada no ya de tierras o mares, sino de espacios abiertos.

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by Francine Mestrum

The Washington Consensus has been declared dead many times. But austerity policies and reform programmes keep being introduced in too many countries. Today, a new ‘social contract’ is being proposed, but what does it mean?

Article in Fr: https://wsimag.com/fr/economie-et-politique/65853-la-mort-presumee-du-consensus-de-washington

 Artículo en Esp:   https://wsimag.com/es/economia-y-politica/66325-la-presunta-muerte-del-consenso-de-washington

Article in Eng: https://wsimag.com/economy-and-politics/66283-whither-the-washington-consensus

One of the sharp dividing lines that have been running through all leftist and progressive movements for decades is related to the State. It is necessarily good for all those who consider change only possible by seizing power within a sovereign State, it is necessarily evil for those who consider it impossible that the raison d’être of the State can coincide with the interests of the people.

The central role of the State is today again under strong attack from two different progressive directions.

At this moment, a Zapa-group is touring Europe, a delegation of Mexican neo-Zapatistas who are organising a ‘reverse invasion’ and are coming here to talk to all kinds of social movements. One of their beliefs is ‘community autonomy’, and although they are not entirely averse to participating in national electoral processes, they mainly promote the plurinational State that offers room for various cultures. In this way, they connect with various movements in Europe and Asia that denounce the hegemony and arbitrariness of nation states.

Another starting point is the failure of multilateralism in a world order that can no longer be of this time. The solution then lies not only in a return to the subnational level, but in a democratisation of both local and supranational institutions.

This is the thesis of the author of the book ‘Opening to Omnilateralism. Democratic governance for all, from local to global with stakeholders‘. Wolfgang Pape is a former civil servant of the European Commission and European Union diplomat with extensive experience in Japan and work for the ‘cellule prospective’ that Commission President Delors set up to look at the future.

por Boaventura de Sousa Santos

Un alto el fuego más, después de tantos otros, en la ocupación colonial de Palestina por Israel; otra estadística de muertes para los archivos del olvido; otra oportunidad para pacificar la conciencia de la comunidad internacional, especialmente estadounidense y europea; otro período de banalización de la humillación diaria de quienes, por motivos laborales, cruzan los puestos de control israelíes; otro proceso de intensificación de las provocaciones hasta los próximos bombardeos; otro momento de limpieza étnica por parte de una potencia colonial y violenta.

La historia es conocida.

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by Boaventura de Sousa Santos

Yet another ceasefire like so many others before it, in Israel’s colonial occupation of Palestine; yet another death count for the archives of oblivion; yet another occasion to ease the conscience of the international community, especially in North America and Europe; yet another period for trivializing the daily humiliation of those who are forced to cross Israeli checkpoints in order to go to work; yet another process of rising provocations until the next bombings; yet another surge in ethnic cleansing by a violent colonial power.

In fact, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine began in early December 1947 with a series of Zionist militia attacks on Palestinian villages and neighbourhoods. As a result, about 300.000 Palestinians were uprooted by Zionist militia before a single Arab soldier put foot in Palestine. For example, Deir Yassin was a small village west of Jerusalem. The village had a non-aggression pact signed with the Haganah. However, on the night of 9 April 1948, Zionist forces attacked the village and killed more than 100 innocent Palestinian civilians (among them 30 babies). Four nearby villages were next – Qalunya, Saris, Beit Surik and Biddu where Hagana militia blew up houses and expelled the people (in The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe, Oxford, Oneworld, 2006. P. 90-91). At the onset of his book, Pappé uses as epigraph David Ben-Gurion’s outrageous recommendation (indeed, not his alone) to the Jewish Agency Executive in June 1938. Wrote Ben-Gurion, who ten years later would become the first Prime Minister of the newly created State of Israel: “I am for compulsory transfer; I do not see anything immoral in it.”

This is a well-known story.

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Contribución del grupo NFSM a la reunión conjunta del CI y del grupo facilitador de México, 12 junio 2021

Esta contribución se basa en los debates en el grupo ‘Para un Nuevo FSM’, creado hace más de un año por Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Roberto Savio, Oscar Gonzalez, Norma Fernández, Leo Gabriel y su servidora. Nuestro punto de partida es que el FSM y su Consejo Internacional están esclerosados, ya no sirven al objetivo que una vez sí teníamos de reunir a los movimientos sociales del mundo entero y  trabajar en convergencias,  desarrollar un discurso contra-hegemónico.

En este momento el FSM y su CI son estructuras ong-izadas, burocratizadas, sin dinámica propia, y no son las cifras de participación lo bastante altas para cambiar algo de esta realidad, al contrario. El FSM quiere ser un espacio abierto, lo que es positivo, pero si no va más allá tampoco puede tener algún éxito en el mundo. Porque si se realiza una reunión a nivel global, que ya es extraordinario, pero no se quiere verdaderamente organizar, ni tratar de buscar las convergencias, ni siquiera tener una voz en el mundo, entonces, a nosotros nos parece un ejercicio bastante inútil. En el CI faltan los jóvenes, faltan las grandes organizaciones y faltan los intelectuales.

Read the article on the secret IRS files showing how billionaires legally avoid all income taxes:

The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax — ProPublica