Cela fait environ cent jours depuis la naissance du "nouveau" Zimbabwe. Cent jour qu'il en est enfin fini des 37 ans de règne autoritaire par Robert Mugabe, chef d'état depuis 1980. Le Zimbabwe a un nouveau président, Emmerson Mnangagwa, qui a accédé au pouvoir grâce à un coup d'état militaire "soft" contre Robert Mugabe et son successeur choisi, Grace Mugabe. Récemment le Zimbabwe a également pleuré la mort de Morgan Tsvangirai, un leader de l'opposition, issu du syndicalisme, qui a passé la plus grande partie de sa vie à se battre contre Mugabe. read full story / add a comment

On 17 November 2017, the Minister of Labour announced the state intends to carry out a new round of attacks on workers and their rights. The attacks come in the form of three Labour Bills currently being considered by parliament: the Basic Conditions of Employment Bill, the National Minimum Wage Bill and the Labour Relations Amendment Bill. If passed, the changes to the labour laws these bills propose will be a major attack on workers’ rights, won through decades of struggle, and will further deepen and entrench inequality and roll back important democratic gains.
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This commentary, an input at a Globalization School debate in Cape Town, engages current labor and Left debates on building alternatives, drawing on the experiences of the radical wing of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and on anarchism and syndicalism. It argues for a strategy of bottom-up mobilization based on debate and pluralism, and building structures of counter-power and a revolutionary counter-culture that can prefigure and create a new social order. The aim is to foster a class-based movement against exploitation, domination, and oppression, including national oppression, that can win reforms through self-activity, unite a range of struggles against oppression, and develop the capacity and unity needed for deep social change. This should be outside parliament, the political party system and the state. The outcome, ultimately, would be the replacement of capitalism, the state, and social and economic inequality, by a universal human community based on self-management, the democratization of daily life, participatory economic planning, and libertarian socialism. read full story / add a comment

It’s been around 100 days since the birth of a “new” Zimbabwe: 37 years of authoritarian rule by Robert Mugabe ended when Emmerson Mnangagwa took power through a soft military coup . But what has changed, what we can we expect now? This paper argues that no deep changes are taking place. The slight liberalizing of political life and some promises of economic reform (good and bad) do matter. But the changes in the White House of Zimbabwe centre on removing one vicious state capitalist manager to make way for another, and will not bring liberation for the masses. This replacement does not address the problems Zimbabwe faces: a ruthless ruling class, a predatory state, crisis-ridden capitalism and imperialism. The problem is not individuals: the system is the problem. This paper argues against Mugabe and Mnangagwa, but also against the state as a form of social organization and against the idea that states can be used for liberating the people. All states oppress the working class, peasantry and poor, and the state in Zimbabwe is just an extreme example of how states are based on repression, corruption and promoting the interests of economic and political elites (the ruling class). It rejects the notion that Mugabe was a champion of the poor and landless, and the claim that his ousting was a defeat for progressive forces. But it has no illusions in Mnangagwa. True, real freedom will never come through parliament, or military take- overs, or old men who take turns to spout out neo-liberal or ultra-nationalist rhetoric, while their hands are covered in blood. It can only come from mass action and organising, the transformative engine to build real democratic, stateless socialism based on self-management, freedom political tolerance and common property (anarchism).
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The article looks at the structural reasons why Ramaphosa replacing Zuma as the head of state in South Africa won't end corruption. read full story / add a comment

A lightly edited transcript of a presentation at a workshop hosted by the International Labour Research & Information Group (ILRIG) and the Orange Farm Human Rights Advice Centre in Drieziek extension 1, Orange Farm township, south of Soweto, South Africa, on 24 June 2017. It was attended by a hall full of community and worker activists, including veterans of the big rebellions of the 1980s. read full story / add a comment

A lightly edited transcript of a presentation at a workshop hosted by the International Labour Research & Information Group (ILRIG) and the Orange Farm Human Rights Advice Centre in Drieziek extension 1, Orange Farm township, south of Soweto, South Africa, on 24 June 2017. It was attended by a hall full of community and worker activists, including veterans of the big rebellions of the 1980s. read full story / add a comment

Δημοσιεύθηκε στις 8 Δεκεμβρίου 2017 από Enough Is Enough! Πρόκειται για ένα ελαφρώς επεξεργασμένο αντίγραφο μιας παρουσίασης σε εργαστήριο που διοργανώθηκε από την Διεθνή Ομάδα Έρευνας και Ενημέρωσης Εργασίας (ILRIG) και το Κέντρο Συμβουλευτικής για τα Ανθρώπινα Δικαιώματα της Orange Farm στην επέκταση 1 της Drieziek, δήμος Orange Farm, νότια του Soweto, Νότια Αφρική, στις 24 Ιουνίου του 2017. Το παρακολούθησε μια αίθουσα γεμάτη ακτιβιστές κοινοτήτων και εργαζομένων, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των βετεράνων των μεγάλων εξεγέρσεων της δεκαετίας του 1980. read full story / add a comment

Cet article s’attache à comprendre les événements récents qui ont entouré la démission de Robert Mugabe au Zimbabwe. L’auteur ne pense pas que cela est susceptible d’amener une quelconque forme de libération pour le peuple du Zimbabwe, étant donné que cela ne répond pas aux problèmes auxquels le Zimbabwe doit faire face : une classe dirigeante sans scrupules, l’État, le capitalisme et l’impérialisme. read full story / add a comment

A lightly edited transcript of a presentation at a workshop hosted by the International Labour Research & Information Group (ILRIG) and the Orange Farm Human Rights Advice Centre in Drieziek extension 1, Orange Farm township, south of Soweto, South Africa, on 24 June 2017. It was attended by a hall full of community and worker activists, including veterans of the big rebellions of the 1980s. read full story / add a comment

This article looks at the recent events around the removal of Robert Mugabe from power in Zimbabwe. It argues that this will not bring liberation for the people of Zimbabwe, as it does not address the problems Zimbabwe faces – a ruthless ruling class, its state, capitalism and imperialism.

Robert Mugabe, the longstanding authoritarian ruler that has waged a war against Zimbabwe’s poor, is gone. He was forced to resign in the wake of a coup – although the main actors in the coup comically denied it was one.

When it was announced that Mugabe was exiting power, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Harare to celebrate. Many are hoping that his exit will bring change for the better for Zimbabwe. This hope, unfortunately, may be wishful thinking. The reason for this is that Mugabe was a symptom of far deeper problems, and without addressing those problems, Zimbabwe cannot be free; nor can there be genuine equality. Similarly, those that removed Mugabe are cut from the same cloth, and come from the same ruthless ruling class. [Français] read full story / add a comment

Political fighting has destroyed the peace in Sebokeng township in the Vaal. Politicians are using government resources for private purposes, and parties and factions are fighting over which politicians get the most. read full story / add a comment

South Africa is in a mess. That is clear, more than 20 years since the end of apartheid. We have won many things. It was our struggle that beat apartheid laws and the old government. But we are not free yet. Corruption, poverty, job losses, hatred, violence, the apartheid legacy are all part of the mess.

What is the way forward for South Africa? It is struggle by the masses of the people for a better society.

What does that require? read full story / add a comment

Wave after wave of community protests have been taking place in South Africa. People are angry that after twenty years of so-called freedom they are still confined to living in shacks, having to defecate in communal toilets, and having essential services terminated when they can’t afford to pay. read full story / add a comment

The Brazilian Anarchist Coordination repudiates the cowardly criminalization of South African fighters and social fighters and their persecution. read full story / add a comment

Ante la represión que se desata contra el pueblo sudafricano, desde Uruguay exigimos justicia y la inmediata libertad para los compañeros de Boiketlong y la inmediata aparición con vida de Papi Tobias. read full story / add a comment

Faced with the repression that is unleashed against the South African people, from Uruguay we demand justice and the immediate freedom for the comrades of Boiketlong and the immediate appearance of Papi Tobias alive, of course. read full story / add a comment

En février 2015, quatre militant-e-s de quartier [community activists] originaires de Boiketlong dans le Vaal, au sud de Johannesburg, ont été condamné-e-s à 16 ans de prison chacun-e à la suite d’une manifestation locale. C’est une condamnation très sévère et qui s’est basée sur des preuves très peu tangibles. Les « Quatre de Boiketlong » ont été arrêté-e-s et accusé-e-s d’avoir agressé de la conseillère local de quartier (membre de l’ANC1) et d’avoir mis le feu à sa maison et à deux voitures pendant ladite manifestation. Elles et ils ont été jugé-e-s coupables d’agression avec intention de causer de sérieux dégâts humains, d’incendie, de dégradations aggravées et d’atteinte à la propriété. C’est un exemple de la terrible injustice qui est menée contre les militant-e-s de la classe ouvrière noire et cela pourrait avoir de dangereuses répercussions pour les luttes à venir de la classe ouvrière noire et des pauvres en Afrique du Sud, si on ne combat pas cette décision de justice. Les gens doivent être mis-es au courant des faits et des actions doivent être menées pour demander justice et pour combattre la criminalisation de la pauvreté et des mouvements sociaux. read full story / add a comment

Nel febbraio del 2015, 4 attivisti comunitari di Boiketlong in the Vaal, a sud di Johannesburg, furono condannati ognuno a 16 anni di prigione a seguito di una protesta comunitaria. Si tratta di una sentenza molto severa e la condanna si basò su prove incerte. I 4 di Boiketlong vennero arrestati per aver attaccato, secondo quanto riportato, il locale consigliere distrettuale dell’ANC e aver appiccato il fuoco alla sua abitazione e a due macchine durante la protesta comunitaria. I 4 furono perciò condannati per assalto con l’intento di causare gravi lesioni personali, incendio e danneggiamento volontario della proprietà. Questo è un esempio della terribile ingiustizia perpetrata contro attivisti proletari neri e potrebbe avere pericolose ripercussioni per le future lotte della classe lavoratrice nera e dei poveri in Sud Africa, se non combattuta. La gente deve essere consapevole di ciò e attivarsi per chiedere giustizia e combattere la criminalizzazione della povertà e della protesta. read full story / add a comment

En febrero de 2015, cuatro militantes de Boiketlong in the Vaal, sur de Johannesburgo, fueron sentenciados a 16 años en prisión después de una protesta en su comunidad. Esta es una sentencia muy severa y está basada en una evidencia muy débil. Los cuatro de Boiketlong fueron arrestados por atacar al concejal local de la ANC (Consejo Nacional Africano, partido del fallecido Nelson Mandela) e incendiar su casa y dos autos durante la protesta de la comunidad. Fueron arrestados por daños corporales graves, incendios intencionales y daño intencional a la propiedad. Este es un ejemplo de una terrible injusticia perpetrada contra la los militantes trabajadores negros y puede tener peligrosas repercusiones en futuras luchas de los trabajadores negros y pobres en Sudáfrica si no es combatido. La gente debe ser advertida de estos hechos e iniciar acciones para reclamar justicia y luchar contra la criminalización de la pobreza y la protesta. read full story / add a comment