Brazil: Lula defeats far-right Bolsonaro, fuels social democratic illusions

Article published in Rizospastis, Organ of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), on Tuesday 27 October 2026. Read below the translation:

 

In the second round of Brazil’s presidential election, held amid extreme political polarization, the winner was 80-year-old incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a social democrat who secured 51.8% of the vote (64.2 million votes), defeating 45-year-old far-right neoliberal Flávio Bolsonaro, eldest son of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who received 48.21% (59.8 million votes). The result ushers in yet another round of social democratic illusions about the possibility of a more humane capitalism.

 

The decay of social democracy in Venezuela

Published in Rizospastis, the organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), on 2 September 2026

In light of the complete surrender of Venezuela’s natural resources to the USA through the agreement signed by the social democratic government of Interim President Delcy Rodríguez —who served as vice president under Nicolás Maduro, who is being held in the US following his abduction during the unacceptable imperialist military intervention by the US on 3 January — a bitter rift has emerged among officials of the Venezuelan Social Democratic Party.

The Party That Saved British Capitalism: Labour from Attlee to Burnham

By Nikos Mottas

Andy Burnham's arrival at 10 Downing Street has, once again, been accompanied by the familiar chorus of illusions. Britain, we are told, has entered a "new era." A new Labour prime minister promises hope, fairness and renewal. 

Yet beneath the new rhetoric lies the same old reality. The faces change. The managers change. The class character of the British state does not. 

KKE slams Tsipras’ new party as recycled, bankrupt social democracy

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) has launched a sharp attack against the newly announced political party of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, denouncing it as an attempt to recycle bankrupt social-democratic illusions and construct a new pillar for the stabilization of the bourgeois political system in Greece.

The new party, officially presented on Tuesday, May 26, in Athens under the name Hellenic Left Alignment (ELAS), is being promoted as a “progressive” force capable of reshaping the Greek center-left. 

KKE: On the attempt to whitewash Spanish social democracy in order to mislead the people

The path to peace or the deception of the people?

Comment by the International Relations Section of the CC of the KKE on the attempt to whitewash Spanish social democracy in order to mislead the people:

Once again, both internationally and in our country, social democratic forces —such as PASOK, SYRIZA, the New Left, as well as other opportunist forces in Greece— are rushing, with no small degree of exaggeration, to celebrate, publishing headlines such as “Do it like Sánchez” and claiming that Spain “is choosing the path of peace”.

When the Left manages capitalism, the far right takes power: Lessons from Latin America

By Nikos Mottas 

Chile’s presidential election marks a clear political reversal. José Antonio Kast, a figure of the hard right, has been elected president, bringing the far right back to the country’s leadership just three years after the centre-left government of Gabriel Boric took office. 

The result is not simply a conservative swing; it reflects a deeper political disappointment and a growing sense that the previous cycle of “progressive” governance failed to deliver real change.

Which way out of Trump hell? Liberal, Dem-Soc, or Communist?

By Charles Andrews*

The working class knows who Donald Trump is.

Masked ICE goons rip people out of their workplace, school, and home. Police club demonstrators who shout against genocide in Gaza. High schools and colleges fire teachers who let students discuss the history of Zionism. Eight hundred employees of the weather service, NOAA, are fired; when disaster strikes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) cannot dispatch enough staff to the flooded or burning land. 

The funeral of the so-called “21st century socialism” in Bolivia

By Nikos Mottas 

The results of Sunday's elections in Bolivia were devastating for the leftist “Movement of Socialism” (Movimiento al Socialismo), known by the acronym MAS. Eduardo del Castillo, MAS’s candidate, received only approximately 3 percent of the vote—a historic collapse for a party that had ruled Bolivia for nearly two decades. 

This result highlighted deep-seated economic crisis—20–25 percent inflation, fuel and dollar shortages, public frustration—and internal divisions within MAS (notably between Morales-aligned “Evista” and Arce-aligned “Arcista” factions).

France is teaching us a lesson, but what can we truly learn from it?

The following article was published in Rizospastis, the organ of the CC of the KKE, on 26–27 July, 2025: 

First, let’s start with a necessary reminder: A year ago, France held parliamentary elections. Although Le Pen’s “National Rally” received three million more votes (1), the “New Popular Front” (2) won the most seats in the second round. In fact, the New Popular Front lost two million votes between the first and second rounds, by withdrawing its own candidates in many regions and favouring the party of French President E. Macron. Consequently, Macron’s party avoided the resounding defeat predicted by the European election results (3).

Socialist Rhetoric, Capitalist Reality: Why Mamdani’s Victory Won’t Transform the System

By Nathan Richardson*

The June 2025 Democratic primary in New York shocked many on the U.S. left. Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed socialist and member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo to secure the party’s nomination for mayor. Supporters quickly declared the result a major breakthrough for the socialist movement. However, this development is less a victory than it is a reflection of a broader contradiction facing the U.S. left: the attempt to reconcile socialist rhetoric with participation in a party fundamentally loyal to capital.

The Mamdani Moment and the Crisis of the “Left”

On June 24, 2025, Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. His defeat of the Democratic Party old guard Andrew Cuomo has been hailed as a victory for socialism in America. Social media has been flooded with celebration. DSA apparatchiks are gloating. The only real victory was for the illusion that the system can be reformed.

Mamdani is a gifted politician. He has spoken courageously on Palestine, organized tenants and workers into his voting base, and has roots in the popular sectors. However, he is still a part of the machinery of the Democratic Party: a party of landlords, war profiteers, billionaires, the ruling capitalist class. 

Mercosur: The false dispute between progressives and neoliberals

On December 5 and 6, the 65th Summit of Presidents of Mercosur (Southern Common Market) was held in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay. 

The meeting was attended by the presidents of Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia -which recently became a full member of the bloc- and representatives of associated countries such as Colombia, Peru, Chile and Panama.

The attitude of social democracy towards imperialist war

By Ástor García

"But the harder the governments and the bourgeoisie of all countries try to disunite the workers and pit them against one another, and the more savagely they enforce, for this lofty aim, martial law and the military censorship (…), the more pressingly is it the duty of the class-conscious proletariat to defend its class solidarity, its internationalism, and its socialist convictions against the unbridled chauvinism of the “patriotic” bourgeois cliques in all countries"

— The War and Russian Social-Democracy. Lenin.

Maduro’s “anti-fascist” and “anti-imperialist” discourse

By Armiche Padrón*

The diversity of positions before concrete problems on the part of Communist Parties over the last decades is an expression of the worst crisis of the labor movement since it saw the light of day in 1831. The case of the last presidential elections in Venezuela, of course, has also been the object of controversy. More than a few have declared their support for the “victory” of Nicolás Maduro and, without further ado, present it as an “anti-fascist” and “anti-imperialist” triumph. But, what is the nature of Maduro’s discourse?

Military coup in Bolivia: Is a coup d'état in progress?

By Camila Azeñas and Gustavo Baldiviezo*

Taking into account what happened on June 26, in when a group of soldiers was stationed in Murillo Square challenging the government of Luis Arce, it is necessary to review the background, the specific events and the possible objectives of this coup adventure. 

Bolivia is one of the countries that has had the most coups d'état throughout its history, so we believe that an event of this type cannot ignore the workers, nor be subject to trivialization, as has been the case on the part of the of the opposition and groups related to Evo Morales.

Koutsoumbas on French Elections: "The regroupment of the movement in France, Greece and across Europe is the only way that can generate hope to the people"

In a statement (here in Greek) concerning the result of the French legislative elections and the electoral victory of the "New Popular Front" (Nouveau Front Populaire), the General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), Dimitris Koutsoumbas, stresses out:

"(What we are witnessing is) a repetition of the same project, with the protagonists of the anti-popular governments of recent years who have been condemned in the consciousness of the French people, with the only thing being certain is that again - in the name of "democracy" and of the "lesser evil" - will fuel a new vicious cycle of frustrations and conservatism.

"Popular Front" in France: An old, bankrupt story

Article published in "Rizospastis" daily (here in Greek), Organ of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), on 20 June 2024:

"Popular Front" in France: An old, bankrupt story

"The multi-party cooperation established in France under the title “Popular Front” (Front Populaire) in order- as they say- to put obstacles to the election of a far-right Prime Minister, is presented as an example to follow in our country as well.

Venezuela: Maduro's social democratic Government steps up machinations against the Communist Party

The electoral card of the PCV is sequestered by the Government of Maduro

The National Electoral Council (CNE) has presented the ballot card for the presidential elections of next July 28. The face of Nicolás Maduro appears on 13 different cards, that is, one third of those admitted by the electoral body during a process plagued with irregularities and violations to the Constitution and electoral laws.  

Mexico's social democracy exposed: MORENA fanatics attacked Communist Party members

SUMA aggressors in action

Once again, social democracy showed its true, disgustingly anti-communist face. In Mexico, cadres and members of the Communist Party (Partido Comunista - PCM) became targets of a violent attack by supporters of the social democratic MORENA party. 

According to a statement published in El Machete, PCM's official gazette, the incident took place on May 19, during the last presidential debate (Mexico's presidential elections are due to take place on 2 June 2024). With the purpose of denouncing its political exclusion from the electoral process, a delegation of the Communist Party headed by Marco Vinicio Dávila, communist candidate for the Presidency of the Republic, and Ángel Chávez, candidate for Head of Government, staged a protest.

Portugal Elections 2024: Poor performance for the Communist Party, while the far-right rises

Bad news come from Portugal, following March 10 parliamentary elections. The Unitary Democratic Coalition, comprised of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and the Greens, received 3,30% (approximately 203,000 votes), which marks a regression in relation to the 2022 results (4,39% and 236,600 votes).

Unfortunately, it seems that, among others, the Portuguese Communist Party pays the price for its political support – also known as Geringonça - towards the social democratic governments of Antonio Costa in 2015-2019 which cultivated empty promises to the working class but ultimately led to disappointment.