Lula da Silva: Brazil's sinful social democracy is back

Brazil's former social democrat president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated far-right incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro in Sunday's runoff and was thus elected head of state for the third time, confirmed the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).

"Election mathematically defined (elected)," the agency indicated on its website, noting that, with 99.98 percent of the centers counted, Lula is left with 50.90 percent of the votes against 49.10 percent for Bolsonaro. 

Brazil: Is social democracy the solution for the people?

By Nikos Mottas.

After four years of far-right Bolsonaro government, the old known social democracy is back in Brazil. Lula da Silva's electoral victory consists the culmination of social democracy's recent resurgence in Latin America, following the rise of Lopez Obrador in Mexico, Gabriel Boric in Chile and Gustavo Petro in Colombia.

Once again, opportunist left-wing forces will celebrate the victory of Lula da Silva, presenting it as a political triumph that will allegedly bring positive developments for the Brazilian working class and the popular strata. Without doubt, Bolsonaro's defeat would be positive news, but the major question that arises is the following: Does social democracy provide a real alternative solution to the dominance of the capital in Brazil? 

Sweden's Communist Party condemns the extradition of Kurdish fighters to Turkey

In a statement published in its official gazette “Riktpunkt” (here in Swedish), the Communist Party of Sweden (SKP) condemns the extradition of Kurdish fighters from Sweden to Turkey. The SKP also reiterates its strong opposition to Sweden's accession in NATO.

“In their effort to join NATO, Sweden's bourgeoisie and its social democratic government reject everything related to human rights. Sweden's social democratic government entered into a deplorable agreement with Turkey to extradite Kurdish communists and other fighters who have lived in Sweden for years and received asylum to escape Turkey's oppression and death threats”, points out the SKP. 

Swedish Communists blast Sweden-Turkey agreement over NATO

Swedish PM M. Andersson and Turkish President R.T. Erdogan.

After extensive bargaining within the imperialist NATO alliance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped weeks of resistance to Sweden and Finland’s ambitions to join NATO at talks on Tuesday ahead of the NATO summit  in Madrid, Spain. 

Erdogan emerged from the meeting with Nordic leaders having secured a 10-point agreement under which the two countries vowed to join Turkey’s fight against banned armed groups, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and to swiftly extradite suspects to Turkey.

Communist Party of Mexico: Democratic capitalism is no solution for the Colombian, Latin American people

Commenting on the electoral victory of social democrat Gustavo Petro in Colombia, the Communist Party of Mexico (PCM) stresses out that “democratic capitalism” does not provide a solution to the problems of the Colombian people, nor for the people of Latin America.

In a statement, the PCM points out that, despite their electoral defeat, the most reactionary and criminal forces of the Colombian bourgeoisie are still owners of the capital and land.

Gustavo Petro, Jean-Luc Mélenchon and the fairytale of “left governments”

By Nikos Mottas.

The same old fairytale of “left-progressive governments” is back in the news following the electoral victory of social democrat Gustavo Petro in Colombia, as well as the performance of leftist Jean-Luc Mélenchon in French parliamentary elections.

As it happened last December with Gabriel Boric' victory in Chile, a number of left-wing, opportunist forces in Greece and abroad celebrate the recent results, presenting them as a “triumph of the left” which can allegedly bring positive developments for the working people. 

On Sweden and NATO: Interview of SKP leader Andreas Sörensen in Evrensel

Andreas Sörensen, the chairman of the Communist Party of Sweden (SKP), was interviewed by the left-wing Turkish newspaper "Evrensel" on the issue of Sweden's accession to NATO. Read below the text of the interview:

— "What is your approach to Sweden's (and Finland if you'd like to comment also) NATO membership process? Why are you against it?

— As communists, we oppose the strengthening of every imperialist alliance. This applies to NATO as well, in particular as it is the strongest imperialist alliance in the contemporary world. 

Communists save Sweden's dignity — “NO to NATO membership!”

The government of Sweden has formally submitted the application to join the imperialist alliance of NATO. In a ceremony held on Wednesday 18 May in Brussels, the Swedish ambassador to NATO Axel Wernhoff handed over the application to the organization's General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg.

While the Swedish government, the ruling Social Democratic party and the other bourgeois forces have been completely surrendered to the sirens of imperialism, it is important to underline the stance of those who, firmly and consistently, say NO to the country's NATO membership: The Communist Party (SKP).

Sweden's Communist Party slams Social Democrats over NATO bid

The Communist Party of Sweden (SKP) condemn the decision of the ruling Social Democratic Party to back the country's membership in NATO. In a comment published in SKP's official gazette “Riktpunkt”, the Communists remind that by accepting Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic imperialist alliance, the Social Democrats actually violate the decisions of their own Congress.

On Sunday, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced that Stockholm will seek broad support for an application to join NATO, after her party dropped its long-standing opposition to membership. 

KKE responds to Paul Mason's slanderous remarks

Comment of the International Relations Section of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) about the slanderous remarks made by British journalist Paul Mason in the Danish newspaper "Information":

Love for the EU and NATO can make you blind...

"The international mouthpieces of social democracy seem to be working under the most adverse of circumstances. Among them is Paul Mason, member of the Labour Party in the UK, former Corbyn’s errand boy, writer, and former journalist, who decided to address the issue of the “European Left” in his article published in the broadsheet newspaper “Information” in Denmark.

Oskar Lafontaine resigns from Die Linke

Oskar Lafontaine, one of Germany's prominent social democratic politicians, has left Die Linke, the party he co-founded in 2007. 

 

“I wanted there to be a left-wing alternative to the politics of social insecurity and inequality on the political spectrum, which is why I co-founded Die Linke. Today's left has given up that claim” the 78-year-old politician announced on Thursday in Saarbrücken.

According to Lafontaine, the background is “the gradual change in the political profile of the left” from 2015. It has become a party “in which the interests of employees and pensioners and a foreign policy based on international law and peace are no longer the focus”. 

War and the dirty role of social democracy

From left to right: Olaf Scholz, Alexis Tsipras, Pedro Sanchez.

The following article is based on a piece published in the weekend edition (5-6 March, 2022) of "Rizospastis", the daily newspaper of the CC of KKE, under the title "Social democracy's dirty job in times of war":

“If you had picked up the phone to call the party leaders, I might have told you my opinion, but not now after the fact, like the other political leaders. I would tell you that it would be better to send humanitarian aid, it would be better to send non-lethal equipment, like Spain and Italy did”.