Capitalism is the virus, Socialism is the vaccine!

By Nikos Mottas.

The 2008 global capitalist economic crisis, the effects of which are still visible today, was a tremendous opportunity for the big capitalists to increase their wealth. During a period of ten years, from 2008 to 2018, the number of billionaires was doubled, like their profits. It has been proved that the crisis generates more capitalists.

The Coronavirus pandemic, which has plagued the world since the beginning of 2020, comes to confirm that capitalist barbarity “feeds” from the people's death, poverty, impoverishment and exploitation. The recent report by Forbes is revealing: 

Russia: Joseph Stalin's birth anniversary was honored in Moscow

In a simple but highly symbolic event in Moscow's Red Square, men and women, workers, members and friends of Communist Parties and Youths honored today the 142nd birth anniversary of Joseph Stalin, 

Holding red banners and portraits of the Soviet leader, the participants laid flowers to the tomb of Stalin in the Kremlin Necropolis. At the end of the ceremony, a statement to the reporters was delivered by the Chairman of the CC of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) Gennady Zyuganov.

Reaganomics Exposed: Keeping tax low for the rich doesn't boost economy, new research says

The so-called Reaganomics will be remembered by the people as a set of cruel, anti-worker economic policies in favor of the big capital, associated with supply-side theories and eliminating and restrictions on the free-market economy. 

The economic policy that U.S. President Ronald Reagan advocated for pushed for lower taxes for the wealthy and less business regulation by the government. The idea was that showering the rich with even more money would - supposedly - result in a greater supply of services and goods, at lower prices, and an increase in employment.

10 years after the illusion of the "Arab Spring"

It was like yesterday, 10 years ago, when an event that took place in Tunisia was to go down in history. It was the self-immolation, out of desperation, of young fruit seller Mohamed Bouazizi outside the local governor's office at the small town of Sidi Bouzid. It was an act which marked a wave of protests that the bourgeoisie named “Arab Spring” and which continued in Northern African countries, Libya, Egypt and crossed into Syria. In fact, opportunist forces, like SYRIZA in our country, talked about a “popular revolution”. 

WHY does the EU refuse to disclose COVID-19 vaccine contracts with pharmaceutical companies?

The European Union has officially declined to disclose the contracts with the pharmaceutical companies over the COVID-19 vaccines thus violating the right of the people to full transparency about issues directly related with their safety and health.

As 902 portal reported, the EU Parliament group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) raised the issue during the discussion for “EU's vaccination strategy against COVID-19” in the Parliament's Plenary. In his intervention, KKE MEP Kostas Papadakis asked from the Commission to publish the contracts between the EU and Pharmaceutical industries concerning the COVID-19 vaccines. 

Kerala: Communist-backed LDF alliance wins landslide victory in local body elections

As counting of votes in the local body elections in the Indian state of Kerala is inching towards the final lap, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) has gained a clear edge in village, block, district panchayats, municipal and corporation councils. 

The LDF, which had won a majority of local bodies in 2015, is poised to either retain its existing numbers or improve its tally further.  

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that it will be a historic election and the Left Democratic Front will win seats even in areas which have not been its strongholds earlier. 

KKE: Greek government's 2021 state budget is a "monument of unpopularity"

The 2021 state budget submitted by the conservative New Democracy (ND) government is a "monument of unpopularity against the working people", said the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas during a speech in the Parliament. 

Koutsoumbas strongly denounced the policies of the government during the pandemic, adding that the measures announced aim at strengthening the capital at the expense of the workers and people's rights. The KKE General Secretary pointed out that ND, opposition party SYRIZA and all the other bourgeois parties in the parliament are "strategically aligned" in the same policy, despite minor differences. 

Questo è il capitalismo: Queues form outside Milan food banks as capitalist crisis deepens

The scenes you are going to see are from Milan, the industrial, commercial and financial center of Northern Italy and one of the Europe's wealthiest cities. Hosting a significant number of large multinational groups (e.g. Amazon, Apple, Coca Cola, HP, Huawei, IBM, Microsoft, Nestle, Samsung, Siemens, Vodafone, Whirpool, etc), Milan has in terms of GDP the second-largest economy in the EU after Paris.

But behind the impressive facade of capitalist growth, there is another Milan which reflects the deepening class inequalities and the results of long-time policies by the bourgeois Italian governments and the European Union. 

Teleconference of the Parties of the European Communist Initiative: "The necessity of Socialism is highlighted every day"

A Teleconference of the full Plenum of the European Communist Initiative (ECI) parties took place on Sunday 13 December.

The following parties participated in the Teleconference: Party of Labour of Austria, Union of Communists in Bulgaria, Socialist Workers' Party of Croatia, Communist Party in Denmark, Communist Workers' Party - For Peace and Socialism (Finland), Communist Revolutionary Party of France, Pole for the Communist Revival in France, Unified Communist Party of Georgia, Communist Party of Greece, Hungarian Workers' Party, Communist Party, Italy, Socialist Party of Latvia, Communist Party of Norway, Communist Party of Poland, Russian Communist Workers Party, Communist Party of the Workers of Spain, Communist Party of Sweden, Communist Party of Turkey, Union of Communists of Ukraine.

EU's stance is a 'green light' for Turkish aggression: Statement by KKE General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas

The outcome of the recent EU Council and its failure to adopt sanctions against Turkey was sharply criticized by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). After hours of decisions, the EU leaders proceeded to the usual verbal condemnations of Ankara's aggression in Eastern Mediterranean but deferred decisions on trade tariffs or arms embargo until they have consultations with the US President-elect Joe Biden and his administration. 

In Athens, the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE Dimitris Koutsoumbas made the following statement:

Who will pay for the crisis? Lufthansa receives $10 billion state bailout and cuts 30,000 jobs

On November 14th we were writing that at least 90,000 people will lose their job by the end of December as a result of mass layoffs by major U.S. airline companies. Aviation giants, such as United Airlines and American Airlines laid off 32,000 workers last October in an attempt to blackmail the U.S. government for higher subsidies.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a serious impact on the aviation industry due to travel restrictions and a significant slump in demand among travellers. No travellers means less profits for the big airliners. In order to reduce losses, the monopolies of aviation proceed to a series of anti-labor measures, including pay cuts, furloughs and, of course, layoffs. 

Polish government's plan to outlaw the Communist Party shall not pass!

By Nikos Mottas.

It's been a long time since Poland, under the far-right government of Andrzej Duda, is driven into a very dangerous, anti-democratic path. With the EU's tolerance, or even encouragement, the authorities of Poland have unleased a persistent “witch-hunt” against the country's communists.

We have many times referred to the persecutions and legal proceedings against the Communist Party (KPP) and its newspaper “Bzrask”. Communist and Workers' Parties across Europe and the world, such as the KKE, have undertaken numerous initiatives in the international forums (e.g. EU Parliament) about these anti-communist persecutions and restrictions imposed by the Polish government. 

Venezuela Elections 2020: The Communist Party (PCV) is back in the National Assembly!

The parliamentary election in Venezuela is over, the people voted and the Communist Party (PCV) is back in National Assembly! Despite facing censorship and blockade by the media, the electoral alliance “Popular Revolutionary Alternative” (APR), backed by the PCV and other political groups, received 2.75% of the votes.

The Communist Party will be represented in the National Assembly by its General Secretary Oscar Figuera who has been elected a deputy.

With a low turnout of 30.5% of eligible voters, Nicolas Maduro's social democratic United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and its allies swept the December 6th parliamentary elections and regained control of the National Assembly. According to the National Electoral Council, the PSUV-lead “Great Patriotic Pole” alliance has gained 68% of the votes and is projected to win at least 189 of the 277-seat assembly. 

John Lennon's Communist Manifesto

John Lennon, the legendary English co-lead singer of The Beatles and one of the most popular songwriters of the 20th century, was murdered 40 years ago, on December 8th, 1980 in New York City.

A vocal opponent of the Vietnam War and a sharp critic of British government's crimes in Northern Ireland, Lennon expressed himself politically through some extraordinary songs. Among these are “Give Peace a Chance”, “Working Class Hero” and “Imagine”. 

India: Communist Party member stabbed to death by right-wing criminals in Kerala

A 52-year-old activist of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was stabbed to death in Kollam district, in the Indian state of Kerala, on Monday 7 December. According to local CPI(M) leaders, the murderers belong to the nationalist, right-wing RSS paramilitary organization.

This is the fourth CPI(M) worker murdered in the state in the last four months.

CPI(M) state secretary in-charge A Vijayaraghavan said the killing was an attempt to disrupt peace ahead of polling for the first phase of today's local body elections.