We publish here a translation of the resolution launching the People’s Assembly passed yesterday in El Alto (Bolivia) at a meeting of about 150 people representing 60 different organisations. The meaning of this cannot be underestimated. It is a first step towards the creation of an organisation of workers’ power.

A message of support to the Bolivian people from the editorial board of Socialist Appeal.

The revolutionary crisis that has gripped Bolivia for the last three weeks has reached new heights. Last week ended with the parliament unable to start its sessions, torn apart by the class war that divides the country. The revolutionary movement of workers and peasants has increased in strength, its national spread has broadened and it has radicalised its political positions, now clearly challenging bourgeois democracy.

On Tuesday, May 31 a series of marches and demonstrations with people numbering in the tens of thousands surrounded the Bolivian Parliament. On the third week of protests, demonstrations and roadblocks, as many as 100,000 workers, miners, peasants, the people of El Alto, and teachers, etc. vented their anger in central La Paz.

It has now been two weeks since I landed in Caracas, the capital of insurgent Venezuela. The maelstrom of events that I have witnessed, both big and small, typical of a revolutionary process, are really fascinating. It is not something you only see in the streets, read in the newspapers, or see on the walls of the city, but something you feel. The whole atmosphere in the city is impregnated with this spirit. The revolutionary spirit, a spirit that knows all kinds of ups and downs, is still intact but seems to be of a different nature than a few years ago. The revolutionary movement was then in its infancy, and went hand in hand with limitless euphoria. Today this revolutionary fervour

On Monday, May 16th a new wave of mobilisations of Bolivian workers and peasants broke out, which is increasingly raising the question of power once again. The Bolivian masses are revealing an unprecedented level of revolutionary determination to see the struggle through to the end.

Bush has outlined an aggressive foreign and domestic agenda for his second term. Internationally, he will continue to focus on the Middle East, but Latin America will increasingly be targeted by his administration. His overall international approach will remain aggressive and arrogant, but due to the quagmire in Iraq and the growing global resistance to U.S. imperialism, he will be forced to seek broader alliances.

“Socialism advances, capitalism retreats!” “Workers’ councils now!”, “For a decent wage!”, “Oil workers demand a decent contract!”, “Co-management is revolution”. These were some of the slogans which show the class struggle, militant and revolutionary mood of the enormous workers’ demonstration on May Day in Caracas. Hundreds of thousands of workers from all over the country assembled in the Avenida Nueva Granada, where La Bandera coach station is situated, to march to Avenida Urdaneta. This May Day celebration was marked by an upbeat mood in the working class, with the recent victories at Venepal (now Invepal), CNV (now Inveval), Arichuna, and the growing mobilisation in companies such

Over the last few years, the class struggle in Québec has passed several milestones that had not been approached in the previous 30 years. The Parti Québecois, camouflaging their programme in nationalist rhetoric, pursued austerity measures and anti-worker policies for years. Despite the claims of the bourgeois media, the defeat of the PQ in 2003 was a reaction to its attacks on the working class rather than a rejection of separatism, or a victory of federalist policies. The issues that brought down the PQ remained unaddressed by the Liberal administration under Charest, and a renewed wave of reactionary policies were savagely affected a few short months after its election. Without the

Without any doubt, today will be an unforgettable day for the brand-new INVEVAL (ex-CNV) workers. It was a day that started very early when the workers and their guests gathered at the factory awaiting the buses which would take us to the Miraflores Palace. As we waited we joked and drank coffee.

More than 1.2 million people took to the streets of Mexico City on Sunday April 24 in the so-called “March of Silence” to protest against the politically motivated case against Mexico City’s mayor, Lopez Obrador. The attacks against him have backfired on Vincente Fox and the Mexican ruling class, and the balance of forces is now tipped heavily in favour of Lopez Obrador and the mass movement.

The continuing revelations of the Gomery inquiry have unearthed the corruption in Canada’s “democratic” system. Canadians are getting sick of stories of government money being used for kickbacks to the Federal Liberal party. However, the collapse in support for the Liberals has not resulted in any major enthusiasm for the opposition Conservatives. The common opinion is that all politicians are corrupt. This reflects the crowing crisis in the ability of the capitalist parties to rule. Such swindles are seen as a cost of doing business under the present political system. Canadian voters are wishing a plague on both the Liberal and Conservative Houses. If the NDP is going to avoid being