The Revolutionary Communist International protests the arrest of the leaders of the Awaami Action Committee Gilgit Baltistan (AAC-GB) and of the Inqalabi Communist Party by police in Pakistan. We send our solidarity to the arrested comrades, who are facing repression for opposing the plunder of the land and resources of the region by the capitalists and imperialists. We call upon the labour movement internationally and all of our readers to protest this blatant act of repression.

“This land belongs only to the people of Israel. All of Gaza, all of Lebanon should be cleansed of these camel riders.” This chilling speech, delivered by an ultranationalist rabbi at a meeting overlooking the war-torn Gaza Strip, is just one example of the genocidal fervour expressed freely and with impunity by Zionist settlers in Louis Theroux’s latest documentary.

War between India and Pakistan. Revolutionary crisis in Serbia. Escalation of the genocide in Gaza. These are just a few of the mighty events piling up on one another at a breathtaking pace. Against the Stream is here to help revolutionaries navigate these tumultuous events.

The first congress of the Revolutionary Communist Collective (CCR) took place from 10 to 11 May in Lisbon. Over the weekend, around twenty communists from different regions of Portugal, half a dozen sympathisers, and three international guests participated in the various sessions. After two years of growth and development, the congress elevated the CCR to a higher level, tightening its organisation and raising its level of political understanding.

“Trotsky said long ago that unification is impossible. Trotsky understood this and from that time on there has been no better Bolshevik.” Vladimir Lenin delivered this statement to the Bolshevik Petrograd Committee on 1 November 1917 (Old Style).

On 3 and 4 May, members of the Revolucionarni Komunistički Savez (Revolutionary Communist League, RCL) met in Zagreb for this year’s congress. Delegates from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia were present as members of the Yugoslav section of the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI). They were joined by guests from Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, Britain, and Kosovo.

We are delighted to present brand new translations of three classic Marxist texts (Socialism: Utopian and Scientificby Engels, as well as What is to be Done?and Socialism and War by Lenin) in modern Azerbaijani. These were sent to us by a sympathetic group of Marxists in Azerbaijan, and we are making them available online for the first time!

What an embarrassment for Fritze Merz! For the first time in the history of the Federal Republic, an incoming German Chancellor has failed to be elected by the Bundestag, despite having signed a coalition agreement to gain a majority. This is embarrassing for Merz and an omen for his crisis-ridden government.

The first months of this year have posed very important challenges for the current Mexican government and also for the class struggle. The arrival of Trump is shaking the government and accelerating the contradictions inherent in reformism. Added to this is a wave of mobilisations led by the teachers of the CNTE union in Zacatecas and Chapingo against attacks on their pensions. Likewise, tensions in schools are also rising over the demand for subsidised canteens for the students.

In 1965, India and Pakistan went to war over Kashmir. The 17-day conflict resulted in thousands of deaths and a victory for the Indian ruling class. But it failed to resolve any of the underlying problems and, in particular, the question of the occupied and partitioned state of Kashmir. In the decades since, these frictions have driven India and Pakistan to war again and again.

India and Pakistan have been at war yet again. There is no sharper test of a party, its programme and ideas than the questions of war and revolution.

On 22 April, terrorists attacked the Pahalgam District's Baisaran Valley in occupied Kashmir, killing 26 defenceless people. The Modi government has used this heinous crime, which it has helped to provoke with its oppressive sectarian agenda, as an excuse to launch airstrikes on Pakistan-administered Kashmir, raising the spectre of a military conflict between two nuclear-armed states.

Wellred Books’ latest title Democracy, Bonapartism & Fascism: Class Struggle in the 1930s is out now! We publish below the introduction, written by Niklas Albin Svensson, which explains the invaluable theoretical lessons of this collection of writings by Leon Trotsky and Ted Grant.

We are living through a difficult period for traditional, establishment politicians. In country after country, renegade gangs of populists, demagogues and mavericks are challenging the old liberal elite for power, with increasing success. As the masses’ confidence in the liberals rightly crumbles, across the world the vacuum has been filled by the likes of Farage, Le Pen, Meloni and, of course, Donald Trump.

The second congress of the RCP was an electric event, like none other – rich in political understanding, revolutionary enthusiasm, and infectious confidence. There has never been a better time to get organised and join the communists!