The fall of the Draghi government in Italy has resulted in snap elections being called for 25 September. While panic abounds about the inevitable victory of a right-wing coalition led by Meloni’s “Brothers of Italy” party, the fact is that workers and youth have few illusions that a change at the top will improve their situation, which has become increasingly desperate. A lack of leadership from the left and trade union tops means workers will have to take the fight to defend their wages and conditions to the streets. Almighty class struggle is implicit in this situation.

This article was written on 23 July, just a few days after the collapse of the Draghi government. Italy is heading towards a parliamentary election, scheduled for 25 September. For the latest analysis by our Italian comrades on the attitude of the Marxists towards the election, click here.

The results of a plebiscite on a proposed new Chilean constitution, resulting from the Constituent Convention, show a large majority (62 percent) voted to reject. This result is even worse than the polls predicted. It is necessary to explain why this has happened.

Pakistan has been ravaged by floods and torrential rains, while the ruling class continues to loot and plunder the impoverished masses at this time of distress and disaster. According to reports, around one third of the country has been devastated by the floods and rains of the last three months, while 33 million people have been affected. Around 1,400 have died, and around 4,000 injuries have been reported according to official figures. According to the recent reports 482,030 people have been displaced while 372,823 buildings have been destroyed.

On Saturday (3 September), between 70,000 and 100,000 people gathered in Wenceslas Square in Prague, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s right-wing coalition government; among other demands opposing the cost of living crisis and Czech involvement in NATO’s proxy war with Russia.

Liz Truss has won the Tory leadership race, becoming Britain’s latest prime minister. She will inherit an array of crises: from soaring energy prices and ‘stagflation’, to a rising tide of industrial action. Revolutionary explosions impend.

We are excited to announce the launch of this year's Revolution Festival – a weekend of revolutionary theory hosted by Socialist Appeal, the British section of the International Marxist Tendency. With 32 amazing talks on Marxist ideas, and hundreds attending, this is the event for all those looking to get organised in the fight for revolution. Get your ticket today!

On 4 May 1926 a general strike began in Britain. But after nine inspiring days, the strike was betrayed by the trade union leaders, who were given a left cover by the Stalinists. Ben Gliniecki examines the lessons of these events.

Every day brings ever-worsening forecasts of disaster for ordinary people, as bills rise and vulnerable families are pushed into fuel poverty. Whilst millions freeze, energy bosses are raking in mega-profits. We say: expropriate the billionaires!

Biden’s presidency has been a disaster, a reflection of the crisis-ridden system he represents. His approval rating currently stands at a mere 41%—up ever so slightly from a record low of 38%. Congress, which is controlled by Biden’s party, has a 17% approval rate. Another poll says 74% of the country believe it is on the wrong track. These are not good numbers for the November 2022 midterms elections if the Democrats want to retain control—even as they cynically attempt to harness anger over Roe v. Wade to gain votes. All of this is very concerning

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union, died yesterday at the age of 91. His policies of reforming the USSR ‘from above’, under the banner of glasnost and perestroika, represented an abortive attempt to maintain the privileges of the Stalinist bureaucracy, while also breaking through some of the worst logjams in the Soviet economy. The inevitable failure of these measures opened up the door for the restoration of capitalism in Russia, the destruction of the planned economy, and the impoverishment of millions. This disaster is Gorbachev’s legacy.

On Thursday 25 August, Old San Juan was engulfed in tear gas as units of Puerto Rican riot police once again brutally suppressed a protest opposite the Governor’s Palace. The protest’s main demand was the cancellation of the contract privatising the transmission and distribution of power. This week, the population’s anger against the privatised company, LUMA, came to a head following a series of events which have demonstrated the incompetence of the subsidiary of the multinational Quanta Services and ATCO in effectively managing the electrical infrastructure.

A two-day Marxist School was held in Rawlakot, Kashmir on 6-7 August. It was the most successful Marxist School ever organised by the Progressive Youth Alliance (PYA), with more than 200 students, youth, workers and political activists participating from Karachi to Peshawar, and Baluchistan to Kashmir.

On Wednesday, thousands of workers of the labour federations SAFTU and Cosatu took to the streets across South Africa to protest against the massive cost of living crisis, which has hit the working class and poor people especially hard.

Tiff Macklem, the governor of the Bank of Canada, recently told businesses that it was their duty to attack the living standards of workers for the sake of inflation. Despite the fact the corporations are making record profits, and there is absolutely zero evidence linking wages to inflation, Canada’s top banker insisted that workers must be forced to suffer. There can be no better evidence that capitalism is an anti-worker system and that workers must fight for its overthrow.