When the Spanish arrived in the Americas 500 years ago, they encountered diverse cultures across the continent, including powerful civilisations such as the Mexica and the Incas. This article, first published in issue 40 of In Defence of Marxism magazine (click here to subscribe), takes a look at the material foundations of these rich cultures, their internal contradictions, as well as the conditions of contemporary Spain itself at the time of the conquest. Only by understanding these conditions can we in turn understand the devastation that the conquest wrought, and the wider role of these events in the ascent of

The news that Evergrande has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States has sounded the final death knell for China’s real estate industries. A series of corporate defaults, a recession in the real estate market, soaring unemployment and a rapid decline in people's consumption have debunked the ruling Communist Party of China (CCP) regime’s fraudulent claims of a “strong economic recovery” in China.

The Mediterranean might be a paradise for holidaymakers, but it is simultaneously a graveyard, where at least 27,000 migrants have died in attempted border crossings since records began in 2014. A new EU deal is being touted as the best chance for a more ‘structured’ approach to this ‘problem’: distributing migrants more evenly across the continent. In reality, it will do nothing to alleviate the nightmare, and merely balances the reactionary interests of European powers.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, 12 military officers appeared on Gabon’s national television to announce they had cancelled the results of the latest elections, dissolved all state institutions, and closed the country’s borders. This latest military coup against a puppet of French imperialism continues a process that has already seen seizures of power in a number of African countries, including Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

A huge workers’ rally marched from Hospital Chowrangi to Dawood Chowrangi in Landhi, an industrial area of Karachi, under the banner of Red Workers’ Front, to demand higher wages in the face of grinding poverty and sky-high inflation.

Capitalist politicians are increasingly wrapping-up austerity measures in ‘green’ packaging – provoking a backlash amongst ordinary people, and polarising the working class. This article was originally published by our comrades in Britain in the wake of the expansion of London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which penalises thousands of working-class commuters in the name of protecting the environment.

The editorial board of marxy.com is proud to announce the publication of issue 12 of ‘Freedom and Communism’, the Arabic-language magazine of the International Marxist Tendency. Click here to read the whole issue in Arabic online.

The failure of Ukraine’s counter-offensive has brought to the fore all the contradictions in the Ukrainian war effort. Disaffection is spreading in the army and among civilians, while at the same time Ukraine’s western allies are getting cold feet and starting to talk about negotiations.

When the news of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s demise hit the headlines yesterday, the usual pundits appeared on our television screens with the alacrity of a flock of vultures, anxious to pick over the bones of a dead animal in the African savannah.

The following document was passed at the 2023 World Congress of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT). Here, we offer our perspective and analysis of the main trends that are shaping world politics and the class struggle in this dramatic period of capitalism’s death agony.

A damning new investigation accuses Saudi Arabia of deliberately slaughtering hundreds of migrants attempting to cross the Saudi-Yemeni border over the past 12 months. The 73-page report, based on extensive eyewitness testimony and expert analysis of satellite imagery, as well as footage of injuries, lists a litany of allegations against Saudi border guards. It describes them as having “used explosive weapons and shot people at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic”. 

21 August marks the anniversary of Leon Trotsky's death, following an attack by a GPU agent, on the orders of Stalin. This article by Alan Woods, commemorating Trotsky, was originally published in the year 2000. We share it today in memory of a revolutionary titan whose work and sacrifices preserved the authentic traditions of Marxism and Bolshevism for future generations. 

We republish here an account by Sieva 'Esteban' Volkov, Leon Trotsky's grandson, who was present at Coyoacán, Mexico when Trotsky was struck down by a GPU agent on 20 August 1940, passing away the following day. Volkov himself sadly passed away earlier this year, severing one of the last living links to the outstanding revolutionary who, along with Lenin, led the Russian working class to victory in the October Revolution of 1917. Read our editor-in-chief Alan Woods' tribute to Volkov here.

The world has reached a turning point: now is the time of revolutions and counter-revolutions. It has never been more important for Marxists to understand the economic and social processes happening all around us. We publish here the transcript and video of a talk given by Alan Woods at the recent World Congress of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT). Alan gives a detailed account of the current world situation, from the war in Ukraine to the ...

Since the start of the pandemic, Singapore has seen an unprecedented level of capital inflow. More than $400 billion SGD (nearly $300 billion USD) in capital flowed into the country in 2021 alone. The capitalists of the region and beyond sense the coming economic crisis and accompanying political and social turmoil and are betting big on Singapore to be the safe harbour to ride out the storm. However, the crisis of capitalism on a world scale will only worsen, and the capitalists will find that