Richard Burgon, left-wing Labour MP for Leeds East, is standing to be deputy leader of the party. With the contest in full-swing, Burgon has already secured his place on the ballot, thanks to the support of dozens of CLPs, alongside the backing of unions such as Unite, the Fire Brigades Union, and the Bakers’ and Food Workers’ Union (BFAWU). We publish a recent interview with Burgon that appeared in the British Marxist newspaper, Socialist Appeal.

The ballot has opened for the Labour leadership contest. Keir Starmer is currently the favourite, based on an opportunistic campaign with hollow promises of ‘unity’ and ‘electability’. Members must not be fooled by this right-wing Trojan Horse.

At the end of January 2019, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó proclaimed himself the president of the country as part of a US-led attempt at regime change. We publish here two interviews with members of the Marxist Tendency Lucha de Clases (Class Struggle), which describe the current situation in Venezuela and the perspectives for the Bolivarian Revolution.

On 9 February, the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, militarised parliament. Only days before, he called for an insurrection of the people using Article 87 of the constitution, which sanctions insurrection when the constitutional order has been disrupted. These actions mark a turning point in the recent history of the country.

A worker in Lahore was murdered last week by thugs on the payroll of Ravi Autos, following protests against illegal layoffs and low pay. The Red Workers’ Front has issued this statement of solidarity with the workers, and condemnation of this brutal capitalist crime.

Members of the indigenous Wet’suwet’en Nation and their supporters are locked in struggle over a planned pipeline to be built through their territory. As explained here, the full force of the Canadian state has been brought to bear against the protesters. The following article explores Wet’suwet’en struggle, the mood of anger it has tapped into, the protest movement it has provoked, and the way forward. 

The full weight of the Canadian state is coming down on the Indigenous people of the Wet’suwet’en Nation in northern British Columbia, along with their supporters. On Jan. 13, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) began their attack by setting up a roadblock on Wet’suwet’en territory, blocking the entrance for the population of the territory, the media, and food supplies. The Canadian government sent them to defend an injunction prohibiting interference with the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline on unceded Wet’suwet’en territory. The situation escalated on Feb. 6 when the RCMP raided one of the land defenders’ camps, arresting six Indigenous activists. At the time of

I have just heard the sad news of the death of Tanvir Gondal, a dear friend and comrade of mine. Although he had been ill with cancer for some time, the news of his death was nevertheless a cruel blow.

In his article entitled 'Long Economic Cycles', Kondratiev argued that, in addition to the normal trade cycle of capitalism of between seven and eleven years, there existed longer cycles, the average duration of which was fifty years. He concluded that the capitalist system passes through "long waves", in which each downswing is followed by an upswing which can last for decades. It is this latter assertion that was rebutted by Trotsky. And though it has regularly made its reappearance, enjoying a temporarily fashionable status, it has no solid basis either in fact or in theory. In this article, originally published in 2000, Alan Woods explains why.

In the year 2000 we published this article by Leon Trotsky on capitalist development. The purpose then was to underline the fact that although capitalism was experiencing a boom, the period we had entered was actually one of overall capitalist decline. As we explained in the introduction “Rather than a new upswing, capitalism is heading for a new slump and a downward curve of development similar to the interwar period.” This was confirmed by the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent events. We are republishing it as an aid to understanding the period we have been through and where we are going.

Ben Curry (writer for Socialist Appeal in Britain) reviews Peter Hadden’s book on the history of the class struggle in Ireland, and asks: how should Marxists approach the national question?

A sharpening of tensions between Greece and Turkey reflects both the ruling classes of these nations attempting to get a bigger share of the oil and gas under the Eastern Mediterranean and the changed balance of power between the two countries. The labour movement of Greece and Turkey need to stand firmly against any warmongering or nationalist division and engage in united struggle for a socialist transformation of society!

This year's national conference of the Marxist Student Federation in London was the biggest and best yet. The mood was electric and enthusiastic, as student activists from across the country met to discuss the revolutionary events taking place across the world.

The ballot for the Labour leadership contest opens this week. Rebecca Long-Bailey and Richard Burgon are the clear candidates of the left for leader and deputy respectively. But to beat their right-wing rivals, they must mobilise grassroots members around bold socialist demands.

The annual Montreal Marxist Winter School was a resounding success, once again breaking the participation record. More than 250 people registered for the school, which took place on the weekend of February 15-16 and marked the 10th anniversary of this yearly event. People came from all over Canada and the United States to participate in what has become the largest Marxist gathering in Canada.