As the General Election approaches, there is little enthusiasm amongst ordinary people for any of the main parties and the programme of austerity that they share. Meanwhile, the mood amongst the ruling class worldwide is one of deep pessimism, as the global economy splutters and stagnates and the Establishment lurches from one scandal to another.

There was a brilliant mood on the second day of the congress. Despite two big bomb blasts in Lahore on the same day, the comrades attending the congress of The Struggle refused to be intimidated.

On Saturday 14th March, the 34th annual congress of The Struggle, the Pakistan section of the International Marxist tendency commenced its proceedings in Lahore. This was yet another milestone in the growth and development of the forces of Marxism in Pakistan. The congress opened with a tremendous display of enthusiasm as comrades from all over Pakistan crowded into the large hall of the Aiwan-e-Iqbal building in the centre of Lahore.

The rise of SYRIZA to power – a veritable political earthquake – has opened up a new period in the class struggle, not only in Greece but the whole of Europe. Which way the SYRIZA government will go in the coming months will affect all the European Left.

Over the winter the Canadian Marxist organisation, Fightback,  has been organizing a solidarity campaign to acquire our first office. We are very proud to announce that, due to the amazing outpouring of support we received, we were able to move into an excellent location on 1st January. We want to thank all our readers and supporters, everybody who took out a solidarity subscription, or gave a donation in cash or in kind, for making this possible.

Over 150 comrades, from 25 different cities, gathered at the “El Pueblo” Arci Circle in Milan on 6-8 December for the national conference of [Left-wing, Working class and Revolution], the name that the comrades of the IMT in Italy agreed upon during the proceedings. It was a relaunch of the organisation, and there could be no better time for it! After years of relative calm, the Italian working class is reawakening, and along with it the class struggle.

The recent campaign to launch the new edition of Felix Morrow’s Marxist classic on the Spanish Revolution of the 1930s Revolution and Counterrevolution in Spain, just published by Lucha de Clases (Class Struggle), was a great success. Around 300 people attended the launch events organized in three cities (Madrid, Malaga and Vitoria) to hear Alan Woods speak.

Over 200 attendees from across the UK and Europe met in London over the weekend of 31^st October – 2^nd November to take part in the highly successful and incredibly inspiring Marxist Winter School 2014, organised by the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) and hosted by the UCLU and SOAS Marxist societies.

2014 marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the First International by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels - the first attempt to create a revolutionary international organisation.

On 24-25  September, the central convention of the Jammu Kashmir National Students Federation was organized in Muzaffarabad. The anniversary of the assassination by reactionary forces of the former general secretary of the JKNSF, comrade Fahim Akram, was also commemorated on the occasion. Overall 3000 attended the various session of the convention.

Last weekend the fifth Marxist autumn school of the Swiss section of the International Marxist Tendency, der Funke, took place in Nidau, Biel. Being for the first time in our history a bilingual as well as a two-day school, this event is a big step forward in the development of our Tendency. More than 60 people participated, coming from all over Switzerland as well as United Kingdom, France, Sweden and Austria.

The comrades have responded very well to the appeal for money for El Salvador. All the donations put together make up €1,228. 

Revolutionary moods are growing across the world as capitalism rots and the ruling elite attempts to maintain its position by attacking the working class. Meanwhile, the International Marxist Tendency is growing in numbers, developing a deeper understanding of the processes taking place, intervening in the struggles taking place, and fighting for socialist ideas in the movements of workers and youth.

From the minute comrades began to set up the stage, a week before the event was due to open, it was clear that the times were ripe for the return of our national Red Festival (Festa Rossa) for the 4^th year. As soon as the first comrades set foot in the XXII Aprile park, in the city of Modena, mounting tents, stages, kitchens and various stands, dozens of people from the neighbourhood came to us expressing their delight that the communist gathering had returned to the area.

In spite of growing political apathy in society, a huge participation was observed in the congress of Marxists in Kashmir. More than 400 comrades and sympathisers from across Kashmir gathered in Rawalakot on 28th June to attend a one-day regional congress.