International Viewpoint

It is clear that we are about to experience a massive social crisis far beyond anything experienced thus far in Pakistan. Haqooq-e-Khalq Movement is announcing an emergency #LabourReliefCampaign to help vulnerable workers.

Late on 24 March, Ireland's Health Minister Simon Davis announced “For the duration of this crisis the State will take control of all private hospital facilities and manage all of the resources for the common benefit of all of our people. There can be no room for public versus private when it comes to pandemic.” Here Eamonn McCann looks at how production can be reorganized to solve the coronavirus crisis and more. It has been done before and it can be done again.

Nine hundred and ninteen people died in Italy on Friday 27 March from Covid-19, the highest number of deaths anywhere in the world on a single day. Antonello Zecca is an organizer with the Sinistra Anticapitalista (Anticapitalist Left) in Italy. He has written extensively on Italian politics, social and labor movements, and the Left, many of his articles, including his most recent on the Covid-19 crisis, can be found at International Viewpoint. Here, Zecca replies to questions from No Borders News.

This petition has been launched by Turkish activists.

There are a growing number of strikes and protests by workers to impose safer conditions or refuse non-essential work in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. See also “Mercedes Benz: peoples' lives are worth more than profits”.

There are a growing number of strikes and protests by workers to impose safer conditions or refuse non-essential work in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. See also “Right to strike “confined” in France”.

The South African government finally responded to calls to take stronger action to combat the coronavirus pandemnc and ordered a lockdown of the country from midnight on Thursday 25 March. This statement by Andrew Chirwa, president of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) Andrew Chirwa is the president of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) was issued on 21 March as Covid-19 infections in South Africa continued to rise and raises criticisms of President Cryil Ramaphosa of the African National Congress. NUMSA's workers were in the front line of the fight to overturn apartheid and is today one of the nation's most influential unions.[IVP]

Fourth International organizations around the world are reacting to this crisis with their own statements and theses. As we can we are making these available here.

Recent articles on left-wing websites have deprecated the notion of ‘culture wars', saying that the Left should avoid them and concentrate instead on class war. The basic idea being put forward is that we should avoid political and cultural clashes among the working class and potential allies, and concentrate on uniting workers against the bosses. Let's build working class unity against the capitalists – and what right-thinking socialist could disagree with that?

The global coronavirus outbreak is not (fortunately) the end of civilization, nor is it (unfortunately) the end of capitalism. It is, however, a very deep systemic crisis with interlocking public health, environmental and economic dimensions — and reveals the need for a profound social transformation both in the United States and internationally.

As the devastating novel coronavirus (COVID-19) literally threatens the lives of billions of the earth's people, two truths about the contagion remain unchallenged: All nations are ill-prepared for the arrival of the virus, and once it lands, despite herculean efforts in some cases, little can be done to stop its spread.

1. The corona crisis is a crisis of unprecedented magnitude and will have dramatic consequences. It involves a global health crisis, a health care crisis and a financial and economic crisis. In a world that has long been characterized by a high degree of instability, by lack of international leadership and the rise of nationalism, racism and right-wing populism, as well as the weak level of organization of the working class, of social and left-wing movements.

The rise of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, brought the global economy to a crashing halt. Virtually all of the contradictions of capitalism, some previously hidden behind an economic boom, are brought into stark relief amidst lockdowns, panic, and emergency measures.

In Volume I of Capital, Marx compares capitalism to a vampire which never stops sucking the life out of workers: with this image, he shows how the “natural” movement of capitalism is to consume labour power to the maximum, since ideally labour, to generate profits, should never stop, and be in operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

While living though the current Coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis I am struck by the connections between the AIDS crisis (which is also not over) and this health crisis. These connections are not often being made or remembered in the commentaries and analysis I have seen. At the same time there are also major differences between these two different health crises including mode of transmission, impact on people's bodies and health and to some extent who is most affected. I was actively involved in AIDS organizing and activism in the 1980s and 1990s and have also been involved in documenting some of these histories. In this initial sketch I try to draw out some of what can be learned from the history of AIDS organizing and activism for the current pandemic. I know this is partial and limited but I feel an urgency to get it out there. Please feel free to add to it or critique it. It is intended to get discussion going.

As of March 20, more than 1,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the Spanish State, placing it fourth behind only China, Italy, and Iran in both casualties and infections globally. Nearly one-third of the infections are located in Madrid and there is no end in sight, despite Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of the ruling Socialist Party ordering a national lockdown earlier this week. Here, Laia Facet, an organizer with the revolutionary socialist Anticapitalistas responds to questions from No Borders News and explains how the left, trade unions, and social movements, including the Spanish State's powerful feminist movements.

This contribution was written by the Feminist and Ecosocialist Network, a sympathizing group of the Fourth International in Ecuador.

: A public health crisis
The coronavirus pandemic is a serious public health problem and the human suffering caused by the spread of this virus will be enormous. If it massively affects countries of the Global South with very fragile public health systems that have been undermined by 40 years of neo-liberal policies, the death toll will be very high. We must not forget the critical situation of the Iranian population, victim of the blockade imposed by Washington, a blockade that includes (...)

It was an event that had happened countless times before. General Motors had been producing cars in Oshawa for over 100 years, and the plant had been at the centre of car production in Canada. This time, though, was different. Workers at the plant crowded around the pickup truck and photographed it as it left the line. This one was the last one. The plant was closing.

The coronavirus pandemic is a dramatic public health problem and the human suffering caused will be enormous. Already, in Western Europe, health systems are on the edge of asphyxia. If it spreads massively in countries in the Global South whose already weak or very fragile public health systems have been terribly undermined by 40 years of neo-liberal policies, deaths will be very high.