“We don’t need one leadership by one particular economic power, or continent, or country. What we need is a process that recognises the issues that are facing this world and attempts to bring about some kind of peace and security”
Jeremy Corbyn MP
By Sam Browse, Arise Festival
The penultimate rally of this year’s Arise Festival, ‘A World to Win’, saw hundreds of activists tune in with Jeremy Corbyn and international campaigners for peace and social justice from across the world.
The online rally heard from Alina Piva of the Progressive International; Walter Baier, President of the European Left; Jawad Moustakbal, from the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM); Francesca Emanuele, a Peru solidarity activists and researcher at the international Centre for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR); and Gabriel Rodriguez of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF).
You can read the report back or watch the meeting in full below:
The international platform convened in the midst of multiple global crises – from the climate catastrophe putting the very future of humanity at risk, to wars and conflicts that scar so much of the world, to the deep refugee crisis, and, in many countries, a cost-of living emergency that reflects how broken the capitalist economic system we live under is. As the Chair, Matthew Willgress, the National Organiser for Arise Festival, told the audience, “the ruling class organises across borders and we need to too.”
The meeting began with an update from Brazil from Alina Piva, of the Progressive International. She highlighted the important victory of Lula over Jair Bolsonaro, but warned against the recent coup attempts against Brazil’s left president.
She said “there is a reactionary, far right international and it is well organised – and that’s why we need an organisation to fight back.”
“It is US imperialism that gives space to these concerning trends we’re seeing right now. US imperialism will only be defeated when we go beyond our borders.”
In contrast, she pointed to regional cooperation in Latin America and said that “now we are building spaces where popular organisations can meet – new forums where popular struggles can come together”
In a similar vein, Walter Baier, president of the European Left, highlighted the rising concern over poverty, the cost of living and the climate crisis and that many people – including many young people – feel their voice doesn’t count. He argued that this is providing the conditions for the rise of the far right, and its integration into the conservative right.
“The biggest challenge for the left in Europe is to develop a counter strategy to the rise of the far right. What we need is a radical socialist, ecological and feminist programme that not only addresses the rise of the far right but expresses the wishes of the workers, their grievances and their demands.
“We have to create a strong alliance between the social movements and the trade unions, the political left, and the feminist and ecological movements. We need unity to resist the onslaught of the far right.”
Peruvian democracy campaign Francesca Emanuele spoke of the inspiring resistance which continues against last year’s coup in Peru and the repression of the current coup-regime. Highlighting mass continuous protests called by indigenous movements and others in the county from Mid-July, she urged international movements to speak up in solidarity, including against arms sales to the illegitimate government.
Jawad Moustakbal from the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM), spoke in depth on neocolonialism and debt, and how many of the issues and suffering faced by millions globally have their roots in the history of colonialism itself. He went on to detail how international debt was used as a tool to colonise the global south – including in Jawad’s own country of Morroco.
Jeremy Corbyn told the audience that “the unipolar world is now under challenge from the economic power of China and the diplomatic power of the rest of the world – as the process for hopefully bringing about peace in Ukraine is beginning to demonstrate.”
“I think it’s quite important that we don’t allow ourselves to be completely confused by the Western media. We don’t need one leadership by one particular economic power, or continent, or country. What we need is a process that recognises the issues that are facing this world and attempts to bring about some kind of peace and security.”
“Real security isn’t the ability to kill each other; real security is about jobs, decent pay levels, decent education and environmental sustainability.”
Rallying the audience, he said “together we are very strong; let’s not allow ourselves to be minimised, marginalised or defeated by the siren calls of those who only believe in economic injustice, inequality, and that don’t care about the environment they are destroying at the same time.”
“When we speak together we’re stronger – and that’s how we go together to build that world of peace and global justice.”
- The World To Win session took place as part of Arise Festival 2023 on June 26th – you can watch or listen to the full event, and check out all other Arise Festival sessions here.
- You can follow Arise Festival on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles in the UK and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
