news

At the conference of the DKP party executive committee, which took place last weekend in Leverkusen, its chairman Patrik Köbele called for the protest against the genocide of Palestinians to be taken to the streets. UZ documents excerpts from the speech:

There is no word that sounds more terrible than genocide and yet we have to realize that Israel is escalating the genocide in Gaza and is both taking people hostage and starving them out in multiple violations of international law. The media are not above reporting that a Hamas hostage has been starved to death, while the more than two million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip are starving because Israel has been blocking the supply of food and aid for weeks. Then this starving population is urged by leaflets to flee immediately to another, also destroyed part of the Gaza Strip, because a few hours later they are bombed again and ground troops move in. When you see the few pictures in the media showing thousands of people with empty pots hoping for something to eat, it's heartbreaking. And the federal government? They don't think it's great either - although we don't know whether they are talking about the way people are being treated or the fact that pictures of it are being shown on television. The government continues to blather on about the Staatsräson (official euphemism for German-Israeli coercion, translators note).

There is protest against this in our country, some of which is repressively crushed. This resistance is still far too small. We, our party groups, must also do more to organize protest and solidarity with the Palestinian people and take this protest to the streets. The pressure against the anti-Palestinian policies of German politics must increase.

We must also make it very clear that this so-called Staatsräson is anti-Semitic at its core. Why? It is derived from the responsibility for the Shoah, i.e. the industrial mass extermination of Jews by the German fascists. To use this as a justification for claiming that it is Germany's responsibility to defend the so-called security of Israel is to portray Israel's policies as stemming from Judaism. That is in fact anti-Semitism. This policy of Israel has its cause in Israel's role as the agent of imperialism in the Middle East in combination with a murderous policy of Zionism.

The mobilization seeks to pressure Congress to guarantee workers’ rights, said a SintraONGS spokesperson. On Thursday, Colombians continued their two-day national strike in support of a popular referendum on labor reform promoted by President Gustavo Petro.

In Bogota, workers, and students gathered in the morning at the National Park with flags and loudspeakers, organized by the leftist Historic Pact party, the Single Central of Workers (CUT), the Colombian Federation of Educators (FECODE), the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), and other grassroots social organizations.

Citizens marched through the streets to the rhythm of batucada in a spectacle that included some protesters on stilts waving Colombian flags. As the march advanced along Seventh Avenue, people from other parts of the city joined the mobilization, which maintained a festive and combative tone.

The massive march arrived at Bolivar Square, where citizens waved Colombian and Palestinian flags, symbolizing the convergence of social struggles in the agenda of the popular mobilization. “This mobilization is part of the national strike to pressure Congress to guarantee workers’ rights,” said Yeimi Cante, spokesperson for the Union of Workers of Non-Governmental and Social Organizations (SintraONGS).

Bolivar Square was filled with banners proclaiming “The referendum will happen because it will happen” and “The people say so and they are right,” while citizens shouted slogans against 30 years of neoliberal governments that have stripped Colombians of their labor rights with the false promise of creating more jobs.

“Labor legislation is more than 80 years old. We are proposing that it should be more progressive and updated in accordance with reality,” said CGT President Percy Oyola, who announced that another national strike has been called for June 11.

“Today we are here because the social, political, and popular summit determined that we would hold a 48-hour strike,” he added, denouncing that the political elites “continue to steal Colombia’s chances of having better working conditions.”

This week, social protests were sparked by the Senate’s rejection of a referendum on labor reform, which was proposed by President Petro, who called on citizens to take to the streets to defend social justice.

“We’re here because this issue isn’t just about politics, it’s about dignity. We don’t want to grow up in a country where working means precariousness and fear of getting sick,” said Mariana, a sociology student who was marching with a banner demanding the approval of the referendum.

The Great Patriotic Pole Simon Bolivar secured a resounding electoral victory. On Sunday, Venezuelans headed to the polls for legislative and regional elections in which the Great Patriotic Pole Simon Bolivar (GPPSB) secured a resounding victory, maintaining the vitality of the Bolivarian Revolution led by President Nicolas Maduro.

Voters elected 24 governors, 285 national lawmakers, and 260 state legislators. Among the newly elected officials are also representatives from the Guayana Esequiba state, which, for the first time, has a governor, seven members of the Legislative Council, and eight national lawmakers.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that the GPPSB’s list of national lawmakers received 4,553,484 votes — or 82.68% of valid votes. Opposition alliances garnered the following results: the Democratic Alliance received 344,422 votes (6.9%), the UNTC-Unica Alliance earned 285,501 votes (5.18%), and Neighborhood Force captured 141,566 votes (2.57%).

CNE authorities reported voter turnout at 42.63%, a relatively high figure considering that the average participation rate in previous elections was 40%. They also noted that the May 25 elections reaffirmed the people’s democratic spirit, which prevailed over abstention calls made by the far-right opposition.

According to one of the initial result reports, CNE Vice President Carlos Quintero indicated that 40 out of 50 seats had already been assigned, with the vote trend deemed irreversible. Among the newly elected members of the National Assembly are United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) members Jorge Rodriguez, Cilia Flores, Maria Valera, Maria Leon, Luis Soto, Francisco Cardenas, Jorge Arreaza, and William Fariñas.

Other lawmakers from the GPPSB include Jesus Faria, Angel Marcano, Jehyson Guzman, Maria de Lourdes Leon, Noeli Pocaterra, Hermann Escarra, Desiree Santos, Vanesa Montero, Ilenia Medina, Willian Gil, Henry Hernandez, Maria Jimenez, Gilberto Jimenez, Miguel Perez, and Nicia Maldonado.

Representing the opposition Democratic Alliance will be Bernabe Gutierrez, Timoteo Zambrano, and Enrique Campos. Elected from the UNTC-Unica Alliance are Luis Emilio Rondon, Ivan Gonzalez, and Henrique Capriles.

With this new parliamentary configuration, the forces of the Bolivarian Revolution consolidate a qualified majority, which will allow them to pass enabling laws and constitutional reforms in the upcoming National Assembly (2026-2031).

Celebrating the victory on Sunday, President Maduro announced that he would present a proposal for constitutional and electoral reform to be discussed by the new National Assembly once it assumes office.

“Today, the nation has shown that the Bolivarian Revolution is more alive and stronger than ever. We have demonstrated the power of Chavismo in the 21st century,” he said, adding that Venezuelan democracy is becoming more robust after 32 consecutive elections held despite the U.S. economic blockade and the destabilizing violence of the far-right opposition.