Neo-liberalism can be defeated! That is the message from the momentous struggle of the French youth, students and workers against the CPE. Bold militant and courageous action that shakes the governments of the rich and powerful is the way forward for our great movement. Chric and De Villepin wanted to legalise precarite – our movement said no!
France shows once again that we – young people – will play a central role in leading workers into militant and victorious struggle. Here in Athens young people muct organize to fight back!
We must use the example of the Austrian school students last November that took part in a series of big strikes against education cuts. In Italy too in October 100,000s of students occupied universities resisting Berlusconi’s neo-liberal reform.
It is no surprise that we take up this role given that the brutalities of capitalism often hit us first and hardest. We are the first to be sent off to die in capitalist wars, we are obliged to work in sweatshops or in lowest paid jobs, we are denied economic and social rights until we have ’grown up’.
The World and continental Social Forums give us space to meet make links, debate strategy and plan action. But this alone won’t be enough to get rid of the system that stands for war, racism and social cuts. We have to unite young people in the workplaces, schools and colleges across national borders and continents around a common strategy and fight.
Gatherings where we share a common space are insufficient unless we use that space, that precious time to build, to organise, to create an ongoing and permanent instrument of struggle with a strategy for revolutionary change.
The leadership of the WSF is increasingly in the hands of open reformists, like those in the PT loyal to the IMF stooge Lula who have shared power with neoliberals and betrayed their promises to the workers and poor peasants who elected them.
Young people are natural fighters against all half-heartedness, all rotten compromises with the class enemy. Therefore within the worldwide anti-capitalist or antiglobalist movement we have a duty to give a lead against reformism and for revolutionary socialist politics.
What can we do NOW? We can lay the foundations of a worldwide anticapitalist and revolutionary youth movement. If we do this we will be greeted with great enthusiasm not just by young people but by the mass membership of the trade unions, the peasants organisations, the rank and file of the workers parties and will encourage them to unite and throw off the chains of pro-capitalist leaders and policies.
An international anti capitalist youth movement must be founded on action. We call on all youth and youth organizations interested in taking the next steps to a youth international to help organize, initiate and participate in:
• A day of action against education cuts in November called for by the World Social Forum this year.
• Take action against precarity: support the struggle of immigrants for employment rights, take action against businesses, make the unions fight for job security.
• Fight against Europe’s racist immigration controls which divide the working class and leave people destitute and persecuted. Take action against detention centres and for the rights of immigrants.
• Build support for those in the middle east who are at the forefront of the fight to stop the US’s restructuring of the world. Oppose the racist Israeli state and fight for the immediate withdrawal of imperialist troops from Iraq. Support the Iraqi resistance! Hands off Iran!
The building of an international organisation of youth active in every struggle of the workers and oppressed in the fight against the system is the burning question posed by our central role in forging the new internationalism of our time.
We invite groups and individuals to discuss with us now the political basis and policy upon which we can unite. WE appeal to all youth organisations and individuals to contact us if they agree with our proposals, to work with us to create a youth conference or assembly at the continental WSFs in 2006 and at the WSF in Africa in 2007.
REVOLUTION believes that our fight can only be successful if it is based upon a revolutionary action programme that sets as its goal the complete overthrow of capitalism, the empowerment of the working class and the establishment of socialism.
We do not for one minute seek to separate or isolate ourselves from our older working class and poor peasant brothers and sisters, also fighting for their emancipation. We do not believe that young people can change the world alone. That’s why we must fight too to build a new global party of social revolution. Four times before workers fighting against capitalism have founded a global party of resistance. We believe that now, the “new internationalism” of our movements of resistance creates the opportunity to found a Fifth International.