Rebuilding a left that can confront contemporary challenges will be an enormous task, and if there are hopeful and positive features in LFI, there is still a very long way to go. But the left around the world can take some encouragement from a small but real victory. As we used to say in 1968, Ce n’est qu’un début; continuons le combat. It’s only a beginning; the struggle goes on.

Despite being a key member of a supposedly pro-democracy alliance that claims to be challenging regional authoritarianism, evidence has shown that upwards of 60 percent of Panamanians support the Panama Worth More Without Mining Movement’s aims. And yet, the government is continuing with the development of Cobre Panamá, a clear infringement on the popular will and the rights of the Indigenous people.

So, is this the moment of collapse in the Chinese model of development and the end of all that talk about ‘moving towards socialism’ and so on? Many Western experts think so. What will cause this collapse, in their view, is the failure of the Chinese leaders to ‘liberalize’ the economy and open it up even more to capitalist companies and markets.

The political base cultivated by mainstream conservative politicians has been in a snarly mood for some time and the current cost of living crisis is exacerbating it. Those who look to the right for answers in this situation are hardening their outlook and the politicians and parties seeking their political support must take this into account.

States seek status, and those who have risen to the top feel a need to put anyone who might challenge them firmly in their place. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is such a challenge. Ever since the Maidan revolution of 2014, the West has determined that Ukraine lies within its own sphere of influence. By arguing otherwise, Russia is challenging the West’s honour. The West feels that it must respond or lose face.

The fight to reclaim Okinawa continues despite ferocious opposition from the ruling parties in Japan who take advantage of their power and the fact some Okinawans’ livelihoods depend on base-related employment or business. This resistance is part of a larger movement for Indigenous rights, peace, and justice across the Asia Pacific region.

Now more than ever, it’s critical to pushback against attempts to squash Palestine solidarity campaigns. In the recent academic year students at five Canadian universities passed resolutions supporting elements of the boycott divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, joining some two dozen student associations that had already endorsed the Palestinian civil society’s call.

Between 2015 and 2019, over 100 Indigenous women from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, and Québec publicly asserted that they were survivors of forced or coerced sterilization procedures. The actual number is undoubtedly much higher, and more and more Indigenous women come forward every year to share their traumatic experiences.

The evidence of escalating instability in the global system suggests it is entering a period of rapid, dramatic change as incumbent industries and political institutions are losing control. While the prospect of intensifying instability is daunting, the weakening of the status quo is opening up a new possibility space to explore previously unthinkable alternatives.

Despite the ubiquity of a legal and safer supply of alcohol⁠, beverage alcohol contributes to the deaths of some three million people around the world every single year via traumatic injuries, chronic diseases, self-harm, cancers, and alcohol use disorders, including alcohol dependency. Countless more people live with alcohol-related diseases, chronic pains, mental health issues, and various disabilities.