An Essay on Collectivist Economics

Posted on March 6, 2015 by conjuncture magazine

(By: Bruno Lima Rocha)

This essay is the beginning of an attempt to develop a left libertarian approach toward an economic model, specifically to a model which is compatible with the political formations of Democratic Confederalism, also referred to as Libertarian Municipalism. At this stage the goal is the development of a working set of tools of analysis, and foster learning among the Libertarian Left. To this end I submit this relatively simple text to provide accessible notions for those struggling to build a society based on Democratic Confederalism.

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Interview about Rojava – Topics for Debate: Questions about the Strategic Scope

Posted on February 27, 2015 by conjuncture magazine

[Editors Note: A dear friend and supporter of ours from Brazil, Dr. Bruno Lima Rocha, established contact with a series of organizations involved in the social revolution taking place in Kurdistan. Mainstream media sources have largely failed to cover the social process, though news have been able to break the radio silence. This is the second internview we publish in this series
It should also be said that minor grammatical errors were corrected (as neither participant in the interview is native to english). But most is left in the original form, for fear of losing accuarcy.]

Interview about Rojava – Topics for debate: Questions about the Strategic Scope

Introduction: Since the Kobanê siege started I have dedicated several hours per week to understand and divulgate as much as possible about this social revolution, initiated in a combination of Democratic Confederalism and the Syrian civil war. As a militant, I always have been involved in international solidarity. As an Arab descendant, I always have been trying to find a reliable left-wing force combining direct action and internal democracy. Continue reading →

An Interview with a DAF Militant about the Solidarity for Rojava Social Process

Posted on January 14, 2015 by conjuncture magazine

January 9^th, 2015 – Bruno Lima Rocha

Insight into a 21^st century revolution that is feminist, stateless, and anti-capitalist.

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5 Things to Take Away from the Brisbane G20 People’s Summit

Posted on December 14, 2014 by conjuncture magazine

(By: Nicholas García)

In the three days prior to this year’s G20 summit in Brisbane Nov. 15-16th organizers and activists from around the world gathered for the G20 people’s summit: a mix of demonstrations, workshops, panels and music as an alternative global summit against the G20 agenda. While G20 was promoting further free trade agreements and entrenching corporate interests in the political sphere the people’s summit put climate change and social justice issues in the forefront of their agenda. Panels included topics such as climate justice, feminism, indigenous struggles, and confronting neoliberal capitalism. It provided an avenue not only to make apparent how G20 is an opportunity to further strengthen political and economic elite interests throughout the world, but also for an avenue connecting diverse issues to the types of free trade policies pursued by these elite. In case you missed it, here are the 5 biggest things that went down at the people’s summit: Continue reading →

“A Strike, That No One Recognizes Is Per Definition Not a Strike”*

Posted on December 4, 2014 by conjuncture magazine

(By conjuncture magazine)

*“Ein Streik, den niemand spürt, ist eben kein Streik.” C. Heinrich, ARD Berlin

(Photo by Maik Meid, https://www.flickr.com/photos/frnetz)

At various places in the US, the invitation or even the demand to unionize becomes more and more common. Well visited Labor Notes Conferences, the Fight for 15, the IWW at San Francisco’s Whole Foods Markets — after decades of attacks on workers rights, mendacious campaigns under the label of “right to work“ and an unshakable belief in the free market — eventually there seems to be a shift in society, a change in the understanding of workers rights and a growing wish to take back the workspace, collectively. Continue reading →

Dispatch from Guatemala

Posted on November 28, 2014 by conjuncture magazine

(By: Areli Palomo)

I had been trying to reach Doña Mari for days; she is a woman that sells food in a port located in the pacific side of the Guatemalan coast. I met her a year ago when I was researching places that are used by Central Americans and by people from other parts of the world to avoid getting caught by Mexican authorities when crossing this country’s southern border. Continue reading →

The American Propaganda System & What ‘We’ Should Do About It

Posted on October 23, 2014 by conjuncture magazine

(By: Victor Herzfeld)

The amount our daily communication and discourse – be it familial, social, commercial, or political – which is made through technological mediums as opposed to face to face communications is expanding exponentially. ‘The media’ has become an immersive communicative environment. This has become so clear that it is thought of as a truism. It should also be clear that the American media system is no friend of the Left’s aspirations for a post-capitalist self-managed society. However, increasingly it appears that the media system is incompatible with democracy even it’s most minimal liberal formulation. This begs the question, what do we (leftists) do about it. Continue reading →

Brazil and the Elections in the Second Round

Posted on October 19, 2014 by conjuncture magazine

(by: Bruno Lima Rocha; Translated by: conjuncture magazine)

The development of the conservative vote and the difficult strategies to react for the popular movement

Latin America’s leading country, Mercosur and diplomatic agreements have found themselves at a crossroads. There is a consensus from the middle to the bottom of the social pyramid in Brazil. Middle class voters admit to step back in terms of political ideas and to not tolerate debates that try to weaken the State’s role in economic strategies and in its function to secure the material basis of everyday life for its inhabitants.

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Bombs in Santiago and the Urgent Need of Deep Reflection

Posted on October 13, 2014 by conjuncture magazine

(by: Felipe Ramirez; Translated by: Daniel Gutiérrez)

Note: On September 8^th, a bomb blew up in a metro station of Santiago, Chile. Although the city has witnessed more than 200 explosions over the last five years, this was the first time in which the targets were civilians—until now all the bombs attacks had been directed towards “symbolic targets” as banks, churches, and police stations. However, both the hour of the explosion (2:30pm) and the place were the bomb was left (one of the most transited metro station in Santiago) made this terrorist attack the most serious one. The blast injured 14 people, one of who—a female janitor who had direct contact with the bomb, which was put in a trashcan—lost several fingers of his hand. Even though three people were accused three weeks ago, the investigations are still in progress.

In this article the libertarian journalist Felipe Ramirez examines the incident, developing a lucid analysis of different hypothesis that might explain the terrorist attack. Then he concludes with some reflections on the role that the Left should play before incidents like this.

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The War on Migrants

Posted on October 2, 2014 by conjuncture magazine

Our co-editor Daniel Gutiérrez was recently published at Jacobin Magazine regarding migrant deportations to the city of Tijuana, Baja California Norte, México. His work article provides a brief historical analysis of Mexican migration, explains how neoliberalism has produced social abandonment in Tijuana, and how migrants bodies promote a security industrial complex on both sides of the border. Check it out!

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/09/the-war-on-migrants/