Mass movements against imperialist dictates gain strength worldwide
Millions of oppressed peoples the world over have been taking action to assert their rights and interests and resist "globalization" and other International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) dictates.
In Germany this first week of June, more than 950,000 workers threatened to go on strike to demand a 6.5% wage hike. More than 300,000 workers from the insurance, banking and service sectors are also poised to strike. Such mass actions have been launched since mid-May in Berlin and other German cities, the first such occurrence since 1920.
On April 16, some 13 million workers in Italy launched a massive strike called by the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL), the country�s biggest labor federation. In a related development, two million people launched mass actions in the streets in various places in the country. Two million workers had also rallied in Rome on March 23.
The workers had taken action to oppose plans by Silvio Berlusconi�s government to amend the country�s labor laws to make it easier to fire workers and perpetrate other forms of oppression against them.
In India, more than 10 million government employees launched a general strike in August 2001 to protest plans to privatize electric corporations.
Also in August 2001, the Congress of South African Trade Unions reported that up to five million workers struck against privatization plans being pushed by the IMF.
In Argentina in June 2000, up to 7.2 million workers supported a 24-hour general strike to oppose new labor laws imposed by the IMF, which called for further reductions in the minimum wage and pensions.
In Africa, millions of people are opposing the IMF�s policies on privatization and deregulation. In Angola, thousands of public sector workers launched a four-day strike against the government�s privatization program and schemes to reduce the minimum wage.
Massive actions in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique also took place against IMF conditionalities that have been imposed in exchange for loans to their respective governments.
In December 2001, before the collapse of its financial system, two days of bloody protests took place in Argentina against the government�s austerity program. In May 2000, up to 80,000 people expressed opposition to IMF-dictated austerity measures by the government.
In Bolivia, weeks of people�s protests against the privatization of the water service system culminated in the declaration of martial law and the withdrawal of two foreign companies. Hundreds of thousands continued to conduct rallies, including workers� and teachers� unions and scores of peasant and student organizations and federations.
In Ecuador, tens of thousands launched strikes, protests and uprisings against the dollarization of their economy and other IMF dictates. Most striking were protests waged by national minorities participated in by 40,000 people. The Ecuadorian government responded to widespread people�s uprisings by declaring martial law in February 2001.
In February 2002, more than 50,000 people waged demonstrations in Porto Alegre, Brazil to oppose "globalization".
Similar mass actions took place in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.
Anti-"globalization" actions also took place in Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and other European countries.
In Turkey, thousands protested in March 2001 against IMF plans to "save" the economy whose collapse it had caused. InSeptember 2001, the people opposed plans by the IMF, in collusion with their government, to raise oil prices, peg wages at the lowest rates and institute tax "reforms".
In South Korea, more than 20,000 workers rallied in September 2000 to resist corporate privatization and restructuring that would result in massive layoffs.
Protests were also launched in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
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