Against the Stream

In this episode of Against the Stream, Victor Murray is joined by Ben Curry of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International to look at three elections of the past week.

In Brazil, Flávio Bolsonaro led the first round, with the markets banking on a win. Then the youth took the campaign out of the hands of the official parties. A million marched in São Paulo, close to two million in Rio, and Lula went from 45 per cent to 52 in the second round. Now, Bolsonaro has fled to Miami.

Many of the young people who came out were not fighting for Lula, but saw the necessity of using the election as a means to strike a blow against the right. On the streets, the hammer and sickles were everywhere. Openly communist Jones Manoel was elected the most-voted federal deputy in Pernambuco, and thousands have applied to join the RCI’s Brazilian section in a matter of weeks.

Similarly in Serbia, the radical mood on the streets were brought into the ballot box, where the student list born out of the mass movement after the Novi Sad canopy collapse won more than half the vote, ending Aleksandar Vučić’s twelve years in power.

In Israel the last week also saw an election, the character of which was the polar opposite. Here the contest was between the far right and the further right, with both sides competing over who could most effectively ethnically cleanse the Palestinian people, exposing the myth of a “liberal” Zionism once and for all.

New episodes of Against the Stream every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube.

📖 Recommended reading 📖

Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1884/origin-family/

The RCI’s manifesto

https://marxist.com/manifesto-of-the-revolutionary-communist-international.htm

Financial Times – Lula’s stunning comeback meets fiscal reality

https://www.ft.com/content/79785581-88c2-49a9-a109-9d5ccafc3c7d?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Financial Times Serbia’s students should take a leaf out of Magyar’s book

https://www.ft.com/content/43f5c6af-5b1f-4995-9263-b7882013cb99

+972 Magazine 50 shades of right: An Israeli election primer

https://www.972mag.com/israeli-election-primer-2026-netanyahu-eisenkot/

⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️

0:00 Introduction

3:55 Brazil

38:17 Serbia

52:08 Israel

🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm

📚 Marxist literature: https://wellred-books.com/

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443

📱 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/

💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

The times we are living in are anything but ordinary. In the last twelve months alone, more than 57 countries have seen significant anti-government protests. Right now, France is at the centre of the storm.

On Saturday 17 October, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in the biggest day yet of the movement against education cuts. The state answered with more than 19,000 stun grenades in a single day.

Peaceful marches were ambushed, minors were rounded up, and one young student lost an eye. Sunday evening Macron went on television and refused to resign, making the movement’s goal crystal clear: he and his government have to go.

In this episode of Against the Stream, Victor Murray is joined by Jorge Martín of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International to discuss where the movement goes from here.

They look at the curfews, protest bans and attacks on La France Insoumise that show the real face of bourgeois democracy, why the government has nothing to offer with borrowing costs at their highest since 2002, and why the CGT has been forced to call for a general strike on 5 November. With general strikes also called in Spain and Italy, and mass movements from Brazil and Colombia to Indonesia and India, the stage is set for a much wider wave of struggle.

But one thing is still missing: a revolutionary leadership capable of taking the movement to victory. Building it is the task of the hour.

New episodes of Against the Stream every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube.

📖 Recommended reading 📖

France: 17 October mobilisations put revolution on the agenda

https://marxist.com/france-17-october-mobilisations-put-revolution-on-the-agenda.htm

The Civil War in France

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/iwma/documents/1871/commune-may30.htm

⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️

0:00 France on the brink

2:44 October 17: who provoked the violence?

12:15 The road to a general strike

21:52 Hypocrisy of the ruling class

28:28 The deep crisis of French capitalism

33:20 A global wave of revolt

47:17 The missing factor: revolutionary leadership

🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm

📚 Marxist literature: https://wellred-books.com/

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443

📱 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/

💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

Europe is the weak link of world capitalism. From Madrid to Paris to Berlin, young people and workers are on the move.

In this special episode of Against the Stream, we talk to comrades of the Revolutionary Communist International on the ground in Spain, France, and Germany about what’s happening, and about the huge potential for building the forces of communism.

Today’s youth have grown up with nothing but war and crisis. As Marx explained, it’s the real conditions of society that shape consciousness. So it’s no surprise that many are reaching revolutionary conclusions on their own.

Class questions are coming to the fore everywhere. A decade ago, protests were often framed as calls for ‘more democracy’, or for voting in a different government. Those illusions are gone. On the streets of Spain, tens of thousands are chanting ‘Esto es lucha de clases, no podemos hacer las paces’ [this is class struggle, we cannot make peace] and ‘Los invasores son los inversores’ [the invaders are the investors].

Whilst the causes of these youth-led movements vary from country to country, the same host of issues are present everywhere: militarism, racism, police violence, housing, Palestine, and the climate crisis. Together they’re feeding a revolutionary mood across the continent.

Europe’s rulers have no way out. With inflation rising and governments buried in debt, they can’t keep the economy stable without provoking social and political upheaval. Years of austerity, decay, and inequality have built up the pressure, and now it’s bursting out.

New episodes of Against the Stream every Thursday at 6pm London time on YouTube.

📖 Recommended reading 📖

France: 17 October – towards a revolutionary crisis?

https://marxist.com/france-17-october...

Una semana después, ¿a dónde va la huelga general?

https://www.comunistasrevolucionarios...

Red October: revolutionary communists are connecting on the ground

https://marxist.com/red-october-revol...

⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️

0:00 Intro

3:45 Spain

24:25 France

56:26 Germany

🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm

📚 Marxist literature: https://wellred-books.com/

🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz...

📱 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/

💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

Occupations; general strikes; riot police tear-gassing school students. The streets of Madrid and Paris have exploded in revolt. Hundreds of thousands of youth and workers have risen up – against unbearable housing costs in Spain and an education system gutted by austerity in France.In this episode of Against the Stream, Victor Murray is joined by Josh Holroyd of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International to discuss what these movements signify, and how they can win.In Spain, the spark was the eviction of Maria Carmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman in a wheelchair who had lived in the same Madrid flat for 70 years, forced out by a vulture fund that wanted to raise her rent from €400 to €2,600. She died this week. More than a thousand tents now fill the Puerta del Sol. The renters’ union is demanding the expropriation of corporate landlords, and polls show majority support for a general strike – even among Vox voters.In France, the biggest high school student movement in the country's history has been met with tear gas and stun grenades. Students and teachers have had enough of underfunded schools – with classes of 40 pupils, in crumbling buildings, in 40-degree heat. Talk of a new May '68 is everywhere.As we have long forecast, this is not a reactionary period. It is the opening of a revolutionary one. But communists must be armed with the lessons of the past. Victor and Josh look back at what the revolution of May ‘68 achieved, why it was defeated, and what communists need to do now. New episodes of Against the Stream every Thursday at 6pm London time on YouTube.📖 Recommended reading 📖Spain: Sánchez calls early elections – the streets demand a general strikehttps://marxist.com/spain-sanchez-calls-early-elections-the-streets-demand-a-general-strike.htmFrance: a decisive week – with echoes of May ’68https://marxist.com/france-a-decisive-week-with-echoes-of-may-68.htm[Podcast] The world economy faces perfect stormhttps://marxist.com/podcast-the-world-economy-faces-perfect-storm.htmFrench high school protests: The risk of a united front of discontent, Le Mondehttps://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2026/10/05/french-high-school-protests-the-risk-of-a-united-front-of-discontent_6758264_23.html⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️0:00 Introduction4:54 The eviction of Maricarmen14:59 Sánchez's gamble24:21 How the movement cut across the right wing38:01 France: the biggest school student movement in French history49:44 The lessons of May '681:18:21 What should communists do?🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 📚 Marxist literature: https://wellred-books.com/📱 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

This week the interest rate on 10-year US government bonds hit 5.3 per cent, and borrowing costs in Britain, France, Germany and Japan are at levels not seen in decades. For ordinary people, that means higher costs at the petrol station, on their energy bills, in their rent and mortgage payments, and public services being cut to balance the books.In this episode of Against the Stream, Victor Murray is joined by Niklas Albin Svensson of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International to explain what is happening to the world economy, and what it means for the class struggle.Starting off with the Iran war and the biggest oil supply shock in history they explain how emergency reserves are now running dry. With diesel prices in the US up almost 90 per cent since January, Trump is toying with a diesel export ban that would hit Latin America and Europe the hardest. Central banks are reacting by raising interest rates, but rate hikes won't end the instability in the Middle East. All it will do is squeeze workers.Then there's the debt. US federal debt has passed $40 trillion. Nearly half of all OECD government debt has to be refinanced next year at much higher rates, just as cheap money from Japan dries up. On top of it all sits an AI boom built on borrowed money, now competing with governments for credit.The ruling class has no painless way out. This is a finished recipe for class struggle, as workers and youth in France and Spain have shown this week.New episodes of Against the Stream every Thursday at 6pm London time on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️0:00 Three forces squeezing the world economy4:36 The Iran war and the biggest oil shock in history14:09 Diesel, food and an America First export ban21:34 Interest rates and the K-shaped economy27:27 $40 trillion of debt and the end of cheap money42:44 The AI bubble55:45 A recipe for class struggle📖 Recommended reading 📖Bond market troubles reveal impending crisishttps://marxist.com/bond-market-troubles-reveal-impending-crisis.htmThe AI Build-Out Is Becoming the Biggest Economic Bet in U.S. Historyhttps://www.wsj.com/economy/the-ai-build-out-is-becoming-the-biggest-economic-bet-in-u-s-history-c60716ddThe west does not have a leadership problemhttps://www.ft.com/content/67f10dca-63f3-4cf8-951b-22d0c87f6be2?syn-25a6b1a6=1

AI hyperscalers are transforming debt

https://www.ft.com/content/00f94018-e658-4545-b16e-1bc00e19b754🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm 📚 Marxist literature: https://wellred-books.com/📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

Against the Stream is back. After a summer break, Victor Murray joins Jorge Martín of the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International to take stock of the key processes shaping the world situation.The US-Iran memorandum collapsed just a few weeks after the end of our last season. Now Trump is back to threatening annihilation of Iran. In reality, his stubborn doubling down is preparing an even more humiliating defeat. Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz. American interceptor stockpiles are drained and will take years to replace. The Pentagon has been reduced to emailing staff to ask for ‘creative ideas’. Meanwhile, the Houthis have routed Saudi-backed forces in Yemen and seized the coast along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, giving them the ability to garrote another critical chokepoint of world trade.In Ukraine, the hype around long-range strikes has faded. The hopes that Ukraine can ‘turn the tide’ are being dashed by a devastating manpower crisis, mass desertions and a string of corruption scandals, which reach right into Zelensky's inner circle. Of course, almost none of this is reported in the West.Meanwhile, a political earthquake has occurred in Germany. The AfD took 44 per cent in Saxony-Anhalt, the CDU was wiped out in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Die Linke won Berlin with close to half the youth vote. This humiliation of the establishment is a symptom of the crisis of European capitalism, which has reached its very heart. Austerity, militarism, and the cost of living crisis are preparing volcanic class struggle – and not just in Germany.New episodes of Against the Stream every Thursday at 6pm London time on YouTube and podcast platforms.

Recommended reading:

Something is rotten in the state of Ukrainehttps://marxist.com/something-is-rotten-in-the-state-of-ukraine.htmGermany: why did the AfD win in Saxony-Anhalt?https://marxist.com/germany-why-did-the-afd-win-in-saxony-anhalt.htmGermany: elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania another blow to the CDUhttps://marxist.com/germany-elections-in-berlin-and-mecklenburg-western-pomerania-another-blow-to-the-cdu.htm

On 18 June, the Cuban National Assembly approved a sweeping package of economic reforms. If implemented, they mean the end of the planned economy and the full restoration of capitalism on the island, which is currently under extreme pressure as the United States tightens a near-total blockade that has caused twenty-two-hour electricity cuts, food shortages, and the suspension of non-emergency surgery.

In this special episode of Against the Stream, Hamid Alizadeh and Jorge Martín go through the measures point by point, explain why this is capitalism and not a step towards socialism, and draw out the broader lessons for communists around the world.

They cover the Chinese and Vietnamese models, what the NEP actually was and wasn't, the role of the Cuban leadership in the collapse of the Venezuelan revolution, and why the only way out is workers' democracy and world revolution.

New episodes of Against the Stream return in mid-September.

📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖

⁠Cuban communist intellectuals discuss the future of socialism (2010)

https://marxist.com/cuban-communist-intellectuals-discuss-socialism.htm

⁠Where is Cuba going? Towards Capitalism or Socialism? (2010)

https://marxist.com/where-is-cuba-going-capitalism-or-socialism.htm

Punto y Aparte · Cuba, El Fantasma Y Las Reformas (2026)

https://www.facebook.com/pyacuba/posts/pfbid02otuLyoB3Qpqx9LNCUWn6FMbDJJBZzbD83orK2zBr2DNxBermrt7ju2VNteEorDRbl

¿Hay otra alternativa para Cuba? - Juventud Técnica (2026)

https://www.juventudtecnica.cu/articulos/hay-otra-alternativa-para-cuba/

The State and Revolution – V.I. Lenin (1917)

https://marxist.com/the-state-and-revolution.htm

The story of Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution | AGAINST THE STREAM (2026)

https://youtu.be/nnGzwqX25Jk?si=FoDPGRM5nigsNKoA

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️

🌐 LINKS 🌐

🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International:

https://marxist.com/join-us.htm

📚 Marxist literature:

https://wellred-books.com/

🎧 Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443

📱 Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987

📸 Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/

💬 Twitter:

https://x.com/revcomintern/

World School of Communism 2026: https://schoolofcommunism.com/

-

The United States and Iran have signed a deal to end the war. Looking through the fourteen points of the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’, it becomes clear that America has conceded everything Iran demanded, and Iran has given up nothing in return.

In this week's Against the Stream, Hamid Alizadeh and Ben Curry break down the deal point by point: the three hundred billion dollar reconstruction fund, the end of sanctions, Iran's new control over the Strait of Hormuz, the prospect of Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, and the collapse of America’s regime change agenda.

They explain the meaning of a defeat that many are calling worse than Vietnam, what it means for Israel, the Gulf states, China, Russia, and the world economy, and why this represents a turning point in America’s imperial decline.

New episodes of Against the Stream return in mid-September.

📖 Recommended reading 📖

Does Israel control the United States? – https://marxist.com/does-israel-control-the-united-states.htm

Israelis angry over U.S.-Iran peace deal lash out at Netanyahu – https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/israelis-argry-over-u-s-iran-peace-deal-lash-out-at-netanyahu

‘American Surrender’: Conservatives React in Horror to Formal Iran Deal Announcement – https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/american-surrender-conservatives-react-in-horror-to-formal-iran-deal-announcement/

Iran Is a Bigger Defeat Than Vietnam – https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/16/iran-vietnam-strategy-defeat/

⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️

0:00 Intro

2:15 The peace deal point by point

19:22 What does this mean for the US?

25:40 Splits in the MAGA-movement

33:26 Freedom of navigation no more

37:29 What does this mean for Israel?

58:40 What does this mean for Europe?

1:03:25 The impact on world relations

1:08:06 The impact on the world economy

1:13:57 Will the deal hold?

🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm

📚 Marxist literature: https://wellred-books.com/

📸 Instagram: / revcomintern

💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/

Five hundred days of Trump in power. No more forever wars – except there is a war. The biggest paychecks in history – except hundreds of millions of Americans say the cost of living is the worst they can ever remember. And thirty-four percent of young Americans now hold a favourable view of communism.

In this week's episode of Against the Stream, Victor Murray and Fred Weston take stock of Trump's second term so far, discuss the shifting consciousness of the American working class, and how communists need to fill the vacuum on the left.

The episode traces the roots of Trump's appeal to the long-term decline of US capitalism, the betrayals of the Democrats, and the lessons of lesser-evilism in Italy and asks: with Minneapolis, Mamdani, and the growing RCA, is a genuine revolutionary alternative beginning to take shape in the belly of the beast?

New episodes of Against the Stream every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube.

📖 RECOMMENDED READING 📖

Lesser-evilism, Italian style – and how it destroyed the left

🔗 https://marxist.com/lesser-evilism-italy.htm

Italy: Meloni becomes lame duck premier after referendum defeat

🔗 https://marxist.com/italy-meloni-becomes-lame-duck-premier-after-referendum-defeat.htm

The RCA’s third national congress: preparing for the next American revolution

🔗 https://marxist.com/the-rca-s-third-national-congress-preparing-for-the-next-american-revolution.htm

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS ⏱️

🌐 LINKS 🌐

🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International:

https://marxist.com/join-us.htm

📚 Marxist literature:

https://wellred-books.com/

🎧 Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/68nGNHz5lB8UZXICGIDMva?si=682ef70551644443

📱 Apple Podcasts:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/against-the-stream/id1777793987

📸 Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/

💬 Twitter:

https://x.com/revcomintern/

The Iran war has set off a cascade of crises working their way through the world economy. Oil reserves are at a twenty-year low, inflation is rising, bond yields are spiking, and the IMF is warning of a worldwide slump. But is there a way out on a capitalist basis?

In this week's Against the Stream, Hamid Alizadeh and Niklas Albin Svensson examine four of the proposed solutions for the crisis: the defence of liberal world order, protectionism and nationalism, Modern Monetary Theory, and a planned economy.

They explain why free trade and protectionism both lead to crises, why MMT cannot resolve a problem rooted in production by tweaking the circulation of money, and why a democratically planned economy is not utopia but the only rational way to organise the world's resources.

New episodes of Against the Stream every Thursday at 6pm GMT on YouTube.

📖 Recommended reading 📖

The economic consequences of the war in Iran – https://marxist.com/the-economic-consequences-of-the-war-in-iran.htm

Marxism vs Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) – https://marxist.com/marxism-vs-modern-monetary-theory-mmt.htm

Draft of an Article on Friedrich List’s book: Das Nationale System der Politischen Oekonomie – ⁠http://hiaw.org/defcon6/works/1845/03/list.html

On the Question of Free Trade – https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1888/free-trade/index.htm

⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️

00:00:00 Intro

00:00:49 The status quo (post-WWII liberal world order)

00:27:05 Protectionism and nationalism

00:47:19 Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)

01:08:57 Socialism

🫵 Join the Revolutionary Communist International: https://marxist.com/join-us.htm

📚 Marxist literature: https://wellred-books.com/

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revcomintern/

💬 Twitter: https://x.com/revcomintern/