(Vijay Prashad was in Venezuela and Bolivia recently. He was an observer for the National Assembly election in Venezuela)ON November 10, 2019, a coup d’état in Bolivia led to the exile of its president Evo Morales Ayma, a sustained attack – including massacres – of members of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), and the seizure of the state apparatus by the far right. Massacres in Sacaba and El Alto defined the crackdown, as the military and the police colluded with fascist groups such as the Santa Clara Youth Union to intimidate the largely indigenous population of Bolivia.

BJP HAS become the main threat for the survival of regional parties in the country, said Prakash Karat, Editor, Peoples’ Democracy and CPI(M) Polit Bureau Member, while delivering theMakineni Basavapunnaiah Memorial lecture on “Present Politics- Challenges before the Regional parties”.The 106thbirth anniversary of the Marxist ideologue- M Basavapunnaiah was conducted at MB Vignana Kendram (MBVK), Vijayawada on December 15. P Madhu, managing trustee of MB Trust and CPI(M) state secretary presided over the meeting.

THE year that is ending saw India face one of the worst calamities in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the year will also be tragically remembered because the Indian government turned into an open enemy of the people, dropping all pretences of working for their welfare. It not only monumentally mismanaged the pandemic but, in the process, it foisted a series of policies on the country that would consolidate the rule of big capitalists and landowners, big traders and foreign monopolists, grinding down the peasantry and working class in the process.

THOUSANDS of kisans on December 15, under the joint leadership of Sanyukt Kisan Morcha(Joint Kisan Front), and on the call of AIKSCC reached Shahjahanpur where they were stopped by the Haryana police. Shahjahanpur is the border of Rajasthan and Haryana states. These kisans were mainly from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana. Since last three days, the Jaipur-Delhi National Highway has been blocked as the kisans are not allowed to march forward to Delhi. There is a continuous dharna at Shahjahanpur.Hundreds of kisans from Sriganganagar came on dozens of tractors and reached the venue.

MAHARASHTRA witnessed four massive actions in the last three weeks. The first was the response to the nationwide working-class strike and the nationwide peasant upsurge on November 26. The second was the solidarity action to support the fighting farmers of Punjab and Haryana at the Delhi border on December 3. The third was the overwhelming response to the Bharat Bandh on December 8 in support of the farmer’s struggle.