A week ago, the Bolivian left-wing party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), currently led by Luis Arce, decisively lost the round of elections against the right-wing. This comes after a prolonged period of "infighting" between Arce, and Morales, who previously led the MAS prior to the 2019 coup which briefly installed Jeanine Anez.
I put infighting in quotes because despite the nominal similarities between Arce and Morales, it is clear that this is not merely a counterproductive battle between two men - instead, the Bolivian left has arrived at a time of unavoidable conflict between two competing strategies. The electoral strategy is represented by Arce, who has aligned himself with a more middle-class-oriented campaign that is more economically liberal, whereas Morales represents a more working-class-oriented campaign that seeks to go further than tepid reform.
Such a conflict between electoralism and revolutionary action is inevitable in any and every developing country that 1) possesses a functioning left-wing party or organization, and 2) is under internal and/or external pressure by capitalists. This crisis must be resolved eventually - and this electoral failure is how such a crisis is manifesting right now. So while the Bolivian left has indeed lost the election, it is not yet defeated. The revolutionary campaign can, if it is willing, still ultimately stand triumphant. But what must be done is a real movement towards socialism, which goes beyond technocrats reforming from above, and instead transforms the state into a full political project of the working class, in which their movements, organizations, and protests are genuinely empowered. Such a project will involve repression by the forces of reaction, not least by the United States, but it is the only road left to take.
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Israel's Genocide of Palestine
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against the temporary Zionist entity. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA reports on Israel's destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news.
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
English-language PalestineResist telegram channel.
More telegram channels here for those interested.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Defense Politics Asia's youtube channel and their map. Their youtube channel has substantially diminished in quality but the map is still useful.
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don't want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it's just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists' side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR's former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR's forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster's telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a 'propaganda tax', if you don't believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
cw suicide mention
https://www.tiempoar.com.ar/ta_article/los-suicidios-se-duplicaron-en-el-primer-ano-de-milei/
Suicides doubled in Milei's first year
While President Javier Milei proposes the country's withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the official media are agitating about an explosive increase in homicides in the Conurbano (Greater Buenos Aires), a statement by the Minister of Health of Buenos Aires, Nicolás Kreplak, warned about a rarely discussed socio-health crisis: the increase in suicides among the population during the last year, since the new government of chainsaws, violence, and the absence of a protective State took office.
"The number of suicides in the province is double the number of murders. Suicides doubled in Javier Milei's first year," the Buenos Aires City official stated a few days ago . He also highlighted that these episodes increased among the elderly population, the most vulnerable, the ones who face the greatest consequences of the adjustments on a daily basis, the most abandoned.
The policies of depleting and defunding key areas of the health system, such as the dismantling of regional teams, helplines, and layoffs at the hospitals that address this issue (especially the Laura Bonaparte), only aggravate the situation and raise alarm bells, amid the absence of official data at the national level.
“The problem of suicide is a worldwide concern, so much so that, coordinated by the WHO, most countries are increasing their budgets for implementing prevention policies. Unfortunately, despite our country having a National Suicide Prevention Law, we don't know what resources the Mental Health Directorate, which reports to the Ministry of Health, is putting into practice,” says Alberto Trimboli, honorary president of the Argentine Mental Health Association.
The professional praised Minister Kreplak's mention of the problem: "It's not usually an issue discussed by the State or by society. The media is causing us to lose sight of the fact that thousands of people take their own lives every day, many more than those who die from security incidents."
Trimboli points out that suicide is the most common cause of death among people aged 15 to 29 worldwide, and that there are no official national data available for the last year. "Among adolescents and young people, there are factors that influence this, such as problematic consumption in digital environments, online gambling, cyberbullying, cyberbullying, and those related to artificial intelligence are beginning to appear. A few months ago, we learned of a case in the United States in which a 14-year-old boy committed suicide at the request of his "girlfriend," created by Artificial Intelligence," he asserts.
He maintains that the Ministry of Health should implement a program with an intersectoral approach that includes outreach and awareness-raising on the issue, training for professionals, the media, security forces, and the community at large. These campaigns do not currently exist. "It should also allocate resources to finance tools, and, fundamentally, surveillance, monitoring, and evaluation of the suicide situation are essential," he adds. The State must prevent
Hortensia Cáceres is the head of the emergency room at the Bonaparte National Hospital, a mental health center currently being dismantled by the government. She clarifies that it is important to differentiate between suicide attempts, which are real actions that can lead to death, and attempts, which are mere gestures: "Certain types of suicide attempts have increased, especially among young people, with the peculiarity that they are associated with problematic substance use and even occur in the context of intoxication."
The specialist explains that this problem grew exponentially in the post-pandemic era, along with all mental health conditions: "Especially among adolescents and young people, we saw an increase in depression, anxiety disorders, and suicide attempts." After COVID, last year came adjustment, crisis, daily violence, and a state that withdrew. Almost another pandemic. Cáceres points out that the approach to these cases must be interdisciplinary, with the involvement of psychologists, social workers, and nurses to identify the different variables of motives: "Strategies differ from person to person; we work with the individual, the family and their environment, and friends. The support of a social and emotional network is essential."
How can this be addressed from a community perspective? For Cáceres, the role of the State is of utmost importance. This includes education, where teachers need training on the topic to detect significant changes in the mood of adolescents and young people, and the promotion of prevention policies. "It's not just about promoting dialogue in all spaces. It's essential that mental health is not underfunded. We also have a role to play in prevention and promotion through spaces and workshops," she warns.
The professional points out that most cases occur within a context of a breakdown in social ties, where socioeconomic factors are of great relevance: "That's why there was an increase after the pandemic, as a result of the loss of social ties. The phenomenon of individuality emerges, to which you add the socioeconomic crisis. We have patients who had their treatment and health insurance and have lost their jobs and can't find another." They feel alone and isolated. Support and affection networks become essential.
“The important thing is to build a social network for people with suicidal ideation,” emphasizes Alberto Álvarez of the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association. The approach depends on the age groups involved: “In adolescents, sometimes suicides aren't deliberate, but occur during dangerous activities, even sports. There are kids who, in the stress of near-death, feel alive.” In cases like these, it's important for the community to create spaces for dialogue to find a way out of the anguish and need for these near-death experiences that some young people experience: “In a Buenos Aires municipality where this happened a few years ago, for example, there wasn't a public, well-maintained place for adolescents to run, exercise, or ride bikes or motorcycles. And a lot of work was done with the municipality to inaugurate it, along with talks and programs on mental health and general health.”
In the case of older adults, those most at risk are those who are lonely, without family or friends, or who suffer from an illness that impairs their quality of life or autonomy. The psychiatrist points out: "We must work hard on social ties to include them in a network. It is essential that general practitioners, family doctors, psychiatrists with social insurance companies, and PAMI work together. Inclusion is key.