(English under revision)
In recent decades, many parts of the world have seen intense struggles, widespread revolts, uprisings, and moments that could in some cases be described as insurrectionary.
To quote just a few : Argentina (2001), Greece (2008), then between 2010 and 2013: Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Slovenia, Turkey, Bosnia, Brazil; followed by the wave between 2018 and 2022: Nicaragua, France, Sudan, Algeria, Guinea, Iraq, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Iran, USA, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Peru; in 2024: Kanaky, Bangladesh, Kenya and finally, in 2025, Serbia, Turkey, Nepal, Indonesia, Philippines, Madagascar, Morrocco, Ecuador, Peru…
The wave of uprisings around the world continuously faces the same limitations. No uprising has managed to extend its force sufficiently, in time and space, to prevent the insurgents from being forced to return to work. Our movements are digested, transformed into democratic transition, takeover the state , new constitutions. For the moment, the struggle for revolutionary expansion is not succeeding. However, this struggle exists. In our view, it is even a fundamental dynamic of our movements.
These revolts gain power and revolutionary potential when they transcend existing structures. When the struggle is organized outside of parties and unions, without representatives or intermediaries. We, the authors of this text, experienced this during our participation in the yellow vest movement. It is in the light of this experience that we speak here. Together with others, we took part in a battle within the movement itself. We were on the side that said “we want everything, for everyone” and refused to be trapped in politics. We saw how this orientation strengthened the movement and the dynamic it carried: that of victory.
But what would victory means ?
There is no revolutionary question separate from the struggle for our immediate interests. There is no communism or anarchy that are ideals separate from the movement to abolish what destroys us. When we talk about immediate interests, we are not talking about the mystification of “purchasing power” and inflation, or bargaining to save jobs, businesses, the economy, the state coffers, or social peace.
On the contrary, we are talking about no longer wasting our time trying to earn a living. No longer poisoning ourselves by eating, drinking, and breathing. No longer dying of starvation or being homeless, no longuer dying of bullets, bombs, or being beaten on street corners. No longer drowning while migrating, no longer banging our heads against the walls of state prisons, and no longer dying there from beatings and torture.
Yes, we want all of that, and much more, because we want collective, sensitive, and relational enjoyment of life. We don’t want to be robbed of our lives anymore. We want to finally be able to act, to live freely in a new world. Capitalism has no solution to any of this. And we have no way of achieving it except through world revolution, the abolition of the state, money, work, the family, social classes, and the entire capitalist social relationship. This is the beginning of an answer to the question “what is victory” for us.
We are still searching for the paths to victory
These paths are sought wherever movements become more than a riot, more than a wildcat strike. They then have nothing to do with a union march or any kind of electoral cartel. Self-organization, direct action, rejection of demands and negotiation. Attacking the economy (through the destruction of businesses and infrastructure), rejecting the prospect of self-management, and attacking symbols of the state (occupying and/or destroying places of power, etc.).
All these dynamics seek the path to victory, but they have not led to social revolution, at least not yet. The revolutionary tendency within the movements remains a minority. This tendency it is searhing for itself and gaining ground by confronting all the reformist forces that permeate social struggles, in addition to the repressive forces of the states.
It is on this combination of repression and integration into the state promoted by the left wing of capital that our movements are currently failing. And we have seen how, as the tide begins to turn, part of the movement’s strength is being channeled into democratic degagisme, the belief in regime change aimed at “ending corruption,” citizenism, electoral illusions (citizen-initiated referendums, constitutional change, early elections, etc.), or even toward redistributive demands (wage increases or tax withdrawals) or criticism of repressive forces (police reform, etc.).
Current movements, when they reach a certain scale, seem to be characterized by two phases and two opposing forces: a short upward phase in which they gain strength, then they reach a limit and defeat begins, through political co-optation on the one hand and repression on the other: integration of the fringe of the movement that can be integrated and repression of the fringe of the movement that wants to continue the struggle.
We are forced to acknowledge that all the uprisings of the contemporary period have hit a kind of “glass ceiling.” This account from Chile illustrates what we are talking about: “The authorities have completely failed to impose order or normality, while we, the insurgents, have not yet been able to completely overturn it.” It is in these moments of uncertainty that the state takes advantage of the situation to reorganize itself and regain control in order to prevent a revolutionary shift.
However, the revolts of the current period are taking place in all regions of the world and share certain practices. Within them, many of us are seeking the paths to victory. The question of revolution is a present one for us. It is an immediate necessity.
In this perspective, we seek to foster the sharing of experiences, struggles, and strategic considerations—in short, to amplify the global conversation about our uprisings. To do this, we would like to invite you to participate in a process of cross-interviews. This means starting discussion, publicaly or privately between our groups through a series of questions that we would set together, as well as their answers and the questions that they in turn raise. We would like to start by proposing a few questions here, but we know that they cannot cover everything we need to discuss. We are therefore not only asking for answers, but also for new questions, which we will try to answer in turn. The list below is only a first attempt, to which we invite you to contribute.
First questions :
- The current uprisings have not been able to disrupt production enough to destabilize the economy. And after a while, people have to go back to work to make a living, which is one of the major limitations that the yellow vest movement has encountered in France. How did this play out for you? Did the question of attacking work arise? And if so, how? Through strikes, i.e., from within the workplace, or through blockades and sabotage, i.e., from outside? Or in some other way?
- In the same vein, has the movement considered the question of its own material means of existence without work, without property, without exchange?
- What kind of relations did the movement have with political parties and trade unions? What are their strengths? Were any disruptive practices possible?
- Overcoming local dynamics and coordination during the phase of offensivity are quickly becoming a necessity for the movement. What was your experience in this regard? What attempts were made?
- Often, it is when coordination structures of the movement are being set up that parties, unions, and other forms of leadership come back to the fore to try to take control. What do you think about this dynamic? How can we prevent against this?
- Social media administrators can quickly take on a leadership role because they control key accounts through which movements have been launched in recent years (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.). Was this also an important issue for you? And did the movement take any measures to prevent this?
- The specter of war and civil war, military repression, and relations with the army are important issues for our movements. What has been your experience in this regard?
- Solidarity in the face of repression is essential to the life of the movement. How did that work out for you?
- Finally, we ask ourselves the following questions about movements between two different periods of struggle:
- Have recent movements benefited from the experience of previous ones? If so, in what way?
- When movements subside, what remains? What connections, spaces, structures, and practices remain? Do you think we should contribute to maintaining them, and if so, how?
- Outside of these movements, outside of periods of struggle, what initiatives and activities do you think are possible and relevant in order to maintain alive the revolutionary perspective?