Greek communists support education protests

Tens of thousands of school students, university students, teachers, parents, and workers took to the streets across Greece on October 21, demanding better public education, safer schools, and measures to address the rising cost of living. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and its youth organization, the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), welcomed the demonstrations.

KNE highlighted the slogan “Will we study or survive?”, which captured the financial pressures facing students and their families. The Party placed particular emphasis on the Grava school complex in Athens, where serious concerns had been raised about the condition and safety of facilities. KNE argued that the state was treating student safety as a cost rather than a basic responsibility.

Brazil: Communists celebrate Lula’s re-election

Brazil’s presidential runoff on October 25 delivered a victory for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva over far-right candidate Flávio Bolsonaro. The result was hailed by communists as a setback for U.S. imperialism’s efforts to reassert dominance in the Western Hemisphere and a blow to the far-right tide across Latin America.

The Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), part of the electoral federation with the Workers’ Party and the Green Party, made Lula’s re-election its central focus. PCdoB President Nádia Campeão stressed the importance of reaching abstentionists and mobilizing young people. The party also celebrated winning 11 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, up from six in 2022.

The victory carries global significance. A Bolsonaro win would have aligned Brazil with Trump’s assault on international law, the criminal blockade of Cuba, and the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. It would also have threatened the Amazon rainforest, where deforestation surged under Bolsonaro senior. The struggle continues, however: the right retains ascendancy in Congress, and Bolsonaro has refused to recognize the result.

Cuba: Communists and allies oppose U.S. aggression at the UN General Assembly

As the U.S. blockade of Cuba continues to subject millions to shortages of fuel, electricity, food and medicine, the Communist Party of Cuba has again carried the unwavering resolve of sovereignty to the General Assembly of the United Nations. The General Assembly, on Oct. 28, 2026, voted overwhelmingly (130 for, 7 against, 25 abstentions) on resolutions condemning the U.S.’s illegal blockade, as has happened at every meeting for the past 34 years.

The run-up to the vote was tense. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and U.S. Ambassador Waltz had a shouting match on the Assembly floor on October 27, and the U.S. expelled a Cuban UN mission official the next day over an alleged altercation with an American diplomat. After the vote, Rodríguez called it a “new victory” and said “Cuba is not a threat, the embargo is.” President Díaz-Canel called it a “triumph of truth.”

Furious with the global support for Cuba against the blockade, U.S. officials have threatened to impose tariffs on countries that vote for the resolution this year, while abusing speaking time in the General Assembly to lie about the Cuban government and people. In response, Cuban representatives have issued formal grievances and called for defending the dignity of both the Cuban people and the United Nations as a whole.

As the Trump administration threatens to invade Cuba and officials like Marco Rubio make public appeals for defectors to the CIA, President Miguel Díaz-Canel and other leaders have consistently asserted Cuba’s right to self-determination, as well as the readiness of the Cuban people to defend the country against any violation of its sovereignty.

Dockworkers strike against war economy

Dockworkers in 22 countries across five continents halted operations at roughly 113 ports on October 30 in the largest coordinated international work stoppage in decades. Organized under the slogan “Dockworkers do not work for war,” more than 25 trade unions participated in the action, called by the World Federation of Trade Unions.

Demands included an immediate end to transporting weapons through civilian ports, an end to the militarization of port infrastructure, solidarity with Palestine, and defense of workers’ wages and safety.

In Greece, some 3,000 workers brought Piraeus to a standstill, with KKE General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas declaring: “We demand ports of peace, belonging to the peoples, not bases and launching pads for the imperialists.” In Italy, USB called a nationwide general strike and dockworkers in Livorno refused to service a ship supplying the NATO base at Sigonella. In France, CGT reported over 90% participation in a 24-hour strike at major ports, with the PCF backing the action. Strikes and rallies also took place in Turkey, Germany, Australia, the U.S., India, Morocco, Brazil, Sweden, and Denmark.

Portugal: PCP joins protests against austerity

The Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) took part in nationwide demonstrations on October 17 organized by the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP-IN), demanding higher wages and pensions, improved public services, and measures to address the rising cost of living.

Demonstrations took place in Lisbon, Porto, and Coimbra, with additional mobilizations in Faro and Funchal. PCP General Secretary Paulo Raimundo joined the Lisbon march and criticized the government’s proposed changes to rental legislation, arguing they would favor property investors at the expense of tenants. The party called for greater public investment in housing and measures to improve access to affordable homes.

Housing activists maintained encampments in Lisbon’s Rossio square and Porto’s Praça D. João I over the weekend, with the Casa para Viver movement demanding action on the housing crisis. The CGTP-IN announced a further demonstration on November 24, coinciding with the scheduled final vote on the 2027 state budget.

France: PCF and MEJC mobilize against austerity

The French Communist Party (PCF) continues to back the nationwide demonstrations and is building momentum for a day of strikes and protests on November 5, organized through the trade unions’ (CGT) initiative. The PCF linked the student movement over education to workers’ grievances over stagnant wages, job cuts, and underfunded public services.

Party leader Fabien Roussel said the demands of hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators could not be ignored. The PCF condemned violence and looting that accompanied some protests but criticized police handling of demonstrations. Its program includes wage and pension increases, the creation of public-sector jobs, greater school funding, and the recruitment of 90,000 teachers.

Le Mouvement des jeunes communistes de France (MJCF) reported approximately 1,000 new members since the student movement began. MJCF leader Adeline Roulet said the organization participated in nearly 200 school blockades across its 60 federations — an unprecedented scale in recent history. Students have protested overcrowded classrooms, staff shortages, and the Parcoursup university admissions system. The MJCF called for the repeal of Parcoursup, the creation of one million jobs, and improved financial independence for students, with further actions planned for November 2 and 5.

Colombian communists join nationwide protests

The Colombian Communist Party (PCC) participated in nationwide demonstrations on October 14 against the policies of far-right President Abelardo de la Espriella’s new government. Protests brought together trade unionists, students, teachers, and Indigenous organizations demanding labor rights, public education funding, and continuation of agrarian reform. The PCC also criticized proposed changes to police procedures during demonstrations and defended the economic record of former President Gustavo Petro’s administration.

Japan: Communists call for an end to US-Japan military exercises

The Japanese Communist Party (JCP) called for the cancellation of the large-scale US-Japan military exercise Keen Sword 27, scheduled to begin October 19. Party organizations in Okinawa, Chiba, and Kochi protested, warning of heightened tensions with China and the risk of conflict involving Okinawa. The JCP also demanded the removal of Futenma Air Station and a fundamental revision of the US-Japan Status of Forces Agreement.

South Africa: SACP holds Red October rally ahead of local elections

The South African Communist Party (SACP) held its main Red October rally in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, on October 25. “Build people’s power on all fronts of the struggle in pursuit of the people’s needs,” the Party said. For the first time since 1994, the SACP is contesting local government elections independently of the ANC. General Secretary Solly Mapaila called for communities to build people’s power across workplaces and municipalities, prioritizing jobs, water, electricity, housing, food security, and safer communities.

The Party opposed the privatization of municipal services and electricity generation and criticized the government’s austerity policies. The rally opened on a sombre note as Mapaila condemned the killing of SACP councillor candidate Ernest Fipaza in the Eastern Cape on October 24, warning that such attacks undermine free and fair elections. The SACP reaffirmed its international solidarity with Palestine, Sudan, Cuba, and Venezuela.

Iraq: Communist Party fights for national sovereignty and democracy

The Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) renewed its call for the withdrawal of all foreign military forces and an end to outside interference in Iraq’s affairs. In statements marking the September 30 coalition withdrawal deadline, the Party welcomed announced steps while insisting that full sovereignty requires an independent national political and military decision-making process. It demanded that weapons and decisions over war and peace come exclusively under constitutional state authority, rejecting Iraq’s use as a battlefield for regional and international rivalries.

The Party linked these demands with opposition to sectarian patronage and corruption. On October 16, it rejected the newly completed government lineup as another bargain dividing state offices among powerful parties, calling instead for a broad, peaceful popular movement for democracy, sovereignty, and social justice

Israel: Joint List advances, communists push for change beyond Netanyahu

The Hadash-led Joint List, led by the Communist Party of Israel (Maki), won 11 seats in the October 27 parliamentary election, up from six in 2022. The campaign centered on removing Netanyahu’s government, opposing fascism, racism and the occupation, and advancing Jewish-Arab equality and a just peace.

Neither Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot appears to have secured the 61 seats needed to govern alone, leaving the Joint List’s role in coalition negotiations uncertain. Maki also reported irregularities and delays at polling stations in Arab towns, and an attack by Kahanist activists on its Tel Aviv campaign premises.

For Maki, the central test is whether the election produces real change on racism, inequality, occupation, and Palestinian rights — removing Netanyahu, the party argues, is necessary but insufficient without substantive policy change.

Lebanon: Lebanese Communist Party marks 102nd anniversary

The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP) called a national demonstration in Beirut on October 25 to mark its 102nd anniversary under the slogan “liberation and change.” Marchers proceeded from Barbir Square to Riad al-Solh Square, demanding an end to Israeli occupation, the return of displaced residents, reconstruction, and the release of prisoners.

The Party connected these demands with opposition to Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system and economic policies that impoverish working people. Its anniversary statement called for a secular democratic state, stronger public services, wage and pension adjustments, and protection for small depositors. Appealing to progressive, democratic, and trade union forces, the Party advocates a broad national and popular resistance linked to democratic and social transformation.

Images: KKE and KNE mobilize for educations protests; ‘Workers do not work for war’ banner in Greece; PCF and MEJC mobilize during French protests; SACP during Red October election rally; LCP during 102nd anniversary march. All images sourced from International Communist Press.