Thumbs up, thumbs down, part 2: Lula’s victory in Brazil; farcical responses to inflation in Poland

“On the Barricades” s05e51

This is the second installment of our monthly series which “On the Barricades” co-produces and co-hosts with Youri Smouter of 1+1. Co-hosts Boyan Stanislavski, Maria Cernat speak with Youri on some thumbs down with regards to Romanian news.

Co-hosts Boyan Stanislavski, Maria Cernat speak with Youri focus on the success of various social movements to coalesce and put Lula into power in Brazil in the October 30 general elections. What should the left take from this? Speaking of holding politicians accountable and confronting their support for warmongering and imperialist agendas, the discussion goes to Haiti, where an UN-led intervention is planned. Boyan has some thumbs down on the laughable responses to the crisis of inflation by Polish politicians: building a wall to keep supposed migrants out, and promising a nuclear power plant that will not be finished for two decades. Meanwhile Lukashenko in Belarus bans price increases and keeps the effects of the crisis at bay.

0:49 👍 Lula victory in Brazil

3:59 👎 Lula invites hatred of the western and national media

9:20 👎 Why do people vote right? Poverty and susceptibility to war and fear-mongering

17:20 👍 The task of the Left with respect to Lula

22:20 👍 Anti-war demos, confronting politicians directly in Canada and the US

24:58 👎 Imperialist intervention in Haiti

👎 Polish authorities dealing with rampant inflation and energy crisis:
28:36 By building a wall between Poland and Russian exclave

36:00 By building a 35 billion USD nuclear plant, ready by 2040 earliest

41:35 Belarus President Lukashenko bans price-raising