crisis
Elections on 28 April 2019Following a short term of office, Social Democrat Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for elections in Spain in the midst of a deeply volatile political period, just one month before the European, regional (except in Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia and Comunidad Valenciana) and local elections.
Next Sunday 28 April, the Spanish Parliament will be re-elected. These will be the 13th general elections in Spain since the transition in 1978. The traditional two-party system that prevailed for over 30 years broke down after the ...
read more "Opportunities and Risks for the Left in Spain"
read more "Opportunities and Risks for the Left in Spain"
Opportunities for a connective platformSince the beginning of the great crisis ten years ago the political landscape is been revolved. Due to the given new authoritarianism of the ruling classes it is not that much surprising that various protest movements and new left parties were defeated. It is rather astonishing that time and again new radical movements are bursting out all over the place. Meanwhile they have a fierce competition from the radical right, having a menacing rise all over Europe. In face of the European elections the political landscape is very...
read more "Momentum for a Europe of the many"
read more "Momentum for a Europe of the many"
A comment from MexicoThe North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico and the US entered into force on the 1st of January 1994. It is the worst tragedy that has happened in Mexico’s economic history.* Since its beginning, this Free Trade Agreement (FTA) turned out to be a spearhead for a hard offensive by the US to undermine Mexico’s national sovereignty. By being the only country in the world that has followed the Washington consensus to the letter throughout three and half decades, Mexico has ...
read more "Renegotiating NAFTA—an unprecedented reinforcement of subordination"
read more "Renegotiating NAFTA—an unprecedented reinforcement of subordination"
The day after the election, no one knows who will be governing Sweden in the coming four years. The two traditional coalitions are tied at almost exactly the same result. The current governing red/green coalition; the Social Democrats, the Greens and passive support from the Left Party, received 40.6% of the votes, while the challenging centre-right coalition; the Moderates, Liberals, Centre Party and Christian Democrats, ended up with 40.3%. The rest was made up of the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats at 17.6%, which makes them the third biggest party and,...
read more "The end of Swedish exceptionalism"
read more "The end of Swedish exceptionalism"
Austerity, Gender Inequality and Feminism after the Crisis in RussiaRussia has been experiencing the results of an acute economic crisis since 2012. However, the government has not been explicit in its declarations regarding austerity policies. On the contrary, it tends to represent its measures as "normal" and generally justifies cuts to public expenditure and reduced spending as part of a new understanding of the welfare state and socio-economic relations. Nevertheless, there is a clear connection ...
read more "”Should Women Have More Rights?” – Traditional Values and Austerity in Russia"
read more "”Should Women Have More Rights?” – Traditional Values and Austerity in Russia"
Austerity, Gender Inequality and Feminism after the Crisis in UkraineFollowing the Euromaidan, the outbreak of war and ensuing economic crisis, the Ukrainian government introduced wide-ranging reforms guided by the neoliberal idea that stability and economic growth can be generated by cutting social spending.
Despite the government's proclaimed intent to support the poorest and weakest members of Ukrainian society, the opposite has occurred, and the negative effects of the new reforms have ended up targeting them most. Women in Ukraine ...
read more "Devaluation of Female Labor and the Retreat of the State"
read more "Devaluation of Female Labor and the Retreat of the State"
Austerity, Gender Inequality and Feminism after the Crisis in IrelandWe find austerity is gendered and that, following almost a decade of austerity, the position of women in Ireland has regressed economically and socially. Different dynamics shape gendered austerity which in some instances re-feminises care, while in other instances forces a process of de-domestication for some women. Contradictions in state policy produce ambiguities that arise when family policy creates logics that pull women towards caring roles while labour market policy ...
read more "Irish Feminist Approaches against Austerity Regimes"
read more "Irish Feminist Approaches against Austerity Regimes"
Austerity, Gender Inequality and Feminism after the Crisis in SpainThe international financial crisis that began in 2007 hit the Spanish economy hard, accelerating the housing market's collapse and increasing unemployment (which rose from 9.6% in 2008 to 26.9% in 2013) and the risk of poverty. The European Union intensified its pressure on Spain in spring 2010, as Zapatero's government approved the first package of austerity measures in May of that year, along with labour market and pension reforms later on. Austerity measures were ...
read more "The Permanent Care Crisis and Its Effects on Gender Equality"
read more "The Permanent Care Crisis and Its Effects on Gender Equality"
Mapping the impacts of austerity on women's lives across Europe"Without us, the world stops working" – This was the slogan under which millions of Spanish women launched a general strike on 8 March 2018. The strike was more than just a strike, however, giving women the opportunity to discuss different related topics and engage in processes of self-organization around questions like work, care, and consumption (read more about the strike).
No other left-wing social movement has protested and organized against patriarchal structures on a global scale...
read more "When the Belt Can’t Get Any Tighter"
read more "When the Belt Can’t Get Any Tighter"
Austerity, Gender Inequality and Feminism after the Crisis in GreeceThough austerity has prevailed across Europe to varying degrees, Greece in particular faces a situation of permanent austerity. The fiscal consolidation programs implemented since 2010 have brought extensive cuts to the public sector, over-taxation, privatizations, institutional reforms, devaluation of labour, high unemployment and precariousness.
The social crisis provoked by fiscal austerity has also had major negative impacts on gender equality, undermining ...
read more "Gendered Aspects of the Austerity Regime in Greece: 2010–2017"
read more "Gendered Aspects of the Austerity Regime in Greece: 2010–2017"