Articles

On 28 October 2024, an international delegation arrived in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for a week-long observation mission. Among them were lawyers, former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, Jaume Asens, a former Spanish MP who has since become an MEP, and Marc Botenga, his PTB counterpart in the European Parliament. Solidaire met up with Botenga for a hard-hitting account of the few days he spent close to Israeli army fire.

ManiFiesta 2024 was all about a fiery atmosphere, talented musicians and artists, exciting speakers from all over the world, Belgium's biggest left-wing book fair, an international trade union village, a children's festival for our youngest revellers, the best food from around the world and sport and games for everyone. A new MundoFiesta square where we met many international guests from all over the world to share their struggles and enthusiasm. Thank you so much for making ManiFiesta 2024 unforgettable! We look forward to seeing you at the 2025 edition, on 13 and 14 September!

More than 32,000 people from the care, social welfare and socio-cultural sectors, from all over the country, took to the streets of Brussels to demand better pay, better working conditions and new colleagues.

Donald Trump has been re-elected as President of the United States and many people are wondering how we got here. And what should we do now? Peter Mertens, Secretary General of the PVDA-PTB, analyses the reasons for Trump's victory, the defeat of Kamala Harris and the Democrats, and gives a sign of hope in spite of everything.

Donald Trump has again been elected president of the United States. His victory is the victory of the US billionaire class who lavished hundreds of millions of dollars on his election campaign. It is also the defeat of a Democratic Party that no longer offers any prospects to young people and to the working class. Trump's election ushers in a new phase of authoritarianism in the US, and of hostility and tension around the world. But there is hope: a new generation of activists is ready to lead the resistance.

Every day brings new infernal images from Gaza. Israel continues its genocide, extending its massacres to Lebanon and its murderous repression in the West Bank and Jerusalem. European and American leaders are complicit in these crimes, since no concrete action is being taken to put an end to them.

After the municipal elections on October 13, PVDA-PTB General Secretary, Peter Mertens, takes stock. The PVDA-PTB is gaining ground in all three regions of the country, with many new local representatives, many of them workers and young people. This gives us hope and prospects for the future.

The Workers’ Party of Belgium (PVDA-PTB) is making progress in the three regions of Belgium: Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia. In Flanders, despite the abolition of compulsory voting and an unprecedented smear campaign, we achieve 20% of the votes in Antwerp. This is a historic result in the largest city of Flanders.

For one weekend, ManiFiesta was once again the world as it should be.

Hello, ManiFiesta! Wow! Such a crowd! You should see yourselves from up here. Every year, this is a moment that gives me goose pumps. There's more than 15,000 of us at ManiFiesta! Thank you, ManiFiesta!

"The PVDA-PTB's recent election result is a strong sign of hope for all the future struggles of the working class and young people. The PVDA-PTB has doubled its number of elected representatives in Flanders, made strong gains in Brussels and is the most resilient left-wing party in Wallonia," said Peter Mertens. In this interview, conducted two weeks after the elections, the PVDA-PTB General Secretary takes a detailed look at the election results and the lessons that can be drawn from them.

Welcome to the 14th edition of ManiFiesta, the Solidarity Festival, on 7 and 8 September in Ostend (Belgium).