The Egyptian revolution: Phase two

Counter-revolution

The Arab spring is a huge threat to Western imperialism in the region, and the counter-revolution is taking a variety of forms: direct military intervention in Libya, indirect intervention through Saudi Arabia in Bahrain, and a combination of weapons sales and  “financial aid” in Egypt, and the government was just forced to reject the loan–citing the “pressure of public opinion“. . But with the Eurozone in crisis, the funds are relatively small for such a large and strategic country as Egypt. Meanwhile the internal counter-revolution in Egypt is based on a combination of co-opting and attacking the revolution.

While corporations and the regime are claiming the mantle of the revolution — on murals and posters — they are attacking the strength and unity on which the revolution depends. One of the first acts of the military regime after the fall of Mubarak was to ban strikes that helped drive him from power, and since then it has broken up sit-ins, and harassed union activists in education and transportation. It has also overseen attacks on the International Women’s Day March — including subjecting women to virginity tests — and the burning of a Coptic church.

The regime has accused striking doctors — who earn less tan $3/day of being traitors to the revolution, while the state-controlled trade unions have accused the independent trade unions of being “counter-revolutionary among the workers.” Just as Stalin’s counter-revolution used the language of socialism, so the military regime in Egypt is using the language of revolution in an attempt to undermine the movement for change. The leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood is complicit with the military regime in its quest for power, using religious language to call off demonstrations. But many of its membership, particularly the youth, were radicalized by the revolution and continue to demonstrate.

Workers

In this context workers struggles are key to counter divisions and push the revolution forward. As Hossam El-Hamalawy wrote last month in The Guardian:

“Many are disappointed with Egypt’s progress — me less so because I never had high expectations from an army takeover. But two things have changed in Egypt in the past 100 days which give me hope, and both relate to the fact that the revolution is unfinished. The first is that mass strikes are continuing. The second is that workers have taken the step of establishing independent trade unions, which I believe are the silver bullet for any dictatorship.

Attempts are already under way by middle-class activists to place limits on this revolution and ensure it remains only within the realm of formal political institutions. But the main part of any revolution has to be socio-economic emancipation for the citizens of a country. So this is phase two of the revolution, the phase of socio-economic change. What we need to do now is take Tahrir to the factories, the universities, the workplaces. In every single institution in this country there is a mini-Mubarak who needs to be overthrown. In every institution there are figures from the old state security regime who need to be overthrown.”

In neighbourhoods, the Popular Committees to Defend the Revolution have continued to advocate for better services and to remove corrupt officials. In workplaces, more than 150 independent unions have formed since the fall of Mubarak — from textile and aluminum workers, to postal and hospital workers, and even workers who issue marriage licences. In March, doctors organized national strikes demanding better wages for all workers, the removal of corrupt officials, and an increase in the health budget from 3 to 15 per cent of GDP. On March 25 an independent union uniting all hospital workers was launched in Cairo, and 3 days later the hospital director resigned. In April postal workers from across Egypt met to organize an independent union. According to Adil Hisham, a postal worker:

“Alongside supporting workers’ demands, we’ll be working on setting up our independent union as quickly as possible. … Now is the time for workers in Egypt to set up independent organizations to defend themselves from the bosses’ attacks, and to unite their demands in the wake of the victory of the revolution which opened the door to all workers to get organized and speak with one voice.”

On May Day, the Egyptian Federation of Independent Unions mobilized the first national public demonstration for workers in over 60 years, and a Democratic Workers Party was launched to represent workers demands — from raising the minimum wage to 1200LE, removing corrupt managers re-nationalization of privatized industries, and ending Egypt’s ties with Israel.

In the first week of June there were strikes or protests by flight attendants, petro workers, subway workers, and Parliament workers, while a pharmacists union formed. Meanwhile, protesters marked the anniversary of the death of Khaled Said by chanting outside the Interior Ministry and spray-painting his face all over the notorious building — while vans full of riot police watched passively. For the past two weeks Suez Canal workers have been on strike. This week hundreds of British trade unionists sent a solidarity message, demanding the Egyptian regime respect the right to strike and protest, and the British government stop selling weapons used to suppress strikes and protests.

Arab Spring, World Spring

The Egyptian revolution is inspiring people all over the world. Shortly after the fall of Mubarak workers in Wisconsin occupied the capital building, inspired by the Egyptian revolution and received solidarity messages from Egypt. Then Tahrir arrived in Madrid as tens of thousands occupied the main square against austerity. In Canada, Parliamentary page Brigette DePape interrupted the throne speech calling for an Arab Spring in Canada.

Though our conditions are different, we too have been inspired by Palestinian resistance and mobilized against the Iraq War; we too are mobilizing against police indifference and injustice, from the missing and murdered aboriginal women to the mass arrests at the G20; we too have lived through a generation of neoliberal policies, and are facing an austerity agenda; we too are facing attacks on our trade unions, but are starting to fight back.

That’s why we need to learn more from the Egyptian revolution. As an Egyptian activist said recently, “If you’re inspired by our Arab revolutions, do as we did. You need one, I know you need one. And we need you to do one. It’s not just an Arab Spring, it’s a world spring.”

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