It is a year since the Syrian masses
rose up against the Assad regime. Since March 2011, the Syrian people
have faced the open brutality of the state in wave after wave of mass
demonstrations, strikes and civil disobedience. These movements arose in
response to the stifling dictatorship, and against the massive
inequality, unemployment and poverty in Syrian society.

Despite having a constitution that
enshrines equality between the sexes, the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) is home to some of the most extreme and brutal oppression of
women. This demonstrates in a very vivid manner that women’s oppression
cannot be eliminated simply through legal rights, but requires certain
material conditions, which in turn must be fought for in the shape of a
class struggle.

We begin today the publication of the
IMT’s analysis of the world situation. This is a draft document that is
the basis of discussion within the Tendency and will be voted on with
possible amendments at this year’s world congress of the IMT. Part One
deals with the general crisis of world capitalism, to be followed by an
analysis of specific areas of the world.