In a world characterised by the sharpening of inter-imperialist contradictions, and the rise of the struggle of the working class and the peoples against the domination of the bourgeoisie and imperialism, workers across the globe are preparing to commemorate May Day, a day that champions the struggle of the international proletariat for its demands and rights, to achieve its social emancipation.
American imperialism has launched the first volleys in a new trade war, which will cause serious negative consequences for the growth of the global economy. There’s a consensus of opinion that the tariff policy implemented by Donald Trump will provoke a recessionary process; international bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have made downward revisions to their growth forecasts for the global economy in this year, 2025. The world was scandalised – and rightly so – by the fall of stock markets in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America in the days following 2nd April, the date on which Trump announced the new tariffs; large international monopolies “lost” millions of dollars due to the drop in their share prices, amounts which, incidentally, are later recovered. However, the most serious aspect is that in times of recession and economic crisis, it is the workers who are most affected because companies close down, jobs are lost, inflation increases, and the purchasing power of wages deteriorates. State budgets are cut and redirected, mechanisms are sought to intensify the exploitation of workers and maximise the profits of the bourgeoisie, who are also granted incentives and tax reductions. Ultimately, it is the people who bear the brunt of the crisis. That is the logic of capitalism.
The international policy of the head of American imperialism seeks to regain ground lost in recent years in its position as a hegemonic power. That’s why it has China as its primary target of attack, as it is the only capitalist-imperialist power that, at this moment, has set out to challenge that hegemony, and is successfully doing so. Trump’s threatening rhetoric against those who “rebel” against his tariff policy is now also being used by Xi Jinping against countries that sign trade agreements with the US that harm China.
Tensions are escalating on the international stage, and the risk of the trade war leading to confrontations of another kind, including in the military sphere, is present. Trump’s interest in closing the chapter of the war in Ukraine is not due to any genuine interest in promoting peace. The militaristic inclination of Trump and the circle governing in the White House is evident in the threats to send troops to the Panama Canal to gain control of it, in the announcement of taking Greenland, in the economic and military support for the Israeli Zionist regime that murders the Palestinian people, and in the bombings launched in Yemen, to cite a few cases.
We are currently witnessing the growth of right-wing conservative, reactionary, fascist, and philo-fascist political forces. Trump’s presence in the US presidency encourages these sectors on the international stage. They are not the only enemies of the workers and the peoples; the international bourgeoisie also has other instruments for deception: social democracy, progressivism, and opportunism. We must confront both, as an indispensable condition for advancing the organisation of our forces with class independence.
From the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organisations (CIPOML), we call on the workers of the world, the youth and women of the popular sectors, the oppressed peoples and nationalities to work for the strengthening of the unity of the exploited and oppressed, to strengthen their social and political organisations to confront the bourgeoisie and imperialism, to raise the struggle for their particular demands and rights, to direct our struggles towards the triumph of the social revolution of the proletariat and the construction of socialism and communism.
Long live May Day, international day of unity, solidarity, and struggle of the working class!
Solidarity with the Palestinian people facing the genocidal Israeli Zionism!
With Marxism-Leninism, for revolution and socialism!
International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organisations – CIPOML
April, 2025