Political Report of the Progressive Tribune – Bahrain Tenth Conference
International and regional affairs:
Over the last two decades, and especially in recent years, major events have been occurring in our world at an accelerating pace, alerting the balances and trends of this world. Since the crisis of 2008 – 2009, the machine stopped, and the era of growth ended after two and a half centuries of existence. Global economic growth has become largely dependent on debt growth – in other words, borrowing at the expense of the future. Democrats in the United States have failed to live up to their ‘progressive’ slogans in defending the interests of the lower classes, but the fatal failure was in elevating the crisis to a moral crisis by promoting homosexuality and transgender values, separating from family guardianship, and abortion. It has become clear that life has not returned after the crisis, and will never return to what it was before it. This is what the global elite has gradually realized.
The COVID-19 crisis has deepened the crisis of global capitalism, with business slowdowns, severing supply chains, and restoring to fiscal easing policies. Economic recovery programs have only exacerbated the situation. While the capitalist core and periphery prioritized the economy and failed to achieve this goal; the socialist system in the Republic of China succeeded in saving both society and economy.
The West’s provocation with NARO’s advance to encircle Russia with nuclear missiles and biological weapons laboratories led to a devastating war in Ukraine, accompanied by the largest economic blockade against Russia. While Russia viewed this as an existential challenge, it successfully confronted it. The just demand of the world’s peoples to end this bloody war has become more achievable today, due to the reality on the ground and to US political changes. The state of affairs suggests that the upcoming US-Russian summit in the Saudi Capital, Riyadh, may extend beyond Ukraine, perhaps to a “new Yalta”.
As for the European countries, which were led blindly into this war, they plunged into an energy crisis that loomed over Germany, the locomotive of the European economy, as its production declined. As the financial and economic crisis deepened, Europe embarked on self-armament programs, arming Ukraine, and military spending, depleting these countries’ resources at the expense of declining social programs and deteriorating living conditions for their citizens. This stress was compounded by European countries joining the United States in continuing massive arms shipments to Israel in support of its brutal aggression against Gaza and Lebanon, which directly contributed to the genocide, as well as its aggression against Yemen and Iran. When it comes to the foreign policy, military affairs, or energy use, Europe appears increasingly rudderless in a turbulent world, threatening its internal social and political stability.
Most European political leaderships have been exposed not as mere subordinate partners, but as mere followers of American imperialism, incapable of addressing the crises they themselves have created. It is now unlikely that new or re-elected political leaders will be able to reverse the fundamental trends of the global economy: the slowdown in international trade, the decline of the Dollar, increased military spending, growing economic inequality, confronting the challenge of the increasing role of artificial intelligence, and revising the principles of the energy transition. Moreover, the path announced by US President Trump toward regionalism and protectionism could have “horrific consequences, “including a complete halt to global economic growth. It will also weaken international cooperation for universal humanitarian goals, following US targeting of the UN Human Rights Council, the United Nations Relief and works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and the International Criminal Court. As the new Trump administration enters its second term, the United Nations sees the White House as exceptionally hostile to it.
The world’s main problem now, perhaps only temporary, is that the historically preordained decline of the collective West as the architect, builder, and primary guarantor of the sanctity of the modern world order is accelerating at a pace far outpacing the maturation of the new power centres to assume primary responsibility for the future of the global order. This will likely lead to instability, unpredictability, and the possibility of all kinds of upheavals in the foreseeable future. Here, the developments of the past months call to mind Antonio Gramsci’s quote: ‘The old world is dying, the new world is struggling to be born: now is the time for monsters.
While the contradiction between labour and capital was supposed to be a struggle between the forces of the left and the ruling regimes in Europe, it now appears distorted, as if it were manifesting itself in a struggle between the bourgeois “left” and its extreme right. The long period of neoliberal dominance since the 1980s has had a significant impact on distorting a large segment of the global left, which has become a “left” lurching between nationalism and liberalism, preoccupied with advocating liberal development models and their degenerate models and their degenerate moral values. The extreme nationalist-fascist right, simultaneously populist, seemed to be the most prepared alternative to confront the effects of the crisis of neoliberalism, which claims to be leftist and even progressive. Indeed, during his election campaign, Donald Trump described the Democratic Party as communist.
Thus, our era is once again marked by the rise of extreme right-wing and fascist political forces: from the Baltic States to the United States, from Germany to Ukraine, the snake’s egg is growing again, taking on different forms.
The truth is that the new US Administration is putting the wind in the sails of the European Populist Right. By handing over power to representatives of monopolistic corporations, particularly Tech-Companies, this administration is becoming the embodiment of what can be called the “dictatorship of Capital.” As US imperialism moves toward redistributing influence and markets, beginning with economic warfare, it is forcibly pushing the Far Right to the forefront of politics around the world to manage and protect the interests of monopolistic capital.
We must understand the ongoing promotion of fascist, ultranationalist, or racist groups not as a “conspiracy” against modern democratic values, but rather as a manifestation of what Brecht called “the most vile, shameless, and repressive form of capitalism.”
Will the far- right tide also weigh heavily on the Arab region? This calls for an answer to another, complementary question: What is the relationship of the extreme religious Zionist right to far-right movements in the West and the rest of the world? This question may seem strange, given that most of the founders of the latter parties are descendants of fascism, which has historically persecuted Jews. The founder of the Freedom Party, which recently won victory in Austria, is a former Nazi military commander; and the founder of the Italian Social Movement (a descendant of the, Brothers of Italy) was an activist in the Fascist Party and an officer in the Black Squads. The same applies to Fidesz in Hungary and Vox in Spain, among others. Yet today, these movements are allies of Christian Zionism and the ruling Israeli Right. The fiercely confront global public opinion protesting Israeli aggression, whitewash its crimes, and call for further arming of the Zionist entity and the removal from their positions of international officials who do not support it, foremost among them UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
It will become clear if we remember that the basis of fascism is not anti-Semitism, but rather the defense of capital’s interests through speculation on national chauvinism, “racial purity”, and “traditional values.” In this, we find the extreme right-wing camp and the Zionist entity as “twins” in the ideological sense. Both divert the world’s attention from the existential crisis of Capitalism to its Muslim enemies,” and they share a common anti-communist theme.
Currently, the unity between the Zionist entity and the extreme right in the West and the world is taking on the character of a de facto alliance. While the Spanish Government of Pedro Sanchez takes the honorable stance on the Palestinian Cause and the People of Gaza, the Spanish Vox movement is concluding a cooperation agreement with Netanyahu’s Likud Party. We are also witnessing the development of the Netanyahu Government’s relations with reactionary forces in Latin America. Perhaps we recall that Argentine President Javier Milei, who led his country to a socio-economic collapse within a single year of his rule, has become the Godfather of the extreme Right in Latin America and the world, supported by Alan Musk’s money. His first visit after his victory was to Israel. This and other things mean that the rise of the extreme right to power in other countries, especially after President Trump’s victory, will intensify the imperialist-Zionist onslaught not only against the brotherly Palestinian People and their just cause, but also against the aspirations of our Arab countries for independence, progress, and appropriate positioning in the new multipolar world.
However, the parties and forces of the communist and labour movements across the 6 continents of the world, along with the forces of progress, freedom, and peace worldwide, including within the territories of 1948 Palestine, are relentlessly igniting protest movements against the Zionist aggression against Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, Lebanon, and Syria; and its threats against Jordan, Egypt, and most recently, Saudi Arabia to deport the people of Gaza. They are also confronting the extreme right within their own countries. The Republic of South Africa played a significant role in exposing the Zionist entity and its crimes through the International Court of Justice, which was joined by other countries, resulting in Israel facing the most severe condemnation after the condemnation of Nazism. The International Criminal Court also condemned and ordered the arrest of Netanyahu and his defense minister Galant.
Netanyahu’s muscles were “strong” because former US President Biden’s were weak, and he used them not only to commit genocide in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank, but also to help Trump return to power. Now, politically and morally, the two appear to be twins of two different mothers. With Trump, Netanyahu appears more “confident” and determined to continue the war as a way out for his government and for himself, who has spent the rest of his life in prison for corruption and military and security adventures. Therefore, we find him more determined to finish the job left unfinished by Ben Gurion in 1948: evacuating Gaza and the Wes Bank of their inhabitants and establishing the Jewish state over what they call “the biblical land of Israel.” Nevertheless, the sight of nearly a million Palestinians returning to northern Gaza was more like a general exercise in exercising the right of return to Palestine and a reset of Israel’s so-called tactical or strategic achievements!
Thus, Zamir, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, asserts that ‘2025 will remain a year of fighting.’ This indicates that Israel will resume its wars, despite the ceasefire agreements it signed with the Lebanese Government in November 2024 and with the Palestinian Resistance in January 2025. With an insatiable appetite for war, it is difficult to imagine that an entity with a collapsed economy, a society that is completely exhausted, a corrupt and adventurous leadership, and the declining capabilities of its allies will be able to achieve what it failed to achieve over the course of 14 months in Lebanon and more than 15 months in Gaza. Despite the massive destruction and heavy casualties of women, children, elderly men both civilians and military, the Palestinian and Lebanese resistances, with strong support from their allies, emerged victorious in the true sense of the word. This victory prevented the enemy from achieving its objectives in both countries, demonstrated moral superiority in avoiding targeting civilians, treating prisoners of war, and preserving their physical and psychological health, and emerging from the war with high morale and confidence in the future, in stark contrast to the Zionist entity. This entity demonstrated its racism even toward immigrants when the Netanyahu Government decided that non-Israeli victims of the October 7 events were ineligible for State assistance.
Due to the Zionist entity’s imbalance, the reins of power are once again returning to the United States. However, the current administration is returning with its transactional mentality, publicly portraying ethnic cleansing as a real estate project to transform the Gaza Strip into the Riviera of the Middle East, with coastal palaces and casinos for international elites. While the Americans say they won’t pay for reconstruction, they are actually committing the most exemplary real estate scam, seeking to seize what doesn’t belong to them without compensation! If Mr. Trump has one eye on real estate, the other is on the region’s abundant fossil fuel deposits and their transport routes.
Trump may know that his proposal regarding Gaza is unachievable, even in terms of the Israeli goal of “displacement in exchange for settlement.” Its purpose may be to promote the idea of displacement, which is already being implemented in the West Bank, followed by brutal settlement expansion. The most recent, most intense campaign in the West Bank began on January 21, two days after the last ceasefire.
These foolish actions not only provoked the entire world, which condemned them and reaffirmed its solidarity with the Palestinian People and their legitimate rights to return, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent National State on their own land; they also mobilized the two largest Arab countries – the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt – to reclaim their historic role in leading the official Arab World in support of the Primary Arab Cause – Free Palestine. This also strongly motivated Jordan, under the threat of existential danger to that country.
Progressive and nationalist forces, including our Progressive Tribune, and civil society Organizations in our country, have provided all the material, political, and moral support they can to condemn and resist the Zionist enemy within the available frameworks, including seminars, street marches, festivals, political stances, and donations. There is no doubt that they will continue, in solidarity with all forces of progress and peace in our Arab countries and around the world, to struggle to prevent Zionist imperialist projects in the region and to achieve victory for our common cause.
However, the decisive condition for the victory of the Palestinian People’s Cause is the unity of their national forces. Netanyahu brazenly repeats, “No Hamas, No Abbas,” because his Government Coalition aims to displace Palestinians and establish settlements in both Gaza and the West Bank.
All of these practices have been carried out with official international disregard, and often with direct support from the capitalist core countries. These practices once again confirm the goal of keeping the region in a state of constant turmoil, in order to blackmail political regimes that lack the support of the people they govern. Therefore, they find the cover of wester capitalist states as a refuge to maintain political control and hegemony over their peoples.
This policy has led to the diminishing of Iran’s role, especially after the paralysis of its influential arms in the region. It was then able to take absolute control of Syria after the sudden fall of Bashar al – Assad’s Government, and then strip it of its characteristics as a sovereign State, foremost among which was the destruction the military infrastructure and the looting of weapons, including heavy weapons such as tanks, warships, armored personnel carriers, and advanced weapons, and the destruction of research, education, and manufacturing centers, in addition to occupation of vast areas of Syria. This situation will keep Syria for a long time in a state of withdrawal and acceptance of a new reality, centered on the recognition of Israel and the cessation of support for the Palestinian resistance, in addition to reversing its regional role from a confrontational State to a State willingly drawn to the project called the New Middle East.
The influence of the global far-right on our Arab world has not and will not stop – if it is not stopped – at what we witnessed in Gaza and Lebanon alone. The Syrian situation is a clear example of this. The reactionary far-right, religious right came to power in a country known for its anti-imperialist stance and support for resistance against the Israeli occupation. But the rapid collapse of the previous regime proves, as it did in Iraq and Libya before, that anti-imperialism and anti-Zionism do not excuse regimes for their obstruction of social and political democracy, their repression, and the protection of corruption at home. Painful experience has proven that these two opposing trends inevitably led to the collapse of several nation-states. For decades the Syrian regime, before its fall, was a model for Arab regimes lacking a social contract, ruling by unilateral decisions or within a narrow circle that ensured the regime achieved Its policies without hindrance. This reality keeps these regimes dependent on the support and political blessing of the capitalist centres of power. Any clash of interests with imperialist powers could lead to the lifting of the veil of protection, rendering them unstable and vulnerable to collapse in any confrontation with their own people.
What is happening in wounded Sudan proves the other side of the problem: if the extreme right gains power and monopolizes it, it will lead its country, including itself, into chaos and strife. But the price of this is heavy for the brotherly Sudanese People, have been besieged by the greed of imperialist powers abroad and reactionary forces at home to plunder the vast wealth of this great country. While Saudi Arabia and Egypt have mobilized against the displacement of the people of Gaza and reclaimed their role in leading the Arab struggle, they also capable of halting the spread of chaos by continuing this role in the West Bank, Sudan, Libya, and all the hotbeds of tension in our region.
The struggle against imperialism and Zionism and for the Palestinian Cause has become intrinsically linked and an integral part of the global class struggle against the advance of the reactionary far right and the establishment of a new, more reactionary and brutal capitalist administration within each country and globally.
The bleak picture does not obscure the other, brighter side of our world. In just the past few weeks, China has astonished the world with the emergence of DeepSeek, a program capable of producing artificial intelligence at a cost far lower than that of its American counterparts. While President Tramp and other Western leaders have focused on announcing steps to boost domestic AI industries by helping them grow or restricting Chinese competitors, DeepSeek has set the limits of this approach. What often goes unrecognized is how China has mobilized this progress: through hundreds of billions of state-backed investments from an early stage. With this great achievement, the People’s Republic of China has showcased some of the advantages of the Socialist System.
The Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee following the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), held from July 15 to 18, 2024, marked a milestone in China’s journey into the next phase. The session emphasized that in order to comprehensively deepen reform, it is necessary to adhere to Marxism-Leninism and fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a new Era. It emphasized that the construction of a high-standard socialist market economy system will be fully completed by 2035, laying a solid foundation for the comprehensive construction of a great modern socialist country by the middle of the century. The session also proposed that protecting and improving people’s living conditions in the development process be the primary task of China’s modernization.
China’s success has enabled more countries in the Global South to understand that actively seeking a development path suited to their national conditions is the only way to achieve independence, prosperity, and stability. In other words, while China offers its model for building socialism to the world, it also sees the potential for other models based on each country’s specific characteristics. At the same time, as China serves as a powerful example, its willingness and enormous potential for practical cooperation enable countries around the world to advance development and social progress.
Controversy may arise over the Chinese model of socialism, but there is no doubt that China’s steady progress, amidst the stalemate of global capitalism, demonstrates with vivid experience that Socialism and Communism are the historically realistic and inevitable alternative to capitalism.
Along with India, Russia, Brazil, and South Africa, China is leading the BRICS movement as the world’s largest economic, political, and strategic security cooperation bloc, laying the foundation for rebuilding the world toward multipolarity. It also leads a new model of international development bank, with policies that are fairer, and effective than those of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. This is despite the differences among the BRICS countries in terms of the nature of their socioeconomic systems, the conflicting regional interests, as well as between China and India, and the degree of their relations with the power centers of global capitalism.
The disintegration of the unipolar world into major regions will reduce the power of global monopolies – at least by narrowing their scope for unconditional action – and thus restore the capabilities of states, which in turn must be smart and strong benefit from these transformations.
Economic, political, scientific and technological cooperation with China offers countries of the Global South, including our own, opportunities to escape the consequences of the chaos prevailing in the economies and societies of the capitalist centres and the harsh and crippling economic and political conditions imposed by American and global imperialism, including the fueling of conflicts and the outbreak of regional wars. Indeed, in our region, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran have moved in this right direction by signing long-term strategic cooperation agreements with the People’s Republic of China. Iraq and Kuwait are also seeking to cooperate with China on strategic technological development investment plans. Algeria and Egypt have also made progress along this path.
Gulf Situation:
In this context, tensions are escalating in the Arabian Gulf Region, making it one of the hottest regions in the Middle East; developments there are o paramount importance to many of the accompanying regional developments in Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and other countries in the region. The presence of 800 billion barrels of oil reserves in the Arabian Gulf has placed these countries at the forefront of imperialist powers’ attention, where they enjoy special patronage and are protected by their role in the international division of labour and the terms of protection. This is in exchange for adopting the Dollar as the sole currency in the oil market (petrodollars) and other commodities, and for linking and connecting the dollar exchange rate and interest rates.
Political developments in the region, particularly after the Arab Spring, raised doubts among Gulf regimes about the credibility of US protectionist commitments. This was particularly evident with the developments of Operation Desert Storm and the Houthi targeting of Saudi Arabia’s oil fields and refineries in Khurais and Abqaiq, which caused a decline in Saudi oil production by 5 million barrels per day. At the time, the United States limited itself to verbal condemnation and some logistical and intelligence assistance. These developments, coupled with the abject failure of the unprecedented US economic sanctions on Russia, strengthened the confidence of the political leadership in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in working to break its total dependence on the United States. It took bold steps, leading to its announcement at the time of its entry into the BRICS group, its refusal to increase its oil production ceiling, and its adherence to OPEC’s policy despite a direct request from the US President following the official visit to Saudi Arabia. On the contrary, it continued to reduce production in accordance with the requirements of oil market stability and the interests of member states. It also announced the termination of the 1971 agreement adopting the dollar as the sole currency in international oil trade. This posed an undeclared challenge to the United States and a threat to the Dollar as the basis for International Trade. The steps taken by Saudi Arabia represented a precedent and a glimmer of hope for escaping the American’s crocodile’s jaws. These bold positions opened new horizons for the countries of the region, after which the UAE markets became a safe haven for the flow of Russian funds amounting to tens of billions of dollars. These funds are now a major driver of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets, constituting one of the most important channels for the Russian economy to circumvent US sanctions, second only to the oil, gas, and arms trade, and the Chinese and Indian markets. The United States sought to use various means of pressure against Saudi Arabia, such as increasing US oil flow to global markets or enacting the NOPEC Act, in addition to direct and indirect political and diplomatic pressure. These steps did not achieve the desired results for the US, as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab States adhered to OPEC policy, and Saudi Arabia went further by applying to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS. These steps represent a remarkable development and a qualitative shift that, if pursued, would have had an impact that would have already led to a tangible shift in the international balance of power.
Despite the announced transformation policies, the world continues to steadily expand its use of fossil fuels. Last year, the United States witnessed the largest fossil fuel extraction operation in its history.
As noted above, Saudi Arabia, along with Egypt, is actively reclaiming its leading role in political action to determine the direction of the Arab region and the Middle East by simultaneously rejecting American-Zionist plans to displace Palestinians from their homeland and promoting political normalization with the Zionist State (Israel).
While the Gulf region is seeking to escape the subservient relationship imposed by a unipolar world and seek a way to position itself in the ongoing global process of shaping a multipolar world, there is a pressing need to unleash the energies of the region’s peoples and involve them in political decision-making. This will create a guarantee for protecting and developing their gains, on the one hand, and building a solid internal front that strengthens their countries’ position in international relations.
Internal Affairs:
We live in a small country, small in area and population, but it occupies a significant position in our rapidly changing region and world. This situation calls for a highly vigilant policy to protect the national interests of our country and our people and serve the conditions for their progress. This requires a review of the essence of our country’s relationship with the economic, financial, political, and military institutions that exist to serve the old world and hinder our country’s integration into the multipolar world. For most among these institutions is the nature of our relationship with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which pressures us to weaken or even cancel the most important social programs designed to protect the poor and the working class in particular. This pushes our country toward expanding privatization, leading to the sale of our oil wealth through joint production under new agreements, as well as the privatization of government service facilities. This significantly weakens the state’s economic capabilities, on the one hand, and also undermines its role in raising citizens’ standard of living and quality of life. Thus, subsidies for fuel, energy, education, health, food, bonuses, and social security declined. Salary increases, pension support, and other subsidies were either completely halted or significantly reduced.
The education development budget has remained unchanged since 2021, remaining at the amount allocated of 9 million dinars, while the health development budget remained at around 7 million dinars until 2024.
While the expansion of naturalization in recent years has placed a significant burden on education, health, traffic, and other systems, the greatest burden has fallen on the already intractable housing problem. Consequently, citizens’ reliance on mortgage loans continues to increase, rising by 8.8% between 2023 and 2024, reaching 2.9 billion dinars – equivalent to half of the total personal loans!
Instead of strengthening the state’s economic capabilities to improve its social functions, the decline in industrialization since the mid – 1970s has hindered the continued development of a productive economy and led to a stagnation within the framework of a rentier economy based on oil, gas and their derivatives. Oil revenues for 2024 amounted to more than 2.1 billion dinars, while total non-oil revenues amounted to more than 1.3 billion dinars. Total public expenditures for the same year amounted to more than 3.6 billion dinars, representing a deficit of 161.4 million dinars, including interest on government debt, which amounted to 788 million dinars.
This policy contributed to the State’s lack of a clear strategic plan to invest these revenues in development plans and projects encompassing all economic sectors. These plans aim to diversify sources of income, develop the economy into a productive one and work to qualify human resources, home skills, and direct education to create an environment that encourages creativity and able to compete, instead of consuming and wasting oil and gas revenues on expenses and obligations that the Kingdom of Bahrain does not need.
Since its inception, the Progressive Tribune has had a critical view of this policy in terms of the structure of the national economy and the direction of the general budget. It has reflected these positions in the activities it organizes, including seminars and workshops; and the recommendations they issue, in addition to articles in the “Progress” newsletter, which addressed the causes of these phenomena, such as the absence of a comprehensive socioeconomic development plan, the weak efficiency of executive bodies, the backwardness of management systems and methods, favoritism and corruption; and the neglect of program implementation and monitoring of their results. This reality is now evident in the clear failure of both the Social Insurance Administration and the management of the national carrier, Gulf Air, and other service sectors. The Progressive Tribune also warned of its fear that the failure of the Government’s approach to managing the country’s economy will lead to the expansion of unfair fees and taxes imposed on citizens instead of large companies; the suspension of bonuses and salary increase, a decline in citizen’s income and a decline in purchasing power, a rise in unemployment, an increase in poverty levels, and, on the other hand, the accumulation of capital in the hands of a wealthy few, and finally, the sale of what remains of the public sector, state assets, and the country’s natural resources.
Bahrain’s public debt-to-GDP ratio is among the highest in the world. An International Monetary Fund mission that visited the Kingdom of Bahrain last year 2024 indicated in its last report that the total public debt-to-GDP ratio had increased by 12 percentage points, reaching 123%. This raises serious concern about public debt serving, given the high interest rates. Given that 60% of government debt is domestic, this may reveal the secret behind banks rush to encourage citizens to deposit more, lured by generous prize draws. While these deposits are being withheld from economic activity, banks use them to purchase government bonds with lucrative interest rates. This is known as “capital strike” (when major economic institutions withhold funds and starve the economy). Ironically, we find ourselves facing a stark contradiction between the government’s declared intention to reduce public debt and the continued raising of the public debt celling (this year to 18 billion dinars).
The IMF report also indicated that the financial situation has deteriorated. The general fiscal situation balance to GDP ratio decreased by 3.3 percentage points, reaching 8.5%.
The status of the Central Bank’s gold reserves, which have been stuck at 4.65 tons for years, also raises questions. This comes at time when many central banks are deliberately increasing their gold reserves due to concerns about the US dollar. Gold is not only a safe haven, but its prices have been rising rapidly in recent years. In the event of anticipated tensions between the United States and Chin, gold prices are likely to experience further spikes.
If things continue as they are, this approach will lead to the complete bankruptcy of the state sector, its dismantling, and its sale to investors. The kingdom of Bahrain will then become hostage to the interests of foreign companies and capitalists, with the latter having the final say on managing the country’s resources and determining its economic and social fate. This risk is particularly like following the arrival of the new US administration, led by monopoly capital, which views the world’s countries as economic projects, real estate, technology, and natural resources, not peoples.
The imbalance of the economic structure, privatization, and public debt-this is the deadly trinity of another trinity: the national economy, society, and the state. This opens wide channels of drain to re-inject all resources abroad. The price: the removal of projection from vital sectors. This policy has led to the strain on citizens’ pockets, an increase in the burden of banks and liabilities, a marked increase in inflation and a decline in citizens’ purchasing power, a marked erosion of the middle class, an increase in unemployment rates, the spread of favoritism and corruption, and impunity, especially for those related to public funds. Our neoliberalism has even escaped the commandments of some capitalist ideologues, who say that “the poor must be cared for before the poor care about politics.”
Regarding the imbalance of the economic structure, we have often pointed out the flaw of the financial sector’s dominance over other sectors, contributing approximately 17% of GPD, highlighting the unproductive nature of the economy. Now, with the developments in the global economy, reviewing this issue becomes more serious. The primary role in creating megalopolises, as is the case in the world as a whole, is played by digital capital in alliance with industrial capital, which suppresses and undermines speculative financial capital. In the already emerging post-information economy, money is gradually losing its meaning, making way for technological infrastructure, and the traditional market is fading into the background. Consequently, there is a significant shift in the financial system. Hence, we find President Donlad Trump’s very negative attitude toward his complex relationship with banks, driven by tec moguls seeking to disrupt banking. There are already signs that the banking sector will not get what it wants. Scott Bessent, Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, said in his confirmation hearing this month that the five largest banks have too large a market share.
Doesn’t these indicators call for a serious examination of the reality of our national economy, a need for which has ripened long ago and is now even more ripe?!!
Our country’s resources are not scarce relative to its population. The state can perform its social functions at the required level, treat human capital as the most important resource, and treat the citizen as both a means and a goal of development. It gives him/her priority in benefiting from the nation’s wealth on the basis of social justice.
Unfortunately, contrary to social justice, our tax policy is designed to absorb money from the bottom up. We have taxes on consumption, not production. We need to reverse this policy, so that it is designed to absorb surplus capital from the top and flow it downward by imposing taxes on large corporations, very high incomes, economically unused land, wealth outside economic activity, and remittances abroad. Furthermore, companies’ reliance on cheap foreign labour is another way for investors to absorb the wage differential between citizens and foreigners, at the expense of the citizen, of course. Corruption also plays a role.
The Progressive Tribune has waged a tireless struggle against neoliberalism, and its positions have been reflected in the statements it has issued individually, in coordination with political associations, or in conjunction with a number of associations. Over the years, its newsletter has devoted critical articles by specialists in this field to its publication, in addition to its various activities, including seminars, workshops, intellectual forums, and international conferences. Many of the Progressive Tribune Bloc’s parliamentary positions have played a prominent role (we have three members in the Parliament) in this honorable opposition to this approach and its repercussions. Foremost among these positions is their strong opposition to the sale of a stake in the Bahrain Petroleum Company to the American company BlackRock, and their clarification of the dangers of pursuing this policy. This is in addition to their positions on all labour and workers’ issues and socioeconomic policies.
We must recognize the fact that neither the positions of political associations, the Progressive Tribune Parliamentary members, nor the democratic representatives alone are sufficient to reverse the current approach unless this is accompanied by a societal pressure represented by unified and active labour union movement, a movement of professionals and craftsmen-a vibrant civil society movement -and an important national role played by intellectuals, including human rights activists, economists, writers, authors, artists, enlightened clerics, and others.
A word about indicators: We should not be dazzled by the indicators of international rating agencies regarding our conditions, as they distance us from reality because they serve the needs of their authors. We must measure our conditions as we experience them, because “the people of Mecca know its valleys more than anyone else.” Even the average citizen, when he witnesses our local press brimming with such praise from day to day, feels that there is still a very long way between the cup and the lips.
The Progressive Tribune will continue, as it has always done, to adhere to its struggle, preserving the fundamental principles of its dialectical materialist approach, preserving national identity against any sectarian, religious, or regional quotas, and confronting sectarian rhetoric. It will continue its work based on these principles with various political formations, civil society organizations, and any other social components basing its vision on Marxist analysis, shedding light on the nature of prevailing social relations and critiquing them, especially with regard to class status.
The Progressive Tribune believes that the need has ripened for a long time to bring about a qualitative shift in the political approach to governing the state and to reject the current monopoly and exclusion. Bahrain needs to revive the political scene. Participation and engagement with societal components is the beginning of the path toward a loop that restores trust and builds bridges with the political authorities. The dysfunctions that have been impeding political action have expanded to the point where any political activity is now labeled as hostile by the authorities. This approach has derailed the entire political process. There is an urgent need to critically review the performance of official institutions and their mechanisms of engagement with political components, associations, and activists. To stabilize the overall political situation, consensus among these parties is essential on a legal basis. This is an essential condition for the sustainability of construction and cooperation among the various political actors, taking into account the benefits of the experience Bahrain has undergone since the dawn of reform at the turn of the millennium until today, and to mitigate the dysfunctions and shortcomings that have mired it in the mire of decline, monopoly, extremism, favoritism, and corruption. Sectarian quotas are among the most important causes of these ills. The country’s political trajectory must be cleansed of them. This means establishing foundations and standards based on different principles than before, including granting the democratic experience the right to expand and not to be limited to the measures of the powerful. This will not be achieved unless the political authority halts practices that violate freedom of opinion and expression, including the persecution of activities and political associations; refrains from emptying social work of its humanitarian content or attempting to serve its connection to political action; halts trials based on political identity and differing opinions; and amends and interprets legal provisions to prevent them from becoming ambiguous and exploitable to selectively dictate what allows the powerful to dominate opinion, criticism, and political positions.
The parliamentary experiment began incompletely and, from its actual inception, has sparked a rift between the street and the executive branch. Now, more than two decades after the launching of the reform project, the path of this experiment has faltered. It has descended to levels that have emptied the content of parliamentary legislation, diminishing its powers to the point where the parliament has become more like a watchdog subordinate to the executive branch, incapable of legislating and holding accountable. Despite the distinguished efforts of some representatives, including members of parliament from the Progressive Tribune Party, they remain unable to achieve a real breakthrough due to the challenges that hinder their parliamentary work and the work of the Parliament in general. These challenges include sectarian quotas, the distribution of electoral districts, the prevalence of corruption in the parliament’s work, which involves buying certain positions in exchange for personal or regional goals, legislation, regulations, and bylaws that limit the work of parliamentarians within the Parliament, and political isolation, a systematic policy whereby figures are selected and passed to parliament according to the interests of the political authority. The role of the media and the ruling elite in disparaging the Parliament and the ongoing calls to abandon it.
It has become urgent to evaluate the parliament experience and develop visions for the future of parliament and its working mechanisms. This is a necessary step if there is a serious desire to advance political life towards a consensual path.
The reality of political dysfunction and the continued deepening of this crisis by influential forces, given their gains, compels leftist forces to strive with all their energies to build a democratic movement capable of influencing social forces in the face of political tyranny on the one hand, and confronting the social tyranny of the forces of backwardness, on the other.
This urgent task is entrusted to leftist and democratic forces, which possess a strategic vision for emerging from the crisis of the political system. This requires, in the coming period, the political opposition to become more realistic, able to accommodate diversity and differences, and to address the legacy differing and divergent positions within limits that preserve each component’s independence and political intellectual identity. This includes our Progressive Tribune Party, a leftist political organization with roots stretching back seven decades from the theory of Scientific Socialism.
On internal affairs and organizational work:
The Progressive Tribune, while dealing with the reality of political work, senses the challenges facing its activities, and examines the most effective ways to overcome them. Its strategy considers essential tasks toward achieving this goal, foremost among which are: translating the contents of the Progressive Tribune’s program into its daily activities and supporting them with relationships with the masses through activities and events; reaching out to all segments of society, especially the working class and the oppressed; diversifying activities to address the actual needs of various social, economic, and intellectual dilemmas; and proposing realistic solutions and alternatives appropriate to the current stage; cognitive and intellectual qualification of the Progressive Tribune’s cadres to enable them to fathom and comprehend intellectual challenges; and a scientific Marxist understanding of local and international economic and social problems; diligent work on the body of our organization, to strengthen it and expand its ranks; instilling a collective spirit; cooperation and collective work; special attention to students and youth by enabling them to take on tasks and engage in the Progressive Tribune’s sectors and committees; deepening the relationships with trade unions and the working class representatives; and generally cooperating with them in all activities; developing solutions and discussing the challenges the face; providing intellectual and legal advices; exposing the authorities’ selective practices of constitutional articles, especially those related to public freedoms and human rights.
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