Chile and Pakistan: Can a young leftist leader take power in Pakistan like in Chile? (Roz Dunya News)

 

The people of Chile, a country on the west coast of Latin America, have recently elected a 35-year-old left-wing youth president of their country by a landslide. Although the world is wondering about his choice, these changes in Chile did not happen suddenly but there is a continuum behind them.

In the second round of Chile's December 19 presidential election, Gabriel Burke, a former left-wing student leader and twice elected to the Chilean Congress, received one million more votes than the right-wing coalition candidate. He will now assume his new responsibilities in March.

Left-wing movements in Latin America, including Chile, are now a major source of inspiration for left-wing movements around the world. Recently, the Turkish opposition cited Borik's strategy in Chile as an example. Similar debates are taking place among the youth of Pakistan's left-wing. Now the issue is being discussed in Pakistan and dialogue has been arranged for Monday night. So what is the future of leftist student movements in Pakistan in these circumstances?

Opinions of left-wing intellectuals

After this discussion, many questions arise in mind whether the events in Chile can be an example for students or young people from other countries, whether it can be a global trend, whether a leader like Gabriel Borik can emerge in Pakistan. If not, what is the reason, is Pakistan's religious tendency an obstacle, and what are the possibilities?

To find out, we spoke to some of today's leading left-wing activists and alumni leaders about whether they can learn a lesson from Chile's transformation, or whether they are two different countries. The situation is not the same in these two countries, so this discussion is useless.

Or it will be said that no change can come in Pakistan with military rule. In other words, 'If the police kill, how will the revolution come', such as revolution or change, if the military establishment presents it in a 'silver platter', it will be a success.

Definition of neoliberalism:

Neo-liberalism is a policy model that includes both politics and economics, according to which control of economic factors is basically transferred from the government to the private sector. Many policies of neo-liberalism strengthen and expand the free market capitalist system and seek to limit government spending, government regulation, and public property. Proponents of neo-liberalism call it economic growth. Opponents consider these policies responsible for deepening inequality in society, ie making the rich richer and the poor poorer.

Dr. Ayesha Jalal believes that in the current economic and moral crisis facing the world, there is an opportunity for the Left to move forward and regain its lost ground.

Dr. Ayesha Jalal: The future of the left

Leading historian Dr. Ayesha Jalal earlier this year, when asked if she saw any future for the Left, said: "If you talk to a historian, I would say that things are never the same. At the moment we are at the very bottom of neoliberalism.

Dr. Ayesha Jalal says, “We are currently facing a moral crisis due to the epidemic and its worse, which is facing the whole world. And I think there is a possibility of improvement and I hope that there will be a return of the Left, but they too will have to change their thinking, keep pace with the times, but in any case from neoliberalism. We have to move on. "

Dr. Ayesha added: "I think the moral crisis that the world is facing right now is an opportunity for the Left to move forward and regain its lost ground, but in a slightly different way, They don't have to be poor, they have to work in a new way.

"But now, of course, there is a lot of room for the Left. Look at the United States. They turned all socialists into communists in the 1950s, linked socialism to communism, and then crushed them severely. But because of the moral crisis, people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have been able to push the Democratic Party to the left.

Dr. Ayesha Jalal says: 'Look at how Jeremy Corbyn came to be in Britain. I think the situation is changing, but at the same time, the Left needs to adapt to the demands of today's situation, instead of going back to the fifties or sixties. "

According to Dr. Farooq Sulehria, there are no elements in civil society in Pakistan that would give rise to leadership like Borik or a spontaneous mass movement.

Dr. Farooq Sulehria, a left-wing intellectual from Beacon House National University

Dr. Farooq Sulehria, a left-wing ideologue and lecturer at Beacon National University, says the process of change in Latin America is not limited to Chile. In the last twenty-five years in Latin America, many progressive movements have sprung up, leading to leaders like Burke.

The biggest movement against neo-liberalism in the 1990s was in the form of Zapatista in Mexico, then in Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Honduras, Uruguay, and other countries. In the same year, a young socialist school teacher was elected president in Peru.

"But the situation in our region is reversed," says Dr. Sulehria. Religious fanaticism has spread everywhere except Nepal. India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran - all these places were dominated by religious forces instead of the left. Our progressive movement could not recover after the Zia dictatorship.

Dr. Farooq Sulehria says, “We also have young leadership. Some important names like Manzoor Pashtun, Mohsin Dawar, Ammar Ali Jan, Ali Wazir, Jalila Haider, Alia Haider can be mentioned. But they have not yet been able to mobilize the people at the national level.

Young leadership has emerged in Pakistan, there is a cooperation between them but without any major people's movement, no leader like Bork will emerge here. When the movement will emerge, can never be predicted. So far, people have been mobilized from the platforms of major political parties.

Maryam Nawaz is an example of this. (We) have been deceived but still, no spontaneous movement is emerging. Spontaneous movement does not necessarily give birth to young leaders. This is a possibility. However, the internal situation is not very bright because there are no elements in civil society that would give rise to leadership like Borik's or an autocratic movement.

"The biggest fear is that the next possible people's movement will be led by religious fanatics," says Dr. Farooq Sulehria.

In Chile, the democratic process has been going on for 30 years. In Pakistan, it has been suspended in one form or another. There is no ban on student unions. Bork students are a product of politics and movement. The women's movement is strong there. Trade unions are much stronger than we are. It is as if civil society is stronger than we are.

According to Dr. Sulehria, Chile is the country where, for the first time, the Communist Party, led by Dr. Allende, came to power by contesting elections instead of a violent revolution (a unique experiment in history that failed), with historical and revolutionary traditions. The history of Chile is also very different from ours.

Jalila Haider says Gabriel Burke's victory is both a hope for those involved in left-wing politics around the world and a message that people still believe in the politics of socialism.

Jalila Haider, leftist intellectual and human rights activist

A leading leftist activist from Balochistan, Jalila Haider Advocate, says Gabriel Burke's victory in Chile is a further step towards the re-emergence of left-wing politics that is currently being seen throughout the region (Latin America). Can

Jalila Haider says that at one time it was unthinkable that in a country like the United States a left-wing ideologue would ever be able to run in the presidential election when it was said that socialism had ended with Russia. At that time very few people believed that the left could re-emerge.

However, we have seen Bernie Sanders, and then where Jeremy Corbyn's dynamic politics influenced the Labor Party in Britain, he also rejected the notion on the world stage that left-wing ideologues are now irrelevant or Have become irrelevant. '

Gabriel Burke's recent victory is also the result of his political activism, which has led to the emergence of left-wing people in Chile, which was considered the epicenter of neoliberalism. It is also a message of hope for those involved in left-wing politics around the world and a message that people still believe in the politics of socialism.

On the question of whether Gabriel Burke could be born in Pakistan, Jalila Haider says that there is leadership like Gabriel in Pakistan and it is not the case that the land is completely barren. Contacts with teens need to be deepened and intensified.

Pakistan's rotten semi-feudal democrats have also been acting as agents of the capitalist classes who have never allowed the masses to unite, so even left-wing intellectuals and leaders have not been able to find the space they need. Can work and increase contact with the public.

The ban on freedom of expression since the 1980s, the negative propaganda against communism as a result of the Afghan jihad's petrodollar funds is the ground reality that has made it difficult for left-wing writers, intellectuals, and leaders to find their place. had to face it.

She says that we saw that a large number of youth groups in Pakistan supported Imran Khan because the slogan of PTI was also youth leadership. It is a different matter that they too lost their popularity at least in the lower and public level during their first tenure by resorting to the same rotten system and people of the past.

"However, it is a clear sign that the younger generation wants to play a leading role and is ready for it. But the real political platform for them, at least to me, is in left-wing politics, which, through their political training and unionization, can produce leaders like Gabriel.

Explaining the reason for the lack of political leadership among the youth, she demanded that the ban on student unions be lifted. Jalila Haider says, "Since student unions are banned, political training of the youth is not done in educational institutions, so politics has been monopolized by a few elite families."

Bushra Mehnoor says the religion card has been used repeatedly to control the Left.

Bushra Mehmood, Socialist Feminist

A former student leader from Lahore, Bushra Mehnoor, says Gabriel is an inspiring example to the student community around the world. "This is a very important time in history for the Left to mobilize. We see this as the era of the Left's renaissance around the world. "

Gabriel Burke's critique of Cuba is considered by Bashari Mahnoor to be a positive intellectual evolution. She also says that both Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders had the support of the youth, but the difference between them and Burke is that Burke himself is young and he is a symbol of self-transformation and the rising voice of youth. There is also an example.

Referring to the history of the past, Bushra Mehnoor says that the Communist Party of Pakistan was banned from the beginning, but other activities of the left also increased. "The existence of dictatorship in Pakistan for many years and the absence of democracy also crushed the tendency of the left."

In a country where students have been charged with terrorism, left-wing leaders have been picked up from their homes, people have gone missing, and many have been killed just for raising their voices or asking questions, then the Left It would be wrong to blame him for not being able to grow.

Bushra Mehnoor says the religion card has been used repeatedly to control the Left. Attempts were made to stifle the voices of many Left leaders by issuing fatwas against them for being non-Muslims. The peaceful women's march was accused of blasphemy and the leftists were severely beaten.

But we have been seeing for many years that the Left is succeeding in gaining the support of the people in the form of the Student Solidarity March and Women's March. We are very optimistic about the development of the Left.

Bushra Mehnoor says that if the ban on student unions is lifted, it will change the politics in Pakistan. "Because it will provide a new platform for students and politics, which will open new doors." If we want to move beyond hereditary politics or the politics of a certain class, then the youth should be given a chance.

Bushra Mehnoor says that 64% of the country's population is sitting in parliament to make decisions that are not aware of the problems of young people and they do not understand them. This is a generational gap between decision-makers. Therefore, it is important that 50% to 60% of the youth be represented in the parliament.