OPEN MIC SECTION: Jubilee

In a time of crisis, where do the social movements stand? n 2009,South Africa will hold ilS 4th nalionat generaleleclion s nce the dawn of democracy in1994. Unlike all the previous elections since 1994 this election comes at a criticaltime in thehistory of South Africa,andin thehistory of the world. 2003 is also the tenth anniversary of the formation of Jubilee South Africa, and together with many of its sister socialjustice movementsin South Africa and the world. the new South African and world context con­ fronts Jubilee South Africa with major strategic que.stions and challenges.

Against the back,ground of the nationaland internationalaisis the NationalExecutive Com­ mittee of JSA met in Johannesburg and issued a call for the social movements and the broader socialjustice movement to celebrate where we come from. and to jointty formulate a response to the new situation in South Africa today.

A new political situation

The victory of the Jacob Zuma group with n the ruling African National Congress in Potok­ wane opened a new political chapter in the history of post apartheid South Africa. The removal of Thabo Mbeki as presiclent of the countoy, and the split in the ruilng party consolidated this new political period. For the first time in decades, the hold on power by the ANC can no longer be guaranteed into the future. even rt the ANC wins the next elec­ tions. For the ruilng dassin South Africa, the split in the ANC presentsit – in the medium term – with a viable alternative for the exercise of its rule.For the opposition parties, many face the real prospects of osnig members to the new Congress of the People. For the pubilc at large,the split in the ANC, and the fact that it comes a few monthsbefore the elections.has rekindled interest n politics.FOt tile social movements the split n tile ANC and the threats to its dominance.opens up the political space to raise a whole range of key issues facing the working Class and the poor.It opens the space to engage the public on the po icy op­ tions that have led to the enrichment of the few and the impoverishment of the many. The movements can engage the public about threats to democracy posed by both the ANC and the COPE. In a word,the new politicalperiodpresents the movements with the opportunity to present the struggles they have waged over the last 10 years to a broader South African public.

A deepening Internat onaleconomic crsi is A year ago the dominance of the globalneoliberaleconomic system was assured. Even against the background of rising food prices.rising fuel prices and gro1ving poverty around the world the dominance of neoliberalism appeared assured.A few months ago the wottd financial system came crashing down, and a new Chapter in the history of modem globalization has now opened. The world now faces the most profound economic crisisin its history. The world’s biggest banks have collapsed and many face bankruptcy. The crisis has now moved into the major manufacturing industries, and the collapse of major ndustrialgroups is now beginning.Mil· lions of jobs are baing lost around the wor1d.As the levels of poverty rise all over the wor1d, as economies’ banking systems collapse and they brace themselves for long periods of recession- the neoliberalchickens have come home to roost: the world faces a depression that wm make 1929 look like a walk in the parte As part of the work! capitaHst system, and as a result of the ANC’s commitment to the neo­ liberalism sinoe 1994. South Africa stands helpless in front ofthe unfoldingglobaleoonomic recession.

This reality cannot be denied by the government’s promises that the fundamen· tals in South Africa are strong. Already. the people are falling further and further into debt. and recess on and job losses loom on the horizon. Theunfoldingcollapse of the worldeconomy has put an endto the unquestioned dominance of the neoliberalideologicalview of the wortd.Sanks,large industries and whole sections of natoi nal economies can only be saved by being nationalised. The world’s financialsystem can only be saved by being regulated.As industries continue to collapse, new questions will be raised by unregulated free trade and the unchecked power of the mar1cets.A new world is opening up,and there can be few guarantees about how the outcome will k>ok like. 0 “I’ Where do the socialmovements stand? Sinoe the late 1990s Jubilee South Africa has been part of social movements that have waged struggles against neoliberalism and its effects on the lives of thepoor in Sooth Africa and the southem Africa region. The NationalExecutive Committee of JSA calls onitsmem­ bers.and its allies in the socialmovement,to come together to respond to the nationaland internationalcrisis now unfolding.

The Executive Committee calls on the movements. and others in the country who are now prepared to stand up to a system that mpoverishes millions and threatens democracy, to come together and to take the space offered by the coming elections to make the voices of the masses heard. The Executive Committee of Jubilee South Africa calls on the social movements and others committed to socialjustice to come together and actin defense of the social economic and politicalinterests or the masses in South Affica. On the event of the tenth anniversary of the formationof Jubilee South Africa. the Execttive Committee calls on the activists of Jubilee and the socialmovements to celebrate this event by seizing the new political spaces and respond to the new challenges facing the wort: ng class and the poor in South Africa and the wor1d.