J.

Costello (my psuedonym)

Tunisia & Egypt: The Revolts Shaking the Arab World

A revolutionary fervor is spreading through the Arab world. The ongoing struggles in

North Africa are Earth-shaking and call into question US dominance in the region. Where these

revolutions are ultimately headed is, of course, an open question. However, the inspiring

struggles of the people of North Africa provide us with important lessons for future struggles in

this age of austerity. To paraphrase Lenin, a revolutionary situation occurs when the ruling class

cannot rule in the old way and the oppressed classes do not wish to be ruled over in the old way.

Such a situation is taking place in the Arab world as the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings have

inspired the people of Yemen, Algeria, Sudan, and now Jordan to rise against their oppressive

states.

The catalyst that unleashed the Tunisian Revolution was the public suicide of

Mohammad Bouzazi, a university-educated produce vendor. Bouzazi was trying to make due in

a country where unemployment stands at 14%1 and food prices that rose 32% in the second half

of 2010 alone.2 When the police shut down his business because he lacked a permit, Bouzazi set

himself on fire in protest. News of this event sparked riots. The outrage of the Tunisian people

over food inflation and unemployment fell squarely on the dictatorial Ben Ali regime.

When Ben Ali came to power in 1987, he inherited a regime that had always cooperated

with US interests. While other Arab nations embraced nationalism and the Non-aligned

Movement, the Tunisian government proved to be a trustworthy ally of US imperialism.3 Ben Ali

1
(Seymour, 2011)
2
(Socialist Worker, 2011)
3
(Seymour, 2011)
assumed power promising “democracy.” Instead he built his presidential career on phony

elections, implementing neoliberal IMF programs, crushing the government-backed trade union

federation (UGTT), repressing leftist and Islamist opposition groups, and enriching his corrupt,

“mafia-like”4, ruling clique.5

Within a week of Bouzazi’s self-immolation, protests erupted in 20 towns and cities

culminating in a large protest in the capital city of Tunis on December 27th.6 Eventually, the

Tunisian labor movement decided to support the protests. The UGTT called for a general strike.

After failing to appease the masses with meager reforms, Ben Ali had no choice but to flee the

country on January 14th 2011, eventually settling in Saudi Arabia. The overthrow of Ben Ali

exhibited the centrality of the working class in achieving social change. Like workers in Egypt

after them, the Tunisian working-class used its political weapon, the mass strike, to bring down

the Ben Ali junta.

With a successful revolution against a US puppet government, the people of North Africa

became emboldened. Tunisia set the stage for the ongoing rebellion in Egypt.

Heavily organized by young activists, protests in Egypt were called for just days after the

Tunisian Revolt. 7 Although Tunisia served as an inspiration, Egyptian journalist Hossam el-

Hamalawy points out, “…the objective conditions for an uprising existed in Egypt, and revolt

has been in the air over the past few years.” In fact, there have been waves of protests in Egypt

since the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000.

4
(Swagler, 2011) A recently leaked US intelligence cable from Wikileaks compared Ben Ali’s
government to “the mafia.”
5
(Seymour, 2011)
6
(Swagler, 2011)
7
(Kirkpatrick, 2011)
 Rampant food inflation, low wages, and high unemployment have enraged an

increasingly militant Egyptian working class. Egyptian socialist Mostafa Omar notes that in

“2009 alone… there were a total of 478 industrial actions by workers, including 184 sit-ins, 123

strikes, 79 demonstrations and 27 rallies.”8

Hosni Mubarak ascended to power in 1981 shortly after US- and Israli-allied President

Anwar Sadat's assassination by Islamists. Second only to Israel, Egypt receives over a billion

dollars of US military aid per year.9 Mubarak’s regime is characterized by its brutal political

repression, rigged elections, and corruption. Inequality and poverty plague Egyptian society with

40% of the population living on $2 a day. [citation…]

On January 24th, demonstrations against the regime in Cairo erupted as protesters clashed

with the police in Tahrir square. Three demonstrators were killed.10 Other Egyptian cities

followed suit. After the military was deployed to quell the unrest, a military spokesman

announced that “the armed forces will not resort to use of force against our great people.”11

Yesterday [2/1/10], Mubarak announced that he would not seek “reelection” and step down at

the end of his term. Hundreds of thousands of ordinary Egyptians have brought to its knees the

police state that has terrorized them for decades.

If it is to retain its status as the world's leading Empire, the US must be able to control the

“global oil spigot” [as David Harvey has called it]. In order to do this, it must be able to exercise

control over regional politics. As former assistant defense secretary Lawrence Korb remarked in

the run-up to the 1991 invasion of Iraq, “If Kuwait grew carrots, we wouldn’t give a damn.”12

8
(Omar, 2010)
9
(D'Amato, 2000)
10
(Leyne, 2011)
11
(Kirkpatrick, 2011)
12
(D'Amato, 2000)
 This is especially true of Egypt, the most powerful Arab state, as it borders Palestine and

controls the critical Suez Canal. This means that a real Arab democracy is incompatible with US

imperialism. The US has worked out a scheme in which the US funds Israel to be its imperial

watchdog and keep the Arab states in line. In turn, since the Camp David accords, the US funds

Arab dictators as long as they are friendly with Israel. The revolutions in North Africa cast

uncertainty on the future of this scheme. Will, for example, a democratic Egypt end its blockade

of Gaza? Will they allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland? Only time will tell,

but one thing is clear: if the people of Egypt are allowed democracy, they will likely use it to

undermine US interests. The degree to which the American Empire tolerates this democratic

movement as it begins to take power remains to be seen.

Despite the overthrow of Ben Ali and Mubarak, it is not guaranteed that an entirely new

regime will replace the ones they headed. No matter what regimes come out of these revolutions,

as long as they are capitalist regimes, the system that sparked these revolts will remain intact and

new crises, new repression, and new exploitation will inevitably arise. In order for the Tunisian

and Egyptian working classes win to the “battle of democracy”, their revolution must be taken in

an anti-capitalist direction. Their struggle for liberation from autocrats, imperialism, and poverty

must be transformed into a struggle against the entire exploitative system of capitalism. This

struggle for the complete liberation of the working class is the struggle for socialism.
Bibliography
D'Amato, P. (2000, December). U.S. Intervention in the Middle East: Blood for Oil.
International Socialist Review .

el-Hamalawy, H. (2011, January 31). Revolt has been in the air. (M. LeVine, Interviewer)

Kirkpatrick, D. D. (2011, January 31). Mubarak’s Grip on Power Is Shaken. Retrieved from
New York Times.

Leyne, J. (2011, January 25). Egypt protests: Three killed in 'day of revolt'. Retrieved from
BBC News.

Omar, M. (2010, June 8). The rising class struggle. Retrieved from SocialistWorker.org:
http://socialistworker.org/2010/06/08/rising-class-struggle

Seymour, R. (2011). The Rise and Fall of Ben Ali. Retrieved from
http://socialistworker.org/2011/01/18/rise-and-fall-of-ben-ali

Socialist Worker. (2011). The revolt of the hungry. Retrieved from SocialistWorker.org:
http://socialistworker.org/2011/01/19/revolt-hungry

Swagler, M. (2011). A revolution unfolds in Tunisia. Retrieved from SocialistWorker.org.

Zaitoun, L. (2011). Roots of the Tunisian Intifada. Retrieved from