Virtual meeting: with reports from Palestine and Panama, RSISL reaffirms international solidarity
The virtual meeting of the International Labour Network of Solidarity and Struggles for Latin America, held on 21 June, was marked by important reports on the ongoing genocide in Palestine and the brutal repression against workers and the people of Panama.
Participants from various Latin American countries also shared local reports and deliberated on joint international actions of solidarity and resistance to oppression.
Palestine - the ongoing genocide and global resistance
Opening the plenary session, space was given for discussion on the dramatic situation in Palestine. Fábio Bosco, from CSP-Conlutas, highlighted that Israel's central tactic, after months of bombings and mass murders, has been the use of hunger as a weapon of war. ‘People are being killed in food distribution lines. It's indescribable,’ reported Bosco.
The leader also recounted the violent repression of international solidarity initiatives that attempted to break the blockade of Gaza. Among them was the Freedom Flotilla, whose boat was intercepted in international waters by Israeli forces, and the land convoys that left North Africa for Egypt, which were blocked militarily before reaching Gaza.
Bosco also reported on the repression faced by the Global March to Gaza, which brought together about 4,000 people from 80 countries and was prevented from advancing by the forces of the Egyptian regime, a strategic ally of Israel. Arrests, deportations and persecution marked the response of local authorities to the protesters.
Bosco's report also warned of the escalation of Israeli aggression against Iran, with attacks on civilian targets and explicit support from the United States. According to him, both Western powers and regimes such as China and Russia act in practice as accomplices to Israel's genocidal policy. ‘The defence of the peoples under attack in the Middle East will depend on the working class and international youth. This is our role as an internationalist solidarity network,’ he concluded.
The Brazilian delegation present in the region was composed of Fabio Bosco, from CSP-Conlutas, Herbert Claros, from ILNSS, Magno Carvalho, from Sintusp, and Mohamad Kadri, from the Latin Palestinian Forum.
The International Labour Network of Solidarity and Struggles reaffirmed its repudiation of the ongoing genocide and its unconditional support for the Palestinian people's struggle for freedom, sovereignty and the right of return.
Panama - repression, political persecution and workers' resistance
Reinaldo Garcés, general secretary of Suntracs - Panama Civil Construction Union, gave a powerful account of the social and political crisis in Panama. He denounced the authoritarian escalation of the government of José Raúl Molino, who, with only 34% of the vote, took power and has governed exclusively in favour of the business elite.
Garcés described Panama as a ‘civil dictatorship’ where repression against the trade union and popular movement has intensified in recent months. Trade union leaders are being persecuted, arrested and forced into political asylum. Suntracs' bank accounts have been frozen, union dues have been confiscated by the state and peaceful protests have been met with police violence.
In addition to union repression, the leader highlighted the fight against Law 462, which threatens the right to a decent retirement, and the government's attempt to reopen a mine whose contract was declared unconstitutional after a broad popular mobilisation in 2023. Garcés also denounced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the United States that paves the way for the installation of US military bases on Panamanian territory, violating national sovereignty.
‘We are facing this and we will resist with our people, with our bases and with all the organisations that are joining this struggle that is so important for our country,’ said Garcés, thanking the international community for its solidarity.
On Saturday (21), Panamanian authorities cut off internet access and mobile phone service in the Caribbean province of Bocas del Toro, following President José Raúl Mulino's declaration of a state of emergency after nearly two months of anti-government protests.
The ILNSS, which had already approved a motion of support for the general strike and the Panamanian mobilisations, reiterated at the meeting its total rejection of repression and its unconditional support for the struggle of the working class and the people of Panama in defence of their rights, national sovereignty and democracy.
International solidarity as a response
Activists and leaders from organisations such as the automotive sector in Argentina (GM), CSP-Conlutas in Brazil, the National Union of the Working Class in El Salvador, the Ecuadorian Workers' Solidarity Union in Ecuador, the Alternative Union of Trolleybus Workers, the Water Treatment Institute (SITMTA), the education sector (CNTE) and the automotive sector in Mexico (GM), the Civil Construction Union of Panama (Suntracs), the National Electricity Administration Workers' Union of Paraguay, and the National Conflict Committee of Venezuela, representing at least 10 Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela, and Spain, from the European continent.
The meeting reinforced the ILNSS's commitment to class internationalism and active solidarity with peoples in struggle. In the face of genocide in Palestine and repression in Panama, the Network called on its affiliated organisations to remain mobilised, amplifying denunciation, political and material support, and the construction of solidarity that transcends borders.
The struggle is one, against imperialism, wars, genocide, colonialism, authoritarianism, and neoliberal attacks that affect workers and peoples around the world.
Plenary recommendations
1. Invite affiliation to the Network with the aim of strengthening ties of international solidarity, exchanging experiences of struggle and building common strategies in the face of the challenges faced by workers throughout the region.
2. Maintain active solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine in the Gaza Strip. We condemn the genocidal war of Israeli Zionism and repudiate all strategies of death generated by capitalist imperialism. We urge organisations to maintain international solidarity by publicising events such as the freedom flotilla, the resilience convoy, the global march for Gaza, etc.
3. Emphasise active solidarity with Suntracs, the teachers' unions, banana workers and allied organisations that have maintained the strike in their anti-imperialist struggle against the government of José Raúl Molina and Law 462 on pension cuts and other violations of labour rights.
4. Design and implement joint campaigns to strengthen the struggles for trade union rights and democratic freedoms in the region and denounce the persecution, dismissals, harassment and imprisonment of leaders by employers and authoritarian governments.
5. Finally, we invite you to participate in the Sixth Meeting of the International Trade Union Network of Solidarity and Struggles in Italy, from 13 to 16 November 2025, in the city of Quianchino Terme. All information about the meeting is available on the International Trade Union Network's social media in all languages.
