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climatevanguard.bsky.social
Climate Vanguard
@climatevanguard.bsky.social
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Political education for eco-socialist liberation 🌱

🔗 www.climatevanguard.org
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climatevanguard.bsky.social
(10/10)
This slide has a grey background with white text, some of which is highlighted in red. In the middle, there are two grey boxes with black text, some of which is highlighted in pink. In the upper right, there is a picture of a PTB rally. The text reads: The PTB provides a plethora of lessons for organisers seeking to build an effective mass left party: Empowered membership: Party structures allow ordinary members to develop leadership skills and take on responsibility. Effective leadership: Strong, democratic leadership enables the party to act quickly and with discipline. Positive Demands: Prioritise issues that matter to people and communicate them in accessible, relatable language. Community Organising: Meeting people’s needs strengthens relationships and trust. This is part 2 of 6 in our series that analyses leftwing parties from around the world.
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(9/10)
This slide has a grey background with white text, some of which is underlined in red or highlighted in red. On the top half, there is a picture of a PTB press conference. The text reads: Electoral Success The PTB’s social strength has brought electoral success across different levels of government. This has provided it with a mainstream platform through which it can agitate against the corruption of the political status quo. And they don’t just talk the talk: the party requires elected officials to live modestly, close to the standard of a skilled worker, and donate much of their parliamentary salary to the party. Crucially, the parliamentary faction remains subordinate to the party leadership, ensuring representatives follow the party’s political line. Note: The PTB now holds 2 seats in the European Parliament, 15 in the national parliament, and 258 local and regional elected positions. Sources: Farooq, Democratic Left (2025); Biver, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (2024); Mertens, The Socialist Program with Brian Becker (2024).
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(8/10)
This slide has a grey background with white text, some of which is underlined in red or highlighted in red. On the top half, there is a picture of a PTB pro-Palestine protest. The text reads: Base-Building The PTB has a strong legacy of meeting the people where they’re at. This includes both joining picket lines and demonstrations, as well as running solidarity projects, like helping refugee families or supporting local food banks. Especially well known are the PTB’s 11 community health clinics, which provide free or low-cost medical care while integrating political education on the social determinants of health. As a material force of change, base-building provides the PTB with political credibility in working-class communities. Sources: Blakeley, Tribune (2024); Shabeer, People’s Dispatch (2019).
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(7/10)
This slide has a grey background with white text, some of which is underlined in red or highlighted in red. On the top half, there are two pictures: one of Raoul Hedebouw, the president of the PTB, and another of a graphic for the PTB’s “Stop Arizona” campaign. The text reads: Popular Campaigns The PTB creates people-oriented campaigns through its enquête process, in which it surveys local communities before compiling results at the national level. Whether it’s taxing the rich or fighting the increase in retirement age, the PTB frames its campaigns through the language of class struggle. This is massified through its vibrant, modern aesthetic and strong social media presence, ensuring that its Marxist messaging pierces the mainstream. Sources: Blakeley, Tribune (2024); Farooq, Democratic Left (2025).
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(6/10)
The top half of this slide is a picture of members attending a PTB event. The bottom half of the slide has a grey background with white text, some of which is underlined in red or highlighted in red. The text reads: Democratic Structure Centralised party leadership is elected from the bottom up, with delegates from base groups and regional sections choosing leaders at national congresses, and held accountable through internal democratic processes. The national leadership coordinates strategy, political messaging, and major campaigns, which are adapted to local contexts by base groups. The party deliberately cultivates leadership and collective empowerment among its members, who – especially those from the working class – are encouraged and supported to rise through the ranks of the organisation. Sources: Farooq, Democratic Left (2025); Mertens, The Socialist Program with Brian Becker (2024); Blakeley, Tribune (2024).
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(5/10)
This slide has a grey background with white text, some of which is underlined in red or highlighted in red. On the top half, there are two pictures: one of the PTB student wing, COMAC, and another of the PTB festival, Manifiesta. The text reads: The PTB also has a robust network of affiliated organisations, including its student wing COMAC, youth organisation RedFox, and women’s movement Marianne, as well as its annual festival, Manifiesta, which brings together thousands of people around a 21st-century socialist politics that is both politically serious and playful. Its dynamic structure both develops skilled activists and expands the party’s mass base among the working class. Today, the PTB has over 25,000 members (up from 8,500 in 2014) and nearly 800,000 people voted for the party in the 2024 federal elections. Sources: Shabeer, People’s Dispatch (2019); PTB, Over PVDA (n.d.); Farooq, Democratic Left (2025).
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(4/10)
The majority of this slide is a picture of people attending a PTB event. The bottom half has a grey background with white text, some of which is highlighted in red. To the right, there is a grey box with black text, some of which is highlighted in pink. The text reads: Membership Key to the PTB’s renewal was the introduction of an accessible three-tiered membership structure: Consultative members: Pay basic dues, support the party, and receive information. Base group members: Active participants in local units based in workplaces, municipalities, or neighbourhoods. Militants: Highly committed members who dedicate significant time and energy to party organising. Source: Farooq, Democratic Left (2025).
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(3/10)
The top half of this slide is a picture of Belgian students at a May 1968 protest. The bottom half of this slide has a grey background with white text, some of which is underlined in red or highlighted in red. The text reads: History The PTB was founded in 1979 by activists from the May ’68 student movement. As a Maoist party, it focused on meeting people’s material needs – for instance, through the now-famous network of community health centres called “Medicine for the People.” Nevertheless, it remained marginal in Belgian politics for decades, hindered by its ideological rigidity, insularity, and the high level of commitment expected from members. This began to change in the 2000s after it underwent a conscious process of “renewal,” aiming to become a “party where ordinary people feel at home.” Sources: Shabeer, People’s Dispatch (2019); PTB, Over PVDA (n.d.).
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(2/10)
The left hand side of this slide is a continuation of the previous picture of the PTB. The right hand side has a grey background with white text, some of which his underlined in red or highlighted in red. The text reads: Those organising for social transformation can look to the Workers' Party of Belgium (Parti du travail de Belgique, PTB) for a source of inspiration, an unabashedly socialist and anti-imperialist party firmly rooted in working-class life. By consistently organising around the issues that matter to ordinary people, like cost of living, healthcare, pensions, and ecological breakdown, the PTB has expanded its membership and political influence, becoming one of Europe’s most successful socialist organisations.
November 7, 2025 at 6:01 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(9/9)
This slide has a grey background with bolded black text, some of which is underlined in red. The text reads: “Mechanisms of unequal development produce structural conditions, such as unemployment and inequality, which catapult the massive migration of dispossessed and marginalized people. Compelled by the need to have access to means of subsistence or at least minimal opportunities for social mobility, large segments of the population are in practice expelled from their territories to relocate within their own country or abroad. Labor oversupply and worsening living conditions turn migration, particularly from peripheral countries, into a form of forced displacement.” - Raúl Delgado Wise Source: Delgado Wise, Monthly Review (2013).
September 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(8/9)
The top of this slide is an image of Sudanese refugees awaiting transit to a food distribution site in Eastern Chad. The rest of the slide is grey with black text, some which is highlighted in red. The text reads: Sudan Sudan is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Between April 2023 and April 2025, 13 million people fled the ongoing war fueled by ethnic and proxy conflict. The crisis is rooted in decades of civil war, which itself can be traced back to British colonialism. In 1899, British administrators divided Sudan into two countries. The partition was designed to maximize the Arab-Muslim North’s exploitation of underdeveloped peripheral regions, which are home to a vast diversity of marginalised ethnicities. This border division underlies the conflict today. Note: Egypt and Saudi Arabia support the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) while the United Arab Emirates support the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), both different arms of the Sudanese state. Sources: Craze, New Left Review (2025); Craze, New Left Review (2023); Welliver, EBSCO (2023); Tricontintal, A Language of Blood Has Gripped Our World (2025).
September 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(7/9)
The top half of this slide is an image of Eritrean refugees talking in a refugee camp. The bottom half of this slide is grey with black text, some of which is highlighted in red. The text reads: Eritrea The Eritrean state was founded to further Italian colonial ambitions, established to facilitate the exploitation of people and the land. Following formal decolonisation, Eritrea and Ethiopia were federated in 1952 – a move driven not by the will of the people, but by US imperialist interests. This has been the foundation for violent conflict between the countries ever since, which has included forced conscription and slave-like labour conditions. Note: This involved the formation of a political union where Eritrea was placed under the political-economic authority of the Ethiopian Empire. Sources: Eritreans for Liberation in North America, Revolution in Eritrea (1975); Hayden, Vice (2016).
September 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(6/9)
The left hand side of this slide is an image of a map of East Africa. The right hand side is grey with black text, some of which is highlighted in red or underlined in red. The text reads: East Africa A significant proportion of undocumented migrants arriving in the UK are from East Africa. For example, Eritreans and Sudanese represented almost 15% of the highly publicised small boat arrivals in 2023. Both countries share a history of colonialisation, as Africa was divided up and systematically underdeveloped to fuel imperialist accumulation. Eritrea was colonised by Italy (and later Britain) and Sudan by Britain. This has produced both extreme poverty and political instability, driving high rates of current emigration. Let’s look at each country in greater detail → Source: Home Office, Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act (2024).
September 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
climatevanguard.bsky.social
(5/9)
The left hand side of this slide is a continuation of the previous image of people protesting the blockade on Cuba. The right hand side is grey with black text, some of which is highlighted in red or underlined in red. The text reads: While failing to topple the Cuban or Venezuelan governments, the imperialist blockades have been devastating for their citizens. Former UN Special Rapporteur Alfred de Zayas estimated that 100,000 Venezuelans died between 2017 and 2020 due to sanctions. Worsening conditions have been a major driver of increased emigration from both countries. After creating the very conditions that forced people to leave their homes, the Trump administration has been deporting undocumented Venezuelans from the US to El Salvador where they were detained without trial, sentences, or release dates. Eventually, they were released and returned to Venezuela with reports that prisoners were physically and psychologically tortured. Sources: Lugo, Progressive International (2024); Venezuela Analysis, A War Without Bombs (2023); Renteria, O’Boyle & Cortez, Reuters (2025); Dunbar, the Guardian (2025).
September 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM