This three-part report was written by a comrade in the United States who visited South Africa for the first time in May 2025.
The contradictions of capitalism are starkly exposed in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), South Africa. Electric-fenced luxe compounds and stunning beaches in Summerstrand contrast with hectare upon hectare of densely packed shacks in still-segregated townships.
Massive factories embody the unity and especially the struggle of these opposites. Summerstrand’s wealth is extracted from the labor of workers at VW in Uitenhage (Kariega), the largest auto plant in Africa. And from Isuzu, Ford, Nissan, Goodyear, Continental Tyre, and more. Sugar refineries and other food-processing plants enrich the owners on the backs of the workers while addicting masses to junk food and sentencing them to deadly diabetes.
Capitalist crisis is visible in shuttered plants, deteriorating roads, and decaying downtown areas. In massive unemployment, frequent “load-shedding” blackouts, rising and pervasive crime. Sharpening inter-imperialist conflict appears in the huge China BAIC Group auto factory and Chinese port development.
Masses see this. They applauded a South African comrade when she said, “Capitalism can’t give us a better life. Only communism can do that.” And communist work is advancing. She and other comrades are eagerly realizing the potential to make communist revolution a mass issue and to recruit many to the ICWP.
Some examples:
- A relative lives in Grahamstown (Makhanda), several hours away. She learned about ICWP in a family WhatsApp chat. She wanted to know more. Another comrade called her and arranged a meeting. Forty neighbors crowded her front yard. All took Red Flag. They listened and asked questions for over an hour. The organizer took a stack of Red Flag. She distributed them within days. They expected the next meeting to be larger.
- A high school student in Kariega patiently and successfully organized 250 students to demand a math teacher. The organizer joined ICWP and brought a group to May Day. They quickly took on responsibilities. She has since distributed Red Flag inside her school, explaining our line to a roomful of enthusiastic students.
- People are sick of electoral parties. We explain that we are a revolutionary party, not an electoral party. A VW shop steward likes our line. He leads a council of other metal-worker shop stewards. He wants to present Red Flag to them, expecting that some would bring it to their base. We agree that masses of metal workers are open to revolutionary communism. Our strategy is to organize from the bottom up, not top down. We must figure out how to encourage his initiative. Later, he organizes a meeting of youths to learn about ICWP.
Communist Industrial Work in South Africa
Many more such stories show how critical the work in South Africa is for our international party. And in particular for our industrial work.
Many comrades there work or have worked in industry. Others are seeking industrial jobs. We distribute Red Flag massively at the VW plant and know some workers there.
ICWP has an old pamphlet about communist industrial work. Comrades in South Africa, El Salvador, and elsewhere can help revise and update it. How and why are industrial workers key? Who counts as an “industrial worker” and why?
How will communism change the technology and organization of production? How does that relate to decision-making and distribution? The comrades in South Africa can share examples of how industrial work helps us struggle for communist class consciousness. For industrial workers to lead broader masses to communist revolution.
The next sections of this report will focus on developing leadership and making our communist literature more useful to workers. On how comrades integrate ourselves in the struggles of the masses. And of the need for more energetic and consistent fundraising to support ICWP’s work in South Africa and elsewhere.