Solidarity and unity in the four corners of the country. From Liege to Antwerp via Brussels, Ghent, Charleroi, Genk, Ostend... Today, on the occasion of the International Day against Racism, 21 rallies took place in 14 Belgian cities. Citizens, associations, trade unions mobilised against racism and hatred at the call of the Platform 21 March. The PTB-PVDA and its youth movements, RedFox and Comac, were present with a message against the division of the working class. Peter Mertens, president of the PTB-PVDA, was present in Brussels. Together we make the world go round. Together, let's fight against racism and discrimination, whether in employment, education, access to housing... #21March #TogetherAgainstRacism #Solidarity

Foreword to the English edition of ‘They Have Forgotten Us’. With this English edition, ‘They Have Forgotten Us’ is being published in its fifth language (after Dutch, French, German, and Spanish). For that, I am extremely grateful to Vijay Prashad and LeftWord Books.

What does the shortage of nurses has in common with the increase in our electricity bills? These are the perverse effects of privatization. In recent decades, public companies have been sold to the private sector by our governments, with disastrous consequences. All over the world, citizens are mobilizing to take these companies back in hand. With victories in hand.

A joint initiative of the PTB-PVDA, the PS (French-speaking Socialist Party ) and the sp.a (Dutch-speaking Socialist Party ) : No less than 23 members of the Belgian parliaments - including 11 from different PTB-PVDA parliamentary groups - have proposed the Cuban Medical Brigades for this year's Nobel Peace Award. This is an important support to the international campaign calling on Members of Parliament to nominate Cuban doctors for this prestigious peace award.

There is no longer any doubt about the fact that we are dependent on a handful of multinational pharmaceutical companies as far as the Covid-19 vaccine is concerned. Calls to break their monopoly are multiplying. Even Gwendolyn Rutten, former chairperson of the Open Vld (Flemish liberal party), is now turning to Twitter to support our plea to make the vaccine a public good," says Sofie Merckx, PTB-PVDA MP. This comes to prove that things will move when pressure is exerted."

Lumumba is a symbol of the Congolese people's struggle for independence. In Africa, he is put on an equal footing as all the major leaders in the fight against colonialism. But who was Patrice Lumumba and why is it so important to keep his memory alive?

Do you know any MPs who spend two days a week working on a production line in a factory? Meet Francis Dagrin, Brussels deputy of the PTB.

When I got here, I ran into a childhood friend I hadn't seen in a long time. He became a delivery boy. He was getting out of his van, a package in his hand, and he said, "I'm exhausted. I deliver Zalando, Amazon... I'm on the road all day. Little hours till late at night. With the overtime that's unpaid." I asked him how much money he made on this job. "Not even 1,400 euros. " A pittance. How can we let this happen?

"We've known this since Adam Smith, but this is a strong reminder: competition works in the public interest." This is the reaction of Johan Van Overtveldt, former Minister of Finance and now MEP for the N-VA (rightist Flemish nationalist party), to the announcement of the coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. By referring to the economist known as "the father of capitalism", he clearly means that we owe the development of vaccines against Covid-19 to the capitalist free market and the benevolence of the pharmaceutical multinationals. There are at least five reasons why he's completely off the mark.

Let it be a year of life, of wonder and of hope (free from coronavirus) May the coming year be one of friendship, empathy and resistance (free from exploitation) We raise our glasses to your health, for you are not alone (Long live solidarity) Peter Mertens, chairman PTB-PVDA