Sunday, March 16, 2025

Opinion

The goals of Israel’s ongoing aggression against Syria



MEMO
March 14, 2025 


The building and the surrounding cars are destroyed after Israeli airstrikes target Mashrou Dummar area in Damascus, Syria on March 13, 2025.
 [Muhammed Ubeyid – Anadolu Agency]



by Aziz Mustafa



Israel’s aggressive operations against Syria continue by air and on the ground, imposing new realities at a time Syria’s leadership is preoccupied with internal affairs. This suggests that Israel’s approach to Syria goes beyond mere military strikes but rather aims at reshaping the Middle East, as it had announced at the onset of its aggression against Gaza in October 2023.

The ongoing Israeli attacks on Syria serve several objectives, primarily the redrawing of borders and maintaining military presence in areas Israel has invaded since the fall of Al-Assad. Israel is also working to establish understandings with Washington regarding its incursions into Syrian territory, as part of discussions about the future of foreign presence in the country.

Another key objective is Israel’s effort to learn from its failure to prevent Hamas’ cross border incursion on 7 October and to ensure that such a scenario does not repeat itself on the Syrian front. This includes preventing Syria from becoming a forward base for forces hostile to Israel by targeting the remnants of the Syrian army’s combat capabilities, ending arms smuggling from Syria to Lebanon, and countering Turkiye’s growing influence in Syria. Turkiye, Israel’s biggest and most significant regional adversary, consistently condemns Israeli aggression and warns against potential confrontations, as Ankara increasingly sees Syria as its strategic backyard.

Israel’s latest involvement in Syria came in the form of a military threat under the pretext of “protecting the Druze in Jaramana,” southeast of Damascus. This move reflects Israeli concerns about Syria’s new leadership, which it claims consists of Islamist elements hostile to Israel. Given the current uncertainty, threats along Israel’s northern borders are becoming more pronounced.

READ: Israel carries out air strike on edge of Syrian capital

Recent Israeli actions towards Syria clearly indicate ambitions to control strategic areas. While this is still in its early stages and direct clashes with Syrian forces have yet to occur, such confrontations could become inevitable, with Israel preparing for a military operation on Syrian soil.

Israel’s increasing involvement in Syria marks a new chapter in the regional power struggle. While Turkiye seeks to secure its borders, treating Syria as a backyard of its national security, Israel is expanding its influence beyond its borders under the pretence of concerns over armed Islamist groups. This makes its latest claim of protecting Syria’s Druze population a significant milestone in the escalating Israeli-Turkish rivalry over Syria, particularly after Iran was sidelined from the conflict following Assad’s downfall.

One of Israel’s most alarming scenarios—one that seems increasingly plausible—is the presence of Turkish military forces inside Syria. This, in Israel’s view, would be a “disaster”, prompting its pre-emptive occupation of buffer zones, the peak of Mount Hermon, and an expansion of its control into Syrian territory, alongside demands for the complete disarmament of southern Syria, particularly in Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda.



A noteworthy Israeli revelation involves the military secretary to the prime minister being sent to Moscow to request that Russia not hastily withdraw from its bases in Syria, as Israel reportedly prefers a Russian presence over a Turkish influence.

Israel’s aggressive actions against Syria stem from conflicting attitudes toward the recent developments in its northern neighbour. While many Israelis initially viewed Assad’s fall as a victory for Tel Aviv — weakening Hezbollah in Lebanon, striking Hamas in Gaza, and reducing Iranian influence — Israeli assessments quickly shifted. The new Syrian regime is now seen as an enemy, and Israel fears its new rulers.

The swift overthrow of Al-Assad and his regime by the Syrian opposition in just a few days triggered considerable anxiety in Tel Aviv. This led to large-scale pre-emptive strikes that, within three days, destroyed what remained of Syria’s air and naval military capabilities, as well as key military research centres. Israel justified these attacks as efforts to eliminate Assad’s hidden stockpiles of chemical weapons. Additionally, Israel occupied significant areas of the Golan Heights and declared the 1974 Disengagement Agreement null, effectively signalling a de facto declaration of war on the new Syria.

Israeli officials are openly concerned about the ideological similarities between the new Islamist political forces in Syria and Hamas. Though Syria’s new leader, Ahmad Al-Sharaa ‘Al-Jolani’, comes from a more radical Salafi-jihadist background than Hamas, Israel’s experience with the movement has been a harsh lesson.

While Assad’s fall has raised Israeli fears of further instability along its northern border, Israel also sees it as an opportunity to reshape regional dynamics. However, the prospect of anti-Israel forces consolidating power in Syria remains a significant concern, making the situation even more complex.




Syria's Druze visit Israel for first time in 52 years


A Syrian Druze delegation arrived in Israel for a rare two-day visit, the first in over 50 years. The visit was in coordination with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community.



MEMO
March 16, 2025 


A delegation of around 100 Syrian Druze members arrived in Israel for a two-day visit, marking the first such trip in more than five decades, Israeli public broadcaster, KAN, reported Friday.

The report said the visit was coordinated with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel. The delegation is expected to visit religious sites in the occupied Golan Heights and northern Israel.

It marks the second visit of its kind since the establishment of Israel in 1948, and the first since 1973. KAN did not disclose the identities of participants.

The delegation is set to meet Tarif and other prominent Druze figures in Israel. They will also visit sites including the tomb of Prophet Jethro and the Druze village of Peki’in.

It remains unclear if the delegation will hold meetings with the Israeli government or military officials.

There has been no official response from Syrian authorities or Druze leaders in Syria regarding the visit.

The visit comes amid heightened tensions following recent Israeli claims that Israeli fighter jets have been deployed in Syria to “protect Syrian Druze.”

The assertions have sparked protests among Syrian Druze communities, who have publicly rejected any Israeli intervention in Syria’s internal affairs. Demonstrators have also reiterated demands for Israel’s full withdrawal from occupied Syrian territories.

Since the overthrow of former President Bashar Assad in December, Israel has escalated its military offensives in Syria.

The new Syrian administration, led by transitional leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, has consistently called for an end to Israeli airstrikes and a complete withdrawal of its forces from Syrian land.

Israel has occupied the majority of the Golan Heights since 1967. In the wake of Syria’s political transition, it has expanded its territorial control, including into demilitarised zones, and has conducted hundreds of airstrikes targeting Syrian military assets.



The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.


Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.



Australian doctors who visited Gaza recount harrowing scenes

MEMO
March 16, 2025 

An interior view of destroyed Indonesia Hospital after the third day of the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel in Beit Lahia, Gaza on January 20, 2025
[Khalil Ramzi Alkahlut/Anadolu Agency]

by Anadolu Agency


Australian doctors on the frontline of Gaza’s choked health system have recounted harrowing scenes as a fragile ceasefire in the war-torn enclave hangs in balance, Anadolu news agency reported.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Mohammad Awad, and Dr. Chris Holden are among few Australians to have entered Gaza amid the Hamas-Israel war with access largely restricted as Israel controls Gaza’s airspace, territorial waters, and two of its three border crossing points, with the third controlled by Egypt.

Awad recently returned home to Melbourne after spending two weeks volunteering in Gaza hospitals, many of which are overwhelmed, understaffed, and lacking in essential equipment and resources, local broadcaster SBS News reported on Sunday.

“You see it so much on the TV and social media, but it’s very different when you see it in person, it really is quite confronting,” he told SBS.

“It’s almost surreal seeing that level of destruction; I don’t think you’re ever prepared for it until you see it.”

During his time in Gaza, Awad mostly treated patients with brain tumors or spinal conditions that had been left untreated due to the war, as well as people who had experienced gunshots to the head or spine, and injuries from shrapnel.

He described the level of need as “intense”, with hospitals full of inpatients and outpatients, as well as many others “hanging around the hospitals with nowhere else to go.”

Most parts of Gaza have also lost electricity and struggled to access clean water throughout the war.

Israel kills over 150 Palestinians since ceasefire, including 40 in past two weeks: Gaza Media Office

Dr. Holden, who has been volunteering in Gaza with the Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association (PANZMA) for the last month, said he was shocked to see the destruction and the breakdown of the healthcare system in the besieged enclave.

“There are significant challenges on the ground. We’ve had a lot of loss of medical facility infrastructure … and then what is remaining is therefore overwhelmed and currently partly due to the blockade of supplies coming in, it’s very under-resourced materially as well,” he was quoted as saying by SBS.

He said the destruction and the breakdown of the healthcare system resulted in “a lot of unnecessary death and harm to people.”

Holden said one of his patients was a six-year-old with wounds to the face, head, and left eye after a projectile hit her as she slept in her family’s tent.
Not even a single MRI scanner in whole Gaza

Awad said there were also no MRI scanners — a crucial medical tool — on the whole Gaza Strip as they had all become damaged and were unable to be fixed due to the war.

“As neurosurgeons, we operate based mostly on MRI scans, seeing them and seeing scans of brains and spines, but not having them available meant we were having to make decisions based on CT scans and that was really, really difficult,” he said.

“Operating on young kids with brain tumors and only having CT scans was really quite challenging.”

Local doctors are fatigued, run down, and many have not had a lot of international experience or training.

For Awad, leaving Gaza was “bittersweet,” as he hoped to stay in touch with local doctors and offer support for cases and patient care.
WAR IS ECOCIDE

Landmines imperil camel herders in Yemen


MEMO
March 14, 2025 

A dromedary camel, in Rub’al Khali desert, Yemen 
[DEA/C.DANI/I.JESKE/De Agostini via Getty Images]

by Reuters


A landmine warning sign in Yemen’s Marib province reminds camel herders that their next step could be their last.

After being displaced or confined to smaller areas because of war, the Bedouins hope to reclaim their traditional nomadic way of life. But finding safe land to graze is perilous.

“Grazing was more abundant further south, but those areas are infested with landmines. Whenever one of the animals heads south, a mine explodes under it,” said Ogaim Suhail, a camel herder. Nomads have moved north to escape minefields and combat zones, he said.

Yemen’s Houthis have been at war against a Saudi-led military alliance since 2015. A United Nations peace process has stalled since Israel launched its bombing campaign on Gaza in 2023.

Though there has been no major escalation or changes in the disposition of frontlines for years, the United Nations warns against the possibility of renewed violence.

Meanwhile, landmines laid by the warring parties continue to kill or injure civilians in areas where fighting has ceased, according to a 2024 report by Human Rights Watch.


“Landmines are our first problem in war areas, near the Houthis,” said herder Saleh Al-Qadry.

A report by the local human rights organisation Mwatana documented 537 incidents of landmine use from January 2016 to March 2024.

Abed al-Thawr, an official at the Houthi Defence Ministry, said the Houthis were not responsible for planting mines in Marib province, which he said had been placed there by mercenaries.

The United Nations Development Programme has reported that landmines and explosive remnants of war pose a serious risk to millions of people across Yemen.

Marib, in central Yemen, is one of the provinces most affected, with herders saying they are forced to stay in their tents for fear of landmines, and to keep their camels confined.

“If we release them, they may head towards the landmines and step on them, causing them to explode,” said camel herder Saeed Onaig.
Opinion

Western liberalism, Zionism and the wishful thinking of the left’s historical eurocentrism


MEMO
March 15, 2025 


A graffiti on a wall in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis depicting Palestinian children deprived of education by Israel is viewed, on 14 June 2024 
[Hani Alshaer/Anadolu Agency]


This piece provides commentary on how Western liberalism has approached the topic of Yahya Sinwar’s autobiography. Specifically, it discusses the political campaign led by the Italian and Zionist establishment in early March, which aimed to prevent the book’s presentation at La Sapienza University. This campaign and its controversy impacted various groups on the left and far-left of the political spectrum. The author’s central argument is that this situation highlights a historical trend of left-wing eurocentrism and how that trend influences the international Palestinian resistance movement, particularly within Western countries.

The Union of Young Jews of Italy, Italian Radicals, Left for Israel, Jewish Communities in Italy, young socialists, Forza Italia Giovani, other Catholic associations and associations of the Zionist Hasbara, in early March, appealed for the Sapienza University of Rome to revoke the permits granted to the Palestinian Student Movement.

They aimed to prevent the 5 March presentation of the autobiographical book The Thorns and the Carnation by Sinwar (with the participation of Davide Piccardo of the Islamic-inspired publishing house Editori della Luce, the book’s Italian publisher) from taking place within the Physics Department.

The appeal, titled “Terrorism out of the University”, stated: “La Sapienza, one of the few universities to have opposed boycotts against Israel and to have positioned itself as a bastion of academic freedom, still has the opportunity to prevent it from turning into a sounding board for terrorism,” immediately became a national political issue. The request in the appeal was supported by major Italian liberal democracy newspapers such as La Repubblica, Il Corriere dello Sera, Il Giornale and Il Messaggero. In turn, the newspapers reported the requests by Giovanni Donzelli and Noemi Di Segni for the Faculty of Physics to backtrack and ban the initiative.

READ: Tensions rise between Washington, Tel Aviv over US-Hamas Talks

Sinwar’s autobiographical book, written during his twenty-two years in Israeli prisons, is currently censored and banned from publication in many Western and European Union countries, but not in Italy, thanks to an Italian publisher who converted to Islam. It is also not banned in Ireland, whose back cover edition says: “Since Al-Sinwar was martyred while bravely fighting against the Israeli genocide in Gaza, the novel emerges as a vital piece of literature for those seeking to understand the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. It is more than just a story… With Al-Sinwar’s martyrdom, his novel represents both a reflection on the past and a prophetic vision of the future of the region.”

The book advances the reasoning behind the oppressed who resist out of necessity, in a written testament by Sinwar, who died fighting, which becomes the legacy of the living who cannot and do not want to give up.

The initiative promoted by Palestinian students at the university sparks reflection on a historical, theoretical and political challenge to Western nations, for whom even the written word of a deceased person is frightening. The university, as Western propaganda—well interpreted by Zionist liberalism—writes, is precisely the place that must honour the values of the Western ideology of democracy and freedom, whose myth is crumbling, causing a deep crisis gripping the West and leading Europe towards its decline.

The editorial operation undertaken by the Italian publisher is influenced by the point of view of Islamism. For Palestinian students, it is the reflection of the need for resistance that did not bow to the genocide in Gaza and is trying not to bow now to an even more bloody ethnic cleansing in the West Bank. Therefore, the revocation of the permits to hold the initiative by the university institutions was given because only the deluded do not understand that at this stage, for the hopes of Western democracy, the genocide of the Palestinian people is a necessary evil, as much of the press writes. Therefore, censorship is a vital reason for democracy. Despite the establishment of political fire and the physical threats received by Zionist groups, the Palestinian students reiterated their will to maintain the initiative.

The Palestinian students, beyond the usual rhetoric about the denied democratic spaces, found largely silence and indifference from a large part of the left groups and left activists who had initially been active in solidarity with Palestine. A silence broken only by the boycott carried out by so-called antagonistic areas of the “far” left, with the motivation that the publisher—an Italian who converted to Islam—is not a person liked by them. Thus, this reinforced the political conditions for which the Campus Student Collective revoked their support for the initiative that the Palestinian Student Movement was organising at that point.

From the rhetorical condemnation of the imposed censorship and the renewed solidarity with the Palestinian resistance, the “far” left student groups have moved on to reiterate: “We would like to point out that despite the ban announced by the university, the decision to postpone the initiative was the result of political considerations linked to the choice, which we consider inadequate, to invite the speaker mentioned above.”

In essence, some with silence and some with open sabotage, the last epigones of left-wing “extremism” inside and outside the university, have bowed to the will of his majesty the establishment. For what reason? Because Piccardo was invited to participate at the end of November 2024 in a conference on “Palestine and Lebanon, from the clash of civilisations to global civil war” promoted by the right-wing neo-fascist organisation CasaPound, which, being a man of convinced Islamic faith, has the illusion of breaking hearts and democratically saving souls. Meanwhile, the neo-fascist right tries to play cards it does not have in an attempt to exploit for the nationalist purposes of an imperialist country, such as Italy, the competing point of view of certain Islamic currents towards Western liberalism.

We do not know Piccardo, nor are we interested in his political and ideological reasons because that is not what this is about. If anything, we should reason why, in all of Europe, only one Islamist-inspired publishing house published Sinwar’s autobiography, immediately earning a ban, while in Europe, the same publication has not found any sponsor in the so-called underground and left-wing publishing, and in Ireland, the book has been published through the free press internet and on-demand platforms. It seems clear to us that it is not because of an incident concerning Piccardo that the Palestinian students’ initiative was deemed inadequate. Surely, there was more than one sigh of relief by the left when it found “impeccable” reasons—against the fascist of the moment—and took the thorny issue out of its hands, throwing away the whole carnation.

BLOG: Israel’s use of human shields in Gaza is part of its genocide against Palestinians

It was, and is, a question of deliberately ignoring a real resistance that isn’t expressed in a way that left-wing “extremism” prefers. We have supported and argued for this need for resistance in several recent articles, a need that Hamas embodies as its unified expression, attracting what remains of the old secular left-wing Palestinian political forces, in contrast to resignation and collaboration with Israel.

The fact, already serious in itself if we consider the context of general and verbal political aggression suffered by an organisation of young Palestinians by pro-Zionist political and institutional forces, is not limited to the low-level political dialectic that the so-called far-left continues to demonstrate. It recalls historical, material and political factors that are much more general, without which such political stupidity, which in any case abounds, is incomprehensible. We are in the presence of how, in the face of the crisis of the West in a composite and articulated way in Europe and Italy, the reasons for democracy, the idealistic anti-fascism and the individual freedoms achieved are worth more than the reasons for the resistance of the Palestinians called by the left to review their priorities.

This is a general dynamic that occurs in every Western country depending on the specific cases and in a differentiated manner with respect to the composite and international mobilisation in support of the Palestinian cause. It was the case in the US, whereby the Arab and Palestinian communities there, as well as African Americans, should have overlooked and voted for Kamala Harris against the “worst evil” Donald Trump, who promised and promises to bring hell into Palestine to annihilate Hamas and its resistance and complete the work of the ethnic cleansing—which is the common objective of Israel and jointly of all Western countries.

It is becoming more pressing in Italy and in Europe, which is struggling with the exhaustion of an ascending historical cycle that has seen it dominate the world for 500 years, so it is a question of supporting all the “non-sovereignist” political forces and the resistance in Ukraine against Russia, defending the democracy in Europe against Trump’s “neo-populism” that attacks it from the outside and European sovereignisms from the inside, counteracting its own fade and continuing to maintain the dividend of colonial and imperialist loot. In essence, the crumbling of Europe, put under pressure, gives impetus to a wave that also propagates to the left in concentric, or rather eurocentric, circles.

Are we exaggerating?

Let’s look at the facts: the left-wing Campus Students’ Collective, instructed by a so-called antagonist far-left group inside and outside the university, decided not to grant Palestinian students the use of the “self-managed” classroom. Left-wing student committees have used this space for decades through an informal agreement between the university and far-left university collectives and the decision was justified by claiming “inadequacy”.

The final result calls for a straightforward question, the answer to which reveals the historical material relationship: by what prerogative can a collective of left-wing university students use a space for themselves inside the campus and by what prerogative can the same collective, however, not grant it by its own choice to an organisation of young Palestinian students and militants? Is it not precisely because of the unequal and dominating relationship that the West has over the Middle East and Palestine?

READ: Europe firmly rejects any attempt to change Gaza’s demographics, official says

Intellectual honesty compels us to acknowledge that the judgement of inadequacy effectively summarises an entire cycle of history and the relationship established by a mode of production between Western workers’ class movements towards anti-colonial struggles and the relationship between European and US imperialist nations and the colonised world. We believe history will present (and is already presenting) the final reckoning for this, and Palestine is merely the tip of the iceberg in this historical process.

To put it briefly: we are at a historical change of phase in the capitalist mode of production where the general development of accumulation of value, even if in a combined and unequal way, grew and maintained a relationship between dominant countries and countries still dominated, and by reflection in the dominant countries tended to consolidate the contradiction between so-called democratic countries and so-called non-democratic countries. For this reason, all the classes of the so-called democratic countries, raised in a cascade thanks to the domination relationship, could rightfully defend “democracy” against the so-called non-democratic countries to be exploited.

Today, that type of relationship is being called into question.

Palestinian resistance cannot have the same forms as Western movements. Therefore, it may not be the type of resistance that “we” like. It doesn’t conform to the material conditions that shaped the workers’ movement and the left in the West. The Western left’s viewpoint, as a social class that exists within the conflictual relationships of a society defined by the commodities market, is expressed through defending the material conditions of democracy in the most powerful nations. These nations have exchanged wealth and resources with the rest of the world, giving in return slavery, racism and war.

Material conditions that have defined the oppression of the working classes and their representative parties in the West are linked to 500 years of colonialism, particularly the last 200 years of the turbulent development of liberal and democratic civilisations in European and Western nations. This historical process enabled these classes to gain political influence and the “freedom to fight,” essentially developing class conflict among workers within the democratic sphere.

Today, Palestinian resistance and the rebellion of the peoples of the Sahel seriously challenge the future of peace, freedom and colonialist prosperity in Europe as a historical cycle ends. Simultaneously, the material conditions of the working classes and left-wing parties in Europe and the West are also being challenged.

Whoever in the West refers to communism as an ideal movement must avoid presenting a vision that may have had material reasons before but that vanishes today. This is the historical truth, consequently theoretical, political, and, therefore, practical. This is why corporate parties, thus nationalist and right-wing, are multiplying throughout the West, and the left, as it has developed, is liquefying. It is the same reason why those in the West today are not capable of making a clear and definitive assessment of the historical phase that is something other than the past and are forced to chase the working classes in the West on a nationalist terrain as Sahra Wagenknecht does in Germany, just to name one that seemed in vogue only until a few months ago, and the German workers have preferred the right-wing original of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to the bad copy of the “left”.

Let’s be clear: it is not about condemning the political will of groups, associations or individual militants for certain behaviours, as, unfortunately, the left was historically accustomed to doing. Instead, it’s about understanding the material reasons for the behaviours of people involved in events such as the episode we are discussing here. We are therefore forced to note that while the mobilisation in support of Palestine to reverse the course of the genocide faces evident difficulty, we also note that the prevention of the presentation of Sinwar’s autobiography by the university is the first real political gain that the Western establishment can claim after 15 months of resistance in Palestine and international mobilisation.

After the mobilisations on university campuses failed to hinder universities’ collaboration with Israel and to stop the genocide collaboration, and regardless of whether the reasons for the resistance were silenced and temporarily banned inside one of the most important Italian universities, it means that the reasons for liberal democracy prevailed again, forcing even young, willing leftists to step back.

Obviously, we express to the comrades of the Palestinian Student Movement, as well as to the publishing house, our total solidarity against the pro-Zionist political campaign that has also favoured the conditions of their political isolation among the various left-wing and far-left groups. We know well how to distinguish the strength of the dominators, the weakness of the dominated, and the domination of the corruptor over the corrupted. We hope that the Palestinian Student Movement can realise the initiative of presenting the autobiographical book The Thorns and the Carnation by Sinwar, precisely as initially planned with the publishing house and the publisher himself, in any place, if not inside the university, at least in its near vicinity.

We are prepared to do our part, but not for reasons of democracy or free thought. Instead, we act because addressing the Islamist viewpoint in the resistance against colonialism and the broader crisis of the colonialist system requires fully supporting the needs expressed by this resistance. Therefore, the exact opposite of an opportunistic distancing by alleging idealistic reasons, so that being alongside the Palestinian resistance until victory does not remain as just empty rhetoric and the daughter of a lesser god.



by Alessio Galluppi

by Michele Castaldo

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.


Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.


 

‘You Are Not Alone’, 350,000 Mexicans Back Claudia Sheinbaum



Tallis Boerne Marcus 


Amid looming US tariffs, Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum rallies 350,000 supporters in the Zócalo, reaffirming her commitment to economic sovereignty, social programs, and international diplomacy.


Claudia Sheinbaum in the Zócalo in Mexico City addressing 350,000 supporters. Photo: MORENA

On Sunday, March 9, a reported 350,000 people filled the central Zócalo in Mexico City for a rally led by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Sheinbaum’s party MORENA clearly isn’t feeling any fatigue. Her last public address drew similar numbers less than two months ago.

Sunday’s rally was called by Sheinbaum as the threat of US tariffs continues to loom over Mexico. Despite managing to successfully negotiate a one-month delay, in the rally, Sheinbaum sought to reassure the Mexican public of the administration’s plan to keep moving forward and advancing as a nation, whether the tariffs eventually come down in full-force or not.

The Mexican public clearly found this a worthy cause, as even getting near the center of the city proved to be a massive challenge, with the center and all the surrounding streets filled shoulder-to-shoulder with people. Water bottles and nieves were passed around to battle the heat, as the Zócalo completely filled up three-hours before Sheinbaum was set to speak.

The people had one clear message for Sheinbaum, chanting: “¡no estás sola!” (you are not alone), throughout the event, reiterating to the head of state that the people stand with her as she battles with Trump over US-Mexico relations.

The Zócalo overflowing with people on March 9. Photo: Clara Brugada / X

The Zócalo overflowing with people on March 9. Photo: Clara Brugada / X

Small merchandise stores lined the outsides of the square, where supporters of the movement picked up framed photos, t-shirts, figurines, and more of Claudia Sheinbaum and her predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO).

Beyond signalling and taking advantage of her all-time high popularity, the public rally had a clear purpose: to keep the public informed of the goings-on in the relationship between the United States and Mexico.

A key strategy of MORENA has been clear, concise, and constant communication with the people about the political situation in the country and the policies the government is implementing. Both Sheinbaum and AMLO speak slowly and clearly, communicating in everyday language what’s happening in the country. A hallmark of this policy are the mañaneras, started during AMLO’s administration, which are daily morning press conferences to take questions from journalists and update and inform the public on government actions and initiatives.

Sheinbaum’s address was a clear continuation of this commitment to communication and informing the public. She clearly outlined what’s happened so far between Mexico and Donald Trump’s administration and the steps the government is taking to protect itself and its citizens from potential tariffs and other threats, such as military intervention.

Sheinbaum explains the history between the two countries, speaking directly to the people of the US

In her address, Sheinbaum outlined some of the history between the two nations.

“We do not forget the [US] invasions of 1846 and 1914, and the subsequent annexations of Mexican territory.

“But, today I want to highlight the good examples of respect for our sovereignty and of collaboration and support. For example, when Benito Juarez received invaluable help from Abraham Lincoln in his fight against the French invasion, in fact, the United States never recognized Maximilian’s second empire.”

She goes on: “The crucial moment of the disavowal of the usurped Victoriano Huerta, in 1913. The respect of President Franklin Roosevelt for General Lazaro Cardenas. Mexico fought alongside the United States in World War Two, not only with the aviators of the Air Force Squadron 201, but also by sending to the neighboring country, workers that were called ‘braceros’, who contributed to the guarantee of production of food and raw materials.”

Sheinbaum also directly addressed the people of the United States, making clear that Mexico is committed to improving lives on both sides of the border.

“Today I want to take the opportunity, from the political center of Mexico, to tell the American people that we have no intention of harming them and that we are determined to collaborate with them in all areas, especially in light of their concern about the serious problem of synthetic drug use.

“For humanitarian reasons, Mexico will continue to collaborate to prevent fentanyl from reaching American youth and to support their families. Furthermore, as I have said, not only do we not want this drug to reach the young people in the United States, but we do not want it to reach any part of the world, nor to the Mexican youth.”

Following this, Sheinbaum explained that since October 2024, and January 2025, fentanyl found on the border decreased by 50%, and from January to February, by another 41%.

She also outlined her four-point plan of reducing fentanyl production. This being to address the root causes of poverty and impoverishment, expanding the National Guard, focusing on intelligence and investigation and coordination between the Security Cabinet and Attorney General’s Office.

Addressing Mexicans in the US

Sheinbaum also directly addressed Mexicans in the US and their role in the economy.

“There are nearly 38 million Mexicans living in the United States…of which two-thirds were born in the United States and the other third, born in Mexico, mostly have residency papers because they have been on the other side of the border for years.”

“…our countrymen and women contribute to the Mexican economy by supporting their families, 64 billion dollars in remittances in 2024.”

This comes out to about USD 1,684 per Mexican living in the United States.

“But it is important to say that 80% of what they earn contributes fundamentally to the United States Economy.”

Sheinbaum also points out that American companies that invest in Mexico yield more productive results, clearly hinting at the damage that tariffs would do to the United States economy.

“A recent study explains that American companies that invest in Mexico become more productive, which allows them to create 333 jobs in the United States for every 131 jobs they create in our country.”

Sheinbaum’s support clearly crossed borders, with supporters even coming out for her in New York. 

So what is Sheinbaum’s plan to shield Mexico from tariff threats?

Sheinbaum outlined a five-prong plan to ensure Mexico can remain strong and stable whether tariffs eventually arrive or not. The plan is centered around a focus on the domestic economy and public investment in infrastructure and social programs.

  1. Strengthening the domestic market – increasing the minimum wage and wellbeing of the Mexican people.
  2. Expanding self-sufficiency and sovereignty over food and energy. Sheinbaum said “what we consume in Mexico, is produced in Mexico.”
  3. Increase of public investment to boost job creation. For example, upcoming public projects include construction of passenger trains, highways, water works, the building of one million homes and more.
  4. Promoting national production with Sheinbaum’s “Plan Mexico” to grow the economy.
  5. Continuation of Mexico’s hugely popular social programs, such as universal senior pension, support for people with disabilities, tree-growing programs for farmers, universal public school scholarships, women specific early pensions and more.

Mexican opposition calls on Trump to attack MORENA

The Mexican opposition currently has all-time low levels of support, with just 8% party preference for the PRI and 7% for the PAN, compared to 46% for MORENA.

As political commentator Freddy Oliviery wrote, next to a photo of a filled-to-the-brim Zócalo: “10% of Mexicans hate seeing this photos, they are the ones indoctrinated to the old regime, those who got used to crouching down for 90 years and staying home watching Televisa.”

“Today, Mexico has already woken up.”

Before AMLO became president in 2018, Mexico had 78 consecutive years of right-wing and centrist leaders.

The same day as the massive rally, right-wing, former ruling party PAN released a statement on X, alleging that MORENA worked with organized crime and called on Donald Trump to make sure he accuses the government of being involved with organized crime.

Ironically, the only proof the White House has produced so far of Mexico’s government having involvement with organized crime, is a tweet that linked to an Associated Press article, highlighting the charges and subsequent imprisonment of Genaro Garcia Luna, the former secretary of public security, who served under former President Felipe Calderon, as part of the PAN. Much to her amusement, Sheinbaum pointed this out in a previous mañanera.

International Women’s Day

It was a particularly politicized weekend for Mexico, with International Women’s Day marches also drawing huge crowds across the country, including 170,000 in Mexico City alone.

International Women’s Day is a hugely important day in Mexico, where women protest rather than celebrate, to fight for justice in a country where 10 women are killed in acts of femicide every day.

For Sheinbaum’s part, she has dedicated 2025 to be the year of the Indigenous woman in Mexico, and therefore March 8 was also focused on the Indigenous woman.

Furthermore, the president inaugurated a new room in the National Palace, in the center of the city where Sheinbaum and the government work and operate. The new room in the palace pays tribute to hundreds of Mexican women that helped shape the history of the country.

Sheinbaum wrote on twitter: “This March 8, International Women’s Day, we dedicate it to Indigenous women, to our origins. It is an ethical responsibility to rethink the past in order to transform the injustices of the present. Not one more femicide, not one more hit, not one more violent word or treatment, women have the right to a free and full time. Long live women!”

Tallis Boerne Marcus is an Australian journalist currently based in Mexico City.

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch

 

How Trophic Cascades Devastate Ecosystems and Endanger Human Health



Leslie Alan Horvitz NewsClick




Bats and vultures may not be widely loved, but their decline has profound negative implications for humans.





Photo Credit: BirdingInSpain / Wikimedia Commons

All organisms in an ecosystem are interconnected, and any imbalance in this complex relationship can have irreversible consequences for both humans and nonhumans. Numerous examples illustrate how the destruction of one species can lead to unforeseen and devastating impacts on others.

“Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning do matter to human beings. … And it’s not always the charismatic and fuzzy species,” said Eyal Frank, an environmental scientist and economist at the University of Chicago, in a New York Times interview in July 2024. Frank is one of the authors of the study “The Social Costs of Keystone Species Collapse: Evidence from the Decline of Vultures in India,” published in the American Economic Review in October 2024.

Various studies have shown how this lack of natural harmony has affected biodiversity and human health. For instance, the loss of trees in the United States due to the invasive emerald ash borer increased human deaths related to cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, according to a 2013 article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study, conducted in 15 U.S. states from 1990 to 2007, examined the effects of this imbalance on biodiversity and human health.

Another example is the extinction of gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park in the 1920s, which led to an explosion in the elk population. The elks, in turn, devoured the vegetation, triggering a trophic cascade or ecosystem collapse. The loss of prey often forces predators to find new food sources, which can have unpredictable environmental consequences. By definition, trophic collapse must affect a minimum of three feeding levels. Trophic cascades frequently occur during periods of climate stress.

“Our results… suggest that increasing environmental stress… as a result of climate change may decouple species interactions,” noted Brian S. Cheng and Edwin D. Grosholz, environmental scientists at the University of California, Davis, in a 2016 article in Ecosphere.

The public pays attention when a species considered “adorable”—like polar bears, dolphins, or pandas—is threatened with extinction. However, the same risks faced by underappreciated species—such as bats and vultures—are often overlooked, underscoring the threat posed by trophic cascades to the world’s ecosystems.

The devastation affecting bat populations in the U.S. and vultures in India has largely escaped notice, as neither species inspires much affection. Instead, they often evoke fear and disgust. However, their decline has dire implications for humanity.

Healthy Bat Populations Support Human Health

Bats are a fantastic example of a species that we like to keep a distance from, but that are truly impactful in terms of the role they play in ecosystems,” Frank told the Washington Post in September 2024. He was referring to a study he authored and published in Science that same month. The study documented how biodiversity degradation negatively affects human health.

He found that the declining bat population was linked to an 8 percent increase in infant mortality rate in certain U.S. counties. This link is due to the positive impacts of bat’s diets. Every night, a single bat consumes up to 40 percent of its body weight in insects. In agricultural areas, this means that when bats disappear, farmers might use more insecticides on their fields,” explained Rudy Molinek, a fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), in a September 2024 article in Smithsonian Magazine.

According to the study, the decline in the bat population resulted in 1,334 infant deaths between 2006 and 2017. Essentially, the loss of bats, which led to a rise in insect populations, directly impacted human health. In areas with a marked decline in the bat population, U.S. farmers increased their use of insecticides by 31 percent.

White-Nose Syndrome

The principal culprit behind the bat die-off is white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease caused by a fungus that attacks bats during hibernation. WNS disrupts the hibernation cycle in winter, leading to energy depletion and death. Researchers first identified the disease in 2006 when they observed dying bats in the Northeast U.S. with white fuzz on their noses, ears, and wings.

It is believed that the fungus responsible for the syndrome, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, originated in Europe and was transported to the U.S., possibly through cavers traveling between continents.

As of November 2024, white-nose syndrome has​​ been confirmed in 40 states and nine Canadian provinces. The disease has wiped out more than 90 percent of three North American bat species. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, 6.7 million bats have died from WNS since 2006.

According to State of the Bats: North America, a 2023 report by experts from Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., 52 percent of North American bat species are at “risk of severe population decline” through at least 2038 due to various factors, including WNS, habitat loss, climate change, and collisions with wind turbines.

“They need our help to survive,” Winifred Frick, chief scientist at Bat Conservation International, one of the groups that participated in the State of the Bats report, told the Associated Press. “We face a biodiversity crisis globally, and bats play a vital role in healthy ecosystems needed to protect our planet.”

The syndrome’s mortality rate averages around 70 to 90 percent. “In some cases, the mortality rate has been 100 percent, wiping out entire colonies,” stated the Center for Biological Diversity. Researchers are still searching for an effective treatment for it. Polyethylene glycol 8000 has shown promise when applied as a spray to coat fungal spores and prevent their spread. Additionally, a vaccine experimentally used in Wisconsin has reduced infections in affected bat populations.

“Fungal disease killed bats, bats stopped eating enough insects, farmers applied more pesticides to maximize profit and keep food plentiful and cheap, the extra pesticide use led to more babies dying,” Eli Fenichel of Yale University told the New York Times in September. “It is a sobering result.”

Frank told the Guardian that during his research, he ruled out all other causes of infant mortality, including “the opioid epidemic, parental unemployment, genetically modified crops, and even the weather,” Molinek of AAAS reported in Smithsonian Magazine. Frank further stated that the results provide “compelling evidence… that farmers did respond to the decline in insect-eating bats, and that response had an adverse health impact on human infants.”

Vanishing Vultures Cause Human Deaths to Rise in India

Bats aren’t the only species that benefit humans—a phenomenon some scientists call “ecosystem services.” In another study co-authored by Frank, he found that “[a]fter vultures nearly went extinct in India, an extra 500,000 people died” on the subcontinent between 2000 and 2005.

“Vultures are considered nature’s sanitation service because of their important role in removing dead animals that contain bacteria and pathogens from our environment—without them, the disease can spread,” Frank told the BBC.

“Understanding the role vultures play in human health underscores the importance of protecting wildlife, not just the cute and cuddly,” he added. “They all have a job to do in our ecosystems that impacts our lives.”

The first reports of the vulture die-off came from villagers in northern India. Hindus consider cows sacred and do not eat their meat; instead, they leave the carcasses for vultures to strip and consume. The people then harvest the bones to make bone meal and fertilizer.

The villagers’ warnings foreshadowed the catastrophe to come. The white-backed vultures, once abundant, are now on the brink of extinction. As they sicken, their long bald necks droop into the shape of nooses; death soon follows. “By the mid-1990s, the 50 million-strong vulture population had plummeted to near zero because of diclofenac, a cheap non-steroidal painkiller for cattle that is fatal to vultures. Birds that fed on carcasses of livestock treated with the drug suffered from kidney failure and died,” stated a BBC article. According to a New York Times article published in July 2024, vulture populations in India have declined to less than 1 percent of their previous numbers.

The disappearance of vultures has not only resulted in the loss of their critical environmental role but has also had severe consequences for human health and mortality. The “half a million excess human deaths” occurred because rotting livestock carcasses polluted water supplies and contributed to a rise in feral dog populations, which spread waterborne diseases and rabies, according to the New York Times article. “It was ‘a really huge negative sanitation shock,’” said Anant Sudarshan, an economics professor at the University of Warwick in England, who co-authored the study with Frank.

Sudarshan and Frank compared human death rates in Indian districts that once had thriving vulture populations to those with historically low vulture numbers, both before and after the vulture collapse. They examined rabies vaccine sales, feral dog populations, and pathogen levels in the water supplies. The researchers revealed that human death rates increased by more than 4 percent in districts where vultures had previously thrived. The effect was most significant in urban areas with large livestock populations, where carcass dumps were common.

For years, the cause of the vulture deaths remained a mystery. However, in 2004, researchers identified the culprit: diclofenac, a widely used anti-inflammatory drug.

A decade earlier, the steroid’s patent had expired, leading to the production of cheaper generic versions that farmers began using extensively. This unintentionally triggered a mass extinction of vultures.

In their study published by the American Economic Association, Frank and Sudarshan found a direct correlation between the rise in diclofenac sales and the subsequent collapse of vulture populations. The researchers used range maps to determine where vultures had lived and where they had not, allowing them to draw their conclusions. They discovered that “[i]n districts where vultures had lived, human death rates started ticking up in 1994, the year after the price dropped on diclofenac,” noted the New York Times. Human deaths continued rising over the following years in those districts, in stark contrast to areas where vultures were never present.

Alarmed conservationists pushed for a ban on the drug’s veterinary use. Although they succeeded in 2006, the 2023 State of India’s Birds report revealed that at least three vulture species in India have suffered long-term losses of 91 to 98 percent. In ecological terms, they are now functionally extinct.

The decline of both bats and vultures is already disrupting ecosystems and negatively impacting human health. To prevent further devastation, we must take urgent steps to preserve biodiversity and recognize the far-reaching consequences of our actions on other species.

This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life.

Leslie Alan Horvitz is an author and journalist specializing in science and a contributor to the Observatory. His nonfiction books include Eureka: Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed the WorldUnderstanding Depression (co-authored with Dr. Raymond DePaulo of Johns Hopkins University), and The Essential Book of Weather LoreHis articles have been published in Travel and Leisure, Scholastic, Washington Times, and Insight on the News, among others. He has served on the board of Art Omi and is a member of PEN America. Horvitz is based in New York City. You can find him online at lesliehorvitz.com.