As television stations refer to thousands of people flooding the squares of Lisbon and Porto this evening, in a show of strength against police actions in the early hours of
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US midterm elections see 23 million early votes cast, with surging turnout in key states as voters weigh the economy and congressional control.
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The US midterm elections have already drawn more than 23 million early votes nationwide as Americans head to the polls ahead of the November 3 election.
The total marks a sharp increase compared with the same point in the 2022 midterm cycle, when about 15 million ballots had been accepted.
The surge in early voting is concentrated in states with competitive races that could determine control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Analysts say the rise reflects growing concern among working-class voters over the high cost of living, housing, healthcare and economic insecurity.
In North Carolina, more than 1.2 million early votes had been accepted, an increase of 37 percent compared with the same period four years ago.
Early voting among registered Democrats rose by 47 percent, while participation among unaffiliated voters increased by 60 percent.
By contrast, early voting among registered Republicans increased by only 2.6 percent.
The figures do not reveal how individual voters cast their ballots, but they show a significant shift in the pace and composition of turnout.
The increase is particularly notable because North Carolina is one of the key battlegrounds in the fight for the Senate.
US Election Assistance Commission | National Association of Secretaries of State
The rise in early voting is not limited to North Carolina. Similar trends have been reported in several states with decisive contests.
In Kansas, early voting increased by approximately 69 percent.
In Maine, turnout rose by 41 percent, while Iowa recorded a 24 percent increase.
In Texas, election officials reported record participation in the metropolitan areas of Dallas and Houston since voting centers opened.
Texas is a key state in this year’s elections because its Latino community represents at least 30 percent of the electorate.
Polling and organizing efforts suggest a shift in Latino voter mobilization, driven by economic pressures and rejection of anti-immigrant rhetoric from conservative sectors.
The midterm elections will renew all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate.
Voters will also elect governors in 36 states and three territories.
Republicans currently hold a narrow 218-seat majority in the House, the smallest possible majority, leaving dozens of districts in play.
Democrats need to gain four Senate seats to take control of the upper chamber, a difficult but not impossible task.
Key Senate races are taking place in Alaska, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Texas, Michigan and New Hampshire.
The outcome will determine whether Democrats can block or advance legislation on taxation, healthcare, immigration, energy policy and judicial appointments.
Public dissatisfaction with the economy has become a central issue in the campaign.
Polling cited in the article places approval of the government’s cost-of-living policy at just 21 percent, reflecting widespread concern over inflation, wages and living conditions.
The high level of early participation suggests that voters are treating the midterms as a major political test rather than a routine election.
US Department of Justice | Alaska Division of Elections
The US midterm elections have also been marked by an unprecedented legal dispute in Alaska.
The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on October 22 seeking to block Alaska from certifying its Senate election results if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola.
The case centers on the presence of a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., a retired teacher whose name closely resembles that of the incumbent senator.
The Justice Department argues that the similar names could confuse voters and affect the outcome of the race.
The lawsuit asks a federal judge to prevent certification of any result that may have been affected by voter confusion.
It also seeks an investigation into whether votes cast for Daniel J. Sullivan were intended for Senator Dan S. Sullivan.
President Donald Trump publicly confirmed that he ordered the Justice Department to file the lawsuit.
The legal action came 11 days before the election, after early voting had already begun in Alaska.
The case has been strongly criticized by voting-rights groups, Democratic organizations and legal experts.
They argue that the federal government lacks authority to intervene in state-run elections and that the lawsuit represents an attempt to override the will of Alaska voters.
The campaign of Mary Peltola, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and groups including the League of Women Voters of Alaska and Common Cause have sought to intervene in the case.
They are asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit and protect the integrity of the state’s electoral process.
Alaska’s courts had previously rejected efforts to remove Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the ballot.
A federal judge and the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that his candidacy was constitutionally valid.
The dispute has drawn attention because Alaska’s Senate seat could be decisive for control of the upper chamber.
Alaska is also strategically important because of its vast oil, gas and mineral reserves.
The outcome of the race could affect future decisions on energy leases, mining permits and federal policy in the Arctic region.
The US midterm elections will have consequences beyond domestic politics because Congress plays a central role in shaping US foreign, economic and security policy.
Control of the House and Senate will determine whether the administration can advance its legislative agenda or face greater opposition.
The elections will influence decisions on government spending, taxation, immigration, climate policy and military funding.
They will also affect the confirmation of federal judges and senior government officials.
The Alaska Senate race is particularly significant because of the state’s strategic location in the Arctic and its vast energy resources.
The United States has increased its focus on Arctic security amid competition with Russia and China over shipping routes, military presence and access to natural resources.
The outcome of the election could influence future policy on oil drilling, mining and infrastructure development in Alaska.
The surge in early voting also reflects a broader debate over democratic participation in the United States.
Voting-rights groups have warned that legal challenges to election certification can undermine public confidence in democratic institutions.
The Alaska case has raised concerns that federal power could be used to influence state-run elections.
The dispute comes as political polarization continues to deepen across the country.
The high turnout suggests that many voters see the midterms as a referendum on economic conditions, democratic norms and the direction of the country.
The results will shape the final two years of the current presidential term and could redefine the balance of power in Washington.
As darkness fell on a day that saw police charge protesters in Lisbon and Porto, there has still been no word from the prime minister – in spite of calls
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Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado made returned to her home country on Sunday after nearly a year abroad, re-entering a political landscape transformed by the U.S. ouster of Nicolás Maduro.
"I'm here. With you all," Machado wrote on social media, announcing her return for the first time since December. Her homecoming comes as Venezuela remains under the leadership of acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime Maduro ally backed by the Trump administration, with no presidential election scheduled.
President Donald Trump, asked about Machado's return by reporters in Port Huron, Michigan, said he was unaware of the development but expressed hope for her safety.
TRUMP TOUTS ACCESS TO 65 BILLION BARRELS OF VENEZUELAN OIL IN DEAL HE SAYS WILL SLASH GAS PRICES
"I don't know anything about it, but I think she's a very nice woman," Trump said. "She gave me her Nobel Prize. So how can I say anything else? And I hope she's safe. She's a very nice woman. But we're doing really well in Venezuela."
Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025 for her peaceful opposition to Maduro's government, did not disclose her exact location or provide details about how she returned.
Fellow opposition leader Edmundo González, who ran for president in 2024 after Machado was barred from seeking office, confirmed her arrival on social media and said he would join her "very soon."
"Today is a very important day for Venezuelans. Our sovereign voice returns with her to lead and guide this process!" González wrote on X. "You know it, this is until the end."
Machado's return comes nearly 10 months after U.S. forces captured Maduro in January, removing the longtime leader from power.
Rodríguez, Maduro's former vice president, has remained in power with the Trump administration's support, despite exceeding the period she was initially authorized to serve as acting president.
Trump has repeatedly praised his administration's relationship with Rodríguez, highlighting agreements involving Venezuelan oil production and other business ventures with American companies.
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In September, Trump said it was too soon to consider holding democratic elections in Venezuela, with U.S. officials prioritizing economic stabilization. Machado and her allies, meanwhile, have pushed for an election date, arguing that democratic governance is essential to the country's long-term stability.
Her return could complicate relations between the Venezuelan opposition, the interim government and Washington. Reuters reported in June that U.S. officials had asked Machado to delay her return.
Machado spent much of 2025 in hiding after being briefly detained following an opposition protest that January. She later secretly left Venezuela and resurfaced in Norway in December to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Meanwhile, a faction of the Venezuelan opposition and Rodríguez's government held another round of talks this month focused on reforms to the country's Supreme Court and electoral authorities ahead of eventual elections, Reuters reported.
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Machado's political movement has not participated in those negotiations.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Pope Leo XIV demands an end to Yemen hostilities, highlights Taiz’s humanitarian crisis and calls for peace after a deadly church attack in Jordan.
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Pope Leo XIV demanded an immediate end to Yemen hostilities during his Angelus address on Sunday, October 25, warning that civilians are paying the highest price in the conflict. Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace before thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope expressed deep concern over the humanitarian situation in Yemen.
He paid particular attention to the city of Taiz, where residents are suffering from severe shortages of food, drinking water and medical care.
“I make a heartfelt appeal for hostilities to cease and for the Yemeni people and all the peoples of the region to be guaranteed the right to live in peace,” Pope Leo said.
The pope’s message came as fighting and road closures have cut off vital supplies in Taiz, leaving civilians increasingly isolated. The Vatican said the pope’s appeal was directed at all parties involved in the conflict and at the international community.
Pope Leo also condemned the broader spiral of violence affecting West Asia, calling for urgent guarantees for regional peace. He denounced the devastating consequences of armed confrontations across the region and urged leaders to choose dialogue over war.
The pontiff said wars not only cause death and destruction but also impoverish and damage the world. His appeal placed the humanitarian suffering of Yemeni civilians at the center of the Vatican’s message.
Pope Leo XIV draws attention to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, remembers victims of an attack on Christians in Jordan, and looks ahead to the Assisi gathering marking 40 years since the first World Day of Prayer for Peace.https://t.co/UZ47Hb6oMw
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) October 25, 2026
Vatican News | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The pope’s warning focused on Taiz, a city that has become one of the most visible symbols of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
Residents face severe shortages of food, clean water, fuel and basic medical services as fighting and road closures restrict the movement of supplies.
Humanitarian organizations have warned that the blockade of supply routes has worsened conditions for hundreds of thousands of people.
The United Nations has repeatedly called for unimpeded humanitarian access to affected communities across Yemen.
Yemen has been devastated by years of war, economic collapse and the destruction of essential infrastructure.
The conflict has left millions of people dependent on humanitarian assistance and has created one of the world’s most severe food-security emergencies.
The pope said the Yemeni people, like all peoples of the region, have the right to live in peace.
His message also called for an end to the cycle of violence that has spread across West Asia.
Pope Leo condemned the human cost of armed conflict and urged the international community to prioritize negotiation and diplomacy.
The Vatican has repeatedly emphasized that military solutions cannot resolve political crises or address the needs of civilians.
The pope’s appeal comes amid heightened tensions across the Middle East, where conflicts have displaced communities, damaged infrastructure and deepened humanitarian needs.
The Vatican’s message called for a regional approach to peace that protects civilians and guarantees access to humanitarian aid.
🚨 Saná denunció que Arabia Saudita incumplió pactos previos a 2023 al bombardear el aeropuerto de la capital y poner fin a la tregua. Mohammed Abdul-Salam afirmó que la vía diplomática se agotó tras la falta de respuestas claras de Riad. #Yemen #ArabiaSaudita #teleSUR #19Oct pic.twitter.com/ONZhAvdkCG
— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) October 19, 2026
Jordan News Agency | Middle East Council of Churches
Pope Leo XIV also addressed the deadly attack on worshippers at Saint George’s Orthodox Church in Hamoud, in Jordan’s Karak governorate.
The attack occurred on Friday, October 23, during a funeral service at the church.
Jordanian authorities said gunmen opened fire on worshippers, killing nine people and wounding around 40 others.
The pope prayed for those killed and injured in the attack and expressed his closeness to the affected community.
He also expressed solidarity with Jordan, a country he praised for its history of peaceful coexistence and respect among different religions.
Jordan declared three days of national mourning following the attack.
Jordanian authorities launched an investigation to identify those responsible. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack as of Sunday.
Christian leaders across the region condemned the attack as a crime against humanity and an assault on religious coexistence.
Patriarchs and heads of Churches in Jerusalem called on churches across the region to ring their bells in solidarity and pray for the victims.
The pope’s response highlighted the vulnerability of religious communities in a region marked by political instability and sectarian tensions.
His message emphasized that attacks on places of worship are attacks on human dignity and the right to religious freedom.
The Vatican has repeatedly called for the protection of Christian communities and all religious minorities in the Middle East.
119 ataques aéreos de la coalición saudita en 24 horas contra Yemen. En Taiz, un bombardeo a una escuela y un puesto sanitario dejó 3 muertos y 12 heridos, entre ellos mujeres y niños. La escalada supera 2.177 agresiones. #teleSUR #13oct pic.twitter.com/SLJn8j89uW
— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) October 13, 2026
Community of Sant’Egidio | Holy See Press Office
Pope Leo XIV called on the faithful to join spiritually in the peace gathering taking place in Assisi, Italy, on October 27.
The meeting, titled “Unarmed and Disarming Peace,” marks the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened by Saint John Paul II in 1986.
The event is organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio and brings together religious leaders, representatives of Christian Churches and figures from other faiths.
The 2026 gathering includes 384 representatives of religions, cultures and institutions from 53 countries.
Participants will take part in 24 thematic forums addressing conflict, disarmament, migration, poverty, young people and the role of religions in building peace.
The pope had planned to attend the closing ceremony in person but canceled the trip on medical advice after undergoing thoracic surgery.
The Vatican said Pope Leo would send a message expressing his closeness to organizers and participants.
The pope urged believers around the world to join the Assisi gathering in prayer.
“Never has it been more evident that wars, in addition to sowing death and destruction, impoverish and harm the world,” he said.
The pope called on the international community to abandon weapons and commit decisively to understanding and harmony among peoples.
The Assisi meeting recalls the historic 1986 gathering, when Pope John Paul II brought together representatives of different religions to pray for peace.
That event became a landmark in interreligious dialogue and remains a reference point for Vatican diplomacy.
The 2026 meeting seeks to renew that tradition at a time of multiple conflicts and growing humanitarian crises.
The pope’s appeal on Yemen hostilities reflects the Vatican’s broader diplomatic effort to promote dialogue in a region marked by war and humanitarian emergencies.
Yemen’s conflict has become one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with millions of people facing hunger, displacement and limited access to healthcare.
The war has drawn in regional and international powers, making a political solution increasingly difficult.
The crisis in Taiz illustrates how blockades, fighting and the collapse of public services can trap civilians between military objectives and humanitarian needs.
Pope Leo’s message also comes amid rising tensions across West Asia, where conflicts in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Yemen have deepened regional instability.
The Vatican has positioned itself as a voice for civilian protection, humanitarian access and negotiated settlements.
The pope’s call for peace in Yemen and his solidarity with Jordan highlight the connection between armed conflict, religious violence and the erosion of social cohesion.
The Assisi gathering offers a platform for religious leaders to promote dialogue at a time when political institutions face growing difficulty in resolving conflicts.
The Vatican argues that interreligious cooperation can help reduce hatred, protect minorities and build conditions for peace.
The pope’s message is a reminder that wars have consequences beyond battlefields: they destroy economies, displace communities and damage the future of entire generations.
Anyone imagining that this morning’s scenes of violence were an end to ‘right to housing protests’ will be thinking again following news that protesters are set to return to the
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Politicians of all colours are reacting in a form of stampede to the scenes of violence in Lisbon and Porto last night – but the overall focus is on the
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With even members within his own PSD party deeply unsettled by the scenes of police violence early this morning, PS leader José Luís Carneiro has given a press conference in
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The silence of Portugal’s minority AD government in the face of ‘right to housing protests’, and the indignation arising from last night’s police charge on protesters, has seen LIVRE (left
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Police charged housing protesters in Lisbon and Porto early on Sunday, clearing two city-centre encampments in operations that organisers say left dozens injured, including some people with serious injuries. Thirty-one
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L’Italia rischia di scoprire quanto sia sottile la differenza tra una crescita positiva sulla carta e una reale capacità di resistere alle crisi. Perché uno 0,8% non è una corazza economica: è un cappotto leggero da indossare nel bel mezzo di una tempesta.
C’è un curioso talento nella comunicazione economica contemporanea: riuscire a presentare come una buona notizia il fatto che le cose vadano appena meno peggio del previsto. È il caso dell’Italia fotografata dall’ultimo World Economic Outlook del Fondo monetario internazionale (FMI), che ha rivisto al rialzo le stime di crescita del nostro Paese per il 2026, portandole dallo 0,5% allo 0,8%. Tre decimali di speranza, sufficienti per qualche dichiarazione ottimistica, ma difficilmente per risvegliare un’economia che da anni fatica a crescere.
Il problema è che, mentre si celebra questa revisione, lo stesso FMI avverte che la resilienza dell’economia mondiale è sotto pressione e potrebbe avvicinarsi al limite. Finora il sistema ha assorbito una sequenza impressionante di shock geopolitici senza crollare, ma non è detto che riesca a farlo ancora. E quando arriverà la prossima turbolenza, non tutti i Paesi disporranno degli stessi strumenti per affrontarla.
L’Italia rischia di scoprire quanto sia sottile la differenza tra una crescita positiva sulla carta e una reale capacità di resistere alle crisi. Perché uno 0,8% non è una corazza economica: è un cappotto leggero da indossare nel bel mezzo di una tempesta.
La crescita dello zero virgola e il paradosso italiano
Secondo le stime riportate dal FMI, l’economia italiana dovrebbe crescere dello 0,8% nel 2026 e dello 0,6% nel 2027. La Germania dovrebbe raggiungere l’1,3% nel 2026, mentre l’intera area euro si attesterebbe all’1,1%. Il confronto evidenzia una difficoltà strutturale: l’Italia fatica a trasformare le proprie potenzialità industriali in dinamismo economico duraturo.
Siamo una delle principali economie manifatturiere europee, possediamo distretti produttivi competitivi e una posizione strategica nel Mediterraneo. Eppure continuiamo a vivere nella dimensione dello zero virgola, come se l’ambizione nazionale fosse stata ridotta alla modesta aspirazione di non arretrare troppo velocemente.
Una crescita così contenuta lascia poco spazio per affrontare nuovi rincari energetici, rallentamenti del commercio internazionale o aumenti del costo del credito. Le imprese possono essere costrette a comprimere i margini, aumentare i prezzi o ridurre gli investimenti; le famiglie, invece, rischiano di vedere eroso il proprio potere d’acquisto.
La revisione del FMI rappresenta dunque una tregua statistica, non la prova di una ritrovata solidità. Il Paese guadagna qualche decimale proprio mentre il contesto internazionale diventa più instabile.
La guerra in Medio Oriente: una crisi lontana, un conto molto vicino
La guerra in Medio Oriente e le tensioni sulle rotte energetiche, soprattutto nell’area dello Stretto di Hormuz, dimostrano quanto la sicurezza economica italiana dipenda da eventi lontani dai confini nazionali.
Hormuz è uno snodo cruciale per i flussi mondiali di petrolio e gas naturale liquefatto. Interruzioni dei transiti o un aumento dei rischi logistici possono riflettersi rapidamente sui prezzi dell’energia e sui costi di produzione. L’Italia, fortemente esposta alle dinamiche dei mercati energetici internazionali, rischia così di importare non soltanto materie prime, ma anche gli effetti economici di conflitti che non è in grado di governare.
La diversificazione degli approvvigionamenti è necessaria, ma non risolve automaticamente il problema: cambiare fornitore non significa necessariamente ridurre i costi o eliminare le dipendenze. Si può migliorare la sicurezza delle forniture e, contemporaneamente, compromettere la competitività industriale se l’energia viene acquistata a prezzi più elevati.
Il rischio è duplice: subire una crisi geopolitica che non controlliamo e disporre di margini economici insufficienti per neutralizzarne gli effetti. Le piccole e medie imprese italiane, spesso meno capaci delle grandi multinazionali di assorbire rincari prolungati, sono particolarmente esposte. Per loro, l’aumento dei costi energetici può significare investimenti rinviati, margini ridotti e, nei casi peggiori, perdita di competitività.
La dipendenza energetica, insomma, non è soltanto una questione commerciale: è un problema di sovranità economica.
Inflazione e debito: la tenaglia che restringe i margini
Il FMI stima per l’Italia un’inflazione media del 3,3% nel 2026, superiore al 3,1% previsto per l’area euro. Sebbene sia atteso un rallentamento al 2,8% nel 2027, l’evoluzione rimane condizionata dalla crisi energetica.
Quando i prezzi aumentano e la crescita resta debole, le famiglie perdono potere d’acquisto, le imprese vedono restringersi i margini e lo Stato deve affrontare nuove richieste di sostegno. La necessità di intervenire cresce proprio mentre la capacità di farlo rischia di diminuire.
A complicare il quadro è il debito pubblico. Il FMI prevede per il 2026 un deficit medio delle economie avanzate pari al 5,2% del PIL. In presenza di inflazione persistente e di un elevato fabbisogno di finanziamento, i rendimenti dei titoli di Stato possono aumentare, rendendo più oneroso il servizio del debito.
Per l’Italia, fortemente indebitata, questo rappresenta un rischio significativo. Se una quota crescente delle risorse pubbliche viene destinata agli interessi, resta meno spazio per infrastrutture, innovazione, servizi e politiche industriali.
Inoltre, le banche centrali non possono garantire lo stesso sostegno incondizionato sperimentato negli anni delle politiche monetarie più espansive: se l’inflazione rimane elevata, devono mantenere condizioni finanziarie coerenti con l’obiettivo della stabilità dei prezzi.
L’Italia si trova così in una tenaglia: deve investire per crescere, ma rischia di spendere sempre di più per finanziare il debito accumulato. La soluzione non consiste in tagli indiscriminati, che potrebbero soffocare gli investimenti necessari allo sviluppo, bensì in una gestione selettiva della spesa, capace di distinguere tra costi improduttivi e investimenti strategici.
Intelligenza artificiale ed Europa: opportunità e dipendenze
Tra i fattori che hanno sostenuto la crescita globale, il FMI individua gli investimenti nell’intelligenza artificiale, soprattutto negli Stati Uniti. Data center, semiconduttori e infrastrutture digitali mobilitano capitali enormi, ma non tutti i Paesi beneficiano allo stesso modo di questa trasformazione.
Chi controlla tecnologie, infrastrutture e capitali può catturare una quota significativa del valore generato. Chi ne è privo rischia invece di utilizzare soluzioni sviluppate altrove, pagandone i servizi senza acquisire un potere economico proporzionato.
Gli Stati Uniti dispongono di grandi imprese tecnologiche e mercati finanziari profondi; la Cina può contare su una vasta base industriale e su una strategia orientata alla riduzione delle dipendenze esterne. L’Europa, invece, fatica ancora a costruire campioni tecnologici capaci di competere su scala globale.
L’Italia rischia di trovarsi nella posizione meno conveniente: sostenere i costi energetici e infrastrutturali della trasformazione digitale senza controllarne pienamente tecnologie e rendimenti. A ciò si aggiunge il rischio che un’eventuale correzione delle valutazioni finanziarie legate all’IA provochi un rallentamento degli investimenti e condizioni di credito più rigide.
Anche sul piano europeo emerge una contraddizione. L’Unione ambisce a essere una potenza industriale e tecnologica, ma la frammentazione degli investimenti e le differenti capacità fiscali degli Stati membri rischiano di favorire i Paesi con maggiori risorse pubbliche. L’Italia potrebbe così subire una doppia penalizzazione: competere con le grandi potenze globali e, contemporaneamente, con partner europei dotati di maggiori margini finanziari.
Per questo Roma dovrebbe sostenere una politica europea più coerente su energia, ricerca, infrastrutture e investimenti industriali. Non per scaricare su altri i problemi nazionali, ma perché una strategia comune può ridurre i costi delle trasformazioni e rafforzare la competitività continentale.
Meno emergenze, più strategia
La politica economica italiana tende troppo spesso a ridursi alla gestione dell’emergenza: incentivi per compensare i rincari, misure temporanee per contenere le bollette e agevolazioni per sostenere gli investimenti. Interventi talvolta necessari, ma insufficienti se non accompagnati da una strategia di lungo periodo.
La sovranità economica non significa autarchia. Significa disporre di strumenti sufficienti per impedire che ogni shock esterno si trasformi automaticamente in una crisi interna.
Sul fronte energetico occorre diversificare le fonti e investire nelle infrastrutture. Sul fronte industriale bisogna sostenere produttività, ricerca e innovazione. Sul piano fiscale è necessario migliorare l’efficienza della spesa senza sacrificare gli investimenti che possono aumentare la crescita futura. E sul piano sociale occorre difendere il potere d’acquisto, perché la competitività non può fondarsi esclusivamente sulla compressione dei redditi.
Il vero rischio non è soltanto che il FMI riveda nuovamente al ribasso le proprie previsioni. È che l’Italia continui a considerare eccezionale una fragilità ormai ricorrente.
Conclusione: la resilienza non basta
Il FMI ha migliorato le prospettive di crescita italiane per il 2026, ma ha contemporaneamente avvertito che la resilienza dell’economia mondiale è sotto pressione. Le due indicazioni descrivono un Paese che riesce a mantenersi a galla senza aver costruito una struttura sufficientemente solida per affrontare serenamente nuove turbolenze.
La crescita dello 0,8% è preferibile allo 0,5%, ma non risolve i problemi di produttività, debito, dipendenza energetica e competitività. Quando l’energia rincara, l’inflazione persiste e il finanziamento del debito diventa più oneroso, i Paesi con maggiori fragilità strutturali rischiano di pagare il prezzo più alto.
L’Italia deve evitare tanto il catastrofismo quanto l’ottimismo statistico. Occorre rafforzare la propria autonomia energetica, investire nella produttività, migliorare la qualità della spesa pubblica e contribuire alla costruzione di un’Europa capace di sostenere una vera strategia industriale comune.
La resilienza non consiste nel sopportare indefinitamente gli shock, ma nel ridurre la probabilità che si trasformino in crisi sistemiche. Un Paese solido non si congratula con sé stesso perché è sopravvissuto all’ennesima emergenza: diventa meno vulnerabile alla successiva.
Il vero scandalo non è che l’Italia cresca dello 0,8%. È che, dopo decenni di crisi e promesse di rilancio, quel numero possa ancora essere presentato come una rassicurazione sufficiente. Mentre il mondo si riorganizza attorno all’energia, alla tecnologia e alla competizione strategica, il nostro Paese rischia di arrivare alla prossima tempesta con lo stesso problema di sempre: grandi potenzialità, troppe dipendenze e troppo poco spazio per sbagliare.
La resilienza è una virtù. Ma quando diventa l’unico risultato che un sistema economico riesce a rivendicare, forse non siamo più davanti a una prova di forza. Siamo davanti alla dimostrazione che quel sistema non può permettersi di continuare così.
Haiti gang violence leaves four Salvadoran soldiers missing after an ambush near Port-au-Prince as El Salvador deploys troops for a rescue operation.
Related: Haiti Mobilizes Resources to Free Four Salvadoran Soldiers Kidnapped by Gangs
Haiti gang violence has escalated after four Salvadoran soldiers serving with the United Nations-backed Gang Suppression Force, known as the GSF, disappeared following an ambush near Port-au-Prince.
The four men are aviation technicians, not combat troops. They were supporting medical evacuation operations for the international mission.
The soldiers went missing on Sunday, October 18, after armed groups attacked their armored vehicle in the Santo area of Croix-des-Bouquets, northeast of the capital.
According to officials, attackers fired hundreds of rounds and used explosives against the vehicle. The vehicle caught fire, but the four Salvadorans managed to escape.
Contact with the men was lost shortly afterward. Authorities believe they survived the attack and were kidnapped by gangs operating in the area.
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele announced on Wednesday, October 21, that his government had launched a military operation to rescue the four men.
He demanded that Haitian gangs release the soldiers “alive and unharmed” and warned of a stronger response if they were not freed.
The Gang Suppression Force confirmed that a new Salvadoran contingent arrived in Port-au-Prince on Thursday to support search and security operations.
The mission said its personnel were operating in close coordination with the Haitian National Police and other partners in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac area.
The incident is the first major attack against the GSF since the mission began operations in Haiti in April 2026.
United Nations | Gang Suppression Force
The disappearance of the Salvadoran soldiers comes amid a sharp deterioration in Haiti gang violence across the country.
The United Nations reported that 1,123 people were killed and 440 injured between July 15 and October 12 in incidents linked to armed groups.
The UN said security operations accounted for 52 percent of those killed or injured, or 808 people. Among them were 148 people with no links to gangs.
The figures show that civilians continue to pay a heavy price in the conflict between armed groups and security forces.
Gang violence is no longer concentrated only in Port-au-Prince. Armed groups are expanding their attacks into rural areas, worsening displacement and complicating preparations for elections.
The UN warned that the spread of violence into the countryside could deepen the humanitarian emergency and make it harder for authorities to restore basic services.
Haiti has not held national elections since 2016. The country has been governed through a political transition since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.
Presidential and legislative elections had been scheduled for December 13, 2026. However, the Provisional Electoral Council postponed the vote without setting a new date.
The postponement has prolonged political uncertainty and raised questions about who will govern Haiti after the current transition.
Former President Michel Martelly, who led Haiti from 2011 to 2016, formally registered his presidential candidacy on Friday, October 23.
Martelly is running under the Debloke coalition. His candidacy remains subject to validation by the Provisional Electoral Council.
He has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union over alleged links to drug trafficking and armed groups. Martelly has denied the allegations.
His registration adds another layer of uncertainty to elections that were already postponed and questioned amid rising violence.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs | UNICEF
The humanitarian impact of Haiti gang violence is becoming increasingly severe.
The United Nations estimates that nearly 1.5 million people have fled their homes, including more than 740,000 children.
The displacement represents approximately one-quarter of Haiti’s population and has overwhelmed shelters, health centers and local communities.
The UN says the Haitian economy is expected to contract for the seventh consecutive year.
The country’s 2026 humanitarian response plan requires $880.3 million. As of October 16, it had received only 49.1 percent of the needed funding.
The UN estimates that 6.4 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance.
The funding gap has limited access to food, clean water, medical care, shelter and protection services for displaced families.
The Gang Suppression Force remains understaffed. The mission had 1,563 personnel as of October 12, far below the 5,500 authorized by the UN Security Council.
The Security Council extended the GSF’s mandate until March 31, 2027.
The mission was created to support the Haitian National Police in restoring security and dismantling criminal networks.
However, the kidnapping of the Salvadoran soldiers has exposed the risks facing international personnel and the difficulty of operating in gang-controlled territory.
Search operations in the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac have included air support and coordination with Haitian police units.
The GSF reported that the operations have left at least seven suspected gang members dead and four mission personnel injured.
Haiti’s government said the release of the abducted soldiers is an “absolute priority” and that all necessary resources are being mobilized.
The government held a meeting at the prime minister’s office to assess the interventions and determine measures to strengthen operations.
El Salvador Presidency | Associated Press
El Salvador has responded to the crisis by deploying additional troops to Haiti.
The Associated Press reported that 100 Salvadoran special forces soldiers arrived on Thursday, with another 100 expected later that day.
A security source cited by AFP said about 200 Salvadoran soldiers arrived in Port-au-Prince between Thursday and Friday.
Reports also indicated that at least six aircraft—three Salvadoran and three US—landed in the Haitian capital carrying elite personnel.
El Salvador already had approximately 450 military personnel in Haiti before the latest deployment, according to Haitian media.
Bukele has combined military pressure with public warnings directed at Haitian gang leaders.
He described the gangs as “satanic” and said that “God will grant us victory.”
The Salvadoran president also said that the four missing men were not combatants but aviation technicians whose role was to carry out medical evacuations and save lives.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Bukele government is seeking to open a discreet channel of contact with Haitian gangs to negotiate the soldiers’ release before ordering a broader military response.
The reported approach reflects the difficulty of conducting rescue operations in areas where armed groups maintain strong territorial control.
The incident has also become a test of Bukele’s foreign and security policy.
El Salvador has built its international reputation around its hard-line anti-gang strategy at home, which began with a state of exception declared in 2022.
The Salvadoran Legislative Assembly recently approved the 56th extension of that emergency regime.
The government says the measure has allowed it to dismantle gangs and restore public safety.
Human rights organizations, including Socorro Jurídico, have raised concerns about due process, arbitrary detention and deaths in state custody.
The organization says at least 30,000 detainees are innocent and that more than 500 people have died in custody.
Bukele has rejected those claims and defended the policy as necessary to confront criminal organizations.
The crisis surrounding the missing Salvadoran soldiers has implications for regional security and the future of international intervention in Haiti.
Haiti’s collapse has become one of the most serious security and humanitarian crises in the Americas.
Armed groups control large parts of Port-au-Prince and have expanded their influence into rural areas, weakening the state’s capacity to govern.
The Gang Suppression Force was created by the UN Security Council to support Haitian police, but its limited deployment has restricted its impact.
The kidnapping of foreign personnel could prompt a review of the mission’s security protocols and accelerate the deployment of additional troops.
It could also increase pressure on countries contributing personnel to expand their participation in the mission.
El Salvador’s growing role in Haiti reflects a broader shift in regional security politics. Bukele has positioned himself as a regional reference in the fight against gangs, despite criticism from human rights organizations.
The crisis could strengthen that role, but it also exposes El Salvador to the risks of a prolonged military commitment abroad.
For the United States, Haiti remains a strategic concern because of its proximity, migration pressures and the risk that instability could spread across the Caribbean.
The US has supported the international mission and has been involved in efforts to strengthen Haitian police capacity.
The postponement of elections adds another layer of instability. Without a clear political transition, armed groups may continue to fill the vacuum left by weak state institutions.
The immediate priority remains the rescue of the four Salvadoran soldiers. But the incident underscores a larger challenge: Haiti needs security, humanitarian aid and a credible political process at the same time.
Paris march drew 110,000 people, according to police, amid fresh nationwide demonstrations over school funding and cost of living
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© Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters
© Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters
© Photograph: Manon Cruz/Reuters
Housing campaigners are taking to the streets of Lisbon today (Saturday, October 24), marching from Marquês de Pombal to Rossio Square to demand urgent measures to tackle Portugal’s worsening housing
The post Housing protests continue as demonstrators march through Lisbon appeared first on Portugal Resident.
The PSP has today deployed police forces to monitor demonstrations for the right to housing in various towns and cities across the country – with particular focus on Lisbon and
The post PSP pledges to prioritise dialogue with demonstrators appeared first on Portugal Resident.
O que vem sendo mais preocupante para o governo albanês é o fato de que os manifestantes não podem ser descartados como membros de algum segmento social particular.
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A Albânia voltou a aparecer nas notícias nos últimos dias, com manifestações que acabaram culminando com a destruição do Ministério da Educação, mas o processo que levou a este caos se iniciou há alguns meses por causa das negociações em torno à construção de um gigantesco resort de luxo no país, num megaprojeto capitaneado pela Affinity Partners, de Jared Kushner, o agente sionista que é genro de Donald Trump e que, ocasionalmente, atua como seu diplomata ad hoc. Junto a Kushner, neste projeto, havia também capital de três petromonarquias árabes e investidores locais.
O primeiro ponto de dissenso, a fagulha, por assim dizer, deste incêndio, foi o fato de que o projeto seria construído numa área de proteção ambiental, na zona úmida pantanosa da Albânia, que é considerada um paraíso natural onde se nidificam flamingos, pelicanos e outros animais, alguns deles estando ameaçados de extinção. Ainda assim, Kushner conseguiu autorização do governo de Edi Rama para ir em frente com o projeto, bem como a classificação de investidor estratégico, o que lhe permite passar por cima dos regulamentos locais.
O projeto em si deve alcançar a soma de 4.7 bilhões de dólares e seria implementado na ilha de Sazan (outrora uma base militar), na ilha de Vjosa-Narta e na ilha de Zvernec, que também possuem características defensivas. Kushner teria tido a “ideia” e “descoberto” Sazan enquanto viajava no iate de seu amigo Nathan Rothschild, contexto no qual também conheceu o primeiro-ministro albanês.
Os outros parceiros de Kushner na Affinity Parnters são Luis Videgaray, ex-Ministro de Finanças do México, e Elad Gil, um investidor israelense, e o projeto envolve a construção de hotéis, marinas e vilas privadas, num esforço que parece apontar para uma “dubaização” da Albânia.
Desde junho, portanto, quando esses negócios escusos foram revelados, cidadãos albaneses passaram a ir às ruas protestar, com palavras de ordem (“A Albânia não está à venda”) contra Washington e Tel-Aviv e pregando a transformação de Kushner em persona non grata. Os protestos já vinham na sequência de protestos organizados em fevereiro e março por acusações de corrupção contra Edi Rama, bem como pelo fato do primeiro-ministro albanês ter começado uma campanha para que israelenses se mudassem para a Albânia.
O que vem sendo mais preocupante para o governo albanês é o fato de que esses manifestantes não podem ser descartados como membros de algum segmento social particular, sendo em vez disso uma movimentação suprapartidária de todos os setores da sociedade. E as manifestações seguiram, intermitentemente, até agora em outubro, o que aponta para uma insatisfação permanente e difícil de sufocar.
Os protestos mais recentes estão mais focados na juventude e em novos escândalos de corrupção, problemas na educação e tentativas do governo de “forçar” um ingresso na União Europeia, mas a questão do resort de luxo de Jared Kushner permanece em pauta.
É possível analisar o caso do ângulo conspiracionista da “Ilha Epstein”, ainda mais considerando os vínculos da família Rothschild com Epstein e com Kushner, mas talvez um ângulo mais interessante aponte para a geopolítica do Mediterrâneo e o projeto de poder do Estado de Israel.
Israel tem ampliado suas atividades nessa área e expandido a sua presença. Investidores israelenses, por exemplo, têm adquirido em massa propriedades no Chipre e na cidade portuária grega de Kalamata. Quando somamos essas investidas visando propriedades no Chipre, Grécia e agora Albânia percebemos claramente que há um enfoque mediterrâneo oriental nas atividades empresariais paraestatais israelenses. Chama a atenção que se trata, sempre, de ilhas e portos, o que aponta especificamente para a construção de uma estratégia talassocrática por parte do Estado de Israel.
Chama a atenção também, um tema específico da realidade político-social albanesa, que é o fato de que tornou-se prática comum que investidores albaneses, após serem legitimados como investidores estratégicos para garantir a aprovação de projetos de desenvolvimento, revendem as suas participações acionárias por valores ínfimos para outros atores mais obscuros. Em muitos casos, estamos falando aí de esquemas de “laranja” utilizados pela máfia albanesa. Não seria o caso, naturalmente, de Kushner ou das petromonarquias árabes, mas a suspeita levantada atinge os parceiros albaneses desse investimento.
Talvez por isso a repressão violenta dos protestos tenham chamado menos atenção do que em outros lugares. Parece se tratar da autêntica erupção de insatisfação popular num país que há décadas tem sido vitimado por líderes corrupções, máfias perigosíssimas e terroristas brutais.
Pepe LUENGO
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En los últimos años alguien está poniendo el mundo patas arriba. Los gobiernos ya no gobiernan; delinquen. Los médicos ya no curan; hacen de la enfermedad un negocio. Los jueces ya no juzgan; manipulan la justicia. Los científicos ya no hacen ciencia; hacen pseudociencia. Los medios de comunicación ya no informan; desinforman. Las religiones ya no predican amor, sino odio… Y así podríamos seguir con una lista interminable.
¿Te has parado a pensar en que todo lo que nos enseñaron desde pequeñitos puede que sea una gran mentira? Hay una evidencia: la gente que se atreve a cuestionar las cosas llega a la conclusión de que absolutamente todo nuestro sistema esta cimentado sobre mentiras. Da igual por donde empieces (Estado, gobierno, democracia, sistema financiero,…), todo es una farsa. Y los acontecimientos que estamos viviendo últimamente, como la reciente “pandemia”, el cambio climático antropogénico, la invasión de Ceuta o cualquiera de las guerras actuales, más de lo mismo.
Todo lo que nos contaron sobre la necesidad incuestionable de someternos a un gobierno, sobre la función que desempeña el sistema financiero, sobre el papel del Estado, incluso sobre la libertad que supuestamente disfrutamos en las democracias occidentales son flagrantes mentiras. Mentiras, por otra parte, que nos fueron inculcadas por padres y educadores sin ser conscientes de que nos contaban una milonga. Sin embargo, estas mentiras son mantenidas y acrecentadas por políticos y medios de comunicación a sabiendas de que son mentiras.
La realidad es que estamos gobernados por una panda de plutócratas, agencias gubernamentales y poderosos lobbies bancarios que manipulan el mundo con total impunidad.
En el transcurso del tiempo, una banda de banqueros internacionales ha creado un sistema de control financiero privado para dominar la política de cada país y la economía mundial. Familias de banqueros como los Rothschild, Morgan, Warburg, etc., junto con la masonería y otras organizaciones nada transparentes como el Club Bilderberg, el CFR. o el Club de Roma, han establecido un cártel financiero y de poder internacional durante los últimos 200 años.
Siendo los amos del dinero -tomándose muy en serio el lema de “quien controla el dinero gobierna el mundo”- se han hecho los dueños de los respectivos gobiernos que manejan a su antojo.
Los amos del mundo han creado una sociedad disfuncional, donde si no cumples con los estándares establecidos -trabajar y consumir toda una gama de productos innecesarios- eres considerado “persona non grata”, por decirlo de una manera suave. Nos han programado para competir con nuestros semejantes y para que nuestra vida sea un cúmulo de metas profesionales y económicas, donde el fin último es la acumulación de bienes materiales. Luego, cuando te mueres, todas esas metas que conseguiste y los bienes materiales que acumulaste se quedan aquí. Lo único bueno que dejas –si es que lo dejas- es tu legado del conocimiento; el resto, un montón de cosas superfluas. Así que la pregunta es: ¿merece la pena tanto esfuerzo?
La mayoría de la gente que peina canas sabe por experiencia propia que esta es una forma de vida demencial que, sin embargo, se ha extendido por todo el mundo. Porque disfrutar de la vida –y cuando hablo de disfrutar de la vida no me estoy refiriendo a viajar en un crucero de lujo, etc.- no requiere ningún esfuerzo. Basta con deleitarse con las experiencias sensoriales que nos brinda la vida en cada momento, disfrutar de las maravillas de este extraordinario planeta azul y compartir conocimiento y alegría con nuestros semejantes.
Cuando tienes salud, familia y amigos que te quieren, una actividad provechosa y ningún conflicto es que la vida no te va nada mal. Entonces, ¿por qué se empeñan en convencernos de todo lo contrario?
El día que dejemos de escuchar en nuestra mente todas esas retahílas programadas sobre el éxito, la competitividad, la codicia y el miedo a todo lo que no se encuentre dentro de nuestra zona de confort es cuando realmente empezaremos a vivir. Porque la vida no es más que eso que sentimos cada mañana al despertar, y no una programación continua de nuestro tiempo, por parte de otros, que es lo más valioso que tenemos en esta vida.
La nuestra es una civilización profundamente enferma. Una civilización donde se le ha dado la vuelta a todo: hombres que ahora son mujeres y viceversa o delincuentes que tienen derechos y víctimas que no los tienen.
Veamos, a modo de ejemplo, el reciente caso de la invasión de Ceuta. En Ceuta los invasores son protegidos por el gobierno que sufrió la invasión y sus gobernados, los Ceutíes, abandonados a su suerte. Y lo más incongruente: el país invadido da las gracias al país invasor y tilda de fascistas y xenófobos a los invadidos que piden una solución. Esta es la locura a la que hemos llegado en una sociedad distópica, donde se le ha dado la vuelta a todo.
La pregunta es: ¿cómo ha sido posible esto? Pues mediante la contaminación de nuestras mentes a través del relato. Porque quien controla el relato controla nuestro pensamiento; quien controla nuestro pensamiento controla nuestro comportamiento; y quien controla nuestro comportamiento influye en nuestras opiniones, estado de ánimo y, por supuesto, en nuestros miedos. Por lo tanto, llegar a ejercer una influencia de la percepción del mundo que nos rodea se ha convertido en la manera más sutil de ejercer el poder. Por cierto, esto lo hace de maravilla nuestro Presidente de Gobierno, Pedro Sánchez.
Pero las cosas son de esta manera porque la mayoría de la gente ha aceptado voluntariamente la esclavitud, ya que el ser humano es el único animal en la naturaleza que se deja gobernar. La absurda idea de elegir un amo que le controle y domine es lo mejor que ha podido salir de su cabecita. Obviamente, es el gobierno quien desempeña el papel de amo. Por lo tanto, la sumisión al gobierno, y el voto para legitimarlo, hace responsables de la situación actual a todos aquellos que siguen estas prácticas. Y lo más incongruente. Si lo han querido así ellos mismos, ¿de qué coños se quejan?
El “populacho” –pobre e ignorante- parece empeñado en su propia desgracia. Ha perdido su dignidad dejándose despojar de su riqueza y su libertad sin la más mínima resistencia. Y aunque bien es verdad que desde tiempos inmemoriales ha sido pobre e ignorante, es a partir del Covid-19 cuando, además, se ha vuelto extremadamente imbécil. Y así no hay manera.
Italy’s diesel protests reveal class contradictions: productive petty bourgeoisie crushed by costs, metropolitan subproletariat exploding in rage.
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Diesel fuel as an indicator of class struggle
Over the past three weeks, Italy has laid bare—all at once and unfiltered—its fundamental social reality. On one side are truck drivers, farmers, fishermen, steelworkers, and a mass of young people who cannot even put a name to their own anger. On the other is an institutional apparatus that, instead of asking why the real people of the country have taken to the streets, convenes high-level meetings on public order and prepares yet another decree. Anyone familiar with the principles of historical materialism knows that situations like these should not be interpreted through the lens of crime reporting. They should be seen as moments when class contradictions—suppressed for years beneath the surface of managed consensus—become visible to the naked eye.
This article does not intend to provide a chronicle of the clashes, which have already been extensively covered. Instead, it aims to lay out the facts and ask what they reveal about the nature of the Italian state at this stage, about the social composition of those protesting, and about the structural inability of the ruling bloc to offer a response that is not repressive.
It all begins, as is often the case, with a budget item. Decree-Law No. 162 of September 17, 2026, had provided for a temporary reduction in the excise tax on diesel fuel until October 5; once that deadline passed, the government did not extend it. The average price has returned to nearly 2.50 euros per liter. For a small Calabrian truck owner who owns just one truck and works as a subcontractor for large retailers, that figure determines whether the month ends in the black or in the red.
The first spontaneous protests broke out in Calabria in early October. Then came Puglia, starting October 11, followed by Basilicata, Sicily, Campania, Molise, and finally Lazio, with picket lines at ports and blockades on the main thoroughfares. Truck drivers were joined by farmers, then by fishing communities. In front of the fish market in Termoli, a banner appeared featuring a skeleton and the words “You’ve reduced us to the bone”; in San Benedetto del Tronto, fishing boats remained in port. In supermarkets across Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Campania, and Calabria, the shelves emptied, and people rushed to stock up as they hadn’t since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Let’s pause to consider who these people are, because the sociology of the protest matters more than the slogans. We are not dealing with the classic industrial proletariat, the one found in large Fordist concentrations. We are dealing with a productive petty bourgeoisie in the process of proletarianization: the small business owner, the independent farmer, the fisherman with his own boat. Marx had precisely described—in Chapter 1 of the Manifesto—the fate of these intermediate strata, crushed between big capital, which absorbs them, and the wage-labor condition into which they ultimately plunge. The trucker blocking the highway today is formally an entrepreneur. In substance, his business is a disguised wage: the client dictates his rates, energy costs dictate his expenses, the state levies the excise tax, and he bears the risk. He is self-employed only in the sense that no one guarantees him anything.
In this sense, diesel fuel is more than just a fuel. It is the point where global oil rent—now spiraling out of control due to the Hormuz crisis—travels down the logistics chain until it is offloaded onto those at the very end. Financial capital speculating on futures, large retailers who refuse to renegotiate transport contracts, and the state collecting excise taxes: three forms of appropriation of value produced by others, all converging on the same social body.
The Second Front: The metropolitan subproletariat
On October 17, the protest changed in nature and geography. A hashtag that appeared out of nowhere on social media, “Italia in piazza,” called for demonstrations against the high cost of living, gas prices, and the tax burden. In Milan, Piazza Duomo became a battlefield; in Turin, a Feltrinelli bookstore was ransacked; in Bologna, clashes broke out in front of the train station involving water cannons and tear gas; the following day, in Milan alone, 271 people were taken to the police station, and as many as 220 were minors—among those detained were 12-year-olds, most of whom were second-generation Italians.
On the same day, in Rome, the CGIL’s national march and two other demonstrations against the high cost of living brought some 25,000 people into the streets without any incidents. This contrast must be kept in mind, because it disproves the government’s favorite myth of a single, violent protest. There are at least two distinct movements: one organized, with union roots and specific demands, and one disorganized, very young, urban, and lacking political leadership.
The second movement is the most interesting from a theoretical standpoint, and the most dangerous from a political standpoint. Marx had a term for the uprooted masses lacking class consciousness who, in times of crisis, can be mobilized by anyone who offers them a role: Lumpenproletariat. Using that word today does not mean insulting those young people. It means recognizing their objective position: children of the suburbs of Milan and Turin, often from immigrant families, excluded from the labor market even before entering it, raised in a world of conspicuous consumption that is never within their reach. It is a cognitive dissonance between imagination and reality, and the risk that this violence will be co-opted for reactionary purposes, as happened with the masses of unemployed and war veterans in the 1920s and 1930s.
The lesson of the 18th Brumaire also holds true in reverse. The underclass has no program of its own, and precisely for this reason it can become raw material for any project: that of those who want to set things ablaze, but also that of those who need an internal enemy to justify austerity measures. It is no coincidence that the government has chosen to speak almost exclusively about them, and almost never about the truck drivers in Gioia Tauro or the workers of the former Ilva plant who, in those same weeks, were striking in Taranto and Genoa to find out if they would still have a factory.
The state as a business committee
Il Manifesto defines modern state power as the committee that administers the common affairs of the bourgeois class. This formulation has often been dismissed as overly simplistic. The last two weeks offer an almost textbook-like illustration of it.
On October 18, following the clashes, the Prime Minister convened a summit on public order to evaluate further measures against those who exploit legitimate demonstrations. The October 19 summit resulted in the announcement of a decree-law that preempts measures from the security bill stalled in the Senate: deferred arrest for group vandalism, harsher penalties for roadblocks, and the strengthening of the “Strade Sicure” initiative in Milan with more military personnel. The League has called for the inclusion of preventive detention for minors as well. This would mark the eighth security package in four years.
Consider the sequence of events. A government that could not find the resources to extend the excise tax discount managed, in forty-eight hours, to find the resources to send the military onto the streets of Milan. An administration that, since March, has been issuing fuel decrees with two- or three-week deadlines—renewed only when the industry threatens a strike—is instead enacting emergency and permanent legislation on repression. Even the 300-million tax credit for the trucking industry, approved in May, still lacked an implementing decree by the end of June, to the point that industry associations were asking for it to be released. Social support arrives late, just in time, and in dribs and drabs; criminal legislation arrives immediately, and is designed to stay.
This does not stem from the malice of individual ministers, and those who think in terms of class need not demonize anyone. It stems from the role the state plays in a peripheral Western social formation, caught between European budget constraints and Atlantic rearmament commitments. We have military spending that will approach 45 billion in 2026 and austerity measures totaling approximately 23 billion. Caught in this vise, the state cannot redistribute wealth without breaking with its external guarantors, and so it does the only thing left to it: it manages the conflict as a matter of public order. Engels wrote this in The Origin of the Family: the state arises where class antagonisms become irreconcilable, as a power that claims to stand above society and that distances itself from it more and more.
The farce of contradictions
While the substance of the institutional response is consistent, its surface is a catalog of absurdities. It is worth listing them, because that is where the crisis of hegemony is most clearly visible.
The first concerns the diagnosis. Justice Minister Nordio spoke of probable criminal infiltration within the truckers’ blockades. Interior Minister Piantedosi, when questioned about the young people in Milan, admitted that there was still no evidence they were being manipulated. Two ministers from the same government: one sees organized crime behind the trucks, the other finds no orchestration behind the looting. Each chooses the interpretation that serves to delegitimize the crowd before them, and neither of them asks how much a full tank of gas costs.
The second issue concerns the passing of the buck. Milan Mayor Sala complained about an inadequate number of officers on the streets; Piantedosi responded by accusing him of being a representative of a “radical chic” left unable to condemn the violent protesters without exception. A group of mayors observed, with unintentional clarity, that pointing fingers at one another won’t lower gas prices. It is a perfect snapshot of a political class in which the majority and the opposition argue over the number of police needed, without either side questioning the system that fuels the anger.
The third issue concerns language. Meloni wrote that protesting against the high cost of living is a civil right, while sending a police officer to the hospital is the work of hooligans. Tajani called it unacceptable for the opposition to fan the flames. On October 22, Tajani himself welcomed the lifting of the strikes by the major trucking organizations, explaining that strikes do not lower diesel prices and only harm citizens and businesses. The right to protest is thus recognized in the abstract but denied in any concrete form that might produce results. You can protest, as long as the protest doesn’t disturb anyone; but a protest that doesn’t disturb anyone is a protest that no one hears. It is the old paradox of formal democracy that Marxist criticism has always denounced: equal freedoms on paper, unequal power relations in reality.
The fourth contradiction is the most serious. The government invokes the rule of law while drafting regulations—such as the preventive detention of 12-year-olds—that even its own commentators deem at risk of being unconstitutional. The state that demands that young people in the suburbs respect the rules is the same one that, to defend itself against them, is willing to violate its own.
The crisis is systemic
Gramsci, in his Quaderni, offered the most frequently cited definition of crisis: the old is dying and the new cannot be born, and during this interregnum the most varied pathological phenomena occur (readers are invited to consult Quaderni, Q. 3, 34). It is difficult to find a more accurate image for Italy in October 2026. The old social contract, founded on household savings, small businesses, and family-centered welfare, no longer holds. There is no new historical bloc. In between lie the pathological phenomena: youth gangs filming themselves as they ransack a jewelry store, ministers accusing one another, and a barrage of decrees.
Lenin, in the second chapter of The Failure of the Second International, way back in 1915, added that a crisis becomes revolutionary when those at the bottom no longer want to live as before and those at the top can no longer govern as before. The first condition is beginning to manifest itself in Italy. The second is evident in the paralysis of an executive branch that oscillates between last-minute extensions and punitive measures. The third element—the decisive one—is missing: a political force capable of transforming discontent into a program. The mass parties have been reduced to opinion-making groups and personal fiefdoms; the parliamentary left is demanding more police officers in Milan; the confederal unions have called for a general strike on November 20—five weeks after the clashes—and tend to meekly comply with government diktats just to keep their now-entrenched privileges intact. Meanwhile, in Milan, an “October 17 Movement” has emerged thatannounces demonstrations every Saturday until the government falls. Without roots, without organization, without theory, it is unlikely to go far. But its very emergence shows just how vast the void left behind is.
Herein lies the crux of the matter. I have argued elsewhere that the struggle today is not horizontal—between the right and the left—but vertical, between the people and the elites, and that those who reduce the conflict to a horizontal plane do so because they do not want people to understand where the problem lies. The events of October confirm this. The government has done everything in its power to transform a vertical conflict—over the cost of living and income distribution—into a horizontal one: Italians versus second-generation immigrants, law-abiding citizens versus hooligans, the productive North versus the South that blocks the roads. The slogan that appeared on the roadblocks, “The South Is Italy Too,” is the simplest response to this maneuver.
A class analysis that stops at national borders would be incomplete. The price of diesel in Cosenza depends on the Strait of Hormuz, and the Strait of Hormuz is closed or choked off because of a war that Italy did not decide on but supported as part of its Atlantic alignment. As early as March, the first fuel decree was justified by the international crisis linked to the war in Iran. Since then, the government has tried to keep up with rising prices through temporary discounts, while continuing to commit to rearmament goals and European austerity.
It is the old Leninist thesis on imperialism, updated to a condition of subordination. A country that does not control its own energy policy or its own foreign policy ends up passing on the costs of other people’s wars to the working classes. Sanctions against Russia have already driven up utility bills; the war in the Gulf is now driving up fuel prices. The bill always lands at the same address: the truck driver, the fisherman, the suburban family watching their grocery cart empty. While defense industry stocks rise, the real country grinds to a halt.
This is why Italy’s social crisis cannot be resolved with yet another extension of the fuel tax. It can be resolved—if at all—by breaking the constraints that make redistribution impossible: the European budget constraint in its current form, the military spending target, and the automatic alignment with wars that Italy endures without having any interest in them. Peace, energy sovereignty, and social justice are not three separate demands. They are the same demand viewed from three angles.
Who is asking for mercy, and from whom?
There is one image that stands out from these past weeks, and it is the skeleton on the banner in Termoli. It is not an image of revolt. It is an image of supplication: a people exposing their emaciated bodies and asking to be seen. The institutions have responded to this plea with the language of the criminal code, with mutual accusations between ministers and mayors, and with a tally of those arrested.
It must be stated clearly, because clarity is a duty of analysis: the devastation of a bookstore or the looting of a jewelry store is not class struggle. They are a symptom of a society that has ceased to offer its young people any sense of belonging, and the left, by romanticizing them, commits the same error as the right, which merely criminalizes them. Both fail to ask themselves how to transform that anger into consciousness. But it is equally clear that a state capable of responding to need only through force has lost its function as a social organism and has been reduced to an apparatus for defending those in power.
Italian history is all too familiar with these developments. Major social crises without political direction have always ended up shifting to the right, with an order imposed from above on the ruins of a fragmented movement. The alternative exists only if someone resumes the patient work that Gramsci called the “construction of hegemony”: organizing truck drivers and young people in the suburbs, fishermen and workers in Taranto, within a single vision that addresses wages, energy, peace, and sovereignty. This is not a task for talk shows or executive orders.
It is a political task in the oldest sense of the term, and institutional Italy, for now, has shown that it does not even want to acknowledge it.
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