There is much talk now in all sorts of bourgeois media all over the world about the glory and resurgence of the ‘emerging’ countries and their economy. The media is never tired of highlighting that these countries are turning out to be the new locomotive of the global capitalist economy. The significance of their role in resolving the intensifying crisis of world capitalism is also being asserted ceaselessly. There is also talk of the shifting of the balance of economic power and importance towards the emerging countries such as China, India, Brazil etc. These countries are becoming more and more important to world capital.

All over the planet, the working class is being subjected to increasingly unbearable levels of exploitation and poverty. And in the countries which the bourgeoisie hypocritically calls ‘developing economies' the workers are treated as no more than cattle. For several years, these wage slaves have been resisting more and more.

Last December there was a wave of strikes and other protests across Egypt (see WR 302, 304) which resulted in the government conceding annual bonuses equivalent to 45 days wages. However, this did not put a lid on workers' struggles, which have continued ever since.