On Aug. 25, 600,000 South African public service workers went on strike in that nation's largest labor action since the end of apartheid. The government is currently led by new President Thabo Mbeki, a western-educated economist who is trying to impose IMF-style austerity measures. The unions, a coalition of groups belonging to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA), have been trying to bargain with the government for a 7.3% wage increase. The government has responded by offering only a 6.3% increase that won't keep pace with inflation. The one-day strike closed the nation's schools and government buildings and disrupted businesses in most major cities, as demonstrators took to the streets. It was the first labor action to bring together predominantly black unions and white unions in South Africa to fight for the same cause. So far, the government hasn't yielded, and the unions are currently planning their next move. COSATU favors further strikes, while the more conservative FEDUSA favors negotiations.--Maria Tomchick. From: "South Africa faces standoff over fiscal future," The Boston Globe, 8/26/99; "Public servants march over wages," WOZA Internet, Africa News Online, 8/25/99; and "Unions face split over tactics," The Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg), 8/27/99.

A two-day general strike in Colombia began on Aug 31. About 1.5 million union members, peasants, and members of grassroots groups--in all, about 20% of the total work force--participated in the walk-out. Organized to protest the Colombian government's privatization scheme and to demand a moratorium on debt payments, the strike coincided with the government's current negotiations with the IMF over a new $3 billion loan package. Colombia is in the midst of the worst economic recession in its history. The strike shut down businesses in all major cities and brought public transportation to a halt. Strikers blocked the main highway leading out of the capital to the south, a major highway in the central coffee-growing region, and the main thoroughfare into neighboring Ecuador. In addition, both of Colombia's rebel groups--the FARC and the ELN--participated in solidarity actions: the FARC took control of a power plant near Buenaventura and demanded a 30% cut in electricity rates for residents in Valle del Cauca province, while the ELN (in a less constructive move) destroyed several electricity pylons. Union leaders ended the strike after police fought numerous pitched battles with workers and students in and around Bogota, while paramilitary groups resumed killing peasants in northern Colombia, and the military took the opportunity to fight several skirmishes with the FARC.--M.T. From: "Colombian Unions End Strike After Wave of Violence," Reuters, 9/2/99 and "Colombian Rebels Storm Power Plant As Strike Rages," Reuters, 8/31/99.

In the past three months, President Hugo Chavez has become the new dictator of Venezuela. One of Chavez's campaign promises was to set up an assembly to rewrite Venezuela's constitution; the assembly would be elected by the people. In June, however, Chavez illegally began campaigning for his own hand-picked candidates for the new assembly. He declared the election on July 25 a success, as his candidates won 92% of the seats on the assembly--even though only 40% of the registered voters went to the polls. He immediately set out an agenda for the assembly: rewrite the constitution, extend the length of his presidential term, give members of the military the right to vote, the assembly should assert its authority over other national institutions, and it should "recognize the sense of emergency across the nation." On Aug 13, the assembly did just that: it declared a state of emergency that gave it broad powers over the judiciary and the legislature. On Aug. 30, the assembly stripped the Venezuelan Congress of its last remaining powers; when legislators attempted to enter a locked parliament building, Chavez called out the military to turn water cannons and tear gas on them. On Sept. 1, Chavez appointed his own flunky to run the state-owned oil company. And on Sept. 7 the constitutional assembly, packed with his supporters (including his wife, brother, and many personal friends) took control of the judiciary, fired 8 judges (and may fire 50 more), and announced that they will begin purging local governments, too.--M.T. From: "Voters Push Power Toward Venezuela Leader," NY Times, 7/26/99; "Venezuelan president demands longer term," BBC, 8/6/99; "Sweeping powers for Venezuelan assembly," BBC, 8/13/99; "Venezuelan Congress Stripped of Its Last Remaining Powers," NY Times, 8/31/99; and "Venezuelan Assembly Fires 8 Judges," AP, 9/7/99.