The messages sent by 34 communist and workers’ parties to the 24th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], held in Madurai on April 2nd-6th, offer a window into how the global left analyses today’s geopolitical tensions. From Beijing to Caracas, these parties may operate in vastly different political environments, but their greetings to the CPI(M) reveal strikingly coherent views on imperialism, the Palestinian conflict and the threat of right-wing forces.
America’s waning empire
A consistent theme throughout the messages to the CPI(M) is the belief that the international order is undergoing a profound transformation, with American power in decline and alternative centres of influence emerging.
The Portuguese Communist Party frames this as “the structural crisis of capitalism and the relative decline of US and other imperialist powers,” noting that Donald Trump‘s re-election “is an expression of that crisis and decline.” The Communist Party of Greece warns of “intensification of imperialist competition in the Indo-Pacific region and the real danger of a nuclear holocaust.”
Several parties identify BRICS—the loose coalition of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, plus recent additions—as a potential counterweight to Western dominance. The Communist Party of Bangladesh describes the “continious decline of US dollar monopoly and rise of Global South” as developments that “strongly proclaim potentials of socialism.” It calls for a “pro-people currency exchange system to combat imperialist currency monopoly.”
The Asian communist parties, particularly those in power, adopt more cautious language. The Communist Party of China expresses readiness to “strengthen exchanges and strategic communication” with CPI(M) to promote “peace and stability of the region,” avoiding explicitly anti-American rhetoric.
Palestine unifies the left
The rare issue that generates unanimous positions across the global communist movement is Israel’s war in Gaza. Party after party condemns Israel’s actions as “genocide”, with consistent solidarity for the Palestinian cause.
The South African Communist Party expresses its determination to “stand with you as we confront fascism, capitalism and imperialism.” The Tudeh Party of Iran denounces “the genocidal war waged by Israel on the Palestinian people.” The French Communist Party explicitly criticises Indian foreign policy, noting that “Modi’s collusion with US imperialist policies and his complicity with criminal policies led by the far-right Netanyahu Israeli government pose a serious threat.”
The Palestinian People’s Party itself thanks CPI(M) for its “firm position of solidarity with the just struggle of our people for ending the occupation and self-determination especially in this crucial moment where the occupation state is committing a genocide against our people in Gaza and West Bank.”
Ukraine divides opinion
While Palestine generates unified positions, the Ukraine conflict reveals more diverse perspectives. The Workers Party of Bangladesh observes that “the war in Ukraine and the economic sanction that were imposed upon Russia by US and its allies failed to cripple the Russian economy.” The Communist Party of Bangladesh similarly refers to “imperialist war mongering in Ukraine.”
The Communist Party of Greece expresses solidarity with “the peoples of Russia and Ukraine, who are shedding their blood due to the imperialist war, while they prospered together in the 70 years of socialism.”
European parties are more varied in their approaches. The French Communist Party takes a strong stance against NATO, stating that “true European strategic autonomy and true collective security in Europe cannot be achieved within the framework of NATO, whose imperialist aims, a source of confrontation, provide no security and oppose cooperation between peoples.”
Bangladesh’s uncertain transition
The situation in Bangladesh receives detailed analysis from regional parties. The Communist Party of Bangladesh describes how “Sheikh Hasina led Awami regime has fallen by a popular uprising led by united students and common masses.” It reports that “communal fundamentalist forces are plan fully carrying forward their anti-national agenda of reverting our country back to the abandoned reactionary Pakistani ideology.” Specifically, it names “Jamat-e-Islami and Hefazote Islami” as “trying to influence the constitutional reform and policy reforms initiated by the interim government.”
The Workers Party of Bangladesh appeals for “the release of Comrade Rashed Menon, President of Workers Party of Bangladesh, who has been arrested by the present government, who is guided by the neoliberalist and extreme religious rightist forces of our country.”
Menon was an accomplice of the deposed Hasina-led Awami League government and has been arrested.
Both parties demand a democratic future for Bangladesh, with the Communist Party calling for “a general election by December 2025 along with some necessary reform to ensure a credible, free and fair parliament election.”
Critiquing Modi’s India
Nearly every message addresses India’s domestic politics under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, with most voicing explicit criticism of Narendra Modi’s leadership and the Hindu nationalist agenda.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh describes the BJP as a “communal government” that “deepens its attack on working class of India as well as against communist and progressive forces.” It identifies the “aggressive continuation of the Hindutva drive” through “State-sponsored activities” and warns that such policies “heavily disrupt the communal harmony in India.”
The Tudeh Party of Iran characterises India as being under “an increasingly authoritarian, indeed fascistic, BJP regime led by Modi… A regime that has continually and shamelessly hacked away at the founding tenets of the Indian constitution.” It criticises India’s foreign policy shift, noting that despite “India’s prominence in BRICS and the Non-Aligned Movement,” the country “increasingly seeks to align… with reactionary and pro-imperialist currents internationally.”
The Communist Party of the United States highlights connections between far-right movements in India and America, noting a “program of mutual interference, termed ‘MEGA’ by PM Modi as a nod to the MAGA movement” that has “facilitated far-right advances in both India and the United States at the behest of the most chauvinistic elements of monopoly capital.”
CPI(M)-ruled Kerala’s alternative vision
Several parties highlight the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala, a southern Indian state, as a model of progressive governance. The Communist Party of France “greets your impressive achievements in Kerala.” The Workers Party of Bangladesh observes that “Kerala under the Left is showing an alternative trajectory of inclusive development,” contrasting this with the national picture where “Neo-liberalism on one side and the right-wing communalism and centralisation of power on the other” are “thwarting the working class.”
The global far-right threat
Communist parties identify a worldwide trend of rising far-right forces and propose counter-strategies. The Communist Party of Catalonia observes that “From BJP in India to Vox in Spain, the rise of fascism is a threat from the capitalist class against the workers of all the world.” It argues that “just a strong antifascist and popular movement will be able to stop this threat against the whole humanity.”
The Workers’ Party of Belgium calls for “a global counter-offensive against imperialism” and the need to “build a broad front against war, militarisation and fascisation, and for peace, cooperation and solidarity.”
Communist internationalism lives on
Beyond criticising current conditions, the messages articulate a vision for an alternative future based on working-class solidarity and internationalism.
The Communist Party of Greece emphasises “the formation of the social alliance of the working class and the popular strata, in a direction of struggle against capitalism and the monopolies in order to open the way for the only solution for the people, i.e. the overthrow of capitalist barbarity and the construction of the new, socialist–communist society.”
The Communist Party of Pakistan reaffirms their shared “fight for the working class supremacy not only in our region but in the whole world.” The Communist Party of Sri Lanka concludes that “the only way to end imperialism is to overthrow capitalism and the only people who are capable of doing this are the proletariat organized with Marxist-Leninist theory and practice.”
While much of the world may view communism as a spent force, these messages to the CPI(M) congress reveal a movement that maintains a coherent analysis of global affairs and continues to organise across borders. As the Communist Party of Bangladesh proposes, the current situation “calls for a new regional coalition of all anti-imperialist forces of the region, for raising to a qualitatively new level of unity, cohesion, cooperation and coordination of the struggles of these forces all over the world.”
Whether such aspirations can translate into meaningful political influence—beyond pockets like Kerala—remains an open question. However, the communist movement’s international coordination and analytical consistency suggest that reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated.