Workers of the World Unite

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at global May Day labor protests, renewed military cooperation between the United States and the Philippines, and Paraguay’s newly elected president.

Workers swapped out their maypoles for banners and megaphones on Monday during global May Day demonstrations. Also known as International Workers’ Day, May 1 is observed in countries around the world as a day to celebrate the labor movement. But Monday’s festivities focused less on applauding past progress and more on denouncing the failure of government policies to adequately address the plight of the working class.

Paris saw some of the largest protests. Thousands of people rallied in mostly peaceful demonstrations against French President Emmanuel Macron’s deeply unpopular pension reform law, though police used tear gas against some protesters who broke into stores and smashed bank windows. The law, which among other changes raises the retirement age from 62 to 64, was passed in April after weeks of nationwide protests. Although Macron says the move will prevent France’s pension system from hitting a deficit, his decision to ignore public opinion and push the reforms through using a controversial constitutional provision to bypass a parliamentary vote soured Macron’s standing, putting the president’s political future at risk.

More than 1,400 miles away, tens of thousands of Turkish citizens protested high inflation in Istanbul. The crowds tried to reach Taksim Square—where in 1977, an unknown gunman opened fire on union workers, sparking a stampede that killed dozens of people—but local police denied them entry. Journalists covering the rallies were also detained by Turkish authorities. Crackdowns against government dissidents have increased under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who faces a tough political fight in Turkey’s May 14 elections. This makes support from Turkey’s working class one of the strongest, most significant factors in determining Ankara’s future, Turkey expert Halil Karaveli argues.

Other countries from Chile to Indonesia joined this year’s May Day demonstrations. Some 120,000 federal workers in Canada struck an agreement with Ottawa to end the country’s largest public sector strike in history. In Seoul, tens of thousands of South Koreans marched against high inflation and long working hours. Japan’s labor movement demanded wage increases, criticizing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s plan to double the defense budget instead of investing in welfare programs. And opposition parties in Sri Lanka rallied against government efforts to privatize state-owned businesses; the island nation is currently facing its worst economic crisis in history, with the International Monetary Fund providing Colombo with a $3 billion bailout in March.

• Population Control Is Back in India by Anchal Vohra
• A BRICS Currency Could Shake the Dollar’s Dominance by Joseph W. Sullivan
• What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal by Michael J. Green and Paul Haenle

Monday, May 1, to Tuesday, May 2: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres hosts a meeting of special envoys on Afghanistan.

Tuesday, May 2, to Saturday, May 6: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits the United Kingdom.

Thursday, May 4: The European Commission hosts the Brussels Economic Forum.

Thursday, May 4, to Saturday, May 6: The Global Summit of Women is held in Dubai.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits Ethiopia and Kenya.

Friday, May 5, to Saturday, May 6: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva visits the United Kingdom.

Saturday, May 6: The coronation of Britain’s King Charles III is held.

Monday, May 8: Turkey’s three-month state of emergency following its Feb. 6 earthquake expires.

Friendship goals. U.S. President Joe Biden and Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. signed new guidelines that strengthened the two countries’ military cooperation. The Biden administration also agreed to transfer three C-130 aircraft to Manila as well as reaffirm the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty. Just three months ago, Biden and Marcos expanded the number of bases in the Philippines that Washington has access to from five to nine.

The start of Marcos’s four-day visit to the United States on Sunday has garnered more progress between the two countries than during all six years under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. “Marcos’s intentions appear to be the exact opposite of Duterte’s, who sought to systematically dismantle the U.S.-Philippine alliance, one agreement at a time,” wrote Derek Grossman, an expert in Asian and Pacific security affairs.

Peña the president. Conservative candidate Santiago Peña won Paraguay’s presidential election on Sunday with 43 percent of the vote. His Colorado Party has dominated Paraguayan politics for more than 70 years, a tradition further cemented after it secured the highest share of parliamentary votes on Sunday. Center-left challenger Efraín Alegre of the Concertación Nacional party conceded defeat after receiving only 27.5 percent of the vote.

The 44-year-old Peña’s experience as the country’s former finance minister and an economist with the International Monetary Fund won him public support in a country that is among the poorest in South America. He opposes gay marriage and abortion and has promised to preserve Paraguay’s diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Paraguay is one of just 13 countries that recognize the island nation’s sovereignty and is the last remaining South American country to do so. Now, Peña must figure out how to improve his country’s economy while still being on Beijing’s bad side and determine how to handle upcoming negotiations with Brazil over an electricity generation treaty, FP’s Catherine Osborn highlighted in Latin America Brief.

Russia’s latest attack. Russia launched another missile strike on Ukraine on Sunday night, wounding at least 34 people. The attack targeted Pavlohrad, an eastern Ukrainian city vital to transportation logistics for its role as a railway hub. Kyiv said it successfully shot down 15 of the 18 cruise missiles. This is the second Russian attack in three days; on Friday, Russian missiles killed 23 Ukrainian civilians in the city of Uman—one of the Kremlin’s deadliest strikes on civilians this year. In response, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Kyiv is entering the final stages of its counteroffensive preparations.

You’re not you when you’re hungry. A South Korean art student shocked onlookers at the Museum of Art in Seoul when he peeled a taped banana off a wall, ate it, and reattached the empty peel. The duct-taped banana—originally sold for $120,000—was part of the Comedian exhibition by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Now that’s an expensive snack.