Bravo! I agree with every word.
The revolution was against the Mubarak regime but all we’ve managed to do so far is remove Mubarak himself. The ones running the country right now are Mubarak’s generals, who were the backbone of his dictatorship from day one.
Many are therefore disappointed with Egypt’s progress – me less so because I never had high expectations from an army takeover. But two things have changed in Egypt in the past 100 days which give me hope, and both relate to the fact that the revolution is unfinished. The first is that mass strikes are continuing. The second is that workers have taken the step of establishing independent trade unions, which I believe are the silver bullet for any dictatorship.
Attempts are already under way by middle-class activists to place limits on this revolution and ensure it remains only within the realm of formal political institutions. Look at Wael Ghonim’s famous tweet following Mubarak’s overthrow saying “mission accomplished”. I have a lot of respect for Ghonim and what he has done for Egypt but he represents a certain type of middle-class politics where the sentiment is “thank you, now go back to work, invest 100% of your energies into building the new Egypt and don’t make trouble”. . The army and the media echo this line, portraying striking workers as greedy and self-interested.
[Please forgive me if this seems self-serving but perhaps my essay on the subject might be useful:http://www.countercurrents.org/fryett130211.htm]
http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article21700
