Oscar Reyes

Rooted in the neighbourhood: what happened to Spain’s assemblies? October 2012
Oscar Reyes reports on the successes and setbacks of neighbourhood assemblies in Spain

Rio+20: The Great Moving Nowhere Show June 2012
Oscar Reyes reflects on the Rio+20 Summit, and whether the plans outlined for sustainability really do represent ‘the future we want’

The Spanish bank bailout: digging a deeper hole June 2012
A Spanish bank bailout of up to €100 billion will worsen the country’s debt dependency and prolong austerity, writes Oscar Reyes

Spanish general strike: Notes from the margins March 2012
Oscar Reyes reports from Barcelona on the general strike against austerity and attacks on workers' rights that gripped Spain today

After Durban: All talked out? January 2012
The UN climate talks in Durban followed a familiar script of inaction. Oscar Reyes asks if activists should still be focusing attention on them

A road made by walking August 2011
Oscar Reyes reports from Spain on an ‘indignant’ movement that continues to spread and diversify

Jaw-jaw about the Libya war-war March 2011
Oscar Reyes argues in relation to Libya, that there is still no way to bomb a country into democracy.

Nuclear power? It’s still no thanks September 2010
Nuclear is no green alternative, writes Oscar Reyes

From Hopenhagen to Flopenhagen February 2010
Broken bones and bruises aside, what actually came out of Copenhagen? Oscar Reyes suggests much of the process was flawed from the beginning

Climate Justice protesters reclaim power as UN talks dither December 2009
With ministers and heads of states arriving in Copenhagen, protests surrounded the climate change conference venue, writes Oscar Reyes

Divide and rule: paving the way to an unjust deal December 2009
As climate talks enter their final phase, Oscar Reyes outlines the hardball negotiating tactics being used to force a weak deal that favours industrialised nations

Climate technologies: a leap into the unknown December 2009
A new 'technology mechanism' could reward untested techniques that damage the climate, warns Oscar Reyes

Copenhagen Plan B: ‘protect the rich’ December 2009
A leaked text of the political declaration that could conclude the Copenhagen conference reveals backroom dealings that offer little to the Majority World, writes Oscar Reyes

What’s at stake in Copenhagen December 2009
Tamra Gilbertson and Oscar Reyes set out the crucial debates at Copenhagen

Cop this November 2009
The UN climate summit in Copenhagen in December is a major event in the battle to strike a deal on cutting carbon emissions. Oscar Reyes picks his way through the plethora of campaigns and networks that are making demands and calling protests and actions

Avoiding a green bad deal June 2009
Investing our hopes in green growth or new technological fixes will not avert the climate crisis. So what will? To inaugurate our new series on transitions to a world after fossil fuels, Oscar Reyes looks at the democratic deficit in the power sector

Climate crunch March 2009
The economic crisis is leading to falling carbon emissions - so why is it not good for the climate? By Oscar Reyes

We’re having a climate camp in the City March 2009
Oscar Reyes interviews Matt Megarry about the upcoming Climate Camp in the City - what it's all about and what you can do

Poznan climate talks: fiddling while the earth burns December 2008
The UN Climate Conference in Poznan, Poland failed to achieve any breakthrough towards a global climate deal - a sign not merely of bad timing, but of a fundamentally flawed system that takes no account of climate justice, argues Oscar Reyes

Agrofuels: are we winning? October 2008
With mounting evidence of environmental damage and grave social consequences, making fuel from plants no longer seems such a good idea. But is the widespread criticism of agrofuels forcing policy changes? Oscar Reyes investigates

Manu Chao, the neighbourhood singer August 2008
Manu Chao could be the most famous singer that many English speakers have never heard of. Yet he is to the alter-globalisation movement what Bob Dylan was to peace and civil rights in the 1960s. Oscar Reyes caught up with him by a campfire at Glastonbury, where he created a little 'neighbourhood of hope'

The green goldrush August 2008
It is a long time since activists spray painted ‘We are winning’ on a wall at the Seattle meeting of the World Trade Organisation in December 1999. Movements for global justice have had little to celebrate since then. Will things be any different for the ‘carbon movement’ that is emerging around the Climate Camp – [...]

Dog whistles and guard dogs April 2008
Oscar Reyes on the best course of action for London voters in the mayoral elections

Growing money on trees January 2008
Deforestation is responsible for one-fifth of annual carbon emissions - more than the entire transport sector. Yet a new global scheme to 'reduce deforestation' could end up rewarding the companies and governments that cause it, writes Oscar Reyes

Agro-fooling ourselves October 2007
EU and US targets and subsidies are fuelling a growing demand for 'agrofuels'. Far from being a sustainable energy source, the increased cultivation of crops for fuel threatens the world's poor with starvation, damages biodiversity and even contributes to global warming, argues Oscar Reyes

Another magazine is possible August 2007
My first copy of Red Pepper was sold to me at a political meeting about the Afghan war in December 2001, writes Oscar Reyes

The ‘black ops’ of America July 2007
The US military spends $30 billion annually on classified military programmes, ranging from spy satellites to 'extraordinary rendition'. These secret 'black operations' leave a mark on our everyday landscapes and legible traces in public data. Trevor Paglen is an artist and experimental geographer working to create visual representations of these secret worlds. He spoke to Oscar Reyes

The struggle for Europe’s soul March 2007
The European Union (EU) marks its 50th birthday this month with no solution in sight to revive the stalled constitutional treaty. But with a raft of new proposals to further liberalise markets, it is too soon for the left to celebrate, argues Oscar Reyes.

Climate change at Westminster December 2006
The Labour government has announced a new climate change bill for the coming parliament. Is this a positive development or a false dawn? By Oscar Reyes

The road from Iraq and ruin December 2006
With the Democrats' victory in the US elections offering the chance of a change of direction on Iraq, Kamil Mahdi argues that the growing sectarian violence is a product of the occupation - and that only by fixing a firm date for the withdrawal of foreign troops will it be possible for a more peaceful political process to emerge. Interview by Oscar Reyes

A killing a day keeps democracy away October 2006
Left activists in the Philippines are being killed at an alarming rate. Oscar Reyes spoke to Millet Morante, a leading figure in Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD, Movement for National Democracy) and Laban Ng Masa (Struggle of the Masses), a coalition of progressive organisations and political parties

iPods and ideologues October 2006
There is something old and something genuinely new about David Cameron's Conservatism. If the left is to help shape the post-Blair political climate, it will have to engage with its ideas, and not simply dismiss them, writes Oscar Reyes

The Last Drop May 2006
Water privatisation has long been promoted as the only way to develop clean water supplies in the global South. But with several high profile failures and revolts, multinationals are pulling out.

A law unto themselves? October 2005
The police shoot-to-kill policy that claimed the life of Jean Charles de Menezes was introduced without any democratic debate. Oscar Reyes asks where that leaves the notions of community policing and police accountability

Living together: an interview with Tariq Ramadan September 2005
Tariq Ramadan is one Europe's leading progressive Muslim scholars. He talked to Oscar Reyes about integration, multiculturalism and the role of the global justice movement after the London bombings.

The Sun and the terrorists: an unholy alliance July 2005
In a move that appears designed to stir up Islamophobia, The Sun newspaper yesterday launched a front page attack on Professor Tariq Ramadan, an internationally respected progressive Muslim scholar.

They owe it all to their fans July 2005
The power of celebrity politics is undeniable. The challenge for the left, argues Oscar Reyes, is to develop its own cultural strength in the interests of radical social change

The Olympics and the City April 2005
Oscar Reyes went to Athens to look at how the Olympics affected the life of the city, and found a legacy of privatization and surveillance. Back in London, he draws the lessons for the capital's own Olympic Bid.

European Social Forum: debating the challenges for its future December 2004
After three European Social Forums (ESF) we need to step back and ask: what next? The successes and achievements of the European Social Forum (ESF) process stem from the strong desire amongst almost every social justice initiative for a cross border, trans-European way of organising, debating and exchanging ideas. This felt need is being reinforced by accumulated skills at creating new agencies for social change.

A Forum of contradictions: the 3rd ESF November 2004
The third European Social Forum (ESF) took place in London from 14-17 October 2004, with over 400 events ranging in their scope from Asbestos to Zapatismo.

A democratic forum is possible January 2004
Oscar Reyes and Stuart Hodkinson were in Paris in November 2003 for the European Social Forum, where they found 60,000 delegates, plenty of controversy and a common feeling among the grassroots that the forum must undergo radical change