For weeks now, the protests and struggles of the people of Sri Lanka against the hawkish and corrupt government have continued. Last Saturday, 9 July, they reached their climax. In gigantic battles in the capital Colombo, the popular masses overran the helpless military, stormed the government palace and drove President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flight. Both he and the prime minister declared their resignations the same day - so the government is in Sri Lanka through the people's magnificent efforts.
The situation in the island nation has been getting worse and worse in recent weeks. Inflation in the country is over 50 per cent and the country is de facto bankrupt. The mountains of debt Sri Lanka owes to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can no longer be paid. The overthrown government planned to take out further loans from the IMF in order to pay off the old debts. This would have meant even more misery for the people and would have driven the country further into the hands of the imperialists. This shows that bureaucratic capitalism has nothing to offer the people and that it has no future.
The economic crisis in Sri Lanka has already worsened for months to a point not seen in decades. As the government has fallen, the political crisis in the country has also reached new heights, with the people making it clear that they do not want political leaders who sell the country to the imperialists. These developments are part of the political decomposition of the imperialist system, which is based on its economic decomposition.
However, even though the people have led a heroic uprising and achieved great things, it must be clear that the struggle is far from being won. Unless the people, under the leadership of their Communist Party, carry out the new democratic revolution and liberate the country from imperialist domination, one regime of land sellers will follow another. But a shining example of the way to go is what the people of Sri Lanka have in their neighbouring country of India. There, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) is fighting a people's war, challenging the old state and the imperialists and building bases of revolution in the midst of the old society.
