The events that unfolded on October 7, 2023 in the Palestinian resistance against US-backed Israeli occupation marked a significant period in the struggle of national liberation movements against US imperialism and its local agents. The Palestinian resistance created a globally unifying momentum to isolate US and Israel for their war crimes, broadening support for the liberation of Palestine and rendering Israel’s strategy of positioning itself as the victim increasingly untenable.
This dynamic has inspired other liberation movements around the world and placed the Palestinian cause as a flashpoint of imperialist conflict and a rallying point for oppressed peoples still grappling with the legacy of colonial rule. These movements are responding to deepening political and socioeconomic crises created by late-stage capitalism, which have only exacerbated poverty, inequality, and disenfranchisement among the masses. In an increasingly multipolar world, national liberation movements have emerged as critical forces to challenge both local reactionary regimes and of US imperialist domination.
From Asia, Africa to Latin America, movements are gaining ground as they call for genuine sovereignty and self-determination. Widespread popular uprisings by the youth, the unemployed, trade unions, activists, writers, artists, and religious groups are challenging injustice and inequality in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda recently dubbed as the new ‘African Spring’. In the semicolonies, revolutionary armed struggles are being waged to break free from the control of the landed class and the local bureaucratic capitalist state such as those in India and the Philippines. These struggles echo the historical national liberation of China under the leadership of Mao Zedong, offering important lessons for the current era.
This global shift has provided new avenues of support for liberation movements. In the case of Palestine, international bodies and even traditional allies of Western imperialism have begun to challenge Israel’s Zionist narrative, as seen in the sustained student protests and encampments, and the increased calls for sanctions and divestment from Israeli companies. While these developments have not fundamentally shifted the balance of power, they demonstrate a growing resistance to the imperialist order that the US represents.
As US imperialism becomes increasingly isolated as the common enemy, these examples illustrate that national liberation movements must prioritize building the broad unity of the exploited and oppressed peoples under the leadership of the proletariat. Only through the guidance of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist principles can national liberation struggles avoid co-optation by imperialist forces or internal disorientation. Moreover, national liberation movements rely on the united strength of the masses, forming broad anti-imperialist fronts. This unity, bringing together diverse sectors of society, is essential in confronting not only the local ruling classes but also their imperialist backers.
In semicolonies, where oppression is entrenched, armed struggle is the only viable path to national liberation. As Mao elaborated in On Guerrilla Warfare, “The richest source of power to wage war lies in the masses of the people.” Guerrilla warfare, which relies on the participation and support of the masses, is a crucial strategy in semicolonial conditions, where traditional warfare might fail against technologically superior forces. The people’s war, as Mao outlined, builds revolutionary power structures that gradually dismantle the reactionary state’s authority and erode its imperialist ties.
The Philippine national liberation movement, led by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), exemplifies this revolutionary goal. Drawing on Maoist principles of protracted people’s war, the CPP has built a powerful movement that unites the oppressed masses—workers, peasants, national minorities and other oppressed and exploited classes—against imperialist exploitation and feudal oppression. The leadership of the Party, grounded in the correct analysis of the contradictions in Philippine society and the international situation, ensures that the revolutionary movement will stay the course. As Mao wrote, “A single spark can start a prairie fire,” and in the Philippines, that fire is spreading. With the masses behind it and the Party at the helm, the victory of the Philippine national liberation movement is not only possible, it is certain.
