As we reflect on a year of challenges and opportunities, Zabalaza for Socialism (ZASO) renews its commitment to building a revolutionary, eco-socialist and feminist future. Following our historic Johannesburg launch last December, ZASO convened in Cape Town for an extended National Committee meeting from December 14–16. This meeting allowed us to assess South Africa’s rapidly deteriorating political, economic, and social landscape, while refining our strategy for the coming period.
South Africa stands at a crossroads. Amidst unprecedented crises in labour, social movements, and governance, authoritarian and reactionary forces are exploiting disillusionment with the unstable ANC-DA coalition. Globally, intensifying climate chaos, rising inequality, and authoritarianism further highlight the urgency of our struggle.
ZASO’s vision remains clear: rebuilding grassroots power, advancing eco-socialist and feminist principles, and uniting the working class against capitalism’s destructive logic. Our key focus areas include:
- Rebuilding working-class organisations capable of addressing immediate community needs and fostering long-term systemic change.
- Struggling against extractivism and climate injustice by aligning with grassroots ecological movements and advancing a just transition.
- Championing feminist and anti-patriarchal politics to ensure that struggles against exploitation centre on gender justice and the leadership of women and LGBTQIA+ communities.
- Fostering international solidarity with workers and oppressed peoples globally, while opposing imperialism in all forms.
- Transforming local government through mass mobilisation and participatory governance ahead of the critical 2026 municipal elections.
For a deeper understanding of ZASO’s perspective and strategy, please see our full statement attached: “South Africa on the Precipice: Rebuilding Power and Renewing Hope Amidst Crisis and Collapse.”
We are aware that no single formation alone can solve these massive problems. But we know that without an eco-socialist perspective—one that fuses class struggle with the fight for ecological sustainability, anti-racism, feminism, and true democracy—the Left cannot break out of its current fragmentation and weakness. A movement for socialism ––far bigger than ZASO –– is desperately and urgently needed in the face of capitalism’s worldwide destruction of the foundations of life.
The tasks before us are immense, but so too is the potential power of a united, organised working class and oppressed majority. As ZASO, we recommit ourselves to building that power from below.