The Democratic Left Front was formed as a non-sectarian and non-authoritarian

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economi ...

front in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It was formed from the ''Conference for a Democratic Left'' launched in 2008, at an event held in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

in January 2011. It played a role in solidarity campaigns, most notably concerning the

Marikana massacre The Marikana massacre was the killing of thirty-four miners by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 16 August 2012 during a six-week wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine at Marikana near Rustenburg in South Africa's North West prov ...

. With the rise of the

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political a ...

, and following divisions within the DLF, the formation disappeared.

Debates

The

South African Unemployed Peoples' Movement The South African Unemployed Peoples' Movement is a social movement with branches in Durban, Grahamstown and Limpopo Province in South Africa. It is often referred to as the Unemployed People's Movement or UPM. The organisation is strongly critical ...

welcomed the DLF as an "historic opportunity". The

Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front The Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF, also known as ZabFront or simply as Zabalaza), formerly known as the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Federation (ZabFed), is a platformist–especifista anarchist political organisation in South ...

expressed reservations about the entirely middle class nature of the leadership of the DLF and internal democracy/ The leadership of the DLF included notable figures pushed out of the

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

, like

Mazibuko Jara Mazibuko Jara (born 1973), born in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape, one of the province of South Africa. An activist in the democratic Marxist tradition, he was active in the South African Students Congress (SASCO) and the left-wing Young Christian ...

, and the party therefore kept its distance, and has, for several years, proposed instead a "left popular front."

Campaigns

The DLF engaged in several public campaigns. These included strong support for the rights of LGTBI people against violence. The DLF was actively involved in the Occupy Johannesburg movement in coordination with Taking Back South Africa! on 15 October 2011 as part of the global

Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...

. The DLF supported the

Marikana miners' strike The Marikana massacre was the killing of thirty-four miners by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 16 August 2012 during a six-week wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine at Marikana near Rustenburg in South Africa's North West prov ...

in 2012 and was centrally involved in the Marikana Support Committee.Interview: South Africa after Marikana
Peter Alexander, ''International Socialism'', 8 January 2013

External links

Official website

Notes and references

{{Greater Johannesburg, pol 2008 establishments in South Africa Democratic socialism in Africa Organizations established in 2008 Civic and political organisations based in Johannesburg Political organisations based in South Africa Socialism in South Africa Socialist organizations

Debates

Campaigns

Further reading

See also

External links

Notes and references