Syria - October 14, 2025

We are writing this interview as al-Assad was defeated in a second revolutionary wave 10 months ago, by an extraordinary mass offensive, following a 14-year genocide during which this hitman of imperialism, along with Putin, crushed the revolution that began in 2011. Precisely in the midst of that revolutionary struggle, on October 24, 2016, the Trotskyist leader Abu Al-Baraa was assassinated in the battle for Aleppo.  Just a few days before the anniversary of his martyrdom, we are reporting on this interview, in which the struggle for which he lost his life—for a working-class and peasant-led Syria—remains more relevant than ever.
The comrades in this interview tell us about the conditions in Syria under the government of al-Jolani, who came to expropriate this second revolutionary wave that defeated Bashar al-Assad.

What is Syria like today, under al-Jolani's administration, a government composed of 90% Assadists, although without Assad, and a vile trap against the revolutionary masses of Syria?

We could summarize al-Jolani's Syria like this: the Alawite bourgeoisie has its mansions on the coast, and maintains a large part of their businesses… (the new Administration) has kept all the Assadist officials in government and state positions… While those of us who shed our blood and were martyrs for a free Syria have no homes, no jobs, no bread, no opportunities, no justice for the martyrs, and we even have prisoners. This is not a government of the revolution, but of the traitors and expropriators of the revolution.
Furthermore, 90% of the government, even after these past elections (which were a sham), is occupied by Assadists. The war criminals who massacred the Syrian people for 14 years enjoy good health, good positions in the state, and are free.  Assad's officials and mercenaries, the Alawite bourgeoisie that formed the Assadist government, former governors (are still there)… and other government positions continue to be held by the same people as always, with high salaries and great privileges.

Tell us about the terrible situation faced by Syrian workers, yesterday murdered and massacred by Assad, then revolted to win bread, and today facing the al- Jolani government

It's very difficult for workers to find jobs. The work shifts are 12 hours long and the wages are extremely low. A family needs approximately US$350 a month to live just enough, but average wages are around US$150 to US$200.

This doesn't allow us to save money or work to rebuild our homes, which were destroyed by Assad and Putin's bombings. All of us, the children of the revolution who fought to defeat Assad and left hundreds of thousands of martyrs, have our homes completely destroyed. Only rubble remains, and it costs about US$3,000 to remove it, clear the land, and rebuild.

 The refugee camps continue to exist just as they did under Assad, with tents lacking sanitary conditions or adequate means to cope with the coming cold. Syrian workers continue to work in other countries as refugees, even though they have no rights and their wages are low, because they cannot return. They have nowhere to go, and they would have no way to send money to their families.

And that's not all. Revolutionary fighters and relatives of the martyrs are still imprisoned in al-Jolani prisons. It is estimated that there are around 15,000 political prisoners in Idlib alone, and the al-Jolani government refuses to release them.

And yet the bourgeoisie, in its various sectors, is amassing fortunes...

Yes, all of them. Not just al-Jolani and his gang, who manage a large part of it. The Kurdish bourgeoisie continues to administer the plundering of our oil by US imperialist oil companies, shielded by no fewer than 10 military bases. The wealthy Druze agrarian bourgeoisie of southern Syria continues to do business with Zionism and seize the fertile land. And the Alawites, not to mention, hold 90% of the officialty in the al-Jolani government.

How are revolutionaries intervening and preparing the struggles of the working class in Syria today?

The masses are looking for a way out. This way out must be a government of workers and the Syrian people, not of al-Jolani. That is why the weapons are still being kept (by the former revolutionaries) and have not been handed over to al-Jolani. The demands of the revolution were not met and must be met. That is why we are fighting to establish local committees, neighborhood and workplace assemblies, unions, and committees to advance these demands, to fight for these demands, which can only be achieved by a workers' and peasants' government of the Syrian revolution, not this government of betrayal and occupation.

Tell us about how Syria is still occupied

Yes, Syria is still occupied by foreign powers. The Russian military base in Tartus is still there. As I said before, the Americans are there with their military and oil bases protected by the Kurdish bourgeoisie. Zionism occupies our lands in the Golan Heights and the south of our country, while maintaining its pact with the Druze bourgeoisie. Turkey never withdrew its military checkpoints and outposts in the north. Now that we're supposedly winning, why are they still there? Because we haven't fully won yet. Al-Jolani has come to maintain this occupation and steal our victory, and prevent us from achieving it. We must fight for this victory, and it will be (achieved) by winning a government of the workers and the people, and it will be (achieved) by defeating this unity government of al-Jolani with the Assadists!

How is the Syrian revolutionary vanguard preparing to face the surrender ultimatum that Trump, Netanyahu, and the Egypt conference want to impose on the Palestinian masses?

We have always fought for the Palestinian masses. Liberating Palestine and destroying its occupied state is the historic struggle of all Arab workers and oppressed peoples. Al-Assad massacred our revolution so that we would not unite with Palestine to destroy the State of Israel. He unleashed his entire arsenal to murder hundreds of thousands of Syrians and did not fire a single shot against Zionism. When he fell, he handed the coordinates of the heavy arsenal to Zionism so that it would destroy it and prevent us from taking it to fight alongside Gaza. And today, Al-Jolani continues to close the fronts against Zionism, allowing these occupiers to invade and occupy our land in the south, and massacre our Palestinian brothers.

The fact is that governments are only there to look after the interests of the bourgeoisie. Al-Jolani is Trump's partner and is closing the Golan Heights, supporting Israel. That's why all the Arab governments are also pressuring Hamas to surrender. They are all partners of the US and only want to do what the US tells them.

The Egyptian conference wants to force the surrender of the Palestinian people. And if they disarm, a new massacre will come, like the one already taking place in cities in the West Bank, and the bombings in Lebanon, and also against us. Because their "Greater Israel" offensive is strengthening.

That's why all Arab peoples must support the Palestinian people. The Palestinian people are a very brave and strong people; they fight all the way. They haven't surrendered. The workers of the world who marched for Palestine are a very important support. And the best course of action is a general strike, like in Italy. That's why the Palestinian people can only count on the workers and oppressed peoples, not on the governments. Governments only seek their surrender, after which comes doom.  The liberation of Palestine and all oppressed peoples lies solely in the hands of the working class. We must act now to defeat Trump's surrender ultimatum and the Egypt conference!