Is it February in Tunisia?

That battle over the class as class appears to be going on in Tunisia now and will be vital for the future of the revolution.

Tunisia objectively is ripe for workers’ revolution. The task of the left in Tunisia must be to build that revolutionary impetus now, to help the process of the maturation of the class though working class political and economic demands and pushing for workers’ control of the workplace.

Lenin and Trotsky both understood that a successful workers’ revolution in one country could not survive unless it spread.

The Tunisian revolution is inspiring the Arab masses. The Tunisian revolution threatens the imperialist project, and its bourgeois allies, the dictators across the region.

The Middle East is the key region for US imperialism and its ability to control major competitors like China and Europe. Israel is its armed wing, and the dictators across the region its willing allies. The role of these brutal tyrants is to keep the Arab masses under control and prevent real support for the Palestinians.

The Tunisian revolution challenges this control by putting the Arab working class and peasantry and their needs at the forefront of the political and economic struggle, rather than the needs of local captial and US imperialism.

Already there have been demonstrations in Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Jordan over issues similar to those in Tunisia - jobs, prices, food, freedom. All have drawn inspiration from the overthrow of Ben Ali.

To survive the Tunisian revolution must spread. It cannot survive on its own against US imperialism and the forces of reaction in the region and the country.

A successful workers’ revolution in Tunisia can inspire the working classes across the region to deal with their own ruling classes in similar ways and begin the next chapter in human history.

If it is February in Tunisia there is hope yet for October.

The victory of the Tunisian working class will provide hope and inspiration to hundreds of millions across the region. Their revolution is our hope and inspiration too.