Mazibuko Jara (born 1973), born in

Mdantsane Mdantsane is a South African urban township situated 15 km away from East London and 37 km away from Qonce in the Eastern Cape. It is the second largest township in the Eastern Cape after Ibhayi near Port Elizabeth and seventeenth large ...

in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

, one of the province of South Africa. An activist in the democratic

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

tradition, he was active in the

South African Students Congress The South African Students Congress (SASCO) is a South African student organisation currently led by Bamanye Matiwane as the organization's President. SASCO was founded in September 1991 at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, through ...

(SASCO) and the left-wing

Young Christian Students Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

. He was a member 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 ...

(SACP) until 2005, serving as its spokesperson, including editing the party paper Umsebenzi, and strategist. He was ousted from the party after he wrote a paper in 2005 rejecting the SACP's overt support for

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

, entitled ''What Colour Is Our Flag? Red or JZ? : A Critique of the SACP Approach on the JZ (Jacob Zuma) Matter'', one of a number of critical figures purged in the 2000s. In 2006, Jara co-founded

Amandla (magazine) ''Amandla!'' is a South African bi-monthly magazine that was launched in 2006. The founders are Mazibuko Jara and Brian Ashley. The magazine is published by the Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC) in Cape Town, and takes its na ...

. He argues for a "democratic left" and

Eco-Socialism Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism or socialist ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansi ...

, criticizing authoritarian and socially conservative tendencies in South African society at large, including in major political parties. He campaigns for rural democracy against tribal chiefly rule. He is also a popular educator, researcher and trainer focusing on political economy, cooperatives,

food sovereignty Food sovereignty is a food system in which the people who produce, distribute, and consume food also control the mechanisms and policies of food production and distribution. This stands in contrast to the present corporate food regime, in which ...

, land reform and participatory democracy. Jara has worked in a range of left coalitions and NGOs, including a leading role in the

Democratic Left Front The Democratic Left Front was formed as a non-sectarian and non-authoritarian anti-capitalist front in South Africa. It was formed from the ''Conference for a Democratic Left'' launched in 2008, at an event held in Johannesburg in January 2011. It ...

and the subsequent United Front (South Africa), and the

Treatment Action Campaign The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is a South African HIV/AIDS activist organisation which was co-founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background ...

and was Board Chair of

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

South Africa from its founding until November 2020. He was also the Co-Founder of Ntinga Ntaba kaNdoda, a community-based rural movement in the Eastern Cape.

Notes and references

1973 births Living people South African activists People from Mdantsane {{SouthAfrica-activist-stub

See also

Notes and references