The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has continued its downward spiral after suffering significant losses in state elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Sunday, September 20. In addition to coming second to the progressive Die Linke in the German capital, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s party failed to achieve the 5% needed to enter Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s parliament, marking a new low – or, in Merz’s own words – a “disaster.”
The results of the two elections were radically different: in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the largest percentage of votes, echoing, in many ways, the recent outcome in Saxony-Anhalt. In Berlin, Die Linke emerged as the winner, claiming a quarter of the vote after a campaign focusing on housing, the cost of living crisis, and public transport.
Part of the local reports note that while the AfD and Die Linke lie on opposite ends of the political spectrum, both gained ground thanks to the perception that they bring the best chance of breaking with the policies implemented by the government coalition between CDU and the Social Democrats (SPD).
These policies – pursuing extensive cuts to the social and welfare system and attacks on labor rights in order to fund a massive rearmament drive – have completely eroded the support for Merz’s conservatives. Despite this administration’s unprecedented unpopularity, the German Chancellor is showing no sign of changing course, stating after Sunday’s election that “reforms must come.”
Die Linke’s Berlin result: reforms must be implemented – but which reforms?
Reforms must be implemented, voters in several German states apparently agree with Merz – just not those envisioned by the CDU. Die Linke’s campaign, led by Elif Eralp, offered an alternative list of policy reforms addressing Berlin’s inhabitants’ most pressing concerns. This meant a focus on accessible housing – including a follow-up on the 2021 referendum where voters backed expropriating the property of private real-estate companies with 3,000 or more units in the city.
Five years ago, over one million people supported the referendum’s idea of socializing the housing pool, yet no action was taken by the local administration. Since then, the housing situation has grown worse, leading to widespread frustration. Die Linke’s campaign recognized the general discontent and promised it would not give up on socialization.
“Die Linke’s successful campaign in Berlin was driven by its strong focus on affordable housing and rent control, which resonated deeply with voters facing massively rising living costs,” Kirsten Schubert, a general practitioner active in the party’s local chapter, told BreakThrough News. “The party integrated large-scale door-to-door campaigning strategy, allowing volunteers to connect personally with hundreds of thousands of residents directly at their doorsteps. By those means, strong social media presence and a huge range of community activities, they successfully mobilized a diverse coalition of non-voters, progressive urban youth, and traditional working-class voters.”
Krunoslav Stojaković, a political advisor at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, says that the election result commits not only Die Linke, but also “the social left and all those who care about a more just society” to work towards achieving socialization of housing. “At this point, there can be no going back […] The people of Berlin have given us this mandate.”
“There will be resistance,” he emphasizes. “Potential coalition partners are only tentatively supportive of Die Linke, and some are already making demands against the socialization of those profiting from the housing crisis as a condition for political cooperation.”
Progressive measures to face opposition from center
The approach adopted in Berlin marked a welcome break from Die Linke’s campaigning in other states. Stojaković pointed out to the portal H-alter that the party’s earlier choices – such as joining coalitions that implemented austerity measures – contributed to a fall in popularity. The recent success offers an opportunity to reclaim lost ground and reshape the party’s approach to fieldwork. But it should not be taken for granted that this will happen.
For now, the party faces talks with potential coalition partners SPD and the Greens. Figures from both parties signaled there are significant misalignments between them and Die Linke. While the SPD does not share the commitment to socialization of housing, the Greens’ Franziska Brantner said the party would not cooperate with “anti-semites from Neukölln.” With this, Brantner indicated that the political mainstream in Germany will persist in pressuring those criticizing Israel – even if this criticism remains timid at best.
On the other hand, left and progressive parties across Europe recognized in Die Linke’s result an important rupture within the predominating context of the far right gaining electoral ground. From Jean-Luc Mélenchon in France to Slovenia’s Levica, reactions emphasized the significance of shaping grounded and unequivocally left programs. “Politics begins with the daily problems of millions of people,” wrote Peter Mertens, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA). “It is not just about talking about tenants and workers, but about organizing them so they can impose change themselves.”
This article was updated on Wednesday, September 23, to incorporate comments from Kirsten Schubert.
The most recent winner of the National Magazine Award for feature writing describes his turn to payday lending apps when AI gobbled up his livelihood (aka penning promotional web content for business clients). Sharp and darkly funny, the essay chronicles yet another nail in the coffin of the American dream:
Albert founder Yinon Ravid has said that he chose his app’s name for its suggestion of the kind of “smart, unassuming friend” you might come to for financial advice, but today, when I hear the name Albert, I am far more likely to picture an overwhelming force bent on my total destruction, a figure you might spot while being burned alive in a dream—black-robed, pale, teeth bared. When I first joined the app, about eighteen months ago, Albert offered me $25.00. To acquire this loan, I was required to pay an additional fee: A $6.99 instant deposit charge plus the cost of a $19.99-per-month subscription to Albert’s Standard plan, due in one week’s time alongside the full loan repayment. (If I really wanted to make the most of my $25.00, I also had the option of Albert’s $39.99-per-month Genius plan, which, among a very small handful of other talents, can “find restaurants based on your location, or in a specific area.”) On its own, this might’ve been manageable, but, true to the CRL’s findings, Albert’s offerings alone couldn’t keep me afloat, and so I soon signed up for the rest of the payday apps, each one toting its share of instant deposit and subscription fees. (Gallingly, Dave—the only publicly traded company of the bunch, valued at $4.72 billion as of this writing—has the nerve to ask for a tip after each transaction, a move that I suspect even the flintiest strip mall grift artists would dismiss as gauche.)
Por Marcelo Ramírez El problema de nuestra época no puede resumirse solamente en una supuesta disminución de la inteligencia. La sociedad contemporánea conserva enormes capacidades cognitivas, técnicas y profesionales. Millones…
Im Spiegel wurde ein Meinungsartikel mit der Überschrift „Krise des Kanzlers – Friedrich Merz darf jetzt nicht abgesägt werden“ veröffentlicht, den Gerald Traufetter geschrieben hat. Traufetter ist langjähriger Spiegel-Redakteur, und er plädiert dafür, dass Kanzler Merz im Amt bleiben sollen, weil ansonsten die Umsetzung seiner Reformen in Gefahr geriete, wie er schon in der Einleitung […]
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei refuted United States President Donald Trump’s latest claims about his country seeking fresh talks. He reiterated that there will be no new talks with the US until it implements the conditions already agreed upon.
“Dont get distracted by the US president’s mix signals-from ‘no negotiations’ to ‘we are ready to talk.’ The stakes around oil and the straits have changed. Damage control won’t stop what’s coming,” Rezaei said in a post on X on Tuesday, September 15.
Rezaei was responding to Trump’s latest claims made on his social media post about Iran seeking a deal “quickly and badly.” Trump called Iran a “failing nation” and said he will decide “whether or not the US will choose to engage.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, during his visit to the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi earlier this week, also said there is no need for fresh talks with the US until the conditions in the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed between the two countries in June, are implemented.
Iran and Oman are seeking regional consensus
On Monday, Iran claimed it had finalized an agreement with Oman regarding the management of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and said it’s details would be announced soon.
“The understanding between Iran and Oman, as two littoral states, has been finalized. In consultation with Oman, we will decide on the next step, including how to announce or register the understanding,” official spokesperson of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Esmail Baghaei said in a press conference on Monday, September 14.
He also claimed that a scheduled discussion over the issue with the Persian Gulf countries on Monday was canceled at the last minute after Saudi Arabia’s intervention. He called the Saudi move “ill-advised” and a lost opportunity.
It is speculated that the Saudi intervention is linked to recent attacks carried out by Yemen’s Ansar Allah forces inside its territories, hitting a crucial oil pipeline and King Khalid Air Base, along with other infrastructure.
Ansar Allah claimed its attacks inside Saudi Arabia were in retaliation to hundreds of Saudi airstrikes and over a decade-long blockade of the country.
Ansar Allah has also announced it will target Saudi ships carrying crude through the Bab-al Mandeb in the Red Sea.
In the past, Saudi Arabia had accused Iran of supporting Ansar Allah militarily. Iran has denied such claims, calling Ansar Allah an ally with its own independent agenda.
Earlier, both Iran and Oman had claimed that the regional meeting on Monday was not postponed for a later date, with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi saying the delay was in the “interest of consensus.”
The talks for an agreement over the joint management of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman began in June, after Iran proposed it.
On August 25, Iran and Oman announced an initial agreement on the establishment of a temporary joint maritime corridor and a joint-mine clearance project.
The agreement, once finalized, is expected to “restore safe navigation” through the Strait while preserving the sovereignty and sovereign rights of coastal states, Press TVreported.
Strait of Hormuz is closed
On the evening of September 14, a super tanker hit a mine after trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz through what Iran calls the “illegal route” near Omani waters, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement.
Later it was reported that several of the crew members of the said ship were missing.
The IRGC reiterated its warnings to all the ships in the Persian Gulf to refrain from using the US-backed Omani route, repeating the claims about the Strait of Hormuz being shut and under its full control.
The IRGC has repeatedly questioned US President Donald Trump’s claims of the restoration of free navigation through the Strait, calling them lies.
The Strait, through which nearly 20% of the global energy trade flowed before the US-Israeli war on Iran began in February has seen a massive fall in traffic, causing disruptions in energy supplies after the Iranians restricted traffic in retaliation.
Oil prices have crossed USD 100 per barrel several times since then. They again crossed the mark earlier this week due to the renewed escalation and fear of a blockade of oil trade through the Bab-al-Mandeb, after Ansar Allah’s warnings of targeting Saudi ships.
Nearly 12% of global trade in energy happens through the Bab-al-Mandeb.
On Monday, Iran reiterated that the US is solely responsible for the global impacts caused by the blockade of oil trade in the region.
The US war and naval blockade against Iran are the direct reasons for the closure of the Strait, Ali Bahreini, Iran’s permanent representative at Geneva, said during a UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) meeting asking the international community to acknowledge the fact that such unilateral actions are harmful for the global economy.
Iran assured that it will lift the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz the moment the US announces the end of its war and lifts the naval blockade and economic sanctions on Iran.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is not guilty. This is a statement of law and fact, since Maduro has not been convicted of any crime. He has pleaded not guilty to every charge brought against him, and the accusations made by the United States remain precisely that: accusations. Under the presumption of innocence – recognized in the United States Constitution and in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – the burden rests entirely upon the prosecution to prove guilt. It is not Maduro who must prove his innocence, but it is the United States government that must prove his guilt.
On January 3, 2026, United States forces illegally entered Venezuela, attacked targets in and around Caracas, seized President Maduro and his wife and an elected official, Cilia Flores, and transported them to the United States. Two days later, shackled and injured, Maduro appeared before a federal court in Manhattan. “I am innocent. I am not guilty,” he told the court. Both defendants entered pleas of not guilty and are now imprisoned in Brooklyn while awaiting a trial provisionally scheduled for June 2027.
The charges against Maduro
The United States alleges that Maduro participated in conspiracies to import cocaine, possess machine guns and destructive devices, and collaborate with organizations Washington has designated as terrorist groups. These charges developed out of an indictment announced during Donald Trump’s first presidency in March 2020. The case was substantially expanded after Maduro was kidnapped through a fourth superseding indictment. An indictment, however, is not evidence tested before a court. It is a document prepared by prosecutors and approved through a grand-jury proceeding at which the defense is normally neither represented nor permitted to challenge the government’s account.
The prosecution relies heavily upon the idea that Maduro directed the so-called Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns. But even organizations deeply hostile to the Venezuelan government acknowledge that this is not a cartel in the conventional sense. The name has long been used as an umbrella expression for disparate Venezuelan officials allegedly involved in criminal activity, long before Maduro entered political life. It does not describe an organization with a demonstrated membership, command structure, headquarters or chain of authority comparable to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. When Washington designated the Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organization in 2025, the Associated Pressnoted that it was “not a cartel per se.”
This matters because the prosecution’s language performs much of its political work. Allegations concerning individual acts of corruption are assembled into the image of a unified organization, the organization is then attributed to the Venezuelan state, and responsibility for everything allegedly done by anyone within that loose network is placed upon Maduro. The indictment must still demonstrate that Maduro knowingly joined the specific conspiracies charged. Political authority over a state in which crimes occur does not by itself establish personal criminal responsibility for those crimes.
Case is dead on arrival
Venezuela is not a major producer of coca leaf or cocaine. The principal cocaine-producing countries remain Colombia, Peru and Bolivia. Venezuela has been used as a transit territory, particularly for cocaine originating in neighboring Colombia. But transit through a country does not prove that its president commands the traffic, and nor does it substantiate the extravagant political image of Venezuela as the central source of the drugs entering the United States. The US Drug Enforcement Administration’s own 2025 threat assessment concentrated overwhelmingly upon Mexican organizations and their supply chains. The global cocaine trade operates primarily through production in the Andean region, maritime export corridors, Central America and Mexico, not through a single organization supposedly commanded from the Venezuelan presidential palace. The International Criminal Court’s investigation into the situation in Venezuela, for example, is an investigation into alleged crimes within its jurisdiction. It is not a conviction of Maduro and has not produced an individual judgment of guilt against him.
The US government is expected to rely upon cooperating witnesses, including former Venezuelan intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal and former general Clíver Alcalá. Both men pleaded guilty to serious offenses in the United States. Their evidence cannot be treated as disinterested truth. Cooperating defendants may hope to obtain sentencing benefits by assisting prosecutors. Their claims must therefore be corroborated and subjected to cross-examination. Until that happens, their statements do not establish Maduro’s guilt. In fact, it is better to see their statements as proof of their own attempt to lighten their sentences and launder their soiled reputations.
The circumstances under which Maduro was brought before the US court create an even deeper problem. Washington did not request extradition through an agreed legal process. It employed military force within another sovereign country without Venezuela’s consent or authorization from the United Nations Security Council. Article 2(4) of the UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of a state, subject to narrow exceptions such as self-defence. Arresting a person accused of drug offenses is not one of those exceptions. International-law specialists described the operation as an unlawful use of force, while governments including Brazil, Mexico, and China condemned the violation of Venezuelan sovereignty.
Maduro’s lawyers have argued that the prosecution violates the immunity enjoyed by an incumbent head of state. Venezuela continued to recognize Maduro as its constitutional president when the United States seized him – a fact tacitly recognized by the United States when it calls Delcy Rodriquez the Acting President. Washington cannot necessarily extinguish the international legal status of another country’s head of state merely by withholding diplomatic recognition. The defense has consequently requested dismissal of the indictment on immunity grounds and has separately challenged the narco-terrorism count for lacking an adequate jurisdictional connection to the United States. Oral argument on these questions is scheduled for November 2026.
The case of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández exposes the selectivity of Washington’s supposed war against narco-states. Hernández was a close US ally during his presidency from 2014 to 2022. After leaving office, he was extradited – not abducted through a military invasion – and tried in the same federal district in New York where Maduro is now being prosecuted. In March 2024, a jury convicted Hernández after a three-week trial. Prosecutors presented evidence that he had accepted millions of dollars from traffickers, protected cocaine shipments with the Honduran police and military, and helped move more than 400 tons of cocaine towards the United States. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison. Unlike the claims against Maduro, these allegations were tested through testimony, cross-examination and a jury verdict. Yet on December 1, 2025, President Donald Trump pardoned Hernández and secured his release, claiming that the former president had been treated unfairly.
The contrast could hardly be more revealing. Trump pardoned a former president whose participation in cocaine trafficking had been established in a US courtroom, while threatening and eventually invading Venezuela to seize a president against whom no verdict had been rendered. Hernández belonged to Washington’s political camp; Maduro did not. One was released despite his conviction, while the other was captured despite his legal innocence. This disparity does not by itself disprove the accusations against Maduro, but it demolishes the claim that Washington acted from a consistent concern about narcotics. The determining distinction was political alignment, not the strength of the evidence.
The implications of this case extend far beyond the specific circumstances of Maduro and Cilia Flores or their consequences for Venezuela. Allowing a foreign state to override the jurisdiction of another country’s legal system, pursue an accusation for which there is no evidence, and proceed with a trial that lacks a basis in international law effectively establishes the US court system as one with global and unlimited jurisdiction. The ambivalence of governments around the world toward this case is therefore alarming, as it risks signalling consent and normalizing such gross overreach. This is particularly relevant for Mexico, which is already facing a series of accusations and extradition demands from the United States with clear political implications. The outcome of Maduro’s trial could set an important precedent for how Mexico – and other countries – are treated in similar circumstances.
Nicolás Maduro is not guilty therefore expresses the only defensible conclusion at this stage. He was seized through an act of military force, placed before the courts of the state that had pursued his overthrow for years, and charged based on a politically constructed theory that has yet to survive adversarial examination. He remains innocent unless and until admissible evidence proves otherwise beyond a reasonable doubt. Sovereignty is not an ornament, an indictment is not a verdict, and an accusation issued by a powerful state does not become truth merely because that state possesses the weapons to seize the accused.
Stephanie Weatherbee Brito is the co-coordinator of the International Peoples Assembly (IPA).
Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian and journalist. He is the author of forty books, including Washington Bullets, Red Star Over the Third World, The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World, The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South, and How the International Monetary Fund Suffocates Africa, written with Grieve Chelwa. He is the executive director ofTricontinental: Institute for Social Research, the chief correspondent for Globetrotter, and the chief editor ofLeftWord Books(New Delhi). He also appeared in the films Shadow World (2016) and Two Meetings (2017).
Corría el 9 de octubre de 2022 cuando los telescopios espaciales Swift y Fermi captaron el estallido de rayos gamma más brillante jamás registrado. Los astrónomos, con ese gusto por los apodos rotundos, lo bautizaron como GRB 221009A, aunque hoy se le conoce sobre todo por su sobrenombre: Boat, siglas en inglés de «el más […]
Three days after the Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) landslide in Saxony-Anhalt, the Bundestag’s general budget debate turned into a verbal battle between AfD co-chair Alice Weidel and Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with the two battling it out over mass immigration, democracy, crime, Ukraine, and the future of Germany.
Heckling filled the chamber. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner repeatedly intervened. The exchange was the first direct parliamentary clash between the two leaders since Sunday’s vote, in which the AfD took 43.8 percent and the CDU collapsed to 17.2 percent.
Weidel opened the debate and treated the election results as a verdict on the ruling federal government coalition led by Merz.
“The voters in Saxony-Anhalt have made it abundantly clear to you, in the language of the democratic sovereign: the Black-Red coalition is over,” she said. Citizens wanted “a change of policy,” she added, “and they do not want more of the same.”
JUST IN: After AfD's landslide victory, Weidel tells Merz that "the voters in Saxony-Anhalt have communicated to you in the language of the democratic sovereign with all clarity: Black-Red (CDU-SPD ruling coalition) is over."
Addressing Merz directly, she said he had failed to hear that message.
“That is not especially relevant, because your time has run out anyway. Citizens want a change of policy, and they will get it,” she said.
She turned next to the draft federal budget. Weidel called it a “declaration of surrender” and accused Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of “unserious budget management.”
““Despite record tax revenues, you are incapable of managing the public’s money wisely. Why? Because you are unwilling to free yourselves from the shackles of green ideology, left-wing mass migration, and socialist redistribution.”
She said the CDU-SPD government planned more than €1 trillion in new borrowing over its term, a figure she described as unprecedented in the Federal Republic. The result, she argued, would destroy future room for maneuver and leave “scorched earth.”
“You are driving Germany into national bankruptcy in record time,” she said.
Weidel also continued to slam Merz on mass migration, a sore spot for the ruling government.
“You declare the migration crisis to be over. Yet, every year, a six-figure number of migrants enters the country through the back door of asylum, plus another major city through family reunification—most of them from Muslim tribal cultures,” she stated, adding: “More than a million refugees live whose asylum application has been rejected more than once. What are these people actually still doing in this country? They should be deported!”
Weidel accused the coalition of declaring the crisis over while still admitting large numbers of people through asylum procedures and family reunification. She claimed more than a million people whose asylum claims had already been rejected remained in the country and should be deported. Ordinary workers, she said, were paying the price.
“Because [Germans] have to deal daily with the consequences of mass migration, with the hatred of foreign groups toward their own, with hatred of Christians, with hatred of Germans, with hatred of Germany, and you are even providing financial support to these people. This must finally come to an end!”
After AfD's victory in Saxony-Anhalt, Alice Weidel takes Chancellor Merz to task during a raucous debate.
"Because [Germans] have to deal daily with the consequences of mass migration, with the hatred of foreign groups toward their own, with hatred of Christians, with… pic.twitter.com/lBjLNPt9hM
Energy policy drew the sharpest interjections from the government benches. Weidel called the energy transition “the greatest millstone dragging our economy into the abyss” and “lost, burned money.” Germany, she said, was facing a possible winter gas shortage after the destruction of Nord Stream 2 while still sending billions to Ukraine.
She demanded renewed Russian gas deliveries, a return to nuclear power, and peace talks.
“While the United States is making another attempt to end the murderous Ukraine war, you are stepping up the war propaganda and the confrontation with Russia,” she told the chancellor. When SPD deputies laughed, she snapped: “Do you find that funny? Voters out there can see that the SPD finds deindustrialization funny. So stop laughing.”
Merz responds
Merz came out swinging against Weidel, conceding the Saxony-Anhalt result was “remarkable,” but said the AfD had missed its actual goal: an absolute majority of seats.
“Fifty-six percent of voters in Saxony-Anhalt did not vote for you,” he said. “And you will not achieve that anywhere in Germany with this policy.” He accused Weidel of having pushed lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund, within hours of the polls closing, to seek a governing majority after having promised before the election to govern only with an absolute majority.
“You are, and you will remain, Ms. Weidel, a destructive force,” he accused.
The sharpest attack from Merz concerned remigration. He said the concept is “nothing other than a synonym for ethnic cleansing based on origin and skin color.”
Germany
The anti-immigration AfD party is pursuing a plan of "ethnic cleansing based on skin color and origin," said Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a Bundestag debate.
If that program were carried out, he claimed, skilled trades, nursing homes, hospitals, and restaurants would cease to function, because one in six workers in the crafts already holds a foreign passport and millions of people with a migration background keep essential services running. The coalition, he said, agreed on deporting people without a right to stay, but distinguished between those who work and contribute and those who must leave. AfD deputies erupted. Several shouted that the claim was false.
On Ukraine, Merz accused the AfD of reversing perpetrator and victim. Neither NATO, the European Union nor Germany had threatened Russia, he said.
“The only thing that truly threatens Russia and Putin is the radiance of democracy.”
The AfD, he added, still stood with Moscow.
“Right there runs the deep rift between you and us, in foreign policy, in European policy, in social policy and in peace policy,” he said.
He also charged that Weidel had said nothing about a failed drone incident at Leipzig Airport, a hacking attack on Berlin infrastructure, or this year’s fires and weather extremes.
“Not a word from you, Ms. Weidel, about what has been going on in this country this year, he accused her.
At one point in Merz’s speech, Klöckner told the AfD that heckling is part of parliamentary life, “but it is not part of constantly interrupting a speaker. You also have to accept that there are other opinions.”
When the noise continued, she warned one deputy: “We are not on the football pitch here right now. Save this for the weekend.” Later she threatened MPs with expulsion.
Merz thanked her and said the interruptions themselves showed the AfD’s “contempt for the German Bundestag,” adding that “listening is not your strong suit.”
With the battle brewing over who controls Saxony-Anhalt still to be decided, and with Merz’s CDU crashing below 20 percent in the latest poll, political tensions are set to rise in the coming month
A utilização da luz com finalidade terapêutica vem ganhando espaço em diferentes áreas da saúde. Entre essas tecnologias está o ILIB — Intravascular Laser Irradiation of Blood, uma modalidade de fotobiomodulação sistémica investigada principalmente por seus possíveis efeitos sobre inflamação, stress oxidativo, circulação e metabolismo celular.
Embora tenha se tornado bastante popular nos últimos anos, compreender corretamente o que é o ILIB, como ele funciona e quais benefícios já possuem respaldo científico é fundamental para que a técnica seja utilizada de maneira responsável.
O que é ILIB?
O ILIB surgiu originalmente como uma técnica em que uma fibra óptica era inserida por via intravenosa para irradiar diretamente o sangue com laser de baixa potência.
Posteriormente, foram desenvolvidas abordagens não invasivas nas quais a luz é aplicada externamente sobre vasos sanguíneos superficiais, especialmente sobre a artéria radial, localizada na região do punho.
Na literatura científica mais atual, esta última abordagem é denominada fotobiomodulação vascular transcutânea — VPBM (Vascular Photobiomodulation), embora comercialmente ainda seja frequentemente chamada de “ILIB” ou “ILIB modificado”. (PubMed)
A técnica faz parte do conceito de fotobiomodulação (PBM), que utiliza luz em comprimentos de onda específicos e em baixa intensidade para produzir respostas biológicas sem provocar aquecimento ou destruição dos tecidos.
Como a fotobiomodulação age no organismo?
A ação da fotobiomodulação está relacionada principalmente à interação da luz com estruturas celulares capazes de absorver energia luminosa.
Entre os mecanismos propostos está a influência sobre a atividade mitocondrial, especialmente sobre componentes da cadeia respiratória celular. Como consequência, podem ocorrer alterações na produção de ATP — a principal molécula energética utilizada pelas células — e na sinalização celular.
Também são estudadas alterações relacionadas a:
produção de óxido nítrico;
microcirculação;
metabolismo energético;
espécies reativas de oxigénio;
mecanismos antioxidantes;
mediadores da resposta inflamatória.
Uma revisão sistemática publicada em 2024 avaliou estudos sobre ILIB e encontrou alterações em citocinas relacionadas à resposta inflamatória e aumento de óxido nítrico. Entretanto, apenas seis estudos preencheram os critérios da revisão, demonstrando que a evidência disponível ainda é limitada. (PubMed)
O ILIB realmente ajuda a “desinflamar” o organismo?
A expressão “desinflamar o corpo” é bastante utilizada popularmente, porém cientificamente é mais apropriado falar em modulação da resposta inflamatória.
Uma revisão publicada em 2025 analisou oito ensaios clínicos randomizados, envolvendo 340 participantes. Os trabalhos avaliaram diferentes condições clínicas e encontraram resultados relacionados à redução de marcadores como IL-6 e TNF-α, diminuição de marcadores de stress oxidativo, redução de dor e melhoria de alguns indicadores de qualidade de vida. Não foram relatados eventos adversos graves nesses estudos. (PubMed)
Isso não significa, entretanto, que o ILIB funcione como uma espécie de “detox” capaz de neutralizar os efeitos de uma alimentação rica em açúcar, excesso de sal, álcool ou produtos ultraprocessados.
A fotobiomodulação deve ser entendida como terapia complementar. Sono adequado, alimentação equilibrada, atividade física, hidratação e tratamento das alterações metabólicas continuam sendo fundamentais para o controlo da inflamação sistémica.
Principais benefícios estudados
Os estudos disponíveis sugerem que a fotobiomodulação vascular pode estar relacionada a:
Modulação da inflamação Algumas pesquisas demonstramalterações de citocinas pró e anti-inflamatórias.
Redução do stress oxidativo A técnica vem sendo investigada pela capacidade de modular mecanismos envolvidos na produção e neutralização de espécies reativas de oxigénio.
Microcirculação e função vascular O óxido nítrico participa da regulação vascular e alguns estudos sugerem que sua disponibilidade pode ser influenciada pela fotobiomodulação.
Metabolismo e função mitocondrial A PBM é estudada pela capacidade de modificar processos associados à produção de energia celular.
Dor e recuperação tecidual A fotobiomodulação possui aplicações estudadas em diferentes condições relacionadas à dor e reparação de tecidos.
Apesar desses resultados, uma revisão integrativa publicada em 2025, que reuniu 37 trabalhos sobre ILIB e fotobiomodulação vascular, concluiu que as diferenças entre protocolos, parâmetros dos aparelhos e metodologias ainda impedem afirmar categoricamente sua eficácia para todas as aplicações propostas. (PubMed)
Para quem o ILIB pode ser indicado?
A literatura investiga a fotobiomodulação sistémica como terapia complementar em diferentes situações relacionadas a:
processos inflamatórios;
stress oxidativo elevado;
alterações circulatórias;
determinadas condições metabólicas;
condições musculoesqueléticas e dolorosas;
recuperação e reparação tecidual.
A indicação deve sempre considerar a condição individual, os parâmetros do equipamento, a formação do profissional e a legislação que regulamenta a utilização do dispositivo.
É importante reforçar que ILIB ou VPBM não substituem diagnóstico médico, medicamentos prescritos ou tratamentos específicos para doenças sistémicas.
Contraindicações e cuidados
A literatura científica ainda não apresenta uma lista universal e definitiva de contraindicações específicas para ILIB/VPBM. Revisões sobre a técnica apontam justamente a necessidade de estudos mais robustos para definir melhor protocolos, dosimetria, segurança em longo prazo e indicações clínicas. (PubMed)
Por isso, antes da aplicação devem ser avaliados fatores como:
utilização de medicamentos ou substâncias fotossensibilizantes;
doenças ou condições sistémicas relevantes;
alterações hematológicas importantes;
gravidez, devido à limitação de estudos específicos;
condições oncológicas ativas ou em acompanhamento, que exigem avaliação individualizada;
presença de alterações cutâneas no local onde o equipamento será aplicado;
sensibilidade individual e características específicas do equipamento.
A utilização de proteção ocular adequada e o cumprimento dos parâmetros recomendados para cada dispositivo também são fundamentais.
Um consenso internacional publicado em 2025 considera a fotobiomodulação, dentro de parâmetros apropriados, uma modalidade geralmente segura e destaca que a luz vermelha utilizada em PBM não demonstrou induzir dano ao DNA. (PubMed)
Quanto tempo dura uma sessão?
Não existe um tempo universal de aplicação para todas as modalidades e equipamentos.
Entretanto, protocolos de 30 minutos são bastante encontrados em pesquisas queutilizam aplicação transcutânea sobre a artéria radial.
Um estudo com 28 mulheres, por exemplo, utilizou laser vermelho de 660 nm e 100 mW durante 30 minutos sobre a artéria radial. Os pesquisadores identificaram modificações em alguns metabólitos plasmáticos após a aplicação, embora tenham ressaltado que o impacto geral sobre o metaboloma foi pequeno e que novas pesquisas são necessárias. (PubMed Central (PMC))
O tempo, frequência e número total de sessões, entretanto, não devem ser copiados de maneira automática, porque comprimento de onda, potência, energia, área irradiada e objetivo terapêutico interferem diretamente na dose recebida.
Fotobiomodulação é uma terapia dependente de dose.
E QUAL A RELAÇÃO ENTRE ILIB E SAÚDE CAPILAR?
Este é um ponto particularmente interessante para a tricologia.
O folículo piloso é uma estrutura metabolicamente ativa e extremamente sensível às condições do organismo.
Inflamação, stress oxidativo, alterações metabólicas, deficiências nutricionais, alterações hormonais, stress psicológico e algumas doenças sistémicas podem interferir no ciclo capilar.
Nesse contexto, uma terapia capaz de modular determinadas vias inflamatórias e oxidativas pode teoricamente ser interessante como coadjuvante dentro de um protocolo tricológico global.
Entretanto, existe uma diferença científica muito importante:
ILIB/VPBM não é a mesma coisa que aplicar fotobiomodulação diretamente no couro cabeludo.
As evidências atualmente disponíveis para crescimento capilar são muito mais robustas para a fotobiomodulação local do couro cabeludo (LLLT/PBM) do que para ILIB.
Uma revisão sistemática e meta-análise publicada em 2024 avaliou 38 estudos e 3.098 pacientes. Entre os pacientes com alopecia androgenética, a fotobiomodulação de baixa intensidade aplicada diretamente para tratamento capilar produziu aumento significativo da densidade dos fios quando comparada ao placebo. (PubMed)
Outra meta-análise envolvendo 15 estudos e 795 pacientes também encontrou aumento significativo da densidade capilar com fotobiomodulação em indivíduos com alopecia androgenética. (PubMed)
Uma revisão sistemática anterior igualmente demonstrou resultados favoráveis tanto em homens quanto em mulheres com alopecia androgenética. (PubMed)
Portanto, atualmente podemos afirmar que existe evidência clínica razoável para fotobiomodulação aplicada diretamente no couro cabeludo na alopecia androgenética.
Por outro lado, ainda não existem evidências clínicas suficientes para afirmar que o ILIB isoladamente seja capaz de provocar crescimento capilar ou tratar alopecias.
Essa diferenciação é essencial.
Como o ILIB pode ser inserido dentro de um protocolo tricológico?
Em vez de considerá-lo um tratamento isolado contra queda de cabelo, uma abordagem mais coerente é utilizá-lo, quando indicado, como parte de uma estratégia integrativa.
O protocolo pode envolver:
avaliação detalhada do couro cabeludo e dos fios;
tricoscopia;
investigação da provável causa da queda;
fotobiomodulação diretamente no couro cabeludo;
tratamentos específicospara equilíbrio da microbiota e oleosidade;
terapias voltadas à barreira cutânea;
orientação nutricional e médica quando necessária;
e fotobiomodulação sistémica como terapia complementar em pacientes criteriosamente selecionados.
A escolha dependerá do diagnóstico ou da hipótese tricológica.
Eflúvio telógeno, alopecia androgenética, alopecia areata, alterações inflamatórias e doenças cicatriciais são condições completamente diferentes e não devem receber um protocolo único simplesmente porque todas apresentam queda de cabelo.
Luz como aliada, e não como solução isolada
A fotobiomodulação representa uma das áreas mais interessantes da terapêutica contemporânea e possui mecanismos biológicos plausíveis e um corpo científico crescente.
Entretanto, ciência também significa reconhecer os limites da evidência.
Até o momento, estudos sobre ILIB e fotobiomodulação vascular demonstram resultados promissores principalmente em mecanismos associados à inflamação, stress oxidativo e função celular, mas ainda existe grande heterogeneidade de protocolos e necessidade de ensaios clínicos maiores e padronizados.
Na saúde capilar, as evidências são mais consistentes para a aplicação de fotobiomodulação diretamente no couro cabeludo, especialmente na alopecia androgenética.
Por isso, a verdadeira evolução da tricologia não está simplesmente em utilizar mais tecnologias, mas em saber por que, quando e para quem cada tecnologia deve ser utilizada.
A terapia deve estar sempre baseada em avaliação individualizada, conhecimento do ciclo capilar, compreensão das alterações sistémicas e utilização consciente das ferramentas disponíveis.
Referências científicas selecionadas
Díaz L. et al. The clinical efficacy of intravascular laser irradiation of blood (ILIB): A narrative review of randomized controlled trial. Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy. 2025. PMID: 40324571. (PubMed)
Brassolatti P. et al. Systemic photobiomodulation: an integrative review of evidence for intravascular laser irradiation of blood and vascular photobiomodulation. Lasers in Medical Science. 2025. PMID: 39847118. (PubMed)
Influence of Intravascular Laser Irradiation of Blood (ILIB) on inflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide in vivo: a systematic review. 2024. PMID: 38433159. (PubMed)
Maghfour J. et al. Evidence-based consensus on the clinical application of photobiomodulation. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2025;93(2):429–443. PMID: 40253006. (PubMed)
Low-Level Laser and LED Therapy in Alopecia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Dermatologic Surgery. 2024. PMID: 39404126. (PubMed)
Gupta AK, Bamimore MA. Factors influencing the effect of photobiomodulation in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia: A systematic review and analyses of summary-level data. Dermatologic Therapy. 2020;33(6):e14191. (PubMed)
Coluna de saúde/beleza Fabiana Fukuda tricologista e cabeleireira
Diplomats say the U.S., Britain, France and Germany now seek to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for failure to comply with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations.
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Dire economic news continues to roll in as Germany faces deepening deindustrialization and an economic downturn under Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Reports today say Volkswagen’s management board is proposing to wind down production at four major German plants and shift much of that work abroad.
Just days before, Merz warned that investors would shun an AfD-governed federal state in the future.
“I cannot imagine international investors showing up for a groundbreaking ceremony with an AfD state premier to establish new plants or set up new businesses in Saxony-Anhalt,” said Merz during an ARD summer interview on Aug. 30.
He added that if a right-wing populist party won an absolute majority in the coming election, international investors would think twice about whether to invest in Saxony-Anhalt.
However, VW’s management board has now recommended closing four German production sites. The AfD has seized on the reports.
“In four VW plants, the group board is turning off the lights. The energy transition and electric planned economy are pulling the plug on the German automotive industry. With an AfD government, the economic turnaround will return to reason,” wrote AfD co-chair Alice Weidel.
Gleich in vier VW-Werken lässt der Konzernvorstand die Lichter ausgehen. Energiewende und Elektro-Planwirtschaft ziehen der deutschen Autoindustrie den Stecker. Mit einer AfD-Regierung kommt die Wirtschaftswende zurück zur Vernunft.https://t.co/6BEVQlIf3y
The plan was unanimously adopted by the VW management board and will be presented to the Supervisory Board on Sept. 3. While not an immediate shutdown, it would end production in the early 2030s in Emden, Zwickau, Hanover, and Neckarsulm, with production transferred to Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Germany’s anemic growth is almost entirely debt-fueled and focused on public sector and defense. Its once world-class industrial base is meanwhile rapidly eroding, with Normura reporting that investors are increasingly receptive to right-wing victories, as ZeroHedge reported.
The AfD is using Merz’s economic record to argue that investors would welcome an AfD victory in the state.
AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund told Welt TV that “exactly the opposite” would happen and that an AfD government would instead encourage firms to launch projects in Saxony-Anhalt.
Conservative-governed states abroad would see “a competitive advantage if we finally have long-term planning security again, if we have no climate targets, no quota targets,” argued Siegmund.
“[Merz’s] current economic policy speaks for itself here. We are currently experiencing deindustrialization in this country. Businesses are closing, businesses are leaving this country. That means reality speaks a clear language here,” he said.
Weidel also attacked Merz after his warning of “significant damage.”
“No German Chancellor has advanced the economic misery and deindustrialization of our country as much as Friedrich Merz,” she said. “His arrogant threats towards the responsible voters in Saxony-Anhalt show the political elite in Berlin is trembling.”
Zerohedge further discussed Normura’s take on the issue, which may be generally supportive of the AfD’s stance.
Andrzej Szczepaniak, senior European economist and executive director at Nomura, wrote “the seeds of political change” adding that “politics in Europe is lurching towards more populism.”
Szczepaniak said: “Five years ago, financial markets would not have seemed so at ease with such a prospect. But then again, these populist right-wing political parties were previously not as fiscally prudent as they are perceived to be today. Indeed, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni is the standard-bearer for financial markets of how a populist right-wing political party can govern: fiscally prudent enough to show investors that the party can govern responsibly while focusing heavily on social issues, including immigration and culture wars, to keep grassroots supporters happy.”
“Financial markets are much more concerned about populist left-wing parties being elected due to their desire to increase spending, often paid for through higher borrowing or higher taxes, which are likely to shut the engine off of already stuttering economies.”
VW’s leaders point to Germany’s high costs
While VW plans for plant closures have not been finalized, they are a sign of general industrial trends across Germany.
VW CEO Oliver Blume, at works council meetings in Emden, said that labor costs at Emden are more than twice those at comparable European plants. He noted that factory costs at other group plants are “clearly cheaper.”
“That is not an accusation, it is the reality we have to be measured against,” he said.
He added that cost cutting “is not enough to stay competitive long-term in a world of such massive change.”
On Aug. 31, CFO Arno Antlitz in Hanover said, according to Reuters, that: “We build good cars but earn too little because our costs are too high.”
“Because of the large cost differences versus other European plants, we currently have no economically viable follow-on production for four German sites once current products run out in the early 2030s,” he warned.
Companies across Germany have either cut production or closed plants entirely, with VW now one of the most high-profile corporate giants eyeing taking the same action.
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