Dec. 8, 2016, Vol. 58, No. 48

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Dec. 8, 2016, Vol. 58, No. 48 CUBA Y FIDEL 11 y 12 Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 58, No. 48 Dec. 8, 2016 $1 The death of Fidel Castro Ruz on Nov. 25 shook the world. The great revolu- tionary¡ leader notFIDEL! only guided, but as- sisted the world’s poorest peoples and those fighting for national liberation and socialism, whether in Cuba, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, elsewhere in Latin America and the Caribbean or here in the United States. Fidel was the “Maximum Leader” of the Cuban Revolution, acknowledged as such by all who fought to topple the brutal Fulgencio Batista dictatorship and liberate Cuba from U.S. domina- tion and imperialist exploitation. He was the leader of first a student move- ment, then a guerrilla band and final- ly an army of revolutionaries. These fighters all had tremendous abilities. Among them were Celia Sanchez, Vil- ma Espin, Juan Almeida, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, Frank Pais, Raul Castro and many others. Fidel was the leader among all these heroic leaders, as well as in the eyes of millions of oppressed and downtrod- den Cubans, struggling in the cities and starving in the countryside. He carried out their will. The population was ready for revolution, and Fidel and his collaborators won the people’s con- fidence with their tremendous courage, integrity and resolve. FIDEL, ¡presente! 5-9 Much of this issue of Workers World is devoted to honoring Fidel’s revolu- •A visit with Fidel •Cubans in Harlem •Time to end the blockade tionary life and legacy. In these pages, writers contribute their recollections, •Upholding revolutionary theory •Kaepernick defends Cuban gains tell what Fidel and socialist Cuba have Declaring socialism Cuba aids African liberation meant to them and to the world, and • • take a glimpse at Cuba today. •LGBTQ strides and struggle •U.S. activists meet on Cuba solidarity We’ll start off here with the message Workers World Party sent to Comrade Raul Castro and the Cuban people. WWP was founded in 1959 — the same Workers World Party salutes Cuban leader year as the victory of the Cuban Rev- To Comrade Raúl Castro speech to Batista’s court, “History Will Absolve Me” — olution — and has organized solidarity Central Committee inflamed young fighters for justice in Cuba and all over with Cuba ever since. Communist Party of Cuba the world, from Latin America and the Caribbean to Af- Havana, Cuba rica, Asia, Middle East and the U.S. itself. He armed the Cuban people with internationalism, Subscribe to Workers World Dear Comrades: solidarity, unity and an iron will to defend their inde- Our hearts go out to the Cuban people and all those pendence and sovereignty. So when Africa called, Cuba 4 weeks trial $4 1 year subscription $30 who loved Fidel Castro. He changed history in a thou- answered and helped defeat the scourge of apartheid. Sign me up for the WWP Supporter Program: sand different ways, all to benefit the many millions who Fidel stormed the fortresses of the brutal servants of workers.org/articles/donate/supporters_/ have suffered starvation and abuse under colonialism the empire at a time in history when U.S. imperialism and imperialism. was riding high. The plutocrats were outraged when he Name His enormous confidence in the struggling masses offered new hope for a socialist future just as they were and their ultimate victory — expressed in his heroic gloating over the anticipated victory of capitalism in the Email ______________________________Phone __________ Continued on page 5 Street _________________City / State / Zip_________ Workers World 212.627.2994 3 10 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl, NY, NY 10011 workers.org STANDING ROCK FIGHTING TRUMP Page 2 Dec. 8, 2016 workers.org March on ICE Pennsylvanians resists WW PHOTO: JOE PIETTE anti-immigrant attacks Alma Brigido speaking in front of ICE. In the U.S. By Joe Piette Pennsylvanians resists anti-immigrant attacks 2 Philadelphia Standing Rock supporters crash ‘Thanksgiving’ parade 3 criminally prosecute Martín for “re-entry after deporta- A march Nov. 21 on the Philadelphia office of Immigra- tion,” for having repeatedly tried to cross the U.S.-Mexi- Oceti Sakowin defy U.S. Army Corps threats 3 Indigenous Day of Mourning 3 tion and Customs Enforcement demanded a halt to de- can border to be with his spouse and children. portation proceedings for Pittsburgh construction work- Esquivel’s family and supporters have led a campaign ‘No mall on Ohlone sacred site!’ 3 er Martín Esquivel-Hernández. The demonstration by to keep the Esquivel-Hernández family together since On the picket line 4 family members and supporters represented a growing late spring, most recently holding a march with faith and ‘You have no rights’ 4 movement of activists in Pennsylvania and other states labor leaders on Nov. 15 in downtown Pittsburgh. After Chicago protesters: ‘Stop racist cops!’ 8 willing to march in the streets, provide sanctuary and submitting a formal request for prosecutorial discretion, Thousands march in Seattle against racism 8 carry out civil disobedience even before President-elect the Esquivel-Hernández family and community support- Chicago: Youth light up Cuba meeting 9 Donald Trump takes office. ers traveled to Philadelphia to urge Thomas Decker, ICE From Virginia to Wisconsin: Broad front against Trump 10 Trump has promised to deport up to 11 million migrant Enforcement and Removal Operations field office direc- Oligarch to head (mis) education department 10 workers and their families, build a wall on the U.S.-Mexi- tor, to withdraw the case against Esquivel-Hernández. can border and cut funding for cities that refuse to coop- Around the world erate with ICE. Movement against deportations Chilean women march for rights 9 Esquivel-Hernández was an activist in the Latino Par- Before marching, the Pittsburgh activists joined Phil- Editorial ents Council, in the A+ Schools Community Alliance for adelphia immigrant rights activists at the Arch Street Reaction breeds resistance 10 Public Education, and a facilitator, along with his spouse United Methodist Church in Center City, where Javi- Alma Brigido, for the recently completed Latino Needs er Flores, his spouse and three children have received Remembering a revolutionary Assessment Project to examine the challenges confront- sanctuary since Nov. 13. Flores is a 40-year-old native ¡FIDEL! 1 ing Latinx families in Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County. of Mexico City who came to North Philadelphia without Workers World Party salutes Cuban leader 1 Racially profiled in a traffic stop in the affluent sub- papers in 1997 and started a family. Since then, he has Meeting with Fidel 5 urban town of Mount Lebanon, Esquivel-Hernández was been deported and re-entered the U.S. several times, has 1960: Harlem welcomed Cubans 5 cited by police on March 26 for driving without a valid endured 15 months in jail and was once again targeted to Upholding Marxism-Leninism 5 license and without insurance. Currently, 12 states and be deported on Nov. 14. Kaepernick defends Cuba’s gains 6 the District of Columbia allow undocumented residents Black lettering on a twenty-foot-long orange banner ‘Under the noses of the imperialists’ 6 to receive a driver’s license. Lucha Pro Licencias PA and at the front of the march read, “Devuélvenos Martín,” Fidel’s legacy and African liberation 7 other groups have been fighting for seven years to make “Bring Martin Home,” “#NiUnaMas,” and “Sign the peti- Cuba’s LGBT Revolution 8 Pennsylvania the 14th such area. tion at KeeptheEsquivelFamilyTogether.com.” At the end Fidel on the U.S. blockade of Cuba 9 Esquivel-Hernández paid his fine on April 21, and ac- of the march, in front of the ICE offices, Alma Brigido cording to U.S. District Court case records, he was iden- said, “These injustices are happening all over the United Noticias en Español tified as undocumented on April 25. On May 1, he and States to many families. ... This has got to stop.” Mensaje del Partido Workers World- Mundo Obrero his family marched in an immigrants’ rights rally from Since the election of Trump on Nov. 8, thousands of al Partido Comunista de Cuba 12 Beechview to Brookline. He and his young daughters held students, professors, alumni and others at U.S. universi- El legado de Fidel y la liberación africana 12 a sign that read: “Not one more deportation.” ties have signed petitions asking their schools to protect Gracias, Fidel 12 The next morning, at 6 a.m., ICE officers took Esquiv- undocumented students from deportation. Mensaje de condolencias de la Red de Mujeres el-Hernández from his Pittsburgh home. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are both sanctuary cities. en Lucha del Centro de Acción Internacional 12 Even though Esquivel-Hernández didn’t meet the They are two out of 300 cities from Seattle to Portland, agency’s established criteria for detaining and deporting Maine, where policies have been enacted to refuse to co- Workers World undocumented residents, such as being a threat to public operate with immigration officials or persecute or track 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. safety or national security, ICE continues to hold him in a undocumented migrants. New York, N.Y. 10011 for-profit prison in Youngstown, Ohio. The New Sanctuary Movement in Philadelphia has Phone: 212.627.2994 Martín’s alleged crime is not that he is in the U.S. with- recruited over 750 people to join their Sanctuary in the out authorization (being undocumented is not a crime). Streets campaign, with the intention of disrupting ICE E-mail: [email protected] Rather, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton has decided to raids and supporting the families being targeted. Web: www.workers.org Vol. 58, No.
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