• MIGRACIÓN CUBANA • OSCAR LÓPEZ RIVERA 12

San Francisco Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite! workers.org Vol. 59, No. 4 Jan. 26, 2017 $1 ‘Resist Trump’ goes global Millions join women’s marches

By Monica Moorehead It is estimated that more than 4 million people, the have so many people come out in the streets on the same vast majority of them women, participated in women’s day in solidarity and resistance — this time with wom- Consider these astounding numbers: 750,000 in Los marches in more than 500 U.S. cities. They also protest- en’s rights the major focus. Due to the sheer numerical Angeles; 500,000 in Washington, D.C.; 500,000 in New ed in more than 100 cities outside the U.S. — on every magnitude of these demonstrations, the J21 marches York City; 250,000 in ; 150,000 in San Francis- continent, including Antarctica. These estimated num- could not be ignored by the mainstream media or the co; 150,000 in Boston; 150,000 in ; 100,000 in bers were compiled by Jeremy Pressman (@djpressman) incoming Trump administration. Oakland; 100,000 in . These numbers represent at the University of Connecticut and Erica Chenoweth (@ What started out as a modest call for a Jan. 21 march some of the largest demonstrations that took place on ericachenoweth) at the University of Denver based on nu- against Trump by one Hawai’i-based woman on Face- Jan. 21, ignited by the inauguration of the racist, mi- merous media reports, including and Twitter. book, on the night of the Nov. 8 presidential election, sogynistic, xenophobic as the 45th U.S. Not since the massive global protests on the weekend exploded into an earth-shattering phenomenon. Social president. of Feb. 15-16, 2003, right before the U.S. war on Iraq, media was used once again as the catalyst to catapult Continued on page 8

Atlanta Ketchikan, Alaska

Bogota, Colombia Bangkok, Thailand

UPPER LEFT PHOTO: CRIS HILO; PHOTO: STEVE EBERHARDT; LOWER LEFT WW PHOTO: SHELLEY ETTINGER; WWPHOTO: TERESA GUTIERREZ

New York City Nairobi, Kenya Repression fuels resistance in DC

By Taryn Fivek repress anti-Trump activists. chanting slogans and joining others for hot coffee and Washington, D.C. Despite that, Jan. 20 was a day of determined fight- breakfast. Then North Carolina comrades arrived, their back, beginning with the J20 Resist rally at Anti-Co- chants raising the energy of the crowd to an even more Jan. 23 — The last of the Workers World delegation lumbus Circle, which generated a mood of revolution- spirited level. By the time the rally ended at 11 a.m., left Washington, D.C., today with people affiliated with ary optimism that continued throughout the day. The thousands of militant socialists had gathered to march. Shut It Down NYC. Three of them were among the more Boston School Bus Drivers Union, United Steelworkers The J20 Resist crowd, 2,500 strong, streamed out than 200 who had been kidnapped, tortured, detained Local 8751, arrived in formation before the sun was up, Continued on page 6 and slapped with trumped-up charges after protesting the official coronation of the newest defender of the MORE J20/J21 COVERAGE 5-8 ruling class on Jan. 20. The state, in its eager effort to stamp out any spark of resistance to President Donald FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS 2, 10 Trump’s racism and sexism, was swift in its attempts to BECOMING A REVOLUTIONARY 10 Subscribe to Workers World SOUTH KOREA crisis continues 11 4 weeks trial $4 1 year subscription $30 POTUS SPEECH simple but dangerous 7 Sign me up for the WWP Supporter Program: workers.org/articles/donate/supporters_/ , Wis. Name ______

Email______Phone ______Actions honor MLK legacy 3

Street______City / State / Zip______PHOTO: SUE RUGGLES Workers World 212.627.2994 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl, NY, NY 10011 workers.org Roanoke, Va. Page 2 Jan. 26, 2017 workers.org Chelsea Manning wins release

By Chris Fry lected, calling on President Obama to commute Man- ning’s draconian sentence and release her. Over the strenuous objections of Pentagon chief Ash Faced with oppression so intense that she twice tried to Carter, President Obama commuted the 35-year sen- commit suicide, last summer Manning conducted a high-  In the U.S. tence of Chelsea Manning. She is now slated for release ly publicized hunger strike. Although her jailers punished Millions join women’s marches ...... 1 in May. Manning, who announced the day after she was her for that by putting her in solitary confinement, she Repression fuels resistance in DC ...... 1 sentenced by a military court that she is transgender, has won key demands for hormone treatments and permis- spent the last seven years in a Marine stockade and fed- sion to wear some makeup and female undergarments. Chelsea Manning wins release ...... 2 eral male prison. Manning has reported that she has not been harassed Clemency denied for Peltier ‘but we will keep fighting’ . . 2 Manning was a U.S. Marine intelligence analyst in Iraq. by fellow inmates at the Fort Leavenworth federal men’s Greensboro city workers form union ...... 3 She turned over some 750,000 military files, diplomatic prison. “I have friends,” she said. MLK Day in militant motion ...... 3 cables and videos to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. Manning and her determined supporters had to over- One video showed helicopter crews laughing as they ma- come intense opposition from the imperialist establish- Wealth more concentrated as poverty grows ...... 4 chine gunned several civilians in Baghdad in 2007, includ- ment, the military brass and the same intelligence agen- Coast to coast resistance to Trump ...... 5 ing two Reuters news reporters holding cameras. cies that conducted the tortures that she exposed. House J21 a ‘call to action’ ...... 6 Additional files revealed that the Pentagon counted Speaker Paul Ryan called Manning’s commutation “out- Women march against sexism, racism & Trump ...... 6 thousands more of its civilian victims than it had revealed rageous.” Trump’s pick for deputy national security di- to the U.S. public. Still others showed that the military rector, K.T. McFarland, called for Manning to be tried for Trump’s inaugural speech ...... 7 knew that there was no justification for detaining prison- treason and executed. (talkingpointsmemo.com, Jan. 18) Bay Area: 120 hours of direct action vs. Trump ...... 7 ers at Guantánamo and that the detainees had nothing to With Donald Trump and many of his advisors open- How do people become revolutionaries? ...... 10 do with the 9/11 attacks. Manning revealed pressure by ly advocating attacks on civilians, torture and other war Washington on other countries to maintain the infamous crimes, Chelsea Manning’s hard-won release is an im-  Around the world “rendition” torture chambers scattered around the globe. portant victory. It means that these hard-core right-wing- Palestinians protest Trump threat to move U.S. Embassy Since Chelsea Manning was arrested in 2010, she has ers, despite all their forces of repression, will face expo- to Jerusalem ...... 8 been supported by many progressive organizations as sure of their crimes by brave heroes like Chelsea Manning Why is the U.S. attacking Venezuela? ...... 9 well as the LGBTQ community. In the last few months, and, sooner than they think, will face the judgment of the more than 117,000 online petition signatures were col- workers and oppressed here and across the planet. Honduras, migrants and Trump ...... 9 Finally, a pledge to release Oscar López Rivera ...... 10 Political turmoil deepens in so. Korea ...... 11 Peltier clemency denied ‘but we will keep fighting’  Noticias en Español Al fin, promesa de liberación de Oscar López ...... 12 The following email from the International Leonard mistake — Leonard has been hit hardest of all. Migración cubana y política bélica estadounidense . . .12 Peltier Defense Committee was issued on Jan. 18. But let’s not mourn so very long. Instead, let’s move Brothers, sisters, friends and supporters: ever forward. Channel your grief and anger in a positive Our hearts are heavy today. President Obama has de- way. Remember that Leonard still needs our help. He nied Leonard’s application for a commutation. His name needs quality health care and a transfer to a medium-se- appears on the Jan. 18 list of commutations denied by curity facility, among other things. We’ll always work to- Obama as issued by the Office of the Pardon Attorney. wards freedom for Leonard, but these actions may help Leonard’s attorney, Martin Garbus, was also notified. to make his life more bearable until freedom is won. Today, in an email, Leonard wrote: “If I should not [re- Now, we urge you to write to Leonard and help to keep ceive clemency] then after we are locked in for the day his spirits up. Tell him you won’t give up, that you’ll walk I will have a good cry and then pick myself up and get the rest of the way with him. Send cards and letters to: Workers World myself ready for another round of battles until I cannot Leonard Peltier #89637-132, USP Coleman I 147 W. 24th St., 2nd Fl. fight [any] more. So, don’t worry. I can handle anything P.O. Box 1033, Coleman, FL 33521 , NY 10011 after over 40 years.” Thank you for your hard work and determination. Phone: 212.627.2994 It’s hard to bear such a blow, though. And make no Blessings to all of you. Please stay tuned. E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.workers.org Vol. 59, No. 4 • Jan. 26, 2017 Closing date: Jan. 24, 2017 Editor: Deirdre Griswold Managing Editors: John Catalinotto, LeiLani Dowell, Who we are & what we’re fighting for Kris Hamel, Monica Moorehead, Minnie Bruce Pratt; Web Editor Gary Wilson Hate capitalism? Workers World Party fights for a ­degrading people because of their nationality, sexual or Production & Design Editors: Coordinator Lal Roohk; ­socialist society — where the wealth is socially owned gender identity or disabilities — all are tools the ruling Andy Katz, Cheryl LaBash and production is planned to satisfy human need. This class uses to keep us apart. They ruthlessly super-ex- Copyediting and Proofreading: Sue Davis, ploit some in order to better exploit us all. WWP builds outmoded capitalist system is dragging down workers’ Bob McCubbin living standards while throwing millions out of their unity among all workers while supporting the right jobs. If you’re young, you know they’re stealing your of self-determination. Fighting oppression is a work- Contributing Editors: Abayomi Azikiwe, future. And capitalism is threatening the entire planet ing-class issue, which is confirmed by the many labor Greg Butterfield, G. Dunkel, K. Durkin, Fred Goldstein, Martha Grevatt, Teresa Gutierrez, with its unplanned, profit-driven stranglehold over the struggles led today by people of color, immigrants and Berta Joubert-Ceci, Terri Kay, Cheryl LaBash, women. means of production. Milt Neidenberg, John Parker, Bryan G. Pfeifer, Workers built it all — it belongs to society, not to a WWP has a long history of militant opposition to im- Betsey Piette, Gloria Rubac handful of billionaires! But we need a revolution to perialist wars. The billionaire rulers are bent on turning make that change. That’s why for 59 years WWP has back the clock to the bad old days before socialist revolu- Mundo Obero: Redactora Berta Joubert-Ceci; Ramiro Fúnez, Teresa Gutierrez, Donna Lazarus, been building a revolutionary party of the working tions and national liberation struggles liberated territory Carlos Vargas class inside the belly of the beast. from their grip. We’ve been in the streets to oppose every We fight every kind of oppression. Racism, sexism, one of imperialism’s wars and aggressions. Supporter Program: Coordinator Sue Davis Copyright © 2017 Workers World. Verbatim copying Contact a Workers World Party branch near you: workers.org/wwp and distribution of articles is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. National Office Boston Denver Lexington, Ky. Rochester, N.Y. 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By Dante Strobino wage worker has seen the first step in the lic housing project in the implementation of this wage increase. Black community, and on City workers in Greensboro, N.C., Adele Holland, who is an afterschool Black workers at the Cone turned the tides of history when they counselor in the Parks and Recreation textile mill plant. packed a City Council meeting on Jan. 17. Department, has been making $8.33 an Even though the massa- They asserted their formation of a union hour, along with a few hundred of her cre was captured by a news and requested regular meetings with the co-workers who are supposed to benefit camera, not a single one city manager and department heads. from the wage increase. She has been of the KKK members was North Carolina is the second-least organizing workers in her department to ever convicted or served unionized state in the country, with less join the union and told her story to the a prison sentence. It was than 2 percent of all workers unionized City Council on Jan. 17. later documented that the and a Jim-Crow-era ban on collective The union campaign proves that or- Greensboro Police Depart- bargaining for public sector workers (the dinances and progressive public policy ment and federal Bureau of state takes turns with South Carolina in changes mean very little if the people Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms being the least unionized). they protect are not organized to defend and Explosives officials Yet Greensboro city workers and work- and enforce them. collaborated closely with ers across the state have been organizing After the action, the city manager’s the KKK. in a pre-majority union and asserting office pledged to raise the floor wages by Members of UE 150’s their rights while building a statewide Feb. 1. statewide executive board PHOTO: JUAN MIRANDA movement and the North Carolina Public Charles French, a sanitation work- were amongst the survi- Greensboro city workers pack the city council on Jan. 17 in support of their newly formed union and for raising wages Service Workers Union, Electrical Work- er and newly elected president of the vors and those that or- to $15 per hour now. ers (UE) Local 150, to push back against Greensboro City Workers Union chapter ganized support after the right-wing tide. of UE 150, said it best when he spoke in the massacre. Charles French, the new Greensboro is where, on Feb. 1, 1960, front of the City Council meeting: “We Greensboro chapter president, was then with their co-workers and organize a four Black college students from the feel we are vital to a healthy and pros- a youth who lived at Morningside Heights union, rather than kissing the boss’s ass North Carolina Agricultural and Tech- perous city. Our work to keep the streets and witnessed the 1979 tragedy. In many and snitching on their union co-workers. nical State University sat in at a Wool- clean, to keep the water running, to re- ways, the union was born out of this A similar perspective on the great- worth’s department store to protest racial pair broken roads and sidewalks, to run atrocity. er political interest will need to be ex- segregation. Their action helped to pro- the public library system, to maintain the Yet, decades later, much of the racial plained to all white workers and all work- pel a national movement. parks, to watch after children in summer tension and wounds from the massacre ing people in the coming years as we fight At one point in time, city workers were camps and afterschool programs are crit- are reflected deep inside the city and its to expose the lies of the Donald Trump denied the right to organize. But in 1968, ically needed by all residents in our city.” workforce. administration. Trump represents the in- a sanitation workers’ strike in Memphis, French continued: “Yet our needs, Only by a concerted community-labor terests of the owning elite, 1% billionaire Tenn., rocked the world and garnered the perspectives and voices are far too often campaign will this history ever be turned class, and not those of anyone else. support of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — overlooked. Over the past few months, around. The Rev. Nelson Johnson, Joyce When the KKK attempted to organize who was assassinated while in Memphis we have united to become a strong voice Johnson and the Beloved Community a parade this past Dec. 3, 2016, to cele- for the struggle. about a range of issues impacting city Center have been at the center of this brate Trump’s electoral victory, more Building on the strike’s momentum, workers. Some concerns [include] rising struggle for the last few decades, includ- than 2,000 people protested in down- city workers in North Carolina began cost of living without real raises; lack of ing many bitter fights against the racist, town Raleigh, organized by the Triangle organizing for their basic constitutional basic workplace protections; workplace brutal police. Rev. Johnson spoke in fa- Unity May Day Coalition. A large group rights to freedom of association and the harassment and discrimination; overuse vor of the workers organizing a union at also traveled to Pelham, N.C., and then freedom to petition their government. of temporary and seasonal (‘roster’) em- the City Council meeting. chased the KKK to Danville, Va. There, They won a U.S. District Court of North ployees; lack of proper numbers of staff When workers began organizing the they marched and outnumbered the Carolina ruling in 1969 that clarified city in our departments; and more.” union, they understood that organizing KKK, scaring them away from showing workers’ right to join a union. against racism and for solidarity between their faces at all. Greensboro was one of the first South- Legacy of 1979 Greensboro massacre Black and white workers was a huge pri- City workers are an important stra- ern U.S. cities to agree to raise their city Five communist union and community ority. The workers launched a concerted tegic sector in the overall fight for eco- employees’ wages to $15 per hour by activists were shot and murdered on Nov. campaign to reach out specifically to the nomic, racial and social justice, and to 2020, in a resolution passed in August 3, 1979, in the clear light of day by mem- white workers, to educate them about the challenge the racist, killer police. Work- 2015. Workers were initially told their bers of the Ku Klux Klan. Several oth- benefits of joining the union. They sought ers are continuing to build a statewide wages would be raised to $10 per hour in ers were injured. The organizing, which to break down the bosses’ lies that it was movement in North Carolina which will late 2015. Yet — as of this writing, nearly had a clearly anti-racist orientation, was only “a Black union.” They stressed that lift up all oppressed and working people. a year and a half later — not a single low- focused on Morningside Heights, a pub- it was in white workers’ interest to unite Organize the South! MLK Day in militant motion

By Minnie Bruce Pratt People’s Power Assembly and Why Ac- Black working class. countability reclaimed the radical lega- Chants included: “We’re tired of dying Fierce determination marked this cy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 16. and being gentrified! We’re doing this for year’s Martin Luther King Day actions. Their march was an extension of #Peo- Renisha McBride!” as well as “Black lives Those who rallied during the Jan. 14-16 plesMonday, a series of militant street matter! Brown lives matter! Blue’s a job! weekend pledged a return to the radical marches organized by NYC Shut It Down That shit don’t matter!” New York legacy of the Civil Rights leader whom every Monday for the past two years. Police responded to the march aggres- WW PHOTO: ANNE PRUDEN the day commemorates. They were gal- Each march tells the story of a person of sively, shoving people out of the streets sio, who rejected an affordable housing vanized by the right-wing, racist, sex- color murdered by police or vigilantes. and arresting two people. These two were plan by the Chinatown Working Group, ist, anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ and an- The Monday of MLK Day focused on later released with minor charges into a step down. Members of these oppressed ti-poor-people agenda of Donald Trump Renisha McBride, a 19-year-old Black large crowd of cheering supporters. Com- neighborhoods made calls — like Dr. and his billionaire bullies. Gatherings woman murdered in a white suburb of munity response to the march was over- King — to “reclaim our social justice leg- ranged from big cities on the East and Detroit while looking for assistance after whelmingly positive. acy.” West coasts to small towns in the South. a car accident. Support for Dr. Martin Luther King’s Increasingly, rallies like these are put- Labor activists united with community The action also drew attention to the vision was also held in three languages ting the capitalist private property sys- organizers, as anti-racist soccer teams ongoing gentrification of central Harlem. at a large City Hall protest called by the tem on notice. For more information, and knitting groups marched side by Since 2000, the white population of Har- Citywide Alliance Against Displacement contact [email protected]. side. Fight for $15 signs calling for the lem has increased more than seven times, on Jan. 16. The event was led by the most- The Anti Police-Terror Project of right to unionize and a higher minimum while the Black population has declined ly working-class families who attended Oakland, Calif., held its third annual wage were held up together with LGBTQ by more than a third. Marchers paused from Chinatown, the Lower East Side March to Reclaim King’s Radical Lega- rainbow flags. There was dancing, direct in front of Corner Social, a gentrifying and the South Bronx. cy on Jan. 16. The march kicked off 120 action, civil disobedience, and continuing restaurant whose staff assaulted #Peo- The rally’s goals included honoring hours of direct action leading up to Jan. defiance of state police terror and police plesMonday protesters two weeks ago. Dr. King, unity against gentrification, 20 Counter-Inaugural, anti-Trump pro- brutality. The dedicated, creative, angry Statements made by the owner justifying fighting privatization of public housing tests. Organizers emphasized: “This year and inspired leadership of young Black the attack were read aloud and refuted and ending racist rezoning. Sellout pol- we are focused on immigrant rights, pro- and Brown people was present every- with quotes from Martin Luther King. iticians were exposed for their plans to tection of our Muslim brothers and sis- where, fighting for survival and self-de- Community pressure has forced Corner benefit luxury developers, when afford- ters, women’s reproductive rights, loving termination and reclaiming King’s Day. Social to remove its racist dress code, a able housing is needed everywhere. De- our LGBTQ sisters, brothers and siblings, In , NYC Shut It Down, deliberate attempt to exclude Harlem’s mands were made that Mayor Bill de Bla- Continued on page 4 Page 4 Jan. 26, 2017 workers.org

Wealth more concentrated as poverty grows

By Kathy Durkin ed, “It probably means more redistribu- U.S. residents. Topping the list is Bill or access to health care taken up. tion.” After her comment, the topic was Gates, founder of Microsoft, a company Nobel-Prize-winning economist Jo- While 3,000 of the world’s wealthiest dropped. (weforum.org/agenda) That is found guilty of violating antitrust laws. seph Stiglitz explained that allowing people wined and dined on champagne not a popular idea among billionaires. Gates established Cascade Investments more bargaining rights to workers is and caviar in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. LLC; think-tank bgC3; Corbis, a digital “where Davos man is going to get stuck. 17-20, 9 percent of the world’s people Eight richest men worth $426 billion image licensing company; and TerraPow- … Globalization has reduced the bargain- went to bed hungry. Actually, a report prepared to coincide er, a nuclear reactor designer. Oxfam’s list ing power of workers, and corporations These millionaires, economists and with the Davos conference by Oxfam, includes corporate founders and CEOs have taken advantage of it.” In Davos, he government leaders met at the World a British-based charity, asserted that Bezos, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Ha- did not hear discussion of how to change Economic Forum, as they do annually, in eight men now own the same amount of thaway, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, globalization to address inequality, with pursuit of international trade agreements wealth as the 3.6 billion people who form Larry Ellison of Oracle, and financial and measures like transferring wealth and and other measures which will provide the poorest half of the earth’s population. news mogul Michael Bloomberg. power to workers, more union bargaining wider markets and lead to higher profits Through evading taxes, driving down The richest 1% has owned more wealth rights and labor protections. (New York for their countries’ companies. This year wages, fighting unionization, influencing than the rest of the planet’s population Times, Jan. 18) they’re worried. A major topic of discus- elections and pressuring governments to since 2015, says Oxfam. They benefit- Will corporate moguls act on humani- sion was the future of corporate globaliza- gain pro-business policies, the super rich ted from the “jobless” recovery after the tarian appeals to share their wealth, to be tion, which is endangered, as fury grows are amassing enormous wealth at an in- global economic crisis, garnering big generous to workers at home or abroad? worldwide over rising income inequality. credible rate — faster than ever. profits, while U.S. and other workers lost No. That and social polarization were viewed Who are these eight billionaires? To- ground. Despite reactionary economists’ Human labor creates the capitalists’ as risks to the world capitalist economy gether they are worth $426 billion, equal pronouncements, no profits “trickled wealth; workers are paid a mere fraction of which could stymie globalization. to the wealth of half the planet’s popu- down” to the workers and communities the value they create. That is the basis of The masses of people know that the lation, said the Jan. 15 Guardian news- here or abroad. all profits; it is intrinsic to the system. Cor- super rich are getting richer and that paper. Three years ago, Workers World Examining the impact of corporate porations search the globe looking for the they — the workers and oppressed people newspaper reported that 85 billionaires globalization shows that the vast major- cheapest labor. They suppress labor strug- whose labor creates the wealth — are get- owned that percentage of wealth. But ity of the world’s poorest 50 percent work gles for higher wages, sometimes brutally. ting poorer. The WEF said that median due to acquisitions, mergers, expan- very hard to get by. One in 10 people (720 Capitalists are not interested in raising income had fallen 2.4 percent from 2008 sions and lucrative investments, wealth million), mostly women, struggle to sur- wages or sharing or redistributing their to 2013 in 26 industrialized countries. In has become more concentrated in fewer vive on less than $2 a day. The increasing wealth. Not only are they greedy, but they Europe and the United States, some of hands. Monopolies develop and prosper wealth concentrated in the hands of a few are spurred on to expand their business- that anger is terribly misdirected at im- as their competitors are pushed aside, of- is not being shared with poorer countries es and buy up or merge with other com- migrants and other oppressed people — ten shrinking their businesses or closing or their inhabitants. There has been no panies — or they will be pushed out by who are just trying to survive — instead of — with their workforce seeing hours or “recovery” for them. bigger corporations, by monopolies. at the obscenely wealthy capitalist class. jobs disappear. Companies must expand To live under a kinder, fairer economic In fact, the “global elite” are so con- or die. Can capitalism be reformed? system requires that we — workers and cerned at growing international anger at Take online bookseller Amazon, owned Panels in Davos discussed whether oppressed people, immigrants, students financial inequities that an article includ- by Jeff Bezos, purchaser of the Washing- capitalism could be reformed. If so, what and our allies — fight to get rid of heinous, ed in the Forum’s agenda was entitled “Da- ton Post. Now the mail-order conglom- are the best ways, and how could global- inequitable and exploitative capitalism, vos leaders agree: Share the wealth or face erate sells everything, even cookies from ization be improved to help the masses? based on private ownership of industry the consequences.” Christine Lagarde, Australia. His company’s practices have Some crucial questions were not even and the profit motive. We must estab- head of the imperialist-run International forced independent bookstores to close, addressed: Could workers be paid more? lish socialism, with collective ownership, Monetary Fund, asked, “When you have and pose a threat to other brick-and- Can their bargaining power be strength- equal sharing of resources and true hu- a real crisis, what kind of measures do we mortar stores. ened? Can the super rich redistribute manitarianism — and with equality, mu- take to reduce inequality?” She conclud- Six of the most affluent eight men are their wealth? Nor were education costs tual respect and opportunities for all.

MLK Day in militant motion

Continued from page 3 Magazine, the Trans Gender-Variant and rally in . Speakers and Other groups in attendance were Stu- and Intersex Justice Project, Black Lives marchers from dozens of labor, commu- dents for a Democratic Society at Mar- Oakland, Calif. Matter Bay Area, BYP100, Ras Ceylon, nity and student organizations empha- shall University; Ohio Valley Environ- Youth Together and the National Lawyers sized the importance of staying active mental Coalition; Marshall University Guild. Performers included Alia Shariff, throughout the year against the incoming Native American Students Association; Kev Choice and Young Gifted and Black. Trump regime. Several speakers strongly Workers World Party; Alpha Kappa condemned the building of a new youth Alpha — the first sorority founded by jail in the Black community. Marchers African-American women, at Howard San Diego chanted “Black Lives Matter!” against University in 1908; and the Appalachian police brutality and said, “Refugees are Workers Alliance. WW PHOTO: BOB MCCUBBIN welcome here!” Some marchers from the communi- WW PHOTO: TERRI KAY ty came with shirts reading “Hands Up and the defense of Black life.” Don’t Shoot” and “I Can’t Breathe,” and Thousands of people rallied at Oscar with homemade signs reading “Black Grant Plaza in downtown Oakland. The Lives Matter.” rally, emceed by Cat Brooks, began with “Remembering Dr. King and every- Aztec dancers, in recognition that peo- thing he’s done, and his dream lives on ple were gathered on Ohlone territory. today and there is still a lot more work we Speakers included Tur-ha Ak, Commu- In San Diego the “official” Dr. Martin can do in his name,” marcher Malcolm nity Ready Core; George Galvis, Com- Luther King Jr. Day parade has, over the Walton told WCHS News. (Jan. 16) munities United for Restorative Justice; years, grown more and more political- Contributing to this article were Terri Equito, Frisco 5; and Clarence Thomas, ly conservative and attracted more and Houston Kay, Bob McCubbin, Jim McMahan, Na- former secretary-treasurer of Interna- more police, border patrol and military WW PHOTO: GLORIA RUBAC thaniel Peters, Anne Pruden and the WW tional Longshore and Warehouse Union contingents. In Houston, Brown Berets and orig- West Virginia bureau. Local 10. This year, in response, San Diego ac- inal Black Panthers marched with the A large contingent of youth marched tivists and unionists called for a truly Texas Death Penalty Abolition Move- in and, together with people of color, led grassroots peoples’ gathering and rally ment on Jan. 16. Youth from the SHAPE the march, which went several miles, to honor the great Civil Rights leader in Community Center got the crowds on up Telegraph Road across 27th Street to the spirit of his struggle-oriented life. On sidewalks involved as they led the chants. Grand, ending at Lake Merritt, where an- Jan. 16, they marched in labor-communi- Around 200 marchers gathered out- other rally was held. ty solidarity though the city’s downtown. side of the 16th Street Baptist Church People were asked to bring drums and Then they rallied together at the city’s in Huntington, W.Va., to celebrate grills there, in response to the harass- Civic Center, affirming that a powerful Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. ment of Black drummers and barbequers fightback against racism, police brutality, 16. The march, which ended at the Joan at the lake by white gentrifiers, complain- homelessness, militarism and the Trump C. Edwards Playhouse on Marshall Uni- ing about so-called noise. agenda was the top priority on the peo- versity’s campus, was sponsored by the Additional speakers included repre- ple’s agenda. Cabell-Huntington NAACP and the Mar- WW PHOTO sentatives from Third World Resistance, About 8,000 people attended the 35th shall University Department of Intercul- Asians for Black Lives, Causa Justa, Poor annual Martin Luther King Day march tural Affairs. Huntington, W.Va. Coast to coast PHOTO: JOE CITRON workers.org Jan. 26, 2017 Page 5

Washington, D.C. resistance to Trump By Betsey Piette College and rallies at Thomas Paine Plaza en, LGBTQ, immigrants, Muslims, poor, thized as a diverse group of local organiz- and Independence Mall. A variety of or- homeless and disabled communities. ers condemned austerity, patriarchy and Tens of thousands of people, unable ganizations participated, including Phil- Members of the MILWAUKEE, WIS. white supremacy. to get to Washington, D.C., for the an- adelphia Coalition for Racial Economic Coalition Against Trump and many other Speakers encouraged resistance to ti-Trump demonstrations there, took to and Legal Justice, Temple Feminist Ma- organizations took to the streets to resist capitalism, fascism, the Trump-Pence the streets in their own cities on Jan. 20 jority and Socialist Alternative. Immi- the Trump agenda. After a militant ral- regime and offered resources to the com- as part of a national call for counterinau- grant rights groups and their supporters ly at Red Arrow Park, the multinational munity. As word spread that police were guration actions. rallied on Independence Mall, denounc- protesters, with bilingual English and arresting those with their faces covered, In NEW YORK CITY a Black, Brown ing Trump’s threats against immigrant Spanish lead banners, marched through many others covered their faces in soli- and Indigenous peoples’ mobilization communities and calling for Philadelphia downtown Milwaukee. Red Arrow Park darity. Demonstrators, including pro- against white nationalism was held in to remain a Sanctuary City. is where Dontre was murdered testers young and old and people with Harlem at the Harriet Tubman Memori- At the University of Pennsylvania, by Milwaukee cop Christopher Manney disabilities, marched miles of center city al. Rally organizers said they came out where Black students were targeted by on April 30, 2014. The Wisconsin Bail streets without a permit. Local police “to say no to racism. To say no to gentrifi- racist email threats shortly after Trump’s Out the People Movement participated in shadowed the march on bicycle, while cation. To say no to white supremacy. To election, several dozen students gathered the J20 action with their banner, reading lines of state-paid employees, in full riot say no to Donald Trump.” in the rain for a protest. “Build A United Front Against Trump.” gear, blocked intersections to redirect the The action was organized by a coalition In BLACKSBURG, VA., members of Hundreds participated in the J20 route into Old Town Portland. of activists, including Why Accountabili- numerous labor, community and student demonstration in MADISON, in which In LOS ANGELES a Unite Against Hate ty, People’s Power Assembly, NYC Shut It organizations participated in a daylong participants marched from Library Mall march and rally was organized by many Down, Jails Action Coalition, Black Lives Inaugurate Resistance event. A series of to the state Capitol. Speakers before and organizations determined to send a mes- Matter, #J20Resist Labor, Standing Rock workshops took place at the Lyric Theatre, after the march touched on topics rang- sage of defiance against Trump’s racist, an- activists and the International League of followed by a street vigil and march of ing from the wars in the Middle East, the ti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-wom- Peoples’ Struggle, among others. Children hundreds through downtown. Major or- colonial oppression at Standing Rock, an agenda. Many were also in opposition to just getting out of school were invited to ganizational support came from the Coa- workers’ rights, why Black Lives Matter the imperialist policies of U.S. wars, proxy join the march, and many did. lition For Justice and professors, staff and is essential to the struggle in Wisconsin, wars, occupations, and racist agendas Following the rally, activists marched students from Virginia Tech University. women and LGBTQ enforced by both Republican across 125th Street, stopping outside gen- Over 300 people turned out for a struggles, and the need and Democratic parties. trified shops and calling out the police for #J20RESIST rally in DURHAM, N.C., to fight back against the An anti-imperialist con- their racist tactics. From there the rally called by the Triangle Unity May Day bigoted Trump admin- tingent was organized by the proceeded to Trump International Hotel Coalition. Speakers included representa- istration every day. International League of Peo- in Columbus Circle. tives from Electrical Workers (UE) Local ples Struggles that included Dull, drizzly weather in JERSEY CITY, 150, Fight for $15, Durham in Defiance, Trump Tower target the International Action Cen- N.J., didn’t dampen the spirit and mili- Alerta Immigrante, Jail Investigation of thousands ter; Human Rights Alliance; tancy of the people who came out to a pro- Team, Duke University’s graduate stu- Around 7,000 demon­ BAYAN-USA and its member test called by the Jersey City People’s Alli- dent union and Workers World Party. strators converged on organizations; Committee in ance. They marched from Journal Square Some 500 marchers stepped off from Trump Tower in CHICAGO and marched Solidarity with the People of El Salvador; to City Hall, past Dickerson High School, Troy Davis Park (aka Woodruff Park) in through the Loop (the downtown area). Chinatown Community for Equitable where they got a very positive response. downtown ATLANTA in an unpermitted, Participants included Rasmea Odeh, a Development; and more. Speakers included Michael Kramer, of loudly defiant protest named The People’s Palestinian freedom fighter whom the Earlier in the day the Community Ser- Veterans for Peace; Matt Smith, of Food Inauguration. Initiated by organizations federal government is trying to deport on vice Organization, Black Lives Matter and & Water Watch; Narciso Castillo, of Ac- representing those most targeted by rac- trumped-up charges. other groups protested in Bel Air at the tion 21, a community organization; and ist, anti-immigrant, sexist, anti-LGBTQ In SEATTLE actions countering home of Trump’s cabinet pick for Trea- members of the Jersey City Peace Move- and Islamophobic laws and practices, the Trump’s inauguration began with stu- sury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin. Protest- ment and Anakbayan , which Georgia J20 Coalition came to include dent walkouts at a number of high schools ers were met with helicopters and police represents the large immigrant Filipino faith, community and labor groups as well. across the city. A walkout was also held by who said they had no right to protest. The community in Jersey City. The chanting, drumming crowd students at the University of Washington, cops claimed that the entire town of Bel A militant SYRACUSE, N.Y., contingent passed through downtown shopping ar- who also conducted a teach-in. Air was “private property.” However, the marched with #J20Resist in Washing- eas, went by Immigration and Customs That afternoon a “Unidos Contra protest continued, and later some of the ton, D.C. The group carried bold banners Enforcement offices and stopped briefly Trump” march, called by El Comite/May groups met up with the main march in calling on people to “Reject and Resist” at the Atlanta Detention Center, where 1st Action and Socialist Alternative, tied . racism, capitalism, sexism, ableism, hundreds of poor and working people are up traffic in the downtown area. Rallying At the concluding rally, Romeo He- “wars and walls.” Protesters also con- jailed and dozens of undocumented im- at City Centre, the crowd grew to 5,000. bron, representing BAYAN-USA, spoke demned transphobia and lockstep gender migrants await deportation. Twelve immigrant students from Foster on building a people’s movement against conformity imposed on people who have The march concluded with a rally High School described being terrorized the imperialist policies of both Demo- complexly gendered lives. on the steps of the Atlanta City Hall. A by Homeland Security and Immigra- crats and Republicans, and on being in Hundreds of protesters marched cross-section of speakers outlined 19 de- tion and Customs Enforcement. Nicole solidarity with struggles from the Philip- through downtown BUFFALO, N.Y. to mands to Mayor Kasim Reed and the City Grant, of Seattle’s Martin Luther King pines to Palestine. to struggles here in the reject Trump’s inauguration and to stand Council to enact measures that would County Labor Council, said, “Since the U.S. against poverty and repression. up against war, racism, sexism, anti-im- guarantee human rights for all who live Eastside Islamic Center got arsoned and Rebecka Jackson, a member of Work- migrant and anti-LGBTQ bigotry. Loud and work in the city. burned to the ground, labor is going to ers World Party and the International chants of “No Trump! No KKK! No racist The action was designed to serve as step up and help them rebuild!” Action Center, raised the need to be an- USA!” were met with honks from vehicles the launch of invigorated resistance to Protesters then marched six miles to ti-imperialist and anti-capitalist. She and cheers from passersby. Many plac- any attacks — whether from the Trump the University of Washington campus to stressed the importance of connecting ards and speakers raised up Black Lives administration or from state and local confront Milo Yiannopoulos, an editor of struggles and bringing together com- Matter and urged the need to organize, entities — on the rights of workers, wom- Breitbart News, who was giving a bigoted, munities of color, women, LGBTQ peo- fight back and unite in solidarity racist speech there. A protest by ple, youth and students, immigrant and actions. The action was called by other anti-racists had already kept workers’ organizations in order to build Buffalo Anti-Racism Coalition, attendance low in the hall where a progressive movement for social justice co-sponsored by the Buffalo In- he spoke. Cops had to escort him and change — and to work toward the ternational Action Center and and his audience out through an liberation of all peoples living in the U.S. joined by the #UB Sanctuary underground parking garage. and around the world. Campus Movement. Pioneer Square in PORT- Contributors included Jasen Vyvyan Chanting “Not my president,” LAND, ORE., was overflowing Balmat, Sage Collins, Garrett Dicembre, hundreds of protesters took to with upwards of 30,000 demon- G. Dunkel, Dianne Mathiowetz, Jim the streets of Philadelphia in strators, who rallied in defiance McMahan, John Parker, Minnie Bruce several actions that included of the Trump inauguration. The Pratt, Faiquan Sells, Jeff Sorel, Johnnie student marches from Temple crowd cheered, jeered and empa- Stevens, Dante Strobino and the Work- JERSEY CITY, N.J. University and the Community WW PHOTOS: LEFT, G. DUNKEL; ABOVE JOE PIETTE ers World Wisconsin Bureau. Page 6 Jan. 26, 2017 workers.org

WWP organizer:

Throughout the crowd, signs could be further by connecting women’s liberation spotted demanding access to full repro- to the entire class struggle — recognizing J21 a ‘call to action’ ductive health care, an end to attacks on there can be no socialism without gender LGBTQ people and an end to the police liberation or national liberation. L.T. Pham is a member of and organizer with Workers World Party violence and brutality impacting Black There were many concerns before Jan. who participated in the D.C. women’s rally on Jan. 21. Their observations and Brown people across the U.S. 21 about the orientation of the march, but should be relevant to many. J21 was not just a call to action for we must continue showing up where the By L.T. Pham women and other oppressed people to people are — to wrestle with the contradic- Upwards of a million people came out ly Islamophobic, misogynist, racist, an- fight Trump — it was, and is, a call to ac- tions and to make space for ­working-class to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21 to lift the ti-worker and anti-poor. tion for organizers and revolutionaries, people to connect and unite. banner for women’s liberation. People This mobilization alone confirmed that too. January 21 showed us that millions of came from all around the country and most people in the U.S. and around the When upwards of a million people take people have taken the first step in fight- world to take part in this historic protest world are not content with the election, to the streets, there is a big political open- ing for a different world. Now, we have against Trump and his administration, and will not stay quiet as Trump becomes ing. There is an opportunity for revolu- a duty to win them to the side of revolu- which are explicitly and unapologetical- commander in chief. tionaries to push class consciousness even tionary socialism. Women march against sexism, racism & Trump

WW PHOTO: GLORIA VERDIEU By Kris Hamel SAN DIEGO

A massive women’s demonstration of more than 1 million people in Washing- ton, D.C., and 673 other protests around the U.S. and on every continent took place on Jan. 21, the first full day of Donald Trump’s presidency. Even establishment media admitted that the size of the pro- DENVER test was 2 to 3 times larger than Trump’s WW PHOTO: LEFT, GLORIA RUBAC PHOTO: VIVIANA WEINSTEIN inaugural gathering. HOUSTON These women and their allies, 5 million strong worldwide, came out to decry the disgusting sexism and misogyny of the new billionaire president. Trump’s known actions include many cases of alleged sex- ual assault or harassment and the video that surfaced in early October in which he said “Grab them by the pussy” in ref- NEW YORK WW PHOTO: LEFT, JOHN CATALINOTTO PHOTO: LUCHA RODRIQUEZ erence to women. On Jan. 21, women said, “Enough!” tion of the participants, who spilled out Another solidarity march of at least fight, and we’ve been ready for them.” Many and vowed to fight back against the into surrounding streets — making much 2,000 was held in northern San Diego Workers World newspapers and Black His- Trump agenda of sexism, racism, virulent of downtown impassable to vehicular traf- County. According to sfgate.com, there tory Month flyers were distributed. anti-immigrant attacks, cutbacks, an- fic — before marching to the second rally were 50 marches across , with Women and supporters clogged the en- ti-LGBTQ bigotry, Islamophobia and all site at the County Administration Build- “crowds numbering in the thousands ... tire Bay Area with six different marches on other forms of anti-woman, anti-worker, ing. As the front of the march reached the in Napa, Walnut Creek, Santa Rosa” and Jan. 21. Women’s March Bay Area claimed anti-poor attacks. site, protesters were still streaming out of 25,000 in San Jose. a total of 200,000 participants. In Oak- Following are reports from Jan. 21 ac- the plaza a mile away. In Los Angeles, an estimated 750,000 land, there were up to 80,000 people, with tivists on the ground around the U.S. The overall theme was “Women’s Rights people shut down all of downtown. Work- 100,000 marching in San Francisco. In San Diego, at least 50,000 people Are Human Rights.” Speakers came from ers World Party activists held a very visi- In Oakland, a contingent called Rise, gathered downtown to send a message of a wide range of backgrounds, including ble street rally, drawing in many wanting Resist, Unite was organized by Gabriela support for women’s rights and an open Latinx, Black, LGBTQ and Asian. All of more information about socialism. Maggie USA, the international Filipino women’s challenge to the misogynist now occupy- them spoke to “Why I march.” One pop- Vascassenno of WWP, who spoke to many party, to “RISE against Fascism as we ing the . The spacious Civic ular banner read, “A Woman’s Place Is in women interested in building a people’s say No to Trump and his administration, Center Plaza couldn’t contain but a frac- the Revolution.” movement, told WW, “People are ready to Continued on page 11 Repression fuels resistance in D.C.

Continued from page 1 ed and exhausted from resisting, a large with 30 other people who were given only “Whose nation? Our nation!” Thousands from its Union Station site toward the group of people were not allowed medi- eight sandwiches to share, said of the were holding signs exhorting people to White House, frequently branching from cal attention, access to an attorney, food guards, “These were not correctional of- destroy capitalism and fight for socialism. its publicized path to assert indepen- or water. They were not even allowed to ficers. These were U.S. Marshals.” They could not be pushed back, except dence from police control. At the same relieve themselves out of public view. The state’s escalation of repression momentarily by overwhelming police time, a furious, young, multinational and After the young activists’ arrests, the was no surprise to J20 Resist organiz- ­violence. multigender vanguard ran through the state levied serious felony charges against ers, who had issued briefings to explain The day after the arrests, D.C. Superior D.C. streets, liberating it block by block them. This has been given no play so far the violence of the state to the thousands Court was packed with movement people as cops fell back. The so-called “Black in the mainstream media. In fact, the me- participating in the march from Anti-­ providing jail support and solidarity. The Bloc” marched while waving the “antifa” dia have represented these bold expres- Columbus Circle. state flexed its muscles by lining up cops flag, representing antifascist unified ac- sions against Donald Trump as “violent” Anti-protester disinformation “doc- with military gear and shields outside tion among communists, anarchists and and “unorganized,” if the actions were umentaries” had been circulated on so- the courthouse and attempting to keep socialists. covered at all. cial media in the days leading up to the ­activists out. As the J20 Resist march neared its rally The charge against the activists is the march. One 23-minute film incited the But the ruling class can’t stop history. site at McPherson Square, the organizers so-called Felony Riot Act, which carries new administrators of global capitalism The turnout for Donald Trump’s elec- received word that youth, many of whom a sentence of 10 years and/or a $250,000 to go after Workers World Party and the tion was sparse. The threats of thousands identify as queer and of color, were being fine. At least six journalists, several Na- Freedom Road Socialist Organization, of bikers to show up in D.C. to “protect” “kettled” and arrested at 12th Streets. tional Lawyer Guild observers and many calling them “domestic enemies” of the Trump from protesters was laughable, as Kettling is when cops unlawfully detain medics were charged with this act, along state. Some “investigative journalists” no such mobilization occurred. The dif- people in large groups for long stretches with protesters. infiltrated organizing groups — including ference between those marching against of time in order to arrest them. One participant, Holly from Florida, J20 Resist and Disrupt J20 — with secret Trump and the people draped in fur coats said the brutality of the police was “com- cameras and microphones in an effort to on their way to inaugural balls could not State escalates repression pletely unprovoked. I was just looking embarrass or intimidate. have been more stark. J20 Resist continued its march, with around to see what needed to be done.” The state itself, with all its racism, mi- cooperation of several groups, including A J20Resist marcher, Arlo from New Ruling class can’t stop history sogyny, bigotry and warmongering, is Workers World Party and Freedom Road York, said this was the first time he’d seen Despite the disinformation, the Jan. 20 Trump’s main support, not the masses Socialist Organization, toward 12th and I anything like it: “I understood that police resistance to white supremacy, misogyny and not the working class. to show support to those threatened with would commit unprovoked violence, but and capitalism was militant and strong. It is with this encouraging analysis and arrest. seeing it first-hand made it real and im- Thousands of multinational, multigen- broad solidarity that we enter the next The youth were kettled for more than portant in a way that I hadn’t expected.” der people of all ages were in the streets phase of building a revolutionary socialist eight hours. In the cold rain, dehydrat- A Shut It Down member, kept in a cell shouting “Black Lives Matter!” and movement inthe United States. workers.org Jan. 26, 2017 Page 7 Trump’s inaugural speech

By Teresa Gutierrez terests of ordinary people” or a “person to another, or from one party to anoth- nage stops right here and stops right who ... is concerned with the views of or- er — but we are transferring power from now,” he asserted. He speaks and writes like a third grad- dinary people.” Washington, D.C., and giving it back to These are ominous and dangerous er. He’s boorish and crude. He’s a misog- Who are these ordinary people who sup- you, the American people.” (whitehouse. code words for the intensification of a ynist and a sexual predator and boasts port Trump today? Well, for one thing, they gov) pro-cop racist agenda. The carnage in about grabbing “pussy.” He’s a racist and are not anywhere near the majority of the He continued: “For too long, a small the streets is in fact due to police terror, anti-immigrant and his only allegiance is U.S. population — or even of voters, given group in our nation’s capital has reaped not to anything else. One need only look to his lucrative brand. that he lost the popular vote by 3 million. the rewards of government while the at the sympathetic images in the media And he is now the 45th president of the What about those who came to the in- people have borne the cost. ... Politicians towards the victims of drug problems in United States. auguration? Trump said record numbers prospered — but the jobs left, and the fac- white communities, while in Black and On Jan. 20, Donald J. Trump was would attend. The facts tell a different tories closed.” Brown communities it is another atti- sworn in as president. Fortunately, a story. Compare a photo from President “That all changes — starting right here, tude altogether. great new wave of resistance started on Barack Obama’s 2008 inauguration with and right now.” While Trump’s speech did not mention the same day. one of Trump’s: Clearly the numbers do Really? Will the people, regular people, the wall he’s promised to build between Trump’s inauguration came after an un- not even come close. On this Jan. 20, now be in charge? Will the Trump admin- Mexico and the U.S., he did say, “We precedentedly divisive election campaign, there were huge empty swaths of the Cap- istration mean millions of jobs restored? must protect our borders” — code words yet the smooth “transfer of power” that the itol Mall. According to reports, tickets to Of course not. for further border militarization. Women march against sexism, racism & Trump political establishment touts was indeed the event couldn’t even be given away. How disillusioned his working-class This is Trump’s “America.” More rac- carried out. This was business as usual, Mother Jones reported that “groups es- supporters will be when they discover ist cops allowed to go on about their ter- one grouping handing over the adminis- timated that the crowd for Trump was like- that business will continue as usual. A ror with impunity. It’s what he pledged tration of the capitalist state to another. ly to be between 700,000 and 900,000. look at Trump’s cabinet nominees demon- during his campaign and it’s what he’s Indeed, it was the leading Democrat in In 2009, an estimated 1.8 million people strates that no “swamp” was drained at now setting out to do. the U.S. Senate, Charles Schumer, who flocked to the National Mall for the swear- all. From State to Labor, all of Trump’s It should not be forgotten that imme- introduced Trump, calling him up to ing-in of the nation’s first black president. cabinet picks are establishment figures. diately after Trump’s election, the right be sworn in. Trump himself opened his ... 10,000 charter buses applied for per- All are rich, some very very rich. wing he galvanized carried out a wave speech by saying, “Every four years we mits for Obama’s event; for Trump ... only The crux, however, is that they are all of horrible attacks against Muslims. His gather on these steps to carry out the or- 200 buses applied.” (Jan. 20) far-right establishment figures who want call to crush “radical Islamist terrorism” DENVER derly and peaceful transfer of power.” Nonetheless, the thousands who did to gut any and all progressive changes — during his inaugural speech will certain- There’s only one transfer of power that come to support Trump’s inauguration whether won by unions, women, teach- ly unleash more of this racist violence. will bring true change, and it will come represent a force to be reckoned with. Be- ers, environmentalists, LGBTQ people, No wonder that activists are preparing when the workers and oppressed wrest cause only the most crude, the most racist or, most of all, by Black, Latinx, Asian, for the worst. Some worry that the Trump state power from the capitalist class via and the most backward on the rights of Native and other people of color over de- administration may place the Black Lives socialist revolution. Until then, the capi- women could still support Donald Trump. cades of hard struggle. Matter Movement on a domestic terrorist talist system remains intact — whichever Yet they are the least of the problem. No one can believe that an administra- watch list. With Jeff Sessions as attorney party of the ruling class is at the helm. Those backing Trump on the podium, tion headed by the likes of former Exxon- general, an effort to turn back the clock This is not to say that Trump’s ascen- including his incoming cabinet and staff Mobil CEO , Trump’s pick to before the gains of the Civil Rights sion doesn’t matter. He is a racist, reac- — those who are gearing up to actually for secretary of state, will transfer wealth movement could easily begin. tionary demagogue. His administration’s carry out the outrageous Trump program from Washington to the people, or in any This is why the real news of Inaugura- agenda amounts to a frontal attack on all — are far more dangerous than those in way represent the masses. The opposite tion Day was so encouraging: that there the gains won by this country’s working the crowd. will happen. were millions of people protesting, not class and oppressed people over the last Not that anyone should expect mean- In fact, it already has. Within one hour only in Washington, D.C., but in cities eight decades and more. ingful opposition from the established of Trump’s inauguration, websites for the across the country and around the world. What can be gleaned from Trump’s in- Democratic leadership. Many Democratic White House and various cabinet depart- The resistance has begun, and it will augural speech as the movement prepares politicians, from Schumer to Nancy Pelo- ments dropped any mention of LGBTQ only grow from here. That much is clear. for the long resistance struggle ahead? si and even the supposed radical Bernie rights and climate change. The billionaires may be poised to at- CNN pundits called the speech “among Sanders, attended Trump’s swearing-in Most appalling: the webpage on the tack, to grab as much as they can, to the most radical inaugural speeches in and behaved with proper bourgeois deco- history of Civil Rights in the United enrich themselves even more, to strip American history.” (Jan. 20) Other news- rum. This was in sharp contrast to some States is gone. away rights and benefits, to drive back casters labeled it as “dark, pessimistic,” 70 members of Congress, including most What’s featured on the new presiden- the workers and oppressed. They may be and populist. (sunsentinel.com, Jan. 20) members of the Congressional Black and tial website instead? Harsh warnings confident that they can do it. One can certainly add “simple” to that list. Latinx caucuses, who boycotted the inau- about the coming era of “law and order,” But they will have a fight on their Trump’s message might have been sim- guration. beefing up the police forces and anti-im- hands. Trump may now be in the White ple, but it was nonetheless dangerous. Pop- migrant action. House, but from here on out the masses ulist indeed, it was geared to his support- The fight is on A pivotal part of Trump’s address was will be in the streets. And the masses in ers, and that alone makes it dangerous. In his speech, Trump said: “Today’s his reference to ”the crime and gangs and motion are a more powerful force than Webster’s Dictionary defines “popu- ceremony ... has very special meaning. drugs that have stolen too many lives any rich boor and his corrupt cronies. list” as “a member or adherent of a po- Because today we are not merely trans- and robbed our country of so much un- Today they’re riding high. Tomorrow will Repression fuels resistance in D.C. litical party seeking to represent the in- ferring power from one administration realized potential. This American car- be another story. Bay Area: 120 hours of direct action vs. Trump By Terri Kay

From Martin Luther King Day to In- auguration Day, the San Francisco Bay Area seethed with protests, shutdowns and other actions. The Anti Police-Terror Project called for 120 hours of direct ac- tion, beginning Jan. 16 with the APTP’s thousands-strong March to Reclaim King’s Radical Legacy. (See WW, Jan. 19.) Twenty-two actions were listed on the PHOTO: GIL ROSS WW PHOTOS: TERRI KAY APTP Spokescouncil calendar from after Chiraq (Chicago/Iraq), due to police mil- for its officers’ trafficking of a minor last with the Bay Area Solidarity Action Team the MLK march to J20, with another 13 itarization against the Black community. summer. Helicopters flew low over the (which has a number of affinity groups) to actions for the Jan. 20 counterinaugura- Thursday: Disclose, a transgen- march, impeding attendees’ abilities to send the message that there would be no tion protests alone. The list did not include der-inclusive Bay Area art-activism col- hear speakers. The OPD also brought in business as usual, beginning the day of a number of more clandestine actions, de- lective dedicated to facilitating active two L-RAD sound cannons, a military Trump’s inauguration. scribed below, which were not posted. engagement in the eradication of sexual weapon used to injure the ears of enemies. • Some 50 people blocked the entrance A few of the mid-week events were: violence, culture and sexual assault, held A Noise Demo was held Thursday at of Uber’s corporate headquarters Wednesday: Chairman Fred Hamp- a “We Will Not Be Silent” action. About Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, where a major in protest of CEO Travis Kalanick’s ton Jr. made a special presentation to 75 sexual abuse survivors and support- expansion for a prison “mental health participation in Trump’s Strategic and the APTP general membership meeting ers marched from Oakland City Hall to wing” is planned. Protesters held signs Policy Forum. Chaining themselves to in Oakland on “Organizing in the Age of the Oakland Police Headquarters. A vid- reading, “Money for mental health, not the building’s entrances, they prevent- Trump.” He spoke on the importance of eotape of survivors — of sex trafficking, jails or prison cells” and “House keys, not ed any employees from entering. They analyzing events from the perspective of domestic violence and gender-focused handcuffs.” also blocked off Market Street, holding those whose interests are affected versus violence — speaking against their abus- Friday: On Jan. 20 the Bay Area lit large signs that read “Uber collaborates those who stand to gain. He talked about ers was projected on the OPHQ wall. The up with actions. The day started early in with Trump” and “SF resists Trump.” why he calls his hometown of Chicago, Oakland Police Department is notorious San Francisco, where APTP coordinated Continued on page 8 Page 8 Jan. 26, 2017 workers.org Palestinians protest Trump threat to move U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem By Joe Catron That could change under Trump, as the pictures of Trump. Other demonstrators Along with Trump’s threat to the status new president has repeatedly promised to erected the Bab al-Shams, or “Gate of the quo in Jerusalem, Palestinians say these As thousands of demonstrators poured relocate the embassy from its current site Sun,” an encampment of protest tents at measures could spark massive opposi- into Washington, D.C., to protest the pres- in Tel Aviv. This action would end an in- the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Ad- tion, both by those under Israel’s occupa- idential inauguration of Donald Trump, ternational diplomatic consensus that offi- umim outside Jerusalem. tion and by all across the Middle East. Palestinians mobilized across their occu- cially considers Jerusalem’s status an un- Demonstrations also targeted Israel’s The Council of National and Islamic pied country against his pledge to move resolved question for future negotiations. home demolitions and displacement of Forces, a coordinating body of all Pales- the U.S. Embassy in Israel to ­Jerusalem. Rallies supported by factions across Palestinian citizens within Palestine’s rec- tinian factions, warned in a Jan. 21 state- Successive U.S. administrations have the Palestinian political spectrum start- ognized borders, Israel’s land seizure and ment that the relocation would “ignite a supported, with billions of dollars in an- ed in the West Bank on Jan. 19, with hun- settlement construction in the West Bank, fire in the region” and demonstrate the nual aid, Israel’s occupation of Jerusa- dreds gathering in the cities of Ramallah, and a pending Israeli parliament (Knesset) U.S. government’s “full partnership with lem along with the rest of the Palestinian Nablus and al-Khalil. bill to “annex” Ma’ale Adumim into Israel. the open war against our people.” land seized by Israeli forces in both 1948 On the morning of Jan. 20, Israeli Weekly marches in the villages of Bil’in Catron is a member of Al-Awda New and 1967. But they have refused to for- forces attacked a protest near Israel’s no- and Kafr Qaddum, as well as a rally by York: The Palestine Right to Return Coa- mally recognize Israel’s territorial claim torious “apartheid wall” in Bethlehem, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement lition and an organizer with Samidoun: to the city. where Palestinian youth activists burned in Gaza, similarly opposed the move. Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.

LOS ANGELES ROANOKE, VA. Millions join women’s marches WW PHOTO

Continued from page 1 millions of people into the streets against — especially — every woman-hating view that Trump represents. And these protests not only took place in large- and medium-sized urban areas. According to NBC News on Jan. 21, in many smaller cities and towns, at least 20 percent or more of the general population attended J21 marches. To put these astro- nomical numbers into a broader perspec- tive, it is estimated that 160,000 people attended Trump’s inauguration in Wash- ington, a third of the number that attend- ed J21 in D.C. (New York Times, Jan. 22.) CHICAGO ATHENS, GA. Who attended J21 and why WW PHOTO JOE PIETTE While at the largest U.S. marches, Dem- Great Again” theme, and one that stated Violence Hotline will be shut down. Al- use diplomacy to carry out cutbacks at ocratic Party forces, Hollywood celebri- “Sorry world — we will fix this.” ready there has been an increase in sex- home and war abroad. ties, labor leaders, social-democratic and These marches helped to empower ual assaults, including rape, on women of Now corporate America has to depend moderate elements dominated rally stag- women who are justifiably angered and all ages — on college campuses, in high on the undiplomatic Trump to carry out es, the majority of those in the streets were disgusted by Trump’s “pussy grabbing” schools, in the military and in the home. the next round of austerity in the U.S. either on the left or were open to more rad- and other degrading attitudes and ac- Women’s groups are asking people to that the majority of the world has been ical politics. Many women were receptive tions against women, along with his call on their local Democratic congressio- experiencing since the 2007-08 banking to anti-capitalist, pro-socialist ideas. anti-immigrant hate mongering. It was nal representatives to vote against these crisis. This has led to an irreversible crisis The women who attended were mostly clear to this writer, who attended the New cuts. But this is not enough. of decline for worldwide capitalism. young, including children, but there were York City march, that so many women The Democratic Party has proven itself While austerity for the working class is also older women, people with disabili- agreed that every social and economic is- to be impotent when it comes to fighting on a collision course with Trump’s cam- ties, lesbian, bisexual, trans and gender sue is a woman’s issue, and with the need the extreme right wing in the Republican paign promises to increase U.S. jobs, his nonconforming people. While the social for solidarity, especially with the most Party. That’s because the Democratic and nominee for labor secretary — blatantly anti- composition was overwhelming white, oppressed and marginalized women. Republican parties represent the inter- worker, pro-austerity — falls right into line. there were many Black, Latinx, Asian, ests of big business, not the multinational It cannot be lost that the more than Muslim and Indigenous women. Why is J21 so important? working class and especially not women. 670 J21 marches here and worldwide Imaginative signs and banners called It is becoming painfully clear that one The Democratic Party is more inter- show that women, no matter where they for reproductive justice, especially in lieu day of massive global marches will not ested in retaking any lost congressional live, are feeling the brunt of political and of the Affordable Care Act being disman- reverse the global attacks on women’s seats during the 2018 midterm elections economic attacks from the forces of reac- tled by Trump; in defense of Black Lives rights, rooted in worldwide capitalist and the reins of the White House in 2020. tion. The Trump election is now fueling Matter, immigrant rights and Planned austerity. In his full first day in office, They are hoping to bring the millions of the flames of fightback. The challenge for Parenthood; for $15 and a union; for Trump is moving ahead with plans to gut women who came out on J21 into their revolutionaries everywhere is to unite to housing, education, childcare and clean the U.S. Department of Justice’s violence ranks for the vote. help guide those who want to turn the water; an end to war and occupation; and against women programs. If Congress The billionaire ruling class had their fightback into a worldwide movement for many calling to “Dump Trump.” There carries out Trump’s wishes, federally hopes and dreams on be- real revolutionary, systemic change. J21 were signs that said “Make America Think funded programs such as local rape crisis coming the next president because she is shows that women will lead the way with Again,” a play on Trump’s “Make America centers and even the National Domestic an unapologetic imperialist schooled to building such a movement.

Bay Area • Wells Fargo headquarters and a Bank • Jobs with Justice and the SFLC held a Several longshore workers from In- of America site were also locked down rally at Carl’s Jr. downtown to protest ternational Longshore and Warehouse Continued from page 7 by other protesters in solidarity with Trump’s nomination for labor secretary Union Local 10 attended the rally, an- • At 8:30 a.m. another group of a dozen, Standing Rock and the movement to Andrew Puzder, CEO of Carl’s Jr. and nouncing that their local had shut down chained to each other, stood across the stop the Dakota Access Pipeline. Hardee’s fast-food chains. Protesters all Bay Area ports to express their oppo- Caltrains tracks at 16th and Mississippi • People blocked the entrances to the Im- then joined a rally at Union Square sition to Trump. Several speakers from in San Francisco, blocking trains in migration and Customs Enforcement organized by the Answer Coalition. Labor Rising Against Trump addressed both directions for three hours, until building in San Francisco in protest In Berkeley a crowd of more than 1,500, the rally, including Juan Garcia, a univer- they were arrested. of Trump’s announced plans to build primarily students and other youth, filled sity employee, and Alborz Ghandehari, • Jewish Resistance locked down the a wall at the Mexican border and to Sproul Plaza at the University of Califor- a leader in the fight for required Ethnic front doors of San Francisco’s Israeli continue to deport immigrants. nia at noon to oppose the Trump agenda. Studies in the UC system. After the rally, Consulate. They announced, through • Jobs with Justice, supported by the San Speakers included two teenage students the crowd marched on Telegraph Avenue media contact Faryn Borella: “We’re Francisco Labor Council, led a march from among the many who had walked to downtown Oakland to join other pro- telling the consulate that we don’t of more than 1,000 demonstrators out of Berkeley High School that day. One tests there. support the ongoing occupation of from Justin Herman Plaza through- young woman speaker said, “Don’t tell In Oakland at Oscar Grant Plaza, there Palestine and the way that it’s connect- out San Francisco’s financial district. me I can’t love my girlfriend!” Signs in- was a Mutual Aid Fair in the morning, a ed with militarized policing here in the They stopped in solidarity at many of cluded, “I will not stop fighting you,” “No “March of the Working Class” up Broad- U.S. We don’t support Trump appoint- the shutdowns, ending at 555 Cali- fascist USA” and “Art historians against way and down Telegraph, and then a ments like Jared Kushner to oversee fornia, an office tower owned in part Trump.” A young Black man led the speak-out for students in the afternoon. the peace process and David Friedman by Trump. After a rally there, people crowd in chanting, “Black Brown unity! Contributors to this article included as ambassador to Israel.” poured onto the office building’s plaza. This is the place for Sanctuary.” Tristen Schmidt and Dave Welsh. workers.org Jan. 26, 2017 Page 9 Why is the U.S. attacking Venezuela?

By Stephen Millies export — being cut in half. Workers are Rockefeller owned three huge estates in Post, Sept. 24, 2014) But the White House exposing economic sabotage by the rich, the country. was silent when the Saudi Kingdom be- “No good deed goes unpunished” could which includes the hoarding of food. After being elected New York governor headed Shia leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr be a motto for U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. government sanctions are in 1958, Nelson Rockefeller vacationed at on Jan. 2, 2016. More than 200,000 poor families in aimed at overthrowing Venezuela’s Boli- his 112,000-acre Mata de Barbara ranch Formerly mayor of Chacao, a well-to- 23 states and Washington, D.C., got free varian Revolution just like Reconstruc- in the Orinoco Basin. Seventy-eight miles do subdivision of Caracas, López was heating oil from CITGO, which is owned tion was overthrown in the U.S. South away, the future butcher of the Attica jailed for instigating violent marches by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. after the Civil War. prison rebellion owned the 6,250-acre starting on Feb. 12, 2014, in an attempt Former U.S. congressperson Joseph P. Palo Gordo farm. (Life, Dec. 8, 1958) His to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro. Kennedy II, the eldest son of Ethel and The ‘good old days’ other possessions in Venezuela included López comes from a rich family and Bobby Kennedy, helped coordinate the Just by helping to keep poor people the Monte Sacro ranch and a supermar- attended a boarding school in Princeton, program, which was initiated by for- from freezing to death, Venezuela made ket chain. N.J. He was implicated in the 2003 coup mer Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. an “extraordinary threat” to U.S. bil- Meanwhile, millions of Venezuela’s that briefly overthrew President Chávez. (Washington Post, Jan. 6, 2009) lionaires and banksters. ExxonMobil — people lived in dire poverty. Workers re- (Foreign Policy, July 27, 2015) Maduro When Hurricane Katrina devastated which, after Iraq was invaded, was rak- belled in 1989 against cutbacks imposed was leader of the bus drivers’ union in New Orleans, both Cuba and Venezuela ing in $100 million in profits a day — gave by the International Monetary Fund. As Caracas before being elected president offered to send doctors and medical sup- zilch in heating oil aid. many as 3,000 people may have been following the death of Chávez. plies. President George Bush contemp- CITGO’s action probably helped save shot down during the Caracazo Rebel- Among those later killed was 29-year- tuously refused the aid, preferring to let funding for the federal Low Income Home lion. (TeleSUR, Feb. 26) old motorcyclist Elvis Durán de la Rosa, Black and poor people drown and starve Energy Assistance Program. Even Time Hugo Chávez Frías was elected presi- who was partially beheaded by barbed instead. magazine asked, “Why Can’t Big Oil Match dent in 1999 and the Bolivarian Revolu- wire strung across a highway by oppo- So why did President Barack Obama Hugo Chávez?” (Jan. 7, 2009), referring tion began. President Chávez told Exx- nents of President Maduro. (Venezuela- label Venezuela on March 9, 2015, an to Venezuela’s late president, who died in onMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to get out of nalysis.com, March 2, 2014) “extraordinary threat to the national se- 2013. Venezuela. Didn’t Elvis Durán have human rights, curity and foreign policy of the United Whether Democrats or Republicans Trump has nominated Tillerson to be too, President Obama? While praising States”? And why did Obama, in one of are in office, the U.S. government is run secretary of state Leopoldo López, why did you refuse to his last presidential acts, renew sanctions by Big Oil. But Venezuela’s Bolivarian pardon American Indian Movement on Venezuela? Revolution ran Big Oil out of its country. Leopoldo López & Leonard Peltier leader Leonard Peltier, who’s been im- Venezuela’s foreign minister, Delcy Exxon’s original name was Standard More than two million people are prisoned for 40 years, and Black liber- Rodríguez, said the renewal constituted Oil of New Jersey. Controlled by the locked up in U.S. jails and Britain’s ation fighter Dr. Mutulu Shakur, who’s a “grave violation of international law.” Rockefeller family, Standard Oil broke Guardian newspaper reported that more been imprisoned for 30 years? (AP, Jan. 14) Earlier the Non-Aligned strikes ruthlessly. At least four strikers than 1,000 people were killed by U.S. Working and poor people in Venezuela Movement of 120 countries had con- in Bayonne, N.J., were killed by company cops last year. Yet President Obama im- are determined to defend their revolu- demned the sanctions against Venezuela. guards during a 1915 strike. (New York posed sanctions on Venezuela for al- tion. Millions have signed petitions at- (TeleSUR, Feb. 8, 2015) Times, July 30, 1915) legedly abusing “human rights.” tacking sanctions. Block by block, people Venezuela is going through rough Oil-rich Venezuela became a Rockefel- Obama lamented the jailing of right- are organizing resistance. U.S. hands off times, with the price of oil — its main ler province just like New Jersey. Nelson wing leader Leopoldo López. (PanAm Venezuela! Honduras, migrants and Trump

By Teresa Gutierrez cent of Hondurans live in extreme pover- Lenca people and led a bold and vibrant during the Obama administration has ty.” (Jan. 6) struggle against the Agua Zarca dam. caused unprecedented levels of violence” With the advent of the ominous Don- Honduras has also been deemed one of This dam, located on Lenca land, was and “has exacerbated gang activity and ald Trump administration, a look at the the most dangerous countries for human controversial because it was imposed local government impunity. Donald beleaguered nation of Honduras is criti- rights activists, journalists and union- without consent from the local communi- Trump’s presidency will likely worsen cal in order for the anti-war and solidar- ists in the world. Indigenous people, Af- ties and was a threat to the environment. these current trends.” ity movement to step up its work — not ro-Hondurans and the LGBTQ commu- Even though eight people have cur- The report continues: “President-elect only with Honduras but for all of Latin nity are especially targeted for repression rently been charged by the government Trump’s appointment of Gen. John Kelly America and the Caribbean. Solidarity and violence. for her murder, the family and her orga- to head the Department of Homeland Se- with Central America is particularly key For example, on Jan. 11, well-known nization continue to heroically demand curity is a worrying sign. Kelly was head in light of the crisis of forced migration. Garifuna leader Miriam Miranda and structural changes and for the arrest of of the U.S. Southern Command during Developments in Honduras address three other members of OFRANEH (Fra- those at the top who ordered her murder. the Obama years and oversaw violent, many social movements mirrored in the ternal Organization of Black and Gar- Tens of thousands have been killed in counter-narcotic efforts across Latin U.S. — the struggle for migrant rights, for ifuna Peoples) were stopped by armed Honduras since 2009. One source of the America. He’s a drug war zealot.” climate justice, against racism and the agents of the state and held for several violence is the horrid drug trafficking As has been stated by the anti-war and rights of Indigenous people are examples. hours. The OFRANEH organization has that the U.S. is suspiciously unable to progressive movements for decades, the been consistently targeted by the Hondu- halt. This has forced tens of thousands billions that Washington spends in Co- Self-determination violated ran police and military. of Hondurans to flee for their lives and lombia, Mexico and elsewhere to alleged- Conditions are magnified in Hondu- The Garifuna people are descendants make their way to the U.S. ly fight drugs has been used instead to ras, however, as they are in the context of West African slaves and number The Observatory for the Protection of militarize those countries and to repress of U.S. imperialism’s centuries-long drive around 100,000 people in Honduras. Human Rights Defenders reported on all those who struggle — all in order to for domination of Latin America and the This was not the first time Miranda or Dec. 1 that “human rights defenders in protect U.S. corporate interests. Caribbean. This drive continues, no mat- members of OFRANEH have been de- Honduras face killings, constant threats, It is unknown what selected President ter whether under a Barack Obama or a tained. In fact, Miranda’s life, like that of and criminalization, making the Cen- Donald Trump will actually do in Latin Trump administration. Berta Cáceres, has been threatened sev- tral American country one of the most America. But imperialism’s attempt to Since 2009, when the progressive eral times. dangerous in the world for human rights derail the left turn in Latin America — in presidential administration of Mel Zelaya The violent repression against Hon- ­activists.” Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador in partic- was overturned by a brutal coup orches- duran freedom fighters was especially This U.S.-made violence and instabil- ular — will surely continue and is a dan- trated by U.S. imperialism, conditions for brought to light on March 3, when Cáceres, ity is the cause of the forced migrations. ger to the peoples of the Americas. the Honduran people have deteriorated an environmentalist and social justice If and when Trump decides to further Solidarity with the struggles in the dramatically. leader, was shot and killed in her home. militarize the border or escalate Obama’s Americas is critical. Later this year, for The Obama administration, and Secre- Cáceres had won several awards and deportation policies, more deaths at the example, Xiomara Zelaya is expected to tary of State Hillary Clinton in particular, was recognized around the world for border and in Honduras can be expected. run for president in Honduras. She has allowed the overthrow of the fair election her work to stop a hydroelectric project Several media sources, including NBC declared that Honduras must fight for of President Zelaya because Zelaya was on her land. The Global Witness organi- news, reported on Jan. 19 that a large “democratic socialism.” attempting to improve the standard of zation reports that at least 120 environ- spike of particularly Central American A victory for Zelaya would be helpful living for the poorest of the country. mental activists have been killed in Hon- migrants had arrived at the Texas-Mexi- to the fight to defend President Nicolás A pro-imperialist, pro-capitalist ad- duras since 2009. co border in order to enter the U.S. before Maduro in Venezuela and Evo Morales in ministration was then installed, ushering Cáceres’ family, as well as the entire Trump’s inauguration. Bolivia. in a wave of repression and a further de- movement, believe that Cáceres was Solidarity is imperative, not just for the cline of the standard of living. killed by the Desarrollos Energéticos SA U.S. imperialism’s role Central and Latin American people but According to TeleSUR: “Honduras is corporation, owner and operator of the Developments in Honduras and Cen- for the movement here as well. A victory ... the second poorest country in Cen- Agua Zarca hydroelectric project in Hon- tral America are not an isolated phenom- for the Lenca people in stopping the Agua tral America and the sixth most unequal duras, and the Honduran government, enon. They are part and parcel of long- Zarca dam, for example, is a victory for country in the world, according to World who contracted assassins to murder her standing U.S. policies. Standing Rock. Bank statistics. The poverty rate current- and other activists. A Truthout Jan. 17 report stated that Now more than ever, our fight against ly stands at 64.5 percent, while 42.6 per- Cáceres was a leader of the Indigenous “U.S. military funding for Honduras the capitalist system must go global. Page 10 Jan. 26, 2017 workers.org Finally, a pledge to release Oscar López

By Berta Joubert-Ceci Peltier and the brave Puerto Rican Ana can archipelago. When some radio or tele- la and Nicaragua raised their voices in Belén Montes were excluded from the list. vision program begins you will often hear national and international forums. Fig- After days of rumors and disappointed As soon as his lawyer, Jan Susler, told some mention of Oscar’s impending free- ures such as Pope Francis and former hopes, the Puerto Rican people joyful- him the news, Oscar thanked his people dom. Activists rejoice and congratulate President Jimmy Carter demanded that ly received the news that they had been in Puerto Rico and people all over the each other; messages have been received Obama release him. waiting years for: The incarcerated Puer- world who had demanded his release. from many organizations throughout the A petition to Obama signed by more to Rican political prisoner with the lon- His daughter Clarisa, at a press confer- world greeting his release. than 100,000 people was delivered in gest time in prison — 35 years — is sched- ence from San Juan, echoed her father’s It has truly been such a concerted Washington on Jan.11, further pressur- uled to be released without restrictions words, saying, “With a broken voice and effort that no single person or group ing the president as his term ended. on May 17. almost unable to hold back tears, among can become the sole owner of the joint On Jan. 17, three days before the end other expressions, he expressed his grat- achievement. The Boricua National Hu- What does it mean of his term, U.S. President Barack Obama itude: ‘Today we celebrate the victory of man Rights Network based in Chicago, for the Puerto Rican people? finally commuted Oscar López Rivera’s the people of Puerto Rico. My deepest where Oscar resided, which has offices Oscar’s reflections from prison have sentence. gratitude to the Government of Cuba, in several U.S. and PR cities, organized been very important to the progressive López Rivera, who turned 74 on Jan. Venezuela and Nicaragua. Thanks to all multiple actions with participation of movement in PR, including his call to 6, was charged in 1981 with “seditious who made it possible for Oscar López Ri- several elected political figures. boycott the immense — and illegitimate conspiracy to overthrow the United States vera to return to where he belongs, to his There have been many contributions — debt that is suffocating the population; Government,” a charge that routinely beloved Puerto Rico.’” (Claridadpuertori- to this effort. On the last Sunday of every his call for unity in the struggle for in- applies to Puerto Rican revolutionaries co.com, Jan. 18) month the Women for Oscar demonstrat- dependence; and his solidarity with the fighting for independence. López Rivera ed, both in San Juan and in New York, prisoner Ana Belén Montes, who is iso- was a member of the Armed Forces for Campaign to free Oscar to bring attention to the case. The effort lated and incommunicado in a Texas jail. the National Liberation of Puerto Rico, This was really a victory won by the includes most Puerto Rican artists, in- These are very key points in the current a clandestine group that believed in the Puerto Rican people who raised the cam- cluding the now-famous Lin Manuel Mi- struggle and deserve wide discussion. By armed struggle to bring independence for paign worldwide. The struggle for liber- randa, René of the band Calle 13, Ricky themselves, these reflections are already PR. The remainder of his 70-year sentence ation was welcomed by the most diverse Martin, Andy Montañez, Chabela Rodrí- a legacy and Oscar’s great contribution to still faced him; 12 of his 35 years in prison sectors of the Boricua people, from sup- guez and others. There have also been the Puerto Rican resistance movement. he had spent in isolation, a cruel practice porters of independence to those backing the efforts of dozens of organizations of On the other hand, that so many di- often imposed on political prisoners. statehood, passing through all the popu- the Boricua Diaspora in the United States verse sectors of the population have been His commutation was part of Obama’s lar movements — women’s, environment, that consistently distributed information able to unite in a consensus to free Oscar release of 200-plus prisoners. These in- youth and student, artistic and sports, at festivals, Puerto Rican parades, orga- — whether for humanitarian and moral cluded Chelsea Manning, who boldly re- religious people of all beliefs, LGBTQ and nized protests and meetings. or political grounds — can be seen and leased secret information that exposed individual activists. And then there was international sup- extrapolated to see how this could help U.S. war crimes in Iraq. It was unfortu- The promise to free him has also been port. Cuba, always in solidarity, took on confront the urgent need that has prior- nate that the Indigenous leader Leonard celebrated in all corners of the Puerto Ri- Oscar’s case as one of its own. Venezue- ity in Puerto Rico today: the presence of THE ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTS How do people become revolutionaries?

Since the election of Trump, spontaneous protests have erupted as well as the eight years ago when Bush was bombing active before. The point is to get people massive counter-inaugural marches on Jan. 20 and worldwide women’s marches Iraq? And where were you last month in motion. on Jan. 21. Some leftists and anti-war people on social media have had nothing when the New York Police Department Where else do you expect the human murdered Amadou Diallo in a hail of 41 material for revolution to come from? It’s but criticism for the protests and skepticism regarding their participants. shots?” in the process of struggle and confronta- We republish here a response by Bill Dores, an activist since he joined Youth Of course not. Of course, people will tion that people become radical. Against War and Fascism in 1968. respond first when they are attacked di- On Aug. 12, 1962, my organization, Against Black America” and raised the rectly. It opens their eyes. We said, “Wel- Russia’s revolutions Youth Against War and Fascism, held the issue of Palestine. Sometimes we had to come to the struggle; let’s try and stop The 1905 Revolution in Russia began first protest in this country against the battle official marshals to do that, but it this war.” A few years later, when Bush with people following a priest in a march Vietnam war. About 70 people came to couldn’t have happened if we hadn’t been Junior invaded Iraq, many of them joined that appealed to “the good czar, our little our picket line in New York. Few people there. the protests. father,” asking him for some reforms. The in the U.S. were aware that U.S. military In November 1969, when half a mil- I find it incomprehensible that anyone “good czar’s” police fired on that march. “advisers” were fighting against the Viet- lion people rallied in Washington against on the left or who claims to be anti-im- Twelve years later, women in St. Peters- namese people at that time. the war, we, together with Students for perialist is complaining that people are burg went out on strike on International That was a bit before my time. I became a Democratic Society, led a breakaway in the streets against the class enemy’s Women’s Day. The men didn’t join until active in 1968, after the Tet Offensive march of 20,000 that stormed the Jus- new commander. If you have been at the the next day. (The women didn’t scold — when the Vietnamese National Liber- tice Department in defense of the Black protests, you have seen that most peo- them for not being there “yesterday.”) Five ation Front stunned the then half-mil- Panther Party. ple there were young and many from the days later, together with Army troops, the lion U.S. troops by seizing major parts of The night before, thousands of us bat- communities most under attack. Others women and men workers overthrew the the country for a few weeks in February tled the cops in the streets of Washing- were from the Black Lives Matter and im- czar and started on the road to the social- — and the murder of Dr. Martin Luther ton’s Georgetown neighborhood as we migrant rights movements and have been ist revolution eight months later. King Jr. in April. tried to seize the Saigon regime’s Embas- in the streets under Bush and Obama. My first political act, when I was very By then the body count of U.S. troops sy — the U.S. supported a puppet govern- (Were all those who criticize the Trump young, was giving out flyers for Sen. killed and the cost of the war had sky- ment there — on behalf of the Provisional protests there with them?) “Clean Gene” McCarthy, who had the rep- rocketed. Hundreds of thousands were Revolutionary Government of Vietnam. A major aim of capitalist-run electoral utation of being against the Vietnam War, marching in the streets against the war. politics is to direct people away from street although he too was for U.S. imperialism. Students were shutting down campuses. War on Yugoslavia demonstrations to the confines of the bal- Within weeks, I​ was supporting the Black GIs were starting to rebel. Dr. King had Fast forward 30 years to March 1999 lot box. Now, people are in the streets. The Panthers and running in the streets with spoken out against the war a year before and the Bill Clinton regime’s air assault fear of provoking a popular upsurge was the flag of Vietnam’s National Liberation his assassination. By the fall of 1969, Nix- on Yugoslavia. The International Action one reason many in the ruling class were Front. on was in the White House and a million Center, many of whose older members leery of Trump in the first place. Come to think of it, we in Workers World people filled the streets in National Mor- had been in YAWF, organized just about Do the anti-Trump protesters need to Party organized the only demonstrations atoriums against the war. the only protests against that war in al- understand Syria and Libya to protest in the country that I know of against fas- Should we have said, “Where were you liance with some Yugoslav organizations. Trump’s openly proclaimed plans to es- cism in Ukraine, defending the rebellion clowns seven years ago, when we happy We organized marches in several cities, a calate the war against Black and Brown in the eastern provinces now called Nov- few were protesting the war alone? You march on Washington, and a war crimes people here? If we anti-imperialists are orossiya, and supporting Russia’s annex- Johnny-Come-Latelys are only here be- tribunal against the Clinton administra- with the people in the streets, we have an ation of Crimea from the pro-fascist Kiev cause more GIs are dying, there’s a Re- tion and the European NATO leaders, opportunity to explain the other issues regime. We have also marched against publican in the White House and the Es- who also backed the destruction of that to them. U.S. intervention in Syria. tablishment itself is split on the war”? multinational country. Are some of them misled by the Dem- We wonder if the purists now scorn- That would have been foolish. The Thousands of Yugoslav-Americans ocrats? That’s the role of the Democratic ing the anti-Trump protesters were there point was not moral purity, but to actually came out in protest, many for the first Party — to mislead. It’s only by being in the at these demonstrations. Probably not, try to build a movement to stop the war. time. Some had voted for Clinton; oth- struggle and by being in contact with rev- or the demonstrations would have been We threw ourselves into the new move- ers were Republicans and voted for Bush olutionary ideas that the protesters learn. much larger. ment and tried to make it more militant. ­Senior. Revolutionary change depends upon But if they join now, we won’t try to We injected the slogan “Stop the War Did we say, “Where the hell were you people coming into motion who were not keep them away. workers.org Jan. 26, 2017 Page 11 a criminal Fiscal Control Board that the U.S. empire has imposed and that enforc- Trump stirs the pot as es the Puerto Rican people’s absolute lack of sovereignty and independence. That reality is exacerbated by the ex- istence of two right-wing administra- Political turmoil deepens in so. Korea tions, in both Puerto Rico and the Unit- ed States. The government of Governor By Deirdre Griswold Violent offensive against unions a government that will facilitate the U.S. “Ricky” Roselló wants to impose state- Under Park, the government has car- military occupation of the southern half hood on PR and advances a totally neo- The political crisis in south Korea just ried out a violent offensive against south of the Korean peninsula, which has been liberal agenda. This includes so-called won’t go away. The people are angry and Korea’s labor unions and made it easier in place for almost 72 years. Labor Reform that eliminates all the organized, determined to get rid of the for bosses to fire workers and get rid of However, the world has changed a great guarantees that the working class of the corrupt dictatorship of President Park full-time, steady jobs. Han Sang-gyun, deal since the U.S. first occupied Korea at country achieved through years of inces- Geun-hye. After months of massive president of the Korean Confederation the end of World War II. Today 26 per- sant struggles, and that will impoverish demonstrations, Parliament in Decem- of Trade Unions, was sentenced to five cent of south Korea’s exports go to China the people even more. And in the U.S., ber voted to impeach her, but she refuses years in jail last July for leading protests and only 13 percent to the U.S. With the Donald Trump promises chaos not only to leave office. An impeachment trial is against Park’s repressive labor policies. election of U.S. President Donald Trump, in his country, but worldwide. now being conducted by the Constitu- Other issues have included the presi- south Korea is already being pressured So this year, 2017, promises to be one tional Court. dent’s unwillingness to appear in pub- by Washington to pay more for the many of unceasing struggles in both PR and The grievances against the Park regime lic as hundreds of high school students U.S. military bases in the country. the USA. are many. Most explosive are the charges drowned over hours after a ferry boat The Korea Times on Jan. 22 noted, Stay alert of collusion between the government and capsized in 2014. The owner had add- “Trump, in his inauguration speech, Although there is the promise of Os- the “chaebols,” the big conglomerates that ed extra decks, making the vessel top brought up issues related to his repeat- car’s release in May, there is a need to stay dominate the economy and have grown heavy. It was all illegal, but brought him ed criticism of South Korea for ‘free rid- alert until he gets out of prison. History is super-rich exploiting south Korean work- big bucks. ing’ on the U.S. military in defense and full of prison “accidents.” Unfortunately, ers. Foundations set up by President Park Park’s father was Gen. Park Chung-hee, Seoul’s ‘job-killing’ free trade deal with Obama, as a proper imperialist, instead and a friend, Choi Soon-sil, have received who took power through a military coup Washington. … Seoul pays about half the of immediately releasing Oscar is making millions in donations from these cor- in 1961 and ruled for 18 years. During all cost, which Trump called ‘peanuts,’ for him wait four months. porations. In return the president has that time, he was a close ally of the U.S., the upkeep of 28,000 American troops.” The newspaper Claridad reported pardoned 15 top executives of Samsung, sending 300,000 Korean troops to fight Despite the restrained tone, it’s not diffi- that lawyer Eduardo Villanueva Muñoz, Hyundai and other chaebols convicted of in the Vietnam War. cult to feel the stinging effect that Trump’s spokesperson for the Puerto Rico Human economic crimes. Behind the scenes, one can be sure crude insults and lies are having on Kore- Rights Committee, “said that he appreci- Huge weekly demonstrations continue that the Pentagon and clandestine U.S. an people. If even a bourgeois paper like ated the president’s signing the commu- all over the country. The one in Seoul on agencies are doing everything they can to the Korea Times is appalled, you know the tation [but] noted that Obama was under Jan. 8 had more than a million people. make sure south Korea continues to have people in the streets are seething. great pressure and that the people of The struggle has opened up deep rifts Puerto Rico must be able to understand within the state. When a special prose- the imperial mentality that ‘never wants cutor announced he was seeking to arrest The rally started with the acknowl- the state capital. Speeches were made, to give us an absolute victory.’” (Jan. 18) Jay Y. Lee, head of Samsung, on bribery edgment that the event was taking place bands played music and people spoke Villanueva Muñoz “gave as examples charges involving $36 million given to on the ground where the historic Million of creating a sustainable movement for the release [of pro-independence fighters] Park foundations, he was overruled with- Woman March, organized by women women’s rights while resisting the Trump in 1999, given under imposed conditions; in days by a high court judge. of color, drew close to a million people, administration. Further meetings are and when the U.S. Navy understood that The latest scandal to be unearthed in- mostly Black women, in October 1997. planned to continue organizing and mo- it could not continue In Vieques, they volves a government “blacklist” of artists bilizing. Women pour out in South, Midwest said they were leaving, but only after and performers who have been critical of ‘We won’t go back!’ three years.” the regime. In Roanoke, Va., thousands of women and allies flooded Elmwood Park for a In Denver, some 75,000 women and speak-out of labor and community par- men were in the streets. The message was ticipants. Then the multinational, all-ag- clear: Women in 2017 will not go back to es crowd marched through downtown 1950. What is new is that not only were Women march against sexism, in one of the largest protests in Roanoke more men present, but a unity of struggle history. was shown for immigrants, Black Lives racism & Trump About 20,000 people rallied and Matter, incarcerated women and those marched in Raleigh, N.C. facing economic oppression. Noticeably Continued from page 6 ed campaign slogans like “The ­future is Despite thunderstorms, an estimated missing was an understanding of how female.” 60,000 people gathered downtown for U.S. wars impact the planet as well as ­RESIST the militarization of our lands, The International Working Women’s the Atlanta March for Social Justice and women here and around the world. communities, and bodies, and to UNITE Day Coalition had a lively contingent, Women. Just as the opening rally began, Over 25,000 women and their support- for the liberation of all oppressed peo- which included women from Workers the rain stopped and the crowd cheered ers took to the streets and marched to ples.” Organizers called for an end to vio- World Party, Picture the Homeless and as the sun came out. Houston City Hall in the largest demon- lence against women and to “highlight the the local branch of Gabriela USA. “The Women and others of all ages and na- stration since the historic immigrant economic, political, and cultural aspects warm response to our message, which tionalities formed a dense, multiblock rights action in 2006. by connecting how imperialism perpetu- stresses that every issue is a woman’s is- demonstration that ended at the Georgia In Portland, Ore., feminists of all ates and worsens violence against women sue, indicates there is a powerful move- State Capitol. For many, this was their stripes donned their pink hats and sang in all its forms.” ment for social justice in birth led by first protest, and whether 16 or 66 years and chanted while winding their way Labor Rising Against Trump had con- women,” said Monica Moorehead, coa- old, all seemed to experience empower- through the city. The crowd choked all but tingents in both Oakland and San Fran- lition co-coordinator and WWP’s 2016 ment and solidarity, especially at news of the widest streets, obliging demonstra- cisco marches. In Oakland, activists held presidential candidate. similar marches around the world. tors to take the sidewalk, flowing around a banner reading, “Workers’ Rights Are In Syracuse, N.Y., over 2,500 pe­ ople In Michigan, protesters came out by the parked cars and old trees. The demon- Women’s Rights.” encircled the federal building, out­ thousands in the capital city of Lansing, stration eclipsed the waterfront park and number­­ing 8 to 1 a local anti-woman, where a breakaway march led by militant took the Morrison bridge, temporarily NY and East Coast women rise ­anti-abortion march. youth took place. Demonstrations were closing it to traffic. New York City’s Fifth Avenue surged Black Lives Matter organizer ­Nikeeta also held in Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ypsilan- In Seattle, an estimated 175,000 with a multigenerational, multina- Slade powerfully named the day as a ti, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Muskeg- people countered Trump’s racism and tional sea of angry, determined, ener- “which-side-are-you-on moment.” The on, Saginaw and other cities and towns bigotry and years of attacks on women. gized women and men supporters who protest also included speakers from large and small. The marchers traveled 3.6 miles from marched against Trump and for wom- , the , the In Rockford, Ill., Workers World Party Judkins Park through downtown to Se- en’s liberation. The protest began at Dag LGBTQ community and the Onondaga and Rockford Youth Activism organized attle Center. The mass transit and traffic Hammarskjold Plaza near the U.N. with Nation. The event was followed by a polit- a “March against Trump and Sexism.” systems were overwhelmed. Thousands a brief rally. The official estimate for the ical and cultural “People’s Inauguration” A high-energy crowd marched through of colorful hand-made signs rebuked six-hour protest was 400,000 marchers. sponsored by the brand-new Central New downtown streets to city hall, where Trump’s misogyny while demonstrators Families pushed strollers while some York Solidarity Coalition initiated by the speakers, representing youth, environ- chanted “Black lives matter!” and other women rode in wheelchairs. Handmade Workers’ Center of Central New York and mental, Indigenous, LGBTQ and other chants. The march went on all day. Wom- signs read “Make America MEXICO the Syracuse Peace Council. organizations, denounced the Trump ad- en’s marches were held in at least eight again!” and “Don’t tread on me” above Buffalo, N.Y., saw several thousand ministration and declared they will con- other Washington state cities and towns. a drawing of a cis woman’s reproductive opponents of the Trump agenda march tinue to organize and build solidarity in Contributors included Jasen Vyvyan system. Many signs emphasized equality, through downtown in one of the city’s their communities. A “Women’s March Balmat, Tommy Cavanaugh, Sage inclusiveness and solidarity, especially largest demonstrations ever. Rockford” also brought out hundreds to Collins, Sue Davis, Ellie Dorritie, Terri “Black Lives Matter” and “Not My Presi- In Philadelphia an estimated 50,000 support women’s rights. Kay, Dianne Mathiowetz, Bob McCub- dent.” The color of the day was pink, with people, twice the number organizers Hundreds took to the streets for a bin, Jim McMahan, John Parker, Betsey many women wearing pink “pussyhats” had anticipated, turned out. Their signs Femme Solidarity March in Milwaukee. Piette, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Gloria and carrying signs that read, “This pussy reflected a wide variety of concerns. For Poor and working people from across Rubac, Dante Strobino, Gloria Verdieu, grabs back.” Relatively few signs referred many younger people, it was their first Wisconsin, at least 100,000 strong, Viviana Weinstein, WW Staff and WW to Hillary Clinton, though some repeat- time at a protest. joined the Women’s March in Madison, Wisconsin Bureau. Correspondencia sobre artículos en Workers World/Mundo Obrero pueden ser enviadas a: [email protected] FOTO: RAMÓN FRONTERA NIEVES ¡Proletarios y oprimidos de todos los paises unios! workers.org Vol. 59 Núm. 4 26 de enero 2017 $1 Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico Al fin, promesa de liberación de Oscar López Por Berta Joubert-Ceci Mi más profundo agradecimiento al Gobier- moso Lin Manuel Miranda y René de Calle imperio estadounidense frente a la absoluta no de Cuba, Venezuela y Nicaragua. Gracias 13, Ricky Martin, Andy Montañez, Chabela falta de soberanía e independencia del pueb- Luego de días de rumores y esperanzas a todos los que hicieron posible que Oscar Rodríguez y otros. lo boricua. fallidas, el pueblo boricua recibió con júbi- López Rivera pueda regresar a donde pert- Los esfuerzos de decenas de organi- Esta realidad se agudiza por la existencia lo la noticia que por años había esperado: el enece, a su Puerto Rico del alma”. (claridad- zaciones de la Diáspora Boricua en los de dos administraciones de derecha tanto prisionero político puertorriqueño con más puertorico.com, 18 de enero) EUA que consistentemente distribuían in- en Puerto Rico como en Estados Unidos. El años de encarcelación – 35 años - saldrá formación en festivales, desfiles puertor- gobierno de “Ricky” Roselló – quien quiere libre y sin restricciones el próximo 17 de Campaña libertadora riqueños y organizaban veladas y protestas. imponer la estadidad en PR y avanza una mayo. El 17 de enero, a tres días de termi- Esta victoria fue realmente una del pueblo Y luego la adhesión internacional. Cuba, agenda totalmente neoliberal incluyendo nar su puesto como presidente de los EUA, boricua que elevó la campaña a nivel mundi- siempre solidaria, tomó el caso de Oscar una Reforma Laboral que elimina todas las Barack Obama finalmente conmutó la sen- al. La lucha por la liberación fue acogida por como uno suyo. Venezuela y Nicaragua al- garantías que la clase obrera del país logró tencia de Oscar López Rivera. los más diversos sectores del pueblo boricua, zaron sus voces en foros nacionales e inter- a través de años de incesantes luchas y que López Rivera, quien acaba de cumplir 74 desde el independentista hasta el estadista, nacionales. Figuras como el Papa Francisco empobrecerá aún más al pueblo; y el de años el pasado 6 de enero, fue acusado en el pasando por todos los movimientos ciudada- y el ex presidente Carter exigieron a Obama Donald Trump en EUA que promete caos no 1981 de “conspiración sediciosa para derro- nos, religiosos, de mujeres, ambientalistas, su liberación. solamente en su país, sino a nivel mundial. car al Gobierno de Estados Unidos”, cargo jóvenes y estudiantes, la clase artística y la Una petición a Obama firmada por más de Por lo cual este año 2017 promete ser uno que rutinariamente se aplica a las y los revo- deportiva, la religiosa de todas las creencias, 100.000 personas fue entregada en Wash- de incesantes luchas tanto en PR como en lucionarios boricuas que luchan por la inde- LGBTT, y ciudadanas/os independientes. ington el pasado 11 de enero, presionando EUA. pendencia. Sobre él pesaban aún el resto de Su promesa de liberación igualmente aún más al entonces presidente Obama. Aunque hay la promesa de liberación de los 70 años de condena; doce de los años ya ha sido celebrada en todos los rincones del Oscar en mayo, hay la necesidad de estar cumplidos los pasó en aislamiento, práctica archipiélago. En televisión y radio se escu- ¿Qué significa para el pueblo boricua? pendientes hasta que salga de prisión. La cruel comúnmente aplicada a prisioneras/os cha frecuentemente que al empezar un pro- Las reflexiones de Oscar desde la cárcel historia está llena de “accidentes” en pri- políticos. grama se hace alusión a la libertad de Oscar. han sido muy importantes para el movi- siones. Obama desgraciadamente, como Su conmutación fue parte de las 200 y Las y los activistas se regocijan y felicitan miento progresista en PR. Su llamado a que buen imperialista, en vez de liberar a Os- pico otorgadas por Obama en las cuales mutuamente; mensajes de felicitación llue- se boicotee la inmensa – e ilegítima – deu- car inmediatamente, hace esperar cuatro también estaba la de Chelsea Manning, qui- ven desde muchas organizaciones a través da que tiene al pueblo asfixiado. El llamado meses. en valientemente sacó a la luz información del mundo. de unidad en la lucha por la independencia. Un artículo del periódico Claridad reporta secreta para exponer los crímenes de guerra Verdaderamente ha sido un esfuer- Su solidaridad con la prisionera Ana Belén que el licenciado Eduardo Villanueva Muñoz, estadounidenses. zo tan conjunto, que ninguna persona o Montes, aislada e incomunicada en una cár- Portavoz del Comité Pro Derechos Humanos Tristemente, el líder indígena Leonard agrupación puede hacerse única dueña de cel de Texas. Estos son puntos muy claves de Puerto Rico, “dijo que agradecía que el Peltier, y la valiente puertorriqueña Ana su logro. La Red Nacional Boricua pro Dere- en la lucha actual y que merecen una amplia Presidente haya firmado la conmutación Belén Montes, fueron excluidos de la lista. chos Humanos, con sede en Chicago donde discusión. De por sí, estas reflexiones son ya [pero] hizo la observación de que Obama Tan pronto Oscar supo la noticia por su residía Oscar, y con oficinas en varias ciu- un legado y una gran aportación de Oscar al estaba sujeto a grandes presiones y que el abogada Jan Susler, agradeció a su pueblo y dades de EUA y PR, organizó múltiples ac- movimiento de resistencia boricua. pueblo de Puerto Rico tiene que poder en- a todas las personas que habían exigido su ciones donde participaron además varias Por otro lado, el hecho de que tan diver- tender la mentalidad imperial de que “nunca liberación. figuras políticas electas. Han sido muchos sos sectores se hayan podido unir en un nos quieren reconocer un triunfo absoluto”. Su hija Clarisa López Rivera en conferen- los esfuerzos, desde las “Mujeres por Oscar” consenso – la liberación de Oscar – ya sea Villanueva Muñoz “dio como ejemplos cia de prensa desde San Juan hizo eco de las que cada último domingo del mes llevaban por motivos humanitarios y morales como que cuando la excarcelación en el 1999 se palabras de su padre: “Con voz entrecortada a cabo una demostración trayendo atención políticos, puede ser visto y extrapolado a la hizo bajo unas condiciones, cuando la Ma- y casi sin poder contener las lágrimas entre sobre el caso tanto en San Juan como en urgente necesidad que prevalece en el Puer- rina de Guerra entendió que no podía se- otras expresiones agradeció: “Hoy celebra- Nueva York; la mayor parte de clase artísti- to Rico de hoy: la presencia de una crimi- guir en Vieques, dijeron nos vamos pero en mos la victoria del pueblo de Puerto Rico. ca puertorriqueña, incluyendo el ahora fa- nal Junta de Control Fiscal impuesta por el tres años”. Migración cubana y política bélica estadounidense

Por Teresa Gutiérrez En 1994 y 1995, otro acuerdo de mi- cias de su padre para que Elián regresara. “Es importante que Cuba continúe te- gración entre EUA y Cuba estableció que Después de varios meses, el padre de niendo una población joven y dinámica que El 12 de enero del 2017, el gobierno de EUA entregaran 20.000 visas anuales a Elián, Juan Miguel, obtuvo la libertad de sean agentes de cambio”, dijo Rhodes. Obama anunció que pondría fin a una políti- cubanas/os que quisieran venir a EUA. La su hijo. Elián, ahora adulto, es uno de los También reportó el New York Times, ca migratoria de 22 años sobre Cuba. política de “pies mojados, pies secos” fue es- muchos líderes juveniles de Cuba en la de- ­citando al infame contra-revolucionario El presidente Barack Obama declaró tablecida dentro de la Ley de Ajuste Cubano fensa de la Revolución. Jorge Mas Canosa, presidente de la Fun- que el gobierno estadounidense ya no per- para otorgar un estatus legal ­inmediato. La Ley de Ajuste Cubano (CAA) establece dación Nacional Cubano Americana, antes mitiría a las/os cubanos que lleguen a suelo Los EUA nunca han mantenido su prome- un estatuto especial y exclusivo para las/ de su muerte en 1997 quien dijo de la CAA: estadounidense sin visas, permanecer en el sa de los acuerdos migratorios, aprobando os migrantes cubanos. Hace que sean las “Los cambios obligarían a los líderes cu- país y obtener inmediatamente la residencia tan sólo 1.600 visas algunos años. Al vio- únicas personas en el mundo que tienen la banos ser más receptivos a sus ciudadanos. legal. La política ya finalizada - denomina- larse el acuerdo año tras año, el número de dispensa para obtener automáticamente el “La gente puede estar inicialmente moles- da “pies mojados, pies secos” - era exclusiva personas que intentaban emigrar a EUA sin derecho a solicitar la ciudadanía y los per- ta por no poder tener esta forma de salir para migrantes cubanos. autorización, aumentó. misos de trabajo de EUA tan pronto toquen de Cuba, pero en última instancia, la solu- A diferencia de otras/os inmigrantes cari- Esos acuerdos se llevaron a cabo en el suelo estadounidense. ción para Cuba es la gente que lucha por el beños, centroamericanos o africanos, las/os contexto del bloqueo más largo de la histo- Esto expone claramente la naturaleza ­cambio en Cuba”. cubanos eran los únicos a los que se les con- ria de EUA, creando incontables dificulta- política de las políticas migratorias es- Miles de cubanas/os, según el Times, han cedía la residencia legal inmediata o el esta- des económicas y sociales en Cuba. A pesar tadounidenses. Por ejemplo, las/os haitia- salido de Cuba y están esperando su entrada tus naturalizado tan pronto tocaban suelo es- de las condiciones favorables a las/os tra- nos experimentan algunas de las condi- en la frontera de Méjico con EUA. La may- tadounidense. Sólo cuando eran capturadas/ bajadores, como la educación y la atención ciones más terribles en su patria debido oría han salido de Cuba debido a las dificul- os durante su travesía marítima hacia EUA médica gratuitas para todas/os, las condi- a políticas imperialistas. ¿Por qué no se tades económicas o el deseo de ver a la fa- es que este gobierno les regresaba a la isla. De ciones de vida siguen siendo difíciles en conceden a las/os haitianos u hondureños milia en EUA. Algunos simplemente tienen ahí el término “pies mojados, pies secos”. Cuba como resultado del bloqueo. Cuando - que huyen de la violencia - privilegios in- un anhelo de viajar, como la mayoría de los La política es parte de la larga guerra que el comercio con el antiguo campo socialista mediatos como a los cubanos? seres humanos. por décadas ha emanado desde Washing- se deterioró exponencialmente, las condi- Porque una de estas naciones ha tenido Desafortunadamente, estas/os cubanos ton dirigida a desestabilizar la Revolución ciones sociales fueron especialmente duras una revolución que expulsó a las corpora- experimentarán ahora las innumerables Cubana. Durante años, el gobierno cubano en Cuba. La escasez de alimentos y petróleo ciones transnacionales extranjeras y a los dificultades y miserias que sus hermanas y ha señalado que la política migratoria es- abundó como resultado del endurecimiento bancos de Wall Street: Cuba. hermanos emigrantes de otros países han tadounidense ha tenido como objetivo inci- del bloqueo y la caída de la Unión Soviética. ¿Por qué Obama derogó la parte “pies soportado durante generaciones. tar a la migración ilegal desde Cuba. Además, el imperialismo estado­ mojados, pies secos” de la CAA? Es ciertamente un paso adelante para En 1962, tras el triunfo de la Revolución, unidense y sus lacayos entre los elemen- Un artículo del 12 de enero en el New York Cuba que la administración Obama haya el gobierno de EUA suspendió abruptamente tos cubanos contrarrevolucionarios en la Times resumió al asesor de seguridad na- terminado con una pequeña parte de sus los viajes y las salidas legales desde Cuba a Florida llevaron a cabo sistemáticamente cional de Obama, Benjamin Rhodes, dicien- injustas políticas migratorias. Pero la Ley EUA. Miles de cubanas/os perdieron todas una campaña de propaganda ininterrum- do que “la mayoría de los cubanos que llega- de Ajuste Cubano debe ser derogada en su las conexiones con su familia que vivía en pida a través de la radio y otros medios ron a EUA en el pasado ‘tuvieron que dejar totalidad y las políticas migratorias que se EUA. La migración ilegal era la única forma para incitar la migración ilegal desde Cuba. Cuba’ por ‘razones políticas’ y que “ahora el otorgan en Europa y otros lugares también de reconectarse. Esta incitación provocó el caso de Elián flujo es en gran parte de personas que bus- deben ser practicadas hacia Cuba. Bajo el gobierno de Lyndon Johnson, se González, cuya madre murió en una balsa can mayores oportunidades económicas”, Además, la derogación de la política de promulgó la onerosa Ley de Ajuste Cubano. proveniente de Cuba rumbo a Florida en mientras que la terminación de la política “pies mojados, pies secos” para inspirar “el Esa ley estableció un estatus migratorio es- 1999. Elián sobrevivió y fue recogido por “es un reflejo de la opinión de Obama de cambio dentro de Cuba” fracasará, al igual pecial para las/os cubanos y se convirtió en la Guardia Costera y llevado a . Allí, que, en última instancia, el ascenso de una que todos las otras maniobras imperialistas la base legal para el derecho automático a miembros derechistas de la familia tra- nueva generación de cubanos presionando ha fracasado desde 1959. obtener el estatus de residente permanente taron de secuestrar al niño de seis años y por el cambio en su propio país es vital para La Revolución cubana sigue siendo un año después de ingresar a EUA. mantenerlo en EUA a pesar de las exigen- lograr el cambio allí”. fuerte.