AUSTRALIA $1.50 · canada $1.50 · france 1.00 euro · new zealand $1.50 · uk £.50 · u.s. $1.00 INSIDE See revolutionary Cuba for yourself! Join May Day International Brigade — PAGE 9 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE vol. 82/no. 4 January 29, 2018 ‘Militant’ wins Social disaster in mudslide Iran: Workers overturn of is result of capitalist rule discontent is Florida prison driven by war, ban — again economic crisis by seth galinsky by terry evans The Florida prison system’s Litera- The working-class discontent fu- ture Review Committee says that the eling protests that swept Iran begin- impoundment of the Dec. 18 issue of ning Dec. 28 was driven by workers’ the Militant was a “mistake” and has response to growing economic hard- been reversed. Officials at the Florida ship, continuing restrictions on po- State Prison in Raiford banned the is- litical rights, widening class divisions sue because of the article “Join Fight and the toll on working people of Teh- to Overturn Ban Against ‘Militant’!” ran’s wars across the region. which reported on the Militant’s suc- Above, Radio Sancti Spíritus; inset, Andy Holzman/SCNG Iran’s counterrevolutionary clerical cessful efforts to stop censorship of Above, Sept. 2016, revolutionary government rulers have no intention of giving up the paper. mobilized workers in Yaguajay, Cuba, to prepare political power or the military interven- Officials at the Raiford prison for Hurricane Irma. Inset, Skylar Fahlman tries tions that have expanded their reach to protect her home by herself in Ventura, Calif., failed to inform the Militant of the im- surrounded by Thomas Fire. In revolutionary against capitalist rivals across the Mid- poundment, contrary to state prison Cuba, watchword was “no one is left alone.” dle East. Nor can they reverse the causes guidelines. The paper learned about Under capitalism, it’s everyone for themself. of the economic carnage devastating the it from letters received from subscrib- lives of workers and farmers at home, ers behind bars. Catastrophe in California Cuban Revolution: Example rooted in the worldwide capitalist crisis Inmates at both the Charlotte Cor- product of profit system for working people in U.S. of production, trade and profits. rectional Institution in Punta Gorda Having deployed the Revolutionary and at Santa Rosa Correctional In- by seth galinsky Hurricanes, mudslides, wildfires, Guard across the country and thrown stitution in Milton, Florida, sent the Like other government officials earthquakes, floods. Under capitalism thousands of young rebels into jail, in- Militant copies of impoundment no- and the big-business news media, all natural disasters turn into social cluding Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, tices they received. One said he had Rob Lewin, head of the Santa Bar- catastrophes for working people. the Iranian rulers have quelled large- appealed the decision. bara County’s Office of Emergency Buildings can be constructed to scale working-class-led protests, at It’s standard operating procedure Management, blamed residents of least for now. Both wings of the clerical Continued on page 3 Continued on page 4 regime — one led by Iran’s Supreme Editorial Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the other by so-called reformers led by Pres- better withstand hurricanes and ident Hassan Rouhani — have joined in Both of the bosses’ parties have earthquakes. Working-class housing the crackdown. can be built on higher land, out of the Both have also moved to try to defuse reach of killer waves and flooding, workers’ anger. Khamenei acknowl- disdain for immigrant workers instead of on the cheapest, most vul- edged Jan. 9 that protest voices “should Continued on page 11 Continued on page 7 US rulers give high marks to Trump administration policies by terry evans of federal regulations and red tape The economic uptick in the U.S. and on businesses and banks, and says he Washington’s moves to defend U.S. will cut the size of the Washington imperialist interests around the world bureaucracy. are consolidating support among the His administration is working to propertied rulers for the course of the secure a bipartisan agreement on Donald Trump White House. This has Continued on page 8 not stopped liberals and others in the middle-class left, who never recon- ciled themselves to Trump’s victory, AP Photo/ Mark Lennihan from intensifying their demands that Inside Ravi Ragbir, center, at March 2017 New York protest against deportations, was arrested Jan. 11. he be driven from office. Immigrant teen wins over gov’t by John Studer dinated raids at 98 7-Eleven stores, The boss press is running articles move to deny right to abortion 6 and seth galinsky arresting 21 people and telling store of praise. “For Businesses, Donald NEW YORK — Over the past few owners they had to submit to immi- Trump’s First Year Is a Net Success,” Pro-independence parties months the Donald Trump admin- gration “audits.” the Wall Street Journal said Jan. 16. win Catalonia election 7 istration has carried out a series of The raids were a follow-up to Im- “What the critics don’t acknowl- moves that threaten the ability of a migration and Customs Enforcement edge is that Trump and his national San Juan paper under fire for number of immigrant workers to live raids under the Barack Obama admin- security team have actually scored promoting anti-Semitic article 8 and work here. They began phasing istration that ended up with charges some real foreign policy wins,” CNN out the Deferred Action for Childhood filed against a number of store own- said Dec. 27. –On the picket line, p. 5– Arrivals program for some 800,000 ers for employing workers without The bosses give Trump plaudits Russian auto union fights gov’t young people and announced the end- papers. for cutting taxes on the propertied move to shut it down ing of Temporary Protected Status Over the last few weeks ICE de- owners. Factory orders are increas- for more than 200,000 Salvadorans, tained three immigrants associated ing as bosses predict further capital- IG Metall workers strike in Haitians and Nicaraguans. On Jan. 10 with the sanctuary movement, includ- ist growth off the backs of working Germany, demand pay raise immigration agents carried out coor- Continued on page 6 people. He has slashed the number Vancouver, B.C.: Opioid deaths rise as capitalist crisis deepens BY JOE YOUNG times more likely to die of an overdose VANCOUVER, British Columbia than people of non-indigenous descent. — Over 1,100 people died from drug Some capitalist politicians say the overdoses in this province in 2017. answer is more criminalization of those More than 80 percent of the deaths involved in drug sales and use. Mike have been linked to fentanyl, a power- Farnworth, British Columbia minister ful synthetic opioid that is wreaking of public safety, is considering tougher havoc in areas hard hit by the effects penalties for fentanyl dealers, including of the capitalist economic and social charging them with manslaughter. crisis across North America. But the drug trade is just a business, In April 2016 Dr. Perry Kendall, Brit- like other capitalist businesses, with ish Columbia’s chief health officer, de- higher returns because of higher risks. clared a “public health emergency” over It doesn’t go away. Repression simply the high number of overdose deaths, but forces drug users underground, crimi- the capitalist rulers have done nothing to nalizing them, and makes getting treat- Mural by street artist Smokey D. in the Downtown East Side of Vancouver, British Columbia. address the underlying class realities re- ment more difficult. sponsible. The Vancouver Sun reported While social service agencies and paycheck to paycheck, unable to make thousands of union-scale jobs to build Sept. 27 that the British Columbia am- medical personnel call for increased ends meet. hospitals, schools, day care centers, bulance service had fielded 36,000 over- attention to this social crisis, none Housing costs and rents are sky high mental health clinics and other things dose calls in the previous 18 months. points to its roots in the dog-eat-dog in Vancouver and other major Canadian workers need. These conditions are the result of the capitalist system and the wars and so- cities. Many workers struggle to keep a We can build on this fight to chart a workings of today’s crisis of capitalist cial crises it breeds. roof over their heads and those of their course of independent working-class trade, production and employment. As The British Columbia government is families. The health service is deterio- political action to overthrow capital- members of the Communist League reopening Riverview psychiatric hospi- rating, and workers with job injuries or ist rule and put a workers and farmers knock on doors in working-class com- tal in Coquitlam, a Vancouver suburb, health challenges lack support. Facilities government in power. Through this munities to discuss the roots of this cri- as a mental health and addiction cen- are woefully inadequate for those strug- struggle, working people will transform sis, what we can do about it, and to build ter, but at the same time is closing the gling with mental illness. themselves, conquering the capacity to the League, we often hear how friends, Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and The Communist League calls on the run society ourselves to meet human co-workers and family members have Addiction. The net result will be the ad- labor movement to mobilize working needs, not for capitalist profits. been ravaged by the crisis. dition of only 11 beds. people in an ongoing social struggle Many workers use opioids because Hundreds of thousands of manufac- to demand a government-funded pub- Katy LeRougetel contributed to this ar- they face chronic pain as a result of a turing jobs have been eliminated in lic works program to provide tens of ticle. history of on-the-job injuries, or from Canada since the worldwide capitalist military service in imperialist wars financial crisis exploded in 2007, forc- abroad. Fraser Health, which serves a ing many workers who had relatively wide expanse of southwestern British well-paid steady work into a series of Pussy Riot speaks out about fight Columbia, says men between 19 and lower-paying temporary or part-time 59 years old who work in industry jobs. Temporary work has grown against prison conditions in Russia are disproportionately affected by the 12 times faster than regular jobs for by emma johnson in December 2013. drug crisis. workers between the ages of 25 and Pussy Riot members Maria Alyokh- “My brigade in the sewing shop People of indigenous descent are three 54. More and more workers are living ina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova be- works 16 to 17 hours a day from 7:30 came known around the world for per- a.m. to 12:30 a.m.,” Tolokonnikova forming a “punk prayer” against the wrote in a five-page open letter from regime of President Vladimir Putin in prison. “At best we get four hours of Moscow’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral sleep a night. I demand we be treated of Christ in February 2012 that led to like human beings. I will not remain two-year prison sentences for “hooli- silent, resigned to watch as my fellow ganism motivated by religious hatred.” prisoners collapse under the strain of They were sent to separate penal slavery-like conditions.” Celebrate ranchers victory over gov’t frame-up colonies in the Siberian Gulag. While in In a lengthy interview with the Fi- The frame-up of Nevada prison they organized with fellow pris- nancial Times printed Jan. 5, Alyokh- oners to fight horrendous work and liv- ina explained why the fight against ranchers collapsed Jan. 8 ing conditions. They both went on hun- prison conditions in Russia has been when a judge threw out the ger strikes several times and won release Continued on page 4 government’s case against

the Bundys, saying pros- $85 drawn on a U.S. bank to above address. ecution was guilty of “fla- The Militant Africa, Asia, and the Middle East: For Vol. 82/No. 4 one year send $85 drawn on a U.S. bank to grant misconduct.” above address. Closing news date: January 17, 2018 The ‘Militant’ explains Canada: For one year send Canadian $45 this is a victory for all Editor: John Studer to the Militant, 7107 St. Denis #204, Mon- K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP treal, Quebec H2S 2S5. working people. Rancher Cliven Bundy walks free Jan. 8. Editorial volunteers: Róger Calero, Seth Galinsky, Ellie García, Emma Johnson, United Kingdom: Send £26 for one year Martín Koppel, Jacob Perasso, Maggie by check or international money order Trowe, Brian Williams. made out to CL London, 2nd Floor, 83 Kingsland High St., Dalston, London, E8 SUBSCRIBE TODAY! Published weekly except for one week in 2PB, England. January, one week in June, one week in Republic of Ireland and Continental July, one week in September, one week in Europe: Send £85 for one year by check or December. NEW READERS NAME international money order made out to CL The Militant (ISSN 0026-3885), 306 W. 37th London at above address. Street, 13th floor, New York, NY 10018. France: Send 100 euros for one year to q.$5 for 12 issues ADDRESS Telephone: (212) 244-4899 Diffusion du Militant, BP 10130, 75723 Fax: (212) 244-4947 Paris Cedex 15. RENEWAL CITY STATE ZIP E-mail: [email protected] New Zealand: Send NZ$55 for one year Website: www.themilitant.com to P.O. Box 13857, Auckland 1643, New Zealand. PHONE e-mail Correspondence concerning subscriptions q.$10 for 12 weeks or changes of address should be addressed Australia: Send A$70 for one year to P.O. Box to the Militant, 306 W. 37th Street, 13th 164 Campsie, NSW 2194, Australia. q.$20 for 6 months UNION/SCHOOL/ORGANIZATION floor, New York, NY 10018. Pacific Islands: Send NZ$55 for one year to Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY. P.O. Box 13857, Auckland 1643, New Zealand.

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2 The Militant January 29, 2018 Victories scored against NY, NJ prison book bans by brian williams “The ban on The New Jim Crow vio- Authorities have been implementing lates the right to free speech enshrined a pilot program at several state prisons in the First Amendment to the U.S. in New York that severely limits access Constitution,” the ACLU said in a letter to books prisoners or their friends and delivered to Department of Corrections families can order for them to read. As Commissioner Gary Lanigan earlier more facts about it have come to light that day. and condemnations mounted, Gov. Noting that African-Americans dis- Andrew Cuomo tweeted Jan. 12, “I proportionately fill New Jersey pris- am directing the Dept. of Corrections ons, the ACLU wrote, “For the state to rescind its flawed pilot program that burdened with this systemic injustice restricted shipment of books & care to prohibit prisoners from reading a packages to inmates.” book about race and mass incarcera- At the same time, after protests by tion is grossly ironic, misguided and the American Civil Liberties Union and harmful.” others, New Jersey state officials were The victories in New York and New forced Jan. 8 to revoke a ban they had Jersey — as well as the Militant’s vic- placed on The New Jim Crow: Mass tory overturning the impoundment of Incarceration in the Age of Colorblind- an issue in Florida state prisons (see ness by Michelle Alexander. The title article on front page) — are good prec- After protests began against moves by New York state officials to severely restrict the ability of prisoners to order books, Gov. Andrew Cuomo backed down and rescinded the so-called had been banned at New Jersey State edents for the ongoing fight to allow pilot program. Under the new program, titles had to be ordered from just six approved Prison in Trenton and Southern State prisoners to join in today’s political dis- vendors, who offered a combined total of 77 books, including those shown above, mostly Correctional Facility in Delmont. cussions and debates. puzzles, drawing or coloring books, self-help, religious and a few romance novel titles. In New York, a test Secure Vendors Program was put in place Dec. 4 at the Greene, Green Haven, and Taconic prisons that severely restricts the avail- ‘Militant’ wins overturn of Fla. prison ban — again ability of books. Anyone who wants Continued from front page Ministry, the Alianza Martiana in Malcolm X. These books point the to order a book for a prisoner has to in Florida that whenever one prison Florida and others. way forward for the working class in choose from only six vendors — E- impounds a publication or book, it’s “Whenever the Militant is cen- the face of capitalist exploitation and Ford Commissary, Access Securepak, taken away from the inmates in all of sored, we organize to win support oppression. Union Supply Group, Jack L. Marcus the state’s 148 prison facilities. The for our right to reach our readers be- “Workers behind bars are that part Company, Walkenhorst, and Music Militant has dozens of subscribers in hind bars and for their constitutional of the working class the propertied by Mail. Shipments of new and used Florida prisons. right to read literature of their choos- rulers have run through their crimi- books from other mail catalogs or When David Goldstein, the Mili- ing,” said John Studer, editor of the nal ‘justice’ system and put in pris- online retailers are barred. Officials tant’s attorney, contacted the Litera- Militant. “We want more workers be- on for a time,” he said. “They share planned to expand the program state- ture Review Committee to find out the hind bars to subscribe, and to order common interests with workers on wide in September. deadline to file an appeal against the books we promote from Pathfinder the outside, and they need the revo- The approved vendors offer a com- ban, Dean Peterson, head of the com- Press that are written by leaders of lutionary working-class perspective bined selection of just 77 books: “five mittee, told him they had reviewed it the Socialist Workers Party and other we present.” romance novels, 14 religious texts, 24 the day before and overturned it. revolutionaries from Fidel Castro to drawing or coloring books, 21 puzzle This new ban came just a couple books, 11 how-to books, one dictionary weeks after the committee overturned militant and one thesaurus,” reports Addy Baird the impoundment of two previous is- calendar of the ThinkProgress news website. sues of the paper. Overall, prison of- labor The Department of Correctional and ficials impounded nine issues in 2017, california Community Services claims the mea- seven of which were overturned after Los Angeles Decolonization, Hurricanes and Soli- forums sure will “enhance the safety and secu- the Militant and some prisoners ap- darity. Speaker: Oscar López, Puerto Ri- rity of correctional facilities.” pealed. can independence fighter, released from Illinois Supporters of prisoners’ rights The Militant’s ongoing fight for the prison last year after being incarcerated Chicago on frame-up charges in U.S. jails for 36 fought to overturn the decision. Gov. right of workers behind bars to read Working-Class Discontent Spreads in years. Tues., Feb. 6, 7 p.m. Maya Angelou Iran. Prospects for Building Proletar- Cuomo’s announcement “is welcome the paper has won broad support. Let- High School, 300 E. 53rd St. Tel.: (310) ian Parties in the Mideast. Speaker: news not only for incarcerated individ- ters protesting impoundments in Flor- 460-8586. Hosted by MECHA. For more Dan Fein, Socialist Workers Party. Sat., information on López’s Southern Califor- uals in New York State and their fami- ida prisons have come from Amnesty Jan. 20, 7 p.m. Donation: $5. University nia tour, email: oscarlopezsocaltour@ Church Library. 5655 University Ave. Tel.: lies,” PEN America, which advocates International USA, PEN America, gmail.com. (312) 455-0111. for writers and readers worldwide, said New York’s Riverside Church Prison in a Jan. 12 press release, “but for all those who are concerned about the These books just $5 each with a Militant subscription right to read.” militant “This draconian restriction closes (trial offer for new readers: 12 weeks $5) off so much of the world to thousands Subscription of people,” NYC Books Through Bars, Are They Rich Because They’re Smart? which sends free books to prisoners in & Book Class, Privilege, and Learning Under Capitalism dozens of states, said in a letter to Gov. by Jack Barnes Cuomo. Specials In New Jersey Jan. 8 state prison The Clintons’ Anti-Working-Class Record authorities said they were lifting the Malcolm X, Black Liberation, Why Washington Fears Working People ban on The New Jim Crow at all state and the Road to Workers Power by Jack Barnes institutions. They also said they would by Jack Barnes review their overall policy under which $15. With subscription: $10 Is Socialist Revolution in the US Possible? other books are still prohibited. A Necessary Debate Among Working People by Mary-Alice Waters Discounted books for prisoners “It’s the Poor Who Face the Savagery of the US ‘Justice’ System” Pathfinder Press offers books at a 50% discount plus $2.75 shipping per order. The Cuban Five Talk About Their Lives Within the Prisoners can mail their prepaid orders to: US Working Class. Pathfinder Press, PO Box 162767 Atlanta GA 30321-2767 $7 each without subscription Friends and family members can order for them online. For more info: To subscribe or purchase books at these prices, www.pathfinderpress.com contact Socialist Workers Party or Communist League branches listed on page 10.

The Militant January 29, 2018 3 Mudslide social catastrophe Jury deliberates in frame-up of Quebec rail workers Continued from front page next night went door to door in that area. Montecito, California, themselves for In addition, some 23,000 people were in the deaths and disaster visited on the “voluntary evacuation zones.” town by widespread mudslides and Reports make it sound like the cops flooding Jan. 9. He said they simply had talked to everyone. But Santa Bar- didn’t heed evacuation orders given bara County officials admitted that only prior to the rain and mudslides, claim- 1,200 residents in the mandatory zone ing there was “no way anybody who had been contacted in person. was watching the news or paying at- Government officials had a detailed tention didn’t get it.” map that showed in advance where He also said the rain was beyond any- they expected mudslides to hit the thing they could have handled. “It was a hardest. But many of those areas were 200-year storm, and we had half an inch labeled for “voluntary” evacuation. of rain in five minutes,” Lewin told the Voluntary warnings don’t actually media. The mudslides killed at least 20 advise residents to leave, but to be on people, destroyed 100 homes and shut “high alert, and ready to evacuate at a down drinking water, electricity and moment’s notice,” the Santa Barbara natural gas in the region. Independent explained.

But government officials did little to Most importantly, no government Militant/John Steele warn the towns’ less than 9,000 resi- authorities did anything to organize MONTREAL — After six full days, jury deliberations continue in the Ca- dents, and nothing to organize to get a collective evacuation, alternative nadian government’s frame-up trial of locomotive engineer Tom Harding them out of harm’s way. The deaths, housing, food and other necessities, or and train traffic controller Richard Labrie, both members of United Steel- destruction and social crisis are a man- to mobilize crews to battle any flood - workers Local 1976. Along with Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway made disaster, not a natural one — the ing to come. low-level former official Jean Demaitre, the unionists are charged with direct result of the workings of capital- That’s the capitalist way. You’re on criminal negligence causing death in the July 2013 Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, ism. It’s “every man for himself” moral your own, and what you can do depends oil train derailment, explosion and fire that killed 47 people. values, and the callousness of the capi- on how wealthy you are. Above, activists with the Citizens and Groups Coalition for Rail Safety in talist government at every level. Lac-Mégantic attend closing sessions of trial. From left, Gilles Fluet, Gilbert The way the Cuban people and Warnings sent after mudslide starts Carette, Robert Bellefleur and Richard Poirier. their revolutionary government mobi- After the National Weather Ser- The only time the 12 jurors have come out was to ask the judge for clari- lized to meet Hurricane Irma stands vice texted a flash-flood warning fication of the meaning of “reasonable doubt.” in sharp contrast. about 2:30 a.m., Jan. 9, county offi- Since the trial began Oct. 2 in Sherbrooke, it has been clear that Harding The mudslides are a direct result of cials waited until 3:50 a.m. to send is the main target of the rail bosses and the government. Thomas Walsh, the Thomas Fire, which ravaged nearly out a text-message warning to people one of Harding’s two attorneys, told the Sherbrooke daily La Tribune Jan. 240,000 acres in the area in the first two in the area. By that time it was too 11 that the trial should never have taken place. “The goal was never to understand the accident,” he said, “but to blame someone.” weeks of December, and of the way the late — a wall of mud moving at 20 In his final arguments, lawyer Charles Shearson, also representing Hard- propertied rulers responded. The fire mph or faster was already sweeping ing, told the jury that Harding was being framed up. “As the driver of the down the hillsides. burned so destructively because years train,” Shearson said, “he was an easy target to shift responsibility to.” Montecito resident Cia Monroe told of drought were followed by a year of Shearson described how Harding, a safety-conscious rail worker with heavy rains that gave a spurt to combus- the Associated Press that her family had decades of experience was, like the people of Lac-Mégantic, a victim of tible grasses, shrubs and trees, followed to evacuate three times during the wild- company policies that placed profits before safety. And he explained how by another drought. Though officials fire and then was told they should evac- officials of Ottawa’s Transport Canada agency were complicit with the knew this provided fuel for fires, they uate a fourth time as the heavy rains hit. company bosses. did nothing to thin it out. “Where do you go when you’re a A number of people from Lac-Mégantic attended Shearson’s presenta- Besides the damage and destruction, family of four and you don’t have a tion in solidarity with Harding. They believe the rail bosses and govern- the fires also destroyed the top soil, cre- second home?” she asked, noting that ment officials should be in the dock, not rail workers. ating prime ground for flooding and a one-week stay in a hotel could cost If convicted, the three defendants could face life in prison. If the jury mudslides. This has happened many them $3,000. cannot come to a unanimous decision on the criminal negligence charges times in California. In the fall of 2003 Now — after the deaths and destruc- against Harding, it has the option of convicting him of lesser charges of after a fire ravaged the San Bernadino tion — people are being ordered to leave “dangerous operation of railway equipment” or “dangerous operation of Mountains, mudflows killed 14 people. the area. “It’s martial law here, basical- railway equipment causing death,” with maximum penalties of five and 14 After the 2010 Station Fire, a mudslide ly,” Sarah Ettman told AP. years respectively. damaged more than 40 homes in La Ca- Water and power have been turned — JOHN STEELE ñada Flintridge. off. When will water be restored? The increasing destruction from wild- “We’re not days away, but certain- fires is not a “natural” disaster either. ly sometime before the next two sembly Dec. 21, President Raúl Castro national territory,” Castro said. “No- Seeking to maximize profits, real estate months,” Nick Turner, general man- recounted how the Cuban government body was left on their own.” developers are building more homes ager of the Montecito Water District, worked with mass organizations, from It showed “the spirit of resistance near fire-prone vegetation and forests. told the Los Angeles Times Jan. 15. unions to neighborhood committees, and victory of our people, who con- Local governments fail to adopt policies Shades of Puerto Rico. to evacuate nearly 1.8 million people fronted the event and the recovery that would prevent the accumulation of prior to the arrival of Hurricane Irma, period with organization, unity, disci- dry vegetation, creating the threat of How Cuba responds to storms to get them out of harm’s way. pline, and solidarity,” Castro said. large, uncontrollable fires. It doesn’t have to be this way. The After the storm, brigades of elec- While rebuilding tens of thousands Local officials issued mandatory way the revolutionary government of trical workers organized before the of homes still lies ahead, it’s being evacuation orders Jan. 6 for some 7,000 Cuba responds to natural disasters is hurricane hit went into action. “In taken on in the same spirit. people closest to areas burned by the the exact opposite. just 20 days the flow of electricity and Unlike in the United States, where Thomas Fire, and sheriff deputies the In a speech to Cuba’s National As- water was re-established in the entire the government’s priority is to pro- tect the wealth of the capitalist class and dog-eat-dog prevails, in Cuba the government is run by working Pussy Riot speaks on conditions in Russian prisons people and organizes to meet the Continued from page 2 prison system. in Yakutia, Siberia, where Sentsov is challenges ahead. at the center of what they do since get- Alyokhina explains she refuses to detained. Along with another Pussy A team of members of the Social- ting out of jail. stop speaking out or to be driven out Riot member she hung a large ban- ist Workers Party went door to door “People came up to me and Nadya of Russia. ner saying “Free Sentsov” across a in Ventura, California, Jan. 13, an and said, ‘Girls, if you don’t change this, Over the past two years Alyokhi- bridge near the prison. area hard hit by the December fire but if you don’t tell people about it, then no na has performed her play “Burning Sentsov was framed up on charges spared the mudslides, so far. Militant one will,’” she said. “I’ve got five huge Doors” with the Belarus Free Theatre, of being part of a “terrorist conspira- subscriber Katherine Necessary said cardboard boxes in my attic with all the including in the U.S., United Kingdom, cy” and sentenced to 20 years. He had that during the Thomas Fire, “we letters that people sent me for the two Australia and Italy. It tells her own story helped to deliver food to Ukrainian sol- were told it was up to us whether to years I was in prison. They told their and that of two other targets of Mos- diers trapped on their bases following evacuate or not.” own stories. And for many people our cow’s repression — Oleg Sentsov, a Moscow’s occupation of Crimea in Feb- “There is no reason that people in story became the reason for changes in Ukrainian nationalist and filmmaker ruary 2014. Santa Barbara should have died,” she their life.” from Crimea, and Russian performance “It’s important to be consistent,” said, pointing to similar government Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova helped artist Petr Pavlensky, who sewed his Alyokhina says. “Don’t quit what inaction in the face of the mudslides. set up Zona Prava, a human rights group, lips together to protest the jailing of the you’ve started, don’t give up, don’t and Mediazona, a news site that focuses Pussy Riot members. walk away. It’s important that those Dennis Richter from Los Angeles con- on the injustices of Russia’s court and In August, Alyokhina was arrested aren’t just words.” tributed to this article.

4 The Militant January 29, 2018 Russian auto union fights gov’t move to shut it down by emma johnson the idea of ‘solidarity.’” “The very existence of trade unions The autoworkers union became well in the Russian Federation will be called known nationally when it conducted a into question,” the Interregional Labor 25-day strike at the Ford assembly plant Union of Automobile Workers (MPRA) outside St. Petersburg in 2007, where — one of the largest unions in Russia — workers won 11 percent pay raises, in- said after the City Court of St. Peters- dexing of wages to inflation, and a con- burg ruled to disband the organization tract that registered gains in working Jan. 10. conditions and social protections. The Government prosecutors claimed the independent union’s militant strike at- MPRA is a “foreign agent,” getting gobs tracted workers to its ranks and its mem- of money from the IndustriALL Global bership grew. It now has 4,000 members Union federation, over half a million across the country in auto and other dollars. The MPRA says the total was manufacturing plants. $6,000, received for training programs. Union Chair Alexei Etmanov, who ITAR-TASS Autoworkers strike Ford plant in St. Petersburg, February 2007. Russian government got court to Unions belonging to IndustriALL led the 2007 strike, says the union will label Interregional Labor Union of Automobile Workers “foreign agent” and disband it Jan. 10. have millions of members in more fight this attack, including appealing to than 100 countries. In Russia, 10 ma- the Supreme Court if necessary. iniquity,” the union reported Jan. 12. Ukraine, and Trade Union of Workers in jor unions are members. The logic of “Hundreds of people, both trade The Executive Committee of the Rus- the Metallurgical, Mining and Chemi- this ruling is that they will also face union activists and ordinary citizens, sian Confederation of Labor, Belarusian cal Industry of Georgia are among those being disbanded. have already expressed support for our Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, who have already made statements pro- This is the second time a trade union union and condemnation of the judicial Confederation of Free Trade Unions of testing the ruling. in Russia has been targeted for “foreign” connections. In December the Justice Ministry declared the long-haul truck- ers’ Carriers Union, which has orga- Red Fawn faces trial in government frame-up Jan. 29 nized strikes and protests against oner- By Alyson Kennedy the path of the construction. was targeted, tackled and arrested solely ous fees levied against them since 2015, Federal prosecutors will put Red Fallis, who was volunteering as a because of her participation in a legal a “foreign agent.” The decision was an- Fawn Fallis on trial Jan. 29 in Fargo, medic, was one of 141 people arrested political protest against the pipeline and nounced two weeks before the union or- North Dakota, seeking to victimize her that day. Cops obviously knew who she its interference with the sovereign rights ganized a nationwide 10-day strike. for being among the thousands who was and targeted Fallis, throwing her to of the Standing Rock Sioux. And it’s the first time a union orga- poured into the state in 2016 to protest the ground. Cops and federal prosecu- But Judge Daniel Hovland ruled that nization that has not been registered as the construction of the Dakota Access tors claim that while they were piling on he would not permit any mention at a foreign agent has been disbanded by Pipeline near the sovereign land of the top of her, putting her in handcuffs, she trial about U.S.-Native American treaty the government for “performing the Standing Rock Sioux. The construction somehow got a gun and fired three shots agreements or protests against the pipe- functions” of one. threatened to disrupt ground sacred to at police, none of which hit anything. line. “The trade unions in Russia are part the tribe and to pollute the tribe’s main The state of North Dakota charged her He also denied a defense motion for a of the international trade union move- source of water. with attempted murder, but dismissed it postponement to pursue more discovery ment,” the autoworkers’ union said. Protests grew to involve members of when the U.S. government filed federal Continued on page 9 “No court decision can abolish inter- more than 300 Native American tribes charges of Civil Disorder, Discharge of national trade union solidarity as the and 3,000 to 4,000 supporters. They set a Firearm in Relation to a Felony Crime basis of the labor movement.” up encampments on or near tribal treaty of Violence, and Possession of a Firearm IG Metall workers Their statement also rejects the land out of which they organized their and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon. court’s allegations that union members battle to halt the pipeline. Jailed without bond for a year, Fallis is strike in Germany, took part in illegal activities when they As the fight grew, North Dakota au- currently confined to a halfway house participated in a rally of fast-food work- thorities got reinforcement from state preparing for her trial. She is the first of ers and a protest of doctors against cuts troopers and cops from at least 76 local, seven protesters facing federal charges demand pay raise in medical personnel. It defends its sup- county and state law enforcement agen- to go to trial, and could be sentenced to by emma johnson port for the truckers’ 2015 strike. cies from 10 states. 10 years to life in prison. Members of IG Metall, Germany’s The court is saying that “the On Oct. 27, 2016, hundreds of cops More than 300 Standing Rock protest- biggest union, started a round of strike MPRA had the right to protect the in- used pepper spray, rubber bullets, bean ers await trial on state criminal charges. protests Jan. 8, part of pressing for a 6 terests of only its own members, but bag projectiles, Tasers and smoke gre- Fallis appeared in Federal District percent wage increase, as negotiations not members of other, fraternal trade nades in an attempt to forcibly remove Court in Bismarck, North Dakota, Dec. begin for a new contract covering 3.9 unions,” the union says. “It outlaws protesters from a camp set up directly in 8 and 11. Her attorneys argued that she million workers. The old contract ex- pired Dec. 31. Over the next few days some 160,000 25, 50, and 75 years ago workers at more than 80 companies staged brief walkouts and organized demonstrations and rallies. Affect- ed companies include Volkswagen, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Siemens, Air- bus, Honeywell and Bombardier. January 29, 1993 January 29, 1968 January 30, 1943 The union is also demanding work- The cowardly bombing of Iraq by The announcement that the People’s WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 — Post ers have the option to cut their work- U.S. military forces, with some help Republic of Korea had seized a U.S. spy Office Attorney William C. O’Brien, week in order to care for children and from Britain and France, is a brutal vio- ship off its coast, and Washington’s re- demanding suppression of the mailing aging relatives. lation of that nation’s sovereignty. action to that announcement, both point rights of The Militant at a hearing in The bosses have offered a 2 percent Washington is asserting it has the to the danger created by U.S. imperial- the Postmaster General’s office here to- wage raise plus a one-off $240 bonus, right to lash out at will against Iraq, ism in this section of the world. day, summed up the government’s case but have so far rejected demands for and by extension anywhere in the world A special correspondent of the New when he flatly stated: “We are not con- workweek flexibility. where it feels its interests are being York Times said Jan. 23 that there is “no cerned here with questions of truth or IG Metall has warned that the pro- threatened. Through naked force the doubt” that the U.S. ship was “trying to falsity. It does not make any difference test actions will expand if no progress U.S. rulers hope to maintain their domi- pinpoint the sites of key radio and radar if everything The Militant said is true.” is made in negotiations. “We have the nation over this oil-rich region and get stations in North Korea,” to help Ameri- The attempt to suppress The Mili- tool of 24-hour warning strikes at our an upper hand against their imperialist can engineers “design jamming devices tant was instigated directly by Attorney disposal, and of course we always rivals headquartered in Paris, London, and other electronic countermeasures.” General Francis Biddle, when a letter have the option to ballot for open- Bonn, and Tokyo. Members of Congress said it was an from Biddle, urging the postal authori- ended industrial action,” union head Massive bombing and other military “act of war” for the Koreans to do what ties to initiate this proceeding, was read Joerg Hofmann told Reuters Jan. 10. assaults during the U.S.-led war against they did — as if the U.S. has the right into the record. The letter showed that Contract negotiations are coming Iraq in 1991 left much of the country in to send spy ships into the waters of any the attack on The Militant represents a up for a number of other unions, in- ruins and took as many as 150,000 lives. country any time it wishes. continuation of the government’s attack cluding for mine, chemical, postal The economic embargo against the Those opposed to the war in Vietnam on the militant labor movement initiated and rail workers. people of Iraq, which remains in effect should demand that the U.S. stop all pro- by Biddle in the Minneapolis trial of 28 The strikes take place in the context of to this day, has produced great hardship vocative spy raids on North Korea and Socialist Workers Party and Local 544- an economic uptick in Germany, where and thousands more deaths. get its troops out of South Korea. CIO members in 1941. many bosses face labor shortages.

The Militant January 29, 2018 5 Immigrant teen wins over gov’t move to deny right to abortion by LEA SHERMAN to pay for the expenses, and staff in the A 17-year-old immigrant, known as shelter willing to accompany her to the Jane Moe, who had been detained by clinic. She was forced to go to “counsel- U.S. immigration officials, has won her ing” at an anti-abortion “Crisis Pregnan- fight to have an abortion. Since October, cy Center” and have a sonogram. she is the fourth young woman to stand But it took the ACLU suit to get the down efforts by the Office of Refugee government agency to back off. Scott Resettlement to stop them from getting decided not to wait for a court ruling and the procedure. The agency is responsi- released Moe. ble for unaccompanied immigrant youth in U.S. custody. Fight continues The government backed off and re- After the Oct. 25 court decision clear- leased Moe from custody and she can ing the way for Jane Doe’s abortion, now obtain the abortion she has request- government lawyers appealed to the ed. U.S. Supreme Court asking it to dismiss Justice for Jane all claims and wipe out the Washington Oct. 20 rally outside U.S. Health and Human Services office in Washington, D.C., support- “The government blocked her for ing successful fight of immigrant teen Jane Doe for right to have an abortion. Since then more than two weeks, before deliber- district court ruling because it might be government has lost three more attempts to keep immigrant youth from getting abortions. ately moving her out of their custody used by other women. only when we filed to take them to The ACLU in turn filed a lawsuit, The rights of immigrants and women There is no abortion provider in some court,” American Civil Liberties Union Garza v. Hargan, asking the court to are intertwined in this important fight 90 percent of U.S. counties. Hundreds attorney Brigitte Amiri said in a Jan. 11 issue an order preventing the govern- for the unity of the working class. Wom- of state laws have been enacted in re- statement. Amiri filed the suit against ment from enforcing its “no abortion” en in the U.S. — particularly working- cent years that further restrict abortion the government that led to Moe’s vic- policy against other young women in class, rural and young women — con- rights, including waiting periods, un- tory. custody. tinue to face growing restrictions on necessary sonograms and draconian “We continue to pursue all avenues to Both cases await decision. their right to choose abortion. regulations on clinics. ensure that no other young woman like her is forced to continue a pregnancy against her will for purely political rea- sons,” Amiri said. Bosses’ parties have disdain for immigrant workers Since October Jane Doe, Jane Roe, Continued from front page said explicitly his goal was to force “reform” means increased control over Jane Poe and now Jane Moe were each ing Trinidadian Ravi Ragbir, a leader Congress to come up with a replace- the flow of immigrants to ensure a suf- barred from obtaining abortions until of the New Sanctuary Coalition here; ment immigration plan. ficient pool of cheap labor. The rul- they went to court. Haitian Jean Montrevil, also an activ- “If we do this properly, DACA, ers all want greater flexibility to turn Even though the government’s ist in the coalition; and Eliseo Jurado, you’re not so far away from compre- immigration on and off as the hiring regulations don’t contain such strict the companion of Ingrid Encalada hensive immigration reform,” Trump needs of the employing class shift. rules, the Office of Refugee Resettle- Latorre, a Peruvian immigrant who told Democrat Richard Durbin, sena- This includes a steady supply of ment has a blanket policy prohibiting has taken refuge in a church in Boul- tor from Illinois in a Jan. 11 meeting workers without papers, who they ex- abortion unless the young woman’s der, Colorado, that offered her sanctu- with members of Congress. “And if pect to be able to exploit more cheaply life is in danger. The New York Times ary to fight her deportation. Hundreds you want to take it that further step, I’ll and intimidate from fighting back has described Scott Lloyd, the head of protested Ragbir’s detention outside take the heat, I don’t care.” against exploitation and dangerous the office, as a longtime “anti-abor- an ICE jail here Jan. 10. Some liberals urged the Democrats working conditions. tion crusader.” At the same time, President Trump to make the deal. “Take a Deal for the And they seek to scapegoat these Texas authorities back the federal has explained he thought it was pos- Dreamers,” headlined the Washington workers in an effort to divide the work- agency, saying the courts are just invit- sible to reach a broader bipartisan deal Post editorial Jan. 10. “Build the Wall.” ing class and lower the wages and con- ing “abortion tourism.” on immigration “reform” that would A number of conservative anti-im- ditions for all. Lloyd had written a memorandum reverse some of the above measures. migrant groups and individuals were ‘Guest’ worker visas rise arguing Jane Poe should be refused the The “deal” he floated was to exchange outraged at Trump’s negotiations. “It’s abortion even though she was eligible new steps to open the door to DACA shaping up to be a disaster, a calam- With a decreasing number of newly under the regulations because her preg- youth, some TPS participants and le- ity,” complained Steve King, an infa- arrived immigrants, agribusiness has nancy was the result of being raped be- galization of other immigrants in ex- mous anti-immigrant congressman sought to increase the number of so- fore fleeing to the U.S. change for stronger controls on the from Iowa. called guest workers, who receive tem- In the first three cases, the U. S. Dis- border, restrictions on visa “lotteries” Then, after a second closed-door porary work permits. trict court in Washington, D.C., ruled in and visas for family members, and, of meeting the next day, things blew According to the Miami Herald, the the women’s favor. course, funds for a wall. up. Democrats claimed Trump called use of workers with temporary guest Moe got the judicial waiver required When his administration an- Haiti and African nations “s--thole worker visas has increased sevenfold by Texas law of all women who seek nounced the moves to cancel the countries.” Durbin said Trump’s com- in California since 2011. Many land- abortions, had private funds available DACA program and TPS, Trump ments were “hate-filled, vile and rac- scaping, construction, cleaning and ist.” Some Republicans who attended other business also came to rely on the meeting say Trump never said the Salvadoran, Haitian and other workers Further reading... phrase attributed to him. who had Temporary Protected Status. “The language used by me at Mark Drury, an executive with Communist Continuity and the the DACA meeting was tough,” he Shapiro & Duncan, a plumbing, heat- Fight for Women’s Liberation tweeted. “But this was not the lan- ing and cooling firm in Rockville, Documents of the Socialist Workers Party, guage used.” Maryland, told Inc. magazine that 1971-86 “Never said anything derogatory workers with TPS “are the best as far This three-part series helps politically equip the about Haitians other than Haiti is, ob- as immigrants, because they’ve had to stay crystal clean in order to re- generation of women and men joining battles viously, a very poor and troubled coun- try,” he also tweeted. “Probably should new their status.” in defense of women’s rights today. record future meetings — unfortu- The question for the working class $12 each; all three for $30 nately, no trust!” and others who are in solidarity with Vol. 1: Women’s Liberation and The dispute was grabbed by most immigrants is how to unite the work- the Line of March of the Working Class liberals, the middle-class left and ing class and end the deportations of Vol. 2: Women, Leadership, and the Proletarian Norms Democrats in the self-proclaimed Re- all workers in the U.S. today. Demand of the Communist Movement Vol. 3: Abortion Rights, the ERA, and the Rebirth of a sistance, who claim Trump is somehow amnesty for all immigrants now! Feminist Movement qualitatively different than other Dem- ocratic and Republican spokespeople for the capitalist ruling families. New International Abortion Is a Woman’s Right! Despite their feigned indignation, A magazine of Marxist politics by Pat Grogan, Evelyn Reed every wing of the capitalist political and theory, 1934-present Why abortion rights are central not only to the spectrum bears similar sentiments fight for the full emancipation of women, but to Intercontinental Press toward the peoples of the colonial International news magazine forging a united and fighting labor movement. $6 and semicolonial world, and, for that 1963-86 matter, toward the working class in Online at themilitant.com www.pathfinderpress.com the U.S. pathfinderpress.com For the ruling class, immigration

6 The Militant January 29, 2018 Iran workers discontent Continued from front page But the results in Iran itself have been be heard and responded to.” But apart class-divided, with an enormous cost for from reversing some anti-working-class working people. They have made up the budget measures the government re- troops who have died in the fighting and cently imposed, neither Khamenei nor seen the wars eat up government funds Rouhani have anything to offer working taken away from social programs and people apart from false sympathy. subsidies for workers. “Rouhani failed us. I felt hurt by see- Even though Islamic State has been ing clerics get their budget as usual but pushed out of almost all the territory it the poor will get poorer by day,” Mary- conquered, Washington, Moscow and am, a 32-year-old housewife told the capitalist rivals in the region continue to Financial Times. “Protesters are right. fight and jockey for turf and influence. There is no hope in any reforms. They In October, troops from the Shiite- Syrian Arab Army [the Iranian leaders] are all the same.” dominated government in Iraq, along- Turkey Euphrates Shield After reaching a deal with Washing- side 150,000-strong Tehran-backed Rebel Groups ton to freeze Tehran’s nuclear program Shiite militias, moved to drive the Syrian Democratic Forces in exchange for an easing of sanctions Kurdistan Regional Government out of Islamic State by the U.S. government and its allies, Kirkuk, nearby oil fields and other ter- ritories. Since then, under pressure from Map shows who controls different areas of Syria, January 2018. Moscow and Tehran-backed Iran’s rulers anticipated a new rise in forces seek to bolster Assad regime in drive today against rebel-held areas in Idlib province. foreign investment and trade. But hesi- Washington and Paris, the Iraqi govern- tancy by capitalist investors abroad has ment is seeking to assert a measure of The assaults alarmed the Turkish in the country, and, in collaboration with meant Iran got less than $3.4 billion independence from Tehran. It has called government, which called on Moscow some Arab forces, along a sizable swath in 2016. At the same time, the price of on Iran’s rulers to disband half of its mi- and Tehran to halt the offensive. Ankara of territory along the Euphrates River to Tehran’s increased oil exports slumped litias in Iraq. has inserted troops in Idlib as part of the Iraq border. from $100 a barrel to $30. Iranian forces, Hezbollah and other the “de-escalation” deal, near areas held Assad threatens to attack the Tehran-backed militias in Syria are by Kurdish People’s Protection Units Kurds, saying he intends to take back Tehran’s role in Mideast wars engaged in an assault by the Assad re- (YPG) forces in Syria, threatening to the entire country. One of the demands prominently gime and Moscow in Idlib province. wipe them out. Tehran is also involved in deadly featured in protests in 80 cities across Rebel forces from across the country The Kurds are a 30-million strong clashes in Yemen, backing Houthi reb- the country has been calls for an end to moved there under terms of a “de- oppressed nationality within Iraq, Iran, els there who are fighting a U.S.-backed Tehran’s widening military operations escalation” deal reached between the Syria and Turkey. Ankara fears that coalition led by Saudi Arabia. in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere and to its governments of Russia, Iran and Tur- gains made by Kurds in Syria will stir From Syria to Iraq to Lebanon to Ye- financing of Hezbollah and Hamas. key. The rebels were promised they determination among Kurds in Turkey men, Washington seeks to bar Iran’s rul- Tehran’s capitalist rulers have made a would not be attacked, a promise that to resist Ankara’s efforts to deny them ers from making further gains. series of moves over the last decade to now lies in tatters. national rights. In the midst of the wars and social cri- expand its political and military sway Since November 100,000 Syrians Washington collaborated with the ses throughout the region, no capitalist in the region. In the midst of deepening have fled their homes as a consequence YPG in combating Islamic State, over regimes there were anxious to back the civil war in Syria, sectarian conflicts in of attacks by Assad’s forces and Mos- fierce objection from Ankara. In the working-class unrest in Iran. They are Iraq and moves by the reactionary Is- cow’s air and artillery assaults. Over 150 course of this, the Kurds were able to all too afraid of working people in their lamic State to seize territory in the midst people have been killed since Jan. 1. expand control over the Kurdish areas own countries to do so. of the fighting, Tehran sent troops and worked with Hezbollah and pro-Tehran militias to advance its position. Pro-independence parties win Catalonia election All the capitalist rulers in the re- gion did the same, including the Recep by emmA JOHNSON Rajoy’s People’s Party, which governs national rights for the past decade. Tayyip Erdogan government in Turkey When Spanish Prime Minister Mari- Spain, lost big, seeing its vote cut in half, Rajoy then sacked the Catalan presi- and the monarchy in Saudi Arabia. And ano Rajoy, who ousted the pro-indepen- going from 11 seats to four. dent, government, members of parlia- Washington, the strongest imperialist dence parliament and seized control of The elections took place in a polar- ment and numerous civil servants. Lead- power, intervened, seeking to back al- the government of Catalonia last fall, ized political situation. Madrid imposed ers of parties and organizations favoring lies and defend its imperialist interests. called snap elections there for Dec. 21, direct rule after the Catalan parliament independence were imprisoned and As Syrian rebels made gains against the he hoped a slate of candidates pledged declared independence following an slapped with charges carrying decades- Bashar al-Assad dictatorship, Moscow to unity with Madrid would win. But the Oct. 1 referendum the government de- long prison sentences. Catalan President sent in bombers and Tehran increased vote dashed his hopes. clared illegal. Madrid tried to stop it Carles Puigdemont fled to Belgium, to its forces on the ground. While the Citizens, a party that by brute force, sending 10,000 Civil avoid arrest. Tehran has made significant advances opposes breaking away from Spain, Guards and hundreds of soldiers. More Hundreds of thousands hit the streets there, in Iraq and elsewhere. It now con- got the largest vote, the parties advo- than 1,000 people were injured in clash- of Barcelona protesting the crackdown trols territory running from the Afghan cating independence got more votes es with government forces. and demanding Madrid free the arrest- border on the east to the Mediterranean overall and won a majority of the Rajoy’s party has led attacks, some ed leaders. Sizable demonstrations took Sea on the west. seats in parliament. violent and thuggish, against Catalan place both in favor of and opposing in- dependence. Of the pro-independence parties, Puigdemont’s Together for Catalonia got Anger at unemployment, regime fuels protests in Tunisia the highest vote. Parliament convened by Terry evans currently runs at 6 percent, food prices “the ability to organize and protest,” Jan. 17 and will vote in the next couple Extensive working-class discontent have gone up 50 percent since then. while defending the government’s at- Continued on page 11 with rising prices, unemployment and Youth unemployment remains at 25 tacks that pile more hardships on the both major factions of the government percent. And young people are a large working class. At the same time, au- led to protest actions over several days component of the rising proportion of thorities unleashed cops and tear gas on in some 20 cities and towns across Tuni- workers — estimated at over one-third protesters and arrested over 700 people, Opening Guns of World sia beginning Jan. 7. of the workforce — employed in what including three officials of the opposi- War III: Washington’s The government increased the price is called the informal economy, with no tion Popular Front Party. Assault on Iraq of fuel and some food items, raised contract, no assurance of work, nor ac- The government in November ex- by Jack Barnes workers’ social security contributions cess to health care or social security. tended a state of emergency — in place In New International no. 7 and hiked taxes on phone cards, internet Toilers who live in the country’s less- since Islamist terror attacks in 2015 — usage and cars Jan. 1. For wide layers populated interior face far fewer jobs giving the cops the power to ban strikes “The Kurdish people of the working class, already fighting to and the worst conditions. and prevent public protests. On Jan. 10 have come to the center stage in make ends meet, the onerous measures “It is impossible for people to live it deployed the army against protesters world politics as impose even greater difficulties. with dignity today,” Wael Naouar, a pro- in several cities, including Thala, a town never before, not Tunisia is touted in the bourgeois tester, told the New York Times Jan. 9. of 16,000 in the northeast. Hours earlier primarily as victims, press as the one country to emerge with “This government, like every govern- cops had fled the town and demonstra- but as courageous a degree of “stability” from the Arab ment after Ben Ali, only gives promises tors torched the national security offices. and determined Spring uprisings that swept parts of the and has done nothing. People are angry Acting in the interests of the fighters for national Middle East and North Africa. But Tu- and poverty is rising,” Imen Mhamdi, wealthy bondholders, the Interna- rights.” nisia has, in fact, had nine governments a factory worker, told Al-Jazeera at a tional Monetary Fund delayed pay- — Jack Barnes since the 2011 mass uprising that over- demonstration in Sousse. ment of part of a promised $2.6 bil- $14. Also in Farsi, French, threw the hated Ben Ali dictatorship, In response to the protests, Finance lion loan to Tunisia last year, press- Spanish, Swedish and depression conditions continue to Minister Ridha Chalghoum extolled ing the government to cut spending www.pathfinderpress.com stalk working people. While inflation “the achievements of democracy,” and by firing public sector workers.

The Militant January 29, 2018 7 Jew-hatred article in Puerto Rico, is poison for San Juan paper under fire for promoting anti-Semitic article

by Seth Galinsky sion of what, she doesn’t say. The owners and editors of El Nue- Rodríguez is well-known as a sup- vo Día — the largest circulation daily porter of independence for Puerto Rico. in Puerto Rico — came under fire But her scapegoating of Jews poi- for printing an anti-Semitic article sons the fight for independence and is by columnist Wilda Rodríguez Jan. a deadly danger to the working class. 8 titled, “What Does the ‘Jew’ Want The problem with Washington is not with the Colony?” the anti-Semitic charge that it’s run by Rodríguez claims there is a “secret a secret Jewish conspiracy, but capital- structure that rules the United States” ist rule and colonial domination. This and “a parallel government organized is what’s behind the outrageous neglect by the forces of wealth and violence and negligence by the colonial rulers in (the war machine) from Wall Street.” the wake of Hurricane Maria. “Congress in the end will do what- On Jan. 12 El Nuevo Día printed Dec. 30 San Juan protest demands electricity three months after hurricanes. Social crisis ever ‘the Jew’ wants, as the prototype several letters denouncing the column. there is result of U.S. colonial rule and capitalist exploitation. As crisis continues, there of the real power is crudely called,” she “It’s pure anti-Semitism,” wrote Diana is growing discussion on what is road forward for workers there. Article promoting Jew- hatred by independence supporter is deadly poison for worker and independence struggles. says. Berezdivin. “Using the Jews as scape- Jews “don’t see life like we do,” Ro- goats once again, this time for the prob- there since U.S. imperialism wrested imperialism. The capitalist rulers are a dríguez wrote. And their main concern lems of Puerto Rico.” control of Puerto Rico from Spain in social class, not a religious cabal. is not collecting Puerto Rico’s $70 bil- The column “is an insult to all our 1898 and made it a U.S. colony. To swallow the Jew-hatred poison lion debt to bondholders, but to make people, including Puerto Ricans,” The rulers push Jew-hatred when the would be death for the fight for inde- sure that “the world of debtors under- wrote Lina Goldberg. crisis of their capitalist system deepens pendent working-class political action stands that Wall Street can’t be ma- El Nuevo Día also ran a guest col- and working people begin to look for and independence in Puerto Rico. nipulated” — as if the bondholders and umn by Monica Bauer from the Anti- ways to fight for their own interests, Wall Street were all Jewish. Defamation League in California that opening the door to a revolutionary The editors responded to the criti- takes up the editor’s supposed “dis- course of action to take power out of cism by running a “disclaimer” of claimer.” What the editors published the hands of the capitalist rulers. Trump policies sorts next to the article, which “asks “leave a lot to be desired,” Bauer More and more working people in Continued from front page for forgiveness from the Jewish com- writes, “since publishing an article that Puerto Rico today are coming to the measures that will assist the bosses in munity in Puerto Rico and the rest of accuses the Jewish people of control- conclusion that Puerto Rico is a colony exploitation of immigrant labor, and, our readers who feel offended.” De- ling governments in detriment of the of Washington and that U.S. corpora- at the same time, scapegoat foreign- spite the clear anti-Semitic content future of Puerto Rico is practically the tions and bondholders are bleeding the born workers. of the article, they claimed that they definition of anti-Semitism.” island dry. There is widespread discus- The economic carnage and deepen- don’t promote content “that can be “This isn’t the first time that in the sion and debate on what to do about it. ing competition the working class has interpreted as anti-Semitic.” face of an economic crisis Jews are Jew-hatred attempts to divert work- confronted for several years continues They also posted a comment from accused of controlling the power and ers into believing that the problem is a to bear down. The number of workers Rodríguez, saying that “the mere use money,” she adds. conspiracy of evil Jews who control the who’ve given up looking for work and of the word Jew” was not “intended to It’s no accident that Rodríguez re- banks, media and government, to take the number employed part time who cause offense” but was “a contribution packages Jew-hatred in the midst of workers’ eyes off the real enemy — the can’t find full-time work stands in the to the public discussion.” Public discus- the deepest economic and social crisis system of capitalist exploitation and millions. Current capitalist expansion has only begun to affect this. And more workers are looking for a way to respond Washington eases off on Cuba travel advisory to what has been done to them. by seth galinsky to visit the island. Now they just say including “ear complaints, hearing loss, Trump pushes rulers’ foreign policy The U.S. State Department an- you might “reconsider” going. dizziness, headache, fatigue, cognitive The administration is advancing the nounced Jan. 10 that it had downgrad- The travel advisory had little impact issues and difficulty sleeping.” There’s capitalist rulers’ interests in the Middle ed its warning on travel to Cuba by on trips to Cuba. Josefina Vidal, head just one problem with their description East, bolstering Washington’s military U.S. citizens. After alleging last Sep- of U.S. Affairs for the Cuban Foreign of the mystery attacks. No weapon ex- and political weight against its competi- tember that its diplomats in Havana Ministry, reported in early January that ists that could covertly cause the symp- tors — Moscow, Tehran, Damascus and had been the victims of mysterious co- the number of U.S. travelers visiting the toms described, except possibly in sci- Ankara. vert “sonic attacks,” the U.S. govern- island doubled in 2017 — more than 1.1 ence fiction books. It has carried through the war against ment slashed its embassy personnel in million compared to just under 620,000 On Jan. 4, after four trips to Havana Islamic State begun by former President half, ordered the expulsion of 15 Cu- the year before. A record 4.7 million under a special agreement with the Cu- Barack Obama, but gave U.S. com- ban officials from the Cuban Embassy people visited from all over the world. ban government, the FBI’s Operational manders greater freedom in carrying in Washington, D.C. and issued a “do The State Department says 24 em- Technology Division issued a report out operations and expanded weap- not travel” advisory for those planning bassy personnel had suffered symptoms they had no evidence that sound waves ons supplies to the Kurdish-led Syrian could have damaged the diplomat’s Democratic Forces, which drove Islamic health. The announcement was widely State from its capital, Raqqa, in October. Special offers through March 1 covered in the U.S. press. Washington announced Jan. 14 it in English and Spanish Less than a week later the State De- would set up a 30,000-strong Border Se- partment muted the travel warning. The curity Force based on the cadres of SDF. New edition: Associated Press reports U.S. officials They will be deployed along the border Our History Is Still Being Written have stopped referring to the incidents with Turkey and along the Euphrates The Story of Three Chinese Cuban Generals as “sonic attacks.” River, the line dividing U.S.-backed in the Cuban Revolution The biggest impact of Washington’s SDF forces from Syrian government measures is on Cubans wishing to move and Hezbollah troops, backed by Mos- by Armando Choy, Gustavo Chui, Moíses Sío Wong to or visit the United States. Under a cow and Tehran. $12 “What was the principal measure to uproot 1994 agreement, the U.S. government Washington also announced the de- discrimination against Chinese and blacks? Cuba’s was supposed to grant visas to at least ployment of 1,000 more combat “ad- socialist revolution itself.” 20,000 Cubans a year. With the U.S. visers” to join the 14,000 troops it has Aldabonazo Embassy down to just “emergency per- stationed in Afghanistan, while main- sonnel,” Washington closed the visa of- taining over 5,000 troops in Syria and Inside the Cuban Revolutionary Underground fice and said Cubans would have to get Iraq, according to Pentagon figures. 1952-58, a Participant’s Account to Colombia to apply at the U.S. Em- Both of these decisions aim to stem the by Armando Hart bassy there. rising influence of Tehran in the region. Meet men and women who led the urban underground “Cuba is a safe, peaceful and healthy And unlike Obama, Trump imposed no in the fight against the Batista dictatorship. Along with country for Cubans, for foreigners, for timetable for U.S. withdrawal from Af- their comrades-in-arms in the Rebel Army, their revolu- $18 accredited diplomats and for the mil- ghanistan. tionary actions and example changed the history of the lions of people who visit us every year, The consequences of these ongoing 20th century — and the century to come. including those from the U.S.,” Vidal conflicts continue to devastate work- www.pathfinderpress.com said Jan. 9. Continued on page 11

8 The Militant January 29, 2018 See revolutionary Cuba for yourself! Join May Day Brigade by brian williams day. The Cuban Revolution is an exam- The Cuban Institute for Friendship ple of what can be accomplished when with the Peoples (ICAP) has issued a our class fights to take power, to take call for the 13th annual May Day Inter- control of our own destiny. national Brigade to Cuba for April 23- The cost of the package, which in- May 6. The National Network on Cuba cludes meals and lodging in Cuba, is is coordinating the effort to sign up U.S. $675 plus airfare. The Julio Antonio participants. Mella camp can accommodate up to 220 The brigade will offer participants a people, so it’s important for those inter- unique opportunity to learn firsthand ested to confirm their participation as the truth about the Cuban Revolution soon as possible. After the camp reaches and strengthen efforts on their return to its capacity, all late applicants who can organize activities to demand Washing- be accommodated will have alternative ton end its economic blockade of Cuba lodging at a higher cost, the letter says. now; U.S. out of Guantánamo now; and The National Network on Cuba is a halt to U.S. government subversive “encouraging people across the country programs against Cuba. to participate, particularly young people Registration is open until March 16, who have not been to Cuba,” Gail Walk- ICAP says. er, one of the network’s co-chairs and “I’m planning to go,” Samir Haz- executive director of IFCO/Pastors for boun, who works on the education team Peace, told the Militant Jan. 15. “There’s at Highlander Research and Education no better way to be informed about Cu- Center in New Market, Tennessee, told Above, Juvenal Balán; inset, Militant/Dan Fein ba’s reality.” the Militant in a phone interview Jan. 15. Inset, U.S. delegation on International May Day “I encourage anyone interested to see Brigade to Cuba joins hundreds of thousands of “There’s a group of about nine of us or- Cubans, above, defending revolution, May 1, 2017. what’s possible when you have work- ganizing to go. They’re Central Appala- ing people in power,” said Hazboun. chian youth from Kentucky, Tennessee, being expelled from school and arrested working-class fighters. “There’s a lot of learning to do and it West Virginia, Virginia and North Car- by the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado, The brigade is a special opportunity will be a very inspiring trip.” olina. We’re planning some fundraising Mella escaped Cuba and make his way for workers and farmers from the U.S. For more information on the bri- to help cover expenses. to Mexico. Organizing there to return who face the unrelenting effects of the gade and to download an application, “I urge people to go and see the truth and overthrow the Machado regime, he capitalists’ drive to make us pay for their go to NNOC.info and click on May- of the Cuban Revolution for themselves,” was assassinated in 1929. crisis of production, trade and jobs to- Day brigade. Hazboun said. He participated in the “In Brigade members will also visit the the Footsteps of Che” brigade to Cuba provinces of Villa Clara and Camagüey. last October. “It helped me understand For several days, they’ll participate that the Cubans had a true workers revo- in voluntary agricultural work along Red Fawn fights gov’t frame-up lution that laid the foundation that made with meetings with members of Cuban Continued from page 5 can Indian Movement member and a possible in Cuba powerful accomplish- groups, workers and farmers. against the government, including on member of an Oglala Lakota activist ments like quality health care,” he said. They’ll visit the Che Guevara Mu- information it got from undercover in- family from way back,” Nancy Peters, One of the highlights of the trip will seum, Memorial and Mausoleum; go formers about the protests and Fallis in a member of the Red Fawn Fallis Le- be participating in the massive May 1 to factories to exchange experiences particular. Hovland denied this motion, gal Support Team and one of the orga- International Workers Day mobilization with union workers there; and meet saying, “The reality is that the heart of nizers of the event, told the Militant. in Revolution Square in Havana and the with members of the Committee for the this case rests upon less than five min- “She could be facing life in prison if International Meeting of Solidarity with Defense of the Revolution. They’ll visit utes of chaotic activity,” meaning he in- the government succeeds in getting a Cuba the following day. a municipality affected by Hurricane tends to limit the case to the gunshots jury to believe its lies.” Brigade members will be based at the Irma and see firsthand how working the prosecution claims Fallis fired. To contribute toward Fallis’ legal Julio Antonio Mella International Camp people and their revolutionary govern- A solidarity benefit has been orga- defense, go to https://www.generosity. in Artemisa province, an agricultural ment organized to deal with the hur- nized for Jan. 20 in Denver to raise com/fundraising/red-fawn-legal-fund. area about an hour outside Havana. ricane’s impact and moved quickly to funds for Fallis’ legal defense and to You can send your support directly to They’ll learn about Mella, who was a repair and rebuild damaged structures. make it possible for her family to be her at [email protected] or leader of student protests at the Univer- In Havana events will include a with her during the trial. Residential Transition Re-entry Center, sity of Havana in the 1920s and founder workshop on the history of the Cuban “She grew up here, where she is 3501 Westrac Dr., Fargo, ND 58103. of the Cuban Communist Party, seek- Revolution with talks by combatants known and respected as an Ameri- Attn: Red Fawn Fallis. ing to emulate the example of the 1917 of the revolution, members of the Fed- Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. After eration of Cuban Women and other East Coast tour of Cuban Workers donate ‘blood money’ literacy campaign volunteer bonuses to help build the SWP Griselda Aguilera by terry evans ers there were given a $100 visa card as Hear Griselda Aguilera, a Twenty-three members and sup- a bonus after signing a four-year con- participant in 1961 mass porters of the Socialist Workers Party tract and a spiral ham for Christmas. campaign that taught Cuban have contributed a total of $4,648.11 to The agreement limited pay raises to a workers and farmers to read the party from bosses’ “blood money” stingy 25 cents per hour, and increased and write, and transformed bribes in December and January so far. the workday from eight to 10 hours. Many workers get “bonuses” doled “Rather than hire more people, the the volunteers, so they could out at the end of the year for the holi- bosses have been putting heavy pressure build the revolution. day. They’re aimed at winning workers on co-workers to work extra hours,” to identify with the employer and dis- Clarice Watson wrote when she sent in Screenings of “Maestra,” courage them from fighting the bosses’ a check for $802 from a year-end bo- film by Catherine Murphy exploitation and indignities. They’re nus handed to workers at the New York documenting literacy drive called “blood money” because one of electronics factory where she works. will be shown during tour. the bosses’ goals is to convince work- Watson said she was pleased to put the ers not to take on or report injuries money “to work furthering the end of Tour dates: from unsafe working conditions. SWP the bosses’ system.” Hartford, Connecticut: Jan. 31; Boston: Feb. 2-3 members tell co-workers that they put Bella Warren in Seattle sent in $100 Albany: Feb. 5-6; New York / New Jersey: Feb. 8-12 these bribes to the use of the working- that was given to temp workers. She said class movement by turning them over the bosses at that workplace don’t pro- Washington,D.C. / Baltimore: Feb. 13-17; to the party’s Capital Fund to strength- vide any “safety or other training.” Knoxville, Tennessee: Feb. 20-21 en its long-term work. If you’d like to join in turning a bo- Among the contributions was a $130 nus or other bribe from the bosses to the Sponsored by Cuba solidarity organizations and activists on the East Coast check from Larry Warham, a worker at SWP, contact the branch in your area For more info: [email protected] phone (917) 887-8710 a meatpacking plant in Chicago. Work- listed in the directory on page 10.

The Militant January 29, 2018 9 How Russian communists led 1950s strikes in Stalin’s camps Below is an excerpt from “Vorkuta try of Internal Affairs] officers were (1950-53): Oppositional currents and sure the prisoners had carried the the mine strikes” from Samizdat: Voices day, the state prosecutor, with his of the Soviet Opposition, one of Path- retinue of generals, landed at the tiny finder’s Books of the Month for January. Vorkuta airfield. He set up his head- The author, Brigitte Gerland, an East quarters in the city for several days, German communist, spent some eight in order, he declared, to negotiate and years in Stalin’s prisons and camps. reach a worthwhile agreement. After Joseph Stalin’s death in 1953, a In an imposing briefcase he had powerful strike wave swept the regime’s brought with him a number of conces- deadly prison camps in the early 1950s. sions which were promptly broadcast The key challenge that faced workers through all the camps: there was the deep divisions that existed 1) Every prisoner in special “gov- among prisoners from Russia on the ernment camps” is granted permis- one hand and those from Ukraine and sion, effective immediately, to write the Baltic States on the other. In some of letters home twice a month, instead of twice a year; 2) each prisoner may receive, once a Books of year, a visit from his family; A series of strikes and protests exploded in forced labor camps in Soviet Union after Joseph 3) identification numbers shall be the month Stalin died in March 1953. In Vorkuta, with 250,000 inmates, a powerful strike took place after removed at once from trousers and communists fought to overcome divisions between Russians and Ukrainians. Above, Ukrainian jackets; nationalist prisoners in quarry at Norilsk camp, where June-August uprising began strike wave. the camps in Vorkuta, Ukrainians com- 4) iron bars shall be removed from prised half of the prisoners. realized that the hour for action was at initial consternation; they elected a barracks windows. Communists — who were followers hand. They started joining the strike new strike committee. The military These concessions, however, left the of V.I. Lenin and Leon Trotsky and im- committees, as yet, to be sure, only in the operation carried out by the authori- strikers cold. In an open letter to the prisoned for their work opposing the camps under the leadership of the Marx- ties merely postponed the strike for a state prosecutor, the strike leadership Stalinist regime — led the strikes. It took ists and the monashki [religious groups]. space of twelve hours. gave its answer: three years of persistent work to over- So tense became the atmosphere that In the early hours of July 21 the “We are proud of our identification come the divisions among the prisoners, everyone was electrified. Committees escorting guards stood waiting with numbers, because they publicly distin- which were bolstered by the guards, and of Pits No. 1 and No. 7, where the Le- their watch-dogs alongside the high guish us from common criminals and forge a common political program to ninists and the anarchists exercised the fence gates, but there was no move- thieves; and that is why we have no de- fight the brutal conditions in the camp. strongest influence, decided — with the ment of any kind, absolutely nothing, sire to do away with them. Copyright © 1974 by Pathfinder Press. unanimous support of forced laborers at inside the concentration city. The “Our families will not be able to visit Reprinted by permission. these camps, totaling some 6,000 — to prisoners sat silently in their bar- us, not even with the kind permission of strike until the government agreed to racks, without the remotest intention the MVD, because they haven’t enough by brigitte gerland dissolve the camps and grant to all pris- of starting work. At first, the sentries money to buy railroad tickets for trips of Many who had opposed the move- oners the status of free colonists. That is on duty made their appearance to 4,000 miles and more. ment until then, particularly among the to say, to treat them as free laborers, and urge the recalcitrants to line up at the “Writing letters is a superfluous occu- zapadniki [Ukrainians and Balts], now to sign three-to-five year contracts with camp gates. And in their wake came a pation for those who are dead, and that’s them. few officers of the camp administra- what we are, condemned to stay here This compromise program of ac- tion and, finally, the camp chief him- for twenty-five years. We can do with- Books tion was needed to win over those self. But their efforts availed nothing, out writing letters unless we are granted January prisoners who still hesitated and who except a declaration to the effect that through revised regulations, the possi- of the Month would have never accepted the slogan the strikers would not present their bility of returning to our families in the PATHFINDER of a strike for unconditional libera- demands to any person other than not too distant future.” … READERS CLUB 25% tion. Work was to stop on the evening the commandant of all the Vorkuta [T]he material improvements to discount SPECIALS of July 20, but that same morning camps, General Derevyanko. which the MVD was forced to agree the Pit No. 1 strike committee, rec- This dignitary put in his appearance under the strike pressure proved to be Samizdat ognized by the forced laborers of two days later, only after ten pits inside considerable. And more important by Voices of the Soviet Opposition Vorkuta region as the central leader- the city and on the outskirts joined the far: although there were many signs Firsthand accounts of the ship of the strike, was arrested. This strike (involving by then some 30,000). of exhaustion, there was not a hint of Bolshevik Revolution; 1918-20 was done by deploying large contin- After the strike committee delegates discouragement or demoralization. civil war; and resistance to the gents of troops who surrounded the put forward their demands, the general The forced laborers were worn Stalinist political counterrevolution that reversed V.I. Lenin’s pit suddenly and who withdrew just made a long speech, larded with vague down, but they did not succumb in proletarian internationalist course. as suddenly two hours later, taking promises and threats which were not despair. Their aim was to rally new $25. Special price: $18.75 their prisoners along to the Vorkuta so vague. But he was butting his head forces; they wished to draw carefully penitentiary. They were kept there against a wall of hostile silence. … the lessons from their experiences in Fascism and Big Business for a few days and then removed to In the first days of August, when order to make better use of them in by Daniel Guerin $25. Special price: $18.75 Moscow. The prisoners of Pit No. the strike reached its peak and when the future — and they were resolved 1, however, quickly overcame their even some among the MVD [Minis- to continue the struggle. Art and Revolution Writings on Literature, Politics, and Culture by Leon Trotsky if you like this paper, look us up ”Art can become a strong ally Where to find distributors of the NEBRASKA: Lincoln: P.O. Box 6811. of revolution only insofar as it CANADA Militant, New International, and a full Zip: 68506. Tel: (402) 217-4906. Email: QUEBEC: Montreal: 7107 St. Denis remains faithful to itself.” [email protected] $22. Special price: $16.50 display of Pathfinder books. #204 H2S 2S5. Tel: (514) 272-5840. 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Email: MINNESOTA: St. Paul: 1821 AUSTRALIA [email protected] Manchester: Room Order online at Sydney: Suite 22, 10 Bridge St., 301, 3rd floor, Hilton House, 26–28 Hilton www.pathfinderpress.com University Ave. W Suite S-106A. Zip: Offer good until January 31 55104. Tel: (651) 340-5586. Email: Granville, NSW 2142. Tel: (02) 8677 0108. St. Postal code: M1 2EH. Tel: (016) 1478- [email protected] Email: [email protected] 2496. Email: [email protected] 10 The Militant January 29, 2018 Editorial Catalonia election Continued from page 7 Cuban Revolution: Example for workers weeks to elect its president. Puigdemont is seeking re- election and says he will preside from Brussels, via Continued from front page more than three months after Hurricane Maria dev- Skype or some other electronic setup. nerable land. Millions can be evacuated before a astated the island, over a million people are still But Rajoy said Jan. 15 that if parliament elects Puig- storm hits. But the normal workings of capitalism without electricity. The U.S. rulers — the wealthi- demont, Madrid will void the whole election and con- block every move that impinges on the profits of est ruling class on earth — are dispensing aid with tinue direct rule. the property-owning class. an eyedropper there, while demanding the colonial Under the pressure, some of those elected as inde- The morality of capitalism is grounded in these government turn its meager resources over to pay pendence delegates have begun to back off. Marta Ro- class divisions. Dog-eat-dog, look-out-for-number- the wealthy bondholders who own the island’s debt. vira, general secretary of the Republican Left, a large one, step on who you need to to get what you want What a difference a revolution makes! In Cuba, pro-independence party, said Jan. 13 that forces who — these are the virtues worshipped by the profit- as Hurricane Irma approached, the revolutionary favor a Catalan state need to “face all difficulties with driven ruling families. people and their government mobilized to evacuate absolute realism.” Real estate developers build homes near fire- 1.8 million people. In a Jan. 12 hearing at the Supreme Court, Joaquim prone terrain. No government body is tasked with Unlike the “everyone for themself” morality of Forn and Jordi Sánchez, two pro-independence lead- responsibility to make sure there is not a danger- capitalism, in revolutionary Cuba everything is ers who are being held by the government on charges ous accumulation of flammable vegetation that can based on human solidarity, on the belief that human from last fall’s vote, said they would give up their seats act like kindling. When huge fires do break out, life is more important than money. In the words of in the new parliament if it continued pushing for a as they wreak havoc, they also severely damage Raúl Castro, “no one is left on their own.” break with Spain. Forn, who had been interior minis- the natural water-absorbing capacity of vegetation The Cuban people made a deep-going revolu- ter, and Sanchez both ran on Puigdemont’s ticket. and top soil. If it rains, mudslides are inevitable. tion, transforming themselves in the process. They Government officials in Santa Barbara County, overthrew the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship in Polarization reflects social class Sacramento and Washington all knew this, but did 1959 and have stood up to the attacks and indigni- The polarization around independence in Cata- virtually nothing to prepare. Instead, they blame ties of Washington ever since. Under the leadership lonia is part of the differentiated responses of so- the victims, saying they ignored evacuation orders. of Fidel Castro and the July 26 Movement, they cial classes to the conditions generated by capi- The propertied owners don’t sit in a room and used the government — their government — to put talism’s worldwide crisis. The steep 2007-2008 say, “Let’s promote fires and mudslides.” But they human life and dignity ahead of all else and to offer downturn increased economic and class divisions gamble with the lives of working people. To the whatever they had to working-class fighters world- throughout the imperialist world, and more so in capitalist class, our lives are just a tiny item in their wide to open the road to a socialist future. Spain, including Catalonia, than in many other ledgers. They figure the odds. Is the chance of ca- Working people in the U.S. and around the countries. tastrophe small enough to make the risks worth- world can, and will, do the same. If the fight for Substantial sections of urban professionals and while? Can we get away with saying it was a “200- this kind of future sounds like a good life to you, middle-class layers, university students and many year” storm, nothing could be done? get in touch with the nearest branch of the Social- farmers press for independence with the anti- We see it in the U.S. colony of Puerto Rico where ist Workers Party. working-class argument that Catalonia shouldn’t be saddled with having to “subsidize” the central government budget and its preferential treatment for regions in Spain where workers have lower U.S. rulers give high marks to Trump policies wages and worse working and social conditions. Because of Catalonia’s large industrial base, work- Continued from page 8 workers’ decades of common experience working ers over decades have moved there from the rest of ing people. Over half the Syrian population has been and living with immigrant workers, there is less rac- Spain, from Europe and beyond, searching for jobs forced to flee their homes since 2011, many in recent ism and anti-immigrant chauvinism among working and improved working conditions. Some don’t speak months. The Syrian regime’s bloody war against rebel people than ever before. This is a source of strength as Catalan and see unemployment, wages, health care forces and civilians in Idlib province and around Da- workers seek ways to stand up to the bosses’ attacks and other social protections as far more burning issues mascus continues. on jobs, wages, conditions and to cop assaults. than self-rule. The administration has advanced Washington’s im- Michael Wolff’s recently published book on the And all too often, Catalan pro-independence gov- perialist interests in pushing through the U.N. Secu- Trump White House, Fire and Fury, an instant best- ernments have joined forces with the federal rulers in rity Council’s ever-stiffer sanctions against North Ko- seller, includes the author’s acknowledgement that he attacks on workers’ living conditions. This had weak- rea, which hit working people the hardest. At the same couldn’t verify anything he alleges in the book and ened support for independence in some layers of the time, as the governments of North and South Korea that he provides only what he calls “notional truth.” working class. have begun discussing common participation in up- While the self-righteous calls of these middle-class The elections reflected these different class re- coming winter Olympic games, Washington keeps layers to get rid of Trump grow shriller, their actual sponses. Puigdemont’s party won the vast majority open prospects for negotiations with Pyongyang to prospects of driving him from office are diminishing. of the rural areas across the region. The pro-Spain press it to end its nuclear and intercontinental missile At the center of their witch hunt is the open-ended Citizens party won the vote in the urban areas programs. special counsel investigation, headed by former FBI around Barcelona, Tarragona and Lleida. It also Washington remains far and away the most power- chief Robert Mueller. It has failed so far to come up got the highest vote in many of the working-class ful imperialist power in the world, but its strength has with evidence of collusion between Trump’s 2016 districts around Barcelona. Puigdemont’s party declined relative to Beijing and Moscow. Trump com- campaign and Moscow that could be used to impeach got a substantially lower vote there than in the re- bines pressure on these regimes with efforts to build the president. In December Mueller revealed he had gion as a whole. relations that can open doors to advance the political fired FBI agent Peter Strzok from the investigation af- Albert Rivera, leader of the Citizens, told El Pais and economic interests of the U.S. rulers. ter finding out Strzok had called for the FBI to get an Jan. 15 that the two most important issues for the party The Trump administration has pressed European “insurance policy” against Trump winning the elec- are unemployment and Spanish unity. NATO members to take more financial and military tion. responsibility. Washington announced Dec. 22 it would supply weapons to the Ukrainian government What next? The Stewardship of Nature Also in its fight with Moscow-backed forces operating in How long the economic uptick will last, and how Falls to the Working Class: the east of the country. far it will grow, have yet to be seen. Also unknown is when the balloons in the propertied rulers’ finan- In Defense of Liberals continue cry to oust president cial speculations from Wall Street stocks to Bitcoin Land and Labor Liberals, middle-class radicals and some Repub- futures will burst. by Jack Barnes licans seeking to build support for efforts to drive The capitalist rulers have no solutions to the long- “Under capitalist social relations, Trump from office seized Democrats’ allegations that term crisis of production and trade, rooted in declin- human hardship from natural Trump used language they claim was racist and de- ing profit rates, other than continuing to make work- occurrences falls in starkly different rogatory to African nations in a private meeting at the ers pay. And today’s depression conditions are driving ways on different social classes.” — White House Jan. 11. more workers to look for ways to stand up to assaults Socialist Workers Party statement in New York Times columnist Charles Blow said the by employers and their government. New International no. 14. problem was the millions of workers that voted for The uptick gives us more confidence. Recognizing $14. Also in Spanish, French, and Swedish him are “part of his racism.” this, Walmart bosses announced they were raising pathfinderpress.com In reality, because of victories won by the prole- workers’ minimum wage. tarian mass movement that overthrew Jim Crow and Socialist Workers Party members — whose party- building efforts are built on knocking on doors in Correction ‘Militant’ Prisoners’ Fund working-class neighborhoods in big cities and small towns — find interest in discussing how workers can The article titled ‘I Urge You, Go See for Your- The Prisoners’ Fund makes it possible to send pris- self the Truth of Cuba’s Revolution’ in the Jan. oners reduced rate subscriptions. To donate, send organize to defend ourselves and build a party that 1 Militant says that influenza, a viral illness, is a check or money order payable to the Militant and can lead the fight to overturn capitalist rule. treated with antibiotics and steroids in the U.S. earmarked “Prisoners’ Fund” to 306 W. 37th St., 13th A look at the upsurge in working-class discon- This is incorrect. Antibiotics are only used for Floor, New York, NY 10018. tent and protest in Iran indicates this is true else- bacterial illnesses. where in the world.

The Militant January 29, 2018 11