Capitalist Crisis Deepens Across South America

· SWEDEN KR15 · UK £1.00 · U.S. $1.50 INSIDE Recruiting workers to the communist movement THE -PAGESB-9 A SOCIALIST NEWSWEEKLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF WORKING PEOPLE VOL. 66/NO. 27 JULY 8, 2002 U.S. gov't: Capitalist crisis deepens no charges needed to across South America jail citizens Mass protests in Peru, Paraguay reject government sell-offs BY ROGER CALERO BY MAURICE WILLIAMS AND BRIAN WILLIAMS The Justice Department has declared it The capitalist crisis that erupted first and has the right to jail U.S. citizens without most sharply in Argentina has been spread charges and deny anyone it deems an "en ing to other countries across South America, emy combatant" the right to legal represen with working people both bearing the brunt tation. of the attacks and leading massive protests The government made this argument in a against government austerity policies. Com court brief filed June 19 in the case ofYasser mentators in the big-business media are Esam Hamdi, who was born in Louisiana. openly speculating that Brazil may be the Hamdi was captured in Afghanistan with re next country to follow Argentina in default treating Tali ban forces in November during ing on its debt payments. Washington's military onslaught on the "Brazil will be a litmus test for Latin country. America," statedArturo Porzecanski, a lead In papers filed before the court, the Jus ing economist at ABN Amro in New York. tice Department is arguing that a federal "God help us all if it goes wrong." judge in Norfolk, Virginia, erred in appoint The Brazilian real, the national currency, ing a public defender to represent Hamdi. · plunged to an all-time low against the dol The brief says that allowing a prisoner to lar June 21. Having once traded at better have access to a lawyer "would directly in than one-to-one with the dollar, its value has terfere with-and likely thwart-ongoing sunk to 37 cents, with a 10 percent loss in efforts of the United States military to gather June alone. The country's stock market, Latin America's largest, has fallen to its low and evaluate intelligence about the enemy." Thousands mobilize in Argentine capital of Buenos Aires June 20 to demand unemploy est level this year, as fears mount among The brief also asserted that the court "may ment benefits. The capitalist crisis, originally and most sharply affecting Argentina, capitalist investors over the ability of the not second-guess the military's enemy com has spread, with steep declines in the currencies of Brazil and Uruguay, and rising pov government to continue paying the interest batant determination." erty and unemployment. The IMF continues to refuse new loans to Argentina. Hamdi, whose parents are citizens of Saudi bill due on the country's $290 billion pub Arabia, was captured by the Northern Alli lic debt. ance following· heavy bombardment on In Uruguay the currency slumped in value change houses, with devastating effects on the agreement of government officials on a Mazar-i-Sharif by U.S. warplanes. He was in mid-June after the government aban the livelihood of millions of workers and new round of austerity measures that they taken to the U.S. concentration camp at its doned its exchange rate peg and allowed it peasants. insist must be implemented in order to re illegally held base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. to float freely in the international market. A delegation from the International Mon start IMF loans to that country. Capitalist Hamdi repeatedly informed authorities The value of the Uruguayan peso has etary Fund left the Argentine capital of investors fear that without such an agree- there of his U.S. citizenship and they were plunged as much as 28 percent in local ex- Buenos Aires June 21, having failed to gain Continued on Page 6 finally forced to transfer him to a military prison in Norfolk, Virginia, where Continued on Page 4 Support Palestinian people's rejection Rally condemns of Washington's imperial dictates firings over blatant abrogation of their right to self-de the Palestinian leadership is an imposition termination. and intervention in internal Palestinian af--: Social Security EDITORIAL The U.S. president's insistence on "a new fairs and a contradiction to democracy and and different Palestinian leadership, so that the outcome of [1996] elections that were The Militant encourages working people a Palestinian state can be born" aroused par supervised by the whole woi-ld .... Neither numbers around the world to support the Palestinian ticular anger. Fadel Ahmad Tahboub, a Bush nor Sharon has the right to force us to member of the Palestinian National Coun BY DARRYL SHEPPARD people in their rejection of Washington's change our leadership." CHICAGO-"No more 'no match!'" imperial dictates. U.S. president Bush's cil, stated that in spite of his political oppo Speaking against "change and reform sition to Arafat, "Bush's call for changing chanted about 100 union members, many mandates on the Palestinians amounts to a imposed by an external force," one Pales of whom were Mexican immigrants. The tinian resident of the Gaza Strip said, "We rally and march started at the downtown don't have a (President Hamid] Karzai, like Chicago Social Security Administration and Unionists in Queens, N.Y., America imposed on Afghanistan. We ended at the nearby Federal Building. would refuse such a thing." The lively action on June 25 was in re These and other voices of repudiation of sponse to the "no match letters" sent from shut down three bus lines the White House's intervention are a further the Social Security Administration to em manifestation of the resistance by Palestin ployers and workers. If the name of the BY DAN FEIN ian people to the U.S.-backed Israeli occu- employee and the social security number AND RUTH ROBINETT Continued on Page 14 don't match, the boss fires the worker. The QUEENS, New York letter doesn't necessarily signify that the Just after midnight on June worker is illegal. 17, some I ,500 bus drivers, "Si se puede!" (Yes we can!) said Roberto mechanics, cleaners, and dis Also Inside: de Ia Cruz from the Illinois Coalition for patchers struck three private Immigrant and Refugee Rights. "Sf se bus companies here. The Two in North Carolina con puede!" the crowd roared back as he began walkout has had a big impact victed in frame-up 'terrorism' his speech. "There are 9 million undocu on public transportation and trial 2 mented workers in this country who pay won the support of working billions a year in taxes. Please reward our people in New York City. The On the class-struggle trail of work and legalize us!" bus companies service New York City's union rats 3 A young summer intern with Jobs with Queens and Queens-to-Man Justice told the Militant that the "no match" . hattan routes. More than Workers subscribe to Militant firings are "messed up." She cited the USA 100,000 people usually ride inside factories, at plant gates 5 Patriot Act passed with bipartisan support these buses each day. in Congress after September 11 and said that At the picket line in front Government in Iceland opens "immigrants and those fighting for social of the Queens Surface Corp., Bus drivers picket Queens Surface Corp. justice are being attacked a Jot more and are Roy, a striker, told the Mili door to reactionary anti-China urged not to speak, not to fight." - tant that members of other unions had joined Martin Florio of Flushing, Queens, told protests 10 Martin Unzueta, with the United Network the picket line and a rally to support the strike, Newsday that after waiting in vain for 15 for Immigrants and Refugees, said, "We are including janitors who are members of the minutes for a Q65 bus, "I feel sorry for the Hopi people fight for land and here selling our [labor] with dignity. This Service Employees International Union Lo · bus drivers. They should get everything they water rights. in Arizona 13 Continued on Page 4 cal 32BJ and transit workers. Continued on Page 4 Two in Carolinas convicted in frame-up trial BY STEVE WOLF fund-raising cell in Charlotte means there non were shown with crowds chanting always in need of your support. Ifthere was CHARLOTTE, North Carolina---Chawki are terrorist fund-raising cells operating in "Death to America, Death to Israel." an opportunity for you to work as you did and Mohamad Hammoud, Lebanese immi other cities. He boasted that "the success we One of the central pieces of "evidence" at the end of the gatherings, donate to the grants in North Carolina were found guilty had in this case will encourage similar pros presented by the government was a letter Resistance, and when one of the guys is June 21 of a range of charges, including giv ecutions." sent to Mohamad Hammoud that prosecu coming to Lebanon, especially here in the ing financial support to Hezbollah, an orga After a four-week trial, the jury deliber tors say was found in his home. According south, they need your support." nization in Lebanon that has organized re ated for three days. On the last day of delib to the government, the letter says, "As you Sentencing of the two brothers will take sistance to the Israeli occupation of that erations the jury let the judge know they know, Brother Mohamad, the Resistance is place in three to four months. country and that is on the U.S. government's were deadlocked. terrorist list. The atmosphere and conduct of the trial, Mohamad Hammoud, 28, was the first and the laundry list of charges themselves, person tried in the United States under a gave the impression that the two were al Firefighters protest daily for 1996 federal law banning material support ready guilty of the most violent of crimes.

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