Tucson, AZ – On Wednesday November 17, former union bus driver and current president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, spoke to over 500 international solidarity activists from over 70 countries.

Tucson, AZ – For a small, largely agricultural country, Nicaragua has delivered several losses to the much larger, more militarily advanced U.S. empire. From Augusto Sandino’s peasant army expelling the U.S. Marines in the 1930s, to the Sandinista Revolution of 1979 that toppled the U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship, to the electoral return of the Sandinistas in 2006, to the defeat of the U.S.-coordinated soft coup attempt in 2018, the 2021 elections are another win for people of Nicaragua.

Tucson, AZ – After a record six weeks of ballot counting and false claims of fraud by right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori, Pedro Castillo was officially announced the newest president of Peru, on the evening of July 19. Castillo, from a poor peasant background and the candidate of the Peru Libre party, found support in the masses of poor and working Peruvians fed up with the lack of response to COVID-19 and the high rates of unemployment. Equally important is the defeat of “Fujimorismo” the far-right ideology of neoliberalism and chauvinism of former President Alberto Fujimori, Keiko’s criminal father.

Tucson, AZ – One year ago on June 12, when President Trump was still in office, the vicious talons of the U.S. government reached into the West African country of Cape Verde to snatch its prey: Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. The Colombian-born businessman was on a special mission as an envoy for the Venezuelan government. He was heading to Iran to secure trade arrangements for a vitally important food program called CLAP that delivers food to more than 85% of Venezuelan homes.

Tucson, AZ – One year ago on June 12, when President Trump was still in office, the vicious talons of the U.S. government reached into the West African country of Cape Verde to snatch its prey: Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab. The Colombian-born businessman was on a special mission as an envoy for the Venezuelan government. He was heading to Iran to secure trade arrangements for a vitally important food program called CLAP that delivers food to more than 85% of Venezuelan homes.

Tucson, AZ – In an historic election, former elementary school teacher and union leader Pedro Castillo is winning the Peruvian presidential race. As reported by the Peruvian National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) on the morning of June 9, Castillo is leading over right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori.

Tucson, AZ – The Federal Building in downtown Tucson saw the largest rally since the pandemic, May 17, with over 300 people demanding an end to the Israeli bombing of Gaza. The demonstration, organized by the Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance and the Tucson chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, drew protesters from the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities, along with other supporters of Palestine.

Tucson, AZ – The Federal Building in downtown Tucson saw the largest rally since the pandemic, May 17, with over 300 people demanding an end to the Israeli bombing of Gaza. The demonstration, organized by the Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance and the Tucson chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, drew protesters from the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities, along with other supporters of Palestine.

Tucson, AZ – On March 1, a dozen people rallied outside the Federal building in downtown Tucson to protest the recent U.S. airstrikes in Syria by the Biden administration. The crowd received honks of solidarity, and held signs that reading, “U.S. Hands Off Syria! U.S. out of Iraq! U.S. out of the Middle East!”

Tucson, AZ – As the state of Arizona reached the highest rate in the world of daily confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, hundreds of Arizona educators prepared a sick-out to demand two weeks of virtual learning. In the Chandler School District, the educator’s union’s consistent organizing efforts achieved big wins.

Tucson, AZ – As COVID-19 rates and deaths continue to rise in Arizona, as many as 750 educators in the districts of Chandler, Dysart, Peoria and Deer Valley are planning a sick-out to resist the order to return to in-person instruction.

Tucson, AZ – When the Chandler Unified School District governing board decided to stay with in-person instruction as Arizona continues to experience another spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths, some educators organized their resistance in the form of a sickout. Over 100 educators in CUSD called in sick on Friday, December 11 to express their opposition to the negligent board. The local union, Chandler Education Association (CEA) had issued a number of demands that include: educator representation on the district COVID committee, use of the more stringent county health metrics, and creating a COVID Task Force of educators, students, families, community and health professionals.

Tucson, AZ -Despite the closure of the physical presence of picket lines due to COVID-19, the eight unions representing nearly 2000 workers on strike at five Asarco facilities in Texas and Arizona remain “One day longer, one day stronger” against the abusive global copper giant.

Caracas, Venezuela – During the World Anti-Imperialist Congress, members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) delegation talked with women in the Bolivarian Militia. The Bolivarian Militia was created in 2005 in response to U.S. intervention. As of December 2019, President Maduro said he is moving toward making the Militia into “combat units” within the Armed Forces. In 2019, with multiple U.S.-backed coup attempts to install Juan Guaidó in place of democratically elected President Maduro, the Bolivarian Militia nearly doubled to 3.3 million members in a country of around 30 million people. Their role and responsibilities have increased in that time as Maduro assigned them to the food distribution program in May 2019.

Caracas, Venezuela – On the final day of the World Anti Imperialist Congress, January 24, Venezuelan President Nicólas Maduro spoke to the hundreds of international delegates from over fifty countries. A delegation from Freedom Road Socialist Organization is participating in the Congress.

Caracas, Venezuela – On January 23, thousands marched in Caracas and listened to a fiery speech from President Maduro to mark two important historic events. In 1958, mass movements joined with patriotic forces in the military to bring down the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jímenez. This was the model of civic-military unity that President Hugo Chávez used in his vision of a Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. Unfortunately for Venezuelans, the fall of the Jímenez dictatorship was a short-lived victory. The betrayal of this victory ushered in 40 years of violent repression of communists and other dissidents and disastrous economic policies like import substitution and neoliberal privatizations of important public services. By 1989, the massive poverty created by neoliberal policies led to an urban rebellion of workers and the poor, which led to a vicious police crackdown that killed over 3000 people. Three years later, paratrooper commander Hugo Chávez led a military uprising that ultimately failed but created a lasting popularity in the minds of millions of Venezuelans.

Caracas, Venezuela – On January 22, hundreds of international delegates from 52 countries heard from leaders from Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and Brazil to kick off the World Anti-Imperialist Congress.

Tucson, AZ – The nearly 2000 workers represented by eight unions at Asarco mining operations will soon reach Day 100 of their strike. This comes as a result of years of Asarco failing to offer a new contract, raise wages, or even negotiate. That is why back in October, these unions filed for an Unfair Labor Practice strike on the copper corporation.

Tucson, AZ – As one of the country’s longest running strikes continues into week 13, educators from Arizona’s RedForEd movement brought food donations to the picket line. The eight unions serving nearly 2000 workers at five Asarco copper mining operations have created a tradition at the Pima Mine: Sunday dinner. It’s a beautiful display of worker solidarity and union power as striking workers and their families come eat a warm meal and enjoy their camaraderie. It is there that a van-full of non-perishable goods from Phoenix-area educators was delivered.

Tucson, AZ – On January 4, around 200 people flooded the sidewalk of a busy Tucson intersection to demonstrate their solidarity with the Iranian and Iraqi peoples and voice their anger at murderous billionaire President Trump.