Los Angeles, CA – Long time Chicano leader Carlos Montes blasted the Trump administration’s mishandling of the pandemic, March 25, stating, “President Trump’s irrational and disjointed response to this COVID-19 pandemic is causing major harm to working people.”

The National Prison Movement (Movimiento Nacional Carcelario) and other prisoner rights groups called a demonstration in Colombian prisons on March 21, to protest the lack of protection against the COVID-19 virus and the general lack of decent healthcare in the Colombian prisons. Twelve Colombian prisons answered the call for a ‘cacerolazo,’ a protest where one bangs on pots and pans to make enough noise so that the protest is heard.

Minneapolis, MN – The world is the midst of a once-in-a-century disease pandemic. COVID-19 is a natural phenomenon that is quickly becoming a human disaster.

Portland, OR – The Portland Rent Freeze Coalition, made up of concerned people and progressive organizations, disrupted a COVID-19 response press conference on March 17 here in Portland to demand that all rent payments due during the statewide shutdown be cancelled.

Washington, DC – According to a March 20 report from the Korean Central News Agency, the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has formed the Central Emergency Anti-Epidemic Headquarters to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The headquarters is also tasked with summing up experience and popularizing achievements in the fight against the illness.

Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) condemns the brutal government murder of the prominent Filipino communist Julius Giron, his wife Lourdes Tan Torres and their aide. We extend our condolences to his family, friends and our comrades of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Minneapolis, MN – Hennepin County union workers keep fighting for worker and community safety. AFSCME Local 2822 has led the charge, alongside sister Hennepin County AFSCME locals. AFSCME Local 2822 represents almost 1300 clerical workers, including service center representatives, office specialists and library specialists, who do work that cannot be done from home.

An in-depth look at two very different responses to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States and China

Guangdong, China – There is chaos in America right now surrounding COVID-19. Americans are receiving conflicting information every day about the virus, with no direction from the Trump administration. The Trump administration has decided that the best course of action is to do nothing, with Trump himself declaring “I don’t take responsibility at all.” When the Center for Disease Control (CDC) releases a report, Trump will directly contradict their findings in an attempt to downplay COVID-19’s immediate threat and bolster his own image. The resulting pandemonium has left Americans without guidance on how they should protect themselves and their families against this very deadly disease.

Maracay, Venezuela – The Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) labor delegation toured a large printing factory on March 13 in Maracay, Venezuela, about two hours outside Caracas. As the delegates bus pulled up to the factory gates, a huge sign welcomed them, “We don't speak ill of Chavez here!” The head of the factory and a group of workers excitedly gathered around to greet the American members of the Teamsters union.

Chicago, IL – In a statement delivered to Lori Lightfoot. March 13, 31 law professors from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University law schools are calling on the mayor to pass the Civilian Police Accountability Council, or CPAC, ordinance. CPAC would give communities in Chicago the democratic right to elect police accountability representatives with the power to control the Chicago Police Department (CPD), including having final say over discipline in misconduct cases and setting department policy.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following speech by Sarah Martin. Martin is a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).

Prison health is public health!

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following March 14 statement from the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

St. Paul, MN – Schools were closed for three days this week as teachers and other educators, who are members of the St. Paul Federation of Educators, went on strike. Each day nearly 100% of the teachers spent from 7 to 11 a.m. on the picket lines in front of their schools, and held large rallies and marches in the afternoons in which thousands of educators, students, family members and community supporters turned out to show that they support the fight for access to good schools and mental health care for all students.

Mass pressure and a mayor’s own greed stall a planned power grab

Chicago, IL – In true Chicago fashion, Mayor Lori Lightfoot had expected to easily ramrod through a police reform bill this week that would have affirmed her grip on power. If passed, the “Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability” ordinance would have left the entire police accountability system in her control, rendering it at the discretion of the executive branch whether to hold itself accountable for abuses of power committed by its police department, rather than giving communities terrorized by police tyranny the power to defend their rights.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Italian communists.

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Negotiating Panel.

Chicago, IL – 100 people attended the International Women’s Day celebration sponsored by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) in Chicago. The speakers, as well as the people in the room, were from the Black liberation movement – most notably the Chicago Alliance against Racist and Political Repression – labor unions, and anti-imperialist movements like the Filipino, Palestinian and Puerto Rican liberation movements, as well as electoral candidates and elected officials.