On Oct. 28 and 29, the 7th National Meeting of Revolutionary Organizations was held in Caracas, an effort by Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist People’s Unity (UPRA) to build unity among the Bolivarian revolutionary organizations. The gathering happened in the context of ongoing efforts to deepen the Bolivarian Revolution inside the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), to deal with an increasingly violent reactionary opposition, as well as threats of imperialist violence from the Trump administration. Below is the political declaration released by the gathering:
As of Oct. 25, the Puerto Rican government’s official death count from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico still stands at 51. Many people have been puzzled by this impossibly low, reality-defying number since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico over a month ago, on Sept. 20. The official count of 51 deaths from Hurricane Maria is now starting to unravel.
Eulalia “Laly” Centeno was interviewed Oct. 23 at the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation office in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Centeno is a teacher at the Salvador Brau Elementary School in Cayey and active with the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation. She talks about the danger of the government using the crisis of Hurricane Maria to impose massive school closings and privatize public education in Puerto Rico – as they’ve tried to do for years but have not been able to because of resistance from teachers and the community. She warns that the government is using the model that was used in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, when public schools were closed en masse and changed to privatized charter schools. Interview and translation into English by Brad Sigal.Fight Back!: Can you tell us who you are and what’s happening with your school?Eulalia Centeno: I’m Eulalia Centeno Ramos, better known as Laly Centeno. I’m a teacher and affiliated with the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation (FMPR). I’m an elementary school teacher at the school called Salvador Brau, which is a K-6 school. In this difficult moment that the country is living through, the school where I work is in the best possible condition because it has electricity, it has water, and it’s clean because the teachers and workers of the school did all the cleaning. We got everything ready. We organized the program to welcome back students and start the academic process. All areas are ready to start classes.
Mercedes Martinez was interviewed on Oct. 22 in San Juan, just over a month after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico. Martinez is president of the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation (FMPR). The FMPR is a leading force in the struggle to defend public education and workers’ rights in Puerto Rico against attacks and attempted privatization. In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, they initiated volunteer work brigades to address people's immediate dire needs, while also speaking out and mobilizing against the government's developing plan to use the hurricane as a pretext to close and privatize schools, like what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, when public schools were replaced by charter schools. Interview and translation to English by Brad Sigal.Fight Back: We're here in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Let's start with who you are and what is the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation?Mercedes Martínez: I'm Mercedes Martínez Padilla, president of the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation. The Federation is a union of Puerto Rican teachers, education workers, social workers, advisors, librarians. Educators who struggle to defend public and liberatory education in our country, in defense of the rights of Puerto Rican teachers above all, and for accessible and quality public education for our students.
Interview with Noelanie Fuentes, vice-president of the FMPR local in Rio Grande
This is an interview done on Oct. 22 with Noelanie Fuentes, vice president of the Rio Grande Local of the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation and a social studies teacher at Liberata Iraldo Middle School. Her school is one of many across Puerto Rico that is still being used as a shelter for people whose homes were destroyed in the hurricane. Here she discusses the work teachers have been doing to support families living in their school, and her perspective on reopening schools while many in Puerto Rico are still living in shelters, including shelters at schools, or have no electricity or water. Interview and translation from Spanish by Brad Sigal.Fight Back!: Let's start with who you are and what you do here.
Lakewood, CO – On Oct. 11, at Red Rocks Community College here, students and faculty members gathered to hold a vigil for Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old woman who was killed by white supremacists in August. Speakers included Denver SDS members Jarrid Carroll-Frey, Amber Hott, as well as a musical tribute from Ralph Mallet.
Jacksonville, FL – On Oct. 21, the family of Keegan Roberts as well as members of the Jacksonville Community Action Committee gathered at the site of where Keegan was killed by racist Michael Centanni IV, to demand justice.
San Juan, Puerto Rico — On Oct. 20, one month after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the secretary of AFSCME Local 3800, Brad Sigal, was in San Juan to bring a donation of money and medicines to the Puerto Rican Teachers Federation (FMPR, the union's initials in Spanish).
In the Oct. 15 regional elections, Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution secured a major victory against the far-right opposition, winning 17 out of 23 governor seats – with one still undecided. States like Lara and Miranda, which had long been dominated by the bourgeois parties, were secured by the United Socialist Party (PSUV). Voter turnout, over 61%, was the highest turnout for governor elections in over a decade.
Boston, MA – UNITE HERE Local 26 members on Northeastern University’s campus ratified a five-year agreement, Oct. 10, just hours before they were scheduled to begin a strike.
Message to the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, October 14, 2017
Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement by Prof. Jose Maria Sison, Founding Chairman Communist Party of the Philippines that was sent to the Oct 14 Minneapolis celebration of the October revolution. The address can be viewed on youtube.
Dallas, TX – About 20 protesters gathered at the Grassy Knoll near downtown Dallas. Oct. 14, holding signs and chanting to demand peace with Korea. The action was organized by the Dallas Community Action Committee (DCAC), a new organization in the city. It was also endorsed by the Dallas Peace and Justice Center, North Texas Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, and the North Texas Light Brigade. Several socialist groups also attended.
Minneapolis, MN – The walls were covered with red stars and Russian revolutionary posters, as more than 70 trade unionists, community, anti-war and student activists came together here, Oct. 14, to mark the 100th anniversary of the 1917 October revolution in Russia. The event was organized by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO).
Minneapolis, MN – Protesters chanted and spoke out against President Trump’s third attempt at a Muslim ban, Oct. 10, at the Minneapolis Federal Building, in downtown Minneapolis.
New York, NY – Around 150 people gathered in Herald Square, Oct. 7, to protest war at home and abroad on the 16th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan.
Minneapolis, MN — The afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 7 saw over 100 people join a protest to mark 16 years of the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The protest was organized under the call of Stop Endless U.S. Wars.
Fight Back! interviewed John Lugo on Oct. 6. Lugo, originally from Colombia, is a long-time resident of New Haven, Connecticut where he is a community and immigrant rights organizer, helping many, many people from all over the world. He recently returned to Bogota where he saw the results of the ongoing Colombian peace process, and observed the launch event of a new and progressive political party.
Minneapolis, MN – Immigrant rights activists demanded “Sanctuary now!” at the Minneapolis City Council meeting Oct. 6. The activists gathered outside of City Hall then made their presence felt in the City Council chamber, holding their banner and signs at the start of the council meeting.
