Interview with Cristiano Mayta

Fight Back! interviewed Cristiano Mayta, a trade unionist in Peru on January 3 to learn more about the situation in Perú after the overthrow of democratically-elected President Pedro Castillo by an oligarchy-dominated Congress. There is a national strike called for January 4 amid violent repression. Fight Back!: What is your organization?

Milwaukee, WI – On the morning of January 10, a coalition of left-wing organizations and community groups came together in downtown Milwaukee to put forward a people’s alternative to the chaos of the past week in the U.S. Capitol. The protest featured a speaker officially representing the Milwaukee Area Labor Council. The event, called “Rally Against the Far-Right – Build the People’s Movements,” drew nearly 100 people on foot and in cars.

New York, NY – Over 100 people gathered by the Bolivia Mission at the United Nations on November 11 in response to the forced resignation of Bolivian President Evo Morales. People came out to oppose the U.S.-backed right-wing coup in process and to speak out in support of the progressive, national democratic government.

Chicago, IL – Today, a military coup took place in Bolivia. The first act began on October 20 – the day that Evo Morales was re-elected president by a ten-point margin against his nearest opponent, starting with violent protests in the country's urban middle-class neighborhoods. The final act was carried out by the head of the Bolivian Armed Forces, Gen. Williams Kaliman, who went on national television today and demanded that Morales resign. This followed a day of police mutinies in key cities, and in totality it was clear that the elected government had lost the support of the armed apparatus of the state. Without arms to fall back on, and fearing the slaughter of their supporters, Morales, his vice president Álvaro García Linera, and the president of the Senate, Adriana Salvatierra resigned. Morales stated, ”I am resigning so that my comrades will not continue to be intimidated and threatened, so that [the reactionaries} will stop burning their homes and persecuting the humble people.”

Minneapolis, MN – “The area we were in was an opposition neighborhood, but nobody’s leaving their houses. The news in the U.S. is saying people are flocking to the streets because they’re ‘being liberated’, but no one’s leaving their houses. It was so untrue it was shocking,” said Tracy Molm, to about 40 community members gathered to hear her firsthand account of the events of April 30 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Reporte de la delegación de FRSO en Caracas. El siguiente informe viene de la delegación de la Organización Socialista del Camino de a la Libertad en Venezuela.

Reporting by the FRSO delegation in Caracas The following report is from the Freedom Road Socialist Organization delegation in Venezuela.

¡Lucha y Resiste! entrevistó a Amanda Martínez, una Sandinista leal y patriótica. Su nombre verdadero ha sido omitido porque ella ha recibido amenazas violentas contra sí misma y su familia. Ella viene de la ciudad La Concepción, que está al sur de Managua y al oeste de Masaya. La Concepción tiene alrededor de 30,000 personas y es un área agrícola. ¡Lucha y Resiste!: Como sucedió El Golpe Suave en el pueblo de La Concepción? ¿Había tranques? ¿Secuestraron a gente? ¿Como trataron a la gente Sandinista? ¿Que hizo la Policía Nacional?

Milwaukee, WI – Despite freezing cold temperatures, Milwaukee students and anti-war activists rallied in solidarity with the Venezuelan government on March 3. They stood waving flags and held up signs reading “U.S. hands off Venezuela,” and “Soy Chavista!” Standing on ice and snow, they chanted against U.S. intervention and in support of Venezuela’s President Maduro. They are joining progressive people around the world holding rallies in solidarity with the Venezuelan government.

Tucson, AZ – On the evening of Feb. 27, a group of activists gathered outside Tucson City Hall to protest U.S. interference in Venezuela and declare solidarity with the revolutionary Bolivarian government.