Minneapolis, MN – The Political Secretary of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Steff Yorek stated, April 13, “At least 16,500 people have died in the capitalist United States of COVID-19. This compares very unfavorably to socialist China which has had less than 3400 deaths.

“New York City is reeling under more COVID-19 deaths than all of China. It is the kind of manmade tragedy created by an economic system where the value of the stock market is placed higher than the lives of workers. Early action could have mitigated this, but the economy was deemed more important. Across the country we see that African American workers are disproportionately being struck down by the virus, possibly because of long term, disproportionate exposure to air pollution, because of environmental racism,” said Yorek.

Yorek noted, “It appears that there is no one driving the bus in terms of a national strategy to exit the lockdown phase. There are five things needed to control the spread of this pandemic in the absence of broad stay-at-home orders. They are, one, widespread testing for every fever and cough and of some of the population with no symptoms at all; two, quarantine of all infectious cases; three, supported locations to isolate even mild cases of infection to prevent spread within families; four; public health workers to track down contacts for each case and get them to isolate for fourteen days, and five, sufficient hospital infrastructure to manage hospitalized cases while still treating regular patients. From my vantage point there appears to be no plan to execute this on a nationwide scale, just a plan to open up and see what happens.”

Noting a dangerous anti-science trend, Yorek stated, “Some governors are ruled by an opposition to science; all the while Donald Trump cannot stop himself from erupting into anti-science rants and promoting untested, unproven and possibly dangerous treatments.”

Yorek concluded by stating, “Capitalism is a failed system and we need to tun up the heat on politicians who are killing us.”

#MinneapolisMN #Healthcare #FreedomRoad #COVID19

We, Communist and Workers Party of the world, decisively denounce the imperialist plans, the undermining tactics and the menaces unleashed by the USA, the EU and their allied governments in Latin America, aiming at overthrowing the legally elected President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro; at subjugating the people of the country into their imperialist interests; and at looting the country’s wealth-producing resources.

After the failed provocation prepared by the USA using the imperialists’ puppet Guaidó on February 23rd in the Colombian borders, under the pretext of “humanitarian aid”, new scenarios are promoted for a coup or even an imperialist military attack, while simultaneously they continue the effort to organize more provocations that will give a pretext for the escalation of the intervention.

We strongly condemn every coup and imperialist military attack scenario of the USA and of their allies!

We decisively state that they will find against them not only the people of Venezuela, but also the Communist and Workers Parties, the working class’ and people’s movement all around the world!

We vehemently condemn the statements of John Bolton, National Security Advisor of the USA, according to which the government of the USA follows the Monroe Doctrine that considers the whole of Latin America as their exclusive zone of interest.

Latin America belongs to its peoples!

Loyal to the principles of Proletarian Internationalism we express our solidarity with the people of Venezuela; only the people of Venezuela has the capacity to decide on the internal affairs of its country. We express our solidarity with the Communist Party of Venezuela, the Communist Youth of Venezuela and other Venezuelan anti-imperialist forces that struggle under difficult conditions to defend the people’s interests.

Down with Imperialism!

The People Will Prevail!

1. Communist Party of Albania

2. Algerian Party for Democracy and Socialism

3. Party of Labour of Austria

4. Communist Party of Azerbaidjan

5. Communist Party Bangladesh

6. Brazilian Communist Party

7. Communist Party of Britain

8. New Communist Party of Britain

9. Communist Party of Canada

10. Socialist Workers Party of Croatia

11. Communist Party of Bohemia & Moravia

12. AKEL, Cyprus

13. Communist Party in Denmark

14. Force of the Revolution, Dominican Republic

15. Pole of Communist Revival in France

16. Unified Communist Party of Georgia

17. German Communist Party

18. Communist Party of Greece

19. Hungarian Workers Party

20. Communist Party of India

21. Tudeh Party of Iran

22. Communist Party of Ireland

23. Communist Party of Israel

24. Communist Party, Italy

25. Jordanian Communist Party

26. Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan

27. Lebanese Communist Party

28. Socialist Party (Lithuania)

29. Communist Party of Luxembourg

30. Communist Party of Malta

31. Communist Party of Mexico

32. New Communist Party of the Netherlands

33. Communist Party of Norway

34. Communist Party of Pakistan

35. Palestinian Communist Party

36. Palestinian People's Party

37. Paraguayan Communist Party

38. Peruvian Communist Party

39. Philippines Communist Party [PKP 1930]

40. Communist Party of Poland

41. Portuguese Communist Party

42. Romanian Socialist Party

43. Communist Party of the Russian Federation

44. Union of Communist Parties- CPSU

45. Russian Communist Workers Party-CPSU

46. Communist Party of the Soviet Union

47. South African Communist Party

48. Communist Party of the Workers of Spain

49. Galizan People’s Union (UPG)

50. New Communist Party of Yugoslavia

51. Communist Party of Sri Lanka

52. Communist Party of Swaziland

53. Communist Party of Sweden

54. Communist Party of Turkey

55. Communist Party of Ukraine

56. Union of Communists of Ukraine

57. Freedom Road Socialist Organization, USA

#UnitedStates #FreedomRoad

May Day is a day for immigrant and workers’ struggle. The Freedom Road Socialist Organization thinks it is important to join the tens of millions around the world who rally and march on International Workers Day.

This year across the U.S., many immigrant rights groups and some unions will rally and protest as part of the 100 days of resistance to the reactionary Trump agenda. It is important to build the protests, help link issues together, and unify the fight to make the country ungovernable.

The movements against Trump are rising

Even before he was elected, Trump faced demonstrations of hundreds and thousands nearly everywhere he went. In Chicago students led 10,000 people in shutting down Trump during the Republican primaries. Next the Coalition to Stop Trump and March on the Republican National Convention took over the streets of Cleveland in July 2016. Then on Nov. 9, the day after the election, many thousands of young people took to the streets of every city big or small to protest the election outcome.

This was followed on Jan. 20 by protesters hitting the streets of Washington D.C. and other cities to protest Trump’s Inauguration Day. The next day historic numbers of people joined the Women’s Marches. This caused Trump’s team to break into conniptions as they claimed “alternative facts” to explain low turnout at Trump’s Inauguration.

The wave after wave of protests increased the fighting spirit of the masses as Trump took office. Trump quickly issued executive orders and presidential memoranda attacking immigrants, Muslims, American Indians, environmental regulations, business oversight, and sensible federal agencies. Trump proposed cutting all the social spending budgets while increasing the military budget by billions.

“No ban! No wall! Legalization for all!”

The protests at airports across the country in response to Trump’s Muslim ban were huge and effective. The emergency response to such an outright attack against Muslims hugely impacted the debate in society and the actions of the courts. The mass action and bold tactics show that people’s movements can beat back Trump’s anti-democratic attacks, consolidate organizing gains, and prepare for the next round of repression.

International Workers Day comes in the context of increasingly ugly attacks on immigrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE raids work places and abducts undocumented people driving to work, or dropping their children at school. In one case ICE took a woman preparing for a surgery out of the hospital. News of these outrages spread quickly amongst immigrants. Trump and his advisor Steve Bannon think that they will make the masses cower in fear, but the undocumented and their families are rising up to protect themselves and their communities. The undocumented masses are becoming emboldened to protest and march on May Day.

In February, many cities with Mexican, Central American, and other immigrants held “A Day Without Immigrants” rallies and marches, where some schools had to declare a snow day because so few students were present. This May Day we will see a big turnout as immigrants stand up and fight back. Demands will range from stopping the Muslim travel ban and opposing Trump's border wall, to stopping deportations and demanding legalization. We need to also support refugees from Syria and the Middle East where the U.S. is making war and illegally intervening.

May Day is a day for unity and struggle!

May Day has a glorious history. Back in 2006, the immigrant rights marches, largely led by Mexicans and Chicanos, surged into the streets and reminded the world that International Workers Day originated in Chicago. Over 2 million participated in mega-marches in nearly every city, demanding legalization for all and shaking the political establishment.

It was over130 years ago that immigrant and American workers united to strike Chicago’s big industrialists, demanding the eight-hour day. In response to the workers’ movement, the robber barons called out the police to beat and shoot striking workers. Then the big capitalists jailed the leaders, union organizers and revolutionaries, hanging four of them. It caused a worldwide outrage. The labor movement went on to win the eight-hour day and other workplace rights.

In many countries, we will see angry protests against government cutbacks to social services, education, health care and housing. Many of the cutbacks in other countries are imposed by the U.S. through the International Monetary Fund or World Bank. These entities demand deep spending cuts to pro-people programs, as well as the purchase of U.S. weapons. If countries don’t accept the U.S. loans, or are late to pay, then the U.S. military will show up to enforce the deal. Workers and oppressed peoples of the world have a common enemy in Wall Street.

Trump wants real news; so, let’s give it to him this May Day. Let’s get out and organize broadly, build movements that link the struggles together, and fight back against the Trump agenda. With each of Trump’s attacks, we gain momentum and resistance grows. The movements are rising and we are planning to meet every attack and defeat Trump’s backward, anti-people actions.

#UnitedStates #Labor #MayDay #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #Antiracism #FreedomRoad

Chicago, IL – 130 activists from all the people’s movements gathered for the annual People’s Thanksgiving awards dinner, Nov. 19, hosted by Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). The event is a fundraiser for Fight Back News and for Rasmea Odeh.

25 years ago, Freedom Road Socialist Organization in Chicago held the first anti-Thanksgiving dinner to protest the racist campaign to celebrate 500 years since the ‘discovery’ of America by Columbus. Speaking about the 25th annual event, Joe Iosbaker of FRSO said, “This year, we wanted to provide support to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe for the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Unfortunately, our guest speaker, LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, the tribal historian, was snowed-in the Denver airport for 24 hours and missed her flight to Chicago.” Still, the crowd gave a warm welcome to a young indigenous woman who read a statement from Allard. Ninoshka Lozano is a student activist with the American Indian Support Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a member of the Quechua people of Peru in South America.

Awards were presented to: Aislinn Pulley, Black Lives Matter – Chicago; Michael Brunson, Recording Secretary – CTU and Chair – CTU Black Caucus; Cassie Robledo and Juan Rojas, leaders of the Dump Trump protest at UIC; and Dave Bernt, Teamsters United, the reform slate that almost unseated President Hoffa and his sell-out administration.

$1000 was raised for Fight Back! and over $1600 for the defense campaign of Rasmea Odeh – who is still being persecuted by the government and has a upcoming hearing in federal court in Detroit, Nov. 29. Many people in the audience responded to the appeal from Hatem Abudayyeh of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network to travel to Detroit to stand with the iconic Palestinian activist.

#ChicagoIL #AntiRacism #PeoplesThanksgiving #frso #FreedomRoad