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?

Cristiano Mayta: I am the international secretary of the union SINATREL at a Coca-Cola bottling plant. I am also a member of an organization called Socialist Left of Peru (Izquierda Socialista Perú).

Fight Back!: From your perspective, what happened with President Castillo? Was it a pure overthrow or something more complicated?

Mayta: It was an overthrow of President Castillo by the Congress after he tried to dissolve the Congress who were going to vote for a third time for his removal. Castillo had consulted with the Ministers of Defense and Interior and was told the armed forces supported his constitutional right to dissolve a Congress that was clearly not acting in the best interests of the people. But the armed forces abandoned him, sold him out, and lied to him. No more than 20 minutes after President Castillo addressed the nation of his decision, the armed forces publicly stated they did not support the president’s decision. Then they moved to arrest him. So, despite what the media is saying about Castillo, it was clearly the Congress overthrowing the President.

Fight Back!: What has been the level of resistance since the overthrow? And who are the main groups involved?

Mayta: Since December 7, the people have risen up and there has been continued mobilizations all over the country but more highly concentrated in the south of the country. After violent repression from the military and police – some called it a massacre – that resulted in over two dozen dead and hundreds injured, something of a truce was called for the holidays. But not all agreed to this truce; in Puno, on the southern border with Bolivia, they remained firm with their protests, they continued blocking streets and the bridge for the international border.

Fight Back!: What are the demands of the groups involved in the national strike?

Mayta: On December 28, in our city of Arequipa, various social sectors and groups from ten or eleven regions nearby gathered to meet and agreed to retake the streets and continue mobilizations on January 4. This is something of our own congress of peoples gathered to agree to our demands and initiate an indefinite national strike. Here in the south of Perú, we are more active and militant because we don’t believe what is being said in the media, and in Lima.

Our demands are: first, renounce the usurper, Dina Boluarte from the presidency. Second, shut down the Congress and call for immediate elections as soon as possible. Third, a popular referendum to create a constitutional assembly, to elect a new popular assembly that will create a new constitution. Four, immediate release of President Castillo who was unjustly arrested and this is a grave abuse. We renounce the false accusations and usurpations of the constitution.

#Peru #Interviews #Coup

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.

There were three points put forward by the coalition: 1) “Trump out” and all who are complicit in his crimes; 2) Relief for the people now; and 3) End police crimes, including ICE detentions and deportations. The speeches from the different represented organizations centered around these three things.

“A lot of people have been talking about unity, but it’s important that we understand what unity means,” said Jacob Flom, a member of the executive board of the Milwaukee Area Labor Council and co-chair of the Young Workers Committee. “We don’t want unity with fascists; we want unity against fascists.”

The event featured a march from a meeting place in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward and ending outside the Milwaukee Federal Building where Senator Ron Johnson’s office is. Johnson is an ardent supporter of President Donald Trump and a voice for the racist mob that stormed Capitol Hill this past week. He also was directly responsible for blocking the increase of the second round of stimulus payments several weeks ago. Senator Johnson made the perfect local target for the rally.

Many of the speakers saw lessons of the past and shadows of the future in the events that transpired on January 6 in DC.

“We should expect to see more of this type of response from the far right in this country as the hangers-on attempt to stave off the final descent of this wretched system into the dustbin of history. History shows us what can happen when reactionaries organize to seize power amid crisis,” said Ryan Hamann, a leader with the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.

Hamann continued, “We also know what it takes to prevent that from happening. We need to build the people’s movements, keep the struggle in the streets, and deliver the people’s justice to Donald Trump, his allies, and his enablers!”

#MilwaukeeWI #Coup #DonaldTrump

After rallying at the Mission, the crowd marched to Trump Tower and continued with more speeches.

Speakers from various movements spoke about how the U.S. has intervened in their countries, including Brazil, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Others spoke about U.S. imperialism’s interest in Bolivia and why it’s important to have international solidarity.

“But why Bolivia?” asked Jessica Schwartz of Freedom Road Socialist Organization. “Is it because Evo Morales is an indigenous, working-class leader? Or is it because Bolivia is sitting on lithium that the U.S. imperialists want for themselves? It is, in fact, all of the above!”

The rally ended with chants and a call for people to join organizations to continue the struggle and demand “Hands off Bolivia!”

The call was put out by Socialist Unity Party/Partido por el Socialismo Unido and Struggle – La Lucha newspaper, with endorsements from Samidoun Palestinian Political Prisoner Network, International Action Center, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Bolivarian Circles NYC, BAYAN USA Northeast, ANSWER Coalition, the People’s Forum, US Peace Council, United National Antiwar Coalition, December 12th Movement, and others.

#NewYorkNY #PeoplesStruggles #Bolivia #Coup #EvoMorales #Americas

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.”

From the beginning, it must be clear that the street violence that led to this moment was not about “the people vs. the government.” In Bolivia, where the people live under a constitution that was popularly written and democratically approved in 2009, the people are the government. For the first time since the Spanish invasion, the indigenous masses exercised political control over their own territory – Bolivia being the only country left in the Americas where the majority of the population is indigenous. In the entire history of this hemisphere, only two indigenous people have been elected president – Benito Juárez in México a hundred and fifty years ago, and Evo Morales in Bolivia.

Before Evo came to office, Bolivia was the sole governance of a handful of families, the oligarchy whose historic roots lie in the Spanish Conquest and whose only fount of current legitimacy comes from U.S. capital. It was not long ago that the country was an apartheid state, where the indigenous were denied the right to vote and own property. A national democratic revolution in 1952 tore down this order, but the oligarchy quickly regained power in the new democratic order. It was in the mass revolt against this consolidation of power that Che arrived to fight, and ultimately die, alongside his Bolivian comrades.

Evo came to office in 2005 as an indigenous trade unionist, at the helm of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), a political alliance of left-wing trade unions, peasant unions and indigenous organizations. In the thirteen years since first taking office, his government has led a transformation of Bolivia from an economic backwater – a country without any sovereignty, totally beholden to American imperialist thuggery – into a genuinely prosperous society. The mines and gas refineries that used to be the sole property of U.S. firms were nationalized, and their revenue directed to lifting the poor out of poverty. For as long as Bolivia has existed, it has not known a period of greater collective prosperity and genuine democracy.

From day one, Evo's government has been a government of the mass movements, with indigenous workers and farmers occupying the halls of power that were built on their ancestor's backs. None of this could be forgiven by the oligarchy, nor by the social classes that benefited from their patronage system. These were the forces that have resisted MAS' transformation of Bolivia, and these were the forces that took to the streets on October 20th.

So what are these demonstrations about, if not democracy? The protesters decry “electoral fraud” without offering any proof, although that does not matter at all for the shameless U.S. media outlets that serve as the faithful loudspeakers of any rich thug. But, do they turn their attention to the seats of government in the capital, occupying Congress and demanding a new election? No. Instead, they set fire to union houses. They drag the elected mayors of cities and towns, only those that belong to MAS, from their homes and beat them, along with their family members. They drag one, a proud indigenous woman, into the middle of a crowd and forcibly cut off her hair. They set fire to the house of Evo's own sister. This was terrorism, on an organized scale and with the open support of the far-right opposition parties and the U.S. media.

What will now happen to the incredible society their movement has built is unclear. Reports are coming in that at least twenty people from Evo's government have sought asylum in Mexico's embassy in the capital. The wiphala, the flag that represents the diversity of Bolivia's indigenous people, has been taken down from government buildings in the capital. Evo, for his part, has declared that he will not leave. He and his vice president have gone to the countryside, to their base, in order to lead the grim struggle going forward.

The coup faces one of the most organized mass movements on the continent, one whose resilience and revolutionary courage goes back centuries, from the resistance to the Spanish Conquest in the 1500s to the armed miner uprisings of only a few decades ago. The Bolivian people possess in their history and in their lived experience a great bravery. Now they must use it to defend the better society they have built.

This week is a sober reminder that history does not move along a straight line. An incredible victory in one corner can be, and often is, accompanied by a terrible defeat in another. Such is the nature of war. And what we are witnessing in our continent, from Haiti to Chile, is a war. A contradiction, like any tension, can only last so long before it breaks. The Americas have broken open, and all energy must be coalesced into common struggle to cast the bourgeoisie of our countries – whose descendants consciously committed genocide and forced millions into slavery so that they could live in decadence – into the dustbin. “History is ours,” said Salvador Allende as airplanes of the U.S. backed military dropped bombs around him and his comrades, “and the people make history.” In Bolivia, we suffered a defeat today. Tomorrow, let us ensure a victory there and in every corner of our America.

#Bolivia #Opinion #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #Coup #OpEd #LatinAmerica #SouthAmerica #EvoMorales

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.

That day saw unelected presidential pretender Juan Guaido appear outside an airbase in Caracas, claiming a military uprising to oust elected President Nicolás Maduro was about to take place. Despite heavy promotion by the U.S. State Department and much of the media, no uprising occurred. By the end of the day, its handful of participants had fled to the diplomatic compounds of Spain and Brazil.

Molm explained, “We had been there for a day and a half. Tuesday morning, we wake up, and we’re a mile and a half from it, witnessing nothing. We hear people banging pots, but nobody leaves their houses.”

Instead, Molm described seeing tens of thousands of Venezuelans flock to the seat of the presidency at the Miraflores Palace to defend President Maduro. “The vice president called for the people of Venezuela, the workers of Venezuela, to be in the streets and to defend their president. That’s what we saw,” she said.

Molm, a member of the Twin Cities-based Anti-War Committee, was in Venezuela with a delegation of Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO). Her report-back event in Minneapolis, which featured a slideshow of photos and an extensive Q&A, took place on May 18.

“It’s really important to start with the history of Venezuela, one of the things that’s really missing from the conversation that people get in the news,” she began. “In 1499, Venezuela was invaded by the Spanish, colonized, and they created a monocrop slave state. A lot of the issues that Venezuela is grappling with are basically rooted in being a colonized country, with very little infrastructure, and a single export that they were reliant on.”

“Hugo Chávez and Simon Bolivar are really thought of as liberators of this country that was ravaged by colonization, and then by neo-colonial policies,” explained Molm. “When Chávez was elected, Venezuela was considered one of the most unequal countries in Latin America. Now it’s considered one of the most equal societies. That makes a big impression on people.”

Molm showed the audience photos of banners that anti-imperialist student groups displayed around Caracas on April 30 in response to Guaido’s failed putsch. “The coup attempt happened really early in the morning. Before 9:30, they’ve got banners up,” she said. “People are ready to fight, ready to be in the streets to defend their government.”

The following day, May 1, the delegation attended a mass rally commemorating International Workers Day, a national holiday in Venezuela. Over 400,000 people attended, many alongside their labor unions, to hear President Maduro speak. “Every time we saw something anti-Trump, people were like, ‘come take pictures with us!’ It was great,” Molm said.

Molm also addressed the widespread reports of food shortages in Venezuela, saying, “There’s a lot of food production, and one of the things that they’re working really hard to do is understand where food is being produced, and where it’s going. Because they’ve had all these initiatives that include urban farming and taking back productive parts of the land around the country, so that people can be producing food – and not relying on big businesses that shutter their doors because they decide they’re not making enough profit.”

Despite the challenges, Molm reported that food was still widely available. The delegation witnessed many boxes of free food assembled by the Local Committees for Supply and Production – known by their Spanish-language acronym, CLAP – being distributed around Caracas.

The delegation and met with revolutionary leaders to learn about popular struggles to bring about social equality in Venezuela.

“Venezuela is not currently a socialist country. Their leaders, including Maduro, believe that’s the direction they want to bring their society,” Molm explained. “They want to fundamentally change their government to be about people, to be about fulfilling people’s needs, and not about profit.”

In particular, Molm recounted the delegation’s tour of new public housing built as part of the Gran Misión Vivienda, an initiative of Hugo Chávez that has led to 2.6 million high-quality homes being built over eight years. “People pay what they can. If you can pay, say, the equivalent of $100 dollars in rent, that’s what you pay. If you can’t, you pay less,” Molm explained. “It makes you realize how far away from that we are in the US, when people are getting evicted on a daily basis because they can’t afford rent.”

“There are almost no people living on the streets in Venezuela,” she added. Privatization of the homes built under the Gran Misión Vivienda, along with the nationalized oil funding it, has long been a stated objective of the Venezuelan opposition now led by Guaido. Last week, it was revealed that Guaido, in the aftermath of the attempted coup’s failure to garner mass support, was formally requesting U.S. military backing for the overthrow of President Maduro.

“People are very clear in Venezuela. They know who the enemy is,” Molm concluded. “They know who is instigating the attacks. They know who is trying to destabilize their country.”

#MinneapolisMN #AntiwarMovement #CapitalismAndEconomy #Venezuela #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #Coup #Maduro #Socialism #Trump

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.

Caracas, Venezuela – Hay emoción el 30 de abril en las calles mientras decenas de miles se dirigen hacia el palacio de Miraflores, donde el presidente Maduro lidera a Venezuela. Mientras que los rumores sobre un intento de golpe de estado se transmiten en las noticias, la policía especial y los militares venezolanos se movilizan en calles principales y edificios estratégicos. El estado de ánimo es serio, pero tranquilo a medida que crece la movilización para defender al Presidente Maduro y la Revolución Bolivariana.

Temprano en la mañana, nos despertamos para escuchar la voz de una mujer solitaria que gritaba: “¡Dios mío! ¡Dios mío! ¡Libertad!” Esto fue en respuesta a las noticias televisivas de que el golpista y político derechista Leopoldo López escapó su arresto domiciliario. Pronto vimos video de la reunión de López con el títere estadounidense Juan Guiado en la carretera fuera del aeropuerto La Carlota. López abrazó torpemente a un joven soldado, tratando de dar la impresión de que tiene respaldo militar.

López es ahora un fugitivo y quienes lo ayuden se enfrentarán a arresto y encarcelamiento. Es posible que los Estados Unidos quieran que López venga a Washington DC. Trump y Bolton pueden dirigir a López y Guiado en sus intentos de desestabilizar a Venezuela. Los Estados Unidos quieren que el petróleo de Venezuela esté bajo su control. Wall Street también están molestos por las medidas que brindan más de 2.6 millones de hogares nuevos en ocho años y la atención médica para todos.

Mientras conducíamos a una conferencia importante sobre la construcción de viviendas, pasamos una pequeña protesta derechista de 30 personas en un área de clase alta en el este de Caracas. Los venezolanos de la clase trabajadora que esperaban el autobús no se impresionaron, frunciendo el ceño ante los partidarios derechistas del títere estadounidense Juan Guiado.

Mientras conducíamos a la conferencia de Mission Vivienda, escuchamos a la vicepresidenta Delcy Rodríguez en la radio. Llamó a la gente a movilizar y defender su revolución y al presidente Maduro. Rodríguez dijo: “¡Estamos llamando a todos los trabajadores, a todos los trabajadores de todo el país, de todas partes de Venezuela, a que se movilicen para defender a nuestra revolución y a nuestro presidente!”

#Venezuela #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #Coup #frso #Maduro #Americas

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

Caracas, Venezuela – There is excitement, April 30, in the streets as tens of thousands stream towards Miraflores Palace where President Maduro leads Venezuela. While rumors of an attempted coup are broadcast on the news, special police and Venezuelan military are mobilized at key crossroads and strategic buildings. The mood is serious, but calm as the mobilization to defend President Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolution grows

Early morning, we woke to hear a lone woman's voice shouting, “My God! My God! Freedom!” This was in response to television news that coup plotter and right-wing politician Leopoldo Lopez escaped house arrest. We soon watched video of Lopez meeting U.S. puppet Juan Guiado on the highway outside of La Carlota airport. Lopez awkwardly hugged a young soldier, attempting to give the impression he has military backing.

Lopez is now an outlaw and those helping him will face arrest and imprisonment. It is possible the U.S. wants Lopez to come to Washington DC. Trump and Bolton can then direct Lopez and Guiado in their attempts to destabilize Venezuela. The U.S. wants Venezuela's oil under their control. Wall Street is also upset by the measures that provide over 2.6 million new homes in eight years, and health care for all.

As we drove to an important conference on building homes, we passed a small right-wing protest of 30 people in an upper class area in East Caracas. Working-class Venezuelans waiting for the bus were not impressed, frowning at the right-wing supporters of U.S. puppet Juan Guiado.

As we drove to the housing conference of the Mission Vivienda, we heard Vice President Delcy Rodriguez on the radio. She called for people to mobilize and defend their revolution and President Maduro. Rodriguez said, “We are calling all workers, all working people of the entire country, from all parts of Venezuela, to mobilize to defend our revolution and our president!”

#Venezuela #AntiwarMovement #PeoplesStruggles #Coup #frso #Maduro #Americas

Amanda Martínez: El golpe suave, fue pasando en proceso, se comenzaron a reunir los líderes que siempre han sido la oposición al gobierno actual. De repente el 11 de mayo en la madrugada instalaron los tranques, este día no permitieron el paso de nadie ni siquiera a pie. Los tranques pasaron por diferentes etapas, todos con violencia, primero permitían el pase en vehículos privados de sus simpatizantes. Luego, comenzaron a permitir el pase de algunas unidades del transporte público, que para que lo hicieran los apoyaron casi obligatoriamente. Luego, permitieron el paso de las unidades de transporte pero debían pagar un peaje cada dí, y seguir todas sus exigencias y regulaciones. Era relativo el trato a los sandinistas, dado que es un pueblo, muchos de ellos tenían familiares sandinistas, así que algunos no sufrieron agresiones, otros sufrieron agresiones verbales. Si secuestraron a uno de los activista Sandinistas que estaba defendiendo a una familia Sandinistas que sufrió un brutal ataque por parte de estos grupos delincuenciales, su casa fue quemada y robada, junto a otras familias de muy escasos recursos. La policía nacional se mantuvo al margen, no actuó, ni siquiera la mirábamos patrullar por el pueblo, nos sentíamos sin protección.

¡Lucha y Resiste!: Como el golpe afectó La Concepción y otros pueblos?

Martínez: La afectación mayor, fue la parte económica ya que muchos productores no podían transportar sus productos, y cuando lo lograban hacer, eso implicaba un alto costo. Finalmente, cuando el producto lograba llegar al mercado, por todo los bloqueos en la carretera no habían tantos compradores y eso traía como consecuencia, dar los productos a un bajo precio, generando grandes pérdidas para los productores. A esto debemos agregar que tenemos un poco de turismo, ya que estamos muy cerca del volcán Masaya y debido al bloqueo dejamos de percibir a los turistas nacionales y extranjeros. Otra afectación fue la falta de extranjeros que llegaban a la escuela de español la Mariposa Hotel, lo que significaba una generación de empleos, para los maestros, las familias donde este hospedan, el personal que trabajaba directamente en el hotel y la comunidad que recibe el beneficio de los proyectos sociales.

¡Lucha y Resiste!: ¿Cuándo cambio la situación controlado por los Golpistas? ¿Levantaron a la gente Sandinista?

Martínez: Los Sandinistas del pueblo teníamos mucho miedo, así que no hicimos nada directamente para terminar con esta tortura, fue hasta que llegaron al pueblo los militares encubiertos [una mezcla de fuerzas civiles y policías] que obligaron a los golpista a huir y a retirarse. Aunque muchos de ellos ya habían retirado por orientaciones del sacerdote del pueblo, por lo que estaba sucediendo en otras ciudades.

¡Lucha y Resiste!: ¿En los meses desde que El Pueblo y El Gobierno han retomado el poder, cómo han sentido los días? ¿Hay mucha división? ¿La gente herida, torturada están manifestando por justicia?

Martínez: Desde que el pueblo y el gobierno han retomado el control, las cosas han comenzado a volver a la normalidad. Ha sido un proceso difícil, pero hemos logrado mucho, con unidad y organización, más que una división partidaria. Lo que ocurrió fue una división familiar y social, pero desde la perspectiva del partido nos hemos fortalecido con la unidad por toda la situación dolorosa que vivimos en el tiempo de secuestro y bloqueo. Las personas que fueron víctimas de agresiones han clamado por justicia y participan directamente en las caminatas y las actividades realizadas con este fin.

¡Lucha y Resiste!: ¿Qué piensa que tiene que ocurrir en Nicaragua para prevenir otro golpe suave de Estado?

Martínez: La unidad de nosotros los hermanos Sandinista es muy importante. Así como hablar con nuestras familias y vecinos que fueron engañados por la derecha golpista y que han sido víctimas de la manipulación.

#Nicaragua #AntiwarMovement #Americas #PeoplesStruggles #Coup #Sandinista

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.

The Milwaukee protesters support the powerful Bolivarian movement and the Venezuelan government’s progressive reforms of the past 15 years. Millions of Venezuelans are no longer living in poverty, have learned to read and write and work at new jobs. Venezuelan President Maduro’s government spends billions from state oil revenues on jobs, education, health care and housing, for the benefit of the many. Wealthy Venezuelans and some college students are upset and protesting the government.

The U.S. government is backing the right-wing protests. After 15 years of losing election after election, the wealthy reactionaries are attempting to reverse the Bolivarian Revolution and the progress made by poor people. The majority of Venezuelans reject the turn towards violence by the reactionaries.

Chance Zombor of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization fired up the crowd, “When we occupied the capitol building in Madison, we were fighting for workers’ rights against an extreme right-wing agenda. When we marched with Occupy Wall Street, we were saying that the wealthy should not control our country.” He explained about the protests, “What's happening in Venezuela is the opposite! The demonstrators there do not represent the majority of Venezuelans, who voted to support Maduro and the Bolivarian Revolution.”

Milwaukee Anti-War Committee organized the protest along with other organizations. Leaders plan to do more outreach rallies like this one in the Riverwest neighborhood to educate people about U.S. wars and intervention.

#MilwaukeeWI #Venezuela #Coup #RepublicanAgenda #antiwar #USImperialism #PSUV #NicolásMaduro

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.

Protesters held signs reading, “U.S. hands off Venezuela,” “We stand with Maduro for peace,” “Let democracy decide,” and “Long live the Bolivarian revolution!” Friendly drivers honked their horns and passersby raised fists of solidarity during rush hour in Tucson’s downtown. People stopped to ask about the demands of the protest and were appalled to learn about U.S. government backing of right-wing movements, as well as the violence targeting popular people’s projects in Venezuela. Venezuela’s revolutionary government takes billions in oil profits and invests them in jobs, housing, food programs, health care and education, lifting millions out of poverty.

In recent weeks, a right-wing movement backed by the U.S. is attempting to overthrow the revolution and return Venezuela to the days of poverty and misery. The U.S. is funding non-governmental organizations and using other illegal methods to support anti-government protests and violent attacks by the right-wing opposition. Pro-U.S. and counter-revolutionary forces are once again turning to street violence in the wake of electoral failures. It is similar to the failed coup attempt against revolutionary President Hugo Chavez on April 11, 2002. At that time, the U.S. government under President Bush funded and provided intelligence to the coup makers at that time. Now, the government led by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is responding to more U.S.-backed provocations with calls for a peace conference. Venezuelan police also use force when necessary to suppress the guarimbas - roadblocks with burning tires and men carrying an assortment of weapons.

The recent violence represents an escalation by a section of the wealthy capitalists and their supporters against the socialist-oriented Chavista government. The right-wing opposition is taking advantage of difficulties with inflation. Also, the scarcity of some goods figured in initial protests, but soon turned into violence directed at supporters of the Bolivarian revolution. Some business people in Venezuela deliberately hoard certain goods, purposely sabotage the economy, and then engage in currency speculation to make big profits. The wealthy opposition parties keep losing election after election, including the recent municipal elections where they lost ground. So now some are turning to violence in an attempt to impose their will on the majority.

Tucson Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Alliance for Global Justice planned the rally, and were joined by representatives of Tucson Peace Vigil and Veterans for Peace. Protesters held signs and shouted, “Stop media lies!” in response to wide scale news manipulation by Venezuelan and American news corporations.

The Bolivarian government has the upper hand and the correct handling of the disturbances can bolster the progressive and patriotic movements in Venezuela, but the right-wing opposition is determined to reverse the Bolivarian revolution.

As for Tucson, SDSer Dayna Broder proclaimed: “We stand for solidarity with Venezuela, against war, and with President Maduro for peace.”

#TucsonAZ #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #Venezuela #Coup #USImperialism #NicholasMaduro

The movement that has filled the streets and squares of Egypt this past week is a continuation of the movement that broke out Jan. 25, 2011 and toppled the hated U.S.-backed dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak.

Despite these accomplishments, the movement of the Egyptian people now faces real challenges. It is a fact: President Morsi was removed from power by the Egyptian military. Was it in the context of a powerful mass movement demanding change? Sure, no doubt about that. It is also the case, at least for the short term, that the removal of Morsi via a coup, the suspension of the constitution, the ending of parliament and other measures taken against the Muslim Brotherhood, will strengthen the hand of the military – the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces – in the struggle between different factions of Egypt’s elite.

The strengthened role for military presents a real set of problems for the Egyptian people. The most important being that Egypt’s military is closely linked with the U.S. and it could care less about the national or class interests of the Egyptian people in particular or the Arab peoples in general. The military was the author of the shameful treaty with Israel that strengthened the Zionist occupation of Palestine. Its collaboration with Israel continues right up to today. Many of its ranking officers have been trained in the U.S. Second to Israel, Egypt received $1.3 billion in military assistance last year from the U.S.

While the White House has ordered a review of the aid to Egypt – because U.S. law forbids assistance to governments that come to power via coups – it is worth noting that the administration is being careful not to say the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces carried out a coup.

Progressives in the U.S. should extend their solidarity to the people of Egypt. Across the Middle East, from Syria, to Palestine, to Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain, people are resisting imperialism, Zionism and reaction of all kinds. They deserve our support. We demand an end to all U.S. aid to reactionary regimes in the Middle East, including Israel, and support the right of the Arab peoples to determine their own destiny.

Victory to the struggle of the Egyptian people!

#Egypt #Editorials #Zionism #FreedomRoadSocialistOrganization #Coup #Morsi #MiddleEast

On Oct. 24 the newly formed Hands Off Honduras Coalition, made up of anti-war and Latin America solidarity groups, organized a demonstration at the major intersection of Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue. 70 people protested in opposition to the military coup d'état in Honduras and to the de facto acceptance of the coup by the U.S. government.

The people of Honduras have bravely resisted the June 28 coup that illegally removed President Manuel Zelaya. The Honduran resistance has carried out huge protests and massive strikes. The military responded with brutal repression including tear gas, clubs and gunfire. They have arrested thousands, killed many and closed down all independent news media.

Meredith Aby, of the Anti-War Committee and the Colombia Action Network, explained the root of the coup, “While in office Zelaya took some strong stands to help his people, like increasing the minimum wage and standing with ALBA (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America) against the U.S.'s free trade agenda in the region.

Aby continued, “However, this isn't a protest or a movement merely about a president. This is a protest and a movement in solidarity with the people of Honduras. A people who have chosen to defend their right to pick their president and to determine the course for their country. It is just that very idea – the idea of change – that has scared the Honduran elite and their military. Power in Honduras is in the hands of about 100 people from 25 families, while the majority of Hondurans live in poverty. The elite hoped that they could just remove Zelaya and their problem would go away. But the people of Honduras are saying, 'Ya Basta!' 'Enough is enough!' and are refusing to go back to the old ways.”

The Oct. 24 protest’s speakers, signs and chants denounced the U.S. government’s support for the coup government. The U.S. continues to fund the Honduran government and has criticized President Zelaya as 'irresponsible' for trying to return to Honduras to resume his rightful place as president. The U.S has not condemned the repression by the military. Honduran military officers are graduates of the infamous U.S. School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia, which continues to train officers from all over Latin America on how to wage war on their own peoples. Recently, groups of U.S. legislators traveled to Honduras in support of a phony 'election' set for Nov. 29. The protest demanded a change in the U.S. policy of intervening in Latin American.

Joe Callahan, of the Minnesota Cuba Committee, gave a passionate appeal for Americans to connect to the cause of Honduras, “In addition to the rifle fire, tear gas and the clubs, a brand new high-tech weapon was used against the Honduran people – sound cannons. One month ago this weapon was used in Pittsburgh against people protesting the policies of the Group of 20. This is a very loud reminder that we are linked together with the peoples of the world, like the people of Honduras. So when we stand up in support of their rights we are fighting for our own rights too.”

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Minneapolis, MN - An emergency response protest here, June 29, condemned the military coup that happened on June 28 in Honduras. The protest also expressed solidarity with the Honduran people's resistance to the right-wing military coup and demanded that the U.S. government cut off aid to Honduras. This was one of many emergency protests that happened in the U.S. and throughout the world.

The main speakers at the Minneapolis protest were Father Luis Alvarenga, a Salvadoran religious leader and immigrant rights activist in the Twin Cities and Meredith Aby, of the Colombia Action Network and Anti-War Committee. Alvarenga emphasized the need for solidarity with the people of Honduras. Aby talked about the long history of U.S. military intervention in Latin America and the need to stop it. She noted that the Honduran coup leaders were trained at the U.S.-based School of the Americas.

On the morning of June 28, the command of the Honduran military took over the house of the president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. The men covered their faces and wore regular military uniforms. While entering the house, they shot and killed one of the president’s security guards, then kidnapped the president and forced him to fly to Costa Rica. The coup took place as Hondurans were set to vote on possible future changes to the country's constitution.

Francisco Segovia, a member of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition (MIRAc) said, “The Central American community living in Minneapolis, Minnesota condemns this coup executed by the higher ranks of the military powers, supported by economic elites and given illegitimate imprimatur by the president of the Honduran parliament, Roberto Micheletti.”

Niger Arevalo, a member of the FMLN of Minnesota, added, “For more than a century, the people of Latin America have suffered horrendous crimes executed by the military in alliance with the dominant national and international economic groups that exercise great power in Latin America. Once again, the ghosts of previous military coups traverse the continent – this time visiting the Honduran people.”

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