“The defense of the Cuban revolution is carried out through the socialist revolution in Latin America and the world” This interview was conducted in August 2004, when Celia Hart attended the world conference of the International Marxist Tendency.
Celia Hart Santamaría (1963 – 2008) We have just heard the tragic news of the death in a traffic accident, of Celia Hart Santamaría, 45, and Abel Santamaría Hart, 48, the daughter and son of Armando Hart Davalos and Haydee Santamaría. Celia came from a family of veteran Cuban revolutionaries who fought against the Batista dictatorship together with Fidel Castro. She has been an outspoken defender of the political and revolutionary heritage of Leon Trotsky.
Canada: Riots and instability in Montreal Last month we reported on the murder of an 18-year old Latino in Montreal by the police which provoked an angry reaction among the immigrant communities. Here we provide an analysis which gives background information outlining the social and economic conditions that have led to this situation.
Bolivia: Government calls constitutional referendum - the movement goes on to the offensive After Evo Morales' massive victory in the recall referendum in August, the pressure has been building up from below to move against the oligarchy. Now Morales has called a referendum on a new Constitution and for elections of the regional governors of Cochabamba and La Paz, steps in the right direction, but in and of themselves not enough to break the deadlock between the classes.
Argentina: Expulsion of Buenos Aires metro shop stewards suspended We have just received the news that the meeting the trade union bureaucracy of UTA had called on September 2nd with the aim of expelling the shop stewards representing the Buenos Aires Metro workers has been suspended.
USA: Socialism – Change We Can Actually Believe In It’s official. Barack Obama is the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. His rapid rise to national prominence and eventual nomination have left millions of American workers and youth dizzy with hope for real change. Many have lamented or attempted to justify his shift to the right since he won the nomination (a shift from the so-called “center” of U.S. politics as he has never been on the “left”). But few have drawn the logical conclusion from this: that as we have explained time and again in the pages of Socialist Appeal, Obama does not represent real change and is organically incapable of changing anything fundamental. How could he? He is a Big...
Argentina: Subway workers of Buenos Aires reclaim union democracy and demand an end to persecution Workers in the subways are facing an extremely grave situation: the Committee for Ethics of the Transit Workers Union of Argentina has decided to revoke the mandate of our delegates and expel them from the trade union organisation. We ask workers, social organisations, unions and political parties to send us their support and solidarity.
The threat of electoral fraud in El Salvador In 2009 there are presidential elections as well as mayoral and deputy elections. El Salvador has a history of electoral fraud. The working class together with the poor from the cities and the countryside must be alert to take the necessary action to fight every attempt of fraud in the forthcoming elections.
Bolivia: a new offensive of the oligarchy, the masses respond in the streets After having won a two-thirds majority in the recall referendum, Bolivian president Evo Morales made an appeal to the oligarchy to negotiate and for national unity. As was to be expected, the oligarchy responded by launching a renewed offensive against the democratically elected government using all means at its disposal. But now we are seeing an organised reaction against the oligarchy. Building on the movement that started on May 4th, the mass movement of workers and peasants is being in the streets once again.
Canada: Police Murder Provokes Riots in Montréal-Nord For a week now, Montreal has been boiling with rage. The unprovoked murder of 18-year-old Freddy Villanueva, by agents of the Montreal Police Service, catalyzed an explosion that has been building for years. Police attacks on peaceful demonstrators sparked a riot.
Colombia: From Capitalist horror without end to the struggle for Socialism – Part Three In spite of the heroism of the guerrilla fighters, what they have lacked is an understanding of the role of the working class in the process of socialist revolution. What is required is a party based on the working class in the cities that can lead the peasantry. In this struggle the guerrillas would still have a role but as auxiliary to the working class, not as its substitute.
Bolivia’s recall referendum, massive support for change – time to move forward! In the August 10 recall referendum, President Evo Morales and vice-president García Linera were ratified with an increased number of votes and the two MAS prefects (governors) of Oruro and Potosí were also ratified. But at the same time, four of the six opposition prefects were also ratified with sizable majorities. So, who won? Who lost?
Colombia: From Capitalist horror without end to the struggle for Socialism – Part Two On more than one occasion the Colombian ruling class has entered into "peace talks" with the guerrillas, only to use these as a means of buying time and preparing even greater bloodshed. They used this situation also to conveniently cut across repeated waves of mass mobilisations.
Colombia: From Capitalist horror without end to the struggle for Socialism – Part One We start today a three part article, written in June, which looks at how the various guerrilla organisations emerged in Colombia. The bourgeois media present them as merely a bunch of criminals, conveniently ignoring the fact that they arose historically as an answer to the brutal repressive Colombian state at the service of the local oligarchy and imperialism.
Resolution on the Cuban Five The International Marxist Tendency considers that the Cuban Five are in the front ranks of the fight for world socialism. They were fighting against the reactionary attacks of the extreme right against the Cuban Revolution. The struggle to bring about their release is the duty not only of the Cuban people, but of all those who believe in the socialist future of humanity.
