ThinkSocialist

Vacation

2006-06-17T05:53:00.000-07:00

I'll be in the wonderful land of Texas for the next week, so don't expect anymore exciting news on the wonderful world of Socialism. As you may know, they have yet to bring the magic of electricity and computers to Texas, so I'll be technologically isolated. Have a good week. I'll still be checking my e-mail occasionally if you need to contact me: mike@thinksocialist.com

Obrador Gains Traction in Mexican Election

2006-06-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Party of the Democratic Revolution has regained his lead in the polls in the Mexican Presidential race. Obrador, who had led for two years prior to the election, overtook Nation Action Party's Felipe Calderon in polls released this week. A poll performed by the newspaper Reforma gives Obrador a 3.2% lead over the right-wing Calderon. Obrador has regained support upon news that his opponent gave out government contracts to relatives.

During his tenure as Mayor of Mexico City, Obrador positioned himself as a champion of the poor. Calderon, on the other hand, is a favorite of the business class and the Bush Administration. Calderon's only real tactics in the race seem to be ad hominem attacks and baseless accusations. Perhaps the attack that most damaged the Obrador camp most was the accusation that he was in bed with Hugo Chavez, despite the fact that there was no substance behind it. Calderon has also labeled Obrador a "radical" and a "socialist".

Even the conservative Financial Times is predicting a win for Obrador, which is a positive sign for Mexico's poor. We can also only hope that upon his election that Obrador will stop the campaign of violence against the poor in Chiapas and against the Zapatistas.

Mexican Government Attacks Striking Teachers

2006-06-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

The Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) and the Other Campaign has released an informative bulletin regarding the repression of the Oaxaca Democratic Teachers’ Union in Oaxaca. According to EZLN leader Subcomandante Marcos, on June 14th at 4:30 in the morning, a group of police raided a camp where striking teachers were sleeping. The teachers were striking to "demand better working conditions and against the authoritarian government of Ulises Ruiz."

Teachers face off against Mexican police.

In addition to attempting to break the strike, Mexican police have also destroyed facilities owned by the EZLN and the Other Campaign, including the building housing alternative radio station “Radio Plantón". The Special Forces Police Unit has arrested 12 teachers, injured several people, and possibly forced a pregnant women to miscarriage with tear gas. According to the report, the teachers have retaken the town center in Oaxaca City and are holding it.

These actions by the Mexican government comes after waves of state repression in the city of San Salvador Atenco in early May. Riots began in Atenco after police beat and arrested native flower vendors who set up stands on the of property of a soon-to-be Wal-Mart. The EZLN has been deeply involved with assisting the victims of both of these incidents. Marcos is calling on all alternative media outlets to give these striking teachers and their EZLN allies a voice.

Remembering Che

2006-06-14T10:12:00.000-07:00

Today is the 78th anniversary of the birth of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the great guerilla leader. Che began his life as an Argentinian doctor who traveled South America giving care to the poor. After seeing the destitute situations that so many Latin Americanss suffered, Che became convinced that the only remedy to poverty was revolution. He soon became part of the Cuban Revolution and the liberation of Latin America. On October 9th, 1967 he was shot by U.S. operatives in La Higuera, Bolivia.

"I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." - Che Guevara

Today, Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales is celebrating Che's legacy. In order to commemorate Guevara, Morales will be outfitting the La Higuera hospital where Che's body was displayed after his death new medical equipment. Morales also opened a new literacy center in the city which was donated by Cuba.

"Che was the most complete human being of our age." - Jean-Paul Sartre

U.S. Attempts to Block Venezuela Security Council Bid

2006-06-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

On his weekly television program "Alo Presidente", Hugo Chavez reprimanded the United States for trying to block Venezuela's bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. Using Jack Abramoff style lobbying tactics, President Bush and U.N. Ambassador John Bolton are trying to coerce as many U.N. member states as possible to vote against Venezuela in the upcoming vote for a seat on the Security Council. Chavez said of the American effort, "We will go after this with all our force. This is like David versus Goliath.''

Since one of the seats on the Security Council is traditionally reserved for a Latin American nation, U.S. officials are pushing Guatemala as the opposition candidate to Venezuela. This endorsement of Guatemala comes despite allegations that the Guatemalan government is involved in human trafficking and slave trades at its highest level. Guatemala is also notorious for its corruption and graft. However, for American elites trying to preserve the capitalist status quo, its better to support a nation that is creates a free human slave market than one that is trying to create an equitable socialist society.

The Sexiest Socialist Alive

2006-06-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Segolene Royal of France's Socialist Party has been crowned the sixth sexiest woman on the planet by FHM. Royal even managed beat out traditional choices including Liz Hurley and Penelope Cruz.

Segolene Royal (right) with her worthy oppoenents

This 52 year old mother of four quickly became the sweetheart of French politics in March after she helped lead the movement to defeat the first job contract law (CPE) that allowed employers to arbitrarily fire workers under 26 without justification. Royal, along with being official the official MILF of every leftist on the planet, is a Presidential favorite for the 2007 French elections.

Bush Slanders Chavez and Venezuela

2006-06-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

Hugo Chavez and George Bush have never had a particularly good relationship. In 2002, Bush helped overthrew Chavez's democratic government and attempted to install a Pinochet style dictatorship that served U.S. interests. In response, Chavez has labeled Bush a terrorist, an imperialist, and an alcoholic - all three of which are undoubtedly true looking at the man's personal history and the Geneva Conventions. Today, Bush crossed the line of petty insults and viciously attacked Chavez and, more importantly, the Venezuelan people. At a press event today, Bush said that Chavez has been doing a "great disservice to the traditions and people" of Venezuela.

The attitude that this statement reveals is Bush's backward, colonial, and racist ideology. The rhetoric use by Bush is not unlike that of the "White Man's Burden", which was the turn of the century concept that it was the white man's responsibility to rule over all of the other "lesser" races on the planet. Not only is this a racist attack on the Venezuelan people and their ability to autonomously choose their own leader democratically - without U.S. intervention - but it is a clear attack on democratic values. How dare Bush - a man who violates the constitution on an hourly basis and has an approval rating below 30% - attack a leader who actually follows the will of his people (Chavez's approval rating rarely dips under 80%).

It's not for Bush to decide whether or not Chavez has done a "disservice" to Venezuelan tradition. What the hell does George Bush even know about Venezuelan culture? I would be willing to bet my first born son that Bush couldn't find Venezuela on a map, let alone speak the language or comprehend its history.

Garcia Wins Peru Elections

2006-06-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

Liberal centrist Alan Garcia of the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance has declared victory in the June 4th Peruvian elections, which he won by an estimated 10%. During the 1980's, Garcia led Peru into economic disaster in which the country experienced 7000% inflation. The outcome of the election was accepted by Garcia's opponent, leftist nationalist Ollanta Humala, who many business leaders in Peru and American feared because of Humala's ties to socialist leaders throughout Latin America.

Humala's defeat is by no means a rejection of leftist or socialist ideology in Latin America, despite what some conservative columnists may claim. It was quite remarkable that Humala, who was a political nobody before this year, was able to garner over 44% of the vote. While the outcome may not have been ideal, the fact that a socialist candidate was able to rally so many around him in a country as conservative as Peru is impressive. Humala told his supporters today, “This is a day of victory: we’ve managed in such short time to awaken so many consciences... we’ve garnered a large social majority and today we are renewing our commitment to work and serve the country, defend the nation and its natural resources”

Garcia's success may be more of a referendum on international meddling in election than a true win for Garcia. Humala's standings in the polls fell sharply after the Garcia campaign accused Venezuela's Hugo Chavez of funding the Humala campaign. This is not to say that Peruvian are hostile towards Chavez or his politics, but rather that they reject intervention - whether it's from Venezuela or the United States - in domestic elections.

Land Revolution in Bolivia

2006-06-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Evo Morales put a program into action today that will redistribute 7.8 million acres of land to the poor in Bolivia. The land will be seized from wealthy farmers and landowners, whose land often goes largely unused. By giving Bolivia's peasants a piece of agriculturally viable land, Morales is doing more than any capitalist welfare system ever could: a constant source of income and economic empowerment.

Of course, as with any revolution, the Morales' land revolution does have its counter-revolutionaries. Those whose land is being seized are forming militias to prevent the redistribution. Of detractor from the process has been the Catholic Church, which owns 90% of all farmland in Bolivia. Nearly all of this land is unproductive and idle, making it a perfect candidate for expropriation by the state. Resistance from the elite class is no surprise, but a few wealthy men can't stop a revolution. As Morales told a crowd today, "The historical enemies of the poor must accept this land revolution."

The Bolivian government intend to redistribute 48 million acres of land by 2011.

Lopez Obrador Pulls Ahead in Election Polls

2006-06-01T14:57:00.000-07:00

Mexican Presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador regained his leader position in polls released today. Obrador was the populist mayor of Mexico City and has taken a many soft-socialist positions in his presidential campaign. After a few weeks hovering below 30% in polls, Obrador managed to overtake his conservative opponent Felipe Calderon by 0.5%. Such a lead is well within the margin of error, but it does indicate that Obrador is a contender in the elections, something that has been in doubt recently.

Obrador, who is from the Party of the Democratic Revolution, saw a substantial drop in the polls over the past several weeks as his opponents have been using dirty and sometimes illegal tactics. Current President Vicente Fox has been supporting Calderon, which is questionable under Mexican election law. Calderon has also run overly aggressive and deceptive ads, which he was forced to stop after an inquiry by the government.

For his part, Obrador has been the target of attacks from not only other candidates, but also many corporations who see his pseudo-socialist policies as a danger to business.

Morales Claims Assassination Attempt By United States

2006-05-31T11:38:00.000-07:00

Bolivia's Evo Morales claimed on Tuesday that the United States has been organizing teams to carry out an assassination attempt against him. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez first brought the issue to attention in a statement last week in which he said Venezuelan intelligence had discovered evidence of an attempt on Morales' life. "I've been informed recently how the U.S. had organized teams - groups to persecute Evo Morales, to kill Evo Morales. They haven't been able to and now we're organized, from unions to this political party and they can't stop us anymore," said Morales.

Murdering and deposing democratically elected Latin American leaders is nothing alien to American policy in the region. In 1973, the United States government sponsored the assassinations of Chilean General René Schneider and Chile's socialist President Salvador Allende. During the 1980's in Nicaragua, after the Sandinistas toppled the Somoza regime, Ronald Reagan illegally funneled money to a group that murdered several members of the government and thousands of civilians.

What prompted both of these anti-democratic terror campaigns? It was the American reaction to socialist economics in Latin America. In the case of Allende, the mining industry had been nationalized to the detriment of several United States corporations. Under the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, the government redistributed land and nationalized natural resources. Today in Bolivia one sees a similar situation; Evo Morales announced on May 1st that he would be nationalizing Bolivia's hydrocarbon (natural gas) sector. American and European companies threatened to sue Bolivia and George W. Bush called his actions "anti-democratic". It's only logical to assume that the Bush Administration, with it's reverence for Reaganite foreign policy, will emulate past American policy by making attempts on the life of Morales and the stability of Bolivia's government. "These historical enemies, that privatized our natural resources, especially petroleum, are conspiring, not against Evo Morales but against the changes that we've started," Morales told reporters.

Canadian Union Calls for Boycott of Isreal

2006-05-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Canada's most powerful union, voted overwhelmingly on on May 27th to support a campaign against the Israeli occupation of Palestine. CUPE's campaign will first focus on tearing down the "apartheid wall" that herds Palestinians into impoverished ghettos. The wall was deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice in June of 2004, but as usual Israel ignored international law

CUPE will be using boycotts, strikes, and political pressure to stop Canadian compliance with Israeli terror. Katherine Nastovski, chairwoman of the CUPE Ontario International Solidarity Committee noted, “Boycott, divestment, and sanction worked to end apartheid in South Africa. We believe the same strategy will work to enforce the rights of Palestinian people, including the right of refugees to return to their homes and properties.” CUPE will work to end the free trade pact that Canada has with Israel, and specifically the import of Israeli wines, which are often produced in occupied territories.

The International Solidarity Movement has the full text of the resolution passed by The Canadian Union of Public Employees.

Humala Gains Support from Leftist Groups

2006-05-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

Ollanta Humala, the socialist/nationalist Peruvian Presidential candidate, has lost his early momentum in recent weeks on news that Hugo Chavez may have been meddling in Peruvian politics. He has fallen behind former President Alan Garcia in the polls, but with the election looming, many leftist groups in Peru are throwing their weight behind Humala.

The Broad Leftwing Front (FAI) has endorsed Humala's Union por el Peru Party (UPP) for the June 4th elections. Humala and his UPP allies have already received support from unions, the poor, and indigenous Peruvians, but the FAI is an important part of a winning electoral coalition. In a statement the FAI said, "The FAI political organizations have decided to support Humala, in line with the popular will, with no other promise than to ensure fulfillment of the program and its comprehensiveness."

Bangladeshi Workers Revolt

2006-05-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Bangladeshi workers set fire to at least seven textile factories on Tuesday after it was discovered that police had shot and killed a 20 year old man demonstrating for better pay and conditions. Over 100 textile workers were injured in the fight with police and private security guards. The riots began after factory managers ordered their guards to stop the peaceful demonstration for workers' rights.

Despite the fact that Bangladesh rakes in over $6billion each year from the textile industry, the average laborer in a textile mill makes as little as $22 per month. Workers are sometimes forced to work around the clock shifts and as many as seven days each week. The workers were asking for a 30% pay increase.

The government is siding with the wealthy garment and textiles executives and will be using its military force to quell the democratic uprisings. Junior Interior Minister Lutfuzzaman Babar told reporters, "The government will do whatever necessary for the protection of the garment industry."

Chavez Visits Bolivia

2006-05-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Hugo Chavez made visited Bolivia this week for the third time since Evo Morales was elected. Chavez and Morales signed a series of treaties regarding education, health care, and economic positions. Chavez has promised to invest nearly $2billion in Bolivia's economy, most notably $1.5billion in the natural gas sector. As part of the deal, Venezuela will send 200,000 barrels of oil into La Paz each month in exchange for soy oil. Bolivia will also be training workers involved in telecommunications and transportation to improve infrastructure between the two nations.

The two leftist leaders are also seeking to promote the People's Trade Agreement and the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, alternatives to the U.S. sponsored Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.

Defending Democracy in Latin America

2006-05-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ever since the nationalization of the hydrocarbon industry on May 1st, President Evo Morales and Bolivian democracy have suffered a barrage of attacks from the media and the ruling class. Echoing the cries of neo-liberal pundits in the Financial Times and The Economist, George Bush launched the latest round of slander against the Morales government this week. At an address to the National Restaurant Association, Bush responded to a question about Bolivia and Venezuela, "Let me just put it bluntly - I'm concerned about the erosion of democracy in the countries you mentioned. I am going to continue to remind our hemisphere that respect for property rights and human rights is essential for all countries in order for there to be prosperity and peace.'' (I would like to pose the question: What the hell is the President of the United States doing at the National Restaurant Association while our soldiers are dying in Iraq and the economy is in a tailspin?)

Bush's comments come at a time when democracy in Latin America is at a unprecedentedly high levels. The governments of Venezuela and Bolivia seem to be the only two nations in the world who have the best interests of their people even partially in mind. The leaders of both countries - Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales - have been elected by far wider margins than almost any American or European leader in memory. The nationalization of major industries for the benefit of the people is in contrast to the actions of America, Great Britain, and China which have been involved in the complete privatization of public services. Democracy is about putting the benefits of people over those of private interests. Leaders like Bush who enjoy approval ratings of less than 30% generally fail to grasp this concept.

Bush's warning against human rights and property rights violations are absurd - nearly comical - at best. America has a human rights history that would make even the most brutal of dictators blush. Whether it's the systematic extermination of the Palestinians, American support for Sadam Hussein, or the funding of terrorists, the United States has every conceivable violation on its resume. Admittedly, Hugo Chavez has had a few run-ins with issues of free speech, but his hands are far cleaner than any American President.

The President is also throwing stones in the metaphorical glass house of property rights. Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled against Susette Kelo in the case of Kelo v. New London Development Corporation. In a landmark decision, the court ruled that the federal government could use eminent domain to seize land for the use of private corporations. To quote Sandra Day O'Connor, "The specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory." Both Chavez and Morales have respected the rights of small property owners, while only expropriating unused land belonging to the extremely wealthy.

What this all comes down to is the capitalist version of democracy coming in conflict with socialist democracy. The capitalists intend to use democracy as just another tool for creating profit, while socialists like Chavez and Morales seek to create societies in which profit serves people.

The Bolivarian Revolution on 35mm

2006-05-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

Director Oliver Stone and producer John Daly are in the process of creating a film based around the 2002 coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. They will be making an official announcement about the film at the Cannes Film Festival. ""They've asked for our permission to announce it today in Cannes, and we've told them yes, that we're interested in that film being made," said Chavez. The film will focus on the anti-Chavez coup attempt carried out by a group of military officers who were likely backed by the Bush Administration. Chavez was put back in power after hundreds of thousands of his supporters took to the streets in protest of the anti-democratic coup.

This Anti-Imperialist Thing Isn't Over

2006-05-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

The corporate media is on the war path against Latin American leftists, and they're willing to use any weapons in the war against socialism. Newsweek's weapon of choice is lies and half-truths, as is displayed in Ruchir Sharma's column entitled This Chavez Thing Is Over. What Sharma and his corporate allies fail to recognize is that this "Chavez thing" isn't about Hugo Chavez at all - it's about liberating Latin America from the grip of multinational corporations and empowering them to determine their own destinies. Sharma's thesis rests on two fallacious planks: the ideas that the leftward tilt of Latin America is a new phenomenon and that this radical shift is over.

The column begins with a passionate denunciation of the nationalization of natural resources by Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales, and then claims that this economic restructuring isn't indicative of Latin American leftism. This is far from the truth; the socialist economic measures of both Bolivia and Venezuela have been hailed by their populations. Morales and Chavez have both had consistent approval ratings topping 80%. Both leaders are following the will of their people; Morales' nationalization of the hydrocarbon industry was the result of a 2004 referendum in which 95% of Bolivians voted in favor of nationalization. Bolivia's program hasn't been in effect long enough to see the benefits, but Venezuela's state controlled oil industry has reaped huge profits. These profits translate directly into social programs and poverty relief for the average Venezuelan, including programs stressing literacy and public health. Nationalization won't end with Bolivia and Venezuela; Daniel Ortega and Ollanta Humala, running for the presidencies of Nicaragua and Peru respectively, both promise to implement similar plans.

Of course, the concept that this trend towards socialist and radical economies is newfound is absurd. The Latin American socialist saga, and subsequent U.S. repression, began in 1951 with the election of Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, who's successful redistribution of corporate land caused the United States to replace the Guatemalan government with a brutal military junta. In 1971, Chile's Salvador Allende nationalized the mining industry and used the revenues to pay for education and food. Allende's plan would have come to full fruition had the United States not backed Augusto Pinochet's overthrow of the Chilean government. Ronald Reagan continued the war against the economic rights of sovereign nations throughout the 1980's by waging a terrorist campaign against the leftist Sandinista Government in Nicaragua. For the past ten years or so, the United States has managed to keep a lid on Latin America's socialist heritage, but the elections of Chavez, Morales, and their kin indicate that we can't keep the lid on people's liberation any longer.

Ruchir Sharma's anti-nationalization hypothesis is clearly not derived from any political reality, but rather from a desire to keep poor Latin Americans in economic shackles so that American corporations can expand their markets and resources. This "Chavez Thing" isn't over, it's only beginning.

Affordable Oil for Africa

2006-05-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, is notorious for using oil as a tool to garner support domestically and internationally. After Hurricane Katrina he offered to send discount oil to America's ghettos and poor communities. Late last year, he provided Harlem with affordable oil to heat homes. In April, Chavez made deals with leftist politicians in Nicaragua and El Salvador to provide their impoverished areas with cheap petrol. In talk with Libya's Muammar Gaddafi today, Chavez outlined a plan to help the poorest region on earth: Africa.

Chavez says that he will partner with oil-rich Libya in order to provide much needed petrol to African nations. The two nations will also be working with Cuban medical crews to provide health services to Africans. "Cuba will provide the medical crews, while Libya and Venezuela will support these crews and hospitals financially," said Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel Rahman Shalqam. This program, dubbed the "Miracle Mission", has been extremely popular and successful in a number of Latin American nations.

Subcomandante Marcos Talks: Part III

2006-05-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

The final installment of Zapatista leader Subcomadante Marco's conversation with La Journada is featured at NarcosNews. Here are a few highlights:

"There are some basic definitions of the left. One definition refers to the economic system. Then there’s the cultural left, against chauvinism, misogyny, homophobia. The political left has to be defined in relationship to the economic system, and it has to be anti-capitalist; it has to define itself fundamentally in terms of holding the system responsible, not just an administration. The Other Campaign locates itself in the anti-capitalist left, and doesn’t go farther than that. That’s why the Other Campaign talks about rebellion, and not about revolution."

"This is the Other Mexico that we are going to unite. All of that mobilization is happening outside of the political parties, because now it’s neither the Democrats nor the Republicans up there; there’s no party for them to go to. And that is part of the political crisis happening all over the world, and in order for those movements to survive there, as they are, with their latino identity, and not just Mexicans, they are also reaching that point of saying, we have to do something. And none of the organizers, none of the convokers, expected this level of participation. Things are happening that the political columnists don’t find in their textbooks, that don’t have anything to do with the traditional balances of power. No one was paying attention to what’s happening down below, no one noticed that, down below, there is a process that doesn’t depend on what is happening up above with the political parties or with the ruling class."

Chavez: Socialism the Solution to Barbarism

2006-05-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hugo Chavez, the widely popular and democratically elected President, proclaimed on Sunday that, "socialism is the only way to thwart barbarism." Chavez blamed capitalism and it's ideological counterparts for violence and conflict over the last few centuries, and said that socialism is the only remedy to this dangerous path. The Venezuelan firebrand made his statements at a pro-Venezuela meeting in London with British officials including London mayor Ken Livingston. Chavez continued saying, "We are faced with global challenges stemming from the genocidal, immoral, sick, and corrupt elite currently governing the United States, which appear to have no limits.”

Chavez went on to condemn the United States actions in the Middle East, especially its recent aggression towards Iran, "The outcome of such an aggression is unknown, but the Empire is going to find itself in a worse position than the one they have currently in Iraq, where they do not know what to do with the civil war that has erupted there and can’t find a way out.” He also criticized the American government for accusing others of terrorism while harboring terrorists of our own, "There they have the worst terrorist, Luis Posada Carriles, who is benefiting from US government protection, after having escaped from a Venezuelan prison 20 years ago, [awaiting trial] for his involvement in the bombing of a Cuban airliner."

Carnival of Socialism

2006-05-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 2nd edition of the Carnival of Socialism! Unfortunately, we didn't get as many submissions as we had hoped for, but we found some posts of interest for you all nonetheless. Also, thanks again to Benjamin Solah, who published last week's edition. With that said, let's begin:

-Andrew Rihn expresses his disenchantment with capitalist politics in the form of a poem entitled Dislocate.

-The Starry Plough of the Irish Socialist Republicans remembers the great freedom fighter James Connolly. Connolly led the Dublin Brigade in the 1916 uprising against British Imperialism in Ireland. He was later executed by British soldiers for his involvement, but as the Starry Plough notes, "The job was left unfinished in 1916. The task now falls upon our shoulders. Armed with the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky - and Connolly - we shall not fail!"

-ReasonInRevolt of Fruits of Our Labor recounts his May Day 2006 experience and has a great series of photos from a pro-immigration rally in Ithaca.

-Reasons To be Impossible gives a damning critique of Tory/capitalist politics in Great Britain. To quote RTBI, "we must never underestimate the persistant, consistant, clear and conscious support that so many people give to the main parties and capitalism, we cannot simply brush it aside as false consciousness."

-The Fluffy Economist waxes philosophical on the United States failed attempts to spread top-down democracy around the world.

-Lenin's Tomb attacks the bourgeois fairy-tale that claims, "capitalism is simply the fullest augmentation, the completest development of commercial society. "

-The Sharpener discusses the Respect Coalition's efforts to bring socialism and equality to Great Britain in the horrid New Labour era.

That's it for the second edition of the Carnival of Socialism. Thanks to John Angliss for organizing this effort to spread the word. For more information visit the Carnival of Socialism website.

Ending Exploitation

2006-05-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

Evo Morales, the socialist President of Bolivia, defended the country's move towards nationalizing major industries at an economic forum in Europe today. Morales has come under great scrutiny for his decision on May 1st to nationalize Bolivia's hydrocarbon industry in order to use the profits for social programs. Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has implemented a similar system with the oil industry.

Morales told reporters, "For more than 500 years our natural resources have been pillaged and our primary goods exported. This has to be ended now.” Spain’s Repsol, Britain’s BG Group, and France’s Total will all be compensated for the assets that are being seized by the Bolivian government, but Morales sees no reason to compensate for lost profits since these companies have so richly benefited from hydrocarbons in Bolivia.

Morales and Chavez have attracted criticism from more conservative Latin American leaders, most notably Vicente Fox of Mexico. "Mexico’s position is totally clear, we will strive for greater integration at all levels -- for opening of markets, fair trade, stronger consumer potential that at the same time creates new jobs,” says the Mexican President. Fox has little foundation for criticizing leftist leaders in Latin America, as he has overseen years of oppression and economic collapse in Mexico. Fox may talk a good game by ostensibly endorsing "fair trade", but his support of NAFTA undercuts any credibility he can muster. NAFTA has allowed American corporations to exploit cheap labor, natural resources, and poor citizens in Mexico. Fox is a former executive of Coca-Cola, which has benefited from NAFTA at the expense of Latin Americans. Many have labeled Fox the hispanic Uncle Tom for bowing to Coke and other imperialist companies.

AP Manipulates Chavez Facts

2006-05-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

Whether by poor translation or Machiavellian manipulation, the media got the facts wrong in regards to Hugo Chavez's term limit referendum. Christopher Toothtaker of the Associated Press filed a report on May 6th stating, "Hugo Chavez said Saturday that Venezuelan voters should have the chance to decide whether he should govern the country for the next 25 years." The article goes on to imply that Chavez is seeking to be a elected for a single 25 year term, when the reality is quite different. Chavez proposed to alter the Venezuelan Constitution so that Presidents can serve for more than one six year term. In other words, Chavez would be able to run for President every six years as many times as he chooses, but still have to face reelections and democratic checks on power.

Some believe that the AP has poor Spanish-to-English translators and that the original story simply got tripped up semantically. This is somewhat unlikely, as even a Google Translation of the El Universal says, "President Hugo Chavez reaffirmed today that he could decree referendo to allow his re-election by several periods until 2031." Mr. Toothtaker and the other major news agencies that were involved of the manipulation of this story should issue public apologies and clarifications. I, for one, feel a bit silly since I bought into their lies.

Rare Interview with Subcomandante Marcos

2006-05-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

Leader of the Zapatista National Liberation Front (EZLN), Subcomandante Marcos, gave a rare interview to the Mexican channel Televisa earlier this week. Marcos, also known as Delegate Zero, criticized leftist Presidential candidate Lopez Obrador for being a sell-out to the movement and for not offering real solutions to Mexico's problems. Marcos went on to call him simply "mediocre".

Marcos also denied any involvement with street violence in San Salvador Atenco over the past week. Chaos broke out in the city when a group of poor flower vendors were arrested and beaten after trying to set up shop on soon to be Walmart property. The people of Atenco responded by setting up blockades on highways and demonstrating in the streets. Police reacted to protest by arresting 400 activists, raping at least 5 women, and killing a 14 year old boy. Marcos said the anti-government violence was the result of "people's fury" over years of neglect and repression. He also went on to say that the Zapatistas have a peaceful mission in Atenco and that they will use their legal power to have the political prisoners freed.