Americas

Class contradictions are increasing sharply in the USA, the “richest country in the world”. The recent strike of the New York Transit Workers has brought into sharp relief that there are two Americas, one for the rich and one for the poor. Although that strike was derailed by the union leadership it marks the beginning of a new era in trade union relations in the USA, one of bitter conflict.

A major attack on trade union rights is also going ahead at Delphi. If the UAW workers there are forced to take a 63 percent pay cut and severe attacks on healthcare benefits and pension rights it will not be long until the bosses begin demanding similar cuts in other industries. A victory for the Delphi autoworkers would be a victory for the whole of the US working class.

Under pressure from the rank and file, New York's Transit Workers Union (Local 100) has called a strike involving the 33,000 workers and bringing the nation's largest transit system to a halt. Pay, health, and retirement benefits are the main points of contention.

The choice for US workers is very clear. The very existence of unions as defenders of workers is in question: whether it is nobler to suffer the indignities of concessions or oppose and put an end to them. The members of TWU 100 have chosen the latter! They deserve the support and respect of all in the fight for a future. Solidarity Forever!

A group of “prominent personalities” in Québec issued a manifesto titled Pour un Québec lucide (in English, For a clear-eyed vision of Québec). Attempting to draw upon Québec’s history and using some of the strongest symbols from its past, it is nothing more than a manifesto of the bourgeoisie for the 21st century. More than that, Pour un Québec lucide is a stark warning to the working class that things are about to change.

Evo Morales has won a handsome majority in the presidential elections getting more than 50%. This massive victory can only be explained on the basis of the revolutionary movements that have shaken Bolivia in the recent period. Now Morales faces a choice: carry out the demands of the workers and peasants or bend under the pressure of the oligarchy and imperialism. The masses are waiting to see which way he goes.

Prior to the Venezuelan elections there were clear indications that elements within the oligarchy were planning a coup or even possible assassination of Chavez. The opposition parties boycotted the elections as part of this plan to destabilise the country. They failed miserably. The Bolivarian parties have now total control of the National Assembly. They could mobilise the masses while at the same setting in motion all the legal procedures to abolish capitalism once and for all. But will they do this? To vacillate now, to attempt a compromise, would mean giving the opposition a dangerous advantage.

Bolivia goes to the elections on Sunday. In the past period the masses could have taken power but at the crucial moment the workers’ leaders talked about taking power but never did. This has thrown the ball back into the court of the ruling class. The masses will be concentrating their attention on the elections. Their only option is Evo Morales and his party, the MAS, the same man who used his position to derail the movement in the past. What should the attitude of the Marxists be?

Bourgeois Democracy in Canada is facing a crisis of confidence. The fall of the minority Liberal government presents Socialists with a choice. Do we sit out the coming federal election or do we actively participate in the debate? What strategies are necessary for increasing support for socialist ideas? And finally, what position should we take towards the federal New Democratic Party? We are producing here the text of a leaflet, Join the NDP - Fight for socialism, that tries to answer these questions.

Hurricane Katrina highlighted the extreme class contradictions that exist within US society. In this interview John Peterson, Editor of the US Socialist Appeal, outlines how attitudes are changing and how awareness of the real situation is sinking into the consciousness of millions of Americans. (This text is also available in the original Dutch version at: http://www.vonk.org/CallReadOnly.asp?artikelID=1658&status=1)

There are many bourgeois historians who believe that history is made by “Great Men and Women”, kings and queens, statesmen and politicians. It is this unscientific approach that Marxism is opposed to. However, Marxists do not deny the role of individuals in history. History is made by people. But we need to uncover the dialectical relationship between the individual (the subjective) and the great forces (objective) that govern the movement of society and see this role in its historical context.

Twenty-five years ago today John Lennon was killed in New York. There was a mass outpouring of grief all over the world. This was because he symbolised something different from the mainstream music industry. He gave expression in the words of some of his songs the genuine feeling of disgust of many workers and youth at what capitalist society stands for.

Increasingly, Canadian workers are learning about the importance of the Venezuelan Revolution. The Ontario Federation of Labour, which represents over 700,000 workers, unanimously passed a resolution in support of Venezuela at its November 21st – 25th convention. This success is the culmination of several months of organizing activity by Hands Off Venezuela activists in Canada and is an important step forward for the Venezuela solidarity movement.

Living standards for the US working class have been falling for some time. Inside the richest country in the world we have “third-world” type conditions for a layer of the population.

While poverty levels grow and living standards fall, the American bosses keep up the pressure to drive down real wages even further. The latest example is what is happening at Delphi (that supplies parts to GM) where the bosses asked workers to take a 63% pay cut. In December the UAW votes on what response to give and GM are bracing themselves for possible strike action.

We are happy to announce the setting up of the website of the Peruvian El Militante (http://peru.elmilitante.org ), the journal of the Marxists of the Fuerza de Izquierda Socialista. The site has been running for some time and is now fully functional. We believe it will play an important role in bring the genuine ideas of Marxism to the workers and youth of Peru.

With the situation in Iraq deteriorating, his approval ratings steadily dropping, the aftermath of Katrina still haunting the nation, divisions in his own party, and the DeLay case causing a widespread erosion of faith in the government, Bush may well be threatened with impeachment. But even if the reactionary Bush Administration goes the way of Richard Nixon, where does that leave the working class in the United States?