Americas

In the United States anger continues to boil over about the nearly one trillion dollar bailout of the banking industry . It's no surprise, then, that there is a growing ear for populism of the far-right. Many working people are very confused about where the system "went wrong" and are looking for someone to "fix it." Third party figures of the right, such as Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin and Ron Paul, claim to have the solutions.

Teaching assistants, graduate assistants and research assistants at York University in Toronto have been on strike since November 6th. York University workers have traditionally been amongst the most militant in Canada. Recently, thousands of students demonstrated for lower fees in numbers not seen in a decade and many other campus workers are heading into possible strikes. Therefore this strike has the potential of becoming the spark that ignites a generalized movement.

We are proud to announce the publication the first issue of El Militante-Bolivia, the voice of the IMT in Bolivia. We provide here the front page to give our readers an idea of the high quality production of the journal. We would also like to thank all those comrades, supporters and sympathisers who contributed to the financial appeal to help the Bolivian Marxists. Your donations have been invested well and have served to strengthen the Marxist tendency in this key country for the Latin American revolution.

The U.S. has elected a new president, Barack Hussein Obama. Along with the dramatic turn in the economic situation, this marks a definite turning point in the history of the country and of the world. Big illusions have been created that Obama will provide "change". What American workers have voted for is an end to policies that benefit the rich, but Obama does not represent real change. In the coming years workers will learn from real life experience that what is required is a genuine voice of the US working class, and that can only be a mass party of labor.

There's an old saying that when the US economy gets a cold, the Mexican economy gets pneumonia. The deepening US financial crisis is already having a violent knock-on effect around the world, and Mexico will be among the hardest hit.

The Bolivarian government still enjoys mass support. But the defeat in the constitutional referendum last December was a clear warning. After 10 years of revolution, the main problems facing the workers have not been solved. The masses that support Chávez are growing weary of seeing a lack of profound social changes and a lack of a clear perspective to complete the revolution. It is time to take firm action against the oligarchy.

On October 21 hundreds of thousands of workers and peasants cheered enthusiastically in the Bolivian capital La Paz on hearing the news that the calling of the long awaited referendum on a new constitution had been agreed. But while the masses mobilised on the streets, the leadership of the MAS had been negotiating behind closed doors with the oligarchy, changing key aspects of the CPE which fundamentally change its character.

A powerful general strike took place in Colombia yesterday, involving half a million workers with rallies ion more than 40 cities around the country. The regime is facing growing opposition in spite of the brutal methods that it uses to crush any form of militancy.

The recent municipal elections in Brazil have revealed a contradictory process, with the PT gaining in smaller towns and rural areas but losing ground in its traditional industrial urban strongholds. But there were some exceptions: where the Marxists of the PT stood the party vote went up massively and several were elected.

As 100,000 workers and peasants arrive in La Paz, this article by Darrall Cozens, written as the march was setting off, explains the issues that are pitting the Bolivian workers and peasants against the oligarchy.

Yesterday we reported on the repression of the indigenous in Colombia and the strike wave of workers in the juridical and sugar cane sectors. Today, we have received reports of further repression and a call for a national strike on 23 October against the state of emergency. We call for solidarity with the Colombian workers and peasants that are facing repression.

Canada has another minority government. Both the Conservatives and the union-supported New Democratic Party increased their support at the expense of the Liberals. However, none of the parties were able to give any answer to the current financial crisis. Faced with a lack of real solutions, workers stayed home in historic numbers with only 59% coming out to vote. The polarization in the electorate is an indicator of increased class struggle as the world heads into economic turmoil.

We have received news of a stand-off between the Colombian police and a 9,000 strong assembly of workers and peasants in Colombia in the region of Cauca. The workers and peasants are in grave danger as the state is moving in to dislodge them from the Pan-American highway that they have blockaded in the South-West of the country.

The International Marxist Tendency in Quebec has released the following statement on the federal election. "It’s time to break with the parties of the bosses, in French and in English. Whether at the provincial or federal levels, we have to rise above national differences, refuse to be divided, and insist on a single, united socialist movement across Québec and Canada. Only a united, internationalist movement can overthrow capitalism and lay the basis for a truly free, socialist Québec."