Americas

On Thursday February 20 at midnight, the Venezuelan police arrested the president of the bosses’ organisation Fedecamaras Carlos Fernandez, accused of five different charges: betrayal to the fatherland, rebellion, instigation to crime, association to commit crime, and devastation. This action of the justice system reflects clearly the pressure of the revolutionary movement and the new balance of forces after the complete failure of the attempted coup.

Opposition to a war in Iraq is growing steadily, week by week and even day by day within American society. Up until recently, this had been the strongest amongst the youth and students. But there are clear signs that the working class, and trade union members especially, are increasingly joining the ranks of those opposed to war in the Middle East. The same weekend of the massive January 18 anti-war demonstrations in Washington D.C. and San Francisco also saw a conference of 110 trade union officers and shop stewards firmly declare itself against any war on Iraq. This is a big step forward, and increasingly, events like this are on the agenda, which will involve ever wider layers...

Last December, in a meeting organized by the Argentina Solidarity Campaign, two workers from Argentina outlined the experiences in their factory (Zanon Ceramics), which was the first factory to come under workers' control during the current crisis. It was a very inspiring and informative account.

The words of George Bush’s annual state-of-the-union address were full of lofty sentiments. But the President aims were more prosaic. There is growing opposition at home to his war plans. And half way through his first term of office, his popularity ratings are falling. He is worried that he may not get re-elected in two years’ time.

If we were to believe the information we get from the mass media internationally, we would get the impression that in Venezuela there has been a general strike for the last one and a half months and that president Chavez is an extremely unpopular and authoritarian ruler who is about to be overthrown in a mass popular revolt. Nothing could be further from the truth. The working class of Venezuela is not taking part in any general strike. What is taking place is a bosses' lock out.

On January 18, Washington DC resounded with protestors. Along with San Francisco and other cities, an estimated half a million Americans pledged their solidarity with protestors the world over, rallying under the slogan: No to the War on Iraq! Other slogans included, "Regime Change Begins At Home", "Axis of Evil - Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld", and "Dissent is Patriotic". John Peterson looks at the developing antiwar movement in the United States.

According to director Michael Moore, the film Bowling for Columbine paints a portrait of the United States, “a nation that seems hell-bent on killing first and asking questions later” at the beginning of the 21st century. Appealing to the likes of us, we thought, and this proved to be no false expectation. Apart from a film that grabs the spectator by the scruff of the neck, at times being tragic by the bare facts alone, Bowling for Columbine is above all a very humorous and enjoyable documentary about the American weapons industry, but also about the latter’s link with US foreign policy.

One year ago, shortly before Christmas, the world was shaken by reports of a popular uprising in Argentina. In extraordinary scenes, recalling the fall of Saigon, President De la Rua had to escape in a helicopter from the roof of his Presidential palace, fleeing from his own people. In less than two weeks Argentina had four presidents. In this important article Alan Woods who has just returned from Buenos Aires draws a balance sheet of the stormy events that have shaken Argentina since the uprising one year ago, and points the way forward.

After the ILWU dockworkers' struggle in the USA, we now have the struggle of the New York transit workers to improve their conditions of life. This is only the latest in a series of important battles which have been fought on the trade union front in recent months. It highlights the real situation facing American workers and also exposes the real nature of the so-called "democratic" state. John Peterson provides an overview of the Marxist theory of the state starting from the class interests in this and other labour conflicts.

The reports from Venezuela indicate a sharpening of the struggle between the contending forces.The revolutionary camp must be on its guard against provocateurs who have undoubtedly infiltrated themselves into the mass movement, with a view to causing disorder and panic. Their aim is to drag the mass movement into futile armed conflicts that can end with a large number of casualties. This is the main aim of the counterrevolutionaries. That is why the ideas of "foquism" and individual terrorism are so harmful to the movement. The groups that advocate such tactics are very easily infiltrated by the police and secret services and manipulated for sinister purposes. It is necessary to firmly

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As Alan Woods had just finished writing this article, we received a letter from a Venezuelan Marxist commenting on yesterday's article by Emilia Lucena and we are publishing extracts from it relating to the present situation, followed by comments by Alan Woods.

At 6 am on Sunday, November 24, police forces took over the Brukman textile factory, which had been occupied by its workforce since December 20 last year, in the middle of the "Argentinazo" uprising. The police came together with the old owners, foremen and supervisors of the company with a court order to take away all machinery.

Once again the Venezuelan bourgeoisie is trying to put an end to the revolutionary process which has opened up in Venezuela. After the failure of the coup on April 13, a new coup is being openly and shamelessly prepared by the oligarchy with the backing of US imperialism. They have now called for an indefinite bosses' lock out until Chavez and his government resign.The working class must go on the offensive! Against the bosses' lock-out, workers' control of the factories!

This is the final part of Alan Woods' 4 part article on Marxism and the United States where he looks at the situation in the USA today, with immense polarisation of wealth between the extremely rich and the extremely poor. The years of boom have come to an end. Unemployment is rising. In spite of its immense power US capitalism has entered a phase of terminal decline, together with the rest of the world. And this is reflected in a questioning on the part of many ordinary working Americans of the society they live in. Marxism can explain why all this is and also offer a way out to the American workers.

This is part 3 of Alan Woods' 4 part article on Marxism and the United States. In the USA in the nineteenth century there was an unprecedented development of the productive forces and this brought into being a mighty working class with its labour organisations, starting with the Knights of Labor in 1869. The list of working class martyrs of American Labor is endless, the most celebrated being the Chicago martyrs of 1886 - as a result of which the American working class gave May Day to the rest of the world. This was followed by the IWW, the AFL and later the CIO. There is a rich history of working class struggles in the United States that we can draw lessons from.