Americas

There is no event in modern history to compare the terror of the morning of September 11th, 2001 to. Make no mistake, the misguided individuals who performed these acts have nothing to do with the Left, their actions are totally alien to anything genuinely Socialist, Communist, Marxist, Leninist or Trotskyist. These acts of terror ended the lives of thousands of working class men and women, and in effect, have emotionally crushed their extended families. Terrorism is in direct opposition to the methods of the masses. Terrorism is a reactionary petty bourgeois method which accomplishes nothing but the further pain and suffering of the working class.

It appears we finally have a president. More than 5 weeks since election day, weeks of uncertainty and confusion, George Bush has won the presidency. What lies behind all the legislative and judicial maneuvering? What does this all mean from a Marxist perspective?

Nearly a week has passed since the US Presidential election, and still there is no declared winner. What does all of this mean? How is it possible that the vote is split almost identically between the two major candidates? The simple answer is that the two candidates are virtually identical! As we have explained many times, both the Democrats and the Republicans are essentially two sides of the same coin. Both parties are firmly in the pockets of the capitalist class - no matter who wins, the ruling class has covered all its bases by contributing $540 million in campaign "contributions" to the coffers of both parties. Both parties defend the interests of private property and the market,

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David May in the United States looks back at the year 2002, and in particular at the AFL-CIO unions and their links to the Democratic Party and explains the need for a break with this capitalist party and calls for independent working class politics.

In scenes reminiscent of the fall of Saigon, the leaders of the government hastily packed their bags and fled by helicopter from the roof of the Presidential palace. Only these were not foreign invaders fleeing from an army of national liberation, but an elected President fleeing from his own people. While the eyes of the world were diverted to the other war in Afghanistan, another war was raging. In the week before Christmas, Argentina was at war. Not a war between nations, but a war between rich and poor, between haves and haves not - a war between the classes.

The lock-out staged by the Venezuelan capitalists on 10th December 2001 against the laws introduced by President Hugo Chavez has raised the level of class conflict within this Latin American country to heights not seen in the three years since the latter won elections with 56% of the popular vote, in the teeth of opposition from the imperialists and key sectors of the Venezuelan ruling class.

Thousands of peasants armed with machetes and wooden sticks, many of them on horseback, fought running battles against anti-riot police in Mexico City on November 14. The peasants had travelled 30 km from their properties in the State of Mexico to protest against the expropriation of their lands by the government in order to build the new Mexico City airport. This conflict, which has been going on for months, threatens to became a major headache for Vicente Fox's one year old government.

Alan Woods and Ted Grant look at how the "War on Terrorism" is unfolding, the repurcussions it is having around the world, especially in the Middle East, and the lies and distortions of the bourgeois media.

October's elections have highlighted an enormous discontent in Argentinean society, with a ruling class divided amongst itself, and most importantly, the fact that millions of workers and youth are looking for a left alternative to the crisis facing the nation.

With violent anti- American demonstrations spreading from Pakistan to Indonesia and from the West Bank to Malaysia, Bush’s anti-terrorist rhetoric is becoming increasingly hollow. Rob Sewell exposes the hypocrisy of US/British imperialism and their coalition partners and reviews the deepening economic crisis worldwide.

Alan Woods and Ted Grant analyse in detail the perspectives for the so-called 'war against terrorism', the effects this will have in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East, and strongly denounce the hypocrisy and double standards of Bush and US imperialism in general. September 21, 2001.

One week after what is being called the "attack on America" the aftershocks continue to be felt. The far-reaching effects of this recent terrorist attack are sending shockwave not only the through the American but also the world economy. In Monday's trading stocks were down nearly across the board (with the exception of many armaments companies!) with many investors wondering how the attack will affect the bottom line. But no sector was as hard hit by the attack or on Wall Street as the airline industry. American Airlines was down $ 11.70 to $18.00; US Air down $ 6.05 to $5.57 United down $13.32 to $17.50 - losses close to 50 percent for each and every one of the airline stocks. To try

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Today is the anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. On this occasion we publish the below article, written on the day of the attack. To this day, the article remains valid on all the fundamental points.

During his election campaign, Vicente Fox, the right wing candidate of the Partido Accion Nacional (National Action Party), had promised a huge increase in employment, education, welfare, and peace in Chiapas, etc. Not only that, he also claimed that these changes would be introduced quickly. Reality, as could be easily predicted, has turned out somewhat differently.