When President Obama campaigned in 2008 in Portland, Oregon over 70,000 people came to hear his speech. And although I missed the event, I was intrigued by the raw emotion that the candidate’s words inspired in my community. Obama re-visited Oregon during his 2012 campaign, but the inspiration had faded from his voice, and the audience had [...]
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President Hugo Chavez has Died
Tamara Pearson, Venezuelanalysis.com
Introduction Workers Action joins the progressive peoples of the world in experiencing a loss with the passing of Hugo Chavez, president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. It will be up to the working class of Venezuela and its allies to carry forward the socialist revolution that Chavez so courageously launched and that has been [...]
Why Chavez Won BIG! A Comparison Between the Presidential Elections in the U.S. and Venezuela
Mark Vorpahl
U.S. workers and those who are unemployed are frequently told that the current presidential elections are among the most important in this country’s history. With continuing high unemployment and underemployment, declining wages, and looming massive cuts to social programs that help workers, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, we are at a grave point [...]
Eye Witness to Labor Struggle Unfolding In Peru
Workers Action
Allan Fisher Allan Fisher teaches at the City College of San Francisco. He is a former president of his local, the American Federation of Teachers 2121 and is currently on its Executive Board. He represented the San Francisco Labor Council when he traveled to Honduras to investigate the recent coup. I am visiting Peru with [...]
Paraguay: Obama’s Second Latin American Coup
Shamus Cooke
Shamus Cooke The recent coup against Paraguay’s democratically elected president is not only a blow to democracy, but an attack against the working and poor population that supported and elected President Fernando Lugo, whom they see as a bulwark against the wealthy elite who’ve dominated the country for decades.
A Response to Les Bough
Shamus Cooke
An Open Letter to Axis of Logic and Venezuela Analysis Workers Action Below is Shamus Cooke’s response to Les Blough’s criticisms of his article addressing the Venezuelan Revolution. Revolutions are profoundly complex transformations, and it is admittedly a difficult undertaking to decide which steps to take and when to take them, especially when the revolution [...]
Last Chance for Venezuela’s Revolution?
Shamus Cooke
The pulse of the revolution grows faint. Extreme measures are needed, since the extremely poor living conditions of most Venezuelans demand it. They are tired of the government taking half actions. Tired of the same super-rich oligarchy dominating the economy, which creates the horrendous inequality that overshadows Venezuelan society. If the revolution is not quickly [...]
Chavez: U.S. and Colombia Plan to Attack Venezuela
EvaGolinger
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced this Saturday U.S. plans to attack his country and overthrow his government. During a ceremony celebrating the 227th birthday of Independence hero Simon Bolivar, Chavez read from a secret memo he had been sent from an unnamed source inside the United States. “Old friend, I haven’t seen you in years. [...]
Venezuela: The Imperfect Revolution
EvaGolinger
Workers Action Introduction We believe that the following article provides useful information about Venezuela’s current situation. However, there is one formulation which we would like to comment on. Eva Golinger states: “Venezuela — like it or not — is on an irrevocable path to revolution.” We do not believe that Venezuela has crossed the point [...]
Brewing Crisis in the South Atlantic: Oil Exploration in the Malvinas Islands Ignites an Old Dispute
Adam Richmond
Adam Richmond For Argentineans the long simmering territorial dispute between Britain and Argentina is coming to a head, as a British oil rig travels to what analysts say is a 60 billion barrel reserve of high-grade oil located in a 200 square mile zone surrounding the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands. This would make it one of [...]
U.S. Military Aggression Against Venezuela Escalating
EvaGolinger
Eva Golinger Introduction by Workers Action Today, most U.S. anti-war activists’ eyes are focused on the massive build-up of military forces in Afghanistan. However, as Eva Gollinger reveals, this is not the only global hotspot where the militarist actions of the Obama administration are threatening devastation. There is a dramatic escalation of the number of [...]
Venezuelan President’s Speech on Climate Change in Copenhagen
Workers Action
Introduction by Workers Action Below is the text of the speech given by Hugo Chavez, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, at the Copenhagen Summit on Climate Change. The speech is remarkable in several aspects, and we believe it is indispensable reading for all those involved in the struggle for a sustainable human environment, [...]
Beneficiaries of Venezuelan Missions March Against Threats by Opposition Governor-Elect
Workers Action
Radio Mundial YVKE Republished from: VenezuelaAnalysis.com Translated by Kiraz Janicke Beneficiaries, teachers, adults, disabled people, students and workers came out on Friday to defend the social missions and programs of the national government in the face of threats to close them down by the new governor-elect of the state of Miranda, Henrique Capriles Radonski.
Mexico, Pakistan, and the So-Called “Failed State” Washington’s War on “Narco-Terrorism”
Shamus Cooke
Shamus Cooke Interestingly, Mexico has lately been compared to Pakistan as a country “on the verge” of becoming a “failed state,” with the Mexican drug cartels accused of playing the same “destabilizing” role as the Taliban/terrorists in Pakistan. Calling such a comparison a stretch would be a gross understatement, of course.
U.S. Military Buildup in Colombia: Is the U.S. Preparing for War with Venezuela?
Mark Vorpahl
What of Clinton’s claim that this agreement is about fighting drug trafficking? Based on U.S. efforts in Colombia to date, her claim has no credibility. The agreement is extensively an enlargement of Plan Colombia in terms of pursuing a war on cocaine production. Since the start of Plan Colombia, the power of the drug cartels remains intact. According to a 2005 UN report, overall attempted coca cultivation increased from 2,467 square kilometers in 2003 to 2,506 square kilometers in 2004.
Why the U.S. Government Hates Venezuela
Shamus Cooke
Venezuela’s example has dramatically changed the political landscape in Latin America, inspiring millions. For the first time, governments and social movements alike feel empowered to oppose U.S. corporate dominance and instead are seeking to arrange their economies in ways that benefit the majority of people.
National Front Against the Coup: Appeal to the World Working Class
Workers Action
On June 28, 2009, when the people of Honduras were preparing to participate in an election to decide whether or not to convene a Constituent Assembly, thousands of troops kidnapped President Manuel Zelaya Rosales and forced him out of Honduras to neighboring Costa Rica. These troops then took the Presidential Palace and violently shut down [...]
Compromising Democracy in Honduras
Shamus Cooke
Can a solution to the crisis in Honduras — itself the result of a military coup — be “mediated,” where on one side sit coup leaders and on the other a democratically elected but ousted President? Does any “middle ground” exist? Of course not.
The Significance of Washington’s Coup Attempt in Honduras
Shamus Cooke
Mark Vorpahl There should be no doubt about the U.S. decisive role behind the now-crumbling military coup in Honduras. As commander in chief of the U.S. armed forces, the blame for this intervention lies solely on President Obama. The White House, however, would like you to believe that they attempted to convince the Honduran military [...]
Document of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) Countries for the 5th Summit of the Americas
Workers Action
Introduction by Workers Action The following historic document by the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA), dated April 17, 2009, appeared on the Socialist Voice website with their translation, which was based on an earlier text by Federico Fuentes. We are reproducing their translation here with very minor alterations in order to [...]
Chavez Turns Into Palestinian Hero
Workers Action
Venezuelan flags and portraits of President Hugo Chavez have been flying high during protests in the West Bank against Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. The Venezuelan president’s decision on January 6 to expel Israel’s ambassador from Caracas — the only country apart from Mauritania to take such a step — has made the left-wing [...]
The Struggle in Honduras Continues
Shamus Cooke
Shamus Cooke On November 30th in Honduras, an election was held that nobody — except the U.S. and a few dependent nations — deemed credible. This is because the elections were held by a brutally repressive military-coup government, which, up until the day of elections, was busy jailing, torturing, and assassinating people who demanded the [...]
Interview with Mariela Castro on the Future of Sex and Socialism in Cuba
Workers Action
Mariela Castro is Director of the National Center for Sex Education in Cuba. She is the daughter of two prominent Cuban revolutionaries, Vilma Espín and Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz, (the brother of Fidel Castro Ruz). Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is the President of the Cuban Council of State and the President of the Council of [...]
Venezuelan elections: a victory for the PSUV, but a warning for the revolution
Workers Action
The reasons for this setback are not technical but political. This is what we have been arguing for some time. These results need to be analysed in a sober minded way as another warning to the revolution. Unless the concrete problems of the masses are solved, disillusionment, demoralisation and scepticism can set in and create the conditions for the oligarchy to come back.
Articles of Interest
CORE slate re-elected in landslide in Chicago Teachers Union
Richard Trumka: The 'grand bargain' is a dead end
On the Impotence of the Progressive Movement
Revealed: how the FBI coordinated the crackdown on Occupy
Bradley Manning is off limits at SF Gay Pride parade, but corporate sleaze is embraced
Cutting Social Security–More than a Bad Idea
The Forgotten Radical History of the March on Washington
Freedom Rider: Obama and the Class War- Hong Kong Dockworkers Strike Attracts Huge Solidarity
Understanding the Venezuelan Presidential Election Outcome
