The political climate in this country is sharpening, and we are headed into battles on many fronts. We in the Freedom Road Socialist Organization are going to rise to every challenge standing strong, united, and prepared. This past year, we achieved a monumental goal: we purchased a building. This accomplishment is a beacon of change and a testament to our determination—when we say we’re going to do something, we do it.

We said we would secure headquarters, and we did. Now, we are saying we will build a new communist party in the United States, and we intend to do just that.

Capitalism’s failures are undeniable, and these days the decline of the U.S. Empire is on full display. That this system can’t be saved is good news: we need a revolutionary solution, and an organization that’s up to the task.

Our building is a brick-and-mortar symbol of the advances we’ve made in party building and our growing capacity to organize—in the trade union movement, in the struggle against police crimes and war, in the fight for immigrants rights, and in many other fronts of the people’s movements. Our growth is accelerating, and it’s far from over.

To future-proof our gains and make our headquarters a permanent asset, we intend to make major headway in paying off our building. This $100K Fund Drive is a critical step toward that goal. We know that the Trump administration is targeting our movements, and this fundraiser is about laying down walls and digging moats to protect what we’ve built. No hostile political climate or administration should ever have the power to take it away from us.

This is a call to action for every FRSO member, supporter, and ally. We have proven time and again that when we unite behind a common goal, we can make huge strides forward. Your support will help us secure our headquarters and fortify our movement for the battles ahead.

Let’s come together to make this fund drive a resounding success. Let’s show that our movement is built on solid ground and ready to weather any storm.

The time is now. Donate today at frso.org/donate and be part of this historic effort to secure our future!

#FRSO #Statement #FundDrive #PeoplesStruggles #Featured

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from UMN Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

On March 10, after 10 days of deliberation, the University of Minnesota’s panel for the disciplinary hearing of the students arrested during the occupation of Halimy Hall decided that the student protestors were found not responsible for the unjust charges of violation of local, state or federal laws, theft, property damage, and vandalism because of the absolute lack of evidence.

The sanctions decided by the panelists involve a one-year disciplinary probation, 40 hours of community service, prohibition of entry to Morrill Hall for one year, and a restorative justice resolution that will involve writing a letter to the Morrill Hall employees impacted by the protest and engaging in a listening circle with them. All students were offered a restorative justice option instead of punitive justice.

The dropping of suspensions and restitutions, as well as the panel finding the protestors not guilty on a majority of the initial Student Code violations, is a huge win for pro-Palestinian student activism. The panel also notably found the protestors not guilty of violating local, state, or federal laws, further delineating the illegitimacy of the current bogus felony charges on protestor Robyn Harbison. This is especially meaningful coming after Rebecca Cunningham’s most recent email to the university body, stating that the university will fully comply with the Anti-Defamation League’s investigation into anti-semitism on the university campus.

We are in a moment of increased political repression and fear, people are becoming afraid to use their voice to protest the injustices around them. In this moment, it is especially vital that we keep standing up and protesting Trump’s attacks and that we keep fighting for Palestinian liberation. The hearing results constitute a major victory for the entire student movement, but we must keep fighting against the repression that is rampant on campuses across the country, especially following the kidnapping of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil by ICE. We will continue to stand up and support all protesters facing unjust repression because as long as our University or country remains complicit in genocide it is our duty to fight back.

While the University and Rebecca Cunningham continue to preemptively appeal to Zionist bodies and Trump’s increasingly repressive executive orders, the students and the pro-Palestine movement stand strong. When placed under the intense scrutiny of a proper legal procedure and the strong support of the community to back the students, the university’s case crumbled due to a lack of evidence. Despite every effort to harass and intimidate the students into a guilty verdict, the university’s attempt to capitulate to Zionism failed.

During an era of heightened repression for student activists, including the involuntary detainment of pro-Palestinian foreign student activists by the Department of Homeland Security, it is vitally important for students to continue showing up to fight for Palestine and to fight for their fellow students. As we continue to see increased repression against people’s movements at large, we must remember to stay loud about our repression because this victory was only possible thanks to the tireless struggle of the students and the community at large.

We will continue to struggle against all political repression and for a free Palestine!

Dare to struggle!

Dare to win!

#MinneapolisMN #MN #StudentMovement #PoliticalRepression #FreeSpeech #SDS #Statement

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) strongly condemns the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for its reckless and brutal strafing operations carried out using helicopter gunships under the cover of darkness past midnight yesterday in the areas between La Paz, Agusan del Sur, and Cabanglasan town, Bukidnon. These operations, purportedly intended to support ground troop actions against the New People’s Army (NPA), have inflicted trauma and fear upon civilian communities in the vicinity.

The AFP also deployed FA50 fighter jets that carry 250-lb or 500-lb bombs. However, according to reports, their mission was aborted when one of the jet fighters went missing on its way to Mindanao.

Such actions constitute a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, which mandates the protection of civilian lives during armed conflict. The indiscriminate use of aerial bombardment and strafing, particularly when there are no clear military targets, is a flagrant use of excessive force. This not only endangers the lives of civilians but also reflects a gross disregard for the principles of proportionality and distinction in warfare.

This incident follows similar aerial assaults and rocket firings on March 1 in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro, and February 19 in Pola, Oriental Mindoro. In each case, the AFP put civilian communities in danger, exacerbating the sufferings of peasant and Mangyan communities.

Such actions constitute blatant violations of international humanitarian law, which mandates the protection of civilian lives during armed conflict. These are carried out indiscriminately without clear military targets. These are a flagrant use of excessive force which not only endangers the lives of civilians but also reflects a gross disregard for the principles of proportionality and distinction in warfare. The use of aerial strafing and bombing also inflicts damage to the environment and wildlife.

These recent strafing and aerial bombing operations underscore the AFP’s the brutal and violent attacks directed against civilians in the course of its counterinsurgency operations. These are aimed at instilling fear among the peasant communities that it routinely accuses of supporting the New People’s Army. The AFP continues to intensify these attacks despite its repeated declarations that the New People’s Army is “a spent force” and has only “one weakened guerrilla front.”

The CPP calls on all peace-loving individuals and organizations to denounce the continued use of aerial bombing and strafing by the AFP and demand an immediate cessation to the use of excessive force that endanger the lives of civilians, causes widespread trauma and terror among the people, and violates international humanitarian law.

#International #Philippines #CPP #Statement

A través del mundo, el Día Internacional de las Mujeres siempre ha sido más que una celebración – es un día de lucha. Fue forjado en la lucha de las obreras textiles de Nueva York, quienes salieron a las calles en 1908 para protestar contra la superexplotación que sufrían en los talleres clandestinos mientras intentaban mantener a sus familias: condiciones laborales peligrosas, horas extenuantes, trabajo infantil y el robo de sueldos. Marcharon brazo a brazo con las suffragettes que luchaban por el derecho al voto de las mujeres. La heroína revolucionaria Clara Zetkin designó el 8 de marzo como un día global de acción para unir a las mujeres del mundo en la lucha por el socialismo y la liberación.

Hoy en día, mujeres de todos los sectores de la sociedad enfrentan ataques renovados por parte de las fuerzas reaccionarias, con Trump y su gabinete de abusadores y odiadores de mujeres encabezando la ofensiva contra nuestros derechos. Pero, así como luchamos antes, volveremos a luchar.

Las mujeres están bajo ataque – pero no vamos a retroceder

Las mujeres en los Estados Unidos hoy están luchando por sus vidas. Trump, el mismo hombre que presume de abuso sexual, se atreve a declararse el “protector de las mujeres.” Esto es una mentira descarada. La realidad es que sus políticas amenazan las vidas y las libertades de millones de mujeres.

Desde que la Corte Suprema anuló Roe v. Wade hasta los cientos de leyes anti-LGBTQ aprobadas por legislaturas estatales, la administración de Trump y sus aliados intolerantes están intentando revertir décadas de progreso. Las órdenes ejecutivas más recientes de Trump prohíben la participación de mujeres trans en deportes, refugios y prisiones, atacan la atención para afirmación de género y eliminan protecciones en la ley federal para las personas LGBTQ.

Las políticas económicas de Trump también perjudican a las mujeres. La eliminación de regulaciones contra la discriminación laboral y la oposición a iniciativas de igualdad salarial han dificultado que las mujeres logren la igualdad de ingresos. La carga sobre las madres trabajadoras se vuelve más pesada, ya que enfrentan la falta de cuidado infantil asequible y menos empleos que paguen lo suficiente para mantener a nuestras familias. La agenda de Trump, establecida en el reaccionario Proyecto 2025, busca prohibir el aborto en todo el país, desfinanciar los servicios de salud reproductiva e imponer políticas reaccionarias que encierran a las mujeres en una posición de subyugación.

Pero no retrocedemos. La lucha por los derechos de las mujeres es una lucha por una democracia consistente, y la lucha por la democracia es parte de la lucha por el socialismo.

Una y otra vez, la clase dirigente subestima el poder de la militancia de las mujeres. Las mujeres han estado al frente del movimiento obrero, liderando algunas de las huelgas más militantes en el periodo reciente. Las mujeres en el sector de la salud, la hospitalidad y la educación se han organizado, han salido a protestar y han logrado avances reales.

Las madres cuyos hijos han sido asesinados por la policía están dirigiendo la lucha contra el terror policial, exigiendo justicia y llevando el sistema a juicio. Las mujeres han liderado la lucha por los derechos reproductivos, saliendo a las calles por millones para protestar contra las prohibiciones y luchando para garantizar el acceso al aborto incluso en los estados donde lo han prohibido. Bajo Trump, las mujeres y familias inmigrantes han enfrentado ataques implacables, pero las ciudades han estallado en resistencia, exigiendo un alto a las deportaciones y solidarizándose con las comunidades inmigrantes. Y en todo el mundo, las mujeres están resistiendo al imperialismo. En Palestina, Filipinas y más allá, las mujeres están en la primera línea de las luchas de liberación nacional.

El Día Internacional de las Mujeres pertenece a las guerreras. Pertenece a las que se niegan a ser silenciadas, a las que toman las calles, a las que organizan sus lugares de trabajo, a las que desafían al sistema que busca oprimirlas.

Construye el movimiento de las mujeres

Como escribió la líder comunista Claudia Jones, la lucha por el socialismo es inseparable de la lucha cotidiana de las mujeres. Históricamente y hoy, las revolucionarias están al frente de este movimiento, y bajo el socialismo, la liberación de las mujeres no es una simple consigna, sino una realidad material. La Revolución de 1917 nos demostró que la Unión Soviética, buscando proteger la salud y autonomía de las mujeres, legalizó el aborto décadas antes de que las democracias burguesas lo hicieran.

No luchamos por el feminismo aguado y de “silla en la mesa” de la clase dirigente – que apoya al capitalismo monopolista mientras no nos da más que platitudes vacías, y que considera los asuntos de las mujeres como problemas personales en lugar de problemas sociales. La ofensiva contra nuestros derechos lo deja claro: bajo el capitalismo, cualquier derecho que logramos ganar puede ser arrebatado por la reacción. Pero lo que nos ha enseñado la experiencia es que nunca debemos huir cuando es hora de luchar y resistir.

Los ataques dirigidos contra nosotras pretenden intimidarnos, confundirnos, desorganizarnos y desmoralizarnos. Pero, en realidad, encienden un fuego. El Día Internacional de las Mujeres es una oportunidad para dedicarnos a sumar nuevas guerreras a nuestra organización revolucionaria y para llevar este movimiento con nosotros a la lucha más amplia para derrocar este sistema podrido.

El 8 de marzo, saldremos a las calles con los puños en alto, sabiendo que la liberación de las mujeres es parte integral de la lucha por un mundo nuevo.

En el Día Internacional de las Mujeres: ¡Levántate y Lucha!

¡Defiende los derechos de las mujeres y la salud reproductiva!

¡Defiende los derechos LGBTQ y Trans!

¡Solidarízate con las mujeres de Palestina!¡Alto a las deportaciones, mantén las familias juntas!

#WomensMovement #FRSO #Statement #OSCL #InternationalWomensDay #DíaInternacionaldelasMujeres

Across the world, International Women’s Day has always been more than a celebration – it is a day of struggle. It was forged in the fight of New York City garment workers who took to the streets in 1908, to protest the super-exploitation they endured in sweatshops as they tried to support their families: dangerous working conditions, back-breaking hours, child labor and wage theft. They marched shoulder to shoulder with the suffragettes fighting for women’s right to vote. The revolutionary hero Clara Zetkin marked March 8th as a global day of action as a way to unite women worldwide in the fight for socialism and liberation.

Today, women in all sectors of society face renewed attacks from the forces of reaction, with Trump and his cabinet full of abusers and woman-haters leading the charge against our rights. But just as we fought before, we will fight again.

Women Are Under Attack– But We Are Not Going Back

Women in America today are fighting for their lives. Trump, the same man who brags about sexual assault, dares to call himself the “protector of women.” This is a bald-faced lie. The reality is that his policies threaten the lives and freedoms of millions of women.

From the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade to the hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills passed by state legislatures, the Trump administration and its bigoted allies are trying to roll back decades of progress. Trump’s latest executive orders bar trans women from sports, shelters and prisons, attack gender-affirming care, and strip protections in federal law for LGBTQ people.

Trump’s economic policies harm women, too. The rollback of workplace discrimination regulations and opposition to equal pay initiatives have made it harder for women to achieve wage equality. The burden on working mothers gets heavier, as we face a lack of affordable childcare and fewer jobs that pay enough to support our families. Trump’s agenda, laid out in the reactionary Project 2025, seeks to ban abortion nationwide, defund reproductive health services, and impose reactionary policies that lock women into a position of subjugation.

But we are not going back. The fight for women’s rights is a fight for consistent democracy, and the fight for democracy is part of the struggle for socialism.

Again and again, the ruling class underestimates the power of women’s militancy. Women have been at the forefront of the labor movement, leading some of the most militant strikes in the past period. Women in healthcare, hospitality and education have organized, walked out and won real gains.

Mothers whose children have been murdered by police are leading the charge against police terror, demanding justice and putting the system on trial. Women have led the fight for reproductive rights, pouring into the streets in millions to protest bans, and fighting to secure abortion access even in states that have banned it. Under Trump, immigrant women and families have faced relentless attacks, but cities have erupted in resistance, demanding stop the deportations, and standing with immigrant communities. And across the world, women are resisting imperialism. In Palestine, the Philippines, and beyond, women are on the frontlines of national liberation struggles.

International Women’s Day belongs to fighters. It belongs to those who refuse to be silenced, who take to the streets, who organize their workplaces, who defy the system that seeks to oppress them.

Build the Women’s Movement

As the communist leader Claudia Jones wrote, the struggle for socialism is inseparable from the everyday struggles of women. Historically and today, revolutionaries are on the front lines of this movement, and under socialism, women’s liberation is not just a slogan, it is a material reality. The 1917 October Revolution showed us that the Soviet Union, seeking to protect women’s health and autonomy, legalized abortion decades before any bourgeois democracies caught up.

We are not fighting for the watered-down, ‘seat at the table’ feminism of the ruling class – which upholds monopoly capitalism while giving us nothing but empty platitudes, and that makes women’s issues a personal problem instead of a problem of society. Trump’s offensive against our rights is writing on the wall: under capitalism, any rights we win can be snatched away by reaction. But what experience has also taught us is that we should never retreat when it’s time to fight back.

The attacks we face are meant to intimidate, confuse, disorganize and demoralize us. But instead, they light a fire. International Women’s Day is a chance to recommit ourselves to bringing new fighters into our revolutionary organization, and to bring this movement with us into the broader struggle to overthrow this rotten system.

This March 8, we take to the streets with our fists raised high, knowing that the struggle for women’s liberation is part and parcel of the struggle for a new world.

On International Women’s Day: Stand Up, Fight Back!

Defend Women’s and Reproductive Rights!

Defend LGBTQ and Trans Rights!

Stand with the Women of Palestine!

Stop the Deportations, Keep Families Together!

#WomensMovement #LGBTQ #FRSO #Statement #InternationalWomensDay #Feature

The Labor Commission of Freedom Road Socialist Organization condemns Trump and his accomplice Elon Musk for the callous attacks on federal workers.

As it stands, tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired or laid off. The terminations have been carried out in the most callous way possible. The exact number is unclear because of the chaos that has accompanied the process. Unexpected late-night emails. Text messages telling workers to take their things and go home. And President Trump taking to social media to mock those facing hardship. None of this is reasonable or okay or acceptable.

For those of us active in the labor movement, this is a ‘canary in the coal mine’ kind of time. It’s a test that we cannot fail. It is vital that all organized labor rally in the support of the federal workers unions, like the American Federation of Government Employees, and insist contracts are honored and the layoffs are rolled back. To that end, we must insist our unions stand with the federal workers. Unions leaders like Teamsters President Sean O'Brien are mistaken when they say we should wait and see what happens.

In 1981, President Reagan upended the course of U.S. labor relations when he fired 11,000 striking aircraft controllers. Today is that kind of moment. Trump is threatening to privatize postal workers. There are attacks on the National Labor Relations Board. And of course, there are tens of thousands of federal workers who will not be getting a paycheck this week. Complacency cannot be the order of the day.

Many of us who are active trade unionists have friends and acquaintances who are members or leaders of federal worker unions. We should urge them to hold protests and take other actions. This is a concern of every union member, and we should join any resistance to these attacks. An injury to one is an injury to all. The attack on federal workers can, must, and will be defeated!

#Labor #Statement #FRSO #AFGE #FederalEmployees #Trump #Layoffs

Por el Equipo de Trabajo del Movimiento LGBTQ y de las Mujeres de la OSCL

Parece que Trump firma cada orden ejecutiva discriminatoria antes de que se haya secado la tinta de la anterior. No se ha tardado ni se ha guardado ningún golpe al atacar a las personas trans.

Las órdenes ejecutivas más recientes incluyen retener fondos federales como rehén para prohibir que los atletas trans participen en deportes y que los niños trans reciban atención médica. Basada en pseudociencia, una orden ejecutiva declara que “es política de los Estados Unidos reconocer dos sexos”. Esto borra a los miles de personas cisgénero intersexual que viven en los Estados Unidos. La misma orden exige que se prohíba a las mujeres trans usar los baños de mujeres en edificios federales, y llama a los compañeros de trabajo a volverse unos contra otros para reportarlos. También prohíbe cambiar los marcadores de género en los pasaportes.

Trump está impulsando legislación que permitiría a los padres demandar a los proveedores médicos por ofrecer atención para afirmación de género a los niños, mientras castiga simultáneamente a los padres y trabajadores de la salud por respetar la autonomía de los jóvenes transgénero. Él también está prohibiendo que las mujeres trans usen refugios para víctimas de abuso y que sean alojadas con mujeres en las prisiones, efectivamente agravando la violencia sexual contra ellas.

Estas órdenes llegan después de cientos de proyectos de ley anti-LGBTQ introducidos por gobiernos estatales reaccionarios en un contragolpe después de la derrota de Trump en 2020. Exponen el rostro abiertamente reaccionario de un imperio en decadencia atacando, tratando de salvar el sistema opresivo del que depende.

Son la punta de lanza en un ataque total contra las mujeres y las personas LGBTQ. La orden de “dos sexos” define que el género comienza “en la concepción,” abriendo la puerta a la peligrosa noción de personalidad fetal. La prohibición de la atención para afirmación de género establece que las personas trans llevan a cabo “una guerra perdida contra sus propios cuerpos,” cuestionando tanto la autonomía corporal como el derecho de las personas a definir sus propias identidades.

La idea de que estas órdenes de alguna manera “protegen a las mujeres” es una mentira. No solo exponen a las mujeres trans y cisgénero a un escrutinio innecesario y traumático de sus cuerpos, sino que tampoco hacen nada para proteger a las mujeres de los verdaderos perpetradores de violencia. Cuando la mayoría de los ataques contra las mujeres ocurren en sus relaciones íntimas con hombres o mientras viven sus vidas en público, regular la participación de las personas trans en la vida pública es una distracción absurda de los verdaderos problemas en nuestra sociedad.

Estas órdenes también limitarán los derechos de las mujeres de nacionalidades oprimidas y de clase trabajadora. La prohibición en los deportes impide que las mujeres trans y las personas no conforme con el género entren al país, abriendo la puerta al racismo contra cualquier mujer considerada demasiado masculina. Las prohibiciones en los deportes y la atención para afirmación de género amenazan con retener los almuerzos gratis en las escuelas, así como los fondos de Medicare y Medicaid a los hospitales que no cumplan con la discriminación contra las personas transgénero.

La OSCL se opone firmemente a estas políticas reaccionarias dirigidas contra nuestros miembros trans de la comunidad. Estos ataques tienen como objetivo intimidar, confundir y abrumar. No lo permitiremos. Uniremos a todos quienes puedan unirse en contra de la agenda de Trump y del movimiento político retrógrado que él representa. Esperamos con ansias luchar en las calles.

#LGBTQ #Trans #OSCL #FRSO #Statement

At the start of the Spring 2025 semester, FSU Admin secretly axed LGBTQ+ Housing – which provides much needed accommodations to transgender and queer students living on campus without communicating their decision to any students, or even the Inter-Residence Hall Council (IHRC). This comes amid escalating attacks on the rights and autonomy of queer and trans people by the reactionary Trump administration and the ruling Florida Republican Party.

As soon as the student body found out, Tallahassee SDS and other student organizations, including the IHRC and Pride Student Union, condemned FSU Admin for putting queer students in danger by removing this program which was meant to protect them from being forced into potentially unsafe gender-segregated living arrangements that don’t align with their gender. Or being assigned bigoted roommates and being forced to live in an unsafe environment.

Queer people at FSU have the right to safe housing in which they can feel comfortable living openly as themselves, expressing their gender identity and sexuality without fear. Admin may have backed down today, but the callous disregard for queer students which led them to try to destroy LGBTQ+ Housing has not gone away.

This whole episode has made it very clear that FSU cares more about placating Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump than they do about their own students. FSU Admin didn’t restore LGBTQ+ Housing out of the goodness of their hearts– they did it because the student body stood up and fought back!

The LGBTQ+ housing program was established only in Fall of 2021 after a lengthy grassroots campaign led by activists from Gender Odyssey, SDS, and the Pride Student Union – which was itself established through militant student activism in the 60s and 70s.

All of our rights have been won through mass struggle, and queer students’ right to safe housing is no different! This historic victory – one of the first in a long time for Tallahassee’s progressive students– was only possible because of the people’s vigilance and determination, and it shows what we can achieve when we unite and fight the power!

Make no mistake: Queer students are still under attack from the rich and powerful, and we have to defend ourselves! No matter the repression from forces that seek to strip away our rights, we must never be afraid to stand on the right side and openly struggle for our liberation! We must not cower in fear thinking of what can be lost, but rather push forward thinking of what can be won!

The fight doesn’t end here! We have to carry forward the fighting spirit that defeated FSU Admin today, so that we can defeat Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis tomorrow! We must continue to be vigilant, organized, and united to fight for queer liberation! Because as this victory shows: When we dare to struggle, we dare to win!

#TallahasseeFL #FL #StudentMovement #LGBTQ #SDS #Statement #Housing

En las primeras dos semanas de su presidencia, Trump ha desatado una campaña muy publicitada para deportar a chicanos, mexicanos, centroamericanos y otros más. Aunque alega que está enfocándose en criminales, la redada más reciente en Denver, CO, tuvo a oficiales deteniendo a todos en el vecindario y preguntando por documentos. Adicionalmente, Trump también ha cancelado el Estatus de Protección Temporal o TPS (en inglés) para más de 300,000 venezolanos e intentó restringir la ciudadanía por nacimiento garantizada por la 14ª Enmienda de la Constitución de los Estados Unidos. Trump incluso ha comenzado a enviar detenidos a la base militar de Guantánamo en Cuba, aislándolos de sus familias, amigos o cualquier apoyo legal.

¡Pero donde hay opresión, hay resistencia! Una ola histórica de protestas de costa a costa y de frontera a frontera surgió, liderada por chicanos, mexicanos y centroamericanos. Varios paros estudiantiles en preparatorias, protestas en carreteras y arrestos con la demanda de “¡No a las deportaciones!” han llevado el movimiento a un nuevo nivel. Después de esta ola de lucha, los tribunales han comenzado a suspender algunos de los actos más ilegales de Trump, como restringir la ciudadanía por derecho de nacimiento.

Este movimiento masivo también ha endurecido la postura de algunos demócratas, quienes en gran parte estaban desmoralizados por la victoria de Trump en noviembre. Aunque queremos construir la lucha más amplia posible contra Trump y sus ataques, incluyendo demócratas, ellos no están en posición de liderar. Cuando controlaban el Congreso y la Casa Blanca, fracasaron dos veces en aprobar cualquier proyecto de ley de legalización, y demasiados de ellos votaron a favor del proyecto de ley antiinmigrante “Laken Riley.”

En el centro de este creciente movimiento por los derechos de los inmigrantes están los chicanos, mexicanos y centroamericanos. Estas comunidades son alrededor del 70% de los indocumentados, están concentradas en y alrededor de la oprimida Nación Chicana en el suroeste, y son abrumadoramente de clase trabajadora y las más dispuestas a luchar. Al mismo tiempo, necesitamos unirnos con todos los afectados por la administración de Trump, desde los haitianos hasta los venezolanos.

¡No a las deportaciones!

¡Que viva la raza! ¡Poder chicano!

¡Construye la lucha contra los ataques de Trump!

#ImmigrantRights #Statement #FRSO #OSCL #Trump

It seems like Trump signs each bigoted executive order before the ink dries on the last. He hasn’t spared any time or pulled any punches in attacking trans people.

The latest executive orders include holding federal funds hostage to bar trans athletes from sports and trans kids from receiving healthcare. Based on pseudoscience, one executive order declares that “it is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes.” This erases the thousands of cisgender intersex people living in the United States. The same order mandates that trans women be barred from women’s restrooms in federal buildings, and it calls on coworkers to turn against each other to report them. It also prohibits changing gender markers on passports.

Trump is pushing for legislation allowing parents to sue medical providers for offering gender-affirming care to children while simultaneously punishing parents and healthcare workers for respecting the autonomy of transgender youth. He is stopping trans women from using abuse shelters and being housed with women in prisons, effectively compounding sexual violence against them.

These orders come on the heels of hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills introduced by reactionary state governments in a four-year-long backlash against Trump’s defeat in 2020. They expose the openly reactionary face of a declining empire lashing out, trying to salvage the oppressive system it depends on.

They are the tip of the spear in an all-out assault against women and LGBTQ people. The “two sexes” order defines gender as beginning “at conception,” opening the door to the dangerous notion of fetal personhood. The gender-affirming care ban states that trans people conduct “a losing war with their own bodies,” calling into question both bodily autonomy and people’s right to define their own identities.

The idea that these orders somehow “protect women” is a lie. Not only will they expose transgender and cisgender women alike to unnecessary and traumatic scrutiny of their bodies, they also do nothing to protect women from actual perpetrators of violence. When the majority of assaults on women happen in their intimate relationships with men or while living their lives in public, regulating trans people’s participation in public life is an absurd distraction from real problems in our society.

These orders will also curtail the rights of oppressed nationality and working-class women. The sports ban prohibits trans women and gender non-conforming people from entering the country, opening the door to racism against any woman deemed too masculine. The sports and gender-affirming care bans both threaten to withhold free lunches from schools, as well as Medicare and Medicaid funds from hospitals that don’t comply with transgender discrimination.

FRSO resolutely opposes these reactionary policies that target our trans community members. These attacks are intended to intimidate, confuse, and overwhelm. We won’t stand for this. We will unite all who can be united against Trump’s agenda and the backward political movement he represents. We look forward to fighting back in the streets.

#LGBTQ #FRSO #Statement #Trump #Trans

In the first two weeks of his Presidency, Trump has unleashed a highly publicized campaign to deport Chicanos, Mexicanos, Central Americans and others. While he claims to be targeting criminals, the most recent raid in Denver, CO, had officials stopping everyone in the neighborhood and asking for documents. In addition, Trump has also cancelled Temporary Protected Status or TPS for more than 300,000 Venezuelans and tried to restrict birthright citizenship granted in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Trump has even started shipping detainees to the Guantanamo military base in Cuba, isolating them from family, friends, or any legal support.

But where there is oppression there is resistance! A history-making wave of protest from coast to coast and border to border surged, led by Chicanos, Mexicanos and Central Americans. Multiple walkouts by high school students, protests on freeways, and arrests with the demand of “No deportations!” have taken the movement to a new level. In the wake of this wave of struggle, courts have begun to suspend some of Trump’s most illegal acts, such as restricting birthright citizenship.

This mass movement has also stiffened the spine of some Democrats, who were largely demoralized by Trump’s victory in November. While we want to build the broadest possible fight against Trump and his attacks, including Democrats, they are in no position to lead. When they controlled Congress and the White House they twice failed to pass any legalization bill, and too many of them voted for the anti-immigrant Laken Riley bill.

At the core of this growing immigrant rights movement are Chicanos, Mexicanos and Central Americans. These communities are some 70% of the undocumented, are concentrated in and around the oppressed Chicano Nation in the Southwest, and are overwhelmingly working class and most willing to fight. At the same time, we need to unite with everyone targeted by the Trump administration, from Haitians to Venezuelans.

No to Deportations!

Que Viva La Raza! Chicano Power!

Build the Fight Against the Trump Attacks!

#ImmigrantRights #Trump #FRSO #Statement #Featured

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from Louisiana State University Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).

On Monday January 20th, LSU SDS led a march on the capitol with other organizations to unite in opposition to Trump’s backwards agenda. Days before, our reactionary governor Jeff Landry issued an executive order that encouraged all Louisiana residents to raise a “Make America Great Again” flag in celebration of Trump’s inauguration. He also participated in this by flying a MAGA flag in front of his mansion.

SDS understands Trump’s presidency will come with attacks on immigrants, queer people, reproductive health, unions, education, free speech, and much more. We are in complete opposition to his policies and are committed to uniting all students against his backwards attacks. We also understand that America has never been great, it is a nation that was built off the slavery and brutalization of black people that continues to this day through mass incarceration and police brutality. It began with the genocide of Indigenous peoples, stealing their land and still denying them the right to self-determination. This nation is the embodiment of imperialism that promotes blood-thirsty wars that destroy the environment and facilitate the continuation of genocides. We condemn the claim that America has ever been great, we don’t have to look too far back in history to see this is false.

We find his order ironic and in contradiction with a previous executive order he signed. Over the summer, he implemented an order that states the State Capitol and the public departments and institutions of the state would only fly flags that are recognized by Louisiana law. The mansion is funded and maintained by our tax dollars for the governor, a representative of the state, meaning it should fall under the ordinance of this executive order. Additionally, the MAGA flag is not one of the flags that are recognized by official Louisiana law.

Flags that can be flown by the executive branch agencies or offices include:

Military Flags of the Armed Forces

Louisiana National Guard Flags

The Flags of Louisiana

An official flag of a state department, university, or agency that contains the name or symbol of that state department, university, or agency

By flying the MAGA flag at his office, he reveals himself to be a hypocrite and demonstrates his disregard for his OWN executive orders when it promotes HIS agenda and HIS free speech. Landry had no problem with 200 riot cops that attacked Loyola and Tulane students for their encampment and use of their free speech that dared to directly confront their administrations involvement in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians. Instead, he praised Tulane President Michael Fitts for arresting his own students and sending in tanks to intimidate his students at three in the morning. He applauded the arrests of 21 students and community members, which led to the suspension of 4 students. He endorsed these attacks on students because he opposes free speech and backs any efforts to suppress it.

Landry has proven himself to be an enemy to education by supporting attacks on student’s free speech and signing a ludicrous law that bans “critical race theory” in public schools, a concept that he wrongly defines and is not taught in schools. This law only serves to accelerate his racist agenda and promote his bigoted ideology in schools. We must resist his attacks on education, and that includes standing against his push to normalize “MAGA ideology.” Trump’s goal to dismantle the Department of Education will end public funding for schools and instead give parents vouchers to send their children to private and charter schools. This privatization of education means children can be taught backwards material, and it will lead to significant spikes in tuition prices, making education a thing only rich families can afford. The end of the Department of Education could also mean no more financial aid for college students, and with the planned tuition hikes at LSU in the fall, education will become less and less accessible.

LSU SDS condemns Landry and Trump’s agenda, and we will remain dedicated in our fight against attacks on minorities and our education!

#LA #StudentMovement #SDS #Statement #Trump

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the International League of Peoples’ Struggle.

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle celebrates the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire deal between the Palestinian resistance forces and the genocidal occupation state that has waged a war of extermination against the Palestinian people for more than the past year, in actuality for now more than a century.

Since the launch of the October 7th 2023 Al Aqsa Flood operation, more than 46,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed as well as more than 110,00 injured. This is only the confirmed killings, and adding up the number of missing under the rubble and deaths from injuries, cold, and forced starvation would bring the total deaths to potentially well over 200,000, with thousands suffering amputations. This is a crime of unimaginable brutality committed by the Zionists and funded and protected by the most savage imperialist profiteers, most notably the United States. At this point we should also remember the thousands of political prisoners that remain in Zionist detention, and the fight for their freedom must continue.

This ceasefire is a victory for the Palestinian people who have endured the most horrific, brutal, and blatantly racist genocidal violence for more than a year. It was only achieved due to the heroic steadfastness of the Palestinian people to remain on their rightful land at all costs, and of the Palestinian resistance to fight on to defend that right and that land. Praise must also be given to the unconditional support for Palestine from region-wide Axis of Resistance in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Iran against whom the imperialists and Zionists are preparing to continue their war, and the anti-imperialist movement must waste no time in learning the hard-fought lessons from this period of united struggle against a united target. The leadership over the many decades and the countless martyrs of Palestine fighting for the eventual end of the occupation will forever be remembered as having given their lives for this stage towards the full liberation of Palestine.

The ceasefire is not due to any good will on the part of the Zionists or their imperialist, fascist funders, but instead was forced due to the military defeats and international isolation of the Zionists diplomatically. The grotesque face of ‘Israel’ has been fully exposed to the world and it can never go back to showing itself as the only ‘democracy in the Middle East.’ It is not only the Zionist state that has lost all credibility but also the United States, the most vicious of imperialist powers through history. The Biden administration has finally pressured the Zionist entity to take the ceasefire deal in order to ‘steal a victory’ from the incoming Trump presidency, showcasing the political games of the imperialists at the expense of the Palestinian people. Nevertheless, the Zionist entity is in deep economic, political, and diplomatic crises despite all of the military aid and training the U.S. has given it, signaling that the ceasefire is only the start of the end for the settler-colony.

The ILPS celebrates this peoples’ victory but also knows that the Zionist occupation and the genocidal war in general are not over. The Zionist apartheid state has violated the Lebanon ceasefire every day since it was made, and we know they will do the same in Gaza. Already, US Senator and incoming Secretary of State for President Trump, Marco Rubio during his confirmation speech stated, “How can any nation-state on the planet coexist side by side with a group of savages like Hamas?” These are blood-chilling words and people of the world must be ready to fight against more deadly wars of aggression, to be thrust on our territories and countries. The willful aiding and abetting of the US, the NATO powers and the wider Western world is the deadliest tool in supporting the genocide.

The people of the world, especially in the US and the imperialist countries, must continue to take to the streets and fight in unconditional solidarity with the Palestinian people to pressure and break the will of the imperialists to keep funding the Zionists until the resistance is victorious and Palestine is free from the river to the sea!

#International #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Gaza #Ceasefire #ILPS #Statement

Durante tres días, a partir del 8 de enero, la Patrulla Fronteriza realizó redadas de inmigración aterrorizando a los residentes del condado de Kern alrededor de Bakersfield, California. Como una manada de lobos, cazaron y detuvieron a cientos de personas. Atraparon a 78 personas, alineándolos para su deportación. El condado de Kern es uno de los principales productores agrícolas de la región y muchos de los afectados eran trabajadores agrícolas o trabajaban en la industria.

Estas redadas sembraron el miedo en las comunidades chicanas y mexicanas, ya que muchas personas se quedaron en casa, sin ir al trabajo, la escuela ni a hacer compras. Al mismo tiempo, cientos de personas protestaron en la cercana ciudad de Fresno, California, y también en Los Ángeles.

Este movimiento de la Patrulla Fronteriza indica el inicio de una ola de ataques contra inmigrantes por parte de la administración entrante de Trump. Trump y sus aliados han prometido desatar una tormenta de ataques contra inmigrantes, trabajadores y personas oprimidas en todo EE. UU. Mientras Trump ha librado una campaña contra los inmigrantes, también planea revertir muchos de los avances logrados por los sindicatos y los trabajadores. Ya sea en la Junta Nacional de Relaciones del Trabajo o interfiriendo con los trabajadores en huelga – el multimillonario Trump está en busca de sangre dispuesto a todo para proteger a los empleadores y los intereses de la clase capitalista.

Nosotros, en la Comisión Sindical de la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad condenamos enérgicamente los recientes ataques contra inmigrantes y trabajadores agrícolas. Instamos a los sindicatos, trabajadores y a todos los demás a mantener la línea contra ataques como los que ocurrieron en el condado de Kern. Ya sea en el lugar de trabajo, en los campos o en nuestros vecindarios, ¡este no es el momento de escondernos, sino de permanecer firmes, hombro con hombro, con nuestros hermanos y hermanas inmigrantes y luchar de vuelta!

#ImmigrantRights #Labor #FRSO #OSCL #Statement

Mientras los venezolanos celebran la inauguración del Presidente Maduro el 10 de enero, la Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad saluda la Revolución Bolivariana, el Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), y sobre todo al Presidente Maduro por otra gran victoria. Superando las sanciones estadounidenses, la interferencia electoral y las mentiras, el pueblo de Venezuela ha triunfado una vez más.

Grandes números de personas llenaron las calles de Caracas para ver la toma de juramento del Presidente Maduro. Miembros del PSUV, sindicalistas, organizadores comunitarios y multitudes de jóvenes salieron a las calles de la ciudad capital, mientras decenas de miles más de trabajadores y campesinos viajaron en autobús desde todo el país. Se están congregando para apoyar la continuación de la Revolución Bolivariana y el tercer mandato de Maduro.

Por su parte, el Presidente Maduro tendrá un mandato de seis años para fortalecer el legado del Comandante Hugo Chavez. Maduro proclamó, “Este nuevo mandato presidencial será un tiempo de paz, prosperidad, igualdad y una nueva democracia.” Añadió, “¡Lo juro por nuestra historia y por mi vida, lo lograremos!”

Maduro sigue construyendo una Venezuela independiente y soberana que beneficia a la gente en lugar de a los bancos estadounidenses y las corporaciones extranjeras de petróleo. La Revolución Bolivariana ha traído enormes cambios, incluyendo la construcción de más de 5 millones de apartamentos y casas pequeñas, un programa de alimentación, CLAP, que suministra comida a más de 80% de los hogares, y sistemas de salud y educación que alcanzan a todos los venezolanos en vez de solo las clases altas. La riqueza del petróleo ahora sirve a la gente.

El presidente electo Trump ya está interfiriendo en los asuntos internos de Venezuela. Trump y sus candidatos para el gabinete están promoviendo al perdedor de las elecciones de Venezuela del verano pasado. Edmundo Gonzalez perdió porque no es popular. Maduro ganó y él tiene las masas organizadas de la gente trabajadora y la lealtad de las fuerzas armadas revolucionarias a su apoyo.

En su último mandato como presidente, la política de Trump hacia Venezuela fue miserable y no logró nada. Trump impuso sanciones económicas más graves desde los EE. UU. para castigar a la clase obrera de Venezuela. El problema para los EE. UU., sin embargo, es que a pesar de algunas dificultades, la economía venezolana continuó creciendo y desarrollando. La agricultura sostenible redujo las importaciones de alimentos y los precios, mientras que nuevas industrias y tecnología moderna están llegando a todo el país.

Trump también respaldó un intento de golpe de Estado fallido en 2019 contra el Presidente Maduro. Luego hubo mercenarios estadounidenses capturados por milicias locales mientras intentaban infiltrar Venezuela. Un número de intentos de asesinato también fueron frustrados. Los ataques a la infraestructura eléctrica y petrolera de Venezuela fueron superados por la gente de las empresas dirigidas por sus trabajadores, quienes están constantemente vigilantes. Otra gran derrota para los EE. UU. fue verse obligado a liberar al diplomático venezolano Alex Saab, quien ahora está trabajando duro para derrotar las sanciones estadounidenses.

La Organización Socialista Camino de la Libertad está orgullosa de estar en solidaridad con el PSUV y el Presidente Maduro. Venezuela es un faro de esperanza para la independencia y el progreso en América Latina y el Caribe.

¡Viva el Presidente Maduro! ¡Viva la Revolución Bolivariana!

#International #Venezuela #Maduro #PSUV #FRSO #OSCL #Statement

The Palestinian resistance has forced the Israeli apartheid regime to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza. This ceasefire agreement is a significant achievement won by the bravery, sacrifice and unity of the Palestinian resistance, bolstered by the patriotic forces in Yemen, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and, until recently, Syria.

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization commends the Palestinian resistance in its steadfast fight for national liberation from U.S. imperialism and the U.S.-backed Israeli occupation, as well as the accomplishments of the resistance in this last period. We see this ceasefire as an advance that brings us closer to the end of the Israeli occupation.

This ceasefire agreement comes after at least 46,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when the genocide in Gaza began. When the Zionists invaded Lebanon, they added at least another 4000 Lebanese to that death toll. For the last 16 months, the Zionist war criminal regime has embarked on a campaign of genocide in order to put down the resistance forces that rose up on October 7 to defy the occupation. There was no hospital the Israelis would not bomb, no school nor refugee camp nor shelter that the Israelis would not destroy. They burned down villages and schools, blocked the entrance of all food, water and medicine, destroyed utilities and other necessities, bombed Gaza for months on end, and set tents full of babies and children on fire. Even now Israel is still committing massacres.

The Israelis have failed. After 16 months of genocide, massacres, starvation, and all manner of atrocities, the U.S.-backed apartheid regime has not met any of its objectives. Not only did they fail to defeat the pro-Palestine forces in the region, this ceasefire agreement flies in the face of Netanyahu’s so-called “red line” conditions. According to this ceasefire agreement, the Zionists must withdraw totally from the Gaza Strip, allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, release political prisoners in the thousands – including all women and children under 19 – and give a list upfront of Israeli captives, all of which were “red lines” for Netanyahu that he now has to concede.

Meanwhile, the heroism of the people of Palestine has shed a light on the brutality of the occupation. Millions have marched all around the world to call for a free Palestine. In the Middle East, people still march in the hundreds of thousands. Israel’s standing in the world is more isolated than ever. The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in September 2024 for a resolution that demands Israel “brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence.” The International Criminal Court deems Netanyahu a criminal and has even put out a warrant for his arrest.

This ceasefire agreement is an achievement and can put the brakes on a dire situation in Gaza. That said, we are cognizant that the Israeli occupation continues in full force in the West Bank, that the massacres are continuing, and that the Israelis could violate this agreement, as they have previous ones. Even now, the massacres in Gaza continue and over 100 have died so far since the ceasefire agreement was brought forward on January 15.

The Zionists continue to have a presence in parts of south Lebanon, occupy even more of Syria, and of course continue to occupy the West Bank. Furthermore, as Trump prepares to take office, he and his new administration look towards Iran and sound the drums of war. The last time Trump was president, the U.S. military launched air strikes on Iraq and assassinated the esteemed Iranian major general and war hero Qassem Soleimani. More US. aggression in the Middle East is coming, and the fight to free Palestine is far from over.

All the bombs, fighter jets, training and chemical weapons used by Israel are bankrolled by the United States government. Even as U.S. workers struggle to pay rent and buy groceries, the $8 billion-plus aid packages to Israel just keep coming. They came steadily from the Biden administration, and we expect them to keep coming under Trump. The White House funds this project because ultimately, the Israeli apartheid regime is a watchdog for U.S. interests in the region.

We in the FRSO believe that Israel has no right to exist. It exists on stolen land and borrowed time. We cheer on the day that its existence comes to an end, and we will do everything in our power to hasten that on.

We salute the Palestinian freedom fighters and the forces of resistance in the Middle East in achieving this ceasefire. We say no to U.S. war and aggression in the Middle East, whether it is in Yemen, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq or Syria. We call for a free Palestine and an end to all U.S. aid to Israel. We stand in solidarity with the forces of resistance in their fight to end Israeli occupation and U.S. imperialism, and we will keep standing with them in the many fights to come.

#AntiWarMovement #International #Palestine #FRSO #Statement

For three days starting January 8, the Border Patrol conducted immigration sweeps terrorizing Kern County residents around Bakersfield, California. Like a pack of wolves, they hunted and detained hundreds. They snatched up 78 people, lining them up for deportation. Kern County is a top producer of agriculture for the region and many affected were farm workers or work in the industry.

These raids spread fear through the Chicano and Mexicano communities as people stayed home from work, school and shopping. At the same time, hundreds of people protested in nearby Fresno, California, and also in Los Angeles.

This move by Border Patrol signals the start of an oncoming wave of attacks on immigrants by the incoming Trump administration. Trump and his cronies have vowed to unleash a storm of attacks on immigrants, workers and oppressed people across the U.S. While Trump has waged a campaign against immigrants, he’s also planning to roll back many gains made by unions and workers. Whether it be at the National Labor Relations Board or interfering with striking workers – the billionaire Trump is out for blood to protect employers and the interests of the capitalist class.

We in the Freedom Road Socialist Organization Labor Commission strongly condemn the recent attacks on immigrants and farmworkers. We urge unions, workers and everyone in between to hold the line against attacks like those in Kern County. Whether it be at the workplace, in the fields, or in our neighborhoods, the time now is not one to hide but rather to stand firmly shoulder to shoulder with our immigrant sisters and brothers and fight back!

#Labor #ImmigrantRights #FRSO #Statement

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization shares its condolences with the family, friends and comrades of Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez, chairman of the Young Lords Organization. He died on January 10, 2025, at the age of 75 in Chicago.

All those who knew him appreciated Jimenez’s determination and his ability to motivate others to action, all the while teaching about the need for revolution and socialism. A revolutionary to the end, he often quoted Mao Tse Tung on the united front strategy, “Unite the many to defeat the few!”

The Young Lords Organization was founded by Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez in 1968 in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Puerto Ricans and other working people were being forced out of the now wealthy neighborhood by big financiers and real estate firms working with Mayor Richard Daley’s Democrat political machine.

At that time, Jimenez turned a street gang into one of the most successful political movements of its day, resisting community displacement and opposing the U.S. war in Vietnam. Their militant tactics attracted masses of people to protest for better housing, education, childcare and health care in Chicago. The Young Lords spread to New York and many other cities, inspiring Puerto Rican people who were forced to move from the island by U.S. domination and exploitation. Cha Cha popularized the slogan, “Tengo Puerto Rico en mi corazón!” [I have Puerto Rico in my heart]

The Young Lords travelled and met the Brown Berets, whose stance for national self-determination for the Chicano people was an inspiration. They also took leadership from Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party in Chicago, beginning to study Marxism-Leninism and devising ways to oppose the violent repression and assassinations they faced from the FBI, COINTELPRO and the Chicago Police.

It was the Young Lords who had ties to the Young Patriots, an Appalachian youth group in the Uptown neighborhood. This was key to Fred Hampton and the Black Panther Party forming the first Rainbow Coalition.

In recent years, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization organized closely with and supported Cha Cha Jimenez and the Young Lords. We promoted the Young Lords and their lessons while participating in the Trayvon Martin protests and the George Floyd uprising. There was the launch of the Young Lords Archive at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, the 50 Years of Young Lords Anniversary Conference at DePaul University in Chicago, and the “Young Lords Pass the Torch, Honor Cha Cha Jimenez” event in Humboldt Park on June 4, 2022, recognizing a new era of Young Lords leaders.

In one of his last interviews, Cha Cha Jimenez told Fight Back!, “Ours is a protracted struggle until victory and beyond!”

Long live the legacy of Jose Cha Cha Jimenez!

#OppressedNationalities #PuertoRico #NationalLiberation #YoungLords #ChaChaJimenez #FRSO #Statement

Apenas unos días después del comienzo de 2025, el área de Los Ángeles ha sido envuelta por incendios sin precedentes. Entre una sequía amplia y vientos con fuerza de huracán, algunas áreas que nunca habían tenido que ser evacuadas debido a los incendios han quedado completamente destruidas, con más de 100,000 personas ordenadas a evacuar la zona hasta ahora.

2024 fue, una vez más, el año más caluroso de la historia. Las temperaturas globales promedio cruzaron un umbral importante en 2024: 1.5° C (2.7° F) más cálidas que los niveles preindustriales. Esta fue la temperatura máxima establecida como meta por el Acuerdo de París sobre el cambio climático, el umbral a partir del cual se espera que los efectos peligrosos del cambio climático se vuelvan comunes.

Pero estos incendios no son simplemente un desastre natural, y el cambio climático no es una condición natural – el sistema capitalista tiene toda la culpa. El cambio climático está siendo acelerado por los magnates de los combustibles fósiles, los industriales multimillonarios y los políticos que están en la cama con ellos que controlan la economía de los Estados Unidos, y para quienes la destrucción del medio ambiente no tiene importancia en comparación con sus ganancias. Están cubriendo los Estados Unidos con una red de oleoductos de combustibles fósiles. Un pequeño número de monopolistas utilizan su poder e influencia para bloquear la legislación progresista sobre el clima, sembrar confusión sobre la ciencia climática en los medios, y estrangular la vida de las iniciativas verdes. Mientras tanto, es la gente común de la clase trabajadora – desde Maui hasta Asheville y Los Ángeles – la que está pagando el precio y recogiendo los pedazos.

El presidente electo Trump, un negador del cambio climático, intentó culpar a las políticas ambientales del norte de California por la falta de agua en Los Ángeles. Pero, en realidad, Los Ángeles no recibe agua del norte de California; toda su agua proviene de aguas subterráneas, de fuentes locales o del río Colorado al este. Tanto los republicanos como los demócratas continúan gastando más de $1 billón de dólares al año en guerras pasadas, presentes y futuras a nivel federal, mientras que los gobiernos estatales y municipales no tienen más opción que recortar los servicios vitales, como la lucha contra incendios, debido a la falta de dinero.

Les dicen a los residentes que abandonen su hogar, pero no les ofrecen opciones sobre adónde ir, y tienen pocos recursos para ayudar en su evacuación. Mientras tanto, cientos de personas encarceladas están arriesgando sus vidas en la primera línea de los incendios. Estas personas reciben alrededor de un dólar por hora por este trabajo agotador – y cuando son liberadas, sus antecedentes penales pueden impedirles acceso a carreras en la lucha contra incendios.

Mientras tanto, países socialistas como Cuba y China muestran un mejor modelo para combatir el cambio climático. Desde sus crecientes inversiones en tecnologías renovables y opciones de transporte público verde, hasta la priorización de la gente en la respuesta a los desastres naturales cuando ocurren. Podemos ver que el socialismo, sin la necesidad insaciable de ganancias a cualquier costo del capitalismo, es la única manera de salir de la crisis climática.

Necesitamos construir un movimiento contra el cambio climático que pueda combatir directamente las mentiras y el engaño de las industrias de los combustibles fósiles – industrias que todavía reciben subsidios gubernamentales. Necesitamos señalar la conexión entre el cambio climático y un complejo militar-industrial que frecuentemente está exento de la regulación ambiental. Y necesitamos que los pueblos trabajadores y oprimidos se unan y vean la lucha climática como parte de la lucha de la clase trabajadora por el poder en los Estados Unidos. ¡Construyamos un movimiento de lucha por la justicia climática que tome a las calles!

¡No a nuevos oleoductos!

¡La gente y el planeta sobre las ganancias!

#Environment #Climate #Wildfires #FRSO #OSCL #Statement #es

Just days into 2025, the Los Angeles area has been engulfed by record-breaking wildfires. Amidst widespread drought and hurricane-force winds, some areas which have never once needed to evacuate due to fires have been completely destroyed, with over a 100,000 people ordered to evacuate the area so far.

2024 was, yet again, the hottest year in history. Global average temperatures crossed an important threshold in 2024: 1.5° C (2.7° F) warmer than pre-industrial levels. This was the maximum temperature set as goal by the Paris Climate Accords, the threshold after which dangerous effects of climate change are expected to become commonplace.

But these fires are not simply a natural disaster, and climate change is not a natural condition – the capitalist system is to blame. Climate change is being accelerated by fossil fuel tycoons, billionaire industrialists and the politicians in bed with them who command the United States’ economy, and for whom the destruction of the environment is of no importance compared to their profits. They are covering the U.S with a web of fossil fuel pipelines. A tiny number of monopolists use their power and influence to block progressive climate legislation, sow confusion about climate science in the media, and strangle the life out of green initiatives. Meanwhile, it is everyday working-class people – from Maui, to Asheville, to Los Angeles – who are paying the price and picking up the pieces.

President-elect Trump, a climate change denier, tried to blame northern California environmental policies for the lack of water in Los Angeles. But in fact, Los Angeles gets no water from northern California; all of their water is groundwater, local sources, or the Colorado River to their east. Both Republicans and Democrats continue to spend more than $1 trillion a year on past, present, and future wars at the federal level, while state and local governments are forced to cut needed services, such as firefighting, due to lack of money.

Residents are told to leave their home but not given any options on where to go, and few resources to aid their evacuation. All the while, hundreds of incarcerated individuals are risking their lives on the front lines of the fires. These individuals are being paid about a dollar an hour for this grueling work – and when they are released, their criminal records can bar from careers in firefighting

Meanwhile, socialist countries like Cuba and China show a better model for combating climate change. From their increasing investments in renewable technologies and green public transport options, to prioritizing people in responding to natural disasters as they happen. We can see that socialism, without capitalism’s insatiable need for profit at any cost, is the only way out of the climate crisis.

We need to build a movement against climate change that can directly combat the lies and deceit of the fossil fuel industries – industries that still receive government subsidies. We need to point out the connection between climate change and a military industrial complex that is often exempt from environmental regulation. And we need working and oppressed peoples to unite and see the climate struggle as part of the working class struggle for power in the United States. Let’s build a fighting climate justice movement that takes to the streets!

No new pipelines!

People and the planet over profits!

#Environment #LosAngelesCA #CA #Wildfires #Climate #FRSO #Statement