NEW YORK CITY, July 6 — PLP rallied today in front of the Paraguayan embassy, in solidarity with the thousands of workers and farmers marching in the capital city of Asuncion. We condemned the parliamentary coup by the big landowners of Paraguay and their U.S. imperialist backers. PLP noted that Fernando Lugo, the ousted president, had never been a friend of the working class despite his progressive rhetoric. It will take communist revolution to change the grinding racist exploitative system in Paraguay, not liberal reform or a version of Hugo Chavez’s “21st century socialism.”

The opportunist Liberal Party and the fascist Colorado Party united to oust President Ferdinand Lugo, a former bishop who campaigned as the friend of farmers and workers. His election four years ago ended a vicious 40-year rule by the landlord-dominated Colorado Party. He was part of the reform movement in Latin America associated with the Bolivarian movement, including the reform leadership of Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil.  In response to the coup, Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela have recalled their ambassadors and refuse to recognize the new government. The U.S. jumped to support the new regime.

Why a coup? For the ruling class, Lugo was not aggressive enough in fighting a new guerilla movement — Ejercito del Pueblo Paraguayo (EPP) the Paraguayan People’s Army — which has allegedly engaged in bombings, political murders and high profile kidnappings in support of landless peasants in Paraguay. The bosses did not want to hear about any kind of land reform either.

About two weeks ago, farmers occupied the land of a right-wing caudillo (leader) in the town of Curuguaty. The police were sent in to remove the squatters and a gun battle broke out. Sixteen people died including both police and farmers. Lugo was accused of negligence in the deaths and the Liberal Party and Colorado Party seized on the event to launch impeachment proceedings.  Many forget to mention that several years ago under Colorado President Nicanor Duarte Frutos, over 400 died in the Ycua Bolanos Supermarket fire, when the managers locked the doors. 

Battle of Ideas within the Movement

Many leaders, students and workers felt that the “Big Front” (Frente Guazu) of four years ago that brought Lugo to power would deal a blow to the ruling class and mean change, progress and a step towards socialism. For the past seven years, PL’ers have distributed CHALLENGE to many of these activists, trying to spread the message that these reform electoral alliances would inevitably sell out to the oligarchy for a piece of the pie and betray the working class, as has happened. PLP warned that elections in the capitalist system were not the way towards liberation. And so it has come to pass. Lugo did little, if anything, for the working class, yet the bosses were still not satisfied and put in their preferred puppet.

Lugo is vowing to create an alternative government; the people are in the streets and will struggle until presidential elections in April. Then, Lugo’s alliance mostly made up of workers, unions, farmers and several parties including the pro-Chavez PMAS (Party Moving Towards Socialism) are supporting a former journalist and morning talk show host Mario Ferreiro. This candidate only recently claimed to be a socialist, and will undoubtedly follow the same opportunist path as Lugo. 

Workers and farmers must stand by the line that no socialist alliance with capitalists will bring workers in Paraguaya the bread and freedom they need.  Only communist revolution can move the working class forward with the complete destruction of the capitalist system — no trace of wages, capitalist electoral circuses, Bolivarian alliances, or ties to the bosses of China, Russia, the European Union or MERCOSUR (the South American bloc).  Building PLP in Paraguay and fighting uncompromisingly for a communist workers’ state can succeed in our genuine liberation from capitalism and imperialism.

PARIS, July 11 — France’s new Socialist government has lost no time changing from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde. New austerity measures will come hard and fast in dealing with capitalism’s crisis which essentially will be to tax the workers — suffering a 17.3 percent unemployment rate — to help the rich. A combination of tax hikes mainly on the working class, wage freezes, pension cuts and reducing employer contributions to the social security system all will help the bosses maintain profits and competitiveness. And the union leaders will play a leading role in selling this to the working class.

Taxes, Cuts Hit Workers

One of newly elected President François Hollande’s main advisors said, “We can’t wait any longer…. We have to strike hard right from this summer, when the law rectifying the 2012 budget is voted; and this autumn, when the 2013 budget is voted….to drive home the nail by increasing taxes and really cutting expenditures.” 

Between now and 2013 the government must come up with 40 billion euros (USD $50 billion) to keep France’s promise to the European Union to bring the budget deficit down to 3%. On July 4, 7.2 billion euros (USD $9 billion) in additional taxes were announced, 53 percent of which will fall on households.

In 2013, the government plans to increase the generalized social contribution (CSG) from its present 7.5 percent by another two to four percent. Rich and poor pay the same rate to the CSG — which finances the social security system — so workers will pay several hundred additional euros annually in CSG. All this increases the income gap between rich and poor, increasing the power of the capitalist class.

This tax increase could generate 20 to 40 billion euros in revenues, reducing the government budget deficit and ensuring that France can pay back its $87.9 billion sovereign debt to the capitalists — with interest.

Meanwhile, reducing employer contributions to worker’s social security means taxpayers (mainly workers) will make up the difference via the CSG tax. French bosses will use this cut in labor cost in two ways: a combination of lowering the cost of production, increasing their competitiveness on the world market and increasing their rate of profit.

President Hollande is “reconsidering” his pre-election promise to raise the income tax rate on millionaires, which probably means junking it.

Still, all this won’t be enough to reduce the government budget deficit, leading to more budget cuts in 2014-2017. The Socialists will continue the freeze on government expenditures (except for financing the sovereign debt and retirement pensions).

Freeze Wages, More Layoffs

Other foreseeable measures include a freeze on government workers’ wages and on government financing of universities, research institutes and the unemployment agency and layoffs of government workers, resulting in “blood on the walls of the ministries” said one minister.

The Socialists also intend to cut pensions. The last two “reforms” raised the retirement age. Only 60% of workers aged 55-59 are actually working. Raising the retirement age for many workers means increasing the time they spend on unemployment or welfare before they retire, and lowering the pension they get when actually retiring.

Meanwhile, the economic crisis continues unabated. In May, 17.3% of the active population was unemployed or underemployed, including part-timers looking for full-time work and other categories of the jobless. This falls most heavily on immigrant black and Arab workers from Africa who, because of racist discrimination, suffer even lower wages and higher joblessness.

In this dire situation, the sellout union leaders will be fronting for the ruling class, selling the austerity to the working class.  “We’re on a new course!” exclaimed Bernard Thibault, leader of the CGT, France’s largest union. All the union misleaders are struggling for a place on the government bandwagon. (The Socialists made a show of listening to the union leaders but carefully avoid discussion of any unpopular measures.)

Union Hacks Dance to Bosses’ Tune

Different union leaders were assigned the role of “officially” putting forward Socialist proposals, especially increasing the CSG tax as the “only acceptable way to go.” In payment, they’ll get two carrots: Union officials will be paid to sit on the newly created General Commissariat for Forecasting, and union officials who are government employees will get a civil service promotion when they retire from union activity.

The whole capitalist election circus has enabled French bosses to continue to impose their policies. Indeed, with their “popular mandate” and the support of the union hacks, the “lesser-evil” Socialists can push through austerity measures even more severe than the worn-out Sarkozy government could ever have done.

Austerity policies and tax hikes are inevitable under capitalism, which staggers from one crisis of over-production to another. For workers, communist revolution is the only road to a decent life.

Once again, U.S. President Obama has made an empty promise to undocumented workers and their families. It can prove to be a dangerous, vicious trap. As CHALLENGE reported, Obama took an “executive action,” declaring that certain undocumented immigrants will be given “deferred action” status for two years. In order to qualify, the person has to be 30 years old or younger; have been brought here before age 16 by an undocumented parent; have lived in the U.S. for more than 5 years; and graduated from high school or gotten a GED or been in the military.  Also, qualification depends on not having any conviction greater than an “insignificant” misdemeanor.  All applicants will be fingerprinted and subject to FBI checks.

If approved, a driver’s license and work will be permitted, but that’s all. Obama made it clear that this program will not lead to anyone getting a green card or citizen status. At the end of two years, one will have to reapply.  There will be no process for appeal if the local immigration officer denies the application.

What Obama didn’t say when he announced his plan is that because this is an “executive action,” he can change his mind at any time and just take it away, as can any future president.  Within days of Obama’s announcement, Congressman Quayle of Arizona already introduced legislation to block this program.

The viciousness of Obama’s racist program is that it holds a very tempting carrot out to young people who are desperately trying to survive. But that carrot is rotten, for it exposes that young person and their family members to the trap of unwittingly being caught for deportation. A young person registering for the program will have to disclose his or her address. Any undocumented family members living there will have no protections, and can be swept up immediately for deportation. In addition, if the program is ended at any point, the government will have the names and addresses of all of these people who are “illegal” once again.  This is the very trap that awaited Haitian immigrants who were eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) after Haiti’s earthquake. Mindful of this, few of them signed up for that program.    

The other viciousness lies in the fact that right now this program is just an announcement. There is no policy, no regulations, no forms to be filled out, no training for how to carry it out.  This too, happened once before with Obama and the consequences have been dramatic.  

Last year, racist Obama announced a new policy — the government would only deport people who had prior deportation orders or who had committed crimes.  Many people, immigration lawyers included, got very excited. Yet, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is still deporting people who have no prior deportation orders or criminal convictions. 

When challenged, ICE said (1) they were still going by the old policy as they had not yet, even nine months after the policy was announced, been given direction as to how to implement it; and (2) they considered that anyone who was here without documentation was committing a crime! It is clear that Obama is willing to make grand, idle, vicious promises to people, knowing that they will not be carried out and will pose a great danger to anyone who trusts his announcements. Overmore, it is a victim-approved fascist trap for undocumented workers. 

The reality is that the ruling class is desperate for young people to serve as bodies for their imperialist wars. Colonel Margaret Stock, an immigration attorney who served at West Point, said that the military is eager for the Dream Act because immigrant children are perfect soldiers. They are compliant with orders, don’t complain and don’t cause trouble.

Imperialist warmonger Obama is doing Colonel Stock one better.  He has announced a trap that will both steer young immigrants into the military (because even if they are able to get protection under his program, most won’t be able to find jobs), and get names and addresses of their undocumented families who he and future presidents can round up and deport.

A system that can’t provide for the well-being of all does not deserve to exist. We must continue our fight for communist revolution, for only then will people not be categorized as “legal” and “illegal.”  Only then will workers be guaranteed work to live their lives as truly productive, creative human beings. Smash all borders, Workers of the World Unite!

NEW YORK CITY, NY, July 18 — “While profits soar, Con Ed takes the food out of our children’s mouths!“ read the sign of one UWUA (Utility Workers’ Union of America) Local 1-2 worker, locked out by the Consolidated Edison utility company. The bosses will continue to steal food from our families until workers bring forth a communist society, where we all get what we need. 

Con Ed locked out their 8,500 workers and is using 5,000 managers as scabs.Con Ed had engineers teach contractors how to do the work two months before the lockout. 

Workers Must Fight Back Against Scabs, Cops, Bosses

At the Rye, NY location, workers have physically stopped scab trucks from entering. Con Ed filed an injunction to prevent no more than four workers picketing at any single location and at a certain distance from the location.

Teamsters’ drivers, who make truck deliveries to Con Ed, have refused to cross picket lines with four or more workers. On Sunday night, the workers stopped a delivery of an electrical transformer in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. This could lead to blackouts. There is no capital work going on; workers in Bensonhurst are still preventing the delivery of emergency generators. 

The union made a call for all workers who were pregnant, on dialysis, on chemo or other such conditions to come out to Union Square in Manhattan. The next day, Con Ed gave back healthcare they took away two days into the lockout.

Unite Against Racist Cuts

PLP has been on the picket lines everyday since the lockout. In one picket location, several workers didn’t want an anti-racist sign posted up on the police barricades and complained that the lockout had nothing to do with racism. A PL’er, the spouse of one of the workers, argued that the cuts Con Ed demanded were in fact racist since the greatest cuts came when the workforce became more black and Latino. The Con Ed workers weren’t convinced and the comrade asked if the new workers don’t deserve the same benefits as the traditionally Italian workers that dominated the workforce in decades past. Ashamed, the workers who opposed to the anti-racist sign allowed the PL’er to put it up. We still struggle with our friends to agree that these attacks are racist.

Many workers on the picket lines are convinced that following the rules and abiding by law is the right thing to do. When a PL’er said cops keep the workers out and scabs in, one worker insisted that the cops are only doing their jobs. When days later cops harassed workers about having a barbeque grill and sitting in the shade instead of being in the sun, the union stewards asked workers to oblige. But one worker protested, saying, “We didn’t win pensions by following the law. Workers didn’t get benefits by following the law. We had to fight for it.” The bosses own the courts and kkkops. Relying on worker’s power is our only winning strategy.

Gutting the Union

Con Ed is making record profits but they presented a contract to break the union: no guaranteed pension, lower wages and paying more for health benefits. Current employees would pay for their retirement by selling out new members who, after 30 years of service, will get a measly $800 monthly retirement benefit. Local 1-2 said no to this offer. Con Ed said the union needed to give two weeks notice if they wanted to strike. Local 1-2 said no. 

When the ruling class can gut the pensions of some workers, all workers suffer. But this struggle is about more than just pay and benefits. It is a struggle for power.

Under capitalism the bosses have all the money and control the courts, cops and contracts. Capitalist competition forces bosses to get richer or go under. Ultimately, even if we “win” this contract fight, the bosses will attack us again, whether it’s the current Con Ed CEO Burke or some other capitalist exploiter. But the bosses can’t replace our labor! Workers can run the world without bosses but realign the bosses cannot live or get rich without us.

By fighting for more militancy, building a movement to destroy capitalism and develop workers power — communism — we can move forward, no matter what the outcome of this contract struggle. 

The Only Long-Term Winning Strategy for Workers is Communism 

The union has two sayings: “When we go out, the lights go out” and “Whatever it takes.” It’s the rank-and-file workers who will really show NY what these phrases mean by physically confronting management and scabs. 

Ultimately, only communism can really be a future for the working class. By eliminating the profit motive, we would be able to improve crucial infrastructure, clean utilities (water, gas, electric) and make sure the only lights that go out are on the bosses.