Haiti: State terrorism, aftermath of the 2018 fightbacks
The experiences of 2018, mass demonstrations in the streets by tens, if not, hundreds of thousands of workers against all forms of corruption by the Haitian state and the bourgeoisie, pushed the working class in Haiti to fight for radical change of its living conditions. Now is the time to organize to overthrow the bourgeois state, and its imperialist enablers, and build a society that serves the interests of the working class. Communism.
This struggle has involved the majority of workers from the working-class districts, that is to say the neighborhoods impoverished by the local bourgeoisie, by the imperialist countries and by the restavek (impoverished children taken from their homes in the countryside to toil under slave-like conditions in the homes of the middle-class) Haitian state itself. All these working-class movements for reform are part of the fight against the rulers’ vicious dictatorship and impunity. They are against hunger, unemployment and the increase in the prices of basic necessities.
Workers are demanding an increase of the minimum wage, access to decent education and clean water to drink, and now action against the Covid-19 pandemic. Fearful  of the potential of these workers and students to undermine their rule, the ruling class and their bourgeois state continue to use their police and their armed gangs to terrorize them in an attempt to keep them from occupying the streets. This is why we speak of state terrorism working side-by-side with the bourgeoisie to undermine all popular demands.
The disparity between rich and poor is becoming more and more obvious, unemployment is becoming more and more aggressive, poverty is becoming more and more severe, the life of workers is becoming more and more difficult. In sum, the level of exploitation is becoming more and more glaring and unacceptable. Each morning, workers’ corpses are discovered in the nooks and crannies of their neighborhoods. Tens of thousands are displaced as they flee their homes under gunfire in search of some respite from the violence. The terrorist state and the rapacious bourgeoisie are allowed by their imperialist masters to continue this carnage(see editorial on page 2). And the working class, despite its overwhelming numbers and heroic attempts to fight back, is not sufficiently organized to make these battles their last against capitalism and imperialism. That is the real tragedy for the workers of Haiti.
Some middle-class people have the means to live in the comfortable suburbs or to leave the country. Workers do not have that luxury. They don’t want to give in to their vulnerability—they have shown time and again that they want to fight back! But they don’t want to be used as cannon fodder by different sectors of the “loyal” opposition, those politicians and would-be rulers who want power as a way to line their own pockets. Workers have been hoodwinked by these types too many times in the past. Our liberation will not come on the wings of the bosses’ craven politicians and their bankrupt democratic elections. Only the working class in Haiti armed with revolutionary class politics and an international communist Party, PLP, can free the deadly grip of capital.
The assassination of Jovenel Moise will not change anything for the working class (see editorial, page 2). All the usual players are now vying to take over until (and if) another round of sham elections can be held, supervised as usual by the various imperialist powers. We have only one response to this: “Workers of the world, unite! We have nothing to lose but our chains!”Fight for worker’s power! Fight for Communism!
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Colombia: PL’ers fight social democracy
The current struggles of the working class in Colombia have been relatively successful for the time being, by stopping the economic reforms projected by the bosses’ state. But they also reveal the opportunistic and defeatist character of the trade union leaders and capitalist social democracy.
The workers who took to the streets to protest in large numbers have been abandoned by the strike leadership, who have given into inferior demands and who could never, by their nature, match the revolutionary potential of the masses.
However, the student sector, and “informal” workers, have continued the fight, but lose strength every day due to the lack of a political orientation for the movement. Since the fight is largely fought under a nationalist line and against corruption, it basically amounts to mass participation in demonstrations that keeps the capitalist political class intact.
On the other hand, the demonstrators have been affected by the capitalist stooges, who see an opportunity to “fish in a troubled river,” by using their control over media to discredit and ignore the struggles of the most politically advanced section of workers.
The advancement of the struggle is evidenced in the leadership by the youth, and the identification of the crises of capitalism in general terms. Unfortunately they believe in bourgeois democracy and defend the “homeland” and its bosses, which is why the struggle becomes sterile.
However, the international Progressive Labor Party (PLP) has been present with its newspaper DESAFÍO and the revolutionary line for a communist world, trying to raise awareness among the working class, to take better advantage of these struggles. In the immediate future, it is urgent to consolidate the most revolutionary bloc of workers, resolve the internal class contradictions and advance to give communist leadership under the PLP to lead the working class to rule its own destiny.
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