CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO, April 29—Throughout Northern Mexico workers organized, protested, demanded safety, and refused to continue producing profits for U.S. companies as their class brothers and sisters died. As Covid-19 continues to spread internationally, capitalism has forced bosses to choose between making money and workers’ lives. But in an effort to take back control of their health and safety some of the most super-exploited workers have ignited a wave of protests.
Since sweeping shutdowns were instituted in March stores, factories, and businesses have been closing and either furloughing workers, or where doable ordering work-from-home stipulations. At thousands of Maquiladoras, foreign-owned factories along the Mexican-U.S. border, however, workers continue to churn out electronics, medical supplies, and car parts huddled next to one another with no safety precautions (LATimes 4/20).
As fatal Covid-19 outbreaks began to erupt workers said no to being sacrificed for bosses’ profits. Just this week rallying cries from workers resulted in 14 maquiladoras being shut down for violating health restrictions. “The Labor Ministry closed down the factories in Juarez, Chihuahua City, Cuauhtémoc, and Parral (Border Report 4/21).” And weeks earlier nearly 130 maquiladoras in Tijuana were deemed as “non-essential” and ordered to cease operation (Border Report 4/10).
Maquiladoras were created in 1994 after the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed. And then saw a boom in the 2000s under the administration of Vicente Fox, when the United States and Canada signed a free trade deal called Plan Puebla Panama or PPP [Private Plans for Profit] which created a road of duty-free factories at the border between Mexico and the U.S.
Because finished products are for export-only this road of cheap labor benefits U.S. companies looking for unregulated slave-labor. The Mexican labor department has no jurisdiction over working conditions in these factories leaving already vulnerable and super-exploited workers even more at risk (CorpWatch 9/02). (See letter, page 6)
Although some of the factories have been shut down many are not and workers are forced to continue to be exposed to inhumane conditions: working without the respective sanitary conditions, quarantined with little to no pay. At minimum workers have been given disinfectant gel, gloves, masks, and have their temperatures checked upon arrival. But these bare minimum attempts are all in the name of production not health.
“Mexico has 7,497 confirmed coronavirus cases and 650 deaths, including 138 in states along the northern border. The real numbers are almost certainly much higher, because Mexico has conducted fewer than 50,000 tests, compared with 3.2 million in the U.S. Top health officials have acknowledged there may be more than 56,000 infections (LATimes 4/20).”
The irony of the situation is that many of these maquiladora workers are producing medical equipment that could save their lives, just to see them shipped to the U.S. “Baja California is home to a large number of factories that produce medical supplies — a business deemed essential by Mexican authorities. Several major suppliers in Tijuana have helped make Mexico the top source of medical equipment to the United States (LATimes 4/20).”
Progressive Labor Party (PLP) is fighting for communist revolution and stands with the workers who demanded better working conditions and factory shut-downs until they could be provided. But we also understand that capitalism has left these workers with a double-edged sword, die working or die unemployed.
Workers' lives are paramount and under communism we would ensure that when a pandemic of this nature hits that all workers would be able to safely isolate, without fear of losing shelter, food, and basic human needs. Under capitalism, that is not the case, as we have seen with Covid-19; profits trump workers’ lives anytime.
The reason these companies won’t stop production is because their priority is profit. You can’t stop production in the capitalist system, it has to keep going even if workers’ lives are at risk. The only thing these companies care about is maintaining the means of production in the name of profit by any means necessary.
But under a communist society, run by an international working class we will protect and fight for each other’s safety and health. Join PLP!

HAITI, April 28—In a small town, the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) is actively organizing among workers  to do what the local government is unable or unwilling to do in order to protect ourselves from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic that is hitting the working class . It is a good example of how we would rely on workers under communism to share both abundance and privation. Of course, we are in the stage of sharing privation now because we live under the most racist, exploitative system the world has ever seen. This is how we are responding to the crisis.
We are creating groups in various neighborhoods to discuss and plan actions that respond to the needs of the local working class, in view of their strengths and weaknesses. With these neighborhood groups, our plan is to realize the following:
·Sew fabric masks with tailors and home sewers to be distributed locally.
·Set up hand-washing stations in various well-trafficked areas, to be financed through donations.
·Organize surveillance brigades at the entrance to neighborhoods who will be armed with information about how to protect ourselves from the virus.
·Organize a public awareness campaign about the existence and risks associated with coronavirus (so many people are not aware, and the rumor mill is in full operation!)
· In areas where there is medical personnel, we will work with them.
· Work with the local population to set up food banks in the most hard-hit areas.
· Set up a medical bank with vitamins, etc. to help those most in need of a nutritional boost.
·Organize regular cleaning of public markets and other spaces susceptible to contamination.  
At the moment, there are two neighborhoods in town and two rural communities that are involved. With donations from many individuals and one community organization, there are now 15 public hand-washing stations stocked with soap and disinfectant.
There will be a May Day march on May 1 in Port-au-Prince calling for better working conditions, treatment centers for and protection from coronavirus, lower prices for food and gasoline. We are trying to organize a sound truck to spread the revolutionary messages and raise the idea that the capitalist conditions led to this coronavirus pandemic. We will also call for communist revolution as the only solution.
The day before, there will be a sit-in at the General Hospital (only public hospital in the capital serving millions of workers) demanding better working conditions and wages for hospital workers, as well as the above. Onward to May Day!

EAST AFRICA, April 29— Progressive Labor Party (PLP) here blames capitalist government misleaders for the criminal management of the pandemic. They insist that people continue to work, minimizing the danger of the disease while the infections continue on a daily basis. Initially, they closed the schools and universities but, illogically, told people to go to church, and kept the borders and airports open.
In some countries like Tanzania, President John Magafuli called for three days of national prayers to defeat the coronavirus which he described as a very small disease. Since April 22, when he talked with the head of the military, no new updates of cases or deaths have been reported. The government is covering up the numbers of infected and dead and where the disease has spread. Tanzania has only one laboratory in the country and only Arusha and Dar es Salaam have the capacity to test and treat Covid-19 patients. Officials in those cities are burying the victims at night, to maintain the cover up.
 Electoral false hope won’t beat disease
While Covid-19 spreads, the government is actively organizing for the general elections in October. The ruling party is warning people that areas that vote for the opposition will not get development funds. They formed a fake opposition party to fool people into thinking that it will be a free and fair election. The masses are not fooled by this and have been refusing to register to vote.  The working class has been passive in response to the criminal deceit and mismanagement of the pandemic.
Witch doctors are telling people they have a cure, so many people with symptoms are not going to hospitals. We cannot rely on the government or non-scientific witch doctors to keep us safe. Where we live, PLP members are going house to house to educate people about how to protect themselves against the virus, especially the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions. Workers need science, not lies that prey on workers.
In addition, we condemned the racism  in the U.S. and China and want to join with others in doing so. PLP is at the forefront of the fight against capitalism and we express our class solidarity with the workers of the world who are facing this disease because of capitalism’s failure to provide decent healthcare and protect us in health emergencies.

COLOMBIA, April 30—As everywhere else in the world, workers are sufferings amidst the pandemic. Those of us who still have a job do not get any guarantees from the government or the boss, no minimal safety measures or protective equipment. The bosses fire, suspend or lower our wages. Making our already slaving working conditions more precarious.
Crushing unemployment
Workers are facing unemployment. If we don’t have a job, we can’t feed our families, we become isolated from our coworkers. We cannot unite against the bosses’ attacks. Along with these harsh conditions, we are exposed to infection, to sexist and racist attacks and the bosses’ arrogance. The sharpening economic crisis created by the bosses push for war. This has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic (see page 2). These conditions are the reality for millions of workers around the world. Unemployment and hunger have increase worldwide. While small businesses fire their workforce, big businesses are doing it too, even with their millions in profits. In the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Haiti, and worldwide, millions of workers have been laid off, many are confined to their homes, some are dying without healthcare or money for food.
Long-brewing crisis
Since 1970 we have seen the sharpening of the bosses’ attacks and working conditions. Since then, we have seen the politicians, judges, and bosses’ treachery and theft, under the umbrella of their fascist laws that deny social services, wage raises and pensions. Laws that give us sanctions, fines, firings, and the reduction of salaries, as if the salary we get was enough to cover our basic necessities.
To sum up, the contradictions arising from the pandemic deepens the crisis of the capitalist system, not only the savage capitalism, as the liberals and opportunist want us to believe.  Throughout history, capitalism has never been able to give the working-class stability; it has only given us disasters, death, hunger, unemployment, and misery.  There can be no good capitalism, nor good bosses, they take our labor, because it is the only thing we have to sell.
The victories from past struggles are taken away. Every time capitalism is in crisis, like today, it is the workers who pay the price. That is why PLP is saying that our class can’t keep trying to reform this murderous system of profit. Only a communist revolution can destroy it once and for all.
Danger and opportunity
In Colombia, some cities, towns, groups of women, men, and children of the working class, students, farm workers, indigenous workers, construction workers, health and transportation workers are in a constant struggle, sometimes still isolated and dispersed. They protest, strike, block, and ransack cars and supermarkets. In the face of uncertainty, hunger, and the assassination of social leaders, they are angry, justifiably so.  They see the corruption, the decay of all these ruling-class institutions.
Yet in these hard conditions of the period are opportunities to organize and end the dark night of capitalism. PLP is calling for unity of the international working class, our newspaper CHALLENGE, and to all communists, friend, readers, and members, to keep on fighting, do not get demoralized by the brutal attacks of the bosses or the apparent depoliticization of the masses. Our job is to create a revolutionary communist movement.
The working class produces everything of value that exists in our society, we have to organize as a revolutionary party to enjoy the fruits of our labor, no more misery or crumbs from the bosses.  We must end the dictatorship of the bosses, which will continue to oppress us until an organized working class with our revolutionary Party violently destroy the capitalists and their racist wage slavery. We will build a new society where we will share everything we produce, collectively, to satisfy our own needs.