When Egypt’s working class joined the Arab Spring rebellion last year, it shook up the country’s ruling class. Workers in transportation, textiles, and the cement industry, along with those operating the Suez Canal, struck for a living wage and jobs for youth. It was only then that the rulers were forced to pay attention to the rebellion, which helped lead to dictator Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. But there was no revolution, because capitalism remained. Political power remained in the hands of the same bosses, in this case the group of generals who also held enormous economic power.
Unfortunately, the uprising lacked communist working-class politics. Consequently, as CHALLENGE said at the time, workers in Egypt would face continued oppression from either Mubarak’s pro-U.S. military or the al Qaeda-linked Muslim Brotherhood. That is exactly what happened. Today, after an indecisive Egyptian election, we see the generals and Islamists struggling for power. Neither side represents workers. Just as in Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney, electoral politics is proving a lethal distraction for our class.
Under capitalism, the bosses as a class control the state apparatus in every country worldwide. When the workers rise in class struggle against the rulers, the latter feel threatened and champion the fraud of reform. But capitalism cannot be reformed. The bosses will never give up their power peacefully. Egypt’s Arab Spring proves this, yet again.
Egypt’s Internal Dogfight: Free Market vs. State Capitalism
Muslim Brother Mohamed Morsi’s dubious “victory” over Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) reflects an enduring bosses’ dogfight. As the Egypt Independent (EI) reported on February 15:
The military trial of Brotherhood members in 2006 to 2007 was only the result of underlying competition between two groups that controlled capital in Egypt, namely between Gamal’s group [Mubarak’s son] and the Brotherhood. All of those who stood trial were leading businessmen in the Brotherhood, the most important of whom was Khairat al-Shater. Consequently, more than 70 companies owned by the Brotherhood were shut down.
The primary split in Egypt is between the religious bosses of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party’s (FJP) and the generals who favor state control of the economy. Multi-millionaire Khairat al-Shater, Morsi’s top bankroller, owns a string of high-end furniture and carpet shops. The FJP’s platform reads in part, “Economic activity is to be conducted in conformance with Islamic market mechanisms, which depend on fair competition...without manipulation or monopoly.... The state will have a decentralized role” (EI, 2/15/12). This free-market outlook has put the Muslim Brotherhood in the crosshairs of Mubarak’s generals, who view the state apparatus as their personal ATM and attack the millionaire Muslims.
Generals Are the Victors
The fight goes on. Morsi, Egypt’s first “democratically elected” president, is more a figurehead in a government where the military still pulls the main strings. The SCAF dissolved parliament before the elections and claims the right to fill key cabinet posts, including defense and treasury. “Egypt’s leading generals ...have emerged as the election’s actual victors because they are poised to remain in charge of the country for the foreseeable future” (New York Times, 6/30/12). So stated Joshua Stacher, a Kent State professor, who knows a thing or two about the bosses’ violent military suppression of dissent. [The U.S. National Guard killed four anti-Vietnam War protesters at Kent State in 1970.]
Egypt’s geopolitical significance makes its foreign relations crucial in the sharpening global rivalry among imperialists. U.S. rulers depend on Egypt’s compliance to get continued access to the Suez Canal, the passageway for vast amounts of oil and other critical resources. They also need Egypt to reaffirm its commitment to peace with Israel and to refrain from spreading Arab spring unrest into strategic Bahrain or oil-rich Saudi Arabia. To guarantee these imperatives, the U.S. is contributing $1.3 billion in annual aid to Cairo’s shaky new military/Islamic regime. The U.S. capitalists cannot feel entirely comfortable, however, with Morsi’s election and what it might imply for Egypt’s future. “[T]he rise to power of the Brotherhood in the Arab world’s most populous nation would unnerve Gulf Arab monarchies which have managed to avoid being swept away by an Arab Spring that has also toppled leaders in Tunis, Libya and Yemen” (Reuters, 6/18/12).
But so far so good for U.S. rulers, at least for now. In his inauguration speeches, Morsi vowed to abide by international agreements regarding the Suez Canal and Israel and declared that Egyptians “do not export revolution.” Morsi also supports the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad, Iran’s and Russia’s anti-U.S. stooge.
Anthony Cordesman, who leads military strategizing at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top U.S. ruling-class think tank, said: “In the near term, it seems unlikely that the election will have a major impact on U.S. and Egyptian relations; the Egyptian military remains too strong, there is no legislature, and the new Muslim Brotherhood president will concentrate on domestic issues” (Associated Press, 6/24/12). However, Cordesman added, “The midterm is far more uncertain and the long term is totally unpredictable.”
Washington Fears A Cairo-Teheran Alliance
Bearing out such unpredictability, Iran’s Fars news agency quoted Morsi as saying that a closer relationship with Tehran would create a “strategic balance” in the region, according to Voice of America (6/25/12). And the Brotherhood’s al Qaeda ties remain problematic. Mohamed Atta, ringleader of the 9/11 massacre, hailed from Egypt. Jonathan Evans, head of Britain’s MI5 (the British FBI), noted that “would-be jihadis are known to be receiving training in the likes of Libya and Egypt, mirroring what has already happened in Yemen and Somalia” (London Telegraph, 6/25/12). As Afghan workers know only too well, U.S. rulers and their allies consider any nation harboring al Qaeda to be fair game for full-scale invasion.
The anti-worker dogfight between two groups of capitalists in Egypt is what happens when communists are not in the leadership of a political movement. A rebellion quickly deteriorates into just another settlement between two opposing factions of bosses. State power never changes hands. Regardless of which faction wins, exploitation of the working class continues.
It is only when communists lead a working-class uprising, with the goal of smashing the state power of the capitalist ruling class, that true revolution occurs. This is why Progressive Labor Party enters and leads class struggle: to win workers to see that only by destroying the bosses’ state power, profits, and exploitation can a workers’ society be born. That is the task of PL’ers in all the bosses’ mass organizations. Building PLP in the class struggle is the only road to true victory for the working class.
JOHNSTOWN, PA. July 2 — Last week, two white Johnstown KKKops opened fire on a group of unarmed black men, killing one, Rasheed Simms, and seriously wounding another, Lontell King. Though these mad dog cops had no real reason for murdering and wounding these black men, they were placed on paid leave until a so-called investigation could determine if they acted with excessive force — as though killing a guy could be labeled anything else.
The people did not take this lying down. While the local media is attempting to sweep this murder under the rug, on June 30 there was a militant anti-racist, multi-racial protest against the actions of these Killer Kops, calling for justice for the two victims. The wounded man was at the protest and showed his wound to the local news station. One young black man stated that the whole incident was caused by racism and most agreed with him.
Racism is no stranger to this city. It’s been reported that the local Klan has nine Klaverns in the Johnstown area. However, anti-racism is no stranger either. Some years ago, when the local Klan attempted to hold a rally in Johnstown’s Central Park, they were driven from the park by a group of multi-racial protestors.
Johnstown is not a large city but due to the closing of most steel mills, there aren’t many decent-paying jobs. The black community has been especially hard hit. The unemployment rate for black youth is quite high, and the police force is clearly racist.
Two CHALLENGE readers at the rally made the point that incidents like this were the product of growing U.S. fascism. Of course, the killing of black and Latino men by the cops takes place throughout this capitalist-imperialist society. This is all part and parcel of life in the capitalist U.S. It will take a communist revolution led by the PLP to put an end to racism and this sort of racist murder.
BRONX, NY — The family of Ramarley Graham and the working-class community here continue to fight the racist NYPD over the execution of this young man on February 2nd, 2012. The KKKop, Richard Haste, has been indicted on a ridiculous 2nd degree manslaughter charge. The trial is set to begin on September 13th. The last of the weekly vigils for Ramarley will take place on July 19th and all workers and students are encouraged to attend. (The vigils take place at 6:00 PM on East 229th street between White Plains and Barnes, in the Bronx.)
One of the chants that rings out during our weekly vigils and marches is “No Justice, No Peace, No Racist Police!” This chant reflects the incredible anger and vigilance in the community over this racist murder. At the same time, it reflects the optimism that many have that “justice” will be served. As we have rooted ourselves deep in the struggle here, PLP members have probed the notion of “justice” that the community yearns for.
The sad, racist history suggests that the killer Haste will go free. The courts and “justice” system do not stand apart from the cops in their role as protectors of the capitalist system. They both exist to maintain the racism and exploitation that capitalism demands. After all, the courts have been a stopping-point for millions of young black and Latino youth on their way to prison, victims of the racist War on Drugs. (For more information, see Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow).
Most brutal, racist cops are never made to pay a price for their actions. In White Plains, NY, the cops who murdered a 68-year-old retired black Marine, Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., were not even indicted. Even when indictments are handed down, cops are usually acquitted. The community knows this history and has been cautious about raising hopes for a conviction.
PL’ers have been asking this question: Even if Haste is somehow amazingly convicted, will this be “justice?” Will the 47th precinct (where Haste was stationed) close up and stop its notoriously racist practices? Will racist police brutality be a thing of the past? Will cops stop murdering black and Latino youth? Police brutality is the sharp edge of a racist capitalist system. Will racist education, health care and unemployment vanish?
Of course the answer is NO, and although a conviction would be cheered, the courts will never grant the justice that the working class needs. True justice for Ramarley Graham, Shantel Davis, Tamon Robinson, Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr. and all the victims of racist police will come when the remains of the capitalist system and racism lie smoldering in the dust of communist revolution.
BROOKLYN, NY, June 30 — Thirty marchers took to busy streets of Church Avenue today, chanting “Racist kkkops means you gotta fight back!” and “NYPD, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!” This was the third week PL’ers joined with family, friends and neighbors of Shantel Davis in angry protest against the June 14 racist murder of this young woman by an undercover NYPD detective. “Wanted” posters made from the front cover of CHALLENGE (7 /5) were held high throughout the march. When PL’ers brought them to the corner they were grabbed up quickly. Promises were made to bring many more next Saturday. Marchers also eagerly took CHALLENGES, and many came back for more to make sure their friends got them.
Previous marches to the local kkkop precinct travelled along quiet streets with few bystanders along the way. But this time the march along Church Avenue, a very busy commercial street, was greeted by workers in stores and people on the sidewalks joining in our chants and raising fists in the air in solidarity with the marchers. As we approached the precinct, we marched strong into the street, ignoring the kkkops’ attempt to push us into a barricaded pen.
Speeches from local politicians and church leaders asked only for an apology and recognition from NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly. But PLP was there to make it clear that it’s not just a few bad kkkops, that the problem is capitalism and that only fighting for communism can end racist police murder and a system that doesn’t provide jobs or education for the working class. People in the community see the connections between various attacks on the working class, notably to the demonstration held earlier this week at the nearby Downstate Hospital, facing cutbacks and layoffs. One friend of the Davis family, when talking with a PL’er, realized that if the “brotherhood” of kkkops is always protecting each other and covering for murder after murder, then “something much bigger has to change.” PLP will continue to participate in this fight against police attacks on the working class.
On Saturday, July 7, those who have been fighting against the Bronx police murder of Ramarley Graham will be joining the march in Flatbush. Join us.
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Fight Bloodsucking Hospital Bosses’, Governor’s Mass Cuts
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- 03 July 2012 666 hits
BROOKLYN, June 28 — “This is my hospital! They can’t close it!” a patient declared to hundreds of picketing SUNY Downstate Medical Center workers. Workers flooded out of the hospital to join patients and community people for a lunchtime rally against threatened massive layoffs and the possible closing of this central Brooklyn hospital.
Speakers addressed the racist nature of these cuts in a mostly black community where people already lack access to care, and spoke of the damage that the layoffs would do to the community’s economic health. It’s no coincidence that the cops’ racist murder on June 14 of 23-year-old Shantel Davis occurred only blocks from here. Inadequate health care, massive unemployment, and police killings all reflect the capitalists’ racist outlook that the lives of black and Latino workers have little or no value.
The Downstate rally was organized by Occupy Wall Street’s Healthcare for the 99%, the First Unitarian Church and workers from three unions inside the hospital: United University Professions (UUP), Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), and Public Employees Federation (PEF). These workers mobilized friends and coworkers to get the word out. The three unions’ leaders refused to endorse the rally, but all showed up when it was clear that many workers would be there. These misleaders defend the system and work to contain workers’ anger. They refuse to mobilize mass action.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to use Brooklyn as a guinea pig to show his bosses in the finance and insurance industries that he can strip healthcare to the bone while shedding workers from the state payroll. One proposal on the table is to move all inpatient care to downtown Brooklyn’s Long Island College Hospital (LICH), an institution that has been driven into the ground by its wealthy and powerful Manhattan parent network, Continuum Health Partners. After LICH was acquired by Downstate at fire sale prices in 2010, its workers came under control of a newly created private entity. If Cuomo can prove to the big bosses that he can successfully force these cuts on workers, it could boost his possible bid for the U.S. presidency in 2016.
According to one disturbing idea pushed by state politicians and union officials like Phil Smith, UUP’s president, the way to save Downstate is to close LICH. Under capitalism, hospitals are moneymaking entities that compete with each other for insurance dollars. In the face of continual state funding cuts, the heads of various other Brooklyn hospitals would certainly like to see Downstate fold, and to have workers and patients fight with each other. But advocating that workers and patients of other hospitals be left out in the cold is a losing strategy! All hospital workers and patients must unite against all the hospital bosses and their bought-and-paid-for politicians.
Some workers who helped organize the Downstate action were disappointed by the worker turnout. Even so, this was possibly the largest action at Downstate in recent history. It also had the most inter-union, multiracial, and worker-patient-community unity.
Speakers from Progressive Labor Party tied the fight against school cutbacks, racist police murders, and imperialist wars to the struggle at Downstate. They pointed out that while we must fight each attack against us, our victories will be small and temporary as long as the capitalist ruling class controls the media, the government and the purse strings. Become a regular reader of CHALLENGE to learn how we are aiming to win the ultimate fight against these bloodsuckers!
