Pace of capitalist crises increases as banks collapse
New York Times, 5/5–A cluster of regional banks scrambled on Thursday to convince the public of their financial soundness, even as their stock prices plunged and investors took bets on which might be the next to fall. The tumult brought questions about the future of the lenders to the fore, suggesting a new phase in the crisis that began two months ago with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, and was punctuated on Monday by the seizure and sale of First Republic Bank…The trading was a reminder that the crisis may yet continue, belying predictions that the situation would be calmer after JPMorgan Chase came to an agreement with government officials to acquire the ailing First Republic. Regulators agreed to assume billions of dollars of potential losses lurking on First Republic’s books, and JPMorgan’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, declared immediately after the acquisition that “this part of the crisis is over.”
India’s bosses use old recipe of tribal violence to control workers
Al Jazeera, 5/7–At least 54 people have reportedly been killed and some 23,000 people displaced, most of them sheltering in army camps, in ethnic violence in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, according to military officials. On Sunday, the army said it had “significantly enhanced” its surveillance in violence-affected areas, including the Imphal Valley, through aerial means such as drones and the deployment of military helicopters.
The unrest in Manipur state erupted on Wednesday after a protest march organized by the Kuki tribal group sparked clashes with the Meitei non-tribal group, resulting in widespread damage to vehicles and properties. Authorities on Thursday issued “shoot-at-sight” orders and called military reinforcement to quell the violence that opened a new faultline in the state with a checkered history of ethnic violence. Internet connection was cut off after violence broke out on Wednesday and a curfew was imposed in nine out of the 16 districts.
The Meiteis…Hindu community, which is based in the state’s capital city of Imphal, forms more than 50 percent of the state’s population of 3.5 million, as per India’s last census in 2011. The Naga and Kuki tribes…two mostly Christian tribes form around 40 percent of the state’s population, and enjoy “Scheduled Tribe” status, which gives them land-owning rights in the hills and forests.
U.S. control of Guyana expands as oil profits flow
Reuters, 4/27–Exxon Mobil Corp and its partners have approved a $12.7 billion investment for their fifth and most expensive offshore oil project in Guyana, the U.S. firm said in a statement. The project called Uaru will produce up to 250,000 barrels of oil and gas per day…The decision coincides with Exxon considering whether to expand its holdings in Guyana through an auction of oil blocks set for July. Exxon and partners Hess Corp and CNOOC Ltd control all production in the South American nation, which according to consultancy Rystad Energy is set to leapfrog the United States next decade as one of the world’s largest offshore producers. “Our Guyana investments and unrivaled development success continue to contribute to secure, reliable global energy supplies,” said Liam Mallon, president of Exxon’s oil and gas producing business.
Cuban rulers rule out May Day march - again
BBC, 4/30–Every year hundreds of thousands of people are bussed in from across the island to fill Havana’s Revolution Square on International Workers’ Day. It is the first time since the 1959 revolution that the celebrations have been cancelled for economic reasons. In recent weeks long queues have formed at petrol stations, with drivers often waiting for days. Cuban authorities have traditionally mobilised huge resources to ensure the success of the May Day parade, transporting workers en masse to Havana. Before this year, the event had only ever been cancelled in 2020 and 2021, because of the Covid pandemic.
My first May Day: ‘I was in the right place’
This past Saturday I marched in my first May Day parade, arriving to shouts of “rain or shine baby, rain or shine!” It was incredible to move down Flatbush Avenue as a unit in our red ponchos shouting “who are we? PLP!” I joined the Progressive Labor Party this past August, after seven years of working alongside and learning from Party members in countless struggles with the NYC Department of Education. Throughout those struggles we got some wins, but I came to realize, first, that under capitalism our wins could only be temporary, and second, that the working class was fully capable of running things themselves. Listening to the Kingsborough students describe their fight back against their racist administration reinforced my belief that I was in the right place. Today I read a quote from a worker who was protesting the tragic murder of Jordan Neely in the NYC subway–a predictable tragedy under a system that casts people struggling with mental illness to the streets to fend for themselves. When asked why he was protesting the worker responded “I kind of felt hopeless. I just wanted to be in community with other people and not feel so helpless.” For me, the community that can make the change we need is PLP.
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Rutger striker: ‘incredibly powerful’
This was my first May Day celebration! Despite the inclement weather, the spirits were high and I loved getting to meet a legion of new comrades. After a long and tough year, it felt great to celebrate the wins and remember those we have lost. This year was full of firsts for me, my first year working “full-time” as a “part-time” worker, my first strike, and my first full-time union job offer (with real benefits)!
Worker power is stronger than ever, and the number of unions, strikes, and community organizing keeps growing across the United States. Taking a moment to remember that we are all in this fight together is
what May Day is all about.
Even in the rain, the feeling of solidarity was pulsing through the crowd. It was incredibly powerful to hear from fellow workers fighting for justice and equality throughout the country and the world. Our experiences of oppression and injustice in a global capitalist system may be different, but our chains are linked, and we can only lift the hammer of revolution to free ourselves through solidarity.
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By Langston Hughes (1938)
‘Chant for May Day’
by Langston Hughes (1938)
To be read by a Workman with, for background, the rhythmic waves of rising and re-rising Mass Voices, multiplying like the roar of the sea. WORKER :
The first of May:
When the flowers break through the earth,
When the sap rises in the trees.
When the birds come back from the South.
Workers:
Be like the flowers, 10 VOICES :
Bloom in the strength of your unknown power, 20 VOICES :
Grow out of the passive earth, 40 VOICES :
Grow strong with Union,
All hands together—
To beautify this hour, this spring,
And all the springs to come 50 VOICES :
Forever for the workers! WORKER :
Workers: 10 VOICES :
Be like the sap rising in the trees, 20 VOICES :
Strengthening each branch, 40 VOICES :
No part neglected— 50 VOICES :
Reaching all the world. WORKER :
All workers: 10 VOICES :
White workers, 10 OTHERS :
Black workers, 10 OTHERS :
Yellow workers, 10 OTHERS :
Workers in the islands of the sea— 50 VOICES
Life is everywhere for you, WORKER :
When the sap of your own strength rises 50 VOICES :
Life is everywhere. 10 VOICES :
May Day! 20 VOICES :
May Day! 40 VOICES :
May Day! 50 VOICES :
When the earth is new, WORKER :
Proletarians of all the world: 20 VOICES :
Arise, 40 VOICES :
Grow strong, 60 VOICES :
Take Power, 80 VOICES :
Till the forces of
the earth are yours 100 VOICES :
From this hour
BAY AREA, May 6—Today, Progressive Labor Party held a BBQ-social to share May Day history, solidarity, and struggle with our comrades and friends. On May 1, PLP members and friends joined an Immigrant Rights’ May Day March in San Francisco with our Red Flags flying high. There were about 400 participants, immigrants, families and supporters from many countries. We marched with the TPS (Temporary Protected Status) contingent demanding a path to permanent residency, adding our class-oriented chants to the march. We continue to focus on the international working class as the power that can challenge capitalism in the U.S. and Imperialism around the world.
NEW YORK CITY--Several comrades attended a May Day rally and march on May 1 sponsored by the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), Teamsters and other unions and community organizations. About 800 workers marched from Washington Square Park to Foley Square in NYC. We distributed 300 CHALLENGE/Desafio newspapers to workers who enthusiastically received it, many of whom already know the paper from PLP’s long term work in community organizations.
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MAY DAY ... ‘For a communist state from the river to the sea’
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- 11 May 2023 115 hits
I send you revolutionary greetings from Israel-Palestine, on the forefront of the struggle against fascism. Here, the bosses' dogfight over state power and profits led to the rise of an openly fascist government. This administration makes no liberal pretense and viciously attacks the working class, especially women, workers from Palestine, and refugees.
The old, liberal wing of the ruling class opposes this, fearing that the end of the liberal charade will destabilize the regime and endanger their ties with the international business class, which also prefers to wear the liberal mask.
Meanwhile, the newer, less well-established wing of Israel's bourgeoisie welcomes the new regime, hoping that it will rob the older part of the ruling class and distribute the spoils among the newer wing.This led to mass protests of hundreds of thousands of people, mostly staunchly nationalist (Zionist) in character. We, as communists, participate in the Block against the Occupation, reminding the "patriotic" protesters of "The Elephant in the Room" they would otherwise gladly ignore, namely colonialism.
This May Day, we participate in marches in Nazareth and Jaffa against the regime, against fascism, and for one communist state from the River to the Sea, with equality and freedom for all working class people.March on May Day - smash capitalism and fascism!
