Make May Day U.S. Hands Off Venezuela Day

The workers’ struggle has no borders

In the midst of the many important workers’ struggles we are waging, it is critical that May Day participants raise the banner of “U.S. Hands Off Venezuela” and demand an end to Washington’s war on the Venezuelan people.

The danger of war is greater than ever! U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has told the United Nations Security Council that “all options are on the table,” which means not only sanctions, which are a form of war, but invasion, proxy or otherwise.

A defeat for Venezuela would be a serious blow for workers’ struggles inside the U.S. and around the world. Make no mistake, if the imperialists succeed at dismembering the gains of the Bolivarian revolution, it will strengthen the billionaires who are robbing us right here at home. It will have a negative impact on the Cuban revolution and on all progressive people around the world.

We cannot forget the example that Venezuela has set for workers everywhere. (See the centerfold on the facts about Venezuela.) What is the real crime of the Bolivarian revolution? First and foremost, it is using their oil wealth to benefit the poor and, equally important, they are fighting for “workers’ power.”

Workers’ power! Is that not what workers need and deserve, from the courageous striking teachers across the country who shattered any illusion of teachers being treated with respect, to the striking Stop & Shop supermarket workers, to the brave prisoners who went on strike showing that prisoners are workers too, to the Somali Amazon workers in Minneapolis and the community activists in New York City who pushed back billionaire Jeff Bezos.

End capitalism, fight for socialism

It is no secret to millions of workers around the globe — including right here in the U.S., particularly young people and especially those who have been subjected to imperialist wars and destruction, from Palestine to the Philippines — that capitalism is a dead-end system.Youth globally are protesting the fact that this profit-driven system is on the brink of literally destroying the planet, while migrants at the border are enduring the worst possible repression.

Trump is capitalism’s ugly face. While white supremacy, hatred for migrants and immigrants, bigotry against LGBTQ2S people, sexism and misogyny are not new, it is undeniable that the division and violence being whipped up are a greater threat than ever.

Capitalism won’t deliver decent paying jobs, health care or education. It won’t limit its profits so the vast majority of the world’s people have dignity and a decent life.

As the world economy becomes more complex, it becomes ever clearer that humanity must plan production to preserve jobs, food and housing, and to put an end to the ravages of climate change.

But overall planning is impossible under capitalism. Production is geared to making profits, and every other consideration is sacrificed to this underlying motive. Also, capitalist rivalries and the need for markets inevitably lead to war, which is the greatest destroyer and threatens the very foundations of life on this planet.

Socialism is an economic system that puts human needs and cooperation before profits, a system where workers can build genuine solidarity and work together to solve the problems we face daily.

Trump declared a war on socialism with his remarks that “the United States will never become a socialist country” during his State of the Union speech. This will likely be a theme in the upcoming 2020 elections. It is a challenge that we should not shy away from: capitalism and imperialism is the system of the bosses, bankers and ruling elite. Socialism is the system of the workers, the poor, the youth and all who are oppressed. Let’s fight for socialism!


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