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Activists Participate in International Labor Solidarity Conference
By Jennifer
Monett
From December 10 to 12, 2004, more than
160 labor and Cuba solidarity activists met in Tijuana, Mexico to
participate in a 3-day U.S.-Cuba-Mexico labor solidarity conference. The
conference was organized by the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange and
co-sponsored by Latino Movement USA, A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition, and
International Action Center.
Trade unionists and activists from the U.S., Mexico and Venezuela, along
with leaders of the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC), converged to
discuss diplomatic relations, trade policy, and immigration issues
between the countries of the Americas and the Caribbean.
Among the Cuban delegation were Lionel González González, Director of
Foreign Relations of the CTC; Manuel Montero Bistilleiro, Director of
Americas Dept of Foreign Relations of the CTC; and María Del Carmen,
Chief of Dept of Education, Communication and Culture of the CTC. Edison
Earl Brown of the CTC staff, was official translator.
On the first night of the conference, guests attended a reception with
elected union officials and Cuban leaders. The next morning, the plenary
sessions began. Ignacio Meneses, leader of the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange,
opened the conference with a message of international solidarity for all
workers struggling against imperialism.
Next, Manuel Montero gave a history of U.S./Cuba relations, focusing on
the historic strategy of the U.S. to annex and control Cuba as first
articulated by John Quincy Adams. He continued with a full discussion on
the blockade, and more recent legislation against Cuba, such as the
Torricelli Act (1992) and the Helms Burton Act (1996). Finally, he
discussed the recent report of the Commission for Assistance to a Free
Cuba. The report is 450 pages long. It outlines new U.S. strategies to
destroy the Cuban Revolution and install a transition government.
María Del Carmen then gave a deep and detailed analysis of the case of
the Cuban Five. She urged U.S. solidarity activists to continue the
struggle for their freedom, with particular attention to the demand for
visitation rights for the wives and children of these Cuban heroes.
Andres Gomez, president of the Antonio Maceo Brigade in Miami, talked
about the character of Cuban immigrants in the U.S. and how their views
on relations with Cuba have changed over the years.
Gloria La Riva, coordinator of the National Committee to Free the Five
and president of a typographical union in San Francisco, spoke about
Mexico, Venezuela and Cuba, with a particular focus on the example of
solidarity that Venezuela and Cuba have forged. She spoke about what
people can do to help free the Five. Bonnie Massey of the Venceremos
Brigade talked about travel to Cuba from the U.S. She outlined the
philosophy of the Brigade and its proud history of challenge to the
unconstitutional ban on travel to Cuba. This summer, the Venceremos
Brigade and other groups will again travel to Cuba to challenge the
travel ban.
The second plenary session featured several speakers discussing Free
Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) and other trade agreements such
as Plan Puebla Panama. CTC Foreign Relations Director Lionel González
brilliantly outlined the negative effects FTAA would have on Central and
South America.
Mexican union leader Jose Ramon Rivero also spoke of the effects of
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Mexican workers and
unions.
That evening, all were treated to the sounds of famous Cuban singer
Emilia Morales Palmero.
The plenary session on Sunday focused on immigration. Juan Jose
Gutierrez, Director of the LA-based immigrants’ rights group Latino
Movement USA, gave an informative talk on U.S./Latin America immigration
issues. He highlighted a number of alarming statistics on the arrest and
deportation of immigrants in the U.S.
Invoking the image of the monarch butterfly in contrast to the plight of
immigrants forced to leave their homes, Silvia Tello of San Francisco
A.N.S.W.E.R. delivered a passionate account of the insidious nature of
racism against immigrants. She urged all activists to fight against
anti-immigrant bigotry and to stand in solidarity with immigrants who
struggle to survive in the U.S.
Other high points of the conference included a rally call for unity by
Clarence Thomas of ILWU, Local 10 in San Francisco, and Co-Chair of the
Million Worker March.
The arrival of about 100 Bracero workers on the second day of the
conference was testimony to the ongoing and arduous struggle of working
people to lay claim to what is rightfully theirs. The Braceros were
guest workers from Mexico who came to the U.S. from 1942 to 1964. They
are owed billions of dollars by Mexico and the U.S. for money unlawfully
taken from their paychecks.
The conference closed with a report from the Bolivarian Circles in New
York and an important talk by Lionel González on support for the
revolutionary process in Venezuela.
Throughout the conference, the participants voted to pass resolutions on
various topics, including the following:
* To free the Cuban Five and win visitation rights for their families;
* To end the genocidal blockade of Cuba;
* To continue to support the Braceros in their struggle for justice;
* To support A.N.S.W.E.R.’s January 20 Counter-Inaugural demonstrations
to be held nationwide in response to the inauguration of George Bush and
the continuing genocidal policies of the U.S. administration.
* To support full amnesty for all immigrants and help build a national
march for amnesty in Washington, D.C. in the near future.
All involved vowed to increase solidarity between workers in the U.S.,
Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela.
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