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Cuba and Venezuela: Solidarity
and fighting imperialism
From a talk given at the Jan 20 Counter-Inaugural protest
in LA by Ian Thompson
Cuba is under attack. It has been since
its Revolution triumphed in 1959. U.S. sponsored terrorist attacks have
killed over 3,500 Cubans and injured thousands more. The criminal U.S.
blockade has been in place for over four decades and Bush tightened it
in 2004.
Unlike in Iraq, the U.S. military is not dropping bombs on Cuba, but
that's not out of the question.
The Bush administration was bad news for Cuba and the rest of the world
during his first term, but the new anti-Cuba team he lined up for this
term is even worse. It's full of neo-conservative ideologues bent on
subjugating the world's people and its resources for profit.
Newly anointed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Cuban Americans
Mel Martinez, Carlos Gutierrez and others are hard-line right wingers in
the Bush administration. They would like nothing more than to see
socialist Cuba reopened for exploitation by U.S. banks, corporations and
gangsters.
In her confirmation hearings this week, Condoleezza Rice singled out
Cuba as a "tyranny that oppresses its people." This is false. Free
healthcare, free education, jobs and respect for workers' rights isn't
tyranny-it's freedom.
Bush and his right wing cronies like Rice spread fear and vicious lies
to divide working and oppressed people who share common interests. The
people of Cuba are natural allies to workers in the U.S.
Rice also threatened Venezuela, whose Bolivarian Revolution is deepening
each day. Venezuela is very important to all progressives who seek broad
social change.
President Hugo Chávez just implemented a land law that redistributes
land to peasant farmers. It expropriates rich, foreign owners who held
large ranches and used them to exploit the labor of Venezuelans.
Cuba's help to Venezuela has been critical in its revolutionary process.
Cuba has 16,000 doctors and dentists working for free in the poorest
areas of the country. We must defend Cuba and Venezuela and all peoples
resisting U.S. imperialism at this crucial time.
Cuba and Venezuela show us all what a world based on solidarity and
cooperation can be. Let's unite and win, so we can build a better world.
Get involved in our solidarity work with Cuba. Get involved in the
campaign to Free the Cuban Five and to defend the Venezuela's Bolivarian
Revolution. Call us at 323-464-1636 or go to our web site Cuba and
Venezuela: Solidarity and fighting imperialism
From a talk given at the Jan 20 Counter-Inaugural protest in LA by Ian
Thompson
Cuba is under attack. It has been since its Revolution triumphed in
1959. U.S. sponsored terrorist attacks have killed over 3,500 Cubans and
injured thousands more. The criminal U.S. blockade has been in place for
over four decades and Bush tightened it in 2004.
Unlike in Iraq, the U.S. military is not dropping bombs on Cuba, but
that's not out of the question.
The Bush administration was bad news for Cuba and the rest of the world
during his first term, but the new anti-Cuba team he lined up for this
term is even worse. It's full of neo-conservative ideologues bent on
subjugating the world's people and its resources for profit.
Newly anointed Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and Cuban Americans
Mel Martinez, Carlos Gutierrez and others are hard-line right wingers in
the Bush administration. They would like nothing more than to see
socialist Cuba reopened for exploitation by U.S. banks, corporations and
gangsters.
In her confirmation hearings this week, Condoleeza Rice singled out Cuba
as a "tyranny that oppresses its people." This is false. Free
healthcare, free education, jobs and respect for workers' rights isn't
tyranny-it's freedom.
Bush and his right wing cronies like Rice spread fear and vicious lies
to divide working and oppressed people who share common interests. The
people of Cuba are natural allies to workers in the U.S.
Rice also threatened Venezuela, whose Bolivarian Revolution is deepening
each day. Venezuela is very important to all progressives who seek broad
social change.
President Hugo Chávez just implemented a land law that redistributes
land to peasant farmers. It expropriates rich, foreign owners who held
large ranches and used them to exploit the labor of Venezuelans.
Cuba's help to Venezuela has been critical in its revolutionary process.
Cuba has 16,000 doctors and dentists working for free in the poorest
areas of the country. We must defend Cuba and Venezuela and all peoples
resisting U.S. imperialism at this crucial time.
Cuba and Venezuela show us all what a world based on solidarity and
cooperation can be. Let's unite and win, so we can build a better world.
Get involved in our solidarity work with Cuba. Get involved in the
campaign to Free the Cuban Five and to defend the Venezuela's Bolivarian
Revolution. Call us at 323-464-1636 or go to our web site
http://www.freethefive.org.
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