The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.62/No.40           November 9, 1998 
 
 
Spain: Pathfinder Sells Titles On Cuban Revolution,  

BY DEBBIE DELANGE AND MAXI ORTIZ
MADRID, Spain - Representatives of Pathfinder Press visited bookshops here and in Barcelona in September with samples of Pathfinder publications in Spanish and English. Some of the buyers were delighted to learn that they could now order from a distributor in Spain, pay in local currency, and expect speedy delivery.

The representatives took orders on the spot for 129 books in the two cities. A number of buyers wanted to look through the catalogue further before ordering. Many of the shops had never stocked Pathfinder books before.

The top seller was the Spanish-language edition of the new booklet Puerto Rico: Independence Is a Necessity - Rafael Cancel Miranda on the Fight against U.S. Colonial Rule. Nine were ordered. Also popular were Habla Malcolm X (Malcolm X speaks); titles by and about Ernesto Che Guevara, the Argentine-born leader of the Cuban revolution; and El rostro cambiante de la política en Estados Unidos, the Spanish-language translation of The Changing Face of U.S. Politics: Working-Class Politics and the Trade Unions by Jack Barnes.

These were also the most popular books at a festival hosted by the Communist Party of Spain, September 18-20 in Madrid. The volunteers staffing the Pathfinder booth there came from France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Sweden. This was the third time Pathfinder supporters have participated in this event.

The booth was one of the liveliest at the festival. A young man who had bought a subscription to the Militant last year, Eduardo, said he renewed since, and also bought a copy of The Changing Face of U.S. Politics. "I like the paper and the book," he said. "They show how you can be a part of the working class and the struggles, instead of operating from the outside." People attending the fair bought a total of six copies of El rostro cambiante, reflecting the high interest in the class struggle in the United States.

Another sign of this was the sale of 15 subscriptions to the Militant or its Spanish-language sister magazine, Perspectiva Mundial. All five available copies of Habla Malcolm X were sold.

An auto worker from Zaragoza bought a copy of Perspectiva Mundial with an article on the General Motors strike in the U.S. "I want to read this magazine since I work for GM, and it shows how similar things are around the world," he explained.

In all, 17 copies of New International and the Spanish- language Nueva Internacional were sold, the most popular one being the issue on "Che Guevara, Cuba, and the Road to Socialism."

Another top seller was Che Guevara: Economía y política en la transición al socialismo (Che Guevara: economics and politics in the transition to socialism) by Carlos Tablada, with a total of eight copies sold.

The festival began two days after fighters for independence of the Basque Country from Spain and France announced a cease- fire. This was a major discussion point and many young people stopped to look at a display of Pathfinder's range of books on the national question, in particular Lenin's Final Fight: Speeches and Writings, 1922-23.

The festival included a number of forums and discussion panels. Most controversial was one on the independence struggle in Kosova at which two of the main speakers were heckled. Jonathan Silberman, a co-author of Pathfinder's The Truth About Yugoslavia - Why working people should oppose intervention, contributed to the discussion. His view that all foreign troops should leave the country also got a mixed reception. One woman decided to buy a copy of the book after the debate.

A total of 741 ($1,245) worth of Pathfinder literature was sold at the three-day event.  
 
 
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