Two members of the YS, both meat packers in Iowa and Minnesota, were invited to speak to about 150 students in five classes at the Preparatoria, a high school that is part of the University of Guadalajara. We made a brief presentation on the working-class movement in the United States, the meaning behind the recent controversy in the U.S. presidential elections, the growing resistance of the working class, and about the Young Socialists.

Many students came up to speak with us after the class to continue the discussion and ask questions that they had wanted to raise. We brought some Pathfinder books with us from the book fair, so students could have an idea of the kinds of books members and supporters of the Socialist Workers Party and YS help to produce and distribute in factories and working-class communities, at plant gates, and on college campuses.

Many young people we spoke with had lived in the United States for brief periods of time and described the conditions they faced. Some of the questions that the students had were about the cause of discrimination against Blacks and Latinos in the United States and about the problem of drugs.

We raised that the so-called "war on drugs" is really an assault on the democratic rights of working people within the United States. It is also an excuse imperialism uses to intervene abroad, such as "fighting the drug trade" in Columbia. This gives Washington a handle to extend its military presence in the region.

Young Socialists explained how immigrant workers are more and more part of the leadership in different plants across the United States in struggles for unionization and against brutal working conditions and other social questions. Roberta Black, a member of the YS chapter in Minnesota, gave examples of the leadership roles of workers today. Black explained the ongoing fight by the meat packers in St. Paul, Minnesota, at Dakota Premium Foods, who organized a seven-hour sit-down strike on June 1 to demand the company lower the line speed.

They also fought the company to win recognition of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, and are now continuing their fight for a contract.

In speaking to students at the high school, we could see eye-to-eye with many on the question of the conditions workers face under the capitalist system. One student stated that the "problems that workers have in the United States are the same as those workers in Mexico face in the factories."

What the Young Socialists accomplished in participating in the annual book fair in Guadalajara and in being invited to the high school was to deepen communication with young people in Mexico. Many of the youth we met expressed interest in the YS. In addition, they stated their support for the Cuban people because they continue to have a victorious revolution. Many of the students said they were supportive of the ongoing resistance of workers today and of the perspective of having a government of workers and farmers.  
 
 
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