Mexico police attack
On May 1, Labor Day, Fidel Velázquez, the leader of the Confederation of Mexican Workers, canceled the traditional workers parade fearing that it would get out of control.

This however did not stop more than 200,000 people from demonstrating down the central avenue and up to the main square in support of the Ruta 100 city bus drivers (who have been fired arbitrarily by the city government) and the EZLN in Chiapas and also demanding an end to the emergency economic plan.

Shortly after the demonstration arrived at the Zócalo (the main square), several provocateurs tried to burn down the door of the National Palace and cause a confrontation with the riot police. Demonstrators made a human barrier between the provocateurs and the police and stopped what could have turned into a bloody battle. This seemed to have solved the problem.

A while later, some members of the Antiauthoritarin Revolutionary Youths (JAR,) decided to go home. Many of them had no idea of the confrontation. While on their way home they were arrested by the police, beaten, and accused of having committed acts of vandalism.

A witness to the police brutality informed other members of the JAR, who went to the subway station where their comrades had been arrested and attempted to get more information from the subway police. They decided that a small group should go to the police station while others waited at the subway. Suddenly, two of the three exits were closed and police rushed in. These were members of the riot police and the canine division, who began kicking and clubbing the members of JAR. Those who ran were attacked by the dogs while the police kept beating the others. Some people were able to escape. The others were taken to the police station (where the first group had also been taken) and beaten again. Later that night, some were freed after paying 180 pesos (not a fine) and others were let go the next day.

However, 11 people are still under arrest and formal charges have been brought against them. The older ones have been transferred to a jail. One of these, Enrique Huerta Salazar, was beaten and tortured to force him to sign a confession.

We therefore ask for your cooperation in building an international campaign to free them. We need your solidarity. Stop all discrimination and repression against young people! We demand the immediate liberation of our comrades! Being young is not a crime!

Foro Socialista, JAR,
Colectivo Acción Libertaria,
Juventudes Libertarias Ricardo Flores Magón, Acción Virus,
Colectivo A.N.I.M.A.L.
Mexico City

'Coupon clippers'
Enclosed is my check for a six-month subscription renewal; lately, the paper's coverage seems more comprehensive than it has for some time. All the reporting from Cuba, Mexico, etc. is excellent.

In the past few issues, I've encountered the term "coupon clippers" used to refer to wealthy bondholders and the like. I don't understand this formulation at all; to me, a coupon clipper is someone who clips coupons out of the Sunday paper, because they're thrifty or to scrape by and decrease their expenses. I can't fathom what this has to do with parasitic bondholders. Can you explain? Thanks.

Marty Michaels
Washington, D.C.

Editors note: Wealthy bondholders collect interest on their holdings, and to do so they literally clip coupons on the bonds they hold. Hence, the term "coupon clippers" is used to refer to those who derive their wealth from doing no work, but simply send in coupons from their bonds and collect money.

Prisoners' rights
I was interested to read the column by Mark Curtis on the way phone companies and other capitalist concerns find ways of making profits out of the prisoners' situation.

Here in New Zealand a new policy was announced recently by the Justice Department in respect of prisoners' rights to use telephones.

A new computerized system is being introduced into the prisons, whereby prisoners will be permitted to make calls to only 10 phone numbers nominated by the prisoner and approved by the authorities beforehand. All calls will be monitored.

The department justified this policy by claiming that prisoners have been obstructing the course of justice by making threatening phone calls to trial witnesses from prison. (Presumably, then, the policy will even apply to those prisoners remanded in custody and therefore not convicted of any crime.)

In response to criticism from civil libertarians that this system will restrict the ability of prisoners to publicly expose abuses in the prisons, the justice department agreed that if prisoners nominated phone numbers of press reporters, they would be "unlikely to be approved."

James Robb
Auckland, New Zealand

Solidarity event
Perhaps it was an inadvertent oversight that the April 2 solidarity rally in Perry [Iowa] wasn't included in your recent article on the Des Moines area support activities for the Bridgestone/ Firestone strike. Although small, only about 50 persons, half of whom were strikers and their families, it was an important meeting. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1149 strike support committee organized the gathering, which was supported by three local unions and the League of United Latin American Citizens.

UFCW Local 1149, which represents workers in the local IBP pork plant, and the moulders and glass workers donated funds from their local accounts in the collection taken at the meeting.

At the meeting a lively discussion occurred covering such issues as the Caterpillar strike, the minimum wage, foreign- owned companies and international solidarity and others. One United Rubber Workers strike leader said his experience in the strike had convinced him that unions need a labor party.

Cleve Andrew Pulley,
Des Moines, Iowa

The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of general interest to our readers. Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.  
 
 
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