BY BILL KALMAN
MIAMI - "There is no time for later; the struggle against imperialism is now," Andrés Gómez said at the Militant Labor Forum here November 18. "Later is for the liberals. Today and now is for people like us." Gómez, leader of the Miami-based Antonio Maceo Brigade, spoke on a panel with Ernest Mailhot, a leader of the Socialist Workers Party and member of the International Association of Machinists, on the subject, "The Cuban Revolution Today and the Legacy of Ernesto Che Guevara." The Brigade is an organization of Cuban-Americans who support the Cuban revolution.

The 37 people in attendance also viewed two videos as part of the program. One showed Cuban president Fidel Castro's speech in Santa Clara marking the return to Cuba of Guevara's remains along with those of six fellow combatants in the guerrilla he headed in Bolivia. (An English translation of this speech was published in the November 10 issue of the Militant.)

The second video was an interview shown on Cuban TV with Gen. Harry Villegas, known as Pombo when he fought with Che in the Congo and Bolivia. In it Villegas comments on Che's leadership abilities and the confidence of Cuban anti- imperialist fighters in supporting revolutionary struggles around the world.

Mailhot began his remarks by noting the number of international meetings and conferences that were organized in Cuba this past year. "The Cuban people have turned the corner on the Special Period," Mailhot said, referring to the economic and social hardships sparked by the cutoff of aid and trade at preferential prices with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe since 1990. "They are now able to focus more of their energies on reaching out to fighters around the world with the message that they need to join the fight against imperialism."

Mailhot also pointed out that imperialism is weaker today, not stronger. "One thing that clearly shows this is their miserable failure to build a coalition of governments supporting their war on the Iraqi people. We see more instability and resistance to imperialism in the Mideast, not less. The Cuban communists are correct when they advise other fighters to not be awestruck by the power of imperialism."

Gómez was in Havana last October when Guevara's casket was displayed at the Plaza of the Revolution and thousands of Cubans filed past to honor the Argentine-born revolutionary's legacy. He also attended the Santa Clara ceremonies where Che's remains were interred. Gómez explained to the audience, "Fidel refers to Che and his compañeros as reinforcement platoons, not just for Cuba, but for the revolution worldwide. The Cuban leadership is calling all conscious people to deepen the struggle against imperialism, to retake the struggle from those who set it aside."

During the discussion period several people in the audience remarked on recent revelations in the Miami Herald about the U.S. government's record of attempting to assassinate Castro and overthrow the revolution. The Herald also independently confirmed the Cuban government's statements that the bombings of several tourist hotels in Cuba this year were organized and funded out of Miami.

The forum, translated into Spanish and Creole, attracted activists from the Antonio Maceo Brigade, the Association of Cuban Workers (ATC), and Haitian rights group Veye Yo, among others. One example of the barbarity of U.S. imperialism raised in the discussion was a recent incident of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter attempting to "shoulder" a wooden freighter crammed with some 400 Haitians bound for the United States, including men, women, and children. "They may call it shouldering, but in reality the Coast Guard was attempting to ram this ship and murder hundreds of people," Mailhot said. "This is the system we must replace."  
 
 
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