The U.S. government blinked in the face sustained protests demanding the Pentagon stop using Vieques for bombing practice. After insisting for weeks that the USS Eisenhower battle group must rapidly hold training exercises there, the Clinton administration backed down; the troops will train elsewhere. At the same time, the U.S. president stressed Washington's intent to continue using the Puerto Rican island for target practice for at least five more years. In response, protesters in the resistance camps on Vieques and throughout Puerto Rico and many U.S. cities are redoubling their efforts.

The massive desire among workers, farmers, fishermen, and young people for the U.S. Navy to leave Vieques—now, not down the road— is a part of the growing radicalization and anticolonial sentiment, especially among a new generation of Puerto Ricans. The battle over Vieques follows the general strike last year against the sell-off of the state-owned phone company, as well as the campaign that earlier this year won the release of 11 of the 17 independentista political prisoners held in U.S. jails.

Under the pressure of this growing movement, increasing numbers of bourgeois politicians, in both Puerto Rico and the United States, are jumping on the Vieques bandwagon. They want working people to believe we all share a "consensus" over goals and interests. But as with all political questions, this one is divided along class lines. The pro-capitalist forces are intervening to try to divert the struggle from an anticolonial and anti-imperialist direction. They seek to draw people into the fold of accepting Washington's rule, whether in the current form (euphemistically called a "commonwealth") or through U.S. statehood. They urge backroom lobbying and reliance on capitalist politicians when mass action is what's necessary.

In New York, one demonstration was called on anniversary of the World War II bombing of Pearl Harbor with a leaflet stating, "Tell the U.S. Navy to remember Pearl Harbor." This is a pro-war, pro–U.S. military slogan designed to appeal to Democratic Party politicians. Its proponents argue that it will "broaden" participation, but it is a slogan that stands in total contradiction to the main demand of the action: "U.S. Navy out of Vieques."

The struggle for Puerto Rico's sovereignty strengthens resistance to U.S. imperialism around the world. U.S. Congresswoman Tillie Fowler, no friend of the independence struggle, captured this point when she complained that Clinton's weakness on Vieques would encourage residents in Okinawa, Japan, to step up their long struggle against U.S. bases on their land.

The common enemy of the Puerto Rican people, and of workers and farmers in the United States, is Washington. Teamsters striking against Overnite Transportation, farmers defending their right to land and against government foreclosures, fellow battlers for the unification of Ireland and the independence of Quebec, and others can be won to championing this struggle. Every blow by Puerto Rican fighters to the boss class responsible for bombing Vieques is also a blow to the same ruling class whose never-ending drive for profits results in worsening conditions on the job. Those fighting to get the Navy out of Vieques should oppose U.S. military and other imperialist interventions around the world, from Yugoslavia to Colombia, and demand U.S. troops get out of Okinawa, Puerto Rico, and everywhere else.

The struggle to get the U.S. Navy out of Vieques "has strengthened the independence movement," noted independentista leader Rafael Cancel Miranda. The latest round in the battle "helped open the eyes of many people who have had illusions in the U.S. government. The people are saying 'Leave Vieques,' but they [Washington] are the ones who have control over our country." This makes it a bit easier to argue the case that independence from U.S. rule is not only a nice ideal, but a necessity for the Puerto Rican people to determine their own destiny.

The independence movement has taken the moral high ground, playing a leading role in this struggle, and gaining in attractiveness. The wavering of the Clinton administration shows that yes, indeed, ordinary working people can stand up to the mightiest imperialist power on earth and push it back.

Not one more bomb! U.S. Navy out of Vieques! Independence for Puerto Rico!  
 
 
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