Vol. 73/No. 43 November 9, 2009
Contributors in Washington, D.C., raised their goal by $1,000 and supporters in Miami raised theirs by $300. This brings the national total of pledges to $93,900, leaving a gap of $1,100 toward making the goal of $95,000. A few raises from other areas can guarantee that goal is met and surpassed.
Contributions in Boston have ranged from $5 to $300, and from a variety of workers, reports Kevin Dwire, the fund director there. One contributor stopped at an SWP literature table at the University of Massachusetts, Boston campus. He was glad to see the literature and wanted to talk about the need for a revolutionary party to organize people to fight for change. He made a donation of $20 on the spot to the fund.
Deborah Liatos, fund director in Miami, wrote that the drive got a boost there from an October 24 meeting that featured SWP leader Ernest Mailhot speaking on “U.S. and World Capitalism: The Crisis Deepens, Imperialist Wars Spread.”
Mailhot noted the huge increase in home foreclosures and the fact that more workers over the age of 65 years are working than previously, examples of the deepening capitalist crisis.
Mailhot had recently attended the resentencing hearing for Antonio Guerrero, one of five Cuban revolutionaries framed up on “conspiracy” charges and held in U.S. jails for 11 years. He encouraged those at the meeting to redouble their efforts to win freedom for the five.
Mailhot also described the wide-ranging discussions and debates at the international conference on the political legacies of José Martí, Benito Juárez, and Abraham Lincoln in Monterrey, Mexico. He had just attended the gathering and said the example of the Cuban Revolution was among the themes discussed there (see article on front page).
In the discussion period a worker originally from Haiti said that the same hurricane that had passed through Haiti and killed hundreds of people went on to hit Cuba, where only five people died. He said this showed the corruption of the government of Haiti.
Others asked about the current presence of U.S. forces in Haiti. One person wanted to know whether any Puerto Ricans participated in the Monterrey conference, noting the strike in Puerto Rico that took place while the conference unfolded.
Mailhot said the Puerto Rico strike was all over the news in Monterrey. There was also a march of 100,000 workers in Mexico City against cutbacks and layoffs.
The purpose of the party-building fund is to aid the work of the Socialist Workers Party in bringing a revolutionary perspective to workers and young people. There was an enthusiastic response to the appeal to help make that possible, with $1,010 collected and $655 in new and increased pledges.
Deborah Liatos contributed to this article.
Party-building fund: Week 5 of 8 (chart)