Vol. 77/No. 31      August 26, 2013

Below are greetings sent by Fernando González on behalf of the Cuban Five to the July 19-20 Active Workers Educational Conference, followed by a response sent on behalf of the gathering.

July 12, 2013

It’s a wonderful initiative for the SWP to call an Active Workers Educational Conference like this. The Cuban Five thank you for the opportunity to send greetings to all those taking part.

You are meeting at a very important moment. Never has it been so clear how capitalism is shifting the burden of its economic crisis onto the shoulders of the working class.

From the United States to Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, it has been workers, ordinary working people, who have been sacrificed by the governments of their countries in order to rescue a wealthy handful, representatives of finance capital.

Never has the global collusion between capital and the governments representing its interests been so evident — collusion within each country and internationally as well.

Finance capital imposes its conditions everywhere in the universe. That is why a concerted global response by workers worldwide is necessary as well.

Now more than ever we should remember the words of Karl Marx, more than a hundred fifty years ago, calling for workers of the world to unite.

The struggle for justice is our common struggle. You, despite the difficulties, have been tireless defenders of our right to be free and to return to Cuba.

We wish you success in your discussions and deliberations, and to all of you, we convey our gratitude and our confidence in victory.

Venceremos!

Gerardo Hernández
Antonio Guerrero
Ramón Labañino
René González
Fernando González
 

On behalf of the 2013 Active Workers Educational Conference:

A prolonged standing ovation was the heartfelt response of more than 300 participants in the July 19-21 Active Workers Educational Conference in Oberlin, Ohio, to the message received from Fernando González on behalf of the Cuban Five. The ovation was an expression of deep respect for the unbending proletarian integrity of each and every one of you, and the historic importance of the Cuban Revolution you exemplify.

One of the highlights of the gathering was a display of Antonio’s fifteen watercolor drawings, “I will die the way I lived,” marking your fifteen years of unwavering resistance and dignity. The voices of each of you are heard through that powerful work. It can and will carry your fight to literally millions of working people in the United States and beyond who will recognize the truth of your story from their own experiences with the same system of capitalist “justice” you have faced.

Through their response to your greetings, conference participants expressed their commitment to use that powerful new weapon far and wide as we redouble our efforts — fighting side by side with many tens of thousands of others around the world — to win the day when together with René you are all once again on Cuban soil.

s/Jack Barnes
Jack Barnes
National Secretary
Socialist Workers Party
 
 
Related articles:
Deepening the working-class character of the Socialist Workers Party
From Des Moines to Caracas, implementing the proletarian political course of the July 18-20 Active Workers Conference
 
 
 
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