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The Rocky Mountain Socialist Conference
by Adam Koritz & Alejandro Giron / March 2006 issue of
Socialist Action newspaper
SALT
LAKE CITY—The Rocky Mountain Winter Socialist Conference, initiated and
organized jointly between Utah Socialists and Socialist Action, Feb. 16-19,
was an inspiring success. The conference consisted of three public talks and
several educational sessions, drawing on topics such as the revolutionary
upsurge in Latin America, socialists in the trade unions, and the antiwar
movement.
Socialist
Action National Secretary Jeff Mackler gave several classes, including,
“Strategy and Tactics in the U.S. Antiwar Movement,” “The History Of Iraq,
1914 to the Present,” and “From Hurricane Katrina to Global Warming: Socialists
in the Fight to Save the Environment.”
Mackler
kicked things off with a speech on the growing radicalization in Latin
America—including Bolivia, where Evo Morales of the Movement Toward
Socialism was recently voted into office. Mackler pointed out that, although
his victory had caused some fear in
imperialist
circles, Morales was quick to reassure business leaders that he will
basically respect the rights of private property.
In
Venezuela, said Mackler, President Hugo Chavez is now talking more openly
about socialism and even making favorable references to Leon Trotsky. But
there is of yet no mass Leninist party in Venezuela. Many things, of course, are possible;
including the following: Chavez and the MVR will finish the job and expropriate
the landed oligarchy, nationalize the
banks,
and encourage direct worker control of industry; or he may be swept away by
more radical currents flowing beneath him. An even ghastlier prospect would
be that he and the movement are caught in the jaws of reaction and
swallowed by a counterrevolution. This must not happen. Forward movement is
a necessity.
Mackler
told an inspiring tale of Cuba and her revolution—describing a revolution
strangled by
sanctions
and struggling to survive. An encouraging development is that of Celia
Hart. Hart, the daughter of revolutionists (Armando Hart and Haydee
Santamaria, who both fought with Fidel in the Cuban Revolution of the
1950s), has written a number of articles about the
relevance
of Trotsky’s ideas today.
David
Jones, a Socialist Action member from the Twin Cities area, gave a public
forum on “The Crisis in the U.S. Labor Movement: What Can We Do?” The talk
was attended by about 30 people. He commented on the formation of the CIO
in the 1930s and the reasons for
the
decline of the labor movement since the 1950s. Jones also spoke on the need for independent working-class
politics, completely separate from that of the capitalist parties.
On
Sunday morning, Jones gave an educational about the role of socialists in
the trade unions and how to build a revolutionary workers’ movement. He
referred to the work of James P. Cannon and other historic leaders of the
socialist movement.
We
also talked about Marxists in the environmental movement and worked out
some basic ideas on what is to be done. The bankruptcy of the mainstream
eco groups was emphasized, and the idea that ultimately only the working
class and its oppressed allies emerging from a
victorious
revolution will be able to make production safe, clean, and healthy for the
world and its inhabitants.
Later,
we drove by the birthplace of Big Bill Haywood and the execution site of
Wobbly leader Joe Hill, which is now ironically a park.
In
short, ideas were exchanged, revolutionary literature was sold, and new
friends were made. In a word—progress.
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