El Salvador May Day: ICWP Organizes to Free Us from the Prison of Capitalism here ♦ El Salvador: Worker Reconnects with ICWP on May Day here ♦ El Salvador: “To More Repression, We Respond: More Struggle!” here ♦ Communist Revolution Will Free Us from the Chains of the Fascist-Capitalist Oppressor here ♦ El Salvador: Student Comrade’s May Day Experience here ♦
El Salvador May Day: ICWP Organizes to Free Us from the Prison of Capitalism
EL SALVADOR, May 2— “Are we going to be afraid? If it had been like this 136 years ago, without the struggle led by Chicago workers, we would still be working 16 hours or more,” said a ICWP worker comrade. “The reasons to fight are still present, so we have to continue, until we achieve the definitive change in Communism,” she concluded.
Organizing the May Day march for communist revolution under the fascist attack of the government of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele presented obstacles. We overcame these collectively.
We visited as many comrades as we could, to inform them of the plans for the big march. In every meeting of the collective, we shared everything related to this great demonstration of the working class.
In the days before the march, there was much anticipation due to the government’s declared state of emergency. Harassment in the communities by the police and government army is the daily bread. They have even come to factories to carry out searches.
The fascism imposed by the government and its servile ministers threatened workers who participated in the march with jail. It placed groups of soldiers and police (checkpoints) on the highway to prevent them from attending. But these were not enough to keep thousands of workers away from the main streets of the capital.
Fighting for Communism to End Wage Slavery
Dozens of comrades from the International Communist Workers’ Party (ICWP), convinced of the fight for communism, marched carrying our banner, flags, posters and the Red Flag newspaper.
Farm and factory workers, students, teachers, health workers and others participated. Also three workers, a teacher and two farm workers joined us during the march. They took and carried flags and walked with us for the rest of the march.
“Distributing Red Flag means a lot to me,” said a young comrade who distributed some of the 1000 copies we got out to our working class. “It is very motivating to hear workers ask for it and say that they need more for others. For next year, there must be more.”
A worker participating in the march approached us and asked, “Where do you meet? I received this newspaper in the United States.” We exchanged phone numbers because he wants to join this effort.
In the days before the march, communication was key to overcoming individual fears. Without a doubt, comradely relations are essential in this fight.
The messages from comrades making calls to demonstrate were important in case anyone had doubts about doing so. They fueled the spirits by making it clear why we had to march.
“We are firm on this. We cannot back down. There is a serious threat, but we must win,” said a worker comrade.
Our Red Flag newspaper was on time as planned, as was everything necessary for our red participation.
Morale is now high after we marched and distributed our literature. Our goal is to end wage slavery. We can only achieve it with a massive communist party, ICWP, which is what the workers need.
El Salvador: Worker Reconnects with ICWP on May Day
I am a worker in a textile factory in the western part of El Salvador. Through a friend from another garment sweatshop, I learned about Red Flag and the International Communist Workers’ Party back in 2012 and since then I have read Red Flag online.
A few weeks ago my friend and I met again. He started talking to me about the Party and invited me to participate in the May Day march in San Salvador. I didn’t think twice. I told him yes, that I would attend, and that I would invite two more workers from the factory where I work. Despite the government’s threats to imprison those of us who marched for the international day of the working class.
On May 1st I left the house at 6:20 am, but they stopped me at every police checkpoint on the highway, five in total. They took us off the collective transport in which we were traveling. They searched all our things, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get there in time to participate in the march of us, the workers. I arrived almost at the end, at the rally’s assembly point in the center of the Salvadoran capital.
But I was able to greet the worker friend who had invited me to march with ICWP. I feel very excited to have had my first experience.
I will continue reading the Red Flag newspaper, now in print, and I will pass it on to other workers. The comrades have already invited me to participate in the meetings of the collective, to study the communist philosophy, which I plan to attend and invite other comrades.
—Worker 2012
El Salvador: “To More Repression, We Respond: More Struggle!”
“The time has come to become aware. Taking to the streets as workers was our slogan!” The activity began and we began to distribute Red Flag in the Salvadoran capital.
“The capitalist system used all its tools against the working class, instilling fear and threatening to label as terrorists those who dared to march to commemorate the international day of the working class, remembering the heroic deeds of the Chicago martyrs,” said a worker ICWP leader.
Fearing being captured by the police and the military, who blocked all the streets in the center of the capital, many workers had problems and arrived late. Some decided to stay at home.
But an old slogan: TO MORE REPRESSION, WE RESPOND: MORE STRUGGLE! raised the spirits of many farm and factory workers, teachers, and students to come out with a single goal.
The International Communist Workers Party that is mobilizing the workers of the maquilas was at the forefront, in the face of this “Law of Exception” imposed by the current government. This incompetent and fascist government tried to end the workers’ march.
But even so, all the organized workers in the ICWP decided that it was time to be the stone in the shoe of this rotten system. We could not let fall victim to the anxiety caused by the government.
We left very early to go to the assigned place to meet and wait for more comrades.
It was worrying when, at one point, police surrounded us. But we couldn’t leave the place because our comrades were arriving. When they arrived, we looked for alternate streets to reach the central place of the march, since many comrades from other areas of the country were waiting for us there.
The spirit was growing as the march developed, seeing how many workers read Red Flag and asked for more copies.
This May Day, the Red Flag newspaper and the red flags waving throughout the route broke with the threats and fences of the fascist government.
RED, RED, RED IS THE FLAG OF THE WORKING CLASS!
LONG LIVE THE WORKING CLASS!
—Comrade in El Salvador
Communist Revolution Will Free Us from the Chains of the Fascist-Capitalist Oppressor
“We will not fall or be silenced anymore,” was our thought when organizing all the comrades as we started our revolutionary communist march this May 1 in El Salvador. Despite all the obstacles and barriers that this fascist government wanted to put up, we broke down the borders of fear that they wanted to impose on us. We managed to confront them and show that our collective is standing up, is fighting and will continue to fight, mobilizing the masses for our communist Revolution.
“Will we give up? Will we be afraid?” NEVER, because we believe in our struggle, in our cause and we want a change that is imminent right now and with our communist revolution we will overthrow this fascist government.
The government believes itself to be all-powerful, threatening to jail those who were going to march, exercising its authority through violence, coercion, repression and the manipulation of the entire system.
This May Day showed that the working class will not give up. Workers achieved all our objectives. We created a reference NO MORE OPPRESSION. Our ICWP is fighting for the communist revolution.
All our comrades here and around the world march with banners, flags, communist posters, as a collective united for our cause.
In the same way, we distributed our RED FLAG newspaper. We feel proud that many recognized us and already knew about our party and our newspaper. We achieved the victory of reaching more workers so that they know us and become part of our readership.
Up with the communist revolution!
—Young Comrade
El Salvador: Student Comrade’s May Day Experience
A cordial and fraternal greeting to all! A second-year high school student greets you. I am 17 years old and a daughter of workers. For me, this May Day has been one more experience of marching with the International Communist Workers’ Party, since I have participated in the Party’s contingent for three years.
We left the house that morning to go to where we would meet with our comrades from the factory. We were wearing our red ICWP t-shirts. Suddenly we were surrounded by police checkpoints, and we had to go back to put on other shirts and hide the red ones, until we reached the place of the march where we put them back on.
Despite the difficulties that always occur, and even more this year with the fascist threats to jail those of us who participate in the commemoration of the working class for the sacrifice of the Chicago martyrs.
It was forbidden to march, but we were able to overcome these obstacles of the capitalist system and we were able to march. I distributed our Red Flag newspaper and proudly carried our flag.
Nothing stopped ICWP, the Party was not left behind. We marched through the main streets of San Salvador, and we could observe and analyze another victory for our Party.
I will continue with my parents talking, handing out the Red Flag and studying more about communism.
—Young student