“Why I Joined PLP” Speech given at a May Day Dinner:
Today, I will be sharing with you all my journey in becoming a communist. The people that have been part of this journey are my partner, who introduced me to Marx and helped me rethink nationalism, and my friends who brought the party to me. But mostly I thank my mother, who is not here today.
When I was seven years old, my father abandoned us. As a result, my mother was left with the full responsibility of supporting our family. Unfortunately, as an undocumented immigrant, my mother faced job insecurity and we regularly had to move from apartment to apartment. Mom worked as hard as she could – we would always find her asleep with her work clothes still on. As the oldest of three children, I tried my best to help care for my siblings at home, but I felt inadequate. So at thirteen, I decided to find a job to help contribute financially.
For a thirteen-year-old living in South Central Los Angeles, the only available jobs paid under-the-table and involved menial labor. I started as an errand boy for a local street vendor, selling food in a street corner off MacArthur Park. After that, I sold factory surplus Mary Kay cosmetics door-to-door. In high school, I started working in a garment factory at night. Despite this, the money my mother and I earned was not always enough to feed the family.
Like most children, I grew up largely ignorant about the institutional barriers that have historically marginalized the working class folk of Los Angeles. As I grew older, however, I witnessed this capitalist system constantly bearing down on my family and community. The status quo left me frustrated and at times, hopeless. Despite this, however, I used my frustration to fuel my drive to take political action and empower my community.
When Obama’s presidential campaign geared up for reelection, I worked for Latinos for Obama as an Organizing Fellow. At that time, I truly believed that by working within the system I would be able to bring about change in my community. I did not realize that was far from the truth. As soon as the campaign was over there was complete disinvestment by the Democratic Party in South Los Angeles. Understanding how the Democratic Party operated from within I understood that the current political climate is based on benefiting capitalist interests while feeding false promises to the working class. Being this my first experience with traditional politics I felt frustrated. It was clear to me that this system was not built for the working class and that there was no difference between the Democratic or Republican Party.
It is my personal experience and my organizing with the Democratic Party that have brought me to this point in my political development. I became a communist because I believe that the real social, political, and economic change will come. With a revolutionary communist consciousness we must continue to organize for a working-class led revolution! Our best weapon for revolution is our unity, our organization, and our action.
The 1st of May is a date for commemoration around the world. It is a date in which the International Working Class expresses its outright denial of oppression and exploitation by this capitalist system and foreshadows our emancipation. Along side them, our Party will lift our banners to reaffirm our commitment to continually strive for a working class revolution in our country that will contribute to the triumph of an International Proletarian Revolution!
Viva la lucha de clase obrera! Viva la lucha de los trabajadores de todo el mundo! Solo la lucha de los pueblos rompera las cadenas de la dominacion y explotacion!