Colombia Strike against Uribe; workers need to build a communist movement

Bogota, December 18–On November 21, Colombia started experiencing its most massive mobilizations of the last several decades. These demonstrations have filled the streets of the big cities and all of its municipalities. They have continued in the form of “cacerolazos” (workers demonstrations where they bang on pots and pans) that sprout everywhere.  Many of these are led by female students and workers. This demonstrates the massive rejection of the sexist government of Duque - Uribe, its corruption and economic policies.
The workers also demonstrated against the government for its complicity in the selective killings of more than 600 social leaders, indigenous extermination and widespread racist violence.
The day before the mobilization there were dozens of raids on the homes of strike participants. This strategy of intimidation ultimately only served to further stoke the rebellion and increase the flow of protesters. ESMAD’s (the Colombian riot police) strong clashes and attacks on women and protesters left more than 800 detainees, 50 raids, 4 murders and more than 300 wounded. The rulers increased their tried and true criminal policy: create fear and sell security.
During the first night of the national strike in Cali and the second night in Bogotá, the bosses imposed a curfew. This fascist measure had not been taken in the capital in more than four decades. Cities were militarized and an atmosphere of panic was created for alleged looting of residential complexes. People reported having captured some looters who said they received 50 thousand pesos to loot. The objective was to show the military as heroes, saviors, while sowing fear and relating it to the strike.
In other neighborhoods of the city, the cacerolazos defeated the curfew in practice. On the third day, workers retook the streets overcoming their fear. This served as a great experience since the workers need to get rid of their fear in order to face these bosses’ attacks.
Peace between social classes, serves criminal bosses! This was the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) slogan that we chanted and that was well received by the masses. The media, trade union bureaucracy and reformist politicians insist on pacifism as a principle of the strike and a large majority of protesters have accepted it. But the fact that these protests are peaceful does not mean that we must remain passive in the face of continuous aggressions, detentions and beatings. In order to defend ourselves against the criminal attacks of our class enemies, we must organize mass revolutionary violence. These attacks will not end as long as capitalism exists. The bosses need to minimize our living conditions because they need to maximize their profits.
As long as they have the power they will continue to fire us, cut our wages, our pensions, and our health care and educational services. The workers will continue fighting against these cuts. That is why we have the urgent need to organize ourselves in a revolutionary international communist party, the Progressive Labor Party (PLP). Then workers can lead a communist revolution to abolish capitalism. In that way, we can form a new communist society where what we produce will serve to meet our needs and not to enrich a handful of criminal bosses.