Voluntary work, of our own free will, with conviction

The first day voluntary work, organized by Che on November 22, 1959, commemorated in Granma

Mailenys Oliva Ferrales

Granma | November 22, 2021

Photo: Granma Archives

Granma.- It was Sunday, November 22, 1959 and, with a “tremendous outpouring” of volunteers coming from everywhere in trucks, carts, on horseback, no telling how many, arrived in El Caney de las Mercedes (now in the municipality of Bartolomé Masó) to help build the Camilo Cienfuegos Center, the first great educational work of the Revolution.
From the bed of a truck, Ché explained to the thousands present the importance of the project that would become “a permanent symbol of the alliance between workers and farmers on which our revolutionary power is based,” and an instrument to transform consciousness.

The Anatomy of a Successful Protest, or How the Farmers Won Their Fight

In a circumstance where one side controls institutions like the media, police and other organs of the state, the success of a movement rests on developing creative means of breaking through the government’s control over institutions.

Shivam Shankar Singh and Anand Venkatanarayanan

The Wire | November 23, 2021

People stand in front of candles lit at the Singhu border farmers agitation site to celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement of repealing the three Central farm laws, at Singhu Border in New Delhi, Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. Photo: PTI/Arun Sharma

Why do some protest movements succeed while others fail?

There are three major elements that determine the success of a protest. The foremost amongst these is the ability of a movement to establish narrative dominance and get its message across. Next is understanding who the opposing forces are and developing the resources to counter them. The tactics of protest against a corporate entity look very different from those required to mount a successful protest against the government, an entity with unlimited resources at its disposal. And lastly, any movement must grow its support base beyond its core supporters if it is to succeed.

In theory, the validity of the grievance plays a major role in determining if a movement can gain traction. But in a circumstance where one side controls institutions like the media, police and other organs of the state, the success of a movement rests on developing creative means of breaking through the government’s control over institutions – or sidestepping it.

The farmers’ protest is an apt illustration of how this can be done.

India’s Farmers Have Shown the Way to the Long Democratic Pushback

The farmers quite nicely did understand the fake nature of the claims sought to be made for the laws, which is why their mobilisation remained unbreached by the various shenanigans resorted to by the establishment.

Badri Raina

The Wire | November 23, 2021

People walk past candles lit at the farmers agitation site near Singhu border to celebrate repealing the three farm laws, New Delhi, November 19, 2021. Photo: PTI/Arun Sharma

It can be said with confidence that the year-long peaceful satyagraha by India’s farmers has made a watershed contribution to returning democracy to the beleaguered republic.

This historic movement has been marked by some exemplary features:

Foremost, the protesting farmers have evinced, to the last man and woman, in fact even child, a comprehensive and sophisticated grasp of the ideological import of the three farm laws (now happily set to be repealed).

No disingenuous diversion or fake interpretation managed to shake down that clarity.

The Leaders Who Shaped, Guided and Sustained the Farmers’ Movement

The yearlong movement could survive due to the overwhelming support it received. Here are some of the people who were responsible for securing it.

Vivek Gupta

The Wire | November 20, 2021

Yogendra Yadav, Rakesh Tikait, Harinder Bindu, Darshan Pal, and Balbir Singh Rajewal. Photos: Twitter and File

Chandigarh: A former solider, a doctor, a psephologist, a Jat leader, a women’s rights activist are just some of those who brought the mighty Modi government to its knees.

Some of them played a key role in sustaining the farmers’ protest for close to a year. This, in turn, has redefined public movement in India and it will keep inspiring all future movements.

Their leadership helped bridge the left-right political divide, and paved the way for farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to assemble on a common platform and fight the long battle.

India: A Winter’s Night With the Farmers at Delhi’s Tikri Border

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi announces that the three farm laws will be repealed, Rohit Kumar recounts one story of the farmers who are on protest.

Rohit Kumar

The Wire | November 20, 2021

Gurnam Singh (in yellow turban), Jasbir Kaur Natt and Sukhdarshan Natt inside a tent at Tikri border. Photo: Rohit Kumar

On November 19, nearly a year after the farmers’ protest began, Narendra Modi announced his government’s decision to repeal the three farm laws. As I watched the prime minister on TV, my mind went back to the scores of visits I have made to Delhi’s borders to document the stories of the farmers on protest, and as I did, one memory stood out above the rest. The memory of a winter’s night at Tikri border.

I still recall the trepidation I felt as I called Jasbir Kaur Natt to ask if I could stay over at the ‘Trolley Times’ tent. Jasbir Kaur (or Beeji as she is called) is a senior leader with the Punjab Kisan Union and has been helping to manage the Tirki protest site for a year now. She told me I was most welcome.

A Footballer, a Teacher, a Writer of Press Releases: Lesser-Known Faces of the Indian Farmers’ Protests

While union leaders became key figures of the movement, there were many others who worked tirelessly behind the scenes.

Kusum Arora

The Wire | November 23, 2021

Farmers at the Singhu border on January 28. Photo: PTI

Jalandhar: The repeal of the three controversial farm laws scripted a new chapter in the history of India’s farmer movements. While farmers’ union leaders, under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) became the face of the movement, there were many others who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the struggle a success.

The Wire traced the faces behind the year-long farmers’ agitation, which is set to complete its first anniversary on November 26, for which big rallies and celebrations are planned at Singhu and Tikri.

Díaz-Canel joins Red Bandana Sit-in

Yesterday, November 14, around noon, President Miguel Díaz-Canel arrived at Havana’s Central Park to join the sit-in organized by the Red Bandana collective, an initiative of social network activists, members of Cuban civil society organizations, and promoters of community projects

Leticia Martínez Hernández

Granma | November 15, 2021

Photo: Estudios Revolución

“I am grateful to be able to spend a bit of my Sunday with you,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said to the young and not so young crowd camping out in Havana’s Central Park for more than 48 hours, in what they have called the Sit-in of the Red Bandanas.
This is an anti-imperialist, ecumenical action, he noted, with a red bandana around his neck, after enjoying a concert by Tony Avila, sitting on the floor with more than a hundred others in the portico of Alicia Alonso Theater, where the activity was moved as rain began.

Five Reasons the Left Won in Venezuela

While much is made about the alleged lack of support for President Maduro (the millions of votes his party got will never be acknowledged by the U.S.), it’s less known that the opposition is deeply unpopular.

Leonardo Flores

MintPress News | November 23, 2021

For the first time in four years, every major opposition party in Venezuela participated in elections. For the fifth time in four years, the left won in a landslide. Voters elected 23 governors, 335 mayors, 253 state legislators, and 2,471 municipal councilors. The governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won at least 19 of 23 governorships (one race remains too close to call) and the Caracas mayoralty in the November 21 “mega-elections.” Of the 335 mayoral races, the vote count has been completed in 322 of them, with PSUV and its coalition taking 205, opposition coalitions 96, and other parties 21. Over 70,000 candidates ran for these 3,082 offices, and 90% of the vote was counted and verified within hours of polls closing. Turnout was 42.2%, eleven points higher than last year’s parliamentary elections.

Here’s why chavismo, the movement behind Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution, won:

The Book ‘Letters of Alex Saab from Kidnapping’ to be Given for Free to FILVEN 2021 Attendees (+ Pro-Saab Street Mobilizations Throughout North America Scheduled for Monday)

Orinoco Tribune | November 14, 2021

The book Letters of Alex Saab from Kidnapping, which describes Saab’s torture and plight during his illegal detention in Cape Verde, as well as his love for the people of Venezuela and support for its government, will be given away to attendees this Sunday, November 14, at the International Book Fair of Venezuela (FILVEN). The book fair is being held in Caracas, at the Federal Legislative Palace, which is the headquarters of the National Assembly of Venezuela.

As part of the programed activities for FILVEN 2021, Alex Saab’s wife, Camilla Fabri, will attend a press conference scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m (Caracas time) on November 14.

In Letters of Alex Saab from Kidnapping, readers will find the personal letters written by Saab in his role as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Venezuela to the African Union.

Maduro: we neutralized the terrorist attack against the CNE by police intelligence

Odry farnetano

Ultimas Noticias | November 14, 2021

“We have managed to neutralize, thanks to the country’s police intelligence, the terrorist attack claimed by the extreme right, to be carried out last Friday, November 12, which would have destroyed a good part of the electoral machines in order to prevent the development of the elections of 21- Nov »declared the first president, Nicolás Maduro this Sunday, from the Miraflores Palace.

“They have already been captured, convicted and confessed,” he said.

He explained that from the confessions, it could be determined that the orders and resources to carry out this plan came from Spain. «The plan, the money, everything was planned in Spain. The mastermind, is from the Leopoldo López gang, it is he who is behind all this, with his right-wing extremist groups.