José Carlos Mariátegui: 87 Years Later

by Marc Becker

MR Online| June 14, 2017

Mariátegui’s funeral was one of the largest processions of workers ever seen in the streets of Lima, Peru, but in the U.S. his death was hardly noticed.

In 1930, Waldo Frank wrote in the leftist U.S. weekly the Nation that the April 16 death of Jose Carlos Mariátegui had plunged “the intelligentsia of all of Hispano-America into sorrow; and nothing could be more eloquent of the cultural separation between the two halves of the new world than the fact that to most of us these words convey no meaning.”

Che

by Farooque Chowdhury

Countercurrents.org | June 14, 2017

Che is unvanquished. Proletarian revolutionaries and revolutions don’t get vanquished as they move from one phase to another through class struggle. So, the torch of liberation that Che Guevara carries never gets eliminated; the flame of freedom that Che ignites never gets extinguished; the dream of equality that Che livens never gets wiped out.

Fidel Castro’s memorial speech of Che Guevara

Fidel Castro’s speech on October 18, 1967

I first met Che one day in July or August 1955. And in one night — as he recalls in his account — he became one of the future Granma expeditionaries, although at that time the expedition possessed neither ship, nor arms, nor troops. That was how, together with Raúl, Che became one of the first two on the Granma list. 

Twelve years have passed since then; they have been 12 years filled with struggle and historical significance. During this time death has cut down many brave and invaluable lives. But at the same time, throughout those years of our revolution, extraordinary persons have arisen, forged from among the people of the revolution, and between them, bonds of affection and friendship have emerged that surpass all possible description. 

Che’s Memorial Complex restored for his 89th birthday

by  Ángel Freddy Pérez Cabrera

Granma | June 13, 2017

SANTA CLARA.– The Sculptural Complex dedicated to Ernesto Che Guevara and his comrades in arms has been completely restored to host the activities to mark the 89th anniversary of the Comandante’s birth this Wednesday, June 14. The site will see further activities in October, as the 50th anniversary of Che’s assassination in Bolivia is commemorated, as well as the 20th anniversary of the arrival of his and his comrades in arms’ remains to this city.

Tribute to Che this June 14 in Santa Clara

by Ángel Freddy Pérez Cabrera

Granma | June 08, 2017

SANTA CLARA.– The presence of Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara in this city will be remembered with a series of activities this June 14, on the occasion of the 89th anniversary of his birth.

In the early morning, 39 children and young people from two local schools named after the guerrilla leader will carry out the traditional exchange of floral wreaths at the Memorial where his remains and those of his fellow comrades in arms in Bolivia rest, explained Yoel Padrón, head of the Young Communist League’s (UJC) Ideological Department in Villa Clara.

A Few Lines From Young Marx

by Farooque Chowdhury

Countercurrents.org | May 05, 2017

It was 1830, the July Revolution forced abdication of king Charles X in France, and Louis Philippe became constitutional monarch. Twenty-eight years prior to this development in France, in 1802, the first factory law was introduced in England; and the law pertained to child labor. In the same year, John Dalton introduced atomic theory into chemistry. In the Congress of Vienna in 1814-’15, Metternich of Austria, Talleyrand of France, Alexander I of Russia, Frederick William I of Prussia and Castlereagh of England attempted to attain balance of power in Europe, reestablished monarchies, redrew their boundaries to the advantage of Prussia, Austria and Russia, organized German Confederation. British conquest of Dutch and French colonies was recognized. Works by the Young Germany writers were banned in Germany. But the reactionaries failed to stop spread of liberal ideas. On December 7, 1835, the first German train powered by a steam engine completed its journey of 7 kilometers in 12 minutes from Nuremberg to Furth.

The much-visited figure of Che

by Mireya Castañeda

Granma | 12 April, 2017

Ernesto Che Guevara (1928-1967) was an Argentine-Cuban revolutionary, statesman, writer and physician. His life, actions and thought have become an example for millions of men and women around the world. Foto: Osvaldo Salas

ERNESTO Guevara de la Serna (1928-1967), the mythical Che, is such a fascinating historical figure that there have been numerous filmmakers who have wanted to explore his intense life, either through documentaries or feature-length films.

Below we make reference to ten examples from the extensive filmography seeking to portray this man/legend, one of the most important Latin American figures of the twentieth century.

As A Poet, Or A Journalist?

Samar Sen beyond 100 Years!

by Bibekananda Ray

Frontier | Vol. 49, No.39, April 2 – 8, 2017

Samar Sen. Source: Frontier

He was born 100 years ago in British India on 10th October 1916, in a cultured middle-class family of Bagbazar (Bishwakosh Lane), his father and grandfather, born in East Bengal, were professors. In 1916, Kolkata ceased to be the capital of British India. Delhi wrested the glory in 1911. The British afterglow was still very bright in the city, as it harked back to the commercial ethos that Job Cbarnock endowed it in 1692. His mother died in 1928, when he was 12; three years later his father remarried to his shock. A literary atmosphere prevailed in their home in Bagbazar, with Rabindrapath’s influence being the strongest. Rabindranath wrote to him 14 letters, the last on 20th August 1930. To grandfather, Prof Dinesh Chandra Sen, writer, collector of Bengali folklore and chronicler of Bengali literature, the poet wrote 56 letters across 41 years.

Remembering Vilma Espín on the 87th anniversary of her birth

by Eduardo Palomares Calderón

Granma | 07 April, 2017

Photo: Courtesy of the Museum of the Second Front

SANTIAGO DE CUBA.– Colonel Alberto Vázquez García’s participation in the clandestine struggle in Santiago de Cuba, his early incorporation into the Rebel Army, and being among the founders of the Frank País Second Eastern Front, allowed him to interact with Vilma Espín Guillois. Today, on the 87th anniversary of the birth of this extraordinary Cuban woman, he offers some of his fondest memories of her.

“We were practically neighbors, because we lived two and a half blocks from each other. In addition, I was a bus driver on a route that passed by the University of the Oriente, and I often saw her take the bus to go to classes, but it never crossed my mind that this young girl would become that outstanding figure of the struggle and the triumphant Revolution.”

We are going to triumph

Letter to Bertha Cáceres from her daughter, Laura Zúñiga Cáceres

by Laura Zúñiga Cáceres

On what would have been indigenous and environmental movement leader Bertha Cáceres’ 45th birthday [March 4, 2017], we reproduce this letter from her daughter Laura. Cáceres was assassinated in her native Honduras just before midnight one year and one day ago. Her birthday party had already been planned.

Source: ¡Berta Vive!

The Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations (COPINH), the Lenca indigenous group Cáceres cofounded in 1993, continues to work for justice for indigenous peoples and territories, for protection of the earth, and for democracy in Honduras. Like its cofounder, COPINH’s vision goes far beyond defense, instead espousing and creating new relationships among people and with Mother Earth and transformative political and economic systems.

Bertha [1] Cáceres, my mother, my mommy, was struggle in action, with oppression piled atop her, carrying on her back all the pains that this system imposes on the poor, the poor indigenous, the poor indigenous women.

Bertha, capable of indignation at every injustice in the world, rebelled against them and fought against them. Because of that, she saw everything as cross-cutting [achieved intersectional thought], she understood that capitalism, patriarchy and racism have to be fought all together.