On March 20 and 21, Party for Socialism and Liberation presidential candidate Gloria La Riva spoke at two events in Washington state, discussing the case of the Cuban Five and the Cuban elections.
On March 20, La Riva was the featured speaker at a meeting organized by the Seattle chapter of the National Lawyer’s Guild. The meeting focused on the case of the Cuban Five. The audience watched the film “Mission Against Terror” and listened to presentations by La Riva and by Roberto Maestas, executive director of El Centro de la Raza.
In the audience were Harold Belmont of American Indian Movement and other Native American activists. Belmont opened the meeting by singing a song and sharing some of his thoughts with the audience.
Maestas, a long-time supporter of the Cuban revolution, spoke about the significance of Cuba and Fidel Castro in his life. He shared how he grew up in New Mexico as one of 17 children raised by his grandmother and grandfather, who lived to be 100 years old.
In the 1980s, Maestas interviewed his beloved grandfather about his life and opinions. When Maestas asked his grandfather which person had most inspired him, his grandfather thought for a while and replied, “Fidel Castro.”
La Riva opened with a talk about her experiences in accompanying a Native American delegation to Cuba. She then proceeded to outline the case of the Cuban Five, five men unjustly imprisoned in the United States for the “crime” of infiltrating the Miami-based, counter-revolutionary terrorist movement that has targeted Cuba for decades.
During the discussion, participants agreed to cooperate in holding a day-after demonstration in Seattle following the announcement of a legal decision on the case of the Cuban Five.
After the discussion, Harold Belmont presented La Riva with a golden buffalo pin and sang the AIM song to close the meeting.
On Friday March 21, La Riva spoke at a meeting at Media Island in Olympia, Wash. The meeting was sponsored by Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, Olympia Students for a Democratic Society and Olympia Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. Most of the people attending were students or recent graduates of The Evergreen State College in Olympia.
La Riva spoke about the Cuban Five, and the recent Cuban elections and the current role of Fidel Castro.
During the meeting, Rick Fellows stopped by. Fellows is the director of Media Island, a non-profit progressive organization in Olympia, and also serves as the mechanic for Pastors for Peace. He had brought the Pastors for Peace Cuba Friendshipment bus with him. The entire meeting went outside to look at the bus, beautifully painted with images of the Cuban Five.
The discussion ranged over many topics. One participant in the meeting volunteered to help the La Riva campaign petition to gain ballot access in Washington State.
