The Los Angeles branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation hosted a Socialism Conference on May 8, drawing over 250 workers, students, organizers and interested participants. The conference took place on the Los Angeles City College Campus, one of the most multinational, working-class community colleges in the region.
 Over 250 people attended the May 8 Socialism Conference in Los Angeles hosted by the Party for Socialism and Liberation |
The May 8 conference was the largest regional socialism conference yet for the PSL in L.A. People came from Los Angeles, San Diego, Ventura, Orange County, Inland Empire, Long Beach, and Northern California; from Arizona; and from New Mexico to attend. It was a testament to the growth and expanding reach of the PSL in Southern California, and the yearning for an alternative to capitalist exploitation and abuses.
The conference’s theme was “Capitalism is a crime: We need socialism!” It consisted of opening and closing panels of speakers and two sets of workshops in between, where participants had an opportunity for in-depth discussion.
Speakers included PSL leaders, student organizers, immigrant rights leaders, health care workers, students and many others.
In the first panel, PSL candidate for California Secretary of State, Marylou Cabral, kicked off the day by introducing the concepts to be discussed at the conference: “Real change is why we are here. Not the kind of change we are promised from this or that capitalist politician, but revolutionary change. When we talk about socialism, it’s because we truly want to change the world. As a daughter of a Mexican immigrant family, as a student, and as a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, I am especially proud to be with all of you at LACC.”
Other speakers included the PSL’s former candidate for Mayor of Long Beach, Stevie Merino and PSL Albuquerque leader Preston Wood.
L.A. member Peta Lindsay spoke about the struggle against racism and bigotry and the PSL’s view about building multinational working-class unity. She highlighted the PSL’s struggles against racism and fascist tendencies in Southern California and across the United States. Vamos Unidos USA coordinator and May 1 march organizer Juan Jose Gutierrez addressed the ongoing struggle for immigrant rights.
PSL candidate for California Governor, Carlos Alvarez, gave a Marxist view on bourgeois elections:
“PSL electoral candidates run to be able to challenge the capitalist criminals every step of the way. We run to block the capitalists even in the arenas that they surely control.
“We do not let up. We make demands. We demand jobs for all at union wages. We demand that education be made free. We make demands for equality and unity against racism and all forms of bigotry. We demand a vote for every worker, regardless of documentation status.
“We are candidates that fight tooth and nail to win any and all reforms that ease the burden for workers living under capitalism. But above all else we are candidates that unwaveringly support socialist revolution in the U.S.”
PSL member Richard Becker was the keynote speaker. He discussed the crimes of capitalism, including the recent Gulf oil disaster caused by BP and aided by the U.S. government.
After the opening panel, two sessions of workshops commenced. There were three different workshops in each session, with only one, “Is socialism possible in the United States?” repeating in both sessions. The other workshops included “U.S. imperialism and war: Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine,” “Fighting racism: from L.A. to Arizona and beyond,” and “Women and revolution.” A vibrant workshop of about 35 people called “Reform and revolution: what kind of movement we need” was conducted entirely in Spanish. Translation from English to Spanish was available throughout the day as well.
Despite being one of the nicest days of the Spring, the vast majority of the crowd stayed throughout the day. The closing panel titled “Workers and students unite—socialism will win,” featured speakers that talked about organizing the working class and joining the PSL.
Speakers included PSL member and March Forward! founder, Michael Prysner, and PSL members Muna Coobtee and Ena Valladares.
Prysner discussed the deepening work of March Forward! and its recruitment among the ranks of the military.
“We are calling on troops to not fight for the billionaire in his mansion, or the general sitting in a corporate board room, or the shareholder who gets a new yacht with every weapons contract—instead, fight for what is really in our interests, fight for what’s in the interests of our families, our friends, and for the vast majority of people all over the world: fight to bring the U.S. war machine to a grinding halt.
“I’d like to share an email I received recently, from an active duty infantryman who came across our literature: ‘I was deployed to Iraq thinking we were doing some good, I thought I was making a difference in the world. Well, ever since I’ve been back I have been plagued with guilt over some of the things I did while I was there. I feel like a complete fool now, all the Iraqi people were doing was protecting their families from us. And now that I think about it, I was the enemy…not the people of Iraq. So what am I suppose to do now? Where do I go from here? All I can do is think about children crying, I can’t get them out of my head. It’s driving me nuts… I want to do something that can make a difference; that can kinda right my wrongs you could say. I just don’t know where to begin or what to do.’
“He is now an active March Forward! organizer, speaking out about his experiences and inspiring soldiers to resist.”
Candidate member Carolina Maradiaga spoke about why she joined the PSL. It was an honest and inspiring talk. She said:
“Some of you might be wondering what made me want to join the party, and the answer to that is the fact that I was tired. Tired of being unemployed due to the economy, tired of seeing my mother struggle on a weekly basis because of her paycheck, and most of all tired of seeing my family—some of whom are in this country without papers—struggle and live in fear of being deported. …
“I have learned that the struggles people face today can be resolved if we join together and fight for our rights. We need to fight back for our basic human rights. Since joining the PSL, I have taken part in anti-war, anti-Nazi, and pro-immigrant rights demonstrations. The members of this party all fight with the same dedication against the capitalist system.”
Ian Thompson summarized the conference, urging everyone to join the PSL. The conference was the culmination of months of hard work and illustrated the growing interest in socialism.
