PSL protest targets AIG headquarters in Los Angeles

The Party for Socialism and Liberation held an emergency demonstration outside the AIG downtown Los Angeles headquarters on March 16.

Called just 24 hours after the revelation of the $165 million in bonuses given to AIG executives, it was the first protest of its kind in the country. The justly hated executives under fire are the same ones responsible for AIG’s demise last fall, before the government pumped in $180 billion to prop it up.

On a busy corner of Figueroa Ave., dozens of PSL members and supporters held signs and a banner reading “Cancel AIG bonuses, jail ‘em, don’t bail ‘em,” and chanted “People, yes! Bailouts, no! Bonuses have got to go!”

A flyer distributed by the PSL to hundreds of passersby drew the connection between the criminality of the capitalist owners and the government. The mass media came out in droves. The protest was covered by every major television and print outlet locally, and Time Magazine nationally.

The quick response by the PSL to this development shows how a revolutionary party can turn on a dime to sew greater distrust in the government and system when the opportunity arises. It is just a hint of what an organized party can do in this period of deepening capitalist crisis.