Greetings from Solidarity
January 21, 2019
The U.S. anti-racist, feminist, revolutionary socialist organization, Solidarity sends you our warmest internationalist greetings!
The World Economic Forum at Davos of capitalists, managers of capital, and rulers of the richest countries of the global north takes place at a time of accelerated attacks against mass standards of living, our unions, women’s rights, LGBT rights, and especially attacks against immigrants. It comes at a time when our planet is dangerously approaching the point where irreversible damage will threaten the earth and all human, animal and plant forms.
The capitalist governments meeting at Davos are both directly responsible for the continuing assaults on our planet, and the failure to take adequate measures to eliminate fossil fuel use, bring down carbon emissions, and slow global warming. The presence of former International Monetary Fund general secretary Christine Lagarde on the board of the WEF reminds us that the politics of austerity are part of a worldwide neo-liberal offensive to assure capitalist profits.
While all of these governments and international organizations bear responsibility for the deplorable state of the world, the United States and Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil represent particularly dangerous and destructive forces. Although Trump has cancelled his personal attendance at the gathering, it is impossible to ignore the global destructiveness of the U.S. government he represents.
While Trump wants to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border as part of his racist, anti-immigrant policies, the damage of his racist, anti-immigration stance and callousness regarding the planet knows no borders.
In the U.S., Trumps economic nationalism and anti-immigrant words and policies have emboldened reactionary, fascist, racist, and anti-Semitic forces.
As in Switzerland and throughout Europe, public spending for education and health has been cut while the rich receive tax benefits.
Trump’s announcement that he plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria should not let us forget that his narrow nationalist agenda, his personal unpredictability, and control of an enormous military and nuclear arsenal continues to make the U.S. the greatest threat to the world’s peoples and international peace. We must therefore continue to oppose U.S. military intervention in the Middle East and throughout the world.
While all of Trump’s political instincts tend towards the reactionary, the new president of Brazil, Bolsonaro is a long time committed ultra reactionary ideologue. Bolsonaro presents a threat to Brazil’s most vulnerable social layers and with this openness to logging companies and other exploiters of the amazon, a threat to the earth itself. Yet, Bolsonaro and Trump both find their place at the table of the richest countries.
However, the Trumps, Bolsonaros and all neo-liberal governments can expect resistance.
In Switzerland, teachers were able to turn back government assaults on their standard of living.
In France, the gilets jaunes movement has forced the neo-liberal Macron government to withdraw a hated tax that hits workers and the popular classes hardest.
In the U.S., hundreds of thousands of teachers marched and struck successfully last year for better wages and teaching condition for their students.
The day after Trumps inauguration in January 2016, 500,000 marched in defense of women’s rights. On January 19, women and their allies will once again (or just did) renew their intention to oppose Trump’s reactionary social agenda.
Your protest today against Trump, Bolsanaro and the other governments represented at the Davos meeting serves notice to the “saigneurs”* of the world that they can expect vigorous resistance to their assault on the people of the world and our planet.
We the look forward to the day when the majority of the planet’s peoples have our own Davos with a democratic system that puts people and the planet first.
Stop the capitalist assault on the planet and its peoples!
Down with all reactionary governments!
No to U.S. military intervention!
Dismantle U.S. military bases!
For a Davos of the workers and oppressed!
Internationalist greetings,
Solidarity Steering Committee, January 16, 2019