Party for Socialism and Liberation

Party for Socialism and Liberation
Founded June 2004[1]
Headquarters
Ideology Marxism–Leninism
Communism
Anti-capitalism
Proletarian internationalism
Political position Far-left
Colors Red
Seats in the Senate
0 / 100
Seats in the House
0 / 435
Governorships
0 / 50
State Upper House Seats
0 / 1,972
State Lower House Seats
0 / 5,411
Other elected offices
0 / 5,411
Website
pslweb.org

The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist party in the United States,[2] created as the result of a split within the ranks of the Workers World Party (WWP).[3]

The PSL has numerous branches across the country. In 2008, Gloria La Riva and Eugene Puryear ran for President and Vice President on the first PSL ticket. In July 2015, Gloria La Riva and Eugene Puryear were announced as the PSL's presidential ticket in 2016.

History

The PSL was formed when the San Francisco branch and several other members left WWP in June 2004, announcing that "the Workers World Party leadership is no longer capable" of fulfilling the "mission" of building socialism.[3]

Ideology

Domestic social policy

The PSL's primary objective is to form a revolutionary workers' party based in Marxism–Leninism. The party's goal is to lead a revolution paving the way towards socialism, under which a 'new government of working people' would be formed. The PSL proposes many radical changes to be implemented by this government. In the political sphere, all elected representatives should be recallable, securing freedom of speech for the working class (except in the case of xenophobia or bigotry and to prevent re-establishment of the capitalist system) and the elimination of corporate influence from politics.

Concerning economics, the PSL would, among other measures, prohibit the exploitation of labor for private profit, implement a working week of 30 hours, and eradicate poverty through the introduction of a basic income guarantee. The PSL would grant the right of self-determination to what it considers oppressed nations of the US, including "African Americans, Native, Puerto Rican and other Latino national minorities, the Hawaiian nation, Asian, Pacific Islander, Arab and other oppressed peoples who have experienced oppression as a whole people under capitalism". It would grant independence to Puerto Rico, Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands and the Mariana Islands, which it considers colonies. The PSL would end U.S. military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and close all US foreign military bases.[4]

International affairs

Historically, the PSL is generally positive on the former Soviet Union, describing the October Revolution as "the single biggest event that shaped global politics in the 20th century". The PSL acknowledges that the New Economic Policy of Vladimir Lenin led "to a re-polarization of social classes, especially in the countryside". The PSL blames the reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev for the fall of the Soviet Union.[5]

The PSL supports the government of Cuba, and while critical of the current Chinese government, it views the Chinese Revolution favorably.[6] The PSL also supports the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela. It has endorsed activities that call for the release of the Cuban Five—deemed political prisoners by supporters—and called for the extradition of Luis Posada Carriles from the US.[7]

The PSL voiced solidarity with Nepal after the election of Prachanda.[8]

The PSL, in the Leninist tradition, supports the right of nations to self-determination. It has been outspoken in condemning the state of Israel and its role in the Middle East. The PSL led demonstrations against the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in July 2006, and supports the right of return for Palestinian people.

Anti-war movement

The PSL co-operates with other organizations across the US in the anti-war movement,[9] and is a member of the steering committee of the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition (A.N.S.W.E.R.). As one of the most active members of the coalition, PSL has gained notice for successfully forging ties with Arab and Muslim American groups such as the Muslim American Society, Al-Awda and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Office locations

The national offices of the Party for Socialism and Liberation are based in San Francisco, California and Washington, D.C.

The PSL also maintains branches and centers in Austin, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and the Inland Empire in California; Miami, Florida; New Haven, Connecticut New Paltz and New York City (Harlem), New York; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; Seattle, Washington; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and St. Louis, Missouri.[10]

Electoral participation

The PSL often fields candidates for public office. However, because of challenging ballot access rules in many states, the party sometimes uses the ballot line of a different party or is on the ballot as an independent. The PSL has used the ballot line of the Green Party or the Peace and Freedom Party in the past. The party did manage to get on the ballot in 12 states for the 2008 presidential elections, with Gloria La Riva and Eugene Puryear as respectively president and vice president. The PSL managed to gain 6,821 votes, finishing 10th, out of a field of 23 candidates .[11] Below is a selection of other races that the PSL have contested.

Year Office Candidate On the ballot as Votes Position
2008 Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, District 4 Marylou Cabral Non-partisan 23,703 (17.5%) 2/3
California State Assembly, District 48 Lucilla EsguerraPeace and Freedom Party 11,173 (12.90%) 2/2
Illinois House of Representatives, District 40 Heather Benno Illinois Green Party 2,276 (10.07%) 3/3
Illinois House of Representatives, District 14 John Beacham Illinois Green Party 4,745 (14.5%) 2/2
2008 President of the United States Gloria La Riva & Eugene Puryear Party for Socialism and Liberation 6,821 (0.00%) 10/23
2009 Mayor of Los Angeles Carlos Alvarez Non-partisan 3,047 (1.11%) 8/10
Mayor of New York City Francisca Villar Party for Socialism and Liberation 3,517 (0.3%) 5/8
2010 Governor of California Carlos Alvarez Peace and Freedom Party 92,856 (0.9%) 6/6
Mayor of Long Beach Stevie Merino Independent 5,057 (16%) 2/2
Ohio House of Representatives Corey Ansel Green Party of Ohio 716 (1.4%) 4/4
2012 President of the United States Peta Lindsay & Yari Osorio Party for Socialism and Liberation 9,388 (0.01%) [12] 11/27
2014 California's 12th congressional district (primary) Frank Lara Peace and Freedom Party 2,107 (1.9%) 5/8
California Insurance Commissioner (primary) Nathalie Hrizi Peace and Freedom Party 212,991 (5.4%) 3/3
Council of the District of Columbia (At-Large) Eugene Puryear D.C. Statehood Green Party 12,525 (3.5%) 8/15
2016President of the United States Gloria La Riva & Eugene Puryear Party for Socialism and Liberation n.a. n.a.

Lindsay-Osorio campaign

The party's 2012 ticket for President listed Peta Lindsay, a 28-year-old activist and educator who is constitutionally barred from serving as President if elected due to her age, and Yari Osorio, who was born in Colombia and is unable to serve if elected because he was not born a United States citizen. Lindsay/Osorio were denied access to the Peace and Freedom Party's primary in California for this reason.[13] The PSL was on the ballot in 13 states (Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin), the most of any of the socialist presidential campaigns in 2012.[14]

Publications

The party's main publication is the biweekly newspaper, Liberation,[15] which replaced a quarterly magazine, Socialism and Liberation[16] PSL outlines its political perspective, including its assessment of the current international and domestic situation in the pamphlet "Who We Are, What We Stand For".[17] The party also owns its own printing company, PSL Publications, through which it has published multiple printed books such as Socialists and War: Two opposing trends by members Mazada Majidi and Brian Becker,[18] and an e-book which was released through amazon titled A Woman's Place Is in the Struggle by members Ana Maria Ramirez, Anne Gamboni, Gloria La Riva and Liz Lowengard.[19] The PSL's publication company is headquartered at their West Coast office in San Francisco, California.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Socialism and Liberation magazine is changing at pslweb.org, accessed 7 June 2008.
  2. ↑ About the Party for Socialism and Liberation at pslweb.org, accessed 4 June 2007.
  3. 1 2 Party for Socialism and Liberation: People's Struggle and the Socialist Revolution, August 1, 2004.
  4. ↑ "Part 2: The U.S. drive for global domination". Who we are, what we stand for. Party for Socialism and Liberation. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  5. ↑ Becker, Brian. "Socialism and the legacy of the Soviet Uni". Why Socialism?. Party for Socialism and Liberation. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  6. ↑ "Twenty years after Tiananmen Square". Socialist Worker. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  7. ↑ Cuba Solidarity Campaign at pslweb.org, accessed 4 June 2007.
  8. ↑ "Ferment in Nepal: A dynamic vortex of revolutionary change". 3 January 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Paul Le Blanc: Revolutionary organisation and the ‘Occupy moment’". 16 February 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  10. ↑ http://www.pslweb.org/party/join/
  11. ↑ CNN.com Full 2008 Election Results, accessed 29 July 2011.
  12. ↑ US Election Atlas at http://uselectionatlas.org, accessed 10 November 2012.
  13. ↑ Winger, Richard. "Ballot Access News » Blog Archive » May 2012 Ballot Access News Print Edition". Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "PSL on the ballot in 13 states nationwide". Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  15. ↑ Liberation
  16. ↑ Socialism and Liberation
  17. ↑ Who We Are, What We Stand For
  18. ↑ http://www.pslweb.org/liberationnews/news/psl-publications-announces.html
  19. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Womans-Place-Is-Struggle-ebook/dp/B00BQKMNJ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372983488&sr=8-1&keywords=a+woman%27s+place+is+in+the+struggle

External links

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