MEXICO CITY, October 25 — “Strike, Strike, Strike,” clamored thousands of workers inside and outside the offices of the Mexican Electrical Workers’ Union (SME), historically one of the country’s most militant unions. President Felipe Calderon fired 44,000 workers, aiming to destroy the union, while arguing that public companies “don’t work.” Hundreds of thousands, including PLPers, have marched through the city to back the workers.

Dozens of unions, mass organizations, university, farmworker movements and representatives of the AFL-CIO are joining together to support the electrical workers to plan actions and a national strike to be announced on November 5.

Many of the leaders of these groups are reformists and pro-capitalist opportunists who will once again betray the workers. Only guaranteeing communist ideas which workers can make their own can convert them into a powerful revolutionary
reality.

This government move follows the privatization of banks, railroads, and the telephone system. Despite the fact that these companies were supposedly not productive, Carlos Slim, one of the world’s richest capitalists, using non-productivity as an excuse, bought up TELMEX.

The government blames the workers for the supposed “bankruptcy” of the electric company, but it’s the government — which serves the capitalists —   that administered it, not the workers. Whether companies are private or public, workers are being attacked more sharply because of the crisis of capitalism.

The workers are demanding abolition of Calderon’s decree that fired them and complete rejection of the new “economic package” that raises income and sales taxes on workers’ already-poverty wages.

During a meeting, masses of rank-and-file workers applauded thunderously  when several speakers demanded paralyzing Mexico City, its factories and schools, take-overs of buildings, highways, and confronting the police who’ve taken control of the Department of Power in downtown Mexico City. But immediately Martin Esparza, SME leader, said, “We can’t fall for provocations…the police and the army are part of the people…we have 100 lawyers who will help us.”

To that the workers again clamored “Strike, Strike!,” forcing other “leaders” to try to calm them. Meanwhile, Esparza is seeking support from the city’s Mayor, and from Lopez Obrador, both of the PRD (Party of the Democratic Revolution).

But neither the government, the sellout leaders, Lopez Obrador, nor the lawyers defend the workers’ interests. In 1997 the workers were attacked when the government reformed the Social Security Law. Recently they reformed the law again, depriving millions of older state workers of all rights to a secure, dignified retirement.

This time it’s the workers for the Dept. of Light and Power who are being attacked. Soon it will be those in the Federal Commission of Electricity and the PEMEX oil workers and the whole working class, to serve the interests of either U.S., European or Asian imperialists. No boss or imperialist bloc will defend the working class. They all exploit workers and keep us living in poverty.

In the last few days, marchers have supported the SME and protested  massive attacks on the country’s working class. In one march, Oaxaca’s  unionized teachers participated and some, together with industrial workers from Mexico City, helped distribute a PLP communist leaflet. It attacked capitalism and imperialism for the attacks on the workers and called for building PLP and communist revolution to destroy this system.

Capitalism, by its very nature, generates exploitation, poverty and wars,  killing workers. We workers, the vast majority of the population, are the only ones who create everything of value. In a communist society, we workers will determine how to distribute this wealth we create, eliminating the oppression a handful of bosses imposes on us with their laws, police and sellout leaders.