Union Del Barrio on Obama, Elections

Real change will only come from those who struggle for dignity, justice and self-determination.

With the historic election of Barack Obama as President of the United States we can say with certainty that there has been a paradigm shift in the mythology of capitalist white rule. Without a doubt the backwards concept of race superiority has suffered a blow, but the transfer of political power from one capitalist party to another should not be taken lightly. Race relations has entered a new level of discussion in an empire that has built its existence on the genocide of indigenous people, the theft of African labor and the premise of expansionism under the ridiculous assertion of divine intervention to settle land and conquer people. The significance of the 2008 U.S. presidential election is that for the first time in the history of capitalism, the most powerful country in the annals of human history will be led by a black man. This phenomenon signals a decline in the ability of white power capitalism to rule openly and viciously as it has since its inception; but more importantly it signals the need for those that financed the Obama campaign to promote president elect Obama as the beacon to keep alive this unjust and decadent capitalist system. In short, president-elect Obama was formed by the elite and will rule with the elite, but the historical feat of a black politician winning the presidency of the United States cannot be taken for granted.

The election of the first black president of the United States signals for us as well a new paradigm of struggle. Certainly the triumph of Obama cannot and does not mean that our struggle for self-determination, justice and dignity is now over. Quite the contrary, our struggle must be intensified, it must be unyielding. For in a time in which the empire finds itself in the midst of the worst economic crisis, a crisis that has propelled the rest of the world into a certain global economic depression. In a time in which endless war is a failed and only remaining strategy for the empire to plunder the resources of the peoples of the world. In this time, in which our communities are under siege, raided, persecuted, deported by one of the most sinister campaigns ever launched by the empire within its boundaries. In this time in which the wall of death has been built all along the borderlands as a damming monument erected by the empire in order to reassure its theft of our lands. That horrendous monument not only destroys communities, divides our people, wounds our collective memory, but it kills with impunity.

In a time of crisis for those in power, we offer our commitment to struggle, our willingness to be free, our hope for a better tomorrow. In a time of the elite’s crisis we must seize the moment and transform their crisis into our victory, their weakness into our triumph, their hesitation into our steadfast movement forward, change only comes when we, those who have been persecuted, exploited, incarcerated, marginalized, disenfranchised, stand together and say enough, and demonstrate our ability to resist. For the empire is more dangerous when it is wounded, when its ideals are shattered, when its economic systems are in turmoil, the United States and its capitalist system has an outstanding ability to be resilient. It has risen triumphant and empowered on many occasions out of multiple crises, for such is the nature of the empire. It must self-degrade to gain strength. Their crisis will not become our victory until we build a movement with enough political strength to once and for all rid our people of the yolk of oppression.

Apologists of the empire, and those scrambling to hold on to the now dilapidated notion of white power will say, that Obama as president of the United States signifies the end of class and race relations in the United States. The end of history, the triumph of the Civil Rights Movement; nothing can be further from the truth. Race and class differences have been taken to never-before seen levels, while for the first time the white minority ruling elite must address race relations when addressing the political superstructure, the system however is still very much entrenched in white power, it is still resilient, it is still powerful and it will not concede much more political space.

This is precisely why capitalism was in need of a facelift and the reason why the Democratic Party has won the contest for control, not only of the White House, but also for Congress. It is based primarily on the capitalists’ prospects and ability to confuse poor working class people into believing that some change has occurred and that this “change” will represent their interests. We don’t believe this for a minute. Capitalism by any other name is still capitalism, oppression by any other means is still oppression, and colonialism by any other face is still colonialism.

For these reasons the results of this election should not be an assertion that change is coming. We have always stated that both the Republican and Democratic parties are representatives of the ruling class, therefore their interests lie in keeping the wealth produced by the working poor. Obama, who was criticized by his opponent for his comments on wealth distribution, reaffirmed his stance by stating that all he wants is to go back to the tax structure of the 1990s. This point is best illustrated in the open thievery which took place last month, as the largest bailout packages in the history of capitalism were negotiated by Congress- of which both McCain and Obama were a part of. The bailout was a safety net for some of the largest corporations and was paid for at the expense of poor people the world over.

There is no evidence to suggest that the election of Obama will fundamentally change the economic problems faced by the great majority of people living within and outside of the political borders of the United States. After all, Obama attended the elite places of learning of the United States; his candidacy was supported by the ruling class of the United States. Obama as president, by itself, does not signify a fundamental change to the reality of working people and oppressed people within the boundaries of the United States, on the contrary, everything points towards the need for the United States to continue the theft of resources of the people the world over in order to rescue and maintain the economic system known as capitalism.

The triumph of Obama, over the war criminal McCain, must be viewed as a weakening of the socio-political understanding of class and race of the empire. But this feat, by itself does not guarantee change, although we recognize that the election of a black man to the White House is of historic proportions, now is the time for people of color and working people who live within the boundaries of the United States to unite

The struggle we have before us, beyond the Presidential election, is the need to articulate what we mean by change. Our immediate task is to organize ourselves in every community, in every school, in every field, in every factory, hotel, prison, and wherever we may find ourselves; for one thing is true, that while the economic crisis continues to escalate, those in power will continue to fire workers, all the while more and more people continue to have their homes stolen by banks in the form of foreclosures.

This is why we support the efforts of those that call for a moratorium on foreclosures, those who call for a halt to the raids and deportations, and those that call for reparations for the African community as well as support for cleaner sources of energy and the elimination of green house gases, and finally the rights of people to determine who they want to marry regardless of gender.

To all workers we say that your struggle to build unions and independent associations at every worksite, free from ICE raids and intimidation by the bosses signifies change. The struggle of women for inclusion and equality in our society, to combat all forms of gender violence is and must continue to be part of our change. To all educators: your struggle to infuse class-consciousness in the classroom despite the criminal budget cuts is our struggle. The struggle of the youth and students for education, cultural, social and political participation is our struggle. The struggle for relevant education and access to higher learning is our change. The struggle for human rights by grass-root community organizations that document migra and police brutality and have organized themselves to promote raids-free communities is the change that we need. To all non-profit workers: your struggle to provide the necessary tools and resources to help grassroots organizations build a movement from the bottom and to the left and rid social movements of the paralysis generated by the non-profit industrial complex, is the change that we are building. To the intellectuals and academia: your struggle to generate ideas, write our history and analyze our social conditions despite the restrictions of bureaucracy of think tanks is the change that is coming. For artists and cultural workers: the canvas, the mural, the musical instrument, spoken word, their body, their written word, la flor y el canto, and to those who continue to use culture as the most beautiful tool against oppression, this is the change that we must build. To the environmentalists who have struggled tirelessly against degradation, pollution, health rights, toxic-free communities, yours is the change we must build.

We must unite for self-determination of all oppressed people no matter the nationality; we must unite as a working class people; and our struggle must be an anti-imperialist struggle, based on the struggles of all of us, when that happens then change becomes possible. Ours is not a change based on empty hopes for a better future; it is based on a need to ensure that all of us build a better community, a better society, a better world.


http://illvox.org/2008/11/10/union-del-barrio-on-obama-elections/