Cover Image: Brazilian protesters block police with flaming barricade, São Paulo
Brazil
The people of the Ribeirão Preto neighborhood of São Paulo carried out a combative protest against the lack of water caused by the economic crisis and pandemic. To prevent the police from enacting mass arrests a barricade was constructed and set ablaze.
Ireland
This week revolutionaries launched An Grian Dhearg (The Red Sun), a magazine to promote Maoism. The first issue contains articles on Maoism and Irish Republicanism, the Loughall Ambush, the People’s Wars in Peru and India, a critical assessment of the situation in Nepal, and the contributions of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao.
USA
Pittsburgh: Political slogans appeared in spray paint across Wilkinsburg, a working class suburb, reading, “Workers Unite Against Layoffs and Forced Closures” and “Fight Gentrification, Defend Wilkinsburg,” in response to the economic crisis and increased displacement.
Los Angeles: Activists and supporters of Defend Boyle Heights went to City Hall to announce their demands regarding the current crisis. While a few council members were present, the majority were “self-isolating” and calling into the meeting via a group video call.
Activists issued the demands through a megaphone, which included work or wages, an immediate stoppage of rent and all utility bills, and an end to the bans on protests. Activists shouted that the working people of Los Angeles cannot afford to self-isolate and that city council members will not be able to live peacefully if these demands are not met. Activists then taped posters with the demands to the pillars of City Hall while chanting “We know where you congregate! We know where you Isolate!”
Graffiti commemorating Communist Party of Ecuador Red Sun’s veteran comrade Juan “Taita” Manuel Anaguarqui appeared in multiple locations across working class neighborhoods and outside the Ecuadorian consulate.
The election boycott campaign was also observed with graffiti bearing the slogan “Elections No! Revolution Yes!” which included a hammer and sickle, the international communist symbol for workers and peasants.
Charlotte: A poster containing tenants’ demands was glued to the door of the leasing office of Cityview Apartments. Four buildings in the apartment complex have caught fire due to the owner’s negligence toward electrical issues. The poster called for an immediate rent stoppage, repairs to electrical wiring to stop the fires, compensation for those displaced by the fire, an end to rent hikes, and the eradication of mold. The slogan reading, “We Demand Work or Wages” was painted nearby.
Austin: Direct action was carried out in support of the Rent Strike at Quad West, Quad East, and Town Lake apartments, with drop boxes sealed to prevent rent payments from being delivered on time to the management offices. Posters were glued up reading, “Rent Strike, Keep Your Money. You Need it More than your Landlord,” including a list of demands put forward by residents.
