Comrade Joselo, Present in the Struggle!

By Jakob Stein

The death of Comrade Joselo, a founder and leader of the Communist Party of Ecuador – Red Sun (PCE-SR), carries an enormous weight, not only for Maoists in the International Communist Movement, but for the working class and poor peasantry of Ecuador and the oppressed peoples of the world.

Comrade Joselo spent his life in service to the people as a fighter and organizer—his work stretched from the Ecuadorian countryside to the slums of Quito. He founded the Committee of Poor Peasants (CCP) in the North of the country, which includes the province of Imbabura, where land seizures continue to be strengthened by a militant peasant movement. He also helped form detachments of the proletariat in some of the poorest areas of the capital.

As the PCE-SR notes, Comrade Joselo was “Loved and respected by the masses in the trade unions, markets, informal vendors, especially by the poor peasantry; hated and persecuted by the reactionaries and other champions of the old state, he gives an account that his life took the right course.”

In all ways Comrade Joselo embodied what it means to be a Communist, he was a friend of the people, a fearless fighter for them, and a stringent enemy of imperialism, the reactionary old state, opportunists, and revisionists alike. The state was eager to target for him for annihilation, but they were unable to capture him over the course of his 30 year tenure as a revolutionary since he was able to swim among the people like a fish in water.

Although a sudden health issue has taken Comrade Joselo’s life, it is up to the revolutionaries left in his wake to rise to his level of commitment, fearlessness, and tireless service to the people. Throughout his life, he never lowered the red flag, and now it is our duty to take it and raise it to even greater heights, to reconstitute the Communist Parties in every country, to uphold, defend and apply Maoism, and to initiate the people’s wars that will ultimately usher in the luminous communism.

The PCE-SR has raised the following slogans:

COMRADE JOSELO: IN COMBAT YOU WILL OVERCOME!

COMRADE JOSELO: WE WILL WIN!

COMRADE JOSELO: IN THE HEART AND STRUGGLE OF THE CLASS AND OPPRESSED PEOPLES OF THE WORLD!

LONG LIVE THE PEOPLE’S WAR IN INDIA, PHILIPPINES, TURKEY, AND PERU!

WITHOUT POWER, EVERYTHING IS ILLUSORY!

IF WE DO NOT FIGHT AGAINST REVISIONISM, WE WILL HAVE ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING!

TO CONQUER THE RED SUN OF LIBERATION: COMMUNISM!