NOTE: Popular Resistance supports the call to mobilize for the issues outlined in the demands below no matter who is elected president in November. We are clear that there is bipartisan consensus in Washington, DC against what is needed to protect people and the planet and that we are living in a failed state. It is only through sustained mass mobilization that we will win our demands. – MF
Confronting the threat of Capitalism without the pretense of Democracy.
Addressing the Crisis of the Presidential Transition and its (global) Implications.
We are living in tumultuous times. The core capitalist countries are rapidly abandoning any pretense of democracy and advancing toward war. We, the oppressed peoples and working class people of the world, must take decisive action to stop the advance of authoritarianism and the potential restoration of the neo-liberal fragmentation and austerity which delivered us to this moment.
The United States is now a powder-keg. Right-wing forces are threatening and assaulting progressive forces with deadly intent and outcomes all over the country. Progressive forces have been militantly confronting the repressive and exploitative institutions of society since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, on a scale not seen since the 1930’s. These forces stand juxtaposed in epic conflict and contrast. Behind this conflict is a struggle for power. The power to direct and transform society either to continue serving the elite or begin serving the people
One of the critical backdrops of this contest are the national elections in the United States, for President and Congress. Heightening this conflict is the struggle over which party is going to appoint the next Supreme Court Justice in the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passing. From the statements and actions of President Donald Trump, it is clear that the November 3rd elections will be fiercely contentious and contested, regardless of the outcome. Trump is intent on staying in power and we must do everything we can to ensure that this does not happen. The stakes could not be higher, and not just for those of us in the United States, but for everyone around the world given the impact of US imperialism.
We have learned hard lessons from history that in the contest of equal rights it is force that decides the outcome. We must galvanize and mobilize a force powerful enough to ensure a democratic outcome. Not only must we ensure that the Trump regime’s efforts to remain in power and advance its fascist agenda are stopped dead in its tracks, we must also upend the efforts of the Biden campaign, the DNC, and the neoliberal forces behind them to impose austerity upon the world and apply strategic repression against the forces that have sustained the Floyd rebellion.
In order to defeat the deadly and inhumane government and corporate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global depression, and the deepening climate and ecological crisis, we must demand more and we have to act in our own interests. We therefore call on all who are able to join us in taking a Pledge of Resistance and to Act Decisively, whether in the United States or globally. Our struggles and our futures are connected..
We Pledge to Act:
- To engage every possible non-violent action to fight for real human dignity and equality for all people and their economic, environmental and health needs as the crises that threaten us intensify. That said, we recognize that oppressed people resist and overcome their repression in many forms.
- To occupy civic squares on Wednesday, November 4 to send a clear message to President Trump to relinquish power.
- To occupy State Capitols on Saturday, November 7 to exert critical pressure on Trump to leave office and if the Democrats win to force the system to concede to our demands.
- To engage in strategic rolling strikes throughout November, December and January to counter the mobilization of the right, force Trump to leave office, and push the Democrats to enact our demands.
- To press towards a mass strike the day before, the day of, and/or the day(s) after the Inauguration to make every effort to shut down critical sectors of the country’s economic activities to force Trump out of office if he tries to stay on and to force Biden, should he win, to implement our demands.
We Pledge to Fight For:
- A radical transformation of society that decolonizes the land, democratizes and decarbonizes the economy, and abolishes the institutions of repression and punishment.
- The termination of the Trump-Pence regime and the suppression of the armed white supremacist militias it has empowered.
- A full bailout of the people – e.g universal basic income, the elimination of all debts, no rents or mortgages payments during the pandemic, and no more corporate bailouts, etc.
- Universal Health Care for all.
- A clear, science-driven national policy to end the COVID-19 pandemic that includes:
- Production and distribution of all the necessary PPE
- Community based education & support related to physical distancing and mask wearing protocols.
- Transparent , complete and accurate information about COVID-19.
- Free medical treatment and well-tested vaccinations for all.
- The immediate implementation of environmental actions as called for by the scientific consensus to reverse global warming and climate change.
- Economic Transformation, turning all banks and financial institutions into public utilities and transforming corporations into worker owned and self-managed cooperatives.
- The immediate release of people imprisoned for non-violent offenses or political activities. This includes freedom and safety for all people seeking asylum and imprisoned by ICE.
- Defund and demilitarize the police. Ending police immunity to prosecution.
- Defund the military.
- The immediate halt to war provocations and preparations. This includes:
- Dismantling the U.S. nuclear arsenal in conjunction with international agreements for a denuclearized world.
- Removal of all U.S. bases and military operations in other countries.
- The end to all assassination efforts, including by drones.
- Release of those imprisoned in the last months of rebellion, drop all charges and
support those who have and are resisting.
Join us. Make the Pledge. Organize your family, friends, coworkers and congregants to take action to Stop Trump, Stop Austerity, and Build the Future we need. All of this is Possible.
The time is now.