Recently,
the news media in Philadelphia has, in effect, reported that there is an
escalation in the international crisis of capitalism. The owners of both
Hahnemann Hospital and a Philadelphia oil refinery have announced their
facilities will be shut down. The federal government has announced that there
will be raids aimed at arresting thousands of our neighbors, who happen to have
been born outside this country. The President threatened war against both
Venezuela and Iran if those nations don’t do exactly what he tells them to do.
There is a national drive to prevent women from having the right to decide if
and when they will have children.
I
believe that when we look at the totality of these events, and how they have
emerged just a few months apart, we can see that there are profound underlying
problems. If we lived in a secure world, why would the owners of a hospital and
an oil refinery shut down those facilities?
When
we know that immigrants routinely work at some of the worst and least desirable
jobs, why is the government making it their top priority to deport many of
these workers? Why did the President threaten wars and implement economic
sanctions against nations that never threatened this country? Before abortion
became a woman’s right, thousands of women died or were mutilated because of
back alley abortions. Why is the government determined to go back to those
days?
Before
I attempt to answer those questions, perhaps it is useful to contrast the
policies of this country, with the routine policies of the revolutionary
government of Cuba. We can start with the closing of Hahnemann Hospital.
Health care
One
effect of the closing of Hahnemann will be the closing of its maternity ward.
In the year 1997 there were about 18 maternity wards in Philadelphia. After the
closing of Hahnemann Hospital there will be five maternity wards in the city.
As a result, the infant mortality rate in the city has increased.
Hahnemann
Hospital cared for about 50,000 patients in their emergency room. I have spoken
to nurses and patients who tell me that wait times today in the city emergency
rooms can surpass twelve hours. Closing down Hahnemann will only make this
situation worse.
Cuba
Nicholas
Kristof had a column in a January 18, 2019 issue of the New York Times, where
he reported on Cuban health care. According to Kristof, Cuba has three times
more doctors per capita as the United States. Cuba also has a significantly
lower rate of infant mortality than this country. As a result, Kristof
speculates that about 7,500 children die every year in this country because we
don’t have Cuban health care.
Clearly
Cuba doesn’t have the advanced technology that doctors in this country.
However, the reason for the lower rate of infant mortality in Cuba has to do
with the fact that every pregnant woman and child receives regular check ups.
This routine policy prevents serious conditions relating to pregnancy, as well
as childhood diseases. We might also consider that Cuba is a nation that is
100% Latino and about 40% Afro-Cuban. These populations in the United States
have a higher rate of infant mortality.
Oil Refineries
There
have been several explosions at the Philadelphia oil refinery that is scheduled
to close. This is a reflection of the fact that the owners of the refinery
(Philadelphia Energy Solutions Inc.) refused to pay for proper maintenance of
the facility. The government refused to adequately enforce the safety
regulations that are supposed to oversee oil refineries.
As a
result, the latest explosion at this refinery could have caused a leak of
hydrogen fluoride. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that this kind of leak
could have affected over one million inhabitants of the Philadelphia area.
Hydrogen fluoride is potentially lethal and can cause injuries that can last a
lifetime.
Cuba
After
the Cuban Revolution, the United States government worked diligently to
overthrow the revolutionary government. History has shown that the government
in this country has had a routine policy of working to overthrow governments
that it doesn’t like.
The
wars against Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan are just a few examples of
this policy. Today we also know that the U.S. government worked to overthrow
governments in the Congo, Guatemala, Iran, Chile, and Panama. One method the
United States used in their attempt to bring down these governments was to use
their influence to isolate the economies of these nations.
Because
the U.S. declared a trade embargo against Cuba, the revolutionary government
came to an agreement with the Soviet Union to import oil from that nation.
Ernesto Che Guevara was the minister of the economy in Cuba, and he had a
meeting with the managers of the oil refineries in Cuba.
He
asked them to refine oil from the Soviet Union. Those managers said they would
talk to Washington to see if this was possible. When there was no response to
Che, Cuba nationalized all the oil refineries on the island. Eventually Cuba
offered to pay for those refineries, but the oil corporations refused to accept
the money.
We
might think about the aftermath to the revolution of the thirteen colonies that
created the nation known as the United States of America. After this
revolution, many of those who supported the British, known as Tories, left the
country. The revolutionary government confiscated the vast land holdings of
those Tories. After over 200 years, the United States government never offered
to pay the descendants of the Tories for the land this nation confiscated.
We
might also consider that Bernie Sanders came to Philadelphia to speak in
opposition to the closing of Hahnemann Hospital. Sanders favors using billions
of dollars in taxpayer money to rescue hospitals like Hahnemann.
No
government official has argued that the assets of the owners of Hahnemann or
the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Corporation need to be confiscated. In my
opinion, those facilities need to be placed under workers control, so they can
operate to serve the needs of the community, and not to maximize profits of
corporations.
Immigrants
Every
year, the Fourth of July is a national holiday in this country. This is a
celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This Declaration
was a list of grievances against the British royal government that sparked the
revolution. Included in this Declaration is a statement critical of the British
for restricting immigration to this
part of the world.
We
also might consider that the First Nations of this part of the world are among
the least affluent citizens of this country. Most of the immigrants in this
country come from Mexico or Central America. The people who live in this area
are descendants of Native Americans who trace their ancestors to this land for
over 20,000 years.
No
one has the power to control where we are born in the world. While capitalists
profit from their international investments, I believe that working people need
to view ourselves as one international class. All capitalist governments
disagree with this perspective.
Presidents
Clinton, Bush, Obama, and Trump have been deporting literally hundreds of
immigrants every day. All of these Presidents have separated thousands of
children from their parents. In the past, the government deported immigrants,
and sent their U.S. born children into foster care.
Today
children are separated from their parents at the border and placed in
concentration camps. While President Obama deported more immigrants than
President Trump, the current President is working to accelerate his deportation
program. Just the other day there were about 800 demonstrations throughout this
country, protesting raids on our neighbors who happen to be immigrants.
Cuba
Because
Cuba has three times more doctors per capita than this country, they have many
more doctors to send to other nations to treat some of the poorest patients in
the world. In the United States there are some doctors who spend a few weeks
going to other nations to treat patients who need medical care.
In
Cuba there are thousands of doctors who treat the most indigent patients from
around the world for years at a time.
Cuba is also proud of the fact that students from around the world learn to
become medical doctors in Cuban medical schools.
Clearly
Cuba doesn’t have many of the conveniences of this country. However, the
revolutionary government makes it their priority to mobilize and give aid to
people from around the world who need it.
War
The
routine policy of the United States has been to go to war, or institute
economic sanctions on any nation in the world that doesn’t follow their orders.
Workers who attempt to escape conditions where the wages are two dollars per
day are willing to do some of the worst jobs in this country. The government
has responded by making it their top priority to deport hundreds of these
workers every day.
When
we study the history of the United States, we see that there was one war after
another. Then, after the Vietnamese people defeated the armed forces of this
country, there were a few years when the military was so demoralized that the
government didn’t feel war was a possibility. Then, the United States invaded
Grenada and there have been continuous wars since that time.
While
the United States government argues that it is defending freedom and democracy
in the world, the facts tell another story. The wars, as well as the huge
military budget, have been about maintaining the position of the super-power
status of the United States in the world.
Cuba
Clearly,
Cuba isn’t a pacifist nation. The Cuban government came to power because of an
armed revolution. Every Cuban spends time in the military and learns how to use
firearms. The United States government understands that an invasion of Cuba, would be met with an armed resistance from the entire population.
Because
of Cuba’s international perspective, thousands of Cuban soldiers went to Angola
to defend that nation against an invasion supported by the apartheid regime of
South Africa. Eventually the Cubans and Angolans succeeded in defeating the
invasion of that country.
This
defeat of the apartheid forces in Angola set in motion the freeing of Nelson
Mandela from prison. The apartheid regime understood that it needed to change,
and Mandela became the President of a completely different South Africa.
Abortion
Back
in the 1970s a mass movement in this country demanded the right of women to
have an abortion. At that time, thousands of women died or were mutilated every
year because they were unable to get safe abortions. We might also consider
that affluent women always had the means to do what was necessary, so they had
access to abortion. Because of this mass movement, the Supreme Court legalized
abortion.
Ever
since that time, there has been a sustained and well-financed movement to
prevent women from having access to abortion. As a result, it is much more
difficult today for women to have the right to control their own bodies.
We
might also consider that today there are many more women in government, as well
as on the governing boards of major corporations. This reality has not stopped
state governments from passing laws that prevent women from having the right to
decide if and when they become mothers.
Cuba
Ever
since the Cuban Revolution, abortion has been legal in that country. Since
medical care is a right for everyone, there is no charge for this procedure.
We
might also think about the women who have been leaders of the Cuban Revolution.
These leaders include: Celia Sanchez, Vilma Espin, Haydee Santamaria, and Melba
Hernandez. These leaders joined in the effort to make the Cuban government
responsible for the lives of every Cuban.
As a
result, today Cuban women have equal representation in the government as well
as in the professions. These changes didn’t happen because of an improvement in
the capitalist government. No, these changes came about because of the
revolutionary transformation of Cuba.
Today,
in Cuba human needs are more important than profits. I believe that this is an
example that working people all over the world can learn from.
When
we see the enormous difference in the priorities of Cuba and this country, we
might begin to understand why workers and capitalists have completely different
interests. While the U.S. government has had an economic embargo against Cuba
for sixty years, working people have no interest in restricting our relations with
the Cuban people.
So,
one conclusion that we can draw from this reality is to demand: End the
blockage against Cuba now!!!
All points well taken.
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