As the auto workers' struggle with the Big Three U.S. auto makers continues, the business pages of the nation's newspapers have been hit with troubling news about the state of the world's largest auto manufacturer, General Motors. While GM's parts subsidiary, Delphi has filed for bankruptcy, GM itself has seen a huge loss in profitability, sales and its stock tumble to the floor.
The Campbell government is planning a major offensive on the rights of working people. Over the past five years, each attack of the government has been met with stiff resistance. Each battle has taken on an increasingly militant character. With most public sector contracts ending this month, the stage is set for a decisive battle.
In February the Venezuelan province of Ciudad Bolivar was the setting for a number of remarkable struggles on the part of the youth, the working class and the organised communities. In one of them, a fight against a rise in the prices of bus tickets, masses of youth went so far as to seize the buildings of the local parliament. Ronny Pante and Carlos Rondón, leaders of the local student movement, recount what happened.