In Defence of Marxism

Here are the details of the pickets being organised worldwide to denounce the fraud that has taken place in the recent presidential elections in Mexico:

London

A picket is organised at the Mexican Embassy, which is situated at 16 St George Street, Hanover Square, London W1 (nearest tube Oxford Circus). Protests should also be sent to the Embassy at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

USA

Minneapolis 

Members of the Workers International League (publishers of Socialist Appeal and El Militante Sin Fronteras) have organized an "Emergency Protest Against Electoral Fraud in Mexico" for Friday, July 14 at 11:30 am at the Mexican Consulate in St. Paul, Minnesota. WIL members and their supporters will be present with signs and flyers calling on the Mexican labor movement to call a general strike to defeat the electoral fraud. A broad appeal has been made to the Latino community and the response so far has been excellent. A report and photos will be available after the event.

What: A picket of the Mexican consulate in St. Paul to join the Mexican people in protest against the electoral fraud that is being perpetrated in Mexico.

When: Friday, July 14 at 11:30 am.  Please be prompt so we can maximize our numbers and effect.

Where:  The Mexican consulate in St. Paul (797 7th St E.)  See here for a map.

Why: The Mexican Elections are not yet over.  Although the Federal Electoral Institute has given the PAN's Felipe Calderon a majority, the final determination can only be made by the Superior Court of the Federal Electoral Tribunal. There are many legal channels yet to pursue, so a final decision is far from being made.  And yet the United States and a handful of other governments have already recognized Calderon as the winner. There is ample evidence of irregularities in the vote counting process, and hundreds of thousands of Mexican citizens have come out on the streets to demand a ballot-by-ballot recount.  They are convinced that their candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador (of the PRD) has been fraudulently denied victory due to his promises to "put the poor first". More massive mobilizations in Mexico are planned for this weekend.

St. Louis 

What: A Picket of the Spanish Consulate in St. Louis to protest Spain's recognition of the right-wing Calderon as Mexico's President. Calderon has declared himself the winner despite widespread evidence that the election was stolen from his left-wing opponent, Lopez Obrador of the PRD party. We will present a protest petition to the Spanish Consul.  

When: Friday, July 14th @ 4:30pm  

Where: Spanish Consulate, 5715 Manchester Ave., between Hampton and Macklind  

Why: Demonstrate international Solidarity with the people of Mexico and organize defense of the human right to democratic participation. Come join us as part of a day of international "election observers" to let the Fox government and the workers and poor of Mexico know the world is watching. No to electoral fraud in Mexico!   For more information, call (314) 435-2493. Email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Come join us as part of a day of international "election observers" to let the Fox government and the workers and poor of Mexico know the world is watching.  No to electoral fraud in Mexico!

Canada

Vancouver 

Emergency Picket at the Mexican consulate

Friday, July 14, 4:00 pm

1177 West Hastings St.

Toronto

Fri 14th, 12:00 noon
199 Bay St. (1 block north of Front)

Ottawa

A massive fraud is taking place in Mexico.  This month's presidential election has been rigged.  There is overwhelming evidence of mass manipulation of the election results.  Video footage has been produced of ballot box stuffing and piles of ballots have even been found in the Mexico City  Despite these and other clear violations, a full recount is being refused.  These same manipulations were attempted in Haiti to keep out rightful president Rene Preval, but the population would not allow it.  Now the masses are mobilizing against this fraud in Mexico; last weekend over half a million people marched in Mexico city in support of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and an even larger demonstration is planned for this weekend.  Like in Haiti, the Mexican election will ultimately be decided in the streets.  Our sisters and brothers in Mexico need our support! 

Join us at the Mexican consulate to protest this scandal. 

Organized by Hands off Venezuela

Vienna, Austria

When: Friday, 14 July, 11am

Where: Botschaft Mexikos, Operngasse 17-21, 1040 Wien (next to TU)

Joint action of Der Funke with the Mexico Platform and "Kommunistische Initiative" and supported by the Young Socialists.

More info at the Der Funke website.

Here is a message from Ludwig Dvorak, president of the Socialist Youth of Austria:

No to electoral fraud in Mexico!

In the last days we have heard of "irregularities" in the course of the presidential elections in Mexico on 2 July. According to all the information we have we share your impression that this is a broadly organised electoral fraud with the aim to prevent the election of the PRD candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Certain forces within Mexico and internationally obviously are terrified by the idea that these elections could be the starting point of a political turn against the interests of big business. Already in the pre-election period there was an increase in state repression against social protest movements. Fraud and open repression should prevent Mexico from becoming the next hotspot of the Latin American revolution. Lopez Obrador and the PRD represent obviously the hopes of millions of youth and workers for a better future. But the oligarchy, which can be sure of the support of US-imperialism, is not prepared to allow such a political experiment to happen. From their point of view Mexico must not become a second Venezuela.

We welcome the magnificent protests against the fraud like the mass demo on 8 July at the Zocolo square. Mass mobilisations like this are the only weapon we have in the defence of our democratic rights. Also the Austrian history is rich of examples how the struggle for democratic rights can be successful. More than 100 years ago the Austrian labour movement fought successfully for the right to vote by organising mass demos and calling for a general strike. The labour movement in fact was the only social and political force that defended in an unbroken way the ideals of democracy.

In Austria we will try to support your efforts in the spirit of international solidarity and the democratic traditions of the workers movement. We will inform our comrades and the public about the developments in Mexico and we will do everything we can to build enough pressure that in the end the will of the voters on the 2nd of July will be stronger than the interests of the oligarchy and the imperialists.

The political developments in Latin America are a big inspiration for all of us. We are sure that the youth and the working class of Mexico will play an important role in the struggle for a democratic world without exploitation and oppression starting from this movement against the electoral fraud.

Your struggle is our struggle!

Ludwig Dvorak
President of the Socialist Youth of Austria

Lahore, Pakistan

When: Saturday, 15 July (time to be announced)

Where: Press Club Lahore 

Copenhagen, Denmark

When: Friday , 14 July, 1pm

Where: In front of the Mexican embassy, which is located at: Bredgade 65 1.sal, 1260 København K. (Nearest metro: Kgs. Nytorv)

Buenos Aires, Argentina

When: Friday, 14 July, 5pm

Where: Mexican embassy in Buenos Aires (Arcos 1650, close to Av. Cabildo) Metro: José Hernández.

Madrid, Spain

Other cities

Other pickets and delegations are being organised in Germany and Paris. As soon as we know more details we will post them here.

If you are organising a picket please let us know and send us a report!