By Lucas Estanislao on July 16, 2024
Claudia De la Cruz, presidential candidate of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL).
For Claudia De la Cruz, the concern is that the attack on Trump’s rally will bring more repression to the left
Violence has always been at the heart of how the United States makes policy, whether internally or externally, from the massacres of original populations and minorities to the two-party system that favors economic power and alienates the people. The way out of this vicious cycle is the empowerment of the working class, both politically and economically.
This is one of the thoughts that the minority candidate for the presidency of the United States, Claudia De la Cruz of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), expressed in an interview with Brasil de Fato, after the shots fired at the rally of Republican Donald Trump on Saturday. If the far-right candidate came out practically unscathed, his electoral chances could have increased for the November elections.
De la Cruz is the daughter of immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic, an activist with the New York-based People’s Forum, which is responsible for popular and cultural education actions and also serves as a media laboratory for the city’s working class. Her candidacy seeks to give visibility to specific agendas, exposing political ideas different from those presented by candidates of the two major parties.
Brasil de Fato: What is your opinion about the attack that occurred in Pennsylvania during a Trump rally? What do you think this expresses in political terms?
Claudia De la Cruz: The ruling class is going through a political crisis and we cannot analyze what happened in Pennsylvania to former President Trump as an isolated event. There is much that is still unknown and is being investigated, but the initial impact of the events puts Trump in a favorable political position.
Despite the difficulties that 3rd party’s face to get ballot access, Claudia De la Cruz’s campaign is striving to be on in at least 20 states. photo: Bill Hackwell
Even Democrats shifted their attacks on Trump to express solidarity with him and commented that “there is no place for political violence in America.” Something that completely ignores that political violence has been a part of American politics: from mild forms such as voter suppression to more extreme political violence in the assassination of black political leaders, such as Black Panther Fred Hampton, or the imprisonment of indigenous leaders such as Leonard Peltier. It is important to recognize that violence is ingrained in past history. It is important to recognize that violence is at the heart of U.S. politics.
Ultimately, the biggest concern is that the implications of this event will mean more attacks and repression for those of us who are committed to building a movement, for the left and for people in struggle, regardless of who wins the November election.
How do you assess the actions of the far right in the world? Some of them now consider Trump a “messiah.” How do you analyze this political tactic?
Republicans are doing what they usually do: blaming the Democrats and the anti-Trump discourse as the catalyst for the attack. There is no indication that the shooter was in the Democratic or leftist camp; in fact, he was a registered Republican.
But Republicans find it useful to view Trump as the “survivor” of a violent attempt. A messiah of sorts. In fact, this label fits well with Trump’s narrative of himself as anti-establishment and “for the American people.”
What do you think should be the position of the U.S. left in the face of the attack?
We should analyze this in the context of the economic and political situation in which we find ourselves: the financing of the Palestinian genocide, the support for the war in Ukraine, the movement against China, the continued financing of the war machine at the expense of the everyday working class.
There is a deep economic crisis that workers are coming to, civil rights are going backwards, there is a frontal attack on immigrants, on women’s rights, and all these are projects of both parties of the ruling class. People are waking up and protesting, demanding more progressive policies and solutions to these problems. And once again, the implications of this shooting will mean more repression for those demanding these basic rights.
Our position must be to continue to build coalition work, deepen the consciousness of our people to understand what is happening and its implications, and our need to build our own independent movement and political instruments.
Do you think the violent rhetoric and support for gun deregulation by the Trump campaign might have something to do with the episode?
I don’t think so. I don’t think there are laws or policies in place to “prevent” these events from happening again. Ultimately, the shooting will be used to elevate and strengthen Trump’s campaign and will not be tied to any demand from the people.
What is your campaign’s proposed solution to political violence in the U.S.?
Both parties represent two factions of the same ruling class and constitute no real opposition to each other. The real and only solution to political violence is the transfer of power (political and economic!) to the workers.
Source: Brazil de Fato, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English