By Red Nesbitt, Red Phoenix correspondent, Maryland.

On August 25, 2020, activist, journalist and organizer Tomás Martínez was assassinated at a restaurant in the town of Miahuatlán de Porfirio Diaz, in the state of Oaxaca. Martínez was a member of the Revolutionary Popular Front (FPR) of Mexico, a founding leader of the Union of Poor Farmers, and a member of the Communist Party of Mexico (Marxist-Leninist). That very day, Martínez participated in a protest condemning the social-democratic government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) for its austerity in economic and food subsidies for the people, the lack of health clinics in working class neighborhoods –at that time in the full swing of the COVID-19 pandemic– and the lack of technical support for the peasantry to increase employment and the production of food. Martínez was also critical of the assassination of fellow journalists and organizers. The state of Oaxaca immediately cautioned the FPR against violent action but, true to their social democratic cowardice, the state politicians “encouraged” the FPR to express their democratic liberties. 

Let there be no mistake, comrade Martínez was assassinated for his advocacy of the working masses of Mexico, his exposure of the systematic suppression of activists and journalists, and his agitation amongst peasants and proletarians in the very revolutionary summer of 2020. The American Party of Labor likewise remembers the dialogue shared with the PCM(ML). As we protested the murder of George Floyd and the countless other Black Americans slain or harassed by the police, our Mexican comrades were similarly involved in protesting the murders of Giovanni Lopez and Alexander Gomez, young people senselessly victimized by a militaristic and unaccountable police force, not too dissimilar from our own American violence. We shared their outrage and declared our solidarity and support in those times as they had done the same for us amid such harrowing days of organizing. 

As the years pass, our parties grow, and our movements develop, we will never forget the comrades we have lost along the way, especially those who gave everything for the struggle. The APL echoes the calls of the PCM(ML) for Truth, Memory, and Justice. The names of all fallen comrades, supporters, and innocent human beings, will drive us forward to a new world without senseless and reactionary violence, with economic and political justice and a true democracy. 

Never forget Tomás Martínez!

¡Nunca mas! Say their names! 

Categories: American Party of Labor, History, International, Mexico