Joint statement of the American Party of Labor (APL) and the Communist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist) (PCEML).

The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has initiated an investigation into Spain’s alleged refusal to allow US-flagged cargo vessels to dock at its ports. Should these accusations be confirmed, the FMC has warned it could impose corrective measures, including fines of up to $2.3 million per voyage. A 20-day information-gathering period has been established as part of this inquiry.

Without entering into debates regarding the specifics of the ban or bilateral pressures, we forthrightly denounce the Spanish government’s subservience to NATO’s strategies and US foreign policy. We call for Spain’s withdrawal from NATO and an end to the use of Spanish ports, airspace, and territory for imperialist military purposes.

We condemn hypocritical “defense of peace” rhetoric in the face of the reality of supporting, directly or indirectly, imperialist conflicts; and denounce the so-called “moral support” supposedly given to the Palestinian people while, at the same time, maintaining or even strengthening ties with Zionist aggressors.

The US bourgeoisie is united in support for the Israeli state. The interest of the imperialists is the only interest represented in foreign policy decisions by both major political parties in the US. While the working class is deprived of healthcare, housing, and education, and while real wages continue to fall in the in the face of inflation, nearly one trillion USD are spent annually on the military. Billions of dollars are funneled into new technologies for use in imperialist wars of aggression and for propping up the war industry, enriching the profits of arms manufacturers.

In the case of Spain, its servile adherence to NATO and US dictates does not serve the interests of the workers or the majority of the population. The conditions of the NATO membership agreement have been systematically breached, and government after government has been an accomplice and participant, actively or passively, in the aggressions of the imperialist bloc against the peoples and sovereign states of the world. Any position of the current government in favor of Palestine will be merely aesthetic as long as it remains within the structure that legitimizes and makes possible the Zionist genocide.

Communists in both our countries stand united in the fight against the imperialist “logic” that leads to conflict and suffering.

We demand an immediate end to all arms shipments to Israel, closure of American weapons manufacturers, and an immediate resolution to the US FMC investigation with no fines imposed. US imperialist hegemony is in crisis, and investigations like this one show a desperate attempt on the part of US imperialism to cling to its position as the dominant superpower.

Communists of the US and Spain stand together against imperialism and Zionism!

We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance!

We fight for an end to spending for war, and for a future where this spending is focused on programs to uplift workers and progress society forward to socialism!

Categories: Anti-War, International, Spain, U.S. News