By Johnathan Bermudez
Members of the Revolution Communist Party came to East Los Angeles College to recruit students for a communist revolution to overthrow the government.
Rafael Kardis, a party member, got people to sign up for their revolution club that is in the process of becoming a club on campus.
Rafael said the purpose of the club is to overthrow the “fasict” government and replace it with New Communism. Founding memberand chairman since 1979 Bob Avakian, created the party’s ideology based on the communist state.
Kardis said that Avakain took his ideas of a new communist party from history such as, Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union, China’s current communist government and Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto.
Kardis also said that a new elected leader would not change America, but a whole new government would. He said that the current form of government isn’t a democracy, but a fascist government.
He also said that capitalism is the cause of all the problems in America. He blames capitalism for police
brutality, environmental issues and for creating President Donald Trump. He said that capitalism creates a competitive market that does not support its workers or customers.
One member had a megaphone and was letting students share their opinion about government and problems of society. One student spoke in support of President Trumpand said he is not willing to sacri cehis life for change, which drew applause from some of the students in the crowd, and boos from others.
More students came up to share their opinions, most agreeing with the Revolutionary Communist Party. Some of the students were confused.
“We’re here because capitalism is destroying our planet, and now there is a white supermacist in the White House,” Kardis said. “We need a revolution, and a lot more. Resistance and students have always played a key role in every movement for revolution or social change. That’s why we are here to talk to students and to organize them.”
“I don’t believe that a communist revolution is a viable solution,” Robert John Arias, professor of
history at East Los Angeles College, said.
Arias believes that a revolution is necessary for citizens to question their government, but he doesn’t think a communist revolution is necessary. “The system is based on a violent overthrow of the middle class or the bourgeois,” Arias explained.
“The idea of a communist government won’t work because a lot of American citizens value their property and the idea of communist government takes away property,” Arias said. “It’s kind of a ridiculous idea. They cannot overthrow the military and they assume they have a lot of supporters.” He believes that the better solution for change is a social democracy.
It equally distributes money to all classes while allowing the citizens to move forward in class. He believes this revolution has already failed because of the middle class and the value that most American citizens place on their property.
He said this system that the revolution is supporting won’t satisfy the need to move up in class that all Americans have. He said “Equal distribution is a nice dream but it never works.”