Rosario Ibarra tour set

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Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, the first woman ever to run for president of Mexico, has announced plans to visit the United States from April 15-26. Accoring to an ad-hoc committee established in San Francisco to coordinate the tour, she will be appearing at public events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Chicago, New York, and Houston.

Rosario ran as the candidate of a coalition which used the ballot status of the Revolutionary Workers Party (Partido Revolucionario de los TrabajadoresPRT). The PRT had won its ballot status due to an "electoral reform" —and to its pledge to carry out a full-fledged campaign, including rallies and mobilizations with or without ballot status.

Organizers of the tour explain that Rosario is speaking in behalf of the National Front Against Repression (FNCR). The FNCR attempts to ensure that the plight of Mexico's 500 disappeared not be forgotten. Therefore, it is attempting to focus international public opinion on repression in Mexico. The tour sponsors hope to attract widespread support for this cause from all supporters of democratic and human rights. (See Socialist Action Vol. 2, No. 2 for a fuller description of the FNCR.)

After the last elections, and particularly after the national day of protest last October, there has been an increase in acts of repression by the Mexican government. The repression has fallen into three categories:"1) electoral fraud and accompanying violence against supporters of opposition parties; 2) army and police violence against peasants occupying land; and 3) a rise in arrests of opponents of the regime, particularly of PRT supporters.

Rosario and the 1982 elections The Mexican government, which has the image of being relatively democratic and tolerant, has in the past resorted to massive acts of political repression, including the brutal massacre carried out by the Mexican army of between 500 and 2,000 students at a massive demonstrasocial change.

plenum since our founding in October 1983.

pamphlet documents, and a regular 16-page newspaper.

and will be out by the end of the month.

the Fourth International.

Socialist Action March 1984 tion in 1968. The ruling party, Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), felt it necessary to offer a partial liberalization in 1982 that would permit opposition parties to present candidates in the presidential elections and thus serve as a safety valve for the growing social discontent.

This discontent was fueled by the disastrous policies of the Mexican government which had tied the country's development to its oil industry. The drop in oil prices plunged Mexico into a deep economic crisis. The PRT decided to take advantage of the change in the election laws to run a campaign that would help to mobilize workers, slumdwellers, students, peasants, and others to fight for their demands.

Rosario Ibarra, who is not herself a member of the PRT, was chosen as the candidate for the 1982 elections because of the potential her candidacy would have to promote a united campaign against the PRI government.

The PRT campaign, though it mobilized over 250,000 people at hundreds of rallies in 29 of Mexico's 32 states-and though it resulted in a vote of nearly half a million according to the government's official count-failed to elect a single deputy due to electoral fraud and undemocratic laws which restrict minor parties from proportional representation.

Post-election

Since the elections, Rosario has continued her campaign in defense of human rights. The FNCR has sponsored a series of conferences and meetings to discuss the problem of repression with the groups particularly affected by it. The Front has focused on defending peasants who have occupied land in order to meet their most basic needs. As well, they have defended women's rights and encouraged participation in conferences of working class and peasant women.

For more information on her upcoming April tour, contact the Rosario Ibarra de Piedra Tour Committee at 490 Eureka St., San Francisco, Calif. 94114; or call (415) 821-0511.

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