BY MAURICE WILLIAMS
Bound volumes of the Militant for 1995 and 1996 will be
available by the end of February. Between now and March 22,
readers can order these and earlier years at a special sale
price. The Militant is offering a sale price of $25 each
for the 1980-94 bound volumes and $40 each for 1995-96.
That's between half and two-thirds off the regular price of
$75 per volume.
The 1995 Militant index was sent to all subscribers and distributors with the last issue, and the 1996 index will follow by mid-February.
Bound volumes of Perspectiva Mundial, the Militant's Spanish-language sister magazine, are also available at a special price of $30 for the 1995 and 1996 issues and $20 for previous years.
The Militant index coupled with the bound volumes are useful tools for politically conscious workers, young fighters, and others. You can use them to look up past coverage on strikes and protest actions, analysis of various political questions facing working people and oppressed nationalities, and other debates and discussions.
A quick glance at the 1995 index, which lists articles both by subject and author, shows the range of coverage, from actions defending affirmative action to the fight for Quebec national sovereignty.
In 1995, the Canadian government was badly shaken by the close vote on a referendum on Quebec sovereignty. The Militant reported on the actions of youth demanding, "We want a country," and published a debate over why working people of every nationality should support the Quebecois right to self-determination.
The victory of Black activist Mumia Abu-Jamal's stay of execution on August 7 can also be found in the 1995 bound volume of the Militant; the previous issues covered the fight to defend Abu-Jamal and against the death penalty.
Other top stories for that year, include the November- December strike wave that engulfed France, where working people hit the bricks to protest Paris's attempts to impose austerity measures. Some 700,000 workers demonstrated across the country December 5 against the government's planned "reform" of the social security system.
1996 election year
The 1996 election year was marked by the presidential
campaign of ultrarightist Patrick Buchanan, who placed
first in the New Hampshire Republican primaries and won the
February 6 Louisiana caucuses. "This wasn't a victory for a
man -this was a victory for a cause," Buchanan declared
when the results in Louisiana were announced.
When Buchanan conceded the race, he made it clear he was not ending his attempt to build an incipient fascist cadre out of "the young Buchanan Brigades" attracted to his campaign. A hallmark of Buchanan's efforts was in his speeches scapegoating immigrants.
Defense of immigrant rights, however, was a cornerstone of the presidential campaign of Socialist Workers Party leader James Harris and SWP vice presidential candidate Laura Garza. They presented a working-class alternative to the Democrats and Republicans - the twin parties of war, racism, and depression. Harris attended the 17th Congress of the Central Organization of Cuban Workers (CTC) - the nationwide trade union federation in Cuba - where he was interviewed by Trabajadores, the CTC newspaper.
The Militant printed four installments of the theses for the congress and had in-depth coverage of the meeting, which took place April 25-30 in Havana. The document was the product of discussions at thousands of workplace meetings throughout Cuba between January 15 and March 15 in preparation for the convention.
Another highlight in the Militant was the series "Pages from Cuba's Revolutionary History." The series promoted a new edition of Ernesto Che Guevara's Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War - 1956-58, helping fill out the history of the first socialist revolution in the Americas. It included such items as a story about Oniria Gutiérrez, the first woman who joined Guevara's Rebel Army column in the Sierra Maestra.
Washington's economic war against the Cuban revolution and the imperialist war drive against working people of Yugoslavia were nearly weekly features in the Militant in 1995-96. Readers of the bound volumes will appreciate the explanation of why the Yugoslav workers state has not been dismembered and the problems the imperialists face in their aim to reestablish capitalist property relations there.
These topics and other crucial political questions facing the working class can be found in the bound volumes. The 1990-94 bound issues of the Militant are available now, and orders for the 1995 and 1996 issues can be prepaid as well. A limited number of books from the 1980s are available on a first come-first served basis. Each contain a full year of the Militant; issues from 1990-96 also include an index. So place your order now!