Claudia de la Cruz, the 2024 presidential candidate from the Party for Socialism and Liberation, just became director of the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO).
IFCO is the only org bringing US medical students to study at Cuba’s ELAM (Latin American School of Medicine), the largest medical school in the world. ELAM provides full scholarships for students. IFCO has worked to support Cuban solidarity since 1967, sending aid and acting as liaison between Cuba and the Congressional Black Caucus.
A principled socialist now runs the main connection between the US and Cuba’s medical system. This also deeply embeds PSL in older US orgs for leftist internationalism, and continues PSL’s work as a vanguard party leading the struggle.
A big part of the infighting problem is the idea that you’re not infighting if you simply label your target “not a True Leftist” first. No one knows the answers here, so we shouldn’t be quick to dismiss people who are at least trying to work in the same direction.
Yes, the whole “not a True Leftist” thing is something that really frustrates and annoys me…again it boils down to that leftist tendency toward purity fetishism, which is something that is not exactly helpful for the success of our struggle.