Empire is the Virus: Iran, Cuba, Vietnam, & China's COVID-19 Fight Amidst US Aggression

Join Qiao Collective for a webinar focused on the international impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on existing struggles against U.S. imperialism and capitalism. We are pleased to feature three guest speakers: Manolo de los Santos (member of the Popular Education Project and founding director of The People’s Forum) who will speak on Cuba’s socialized medical model and foreign aid amidst the ongoing U.S. blockade on Cuba, Tina Ngo (member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation and a community organizer with The Philadelphia Liberation Center) who will speak on Vietnam’s pandemic response and aid, and Sina Rahmani (Ph.D. in Comparative Literature) who will speak on Iran’s struggle under U.S. sanctions and its pandemic response informed by expert exchanges with China, Cuba, and beyond.

The 90 minute webinar talk features a short introduction from Qiao Collective, followed by each guest speaker who gave a 10-minute presentation on their respective topic, followed by a 30 minute Q&A moderated by Qiao Collective.

The COVID-19 crisis has thrown into stark relief the cruel geopolitics of U.S. imperialism. From sanctions on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea that limit these nations' access to critical medical supplies, to continued U.S. military operations and arms deals in Iraq, Hawai'i, and the South China Sea, to media propagandizing against China, the pandemic has provided no relief for nations struggling against U.S. aggression. Yet the crisis has also modeled the power of Global South solidarity, powered by the socialist principles enabling countries such as China, Vietnam, and Cuba to provide pandemic aid to the world. These models of socialist struggle and internationalist solidarity provide an alternative framework to the capitalist, imperialist response of the United States and its allies.