Jerry White, a member of the Socialist Equality Party running for president will be visiting campus this week.
White is holding a public meeting Monday in the SUB to present on not only what makes him fit to be president of the United States, but also to discuss what socialist equality is all about.
“We anticipate that our meeting will be a very unique forum to discuss the ways for the working class and young people, to fight for real socialism,” White said. “This means that the working class that creates society’s wealth must control that wealth, and instead of squandering trillions on war and on Wall Street, society’s wealth must be utilized to guarantee the basic social rights of all working people,”
White said that includes the right to secure a good-paying job, the right to free high-quality college education, the right to health care and the right to a future that is free from war and inequality.
With the Republican and Democratic parties at the forefront of the race for the Oval Office for presidency, White and his party seek to alert workers and young people about what is being planned, and to build political leadership to oppose war and the capitalist party that supports it.
“The Socialist Equality Party is running in these elections in order to give a voice to the working class in opposition to Clinton and Trump, who speak for the corporate and financial aristocracy in America,” he said. “I have had 40 years of experience in the socialist movement…the party that I belong is the only party that is opposing war, and that is fighting to mobilize the working class on the basis of a socialist program.”
White described his reasoning for visiting campuses across the U.S. is so that issues dealing with the younger generation were addressed.
“The conditions confronting young people in New Mexico and across the country are the enormous burdens of college debt, the very poor prospects of decent paying jobs and of course the danger that the next generation would be dragged into war,” he said. “These issues are leading many young people to search for a political alternative to the capitalist.”
Other third-party candidates — including Gary Johnson and Jill Stein — also have appealed to the younger generation. However, White explained that these parties defend capitalism.
“The fact is, it is capitalism, which is the source of war… of immense inequality and which is the source of the control of the entire government by the most powerful corporate financial interest,” he said.
White exclaimed that Sanders, who once called himself a socialist, is one indication that workers and young people are looking for a solution to the vast problems of society.
“Sanders offers no solutions and is now backing Hillary Clinton, who is the favorite candidate of Wall Street, the Pentagon and the CIA,” he said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
White will not appear on the ballot directly, something he attributed to the political system being rigged.
“I will be a write-in candidate in New Mexico and every other state because the two parties impose immense requirements to get on the ballot — the collection of hundreds and thousands of signatures. The Democrats and the Republicans scrutinize signatures,” he said. “They want to blackmail people into voting for the lesser of two evils when they are both candidates that represent the corporations, the banks and the military intelligence.”
Though many like Stein, Johnson and now White say the way presidential elections are carried out seem to be unfair to third-party candidates, White says he won’t give in.
“We are very confident that our campaign and the experiences will emerge, particularly in the aftermath of the elections,” he said. “Whether it is Trump or Clinton in the White House, millions and millions of people are going to look for a socialist alternative.”
Megan Nyce is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Megznham.
