The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a communist political party in the United States. PSL formed in 2004, when its members split from the Workers World Party.
Party for Socialism and Liberation | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | PSL |
| Leader | Central Committee |
| Founded | June 18, 2004 |
| Split from | Workers World Party |
| Headquarters |
|
| Newspaper | Liberation News |
| Ideology |
|
| Political position | Far-left |
| International affiliation | International Peoples' Assembly |
| Colors | Red |
| Members in elected offices | 0 |
| Website | |
| www | |
PSL describes itself as a revolutionary socialist party, as the party believes that only a revolution can end capitalism and establish socialism. PSL pursues this goal by participating in local protests, running candidates in elections, and conducting political education. PSL and its affiliates are partially funded by Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based American billionaire businessman.
Notable members include Claudia De la Cruz, Eugene Puryear, Gloria La Riva, Jodi Dean, and Michael Prysner.
Organization
Membership
PSL does not release membership numbers. In 2022, PSL reported an "organized presence in over 100 cities". In 2024, PSL was "in over 50 cities across the United States".
PSL is a democratic centralist party, which means that "all members, including those who disagree, are duty bound to publicly defend and carry out" all PSL decisions. PSL's highest body is its Party Congress, held "every two to three years", which selects its Central Committee leadership. The PSL Central Committee can appoint up to "40 percent" of Congress delegates.
ANSWER Coalition
When ANSWER was founded, many of ANSWER's lead organizers were members of the Workers World Party (WWP) and its International Action Center, such as Brian Becker. Many of these founders later created PSL.
After PSL split from the WWP, ANSWER became more tightly tied to PSL than to WWP. ANSWER's National Coordinator is Brian Becker, a PSL co-founder who said "we do a great deal of work through" ANSWER. The New Republic described ANSWER as a PSL "front group", and the two have significant financial overlap.
BreakThrough News
PSL leadership are closely involved with BreakThrough News (BTN). In 2023, BTN's anchors were PSL co-founders Brian Becker and Eugene Puryear, and Rania Khalek; its editor-in-chief was PSL central committee member Ben Becker; and its secretary was Claudia De la Cruz. BTN works closely with Tricontinental Institute for Social Research and has often hosted Tricontinental founder Vijay Prashad.
The People's Forum
PSL leadership are closely involved with The People's Forum, an event space in NYC, which hosts the BreakThrough News studio. People's Forum was directed by Claudia De la Cruz and funded by Neville Singham.
Neville Singham
Many of the organizations above are funded in part by Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based American billionaire businessman who supports organizations and media outlets that have been noted for echoing pro-Beijing talking points. Most of this funding comes from the Justice and Education Fund (JEF), to which Neville Singham has donated more than $20 million, and for which Claudia De la Cruz works as a coordinator.
History
PSL was formed in June 2004 when the San Francisco branch of Sam Marcy's Workers World Party left the organization. The San Francisco branch, alongside other members, announced that "the Workers World Party leadership is no longer capable of fulfilling [the] mission" of building socialism. PSL co-founders included Richard Becker, Brian Becker, Gloria La Riva, and Eugene Puryear.
In 2020, at least five PSL members were arrested during protests against the Aurora, Colorado police department for the killing of Elijah McClain.
On October 8, 2023, after the Hamas-led attack on Israel, PSL Central Committee member Eugene Puryear helped organize a rally in support of Palestine in Times Square, in which he stated: "[T]here was some sort of rave or desert party where they were having a great time, until the resistance came in electrified hang gliders and took at least several dozen hipsters, and I'm sure they're doing very fine despite what the New York Post says."
Since 2023, PSL has organized numerous rallies in favor of Palestinian nationalism.
In 2020, PSL denied an accusation that it mishandled a sexual abuse allegation in its Philadelphia branch. In 2024, PSL presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz again denied these allegations, some of which she described as misinformation "doing the job of agents".
In May 2025, Elias Rodriguez, a former PSL member, killed two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. PSL stated that they "do not support" the shooting, rejected "any attempt to associate the PSL with the DC shooting", and stated that Rodriguez was not a current PSL member, and had only briefly been associated with PSL Chicago in 2017. In 2017, Rodriguez attended a police brutality protest as a PSL member.
PSL helped organize and participated in the June 2025 Los Angeles protests.
Political positions
PSL is a Marxist-Leninist party. PSL's program and constitution simply identify PSL as Marxist, while PSL's other writings identify PSL as a Marxist-Leninist party in the Leninist party model. Other socialists, such as Green presidential candidate Howie Hawkins, label PSL as second campist.
PSL describes its primary goal as the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism and the institution of socialism, stating that "humanity today has only two choices: an increasingly destructive capitalism, or socialism". PSL holds that the United States is "a dictatorship of the capitalist class" that cannot change "without a socialist revolution".
Domestic affairs
PSL's program demands nationalization of the largest 100 domestic corporations, prohibition on "exploitation of labor for private profit", guaranteed employment, "guaranteed living income", comprehensive social benefits, a 30-hour workweek, and public healthcare including childcare, universal public housing capped at 10% of income, abolition of private rental housing, expanded public transit, "ending all fossil fuel and nuclear energy use", and nationalization of the energy industry to create a national electricity grid based on renewable energy.
PSL supports a guaranteed right to abortion, equal pay regardless of gender, protection against gender-based or sexuality-based discrimination and violence, and national self-determination and reparations for African Americans and residents of US territories in Puerto Rico, Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands and Mariana Islands.
International affairs
PSL calls for a 90% cut to the military budget of the United States, the closure of all overseas military bases, and a halt of American aid to Israel.
PSL supports the Worker's Party of North Korea. PSL describes North Korea as a "communist government" and North Korea as "one of the few top-to-bottom, actually-existing, alternatives to the global capitalist system". PSL has defended North Korea's human rights record against criticism by the United Nations, which it calls "thinly veiled justification for U.S. aggression toward North Korea", and argues that "conditions in North Korea are vastly better than those in other developing countries". PSL supports North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
PSL supports the Communist Party of China, criticizing only Chinese economic reforms into a "market socialist economy". PSL argues that "militant political defense of the Chinese government" is necessary to stave off "counterrevolution, imperialist intervention and dismemberment". PSL defends China's human rights record, and strongly denies that the People's Liberation Army massacred peaceful student protestors in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. PSL denies that China has suppressed democracy in Hong Kong.
PSL supported the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. PSL did not support the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but blamed the invasion on NATO and the United States. In its statement on "Russia's military intervention", PSL highlighted the "plight of ethnic Russians [...] in the Donbas", Russia's "legitimate security concerns", and NATO's "provocative behavior".
PSL opposes American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war, and has generally been supportive of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and Russian intervention in the conflict. PSL denies that the Syrian government used chemical weapons.
Election results
PSL has fielded electoral candidates for local, state, and federal offices. No PSL candidate has yet won an election.
PSL candidates usually run on the Peace and Freedom Party ballot line or as independent candidates.
Presidential elections
| Year | Presidential candidate | Vice presidential candidate | Popular votes | % | Electoral votes | Result | Ballot access | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Claudia De la Cruz | Karina Garcia | 171,786 (#6) | 0 | Lost | 220 / 538 | The Peace and Freedom Party and the South Carolina Workers Party also nominated De la Cruz. | ||
| 2020 | Gloria La Riva | Sunil Freeman | 86,239 (#6) | 0 | Lost | 195 / 538 | The Peace and Freedom Party also nominated La Riva. | ||
| 2016 | Gloria La Riva | Eugene Puryear | 74,027 (#8) | 0 | Lost | 112 / 538 | The Peace and Freedom Party also nominated La Riva, with Dennis Banks as her running mate. | ||
| 2012 | Peta Lindsay | Yari Osorio | 7,791 (#7) | 0 | Lost | 146 / 538 | |||
| 2008 | Gloria La Riva | Eugene Puryear | 6,818 | 0 | Lost | 137 / 538 |
In 2024, the Democratic parties of Georgia and Pennsylvania successfully sued to remove PSL from the ballot. In Georgia, some early ballots still contained De la Cruz's name. Claudia de la Cruz claimed that 6,000 volunteers helped PSL win ballot access in the 2024 United States presidential election.
Congressional elections
| Year | Candidate | Chamber | State | District | Votes | % | Result | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | José Cortés | House | California | CA-51 | 3,327 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate; did not advance to top-two general | ||
| 2020 | José Cortés | House | California | CA-50 | 1,821 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate; did not advance to top-two general | ||
| 2018 | Jordan Mills | House | California | CA-49 | 233 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate; did not advance to top-two general | ||
| 2014 | Frank Lara | House | California | CA-12 | 2,107 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate; did not advance to top-two general | ||
| 2010 | Gloria La Riva | House | California | CA-8 | 5,161 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | ||
| 2008 | Nathalie Hrizi | House | California | CA-12 | 5,793 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate; did not advance to top-two general | ||
| 2008 | Michael Prysner | House | Florida | FL-22 | 6 | Lost | ran as write-in candidate |
Statewide elections
| Year | Candidate | Office | State | District | Votes | % | Result | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Nathalie Hrizi | Insurance Commissioner | California | At-Large | 189,289 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | ||
| 2022 | Meghann Adams | State Treasurer | California | At-Large | 242,234 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | ||
| 2018 | Gloria La Riva | Governor | California | At-Large | 19,075 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | ||
| 2018 | Nathalie Hrizi | Insurance Commissioner | California | At-Large | 309,399 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | ||
| 2014 | Nathalie Hrizi | Insurance Commissioner | California | At-Large | 212,991 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | ||
| 2010 | Carlos Alvarez | Governor | California | At-Large | 92,856 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | ||
| 2010 | Marylou Cabral | Secretary of State | California | At-Large | 164,450 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate |
State legislature elections
| Year | Candidate | Office | State | District | Votes | % | Result | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Kevin Martinez | State Assembly | California | 6 | 1,861 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | ||
| 2022 | Noah Leininger | State House | Indiana | 90 | 259 | Lost | ran as write-in candidate | ||
| 2021 | Ernesto Huerta | State Senate | California | 30 | 1,565 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | ||
| 2017 | John Prysner | State Assembly | California | 51 | 232 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate | ||
| 2010 | Corey Ansel | State House | Ohio | 22 | 716 | Lost | ran as Green Party candidate | ||
| 2008 | Heather Benno | State House | Illinois | 40 | 2,276 | Lost | ran as Green Party candidate | ||
| 2008 | John Beacham | State House | Illinois | 14 | 4,745 | Lost | ran as Green Party candidate | ||
| 2008 | Lucilla Esguerra | State Assembly | California | 48 | 11,173 | Lost | ran as Peace and Freedom Party candidate |
Local elections
| Year | Candidate | Office | Area | District | Votes | % | Result | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Eduardo "Lalo" Vargas | City Council | Los Angeles | 14 | 1,638 | Lost | non-partisan election | ||
| 2023 | Ana Santoyo | City Council | Chicago | 45 | 895 | Lost | non-partisan election | ||
| 2021 | Colin Dodson | City Council | Urbana | 2 | 57 | Lost | ran as Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate | ||
| 2021 | Cathy Rojas | Mayor | New York | At-Large | 27,982 | Lost | ran as Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate | ||
| 2014 | Eugene Puryear | City Council | Washington D.C. | At-Large | 12,525 | Lost | ran as D.C. Statehood Green Party candidate | ||
| 2014 | John Beacham | City Council | Chicago | 49 | 0 | Lost | withdrawn from ballot due to insufficient nominating petition signatures | ||
| 2010 | Stevie Merino | Mayor | Long Beach | At-Large | 5,057 | Lost | non-partisan election | ||
| 2009 | Carlos Alvarez | Mayor | Los Angeles | At-Large | 3,047 | Lost | non-partisan election | ||
| 2009 | Francisca Villar | Mayor | New York | At-Large | 3,517 | Lost | ran as Party for Socialism and Liberation candidate | ||
| 2008 | Stephen Hinze | Board of Supervisors | Los Angeles | 5 | 29,875 | Lost | non-partisan election | ||
| 2008 | Marylou Cabral | Board of Supervisors | Los Angeles | 4 | 23,703 | Lost | non-partisan election | ||
| 2008 | Amanda Todd | City Council | Sioux Falls | 12,710 | Lost | ||||
| 2008 | Sergio Farias | City Council | San Juan Capistrano | 1,133 | Lost | ||||
| 2008 | Crystal Kim | Council | Washington, D.C. | At-Large | 0 | Lost | write-in, votes not tabulated |
National conventions
PSL does not publish its party constitution. The 2022 Constitution was leaked.
| Name | Date | Location | Report | Program | Constitution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fifth Party Congress | July 2022 | no public report | Program | Constitution, 5th ed | |
| Fourth Party Congress | August 2019 | no public report | Program | Constitution, 4th ed | |
| Third Party Congress | April 1–3, 2016 | San Francisco, CA | Convention report | Program | Constitution, 3rd ed |
| Second Party Congress | February 2013 | no public report | Program | Constitution, 2nd ed | |
| First Party Congress | February 13–15, 2010 | Los Angeles, CA | Convention report | Program | Constitution, 1st ed |
| Third National Convention | June 2007 | no public report | no public program | ||
| Second National Convention | February 18–20, 2006 | San Francisco, CA | Convention report | no public program | |
| First National Convention | 2005 | no public report | Program | ||
| Founding Convention | June 18–20, 2004 | San Francisco, CA | Convention report | Founding statement |
See also
- History of the socialist movement in the United States
- Democratic Socialists of America
- Freedom Road Socialist Organization
- Socialist Alternative (United States)
- Communist Party USA
- Green Party of the United States
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