The Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) is a Marxist-Leninist communist political party in the United States. PSL formed in 2004, when its members split from the Workers World Party.
PSL describes itself as a revolutionary socialist party in the Leninist tradition, because 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.
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 2019, PSL reported branches in "some 90 cities" or "nearly 100 cities". In 2022, PSL reported an "organized presence in over 100 cities". In 2024, PSL reported being "in over 50 cities".
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 New York City, which hosts the BreakThrough News studio. People's Forum was directed by Claudia De la Cruz and funded by Neville Singham. In 2024, De la Cruz ran as the PSL's candidate for President of the United States. In April 2025, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley asked Pam Bondi and Kash Patel to assess whether The People's Forum and Code Pink should register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act due to their alleged connections to the CCP because of their relationship with Neville Roy Singham.
Neville Singham Many of the organizations above are funded in part by Neville Roy Singham, a Shanghai-based American 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 2015, PSL members joined the 2015 Baltimore protests.
In late 2016 and on January 20, 2017, PSL led protests against the inauguration of Donald Trump in Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, DC.
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 2020, PSL participated in protests against the Aurora, Colorado police department for the killing of Elijah McClain. Five PSL members were arrested. Three were charged with "kidnapping" for "attempting to ... secrete 18 officers" inside the police station. The kidnapping charges were all thrown out and all felony charges were dropped.
On October 7, 2023, PSL described "the actions of the resistance over the course of the last day" as "a morally and legally legitimate response to occupation". The Anti-Defamation League condemned PSL's comments as anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic. On October 8, 2023, PSL organized a rally in support of Palestine in Times Square in which Central Committee member Eugene Puryear 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 liberation, including many of the Gaza war protests in the United States.
In 2024, PSL and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) organized a protest outside of Ohr Torah synagogue in Edison, New Jersey, in opposition to the synagogue holding auctions for property in illegal Israel settlements in the West Bank. A minor scuffle ensured. Both sides blamed the other as aggressors. The Department of Justice (DOJ)'s civil rights head Harmeet Dhillon filed a civil complaint against PSL and AMP, which it accused of making the protest turn "violent". The DOJ used the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, the first time the law had ever been applied to a non-clinic.
In May 2025, Elias Rodriguez killed two employees of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. Rodriguez was a former PSL member. 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 the June 2025 Los Angeles protests against mass deportation.
In May 2026, longtime PSL Steering Committee member Walter Smolarek led a split from PSL, which took the Brooklyn branch. Smolarek claimed PSL leadership suppressed internal debate, surveilled its members, and opposed "base-building" labor organizing work. PSL leadership denied each charge in detail.
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 supports nationalization of the largest 100 domestic corporations, free childcare for all, expanded public transit, social housing, prohibition on "exploitation of labor for private profit", guaranteed employment, a "guaranteed living income", comprehensive social benefits, a 30-hour workweek, and socialist economic planning.
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. The Brown Daily Herald described De la Cruz's platform as prioritizing the needs of Black Americans, women, LGBTQ+ people, and undocumented immigrants. In an interview with Arizona Luminaria, Karina Garcia called for amnesty and legalization for undocumented immigrants.
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 Workers' Party of Korea, the ruling party of North Korea, which PSL describes as a "communist government" and "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 its economic reforms concerning 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 during the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests.
PSL supported the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. PSL did not support the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but blamed the Russo-Ukrainian war 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.
PSL and Code Pink are on the coordinating committee for Neville Roy Singham's International People's Assembly (IPA). The International People's Assembly also includes Singham's thank tank Tricontinental. PSL coordinates with IPA, the People's Forum, Al-Awada, the Palestine Youth Movement and the ANSWER coalition as organizers of the Shut it Down for Palestine coalition.
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 2024 Claudia De la Cruz Karina Garcia 171,786 (#6) 0 Lost 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 The Peace and Freedom Party also nominated La Riva. 2016 Gloria La Riva Eugene Puryear 74,027 (#8) 0 Lost 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 2008 Gloria La Riva Eugene Puryear 6,818 0 Lost
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