Róger Calero

Infobox Politician
name = Róger Calero


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candidate = President of the United States
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birth_date = 1969
birth_place = Nicaragua
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party = Socialist Workers Party
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Róger Calero (born 1969 in Nicaragua) is a Nicaraguan American journalist and one of the leaders of the Socialist Workers Party. He was SWP candidate for President of the United States in 2004 and 2008, and for the United States Senate in New York in 2006. [http://www.themilitant.com/2008/7202/720253.html Róger Calero, SWP candidate for president] , "The Militant", 14 January 2008 (accessed 9 January 2008).]

Early life

Calero was born in Nicaragua in 1969. He and his family fled via Los Angeles, California in 1985. Calero is now a permanent resident alien (holding a green card) since 1990. While in Los Angeles, Calero joined a socialist movement and helped mobilize support against Proposition 187 in the early 90s.cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Calero and Hawkins, socialist candidates | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.themilitant.com/2004/6825/682555.html | work =The Militant | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-16 | language = ]

Calero, a former meat packer, has been associate editor of "Perspectiva Mundial" (official Spanish language newspaper of the SWP) and a staff writer for "The Militant" (official English language newspaper of the SWP).

He now lives in Newark, New Jersey.

Legal problems

Calero was convicted of felony sale of marijuana in 1988. In December 2002, immigration police arrested Calero upon his return to the United States at the Houston International Airport from reporting assignments at a conference held in Havana, Cuba, protesting the Free Trade Area of the Americas. He was threatened with deportation in 2002 as a result of his previous conviction in 1988. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Detained journalist awaits INS exclusion hearing | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.rcfp.org/news/2002/1213housto.html | work =Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-16 | language = ]

The SWP considered the conviction to have been a political attack and launched a huge campaign in defense of Calero, mobilizing the party’s members and supporters in the U.S. and all over the world. Eventually, the U.S. government gave in to the protests and released Calero in 2003 and cancelled the deportation. [cite news | first=Kathleen | last=Dunphy | coauthors= | title=Reporters’ committee covers Calero antideportation fight, victory | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.themilitant.com/2003/6719/671905.html | work =The Militant | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-16 | language = ] The same year, Calero went on an international tour, visiting not only the major cities in the US, but also Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Iceland to greet his supporters.

Electoral campaigns

In 2004, Róger Calero was the SWP candidate for President of the United States and received 3,689 votes, [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=2004 Presidential Election by State | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G04/President-Details.phtml?n=CALERO,ROGER | work =The Green Papers | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-16 | language = ] with Arrin Hawkins running for Vice President. Because he is not a natural born citizen of the United States, Calero is ineligible to become U.S. president under the United States Constitution, and so James Harris, the Socialist Workers' Party presidential candidate from 2000, stood in on the ticket in some states where Calero could not be listed, receiving 7,102 additional votes. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Presidency 2004 | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.politics1.com/swp04.htm | work =Politics1.com | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-16 | language = |quote= James Harris is the SWP surrogate nominee for President in any states that will not accept Calero as a qualified candidate because he is a not constitutionally eligible.]

In 2006, Róger Calero appeared on the ballot in New York as the Socialist Workers Party candidate for US Senate. He received 6,967 votes. [cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Candidate Details; Roger Calero | date= | publisher= | url =http://www.thegreenpapers.com/G06/SenateVoteByParty.phtml | work =The Green Papers | pages = | accessdate = 2007-10-16 | language = ]

Róger Calero is again running for President of the United States representing the SWP in the 2008 presidential election, together with Alyson Kennedy for vice-president. Again, James Harris will stand in for Calero in several states. [" [http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/06/06/socialist-workers-party-presidential-petitioning/ Socialist Workers Party Presidential Petitioning] ", "Ballot Access News", 6 June 2008 (accessed 10 September 2008).]

References

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before=James Harris
title=Socialist Workers Party Presidential candidatesu|p=1
years=2004 (lost), 2008
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External links

* [http://www.themilitant.com/2004/campaign/campaign01.html Campaign website]
* [http://www.themilitant.com/ The Militant, weekly paper of the Socialist Workers Party]
* [http://www.pathfinderpress.com Pathfinder Books, the bookstore of the Socialist Workers Party]