Martín Koppel (born c. 1956) is an American activist and journalist who served as a member of the National Committee of the Socialist Workers Party from 1994 to 2010. Knoppel also worked as an editor for ''Perspectiva Mundial'' and of '' the Militant'', two left-wing magazines based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Early life

Before joining the staff of the SWP's paper '' The Militant'' in 1991, he was a steelworker in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and member of the United Steelworkers of America union.

Career

Koppel is a

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

political organizer, a native of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

who grew up in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Koppel first became involved in political activism while an exchange student in Marseille, France. The next year, in 1977, he joined the Socialist Workers Party in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. He has been active in defense of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

, and was a longtime supporter of the Left-Wing Puerto Rican independence. Koppel has also traveled in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

to take part in political conferences in defense of communism, such as the Movement of Rural Landless Workers in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

along with several protests in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, and

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

Writings

Koppel is the author of "''Peru's Shining Path: Evolution of a Stalinist Sect"'', published by

Pathfinder Press Pathfinder, Path Finder or Pathfinders may refer to: Aerospace * ''Mars Pathfinder'', a NASA Mars Lander * NASA Pathfinder, a high-altitude, solar-powered uncrewed aircraft * Space Shuttle ''Pathfinder'', a Space Shuttle test simulator Arts and ...

in 1994. The book was critical of the Maoist Shining Path movement in Peru.

Political campaigns

2004 Senate election

In 2004, Koppel ran for the US Senate seat from New York against

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

. He received 14,811 for 0.2 percent of the vote.

2005 Mayoral election

Knoppel was nominated as the Socialist Workers Party in the 2005 New York City mayoral election.

2006 Attorney General election

In 2006 Koppel ran for attorney general of New York. He received 10,197 votes, for 0.2 percent of the total vote.

External links

The Militant, weekly paper reflecting the views of the Socialist Workers PartyPathfinder Press

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koppel, Martin Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American political writers American male non-fiction writers Argentine emigrants to the United States Maryland socialists Politicians from Baltimore Politicians from Chicago Socialist Workers Party (United States) politicians from New York (state) Writers from Chicago