Róger Calero (born 1969) is a

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...

n journalist living in the United States and one of the leaders of the Socialist Workers Party. He was SWP candidate for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

, and for the

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in New York in 2006.

Early life

Calero was born in

in 1969. He and his family fled via

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, in 1985. Calero has been a

lawful permanent resident A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

of the United States (holding a

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

) since 1990. While in Los Angeles, Calero joined a socialist movement and helped mobilize support against

Proposition 187 California Proposition 187 (also known as the ''Save Our State'' (SOS) initiative) was a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit illegal immigrants from using non-emergency health care, public ed ...

in the early 90s. Calero, a former meat packer, has been

associate editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''Perspectiva Mundial'' (official

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...

of the SWP) and a staff writer for ''

The Militant ''The Militant'' is an international socialist newsweekly connected to the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and the Pathfinder Press. It is published in the United States and distributed in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom ...

'' (official

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...

newspaper of the SWP). He now lives in

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Legal problems

Calero was convicted of

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...

sale of

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in variou ...

in 1988. In December 2002, immigration police arrested Calero upon his return to the United States at the

George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/ U.S. Highwa ...

from reporting assignments at a conference held in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, protesting the Free Trade Area of the Americas. He was threatened with deportation in 2002 as a result of his previous conviction in 1988. 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. The U.S. government released Calero in 2003 and cancelled the deportation. The same year, Calero went on an international tour, visiting not only the major cities in the US, but also

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, Australia, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Sweden and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

to greet his supporters.

Electoral campaigns

, Róger Calero was the SWP candidate for

and received 3,689 votes, with

Arrin Hawkins Arrin Hawkins is an American activist and political candidate. Hawkins ran as the vice presidential nominee of the Socialist Workers Party in the 2004 U.S. presidential election, while Róger Calero ran for president. Because she could not reac ...

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, meaning that even had he won the election, he would not have been permitted to serve, and so James Harris, the Socialist Workers' Party presidential candidate from 2000, stood in on the ticket in nine states where Calero could not be listed, receiving 7,102 additional votes. 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. Róger Calero again ran for President of the United States representing the SWP in the 2008 presidential election, together with

Alyson Kennedy Alyson Kennedy (born June 11, 1950) is an American activist and member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). She was a candidate in the 2019 Dallas mayoral election. She was the SWP's nominee for Vice President in the 2008 United States presid ...

for vice-president. Again, James Harris stood in for Calero in several states.Socialist Workers Party Presidential Petitioning
, ''Ballot Access News'', 6 June 2008 (accessed 10 September 2008). In the 2008 presidential election, Calero was on the ballot in five states, where he received 7,209 votes. Coupled with the 2,424 votes received in the five states where Harris was on the ballot.

References

External links

Campaign website

The Militant, weekly paper of the Socialist Workers Party

Pathfinder Books, the bookstore of the Socialist Workers Party
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calero, Roger 1969 births American politicians of Nicaraguan descent Living people Marxist journalists Nicaraguan journalists Nicaraguan Marxists Nicaraguan emigrants to the United States Socialist Workers Party (United States) presidential nominees Socialist Workers Party (United States) politicians from New Jersey Candidates in the 2004 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2008 United States presidential election Politicians from Newark, New Jersey Hispanic and Latino American candidates for President of the United States Hispanic and Latino American politicians