UNITY & STRUGGLE s n o i t a s i n a g r O
d ICMLPO Plenary Statement n a Brazil Israel’s massacre of Palestinians s e i
t Burkina Faso Ebola epidemic r a Colombia Colombian economy P t
s Denmark Ideological offensive against the youth i n i Dominican Republic Dialectics and its importance n e Ecuador Speech at the Internationalist Meeting L
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t Germany On Russia s i
x Greece Restoration of capitalism in the USSR r a Italy Gramsci, a Bolshevik M f Mexico Urgent tasks against neoliberals and imperialists o
e Peru Inter-imperialist contradictions and BRICS c n
e Spain Corruption and the Bourbons r e f Turkey Disintegration in the Middle East n o Venezuela Study of Capital C l a n o i t a n r e t n I
No. 29 - SPRING / SUMMER 2015
Workers of all countries, unite!
Unity & Struggle Journal of the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organisations Unity & Struggle No. 29 - March 2015
Journal of the International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organisations. Published in English, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic, Portugese and German in the responsibility of the Coordinating Committee of the International Conference. Any opinions expressed in this journal belong to the contributors.
Postal Address: Verlag AZ, Postfach 401051, D-70410, Stuttgart, Germany UNITY & STRUGGLE No. 29 SPRING / SUMMER 2015
CONTENTS ICMLPO Statement of thePlenary of the ICMLPO ...... 5
Brazil : Revolutionary Communist Party (PCR) Why does Israel massacre the Palestinian people? ...... 11 Burkina Faso: Revolutionary Communist Party of Volta (PCRV) On the Ebola epidemic that is striking the West African sub-region ...... 16
Colombia: Communist Party of Colombia - ML Grim picture of the Colombian economy ...... 19
Denmark: Workers’ Communist Party of Denmark (APK) The role of the youth in “the Competition State” and the ideological offensive against the youth ...... 33 Dominican Republic: Communist Party of Labour (PCT) On dialectics and its importance for the revolutionary struggle ...... 42
Ecuador : Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador (PCMLE) Speech at the Internationalist Meeting ...... 48
Germany: Organisation for the Construction of the CP of Germany (Arbeit Zukunft) Russia: Anti-imperialist angel of peace or capitalist-imperialist great power? ...... 54
Greece: Movement for the Reorganization of the KKE (1918-55) of Greece Reactionary anti-communist bourgeois theories that conceal the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union (1953-1990) Part B ...... 61 Italy : Communist Platform Gramsci, a Bolshevik ...... 67
Mexico: Communist Party of Mexico - ML Two urgent tasks to confront the onslaught of the neoliberals and imperialists in Mexico ...... 76
Peru: Communist Party of Peru - ML On the inter-imperialist contradictions, the growing dependence of Peru and the presence of BRICS ...... 85
Spain : Communist Party of Spain - ML (PCEML) Where corruption... and the Bourbons reign ...... 91
Turkey: Labour Party (EMEP) Entanglements and disintegration in the Middle East ...... 97
Venezuela : Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Venezuela (PCMLV) The study of Capital in the consolidation of Marxist-Leninist cadres ...... 106 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015 NO: 29 ICMLPO
I C M L P O
International Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations
STATEMENT OF THE PLENARY OF THE ICMLPO Turkey, November 2014
Twenty years on the road of struggle and wages, the policy of the imperialist monopo - unity for the Revolution and Socialism lies and their governments, the accumulation I of capital on the basis of imposing more taxes The Plenary session of the International and raising the prices of goods and services, Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Or - policies that are provoking rebellion and strug - ganizations (ICMLPO) to mark its 20th an - gles of the working class and the peoples. niversary, met in Turkey to discuss important II issues of the international situation, of political The defenders of the capitalist-imperialist work, of the question of the Popular Front, and system launched the idea that a democratic and of the orientation for activity with working and prosperous world, without crises and wars, communist women in their respective countries. was possible. They claimed that capitalism The meeting emphasized the commitment was the only way to achieve the objectives and to continue the struggle against capitalism, im - aspirations of the peoples. However, undis - perialism and the international bourgeoisie, putable facts show, once again, that capitalism and adopted decisions on the current situation cannot provide any better future for the work - of the class struggle in the world and the tasks ing class, the workers and the peoples. of the working class. The productive forces, industrial produc - The plenary of the ICMLPO denounces all tion and services are developing constantly. forms of injustice, reduction and freezing of The development of these productive forces
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can no longer be contained within the frame - of human beings and other living species. work of the capitalist relations of production. The inter-imperialist contradictions and At present, the level of the contradiction be - competition are leading to a renewal of eco - tween socialized production and capitalist ap - nomic and commercial alliances which consti - propriation of the means of production tute a new offensive against the living standards surpasses all previous times in history. Finance of the workers and peoples. Agreements such capital, which imposes parasitism and corrup - as the Asia-Pacific bloc, the BRICS under the tion that generate super-profits in the capital - leadership of China and Russia, the Free Trade ist metropolises has developed and spread to Agreement between the United States and the the farthest corners of the world. European Union, are part of the effort of the im - Outsourcing and fragmentation of the time perialists and bourgeois governments to seek and place of the labor processes and flexible new areas of influence for their capital and to working hours have become general. However, further exploit the working class and increase they have imposed disorganization, low wages, the oppression of the peoples. primitive conditions of work, unemployment The capitalist crisis that broke out in 2008, and layoffs that are increasing; capitalist ex - which began in the US, affected all countries. ploitation is growing. The intensification of ex - It destroyed productive forces. The imperialist ploitation and the profits of monopoly capital, and capitalist countries through their govern - the worsening of working and living condi - ments initiated a policy of corporate bailout tions, are the main factor of the contradiction using billions of dollars and euros for this pur - between labor and capital. pose. These funds were taken from the public The development of capitalism means treasury, from the workers and peoples poverty alongside wealth and increased in - through taxes; they led to a reduction in wages, equality in distribution. Impoverishment and to unemployment and cuts to social security misery are spreading. Even in the developed among other measures. Thus the bourgeoisie capitalist countries of Europe, the number of has shown once again its hostile and con - homeless families is increasing, begging is temptuous attitude to the working classes. In spreading and the search for food thrown away various countries, more than 10 million work - in garbage cans is becoming usual. Hunger has ers were made unemployed; their salaries were spread to other places, beyond the regions of reduced to as little as one third; their retire - endemic drought and famine in Africa. ment age was increased; their pensions were As a consequence of capitalism the deteri - drastically decreased. oration and exploitation of the environment is All this shows that capitalism lacks a hu - becoming so serious that it cannot be ignored: mane conscience. While the centralization of soil erosion, water and air pollution, the de - capital increases, the full weight of the crisis struction of nature by the unbridled pursuit of lies on the workers and oppressed peoples, profit, has reached high levels, has caused with very severe results, particularly in unem - major climate changes that threaten the future ployment, among the women and youth.
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III IV The economies of the US and some Euro - The contradictions among the imperialists pean countries, where a process of relative re - are sharpening and inter-imperialist contention covery and revival began in 2009, have failed is growing. to maintain this; now signs of a new crisis are The claims of those who advocate "global - arising. The debts incurred by the States to ization," based on manipulating the develop - carry out the bailouts of corporations in 2008 ment of the trend towards integration of the represent a heavy burden on the economies of world economy, say that "the old imperialism the capitalist countries. Except for China, all no longer exists," that "the analysis of imperi - the countries are in debt. alism is obsolete, surpassed." All this is noth - Currently, one sees a decline in growth ing but propaganda of the imperialists rates and also signs of recession. Moreover, themselves. the economies of several countries are show - The hegemony of finance capital, whose ing a negative growth. networks continue to expand worldwide, fi - The figures for unemployment and poverty nancial speculation for the purpose of the mo - are alarming. According to data of the Inter - nopoly looting, including the maximum national Labor Organization, there are 202 advantage of state resources, are real and its million unemployed worldwide. Poverty rates existence needs no proof. for 2013 show that there are 1,000 million On the one hand, the number of million - people whose daily income is less than $1 aires is increasing daily, as are the profits of while 2,800 million people have daily incomes the monopolies and investment banks. On the of less than $2. other hand, the working masses and workers There are 448 million malnourished chil - are growing constantly, but their working con - dren; each day 30,000 children die from lack ditions are worsening and their poverty is of treatment for curable diseases. deepening. These are also facts that do not Emigration has reached unprecedented lev - need proof. els. Hoping to reach the developed countries, The regional wars and imperialist inter - to achieve a better life, a job to earn a living, ventions are continuing; the contradictions and millions of people emigrate from the depend - struggle for hegemony among the imperialist ent countries, where there is poverty caused by states are sharpening. One cannot say that the imperialist plunder and where regional wars reactionary bourgeois and imperialist states persist. only act outside their country, only through ex - A large number of these people (including pansion, without recognizing the consolidation women and children) die before they get of the “home front"; the expansion of imperi - where they wanted to go. Those who do make alism is also carried out through the exploita - it become victims of discrimination, racist and tion of the working class in their own xenophobic attacks, of the most precarious countries. conditions of work with the lowest wages. After the defeat of the workers’ movement
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and the demise of socialism, the world has be - V come a place for bourgeois political relations, The struggle of the workers and peoples is a completely reactionary world. the other side of the coin. The norms of the so-called "welfare state" The anger and discontent, accumulated due were considered unnecessary and rapidly "ne - to the cruelty of the socio-economic offensive oliberal" political measures were applied. The of monopoly reaction, has provoked popular up - bourgeoisie, with its triumph over and disor - risings and mass struggles. The last years are ganization of the workers’ movement, is car - filled with examples of popular movements that rying out an increasingly reactionary offensive emerged in response to the offensive of reaction, in all countries. of the international bourgeoisie and imperialism. Bourgeois democracy, whose duplicity and These popular demonstrations, strikes and formal nature is undisputable on the issue of massive protests, the uprisings and rebellions, equality and freedom, has become even more although they have not yet managed to under - reactionary with the "neoliberal process." mine the reaction of the bourgeoisie, show the Reaction is attacking all ideological, polit - prospects for development in the near future. ical, cultural, moral and legal spheres. The In the Middle East, divided by artificial growth of conservatism together with me - borders by imperialism and its allies, which do dieval "values" is the defining feature of cur - not recognize the right of self-determination rent development. Organizations such as Al of the peoples, the "status" formulated one Qaeda and the Islamic State, which have be - hundred years ago is disintegrating. come strengthened under these circumstances, Syria, a country that has lost its territorial have become useful tools of the international integrity, is seeking its future with the end of bourgeoisie and imperialism. the civil war. Clearly, Iraq, a country that has Imperialism and financial capital support never become firmly organized and integrated, this reaction, particularly in its medieval form, influenced by the Syrian civil war, cannot con - and are making it into the fundamental basis tinue as it has until today. The future of this of their hegemony. Even the capitalist coun - country will be determined by the struggle of tries where bourgeois democracy is relatively the Iraqi people of all faiths and nationalities, advanced are showing fascist trends and a po - who have been dragged into conflicts and sec - lice state. In recent times, there have been the torial and ethnic divisions. lessons learned by events in Ukraine, which The future of Egypt is linked to the out - highlight the limits of bourgeois democracy. come of the struggle between the people and In Ukraine, a center of conflicts between national and international reaction. the imperialist powers, the developed capital - The Kurdish people have taken important ist countries that were considered the "cradle steps to determine their own future, establish - of advanced democracy" have no qualms ing democratic mandates in three cantons; about openly supporting neo-Nazi and fascist joining with the nations of Rojava (Western forces. Kurdistan).
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The struggle of the Palestinian people for of the working class and peoples. However, self-determination and to organize themselves the massive mobilizations of the workers and as a state is continuing despite the Israeli Zion - peoples also have the weakness of the lack of ist offensive. organization and consciousness, and on the Strikes and protests in Spain, South Africa, vanguard level the participation of the working Portugal, Belgium, Italy and France, have class as an independent class. emerged as new and dynamic subjects of the In recent years the popular demonstrations struggle. show that we have not yet overcome the dis - In Tunisia, the struggle for rights and free - organization caused by the defeat suffered by doms is growing and the Popular Front is the working class. being strengthened. Our immediate and concrete task is to The people of Burkina Faso are carrying change this situation. The disorganized demon - out a revolutionary struggle to take their future strations can not have a definitive success with - into their own hands, defeating one dictator - out a revolutionary program with independent ship after another. demands, although they may achieve some ad - In the Arab countries of the Middle East vances over bourgeois reaction. and North Africa, the peoples are fighting On this issue the responsibility belongs to against religious reaction and the governments our parties and our organizations. To increase allied to imperialism. our numbers among the workers and laboring In Turkey, the resistance of Gezi in June, people; to recognize the immediate democratic in Taksim; in Brazil the protests against rising and economic demands and link the fight to fares; in Chile the student demonstrations have the victory of the revolution and socialism; increased the confidence of young people in this is the only way. The objective conditions themselves; they are demanding democracy for socialism are more mature than ever; how - and freedom. ever, these demand in an unquestionable way The struggles that emerged in Latin Amer - the unity and organization of the working class ica, particularly in Mexico, Ecuador and the and laboring people. Dominican Republic, are being strengthened. VII In the popular resistance and mobilizations Today, just as yesterday, the revolution ne - that are taking place in these countries, the cessitates strategic alliances. Class alliances mass participation and attitude of resistance of built in action, that correspond to the practical the workers stands out. This also shows con - political needs of the struggle, in various cretely the determining role of women in the forms. The working class, the laboring and op - advance of the struggle of the working class pressed peoples, are advancing in their strug - and peoples. gle to repel the attacks by building partial and VI temporary alliances. What is fundamental is to Clearly these demonstrations, resistance build these alliances around programs of strug - and strikes are a source of hope in the struggle gle that include concrete and immediate de -
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mands of the working class and oppressed That is why we call on the workers and peoples. The present task of achieving unity, peoples of all countries, on the youths, the pro - alliances, of building Popular Fronts, is in - gressive scientists and intellectuals of the evitable, as were the united fronts against fas - world to unite and raise higher the fight cism in the past. against the international bourgeoisie, reaction This is especially important in order to in - and imperialism. crease the political and ideological power of In this process, the International Confer - the working class and of our parties, and to ence of Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organi - create and develop popular organizations that zations will assume all its responsibilities and advance the wheel of history. fulfill its necessary tasks. VIII ICMLPO, Turkey, November 2014 There are countries in which the ideo - logues and spokespersons of the opportunist and revisionist parties and organizations in - Communist Party of Benin vent "new" ideas and proclamations every day Revolutionary CP – Brazil and try to distort the class struggle. Revolutionary CP of Volta (Burkina Faso) In Brazil, the social democratic govern - CP of Colombia (Marxist-Leninist) ment, in Spain Podemos [We Can], in Greece Workers' CP of Denmark the "left" of Syriza, etc. are current examples. CP of Labor of the Dominican Republic On the other hand, the "progressive" govern - Marxist-Leninist CP of Ecuador ments are becoming worn out, they are losing CP of the Workers of France ground and prestige in Latin America. Organization for the Construction of the Once again events show that reformism Communist Workers' Party of Germany and liberalism have nothing to give the work - Movement for the Reorganization of the ing class and the peoples. KKE (1918-1955) of Greece Another mystification is the supposed pro - Revolutionary Democracy Org. of India gressive nature of Russian and Chinese imperi - Party of Labor of Iran (Toufan) alism as opposed to United States imperialism Communist Platform of Italy and its Western partners; this falls under its own CP of Mexico (Marxist-Leninist) weight, since their confrontations correspond to Democratic Way of Morocco the preservation and expansion of their own in - terests. This is nothing more than embellishing Workers Front of Pakistan bourgeois reaction and imperialist capitalism. Peruvian CP (Marxist-Leninist) IX CP of Spain (Marxist-Leninist) The present events confirm that the class Workers’ Party of Tunisia struggle is the motive force of history, that the Labor Party of Turkey working class is the fundamental force and the Marxist-Leninist CPy of Venezuela vanguard of the revolution and socialism.
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B R A Z I L
Revolutionary Communist Party (PCR)
Why does Israel massacre the Palestinian people? Luiz Falcao
he terrorist offensive of the Israeli asleep. The school was bombed despite the Tgovernment has no limits: this July fact that the UN reported to Israel 17 times that and August, hundreds of sea, land and air at - its 83 schools in Gaza accepted only civilians. tacks with phosphorous and fragmentation Pierre Krähenbühl, Commissioner General of bombs were carried out in the Gaza Strip, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency killing more than 2,000 Palestinians, the vast for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) stated after majority of them civilians. The Palestinians these deaths: “Last night, children were killed have no army, unlike the State of Israel, which while they were sleeping next to their parents has one of the 10 most powerful armies in the on the floor of a classroom in a UN refuge in world, with 160,000 soldiers, as well as sub - Gaza. The children were killed as they slept; marines, modern tanks, bombs of all kinds and that is an affront to all of us, a source of about 400 nuclear weapons. shame.” That same day, more Israeli missiles The result of these cowardly Israeli bomb - attacked another UN school and a public mar - ings are hundreds of children killed and thou - ket in Sejaiya. sands with legs or arms amputated. One of Just a few hours after the massacre, the US these attacks was on the Abu Hussein School confirmed the delivery of heavy artillery such of the United Nations, in the early morning of as grenade launchers and 120-mm mortars to July 30, killing 21 children while they were Israel.
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Up to the beginning of August, more than there will be no peace, because Hamas is ter - 400 Palestinian children had been killed and rorist. But who bombs schools and markets 9,000 seriously wounded. Every day, more and kills sleeping children in the UN school? bodies are found in the rubble of buildings and Israel is also attacking the Palestinian peo - houses, schools and hospitals destroyed by Is - ple in the West Bank, where the government rael. is led by the moderate Mahmoud Abbas of the But why does Israel carry out this blood - Palestinian National Authority, and it is build - bath in the narrow Gaza Strip, where 1.6 mil - ing more settlements there. As the Israeli gov - lion Palestinians live? ernment statistics show, the building of Israeli There is no doubt that Israel hates Arabs settlements on the West Bank increased by peoples, particularly the Palestinians. It knows 120% in 2013. that it has a military power infinitely superior Israel never fulfilled any of the peace agree - to that of the Palestinians and has the support of ments that it signed. On the contrary, they were the imperialist countries, particularly the US, all violated and thrown into the garbage by the which provides weapons and billions of dollars successive Zionist governments. In 1993, it to promote the killing of Palestinians in the signed the Oslo Accords, pledging to withdraw Middle East. From 2009 to 2018, the US gave its armed forces from the Gaza Strip and the $30 billion dollars in military aid to Israel. West Bank and to respect the sovereign rights Israel is strictly following the Nazi ideol - of the Palestinian people. But instead of with - ogy that a lie repeated a thousand times be - drawing from the Palestinian territories, it built comes the “truth”. It counts on the complicity more and more settlements on Palestinian land of the mass media of the world bourgeoisie, and continues to ignore international law and which repeats ad nauseam the Israeli lies as if the pleas of tens of thousands of peoples for a they were facts. permanent peace in the region. Israel’s hypocrisy is so great that it pro - Who are the terrorists? poses putting an end to the bombings and de - militarizing the Gaza Strip, but what it wants Who does not remember Israel saying that is to build up its army and to continue manu - as long as Yasser Arafat was alive there would facturing and importing weapons. If Israel be no peace between Israelis and Palestinians, does what it does now when the Palestinians since Arafat was a terrorist? However, when have only a few rockets and stones, one can Arafat’s body was exhumed in 2012, it was imagine what it would do in the Gaza Strip if proved that he had died of poison. In January that were demilitarized. 2013, Shimon Peres, then president of Israel, For decades, Israel, besides carrying out confirmed that Zionist agents had killed the cowardly bombings and constant military ac - Palestinian leader. tions, has been imposing an inhuman block - Today, Israel says that as long as Hamas ade on the Palestinians, forcing them to live exists and continues governing the Gaza Strip with rationing of drinking water, energy, food
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and medicine. Its objective is to expel the killing nine people on the ships. So, while the Palestinian people from Gaza and its lands and US arms to Israel freely sail the oceans, ships to show the Palestinians that either they leave with food and medicine for the Gaza Strip are the Gaza Strip or they will be decimated by attacked. their bombs and tanks, as was made clear in In June of last year, the UN Committee on the words of Nazi leader Benjamin Ne - the Rights of the Child accused Israeli forces tanyahu: “The Jewish state must be prepared of abusing and torturing Palestinian children, for a long campaign in the Gaza Strip until the in addition to using them as human shields. mission is completed.” According to the UN agency, “Palestinian And what is that mission? To expel the children detained by the military and police Palestinian people from Gaza or to make them are routinely subjected to degrading treatment into slaves of the Zionists. The replacement of and often to acts of torture.” The agency fur - Shimon Peres with Reuven Rivlin as President ther stated that over ten years, about 7,000 of Israel on July 24 is further evidence in this Palestinian children aged 9 to 17 years were regard. Mr. Rivlin is part of the more radical arrested and interrogated and many of them wing of Likud, he rejects the creation of a were taken before Israeli military courts hand - Palestinian state and supports the policy of set - cuffed and chained at the ankles. The majority tlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. of the children arrested were accused of throw - According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz , ing stones. According to Israeli law, Palestin - “Rivlin won’t be the State of Israel’s president, ian children who throw stones at Israeli but Greater Israel’s president. He will exploit soldiers can receive a sentence of up to 20 the presidential institution to advance the West years in prison. Bank settlement project.“ The aim is to rob Palestinian land and gas Israel tortures children But hatred for the Palestinian people alone In 2008 and 2009, Israel carried out “Op - does not justify such cruelty. The Zionist state eration Cast Lead,“ in which it murdered more of Israel is ruled by politicians and parties that, than 1,300 Palestinians and took over more in addition to openly defending Zionism and land in the West Bank and Gaza. During this preaching hatred for the Palestinian people, rep - massacre, the US sent 325 containers of 6 resent the big bourgeoisie of the country, that cubic meters each, with arms to supply Israel. is, the big civil construction companies inter - The cargo left from the Greek port of Astakos ested in building settlements on Palestinian land for the Israeli port of Ashdod, 8 kilometers and the Israeli and U.S. war industries in close from the Gaza Strip. relation with international finance capital. In May of 2010, Israel attacked the ships As Israel has few natural resources and of the Freedom Flotilla that was trying to bring 85% of its land is desert, robbing Palestinian humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, land is essential in order to expand the build -
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ing of settlements and to increase the profits over the land and wealth that does not belong of the construction and real estate industry in to them; that is why they are massacring the Israel. Palestinian people. For that crime they rely on Also the Israeli armament firms – Aero - the weapons and financing of the US, the Eu - space Industries, Elbit System and Elta – ropean Union and the unconditional support of which produce satellite-launching vehicles, the mass media around the world. drones, fighters, advanced radars, etc., and the In short, Israel does not want to live in United States firms (Boeing, Lockheed, peace with the Palestinian people, it wants to Northrop, General Dynamics, Raytheon), al - rob their lands and kill those who do not ac - though they can sell their weapons to other cept its rule, it wants to seize the gas and countries (including Brazil), they have in the super-exploit Palestinian labor power. Israeli army one of their biggest buyers. The permanent war against the Palestinian people As a wall creates huge profits for the owners of the arms industry. Indeed for the bourgeoisie that rules Israel On the other hand, Israel boasts of having today and for the major imperialist powers, a modern and high-tech industry, but it de - what matters is to increase their wealth; the pends on the import of grain, meat and oil. To wars against the Palestinian people, against the overcome this they want to occupy Palestin - Syrian people (more than 179,000 people ian lands. killed), against Iraq (more than 1 million peo - But Gaza does not have only Palestinian ple killed), against Libya and Ukraine, among children. It also has significant reserves of nat - others, are one of the major means for the cap - ural gas. In the year 2000 extensive gas re - italist class to increase its profits, especially at serves were discovered in the region. These a time when the capitalist system going reserves were estimated by the multinational through a deep economic crisis. It does not British Gas (BG Group) at 40 million cubic matter, for the lords of war, who are precisely meters, but everything indicates that they are the owners of the means of production and the much greater. BG has negotiated with the Is - banks, how many Palestinian children they kill raeli government to explore these resources, in their sleep, nor how many wars they have and the Palestinian people, the real owners of to make. that wealth, have been ignored. In addition to The Zionist government of Israel and its BG, other monopolies have already expressed accomplices, the imperialist countries, want to their interest in exploring Palestinian gas. prevent the existence of a Palestinian state at Whoever occupies the Gaza Strip will control all costs in order to rob their wealth and en - the gas and could make millions of dollars. In slave the survivors of this genocide. These are 2007, the Israeli government admitted paying the real reasons that Israel and the US are car - for the exploration for gas to the Palestinians, rying out this bloodbath and not the tunnels but changed its mind and now wants to take and rockets of Hamas.
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But the Palestinian people have already shown that they will not accept being slaves; they prefer death to living without freedom. A people that fights for its freedom may lose some battles, but it will win the war. And as the verses of the Palestinian Communist poet Tawfiq Az-Zayad say, the Palestinians will not disappear, they will fight:
“Here We shall remain like a wall upon your chest in your throats... When we are thirsty We will squeeze the stones And we will eat land when we are hungry But we will not leave Our future is here” (Tawfiq Az-Zayyad)
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BU R K I N A FA S O
Revolutionary Communist Party of Volta (PCRV)
On the Ebola epidemic that is striking the West African sub-region
ince mid-April of 2014, the Ebola a catastrophe.“ The WHO calls the epidemic a Svirus that was only known in Central “bonfire” while the NGO Doctors Without Africa, specifically in the Republic of the Borders said at the end of June that “the epi - Congo (DRC), Uganda and Gabon, appeared demic is out of control.” The threat of the epi - in the sub-region of West Africa, specifically demic spreading to other countries such as in Guinea-Conakry, from where it has spread Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Ivory Coast, which to Sierra Leone and Liberia. According to re - share borders with countries struck by the dis - ports from some NGOs and the World Health ease, is a reality, especially when the epidemic Organization (WHO), which became involved has already struck in Nigeria, although this is in those countries to fight the epidemic, in four a country that has no common borders with the months the disease caused more than 930 countries where the epidemic developed. dead, and there are about 1700 probable cases West Africa is one of the most populous re - of people infected [as of August when this was gions in Africa and also the area that has the written – translator’s note ], of which an im - largest free movement of people, and this has portant part are health care personnel from the been the case for centuries. Upper Volta, now three countries. called Burkina Faso, which has borders with The President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Mali and Ivory Coast, will not escape if these Sirleaf, declared that the situation in her coun - countries are infected, especially if one con - try is “very serious and we are headed towards siders the mobility of the populations between
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those countries and ours and given the porous with the information, nor to make aware or borders among the countries of the sub-region. alert the population on measures to be taken. This epidemic has acquired the character Nothing concrete to take measures to prevent of a regional catastrophe, at a time of a politi - the spread of the virus. No campaign to train cal, social, economic and military crisis, or one health care workers who could cope with a of bankruptcy, of the neocolonial states. The possible outbreak of Ebola. As always, the population suffers from humanitarian crises, government of the Republic is waiting for the with displacements caused by reactionary wars catastrophe to break out, when it will mobilize and their consequences. The governments of to beg for foreign aid, aid that will quickly be the countries of West Africa are showing iner - hogged by the vampires of the Republic at the tia and irresponsibility, which has led the expense of aid to the poor population, as is the WHO to sound an alarm. Quickly and prema - case with malaria with infected mosquitoes turely, the epidemic was declared by Guinea, a that have been a great help to the authorities country which however does not have the and its allies, especially Alizeta Gando who means to identify the virus, let alone to care has done business for thousands of millions for the sick. On the initiative of the WHO, the with the CFE and AIDS, whose funds have epidemic has been addressed properly and has been used by the presidency. been declared a great danger to the world; The public health sector has been neglected moreover, the WHO gave instructions to the in favor of the private sector without having heads of State of the sub-region that they taken any steps to develop health research; the should inform their peoples and take the nec - neocolonial countries of the sub-region depend essary measures, such as the state of emer - entirely on the “good will” of the imperialist gency in the countries that are severely countries and their NGOs, such as Doctors affected, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Without Borders, in order for them to take Some countries bordering on Burkina Faso measures to control the epidemic. This will are carrying out information and awareness prove once again their lack of awareness and campaigns for their populations against this ability to protect the population against the threat. However, the political and health au - disease, measures and treatments that they thorities in Burkina are doing practically noth - have begun to implement for the sick people ing, based on the fact that there has been no repatriated to their countries such as is the case case detected in our country and that we are of the United States and Spain. far from the countries infected. The epidemic The grave threat of the Ebola epidemic has been plaguing the sub-region since March concerns all the social and political forces of of 2014 and until July the authorities remained our country and the West African sub-region, in a “state of implementing a response plan to if one takes into account what is at risk for the deal with any eventuality,” as the representa - health and the dramatic consequences for the tive of the WHO told reporters in Burkina population already stricken by a profound cri - Faso on July 11, 2014. Nothing is being done sis. With this statement the PCRV, vanguard
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party of the working class, sounds the alarm centers and that also a significant proportion to demand that the government of the Fourth of deaths occur at home, which limits the abil - Republic assume its responsibilities and take ity to identify and determine the causes of the measures to avoid a catastrophe for our peo - deaths and thus quickly detect the epidemic. ple and our country. We call on the health care professionals, The PCRV denounces the apathy and irre - the trade union organizations in the health care sponsibility of the authorities of the Fourth Re - sector and all those competent in that sector, public in handling the threat posed by the Ebola to organize and unify their forces to contribute epidemic in West Africa. It denounces the con - to raising awareness and educating the popu - tempt and carelessness with which the authori - lation to fight an eventual epidemic. We call ties treat this grave public health problem. on the whole democratic movement in our The PCRV demands: country (trade unions, human rights organiza - • That measures be adopted to raise aware - tions, intellectuals, etc.) to mobilize to demand ness and educate the population about hygiene that the authorities adopt measures appropri - measures and precautions to take to avoid in - ate to the situation to avoid a greater humani - fection. This is of great importance given that tarian catastrophe in the country. access to medical care and hygiene is already The PCRV expresses its solidarity with the very limited among the poor population in the peoples struck by the epidemic, the interna - cities and the countryside, and that the cultural tionalist solidarity of the people of Volta with practices of our population can be factors that the hope that this epidemic will be controlled aggravate the spread of the disease in the case quickly in order to avoid a new catastrophe in of an epidemic. the sub-region. It is already faced with the con - • That appropriate measures be taken to sequences of reactionary civil wars and impe - train and protect care health personnel who are rialist aggression, as well as the political, the sector of the population most at risk during economic, social and military failure of the epidemics, as the situation in the countries that neocolonial regimes that every day show their are the focus of Ebola outbreaks and in Nige - inability to protect the population and lead the ria show daily. countries to social progress and a true democ - • The creation of an effective epidemiolog - racy. Bread and freedom for the people! ical organization and border control. This is very important given that a significant part of August 2014 the population has no access to health care Revolutionary Communist Party of Volta
18 NO: 29 COLOMBIA
C O L O M B I A
Communist Party of Colombia (M-L)
Grim picture of the Colombian economy
s part of the complex and turbulent The ups and downs of the Colombian Ainternational situation, elements of economy the general crisis of capitalism in Colombia are revealed, including fictions about the bases The economic information given out by the and sustainability of certain periods of GDP government, banks, institutions and many in - growth, marked by certain currents of anti- ternational organizations keep insisting on and capitalist opinion since the crisis of recession presenting as a great example the positive re - of the capitalist world that began in late 2007. sults achieved by the government in economic Today life has shown the truth with the no - growth, control of inflation, growth of em - torious fiscal deficit and the increase in the ployment, balance of public finances and re - destabilizing factors such as the growth of the duction of poverty. The majority of the foreign debt and its high interest, the growing economic reports highlight the good perform - imbalance of trade, the decline in investment, ance of the national economy, even placing it the unemployment, the very low incomes and after Brazil and Mexico as the third largest wages, the crisis in the countryside, the seri - economy in Latin America.(1) ous problems of industry and the relationship In the political landscape it is obvious and of all these elements with the implementation almost insane to say otherwise when the ma - of the Free Trade Agreement and the Pacific jority of the analyses are based on government Alliance. We will show how the above are part statistics certified by the big banks and inter- of the grim picture of the world economy. governmental organizations. With the pub -
19 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
licity and intense idyllic discourse of bour - and guarantees that the big multinationals re - geois and neoliberal analysts everything ceive from the state, there is no doubt that seems true, but facts are stubborn things Colombia at the dawn of the 21st century is and with the same errors and fictions that suffering the consequences of the most ter - government statistics present one can show rible exploitation and plunder of its natural the opposite . resources ever . With all this boom of dollars coming into The boom in dollars and its effects the country and increasing the mining activity, it is not surprising that the growth of the It is no secret that over the last 10 years the Colombian economy in recent years has ap - amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) peared among the highest in Latin America. coming into the country is greatly modifying But the instability continues to increase if the structure and profile of the Colombian we consider that Colombia is a backward and economy. Without agreeing about its produc - dependent capitalist country, which in these tive centers, today in the international arena years has maintained an open economy, in - Colombia is following a neoliberal and ex - serted into a galloping process of globalization tractive model that places it among the lead - that does not allow it to get rid of the deep ing producers of raw materials in the world. problems and conflicts that occur on the inter - To point out the major implications of this national economic and political level. new orientation of the Colombian economy, it In the international context of economic is enough to note what is surprising about and political crisis and instability, the big prob - these figures. According to the Bank of the Re - lem that is beginning to confront the country’s public, during the last decade including the economy and with it the entire driving force first quarter of 2014, the country reached a of energy mining, is that the revenues and FDI of US $131,939 million. This means that profits are beginning to weaken on account in the last decade, Colombia has had an annual of the fall in the international prices of both oil average FDI of US $12,700 million, almost and coal, as well as the weaker demand for unmatched among the other Latin American raw materials today from the advanced coun - economies.(2) tries, mainly China and Europe mired in a Now, if we look at the figures for FDI that slowdown that is tending to deepen. have already been agreed upon for the next Under these conditions the new model is four years, which reach US $40,000 million, beginning to founder, the balloon that all sec - we can foresee the continuation of this tors applauded and bet on with special vener - model for quite a long period in the country . ation is beginning to lose air. Most bourgeois The serious problem with all these invest - analysts who are pondering over the overheat - ments is that they are channeled into the ex - ing are beginning to make new recommenda - traction of the most varied natural resources, tions to address the fall and not perish at the mainly gold, oil and coal. With all the favors first shock . Faced with this new economic
20 NO: 29 COLOMBIA
picture that is beginning to take shape at the would ensure both increased revenues which international level, the Colombian bourgeoisie the Colombian State and the government need and government are beginning to show signs as well as the profits that large companies and of despair, but as history has shown, no meas - international monopolies supposedly will no ure can be taken without consulting the deter - longer receive. minations and commandments that its bigger Third, because the measures taken by the partner, “the master to the North,” imposes. U.S. Federal Reserve system proclaiming the Indeed, further setbacks affect not only the dismantling of the policy of the QE [Quantita - Colombian bourgeoisie and the government, tive Easing],(3) aimed at recovering the pro - they also affect the profitability of the invest - ductive investment and activity of the US, ments made by finance capital and the mo - make Colombia and other Latin American nopoly groups; thus the effort that they jointly countries defenseless and without a clear ori - made is understandable in order to not lose entation, because the imminent withdrawal of anything and secure the maximum profit . dollars from our countries – and particularly Still for the ruling classes in the country this from Colombia – involves taking measures to means a greater subservience and dependence retain them; in other words, the Colombian on US imperialism. government forced to cede is obliged to main - As in other Latin American countries, the tain the quantity of foreign direct investment dilemmas of the Colombian state is quite large providing greater guarantees to foreign cap - and complex, first because the disasters left ital .(4) Now, if we take into account the fact by the boom of dollars coming into the that the new US policy implies also facing the country will still have to be dealt with and fol - trend towards a greater reduction in current ac - lowed by taking steps to address the revalua - count deficit,(5) the situation is complicated tion of the peso, the decrease in savings, the because any measure taken in this regard by cheapening of imports, the increase in con - the Colombian State will involve, among other sumption, the reduction of national exports things, a rise in inflation, devaluation of the and resorting to subsidies for those sectors af - exchange rate and thus a drop in real wages. fected by competition and the weakening of the productive apparatus. The balance of trade and the Free Trade Second, because the prospect of a decline Agreements (FTAs) in investment and the weakening of the prices of oil, coal and other raw materials, as well as Another major problem of the dilemma is the major imbalances in the balance of pay - the deterioration that has taken place in the bal - ments imply decreased revenue for the state ance of trade. To show a little of the situation it and government . In this perspective the dan - is enough to note that in 2007, according to ger is great since the “recommendations“ that DANE [National Administrative Department international banking is now making call for of Statistics], Colombian exports reached a the approval of the structural reforms that value of US $333,000 million, realizing a pos -
21 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
itive balance of trade of US $12,421 million. trend has begun in the country’s economic per - In 2013 this positive figure fell to US $2,202 formance that greatly deepens the depend - million, and in July 2014 Colombia had a neg - ence of Colombia on the US. ative balance of trade of US $1,913 million. With regard to the Pacific Alliance, unlike The FTAs signed by Colombia are uncon - what many analysts say, there will also be no vincing when what remains is the growth of solution to this problem of exports, because imports and therefore the deterioration of the agreement is based on the same paradigm the national productive apparatus . of the free market. Basically, what is becoming The figures simply illustrate the frank de - evident is the beginning of an economic and terioration in the export of manufactured political strategy by the countries that signed goods, the dramatic fall in the Colombian au - this agreement aimed at reducing the possibil - tomotive industry,(6) the shrinking export of ities of the MERCOSUR [Common Market of value added products, and the strong depend - the South] and ALBA [Bolivarian Alliance for ence on exports of fuels and the mining sec - the Peoples of Our America], to revive the ex - tor. In the figures for non-traditional exports pansionist project of the Free Trade Area of the there is no consistency and they rise and fall Americas, strengthening the US presence and very irregularly from one year to another. dependence in these countries. In regard to the FTA(7) it is worth noting We emphasize that the position of Colom - the serious repercussions that are taking place. bia in the FTA and now in the Pacific Alliance Many of the protections and safeguards that is quite similar to that of the peripheral coun - were adopted in the past to protect the pro - tries of Europe if we look at all the plans of the duction and prices have been broken by the European Common Market and the European numerous economic agreements that have Union. With such a stubborn implementation been signed. It is a fact that both signatories of of the free market economic policy, it is more the FTA prefer to purchase products in coun - than obvious that the country can sustain the tries with lower tariffs, but the stimuli and competition imposed by globalization only agreements, whatever differences may exist, by lowering wages, thus further exacerbat - accentuate the disadvantages of Colombia ing the distribution of income . with the regard to the United States . It is enough to point out the data on exports of the A growth induced by a bubble first year of implementation of the FTA with the US. Exports fell 14% and the trade balance Turning to production, the economic with the US fell from US $7,600 million to US growth achieved in recent years has been re - $2,800 million. According to the DANE, in markable. For 2012 and 2013 respectively, a July of 2014 Colombia‘s trade balance with GDP growth of 4.0% and 4.3% was recorded. the US changed again and has a negative bal - For 2014 the government forecasts are for a ance of US $2,275 million. We can state that growth of 4.4% of GDP, although there are with the signing of the FTA with the US a new some who say that if the national economy
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grew by 6.4% in the first quarter and by 4.3% sugar, paper and cardboard, coffee products in the second half, the country’s growth this and transport equipment. It is striking that in a year will exceed 5.5%. But the concern again country like ours, for the first half of the year, is evident and is related to the instability suf - compared to the same period last year, oil re - fered in the external sector, and especially by fining has shrunk by 8.8%, with 2 refineries the reduction in prices of the raw materials, oil and oil production of over one million barrels and coal,(8) which obviously is complicated per day. In reality oil is being exported unre - with the fall in production. For example, the fined and is returned to us as gasoline for figures from the DANE speak of a decrease in which we pay international prices. crude oil production of 1.5%,(9) no new find - In the agricultural and livestock sector, ings have been announced and there have been growth in 2012 was 2.5%, in 2013 it rose to constant complaints of a fall in reserves.(10) 5.2%, and in the first half of this year growth As for production, the other major concern was 3.8%, figures that, if one looks at them su - remains the state of industry and agriculture, perficially, do not indicate an economic slow - due first to the substantial changes that are tak - down or recession. Actually what is happening ing place within each of these sectors, and sec - is the trend towards specialization in this sec - ond to the effects of the FTAs and other tor of the production and export of agro-fuels, economic agreements signed by the Colombian coffee, banana and flowers, and to a lesser de - government. Therefore, we agree with some gree temporary crops (vegetables). Sub-sec - analysts who argue that we are facing the ef - tors such as poultry, forestry and fish farming fects of a growth induced by a bubble, which are losing strength, among other reasons be - fills the national economy with instability . cause of the smuggling that has been growing The results are clear, in 2012 manufactur - throughout the country. More precisely, while ing industry shrunk by 1% and in 2013 by the peasant economy is going bankrupt ac - 1.2%. So far in 2014, the sector did not re - companied by food insufficiency, the finan - bound and still fails to show a trend of re - cial institutions with their tentacles linked covery and growth .(11) In the first half of the to agriculture are doing what they please by year, manufacturing industry achieved a exploiting the comparative advantages that growth of 0.9% compared with the same pe - they have in Colombia . riod of last year. In the analysis of this sector One sector that is notable for its emergence there is definitely not much to talk about. The and degree of influence in the Colombian economic sub-sectors that have seen any economy is the construction industry. Its growth are those that have received a stimulus growth is due largely to the construction of from growth in domestic consumption and are large civil engineering works and public hous - characterized by being little tradable, typical ing. According to the DANE figures, compar - of a domestic economy with little production ing the value added in this sector between of capital goods. These are clothing, drinks, January and June of 2014 with the same pe - electrical supplies, sugar refining, brown riod in 2013, this sector grew by 14.2%. For
23 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
the construction of roads, ports, as well as figures from the Bank of the Republic, in the housing programs that are moving forward in third month of 2014 Colombia’s foreign obli - both the public and private sector, the per - gations reached US $94,620 million, register - spective is for further growth. ing an annual growth of 15.9% and accounting Looking at it this way we can summarize for 23.9% of GDP. According to these figures, that the economic model of foreign investment Colombia’s external debt rose to 2.3% of the and free trade that makes up the production GDP compared with the same month of 2013. profile is sinking, and this is the biggest proof According to these figures, the growth is ex - we have of the failure of the economic policy plained by the increase in long-term debt of the government. At this stage of the game it (17%) and to a lesser degree by the short-term is clear that the engines of the Colombian debt (9%). The external debt is mainly con - economy are mining and construction. But centrated in bank loans (US $47,515 million) nothing is certain, as needs of capital are and bonds (US $37,589 million). According to greater and, as we have explained, the revalu - data, the public sector debt grew by US $7,421 ation and the FTAs are ruining the limited million (16%) while external debt in the pri - progress achieved in industry and agriculture. vate sector showed an increase of US $5,547 The other thing is that although the FDI is million (15.8%). assured in the coming years, this is not suffi - Trying to make sense of these data, al - cient guarantee of the growth of reserves and though many analysts do not see the external production of oil since there are more and debt as a danger but a situation under control, more factors such as the decline in exports, the we cannot ignore the fact that compared to in - informal sector and the reduction of workers’ come and with all the efforts to pay it off, the income that are slowing down the Colombian Colombian external debt is quite high and rep - economy. Furthermore our analysis corrobo - resents a decrease in domestic product. Now, rates the present announcement of the fall in there are many implications of the growth of the GDP and a fiscal deficit of about 13 bil - the external debt; of all of these we shall note lion, as well as the absence of the same that one serious matter affecting sovereignty amount for costs that would have to be added is the subjection for over a decade of the State to the current costs to pay for the much touted and the national economy to the adjustment “post-conflict”. A tax reform has been an - program which the international banks dictate. nounced with more direct taxes for the poor, This limits the development, income and with great political and social effects that com - salaries, the social investment and the general plicate the work the Santos government. living standard of all Colombians.
The Trojan horse of the external debt The labor market and its inconsistent data Another element to be clarified on this Faced with this issue, it is important to note point includes the external debt. According to that according to DANE statistics in July 2014
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the percentage of the population of working of the employed part of the population has age that is employed was 57.6% in the country, changed substantially, because while in the making a total of 21,241,000 employed peo - late 1990s a little more than 10% of workers ple. By sectors of industry, construction, serv - were skilled, now about 60% are. Although ices and real estate activities produce the this trend is widespread, the secondary and ter - largest number of jobs. The mining sector, de - tiary sectors have a higher proportion of spite its high share of the GDP, creates less skilled workers. Thus one can see that people employment. Inactive workers reached with a higher level of education are more 13,432,000 people. likely to be hired in the formal sector and have Undoubtedly, these figures are very dry if longer-term contracts. The workers with a low we do not put them in context and with them level of education are mostly in the informal and others we perform an exercise that allows sector and have the lowest pay. us to clearly discern trends in the labor market The growth in employment cannot cover in Colombia. First it should be noted that the up or obscure the profound deterioration of data on the growth of employment and the de - important sectors of industry and agriculture, cline of unemployment provided by the that is, the closure of many enterprises, the DANE are consistent with the growth of elimination or reduction in staff. Studies show Colombia’s GDP, but they also clearly reveal the transition of most of these workers to the the increasing casualization of labor in our informal sector. country . The new jobs that are been created The labor market in Colombia is charac - are mostly in the formal sector, but not in those terized by the lack of labor protection, lack of sectors with the highest share of the national individual and collective rights, the promotion GDP, in this case the energy mining sector. of outsourcing and a low level of unionization. The construction and service sectors are the The data also show the evolution and ever in - ones that hire the most labor power in the creasing share of women in the labor market as country. Another significant portion of the new well as the rising youth unemployment. workers are the self-employed, who belong to the informal sector of the economy and who The informal sector are a growing part of the labor market. These new workers account for an increas - Regarding the informal sector,(12) the ingly flexible and particularly cheap market. Great Integrated Household Survey (GEIH) The high turnover of labor is prevalent and in conducted by the DANE shows the great im - sectors such as construction the rule is that pact that this has on the labor market in contracts do not last more than six months, ex - Colombia. One in every three workers is in the cept in public works in which the technologi - formal sector, while two out of three workers cal level demands the retention of skilled are self-employed or independent. In a country workers. in which the economically active population Recent studies show that the composition is growing and jobs in both the public and pri -
25 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
vate sectors are shrinking, the informal sector According to the DANE, in July of 2014 is the main alternative for survival ; in addi - the share of jobs in the informal sector for 23 tion, the high labor turnover leads many work - cities and metropolitan areas was 49.2%. By ers who lose their jobs and are looking for branches of industry, 41.7% of the informal another one to see self-employment as the working population is concentrated in trade, main alternative for earning an income to sur - hotels and restaurants. By occupational posi - vive. Since the informal sector prevails in low- tion, the self-employed make up 61.8% of skilled and lower productive areas, most of the the informal working population . By cities workers there have low-paid, unstable jobs the highest rates of informality were in Cucuta without social security, showing the strong (69.9%), Quibdo (66.1%), Riohacha (65.5%) link between the informal sector and and Santa Martha (65.4%). The informal sec - poverty among such workers . tor is smaller in Cali (47.1%), Bogota (44.0%), Under these conditions we can also note Medellin (43.9%) and Manizales (42.4%). that the informal sector not only includes street vendors, unlicensed taxi drivers, masons, car - Unemployment and underemployment penters, plumbers, cooks, vendors of cell- phone minutes and many other professions The exclusion of people from the labor involving many workers; the informal sector market is also reflected in high unemployment is also not alien to the transformation into and underemployment. In July of this year, un - maquiladoras of the production process im - employment reached 9.3% for a total of posed by the implementation of measures for 2,175,000 people without work. The cities with the casualization of the labor market. Thus the highest unemployment rates are Cucuta there are Special Economic Zones, Free Trade (15%), Armenia (14.9%) and Pereira (14.2%). Zones and firms such as Simplified Corpora - It stands to reason that changes in the pro - tions (SAS) and Cooperatives of Associated ductive structure of the country can also be seen Workers (CTA) [which hire temporary work - in the labor market and that the changes in this ers for other companies – translator’s note] would reflect the state and/or cycle of the econ - and many productive units that are not legal - omy. Considering the data at our disposal on the ized or lack recognition by the state, and are labor market in recent years, we find that in ad - simply strategies for satellitization of produc - dition to the inflexibility of capital given the tion used by capital to reduce costs and inten - substantial changes in the real wages of work - sify the exploitation of labor power. We can ers and the low productivity, the growth in em - note that the informal sector, which demon - ployment is closely linked to the expansion of strates situations and strategies of exclusion the labor supply, mainly in the construction and of thousands of workers from the labor service sectors. Faced with decreasing unem - market, is a manifestation of what in the so - ployment this trend is mainly explained by cial field is called inequality and political the growth of the informal sector and the exclusion . number of inactive workers .
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Regarding the last months, it is necessary extra-legal guarantees. The underemployed to point out that the reduction in the unem - in Colombia are, therefore, those workers ployment rate is explained by the greater par - who rotate between jobs without optimal or ticipation of personnel hired in the election favorable conditions, the informal sector campaigns that were held. In addition to the 23 and unemployment. Therefore, the evolution cities surveyed, according to the DANE, in the of underemployment follows patterns similar second half of the year only 8 cities had single- to those of the informal sector and shows the digit unemployment rates, the rest are far from serious problem of the quality of jobs in that level. This means that the reduction of Colombia. the unemployment rate to a single digit is According to statistics from the DANE, in more of a temporary situation rather than a July of 2014, in the 23 cities and metropolitan trend in the Colombian labor market . areas, subjective underemployment13 reached To further the analysis of the trends that we 27.0%, making a national total of 6,476,000 just discussed, it is important to study the im - people. In the same month objective under - pact on the growth of employment and the re - employment reached 11.1%, reaching a total duction of unemployment of situations such as of 2,477,000 people nationwide. The total un - the decrease in industrial and agricultural em - deremployment rate is 37.1%. The number of ployment, the participation of young people underemployed nationwide comprises and women, of the indigenous and black com - 8,953,000 people. munities, in the labor market, as well as the growing participation of workers in illegal ac - The fate of the labor market reforms tivities and drug trafficking, on which there are no statements nor consistent statistics by the Among the reforms that the Colombian DANE or the government. Given the above State has advanced regarding labor matters, situation and noting that these methodologies we emphasize: first, law 789 of 2002 under and indicators are not neutral, the data pre - which the surcharges for night work and for sented can only be assessed and taken as Sunday and holiday pay are reduced, changes points of references and working hypotheses. are made to the working day, vacations and As to underemployment, it is enough to compensation. Then law 1429 of 2010, also note that it is an indicator associated both with called the law of formalization and creation of the low skill of those hired and the underuti - employment, which established taxes on com - lization of labor power. Its measurement mercial trade registration, progressive income shows the dissatisfaction of workers when tax payment, parafiscal discounts, hiring of ap - their salaries are inadequate or also when they prentices in order to increase employment and are working but want to work more hours, as reduce the informal sector in the country. they work less than 48 hours per week. In gen - Then, law 1607 of 2012, known as the tax re - eral they are workers who are not covered by form law, which frees businesses from paying social security, minimum wage laws, nor parafiscals and creates income tax for equity.
27 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
There have also been regulations for public Regarding monetary poverty, for the year service employment (Decree 722 of 2013) and from July 2013 to June 2014, nationwide the there is a large body of law on hiring of ap - percentage of people in poverty was 29.3%, in prentices, reinforced labor stability, the inclu - the major cities it was 25.6% and elsewhere it sion of clauses on restitution in collective was 41.6%. Reporting new methodologies for contracts, essential public services and strikes the measure of poverty, the government states and union autonomy. that economic growth, the creation of jobs(16) In general we can say that the new regula - and policies targeted to helping the poor(17) tions on labor matters have dramatically has allowed 3.6 million people to be lifted out changed the rules of the game in the labor mar - of poverty. According to the government, in ket, on one the hand cheapening labor power June 2010 Colombia had 17,121 thousand and on the other putting great emphasis on people in poverty and in June 2014 this num - limiting the few labor guarantees and rights ber had fallen to 13,509 thousand people. that exist. As various studies have confirmed, Although there is much embellishing of the reforms that have been implemented have these data, the country cannot forget that the not served to create jobs and, despite the talk report released by the FAO [Food and Agri - about legalization or formalization of new en - cultural Organization] and the United Nations terprises, the reduction of the informal sec - a few days ago points out that hunger strikes tor is not a trend that prevails with the new 11.4% of Colombians , that is 5.5 million peo - flexibilization policies of the government . ple, about the same figure (11.3% ) reported With these reforms the Colombian State and worldwide. the government is fulfilling the mandates of In this sense the statistics presented by the the international banking sector, favoring big DANE and the government are not very con - business that have seen their profits increase sistent if we considered the lack of opportuni - while the workers have seen both their jobs ties and the real social crisis that exists in the and their income decrease. country. While the data show the reduction in poverty, they also show the increase in in - The “growth” does not suffice to erase equality among Colombians . Many institu - poverty in Colombia tions and researchers that note these changes over time point to the importance of develop - Studies on poverty in Colombia note a ing new methodologies and indicators(18) that downward trend, but there is still a fairly large reflect the real impact on the quality of life, sector of the population that remains poor. such as declining real wages in the country, After many attempts and methodologies im - changes in consumption, precarious employ - plemented just since 2011, the DANE has been ment, marginality, the continuing high rates of annually reporting information on monetary underemployment and unemployment, mental poverty,(14) multi-dimensional poverty(15) problems in a country like ours that has gone and inequality. from being a low to medium consumer of
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drugs, bankruptcy of the country’s hospitals (HDI)21 developed by the United Nations for and the agony of the health care sector in gen - 2014, which is used to analyze the progress of eral, the extremely poor quality of education, different countries, Colombia fell 7 position, the growing number of homeless people, the ranking 98th among 168 countries in the displacement due to the intensification of the world , which puts Norway, Australia and armed conflict, among other issues. Switzerland in first places. In this ranking In this regard the government can make up Colombia is below Chile, Venezuela, Brazil, many econometric models and methodologies Mexico, Peru and Cuba. but it cannot ignore the fact that there is a so - The per capita income in Colombia is US cial crisis of profound dimensions in this part $7,800 per year, but in cities such as Bue - of the world that economic growth could not naventura and Tumaco the figure drops to erase. In other words we can categorically $440, well below that of Chile, Cuba, Ar - note that economic growth about which so gentina, Venezuela, Brazil and Peru. much fuss is made in the country and the The Gini coefficient,22 which measures world has not brought progress but rather the degree of inequality on a scale from 0 to 1 further inequality among Colombians ; the (where 0 represents a perfect equality and 1 is gaps are increasingly growing and this is con - the most extreme inequality), was 0.54 for firmed by national and international statistics. Colombia in 2013, while for the US, Mexico According to data from the United Na - and Argentina it was 0.40. Over the last ten tions,(19) in Colombia 10% of households years, in Colombia this indicator has remained with the greatest resources receive more than constant and even had peaks of 6. The increase 40% of labor income, while 90% get the re - in per capita income about which the statistics maining 60%; this accounts for the high levels speak has not served to reduce inequality in of inequality in the country. The DANE also Colombia. Compared with other countries confirms that the 1% with the largest highest in the region, Colombia remains in 3rd income keeps one fifth of the wealth produced place after Haiti and Brazil; it ranks 12th in Colombia, one of the highest indices in the in the world according to the 2014 Report world, second only to the US. of the United Nations . Another example that shows this inequality According to the UN Habitat, the 13 most is the concentration of land, although there are unequal cities in the country are Medellin, no recent figures. The University of the Cali, Cucuta, Bogota, Manizales, Monteria, Andes20 recently revealed that in 2010, 77.6% Pasto, Villavicencio, Ibague, Barranquilla, of the land was owned by 13.7% of landown - Cartagena, Pereira and Bucaramanga. ers and that the Gini for land reached 0.86. Ac - This map of poverty and income inequality cording to the study the situation has worsened reaffirm that Colombia is a country in which the since 2000 when 75.7% of the land was held rich get richer through exploitation and violent by 13.6% of landowners. expropriation and the poor get poorer through Regarding the Human Development Index their further exclusion and victimization.
29 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
The political crisis deepens Notes: 1 These estimates are nothing but a publicity cam - All these elements that we have been sus - paign. Considering the statistics on the GDP we can taining show a rather complex and difficult sit - see that the value of the Colombian economy (US uation for the country. The instability shown $378,147,773,316) is lower than that of Argentina’s in the economic and social order is also seen (US $611,755,084,645), ranked as the third largest very crudely in the political landscape. The economy in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico. peasant strikes and demonstrations, the strikes 2 The figures cited are taken from the Quarterly by coal miners, the protests by oil workers and Report of the Bank of the Republic submitted to the teachers and the great discussions taking place National Congress in March of 2014. in the country that presently revolve around 3 These measures, known in the economic world the talks in Havana, the presidential authori - as the clearing of the QE model, are nothing more than tarianism contained in the draft balance of the buying of treasury bonds to lower interest rates and powers, the legislative agenda of Congress and raise the prices of stocks and bonds. all the economic and social tensions in this 4 Foreign Direct Investment increased by 8% in country reveal the deep crisis that affects the 2013 to a record of US $16,772 million, equivalent to Colombian political system today. 4.5% of GDP. 46.7% of this type of inflow is directed In that vein, Mr. Hernando Gomez Buen - to oil and mining activities. dia, director of the website “Public Reason“ 5 Colombia’s negative balance in its foreign ex - (“Razón Pública”), is correct when he says in changes continues to rise; in 2012 it increased to 3.1% one of his articles: and in 2013 to 3.4% of GDP. By 2014 the deficit is “Santos II will succeed if he maintains in - continuing to rise if we consider that in the first quar - vestor confidence, the speed of the mining en - ter of this year the current account deficit rose to 4.6% gine and the increase in social spending. He of GDP. The current account of the balance of pay - will do well if he stays afloat in the turbulence ments is a record of the transactions made between that many perceive in the world, and if he suc - Colombia and the rest of the world and is a sign of a ceeds in reducing the cost overruns, which in tendency for the exchange rate. The current account this case are basically the environmental dam - deficit, the Bank of the Republic explains in its quar - age, the social conflicts and the corruption terly reports, is due to a decrease in the trade surplus, that brings a tax bonanza. which fell by nearly half compared to 2012, reaching “Some people may think that this is not US $2,202 million. In July of 2014 Colombia already much, but it is everything one would expect has a deficit balance of US $1,913 million. from Santos II.” 6 According to ACOLFA (National Association of Auto Parts Makers) between January and April of October 2014 2014 vehicle exports fell by 94.3%. Central Executive Committee 7 Recall that the FTA of Colombia with the US Communist Party of Colombia (M-L) was signed in late 2006 and went into effect on May 15, 2012.
30 NO: 29 COLOMBIA
8 In the first half of 2014 the mining sector grew Objective underemployment comprises those who by 1.7%, compared to the same period in 2013. This have the desire, but have also made an attempt to re - performance was mainly due to the increases in coal alize their aspirations and are willing to make the production (16.7%) and natural gas (2.1%) as well as change. a decrease in the production of crude oil of 1.5%. 14 Referring to the annual measure of monetary 9 Source: Quarterly Accounts Bulletin. Second poverty, on March 21 the results for 2013 were pub - Quarter of 2014. DANE, September 16, 2014. lished; the second publication was made in August 10 According to the Ministry of Mines and En - 2014 and collects information from July 2013 to June ergy, in late 2011 the proven hydrocarbon reserves 2014. In it the following data stand out: were estimated at 2,260 million barrels and 155,000 Per capita income for the spending unit . For the million cubic meters of natural gas. At current pro - year from July 2013 to June 2014, the per capita in - duction rates, the duration of proven reserves is esti - come for the spending unit nationally stood at mated at 5 years for oil and 12 years for natural gas. $562,151. [Figures here are in Colombian pesos. As of The recoverable proven coal reserves are estimated at January 2015, there were about 2,378 Colombian pesos 4,945 million tons, representing about 60 years of pro - to the $US – translator’s note.] In the major cities it duction at current levels. More than 90% of coal pro - was $661,893 and elsewhere it was $232,969. This in - duction is exported and Colombia is the 5th largest dicates that on the average a family of 4 persons in exporter worldwide. Colombia receives a monthly income of $ 2,248,604, 11 The instability is so great that while in the first if the family lives in the major cities this figure is quarter of 2014 manufacturing industry grew by 3.3%, $2,647,572, if they live elsewhere it is $931,876. in the second quarter it shrank by 1.4%, according to The poverty line is the minimum amount per the statistics from the DANE. Expectations for the sec - capita required to purchase a basket of goods (food ond half are not very encouraging if there is no consid - and non-food items) to allow for an adequate standard erable increase in exports and domestic consumption. of living in a particular country. For the year from July 12 According to the criteria of the ILO, the DANE 2013 to June 2014, the per capita minimum necessary considers part of the informal sector: 1. Private em - nationally was $208,404. According to the above, if a ployees and workers who work in establishments, household is composed of 4 people, it is classified as businesses or enterprises employing up to 10 people in poor if the total household income is below $833,616. all their agencies and branches, including the em - If the family lives in the major cities this amount is ployer and/or partner . 2. Unpaid family workers. 3. $919,420; if they live elsewhere it is $550,448. Domestic workers. 4. Self-employed workers except The incidence of poverty measures the percent - independent professionals. 5. Bosses or employers of age of the population that has a per capita household enterprises with 10 workers or less. income below the poverty line, relative to the total 13 According to the DANE statistics, subjective population, according to the geographic area. For the underemployment refers to the simple desire of the year from July 2013 to June 2014, nationally the per - workers to improve their income, the number of hours centage of people in poverty was 29.3%, in the major worked or to have a job more appropriate to their per - cities it was 25.6% and elsewhere it was 41.6%. Com - sonal abilities. pared to the year from July 2012 to June 2013, the in -
31 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
cidence of poverty per unit changed as follows: -2.9% more than 2 million jobs in the last four years. (national), -2.4% (major cities) and -4.4% (elsewhere). 17 The government talks particularly about the The extreme poverty line is the minimum amount programs “Families in Action” and “Greater Colom - per capita required only for a basket of food items to bia”. allow a level of survival in a particular country. For the 18 For example, it is recognized by researchers year from July 2013 to June 2014 the minimum per that the city of Medellin makes up the Mission for capita necessary nationally was $92,312 According to Connecting the Series Employment, Poverty and In - the above, a household of 4 people is classified as ex - equality – MESEP – who adopt a new methodology tremely poor if its total income is below $369,248. If for calculating and updating the series prepared by the the family lives in the major cities this amount is DANE for this city. $386,192; if they lives elsewhere it is $313,328. 19 We are referring to the Report on Human De - The incidence of extreme poverty measures the velopment, 2014, UN. percentage of the population with a per capita house - 20 Research conducted in 2011 by Ana Maria hold income below the extreme poverty line, relative Ibañez, dean of economics at the University of the to the total population, according to the geographic Andes. area. For the year from July 2013 to June 2014 na - 21 The Human Development Index (HDI) is an in - tionally the percentage of people in extreme poverty dicator of human development created by the United was 8.4%, in the major cities it was 5.4% and else - Nations to measure the progress of a country. Unlike where it was 18.2%. Compared to the year from July many other indicators that measure the economic de - 2012 to June 2013, the incidence of extreme poverty velopment of a country, the HDI analyzes health care, changed as follows: -1.7% (national), -1.1% (major education and income. cities) and -3.6% (elsewhere). 22 The Gini coefficient is an indicator used by the 15 Multi-dimensional poverty studies the charac - World Bank and that the DANE uses in its quality of teristics of the household, related to education, health life surveys that measure how much the distribution care, employment, early childhood and home infra - of income (or, in some cases, consumption expendi - structure. ture) among individuals or households within the 16 The government talks about the creation of economy departs from a perfectly equal distribution.
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DENMARK
Workers’ Communist Party of Denmark (APK )
The role of the youth in “the Competition State” and the ideological offensive against the youth
Dorte Grenaa
he future belongs to the youth, so the fit into their glamorous images. The youth is Tsaying goes. Yes – if not the youth, portrayed as devoid of class and history. who else would it be? The question is which Of course it is by far not all young people youth will hold the future in their hands? Shall who grow up or are brought up with a clear it be the youth of the bourgeoisie, of the rich understanding and consciousness of their exploiters and speculators, the youth of the im - class. Children and the very young are defined perialists, of the power elite, of fascism, who by the class that their parents belong to. Young are all brought up and educated to continue to people are in a transition phase in their lives intensify repression and exploitation? Or will and often define themselves according to the it be the working class youth, the youth of the class or social strata in which they expect to exploited and oppressed, who shall shape the be placed according to their education, or they future? There is a world of difference. And may define themselves as a counter-culture ex - these are the two prospects for the working pelled from the established society. youth today. The program of the Workers’ Communist The bourgeois and imperialist media pay Party – The Manifesto for a Socialist Denmark homage to and worship “Youth” as an entity, – adopted by the founding Congress in April defined only by age, but at the same time they 2000, gives the youth a clear-cut class analy - curse those groups of young people that do not sis to understand their situation and conditions,
33 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
and to realize that all these things are not a conducted in relation to the broad struggles for question of individual failure or success. Not change, against cutbacks, wage cuts and so - the least, it offers the working class youth an cial dumping. If these two issues are separated, instrument to understand their own role in it means the advance of reaction. shaping a better future and a better society Reformism with its present government led under socialism. by the social democrats is trying to pose as champions against the racism and chauvinism The role of the youth and the working of the right-populist Danish Peoples” Party. class youth today But it is their own anti-social and neoliberal politics that create the background for and in - The bourgeois have a fixed strategy in spite cite racism and chauvinism. And in practice of their deafening “glam messages”. The great they adopt the reactionary positions and poli - majority of the young generation must be obe - cies of that party, which became the largest dient soldiers in the production of the neolib - party in votes in the election for the EU Par - eral “competition state” of imperialism and its liament in May 2014. wars of terror for resources, markets and power. The struggles of the youth must be linked To avoid having their future abused in such to the decisive questions of the class struggle a manner, it is the role of the youth of today to and be an innovative part of the creation of a throw all their energy and their strong force into broad anti-racist, anti-fascist and anti-imperi - the creation of another society, a socialist Den - alist united front and popular front, in order to mark, to prevent the scenario of the bourgeoisie defend the rights of the working class and the and imperialism from becoming their future. popular majority and to combat the offensive Every new generation must live through of neoliberal cutbacks and imperialist wars. their own experiences and use other forms and The struggles of the youth must be linked to methods according to the concrete conditions and united with the struggle of the entire work - of their generation. The decisive thing is what ing class for change, for a socialist society. class interests and policies they serve. Will The youth has always been characterized they make the youth join the class struggle on by revolutionary energy, courage, their dreams the side of the working class, or will they lead and hopes for a better life and a better future, them away from the working class and and they have a great storehouse of previous through illusions to inevitable defeat? experiences to consult from the youth strug - The different struggles of the youth – from gles over generations. the struggle in defense of the SU (Educational Support of the State) to the struggle for youth Some features of the Danish youth housing – cannot be seen in isolation nor be today fought alone. For the struggle against the hos - tility towards refugees and immigrants, racism Denmark is a small imperialist country, and fascism, it is decisive that it be seen and deeply integrated into the imperialist and mo -
34 NO: 29 DENMARK
nopolist alliances of NATO and the European The Military-Industrial-Media-Academic Union. Since 2001 it has been in the front lines Complex has taken control of the media of the successive aggressive wars launched by streaming with military news censorship and the US. poses daily as so-called scientific, objective Today’s youth have been born and grown experts and researchers. up under the pressure of the European Union In the beginning of this century, the new of the monopolies that is more and more global world order of imperialism, that meant demonstrating its true reactionary face, con - wars affecting all continents, has also un - structing the neoliberal union state. They were leashed a new cold war among the imperialist born in a country without self-determination, world powers and increased the danger of a which has simply turned into one of the coun - third world war. tries of the European Union, existing under its The youth today are growing up with the dictate. They have grown up in a country that consequences of the series of neoliberal “re - is on a permanent war footing as a part of the forms” that have changed the Danish (cap - aggressive imperialist “war of terror” alliance italist) welfare society into the “competition of NATO and the US around the world. state” of neoliberalism . In addition to the ef - Young people are growing up in a society fects of the economic and financial world where they are told that they have the right crises of capitalism, this has meant that for the to bomb and kill the populations of other first time in many decades there is a genera - countries, claiming that it is done in the tion of youth that has worse living conditions name of “democracy” and “progress” . than their parents” generation. But this is the same “democracy”, that in - This is the reality framing their lives and carcerates anti-racists and opponents of the consciousness, and where they must conduct wars and secures police protection for Nazis. their struggles and gain their experiences. The same “democracy” that uses elite soldiers The growing fascisation in Denmark and to destroy the youth house in Copenhagen, about the countries of the EU is an expression criminalizes the struggle of the youth and of the fact that the monopoly bourgeoisie of the leaves them without jobs, housing, education European Union has a keen awareness that and the possibility of providing forthemselves. their “generous offer” to the youth of their They even claim that this is “free choice”. present and future is not embraced voluntarily. The youth is growing up under the They are keenly aware that extended struggles weight of a society where the dominance of take place among the youth in the countries of the monopolies stretches into every corner the EU against the consequences of their poli - of life, and they experience a carefully cies and “reforms”, and that confidence in them planned militarization of all aspects of soci - is vanishing. They no longer believe that they ety and social life today. War is presented can hold onto their power without brutal vio - as the normal state of affairs, a chance to lence, without a police state, and if necessary, make a career, a part of everyday life . without fascism in government.
35 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
Today’s fascists appear in both neckties more democratic and social rights. The sanc - and high heels, but also with swastikas, arson tions and the punishments from the state are and racist campaigns against immigrants. In increasing steadily. Even having a boyfriend many countries of the EU they have been wel - or a girlfriend can be punishable, if you are comed into the parliamentary circus by the poor and unemployed. This is due to the new bourgeois, liberal and reformist parties, in our law of mutual dependency, where people who country and in our neighboring countries (Nor - live together are obliged to take financial re - way, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Poland) in a sponsibility for each other instead of having housebroken variant, that will make them a social rights. part of “normal” policies, while the police At a time when the educational institutions state, the undisguised terrorist dictatorship is are centralized in a few cities in Denmark, the being prepared. class and geographic distortion of Denmark The class contradictions among the leave the youth in rural and coastal areas in in - youth have been acutely sharpened . The creasing isolation in many fields. massive and still growing youth unemploy - ment is the largest in many decades and pre - Housing, work and education in vents many from a given youth cohort from imperialist neo-liberalism entering the ordinary labor market. Tens of thousands have been placed in various work - The youth has been used to spearhead the fare and forced labor arrangements where they implementation of many of the anti-social ne - are used as state authorized social dumping oliberal reforms. In order to weaken the gen - and cheap labor in order to maintain the social eral resistance to a given reform they have benefit. In small Denmark of five million peo - been calculated to hit different age groups at ple, altogether about 40,000 youths are even different times. But whether it is the increase outside the labor reserve as “not ready for the in pension age or reduction or elimination of labor market”. social benefits such as the so-called cash as - Large groups of children and youth are ex - sistance, it is the young generation that is hit cluded and discriminated against in relation to the hardest. With the privatization of social work, housing, leisure and amusements be - policies in the EU, where social benefits are cause of their class or ethnic background, their made dependent on how many years you have name, where they live or how they look. The been in the labor market, exclusion and dis - continuous cutbacks in education and leisure crimination have serious economic and social facilities have increased the ghettoisation, consequences for the rest of one’s life. They where the youth, and foremost the boys, are are left in economic, social and cultural left to the parking lots and criminal gangs. poverty. Imperialist neoliberalism has ex - These groups of excluded youths are not only cluded in advance one fifth of the youth deprived of the same possibilities that most of from work and education . the youth have, but they also lose more and The youth have become much more de -
36 NO: 29 DENMARK
pendent on economic and other assistance the EU, where wages, workers” rights and a from their families than the generations be - healthy and safe work environment are con - fore them . The neoliberal reforms have not sidered to be distortionary and anti-compet - only cut down and reduced the length of time itive. The youth is the labor force of the in which one can obtain social assistance. European Union, which shall be moved Many such benefits have been completely across borders according to the needs of the abandoned that were formerly public care employers. tasks. They have been made into family re - Many young people are unaware of the for - sponsibilities. As a consequence, the image of mer workers” rights and they are not met with the “happy nuclear family” is breaking down. and included in a strong labor unity in the The contradictory fact is that you are expected workplace, where they might learn about the to provide for yourself from when you are 18 collective struggle for these rights. To them years old, but in order to get state support for atypical employments are typical and normal education you are judged by your parents” in - conditions of the EU labor market – temporary, come until you are 20. part time, short-time, paid by the hour, day la - An increasing number of young people borers, or internship or contract employees. today are dependent on their parents and have In attractive jobs young people often have to continue living with them, not being able to to work without any pay for a long time to “de - afford their own homes. In Denmark in a few serve” a vacancy job. Many municipalities years this has grown to 25 percent of those be - terminate the education of trainees if they get tween 18 and 30 years, exactly the age where pregnant. 14,000 young people, who have in the foregoing decades one would move out gone through part of their education in voca - to create an independent life. tional schools, cannot complete due to lack of With the centralization of education in a internships. Entire industries such as the gro - few towns, this means that many young people cery sector employ only youth part-time, have to leave their parents” homes and settle in preferably under 18. another part of the country. But there is no Exactly in these areas many struggles have work, income or cheap housing for the major - been fought during recent years, making the ity of young people, who cannot get an apart - youth more aware of their situation and the ment bought by their mother and father. Tens conditions of their struggle. thousands of young people in Copenhagen are The entire educational system has been listed just for a room. The number of home - one of the main targets of the bourgeoisie less youth between 18 and 24 in the streets has and the European Union – and we have not doubled during the last four years – these are seen the end of the neoliberal educational re - youth whose families have not been able to forms – from the learning objectives of nurs - provide for them. eries to the PhD”s of the universities and The labor market confronting the youth lifelong learning and everything in between. today is run by the neo-liberal principles of The readjustment of the educational system to
37 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
entirely serve the needs of capital has had Different currents and tendencies espe - other effects. Where earlier generations in the cially directed towards the youth and among labor market were better educated than those the youth can be observed – from anarchistic who retired, this has now come to an end. and populist socialist ideas to more limited More young people do get a higher education, ideologies covering some aspects. but one in every six adults who leave the edu - The ideological oppression of the youth is cational system do not have even the same ed - intense, massive and pervasive in all corners ucational level as their parents. According to and developments of life and society. Accord - the EU designs one fifth of the young genera - ing to the neoliberal view of man, everything tion and the future ones must not have any ed - is reduced to a commodity to gain profit, and ucation at all, they are excluded and left as can be valued quantitatively for its market actual illiterates. value. Your friends become “social capital” to be sold on facebook. You “invest” in your job, The ideological struggle is a political your health, your family and so on. Young battleground people are termed “enterprises that must brand themselves in order to optimize their Ideological control and aggression consists resumes and job capital”. in organizing the ideas of people and control - All means are applied to prevent the work - ling their thoughts and actions. Concepts and ing class youth from understanding their real ideas are not “neutral”, and they are not eter - situation and true revolutionary role. They nal or unchangeable. They represent definite must be prevented from perceiving their col - classes and definite class interests. lective situation and the experience that it can The ideology of the imperialist bourgeoisie, only be altered by collective fight and class in control of the US, the EU, NATO and every struggle. The various popular youth sectors imperialist state, is reactionary; it serves to re - must be split and made into opponents of each tain and strengthen their rule as a class, to pre - other. Imperialism is trying to privatize every - pare aggression and enslave other peoples. thing and present it as individualism and even Marxism-Leninism, the ideology of the as individual and unique solutions, which are working class, is revolutionary, and aims at meant to hide the still stronger uniformity, ending the power of the bourgeoisie and im - standardization and disciplining. perialism and in their place building a new so - The more contradictory, confusing and cialist society where there is no room for twisted by demagogy the world appears, the oppression and exploitation. more the message is sold that your survival and The ideological struggle about which road success depend on getting control of every - and what future the youth will choose is a de - thing that can be measured and weighed – your cisive one to both the reactionary forces and body, your motion, the number of your friends, the progressive and revolutionary forces. It is your grades, etc. Insecurity is traded, and prof - a question of life and death. its are made from selling individual security
38 NO: 29 DENMARK
solutions. A self-help culture where everything countries. The economic and social cutbacks se - starts and ends with yourself and your family is verely affect women and their continued dou - flowering as never before, and it consumes ble responsibility– their roles both as full-time large amounts of time, money and energy. The workers (as they are today) and as the main growing demands of neoliberalism in all fields ones responsible for the family and its care. have made stress become almost a normal The capitalist contradictions between the state, and the entire “feel good” culture be - real conditions and what the young girls learn comes small breaks offered to curb the feeling and are brought up as – that is to believe that that this cannot be the purpose of life. they have acquired complete equality – has not “Nature” must become trendy, with a hunt - only become more visible, but also more in - ing license, the right gear, equipment and apps, tolerable. so you can flash yourself and do a selfie on the The neoliberal reforms roll back the ad - social media, showing how many animals or vances formerly won by women to a time kilometers you have done. when many women lived as housewives, re - Through the live-streaming media culture stricted to their homes. Today the old patterns young people are constantly introduced as the of gender roles from pink and light blue ba - great ideal to the false and unattainable image bies are forcefully reintroduced – but to an of the happy bourgeois nuclear family where everyday life where it makes no sense, or is in all family members have all their needs ful - accord with the demands and conditions of filled. It is transformed into a question of a de - neo-liberalism. mand on each person to obtain personal This forces both girls and boys into both success. The ideological repression of the mo - stereotypical and ambiguous roles, where they nopolies, in addition to the economic, social cannot succeed. “Little Princesses” grow up and environmental oppression, is steadily af - as “Miss Perfects” and spend years of their fecting the mental health of young people in a childhood and youth finding out that they are negative way, even before their personal fu - not self-induced failures. More and more ture finds its shape. young people, especially girls, lead a virtually A new wave of radical feminism can be ob - parallel existence in the social media – a life served under such circumstances. In Sweden that is perfect, happy and without problems a feminist party has been founded, which won and crises – which paralyses them in the face a seat in the EU-parliament under the slogan of the facts of reality. The dependence on “Racists Out – Feminists In”. During the re - “likes” is systematized by the marketing of ne - cent Swedish parliamentary elections in Sep - oliberalism and the hope of a job as a virtual tember 2014, every other party declared trend-setter. The macho Iron man and the elite themselves to be “non-socialist” feminists. soldier are equally impossible role models for This is an expression of the objectively the boys. worsened situation for the majority of the pop - At the same time as a growing gender ulation in Sweden, Denmark and other EU fright is promoted, even younger children are
39 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
introduced to pornography as being the same be the authoritative political center and orga - as love and sexual life. Sexual harassment in nizational glue needed to unleash the initia - the social media is a growing problem. One tives and anger and create a new mass youth third of 9th grade girls (15-16 years old) have movement and give it the necessary perspec - been victims of this from strangers. Also the tives. A political radicalization is taking place crude violence towards girls and women – and many young people are searching for ideas physical, mental, sexual, material and eco - of another society, the ideas of revolution and nomic violence – is a growing social issue, of communism. Very often the young organ - which is treated as a question of private guilt ize where they find other young people they and responsibility. know, and where things are happening, rather Insecurity is also used to promote very old than according to the political programs of the reactionary morals and values. Going all the various organizations. Or they organize in var - way back to the Christian Old Testament, the ious counter-culture groups without formal classless concept of “the struggle of good membership. against evil” is preached - turning it into a The Communist Youth League of Denmark strategic idea of war against “the axis of evil” (Danmarks Kommunistiske Ungdomsforbund or doomsday terrorism. An offshoot of this is – DKU) is the youth organization of our Marx - the notion that if you have nothing to hide, you ist-Leninist Workers’ Communist Party. cannot be against the permanent surveillance But there are also two other youth groups by the police state. The glorification of power calling themselves communist. The “Young communities of heroes, arms and violence re - Communists” (Ungkommunisterne) of the two cruits youth from excluded and marginalized old Soviet revisionist parties DKP and KPiD, groups to be criminal, fascist and religious and the “ Communist Youth” (Kommunistisk warriors, mercenaries and members of gangs. Ungdom) of the new revisionist party Kom - The ideological offensive of the bour - munistisk Parti, an amalgamation of a part of geoisie continues at a furious speed. A flow of the KPiD and the now defunct, formerly new ideas, phenomena and alternatives re - Marxist-Leninist DKP/ML. These two organ - places those of yesterday. It Is a comprehen - izations are tied up with the revisionist poli - sive and necessary task for the progressive and tics of their parties and express their present revolutionary youth movement to tell the truth revisionist splits. to the youth about all this in a way that can lib - There are also two somewhat larger youth erate their energy, initiative and vitality. organizations, linked to the two reformist “left” parties in the Danish parliament besides Weaknesses in the organization of the the old social-democratic party of present youth Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt. They are the SFU of the Socialist People’s Party, In our country today we do not have a which was part of the present government, and strong communist youth league, which could the SUF, the youth organisation of Enhedslis -
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ten (Red and Green Alliance), which also sup - ration with the different strata of the youth, de - ports the social-democratic government. The veloping their solidarity, and not least interna - possibilities of futures as “politicians” cause tional solidarity. these organizations to be “stepping stones” for Some might say that this is out of reach for career seekers a small party like APK. But if the communist The mass organizations of the youth – such party – no matter of what size – does not fight as the student organizations or the organiza - concretely to develop the communist youth tions of the apprentices – are not playing the work, who should? And if this is not done now, same progressive role as earlier, with a few ex - then when should it be done? ception. The leadership has to a large extent APK must direct its work towards the been taken over by reformists, claiming that working class youth, both in its propaganda the struggle of the youth is not political, and and agitation and its practice in the class strug - instead of developing the protests it puts gle, and further develop the forms and meth - brakes on them, narrows them and directs ods that we presently apply. them towards parliamentary mechanisms, to The youth has always travelled and looked defeat. The real struggle and experiences of around the world for new experiences and these mass organizations have been excluded ideas. This can be used for both reactionary from their official history and their present and revolutionary purposes. It is used and identity, so that new young people should not abused in a criminal manner by the imperial - draw lessons from them. ist war machine, the EU system and the global business elite. It is our task to show and On the role of the APK and the commu - strengthen the true international solidarity be - nist youth tween the oppressed and exploited youth and the peoples of the world. The Party must assume its leading role in The development of international solidarity the development of the communist youth work is of great importance in the struggle of the that is presently weak. Together with other youth. It is also of great importance to the progressive forces it must strengthen and re - struggle of the Danish youth, and especially build the mass organizations of the youth. the young communists, that the knowledge of Most importantly it must expand its roots the struggles and experiences, defeats as well among the working class youth and play its as victories, of the International Marxist- part in giving the various struggles direction Leninist Communist Movement of today is and perspective. widened and becomes an integral part of their The Party must work to find the ways and outlook. forms to give the repressed and progressive youth the tools to address the class struggle by This paper is a part of the material for the promoting Marxist-Leninist theory and prac - discussions for the 6th Congress of APK that tice, and through participation in and collabo - will take place in the spring of 2015.
41 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Communist Party of Labour (PCT) On dialectics and its importance for the revolutionary struggle
. To be or not to be dialectical, that is According to Engels, no single individual Ithe question could arrive at materialist dialectics, and the explanation of the course of humanity using it. This is not the place to discuss the validity It needed the successive contributions of var - of dialectics as a method to interpret social and ious generations and the emergence of the natural phenomena, because we assumed it as right period, in this case, that of the capitalist valid some time ago; but we insist on its im - system that, among its many results, simpli - portance as a weapon at hand for revolutionary fied class contradictions into two groups fac - activity. This is one of the great achievements ing each other directly: the bourgeoisie and of human thought and it took a long time to ar - the proletariat . rive at the generalization that is confirmed by This task fell to Karl Marx who, in the social events and the most significant discov - words of Lenin, synthesized the most ad - eries to date. vanced that human thought had achieved up to Several generations of thinkers since an - the 19th century. tiquity have continuously advanced the think - In any case, it is not correct to assume that ing about this method of analysis, based on the dialectics has already been given to us, and that needs of their respective historical periods, and it is sufficient to have a general understanding Marxism acknowledges that each one did what of its laws and categories of analysis; the most he could. important matter is to be dialectical in every
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moment or situation, particularly the historical, Revolution. that we must consider. Dialectics itself is a fre - For in this book, first, starting from the quent critic, revises and is constantly affirming. Marxist method, Lenin concluded that capital - ism had advanced to another level of develop - II. Lenin, a model of a militant armed ment, that capitalism itself was no longer that with dialectics of free competition, in which capitalist busi - ness owners in the developed countries were Lenin himself, whose advocacy of the ideas mainly engaged in the “export of commodi - of Marx and Engels has never been called into ties” . However, while they continued this ac - question, had to return to the study of dialecti - tivity, it was no longer the main one; the cal materialism after the defeat of the Russian “export of capital” was now the main activ - Revolution of 1905. After that defeat many in - ity, leading to monopolies as one of the forms tellectuals renounced Marxism and dedicated of existence of capital. themselves to promoting idealist philosophical The export of capital and monopolies conceptions, with negative consequences for were barely noticeable at the time when political activity, art and literature. If one stud - Marx studied capitalism , although his work ies the book Materialism and Empirio-Criti - and especially his method of analysis allowed cism , it shows that Lenin made philosophical for the consideration of this tendency of capi - study and debate a condition of the first order tal. It fell to Lenin to study and generalize con - to open the way for revolutionary political ac - clusions on the imperialist stage of capitalism. tivity and party activity amidst the general de - On the other hand, and using dialectics as spondency that the defeat led to. a theoretical weapon, Lenin concluded that in Later, in the midst of the First World War this new phase of capitalism, the revolution and during the revolution of 1917, he made a would have this mark . The theory of the rev - “materialist reinterpretation“ of the philo - olution developed by Lenin is a development sophical work of Hegel, unsatisfied with the of the one outlined by Marx and Engels; it way that the Russian Marxists, particularly contains elements of identity with this, but it is Plekhanov, explained dialectical materialism. different in other respects. In 1914 and 1915, he continuously studied Hegel‘s philosophical system, even though he II. 1. The phases of development and di - was a proven advocate of the ideas of Marx alectics, their importance for politics and Engels. One should call attention to the fact that the The Leninist analysis of imperialism and book Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Cap - his political conclusion, t he Leninist theory italism , appeared in 1917; that is, shortly after of the revolution , makes clear that develop - his “materialist reinterpretation“ of the philo - ment takes place in continuous phases sophical work of Hegel, most notably his ideas which follow one after the other, so that on dialectics, and in the year of the October each subsequent phase has something of the
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former, but basically it supersedes it , negat - tween the democratic sectors, including the ing it, incorporating different elements. working class, and the ruling sectors. The acceptance of dialectics as a method Eight years later, in the midst of a new sit - of analysis, as a theoretical weapon for the rev - uation of the increase in the mass struggle, in olutionary political struggle, implies analyz - his analysis he integrates the factor of class ing what is peculiar in each phase, each consciousness and the demands of the moment, each situation, highlighting the con - masses . He makes this element an important tradiction to be resolved in each circumstance, distinction between the struggles of 1905 and and the political tasks which arise accordingly. those of 1913. In that year he makes clear his If Lenin had been a slave of what was al - view that poverty and oppression are not ready written, of what was literally established enough for there to be a revolutionary situa - by Marx and Engels, if he had not based himself tion. He shows that for the revolution to take on principles and the dialectical logic of their place, it is not enough that “the lower classes thought, with which he analyzed concretely the should not want to live in the old way” . It is imperialist stage of capitalism, it is very likely also necessary that “the upper classes should that the October Revolution would not have be unable to rule and govern in the old way”. taken place. Because the Russian communists (Lenin, “May Day Action by the Revolution - and revolutionaries had expected that the thesis ary Proletariat,“ Vol. 19, p. 222; Collected of Marx and Engels would be fulfilled, accord - Works , 4th English Edition, Progress Publish - ing to which the proletarian revolution would ers, Moscow, 1968). take place more or less simultaneously in the He likens this situation to a national polit - developed capitalist countries . ical and social crisis, which affects both the We know that the first socialist revolution upper classes and the lower classes and the po - took place in Russia, a backward country, and litical system as a whole. the “weakest link in the imperialist chain” , In 1915, in the midst of the First World War, as Leninism concluded. confronted by the positions of the old social- This does not mean that Marx and Engels democratic parties, Lenin spoke of objective were wrong. No. They just did not live during and subjective conditions to characterize a the imperialist stage of capitalism. revolutionary situation . The objective condi - Lenin‘s faithfulness to dialectics can also tions have already been pointed out; and refer - be seen in how he concluded the concept of ring to the subjective conditions, he refers to the “revolutionary situation” . This concept the change that must take place in the readiness began to appear, although not explicitly desig - of the revolutionary class to go over to revolu - nated as such, during the revolution of 1905, tionary actions, and in this aspect he incorpo - when his view of this matter still attached rates the work of the party. That is, the great importance to the economic situation, existence and will of the party to make use of particularly to the economic crises, in gener - the objective conditions, and through revo - ating and deepening the political conflicts be - lutionary propaganda and agitation, to raise
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the consciousness of the masses and lead He argues that as long as the masses in them into action; this is the element that general are under the influence of right- completes the objective conditions for there wing or opportunist parties, it is inconceiv - to be a revolutionary situation . able to consider the revolution , and this is The militant adherence of Lenin to dialec - supported by the experience of the Bolsheviks tics is also observed in the concept of the during the first phase of the Russian Revolu - “masses“. This, he states, “changes in accor - tion, in February of 1917, in which the Soviets dance with the changes in the nature of the supported the bourgeois government of Keren - struggle.” In an initial stage of the struggle a sky after the overthrow of the Tsarist regime. handful of revolutionary men and women is Let us make a general view of the context sufficient, but this quality, if it is such, should of February 1917 in Russia, and draw from contribute to thousands who are not yet active this a practical lesson in dialectics. The Bol - in the revolution taking part in struggle. When sheviks were the most consistent political this happens, said Lenin, the party begins to and ideological expression of the working win the masses. He added, “When the revolu - class and the working people in general . tion has been sufficiently prepared, the concept There were also bourgeois parties such as ‘masses’ becomes different: several thousand Kerensky’s which were opposed to the Tsarist workers [ under the conditions of Russia at regime. The working class and the masses in that time, of course ] no longer constitute the general wanted to get rid of Tsarism and to a masses. The concept of “masses” undergoes a large degree were under the political and change so that it implies the majority, and not ideological influence of bourgeois liberal re - simply a majority of the workers alone, but the formism . The Bolshevik party did not yet majority of all the exploited” (Third Congress have sufficient forces. of the Communist International). A reading of the situation in the light of the In 1920, after the victory of the October dialectic would suggest that Tsarism was the Revolution, the head of the Bolsheviks made principal aspect of the contradiction to be re - the concept a “revolutionary situation” more solved . It was not the bourgeois-liberal posi - concrete, that is, he added new elements. In a tions that had to be fought in the first place . polemic against leftist deviations, in his book The main problem was Tsarism and they had Left-Wing Communism, an Infantile Disor - to aim their cannons against it. This is what the der , written in May of that year, he confirmed Bolsheviks did with Lenin at their head; they the elements that make up the concept, but he made tactical political compromises with emphasized that it is not enough that there Kerensky, they gathered forces to overthrow exist objective conditions and that the revolu - the Tsarist regime. tionary class and its vanguard should express The first phase of the Russian Revolution a practical disposition to struggle. He stated of February 1917 was a democratic revolution that “Victory cannot be won with the van - and from it there emerged a government guard alone.” headed by Kerensky, not by Lenin.
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Between February and October 1917 a The masses, no matter under what political change took place in the attitude of the working and ideological influence they may be, are the masses and the party of Lenin was there, close to main thing that should matter to the com - them to lead them to the socialist revolution in munists and revolutionaries. “To be able” this month and last year. In eight months the to lead them, wherever they may be with the bourgeois-democratic revolution changed char - aim that they pass over to a “new position“, as acter and became a socialist revolution. Lenin recommended, is the art of politicians What happened that in so little time such a who seek power . radical change took place? It took place be - cause the Kerensky government did not meet III. Dialectics and we, the Dominican the expectations of the masses of workers and revolutionaries working people in general and they lived through that experience. They had to live Whether or not this self-criticism applies through that experience to get out of the bour - to the PCT: the revolutionary weapon that is geois-liberal influence, and close by was the dialectics does not appear really emphasized wisdom and courage of Lenin and the Bolshe - in the political views and practices of the ma - vik Party to channel this disillusionment. Nei - jority of the Dominican revolutionary groups, ther before nor after, but just at that political and this is the source of their systematic errors. moment it was clear that the masses were not One must consider whether the basis of the willing to continue to tolerate Kerensky. political thought of many of the Dominican “The experience of the masses themselves” leftists is metaphysics. Consciously or uncon - is an element that enriches the Leninist concept sciously, mainly the latter, there is a lot of of the “revolutionary situation”. But this “ex - metaphysics when confronting the specific po - perience of the masses themselves” is caused litical situations and certain historical projec - by the strength of the events adverse to their as - tion. Thus, many proposals that are formulated pirations, but fueled by the work of propa - do not go beyond generalities, formulated as ganda and agitation of the party, which, principles, that as generalities tend to remain although at one point it made an agreement obvious and cannot give a correct answer to with liberal democracy to overthrow the issues of everyday practice, of tactics. Tsarism, never abandoned its strategic focus, Let us take as an example a subject of great the perspective of socialist revolution . national debate. Is the Constituent Assembly This is a view of dialectics as a theoretical elected by Popular Vote a revolutionary slo - weapon. gan? The answer given is yes it is or no it is In circumstances such as these, the practi - not . Metaphysics cannot explain this apparent cal question is to do what Lenin recom - contradiction. Dialectics can explain it. mended, “to be able to lead not only their own Because for metaphysics, a thing is one party, but also these masses, in their ap - thing or another . As Engels said in Anti- proach, their transition to the new position.” Dühring, for the metaphysician, “...a thing
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cannot at the same time be itself and some - And they lead to the revolution, if those same thing else. Positive and negative absolutely reforms are conceived as a necessary step for exclude one another....” better work to push forward the revolution . However, dialectics conceives events and What does this political question have to things “in their interconnection, in their con - do with philosophy, or more specifically with catenation, their motion, their coming into dialectics? It is completely related. “The ac - and passing out of existence...” ; in which one cumulation of revolutionary forces” is a po - thing, in its development, becomes another, litical concept. If everything that happens in because in an embryonic manner it contains nature, society and human thought can be ex - the second inside it, and only lacks the right plained by Marxist philosophy, then this con - conditions for the first to disappear and give cept must have a philosophical explanation. way to the second, renovated. The accumulation of revolutionary forces, With this understanding, the proposal for a as a political concept, is explained by dialec - Constituent Assembly is a democratic slogan; it tics, that is, the law of the transition from enters into the camp of reform, of tactics, mean - quantitative changes to qualitative ones , ing that seen by itself it is not revolutionary . which generally shows that under certain con - But only seen by itself , isolated from a vision of ditions , after a sum of elements, events or sit - perspective, it is only democratic , not revolu - uations linked together, one reality makes a tionary. But, from a dialectical point of view, leap to become another. of the concatenation of phenomena, it enters When one takes up the struggle for politi - into the perspective of the revolution, to the cal reforms without this understanding, it is degree that concrete political and social re - logical that one walks blindly, without being forms that open up bigger and better spaces able to properly determine the tasks and pos - for the emergence of the popular masses, of sible political commitments that also corre - the left as a current, as political organization spond to a given context. and participation in the various branches of the Revolutionary practice is blind if it is not state, in a manner independent of the parties that illuminated by the categories and laws of di - have dominated the political system. alectics. The Constituent Assembly is a demo - cratic slogan that, put forward from a di - Bibliography consulted: alectical, that is, a revolutionary perspective, Frederick Engels: Anti-Dühring and Dialec - contributes to the accumulation of revolu - tics of Nature; tionary forces. If it remains in its achieve - Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: The Com - ments, it is reformism . If those who promote munist Manifesto; it achieve better conditions for revolutionary Lenin: Imperialism, the Highest Stage of work, then it is revolutionary. The struggle for Capitalism; Left-Wing Communism, An Infan - reforms can degenerate into reformism, if tile Disorder; Materialism and Empirio-Criti - these reforms become an end in themselves. cism, and others from his collected works.
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E C UA D O R
Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador (PCMLE)
Speech at the Internationalist Meeting August 1, 2014
omrades and friends, sistent political action, for the organization of C the revolution, with our eyes on the goal of the With great proletarian revolutionary en - seizure of popular power and socialism. thusiasm and interest, we have reached August Since we were born into the political life 1 on which we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the country, since the distant days of 1964, of the PCMLE with our red flags flying. we have kept in mind the goal of the revolu - This is an event of great importance for the tion and socialism, but at the same time we un - proletarian revolutionaries, for the men and derstood an undeniable truth, that "the women of the left, for the democrats and pa - revolution is made by organizing it and plac - triots. It is also a great event for the workers, ing ourselves at the forefront of the fight to youth and women of Ecuador; for the teach - lead it." ers, indigenous people and peasants, for the We had before us the challenge of deepen - neighborhood residents and small business ing our knowledge and assimilation of the fun - owners, for the exploited and oppressed, for damental principles of the emancipatory the poor of the country. doctrine of the proletariat, Marxism-Leninism. We have existed for 50 years and this oc - We understood from what the founders stated casion allows us the chance to sum up what that "it is not a dogma, but a guide to action," has been a path of unremitting struggle, of per - that "Marxism is the concrete analysis of con -
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crete conditions" and that it was essential to tion of the workers, youth, women, teachers, assimilate it in depth "in order to understand peasants and indigenous people, they have un - reality, but above all to transform it." derstood the need to confront their enemies, Since our founding, we understood that we the enemies of the people, and the need to had to rescue the essence and validity of the seize power, the only alternative to see from proletarian revolutionary principles that the re - there their true aspirations for change. visionists and other opportunists, on a national A significant achievement of our Party has and international scale, had falsified and dis - been to chart the strategy, develop the chang - torted; but this work of assimilation and affir - ing tactics – some of which are transitory – mation could not be understood as a task that the process of emancipation demands, the enclosed within walls of a closet, but that the revolutionary march towards popular power. knowledge and purification of Marxist-Lenin - In March of 1970, at our First National ist principles had to be done through study and Conference, we adopted the General Line of collective discussion, but in the roar of the the Ecuadorian revolution, the Party Program storm and the fire of class struggle, closely and Statutes was approved. Afterwards, at var - linked to social and revolutionary practice. ious congresses, with the functioning of the We had before us also the challenge of un - Central Committee, its leading bodies at vari - derstanding Ecuadorian reality; the main ele - ous levels, with the action of the leadership ments of its economic structure, its traditions and membership, we have worked within the of struggle, its real history; not the one that the permanent and many-sided process of politi - intellectuals of the ruling classes had put in cal reality; what is happening with the capital - their texts. We had to delve into the history of ist system, gripped by a crisis of a general the peoples and their struggle, in their brave nature; of the contradictions that move the fights for freedom, for independence, in search world today and how these phenomena are ex - of a new life. This tradition of struggle we pressed in Ecuadorian reality. have to understand in intimate relation to their We have studied with keen interest the ini - conditions of life, their aspirations and needs. tiatives and contributions of our fraternal Through establishing strong political and Marxist-Leninist parties of the International organic links with the working masses, we Conference, because those actions serve us as have better understood our own people, and valuable example and reference in many cir - this relationship has helped us to really organ - cumstances of the class struggle in our coun - ize them; through this, we have come to un - try; just as the experiences of the forces of the derstand their interests, aspirations and needs. left, especially of our continent, have been Thus the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party useful to us. with its ideological and political contribution, Of the ideological assimilation achieved we with the live and direct participation of its are active practitioners of proletarian interna - members, contributes to their unity, organiza - tionalism; we have contributed in some initia - tion and struggle. Thus through the mobiliza - tives to achieving the unity of the
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Marxist-Leninist revolutionaries and of other important instrument in the struggle for de - organizations of the left in the anti-imperialist fense of its interests and rights, to contribute fight and for national liberation; we constitute to its unity, organization and consistent strug - an iron detachment of combat in the Interna - gle, and to clarify the perspective of its own tional Conference of Marxist-Leninist Parties emancipation. and Organizations, ICMLPO, whose 20th an - The organization of the youth, for their re - niversary we are now celebrating this August. bellious, irreverent role, has been our concern, This luckily coincides with the unitary forma - because the characteristics of young people, tion and organization of the Marxist-Leninists when they are channeled and led by an ad - internationally that took place in Quito, in the vance force, converts them into revolutionar - Middle of the World, in 1994. We politely re - ies, into a dynamic force for social quest this whole massive turnout at this Inter - transformation. nationalist Meeting to stand up, to greet it with Some years ago we organized the Revolu - thunderous applause and wave our banners to tionary Youth of Ecuador, JRE, that calls itself salute with enthusiasm this great revolutionary “the young guard of the PCMLE," which has event! allowed us to provide a leftist, emancipatory We firmly believe that a significant course to the Ecuadorian youths. The "J" has achievement of the Party in the past fifty years along its path brave, anti-imperialist struggles, has been to promote and maintain the rela - combats and action against the sellout and tionship with the different sectors of the peo - anti-popular policy of the bourgeois govern - ple, in the first place with the workers. ments, heading towards social change, which Consistent with Marxist-Leninist principles the young people themselves have also de - we have understood the historic role that the manded as the work of the Party. working class must play. Under the conditions We have made efforts to strengthen our of a backward and dependent capitalist coun - links with the student youth in the universities. try, in which the number of workers is not The universities have developed brave, mass large in relation to the rest of the population, struggles in defense of a democratic, scientific we have linked ourselves to the masses of the and quality education; in this area, the Com - working class, we have taken root in it. We munist Party has been present in the street have contributed to the formation of the Rev - fights and in the university, together with the olutionary Federation, the General Union of student youth of the country. Workers of Ecuador, UGTE, to overcome the Starting from the Marxist conception of the repressive and divisive action of the employers emancipation of women, our Party has taken and the governments of the bourgeoisie, the care to assimilate ever more this concept to harmful and treacherous work of revisionism, achieve the social and political rights of work - opportunism and the trade union bureaucracy. ing women in this capitalist society; to de - We Communists of Ecuador have worked nounce the inequities that they suffer under to provide the trade union movement with an this system of exploitation, to confront the tra -
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ditionalist and male chauvinist positions, As we strive towards the revolutionary ob - pointing out that the emancipation of the jectives, from the beginning we have con - workers is indivisible from the political par - fronted the sellout and anti-popular policies of ticipation of women. The PCMLE formed the the various governments of the ruling classes: Ecuadorian Confederation of Women for military and civilian dictatorships; constitu - Change, CONFEMEC, to promote the con - tional governments, openly reactionary and sciousness, denunciation and struggle, the anti-communist ones; others that follow a pol - unity and organization to bring working icy of capitalist development and are re - women into the struggle for change. formist, repressive and authoritarian such as Comrades and friends: We highlight here the present regime of Correa, which is clearly the efforts made since our first years to expand at the service of capitalist modernization, the Party's influence on the peasantry, who closely linked to the interests of imperialism, have carried out brave struggles for land, for but which utilizes a supposedly revolutionary water, for a just price for their products and for language in its work of confusion towards the essential public works in the countryside. We working masses. Marxist-Leninists have been together with the We have achieved successes, we have suf - peasants in many of their fights and have put fered defeats, we experienced difficulties, but forward the perspective of strengthening our - what is always in our thought and action is the selves in order to form the alliance of the work - conviction and decisiveness about our role and ers and peasants, which is indispensable for the our objective. revolutionary process and the seizure of power. We have led a conscious and persistent With the banners of the revolution we are work to build, maintain, and strengthen the expanding our influence on the various fronts communist party: in ideology, to affirm our and sectors where the working masses are; the revolutionary conceptions; in practice to carry youth, women, teachers, poor neighborhoods out actions to develop the process of accumu - and small business owners who have actually lation of forces and the battles that bring closer felt the combative and clarifying influence of the task of liberation; in political action and the Party. organizational development, winning to the As for the indigenous movement, we are ranks of the party those social fighters who making efforts to better understand the Marx - embrace the cause of revolution and freedom. ist question of multi-culturalism and multi-na - To make the party so that it is structured and tionality in this multi-ethnic country. We are functions loyal to the Leninist principles of or - with the indigenous movement and the struggle ganization; so that it rises up in the factories, in for its political rights as ethnic groups and peo - the capitalist plantations, in the peasant com - ples. We make their aspirations our own and munes, in the educational centers and the pop - we work to achieve unity with the ancestral ular neighborhoods. peoples in their emancipatory, revolutionary All this work is based on the understand - goals. ing and decisiveness that we have about the
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full validity and viability of the social revolu - tee, we greet the communist militants of our tion of the proletariat and peoples. ranks, the candidate members of the party, our With this conviction we have fought revi - collaborators and sympathizers, those simple sionism in all its forms and all its currents, and modest, courageous and consistent people knowing that eliminating it from the popular who have made the revolution their life’s work movement is a necessity for the latter to for all these 50 years. We greet all our friends, progress better in its confrontation with impe - the families of our members who understand rialism and the bourgeoisie and towards this commitment, their loved ones and close achieving its revolutionary role. supporters... We have struggled consistently against fac - Our solidarity as militant communists with tionalism within the party itself to maintain the all those detained, prosecuted and politically consistency of its principles and its internal persecuted of our Party, of the MPD, of the unity. At times in the life of the party there leftist and popular organizations, both nation - were anti-Marxist and counter-revolutionary ally and internationally. outbreaks, which could not thrive much less We also present a revolutionary greeting to damage the party, because with the unity and the people of Palestine, shackled with the cow - firmness of the rank-and-file and its consistent ardly attacks of Israeli Zionism, instrument of leadership, they failed in their attempts to un - U.S. imperialism, which is now preying on dermine the ideological, political and organi - them with their bombardments of defenseless zational unity of the PCMLE. populations, destroying schools, hospitals and In these 50 years of life it is absolutely cor - highways, killing children, women, the elderly rect to honor the heroes of the party and the and civilians. We denounce these crimes and at people. We acknowledge that their lives con - the same time raise our voices to demand re - stitute a unique example; they are unforgetable spect for their right to self-determination and and remain because they have been precious territorial integrity that this people demands. lives of men and women dedicated to the We would like to especially use this op - noble and sublime task of the freedom of the portunity to state that the leaders and rank- people. From this tribune we present a com - and-file of the MPD have the firm and bative and sincere homage to those fallen com - unconditional support of the communists of rades of the Marxist-Leninist communist Ecuador in their struggle against the evil ma - parties and of all revolutionary and leftist or - neuvers of the Correa regime, which is trying ganizations in the world. A fitting tribute to through the deceitful maneuver to suspend its their status as popular heroes! electoral registration, to eliminate the revolu - Comrades and friends: We Marxist-Lenin - tionary action of this political formation. This ists are men and women of a special mettle; is a vain attempt of the enemies of the people we are soldiers of the world proletarian revo - and of the left. The MPD was born in the lutionary cause. Therefore, on behalf of our struggle for a new Ecuador. Our Party has had National Leadership, of the Central Commit - many political agreements with this political
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organization and we have fought together in with the view and willingness to achieve the countless struggles for freedom, for real broadest and greatest unity of these sectors for democracy and social change; we have been the revolutionary and liberating purposes. united in elections and other actions of eco - Our commitment continues and we will not nomic and political combat. The enemies will let down our fists or lay down our banners not get away with this, this is a rebellious and until we fulfill our noble and historic mission, revolutionary people for a long time, this is an the seizure of power through revolution and MPD that with its struggle challenges the time the establishment of popular power and so - and the evil maneuvers of the enemies of the cialism! people! We Marxist-Leninists have enthusiastically Long live the 50th Anniversary of the seen various processes of unity of the leftist PCMLE! and popular forces; consistent with our unitary Long live the 20 years of the ICMLPO! concept and our principles, we have supported, Long live proletarian internationalism! worked for and participated to bring about the Glory to Marxism-Leninism! unity of the political sectors of the anti-impe - rialist and democratic left. We will continue August 1, 2014
53 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
G E R M A N Y
Organization for the Construction of the Communist Workers Party of Germany Russia: Anti-imperialist angel of peace or capitalist-imperialist great power?
ince the beginning of the conflict in Is Russia an angel of peace? SUkraine up to the present armed strug - gle, there have been completely different eval - For example, the German Association of uations of the policy of Russia and the character Free Thinkers published a declaration in May of Russia today among the progressive, revolu - of 2014, in which they say: tionary and communist forces in Germany. “The only chance of defending peace is There are no great differences in the evalu - coming closer to Russia. The Russian Federa - ation of the aggression of Germany, the EU, tion is the protector of peace in Europe... Only NATO and the USA in Ukraine. All agree that on the side of Russia can a third world war be the present Ukrainian government came to prevented. Only in solidarity with Russia can power by force, that it is ridden with fascists the peace movement, especially in Germany, and that it represents the interests of the west - become an important force.” (Original in Ger - ern great powers. All agree that Germany, EU, man, p. 6, pdf: http://www.freidenker.org/cms/ NATO and the USA are expanding their dfv/index.php?option=com_content&view=ar spheres of influence – at the expense of Russia. ticle&id=437) We can fight jointly against this policy, as In “Rotfuchs” (Red Fox) of July 2014, p. 7, many revolutionary and communist organiza - Herrmann Jacobs writes in an article entitled tions do. But there are also voices who use the “Why oligarchic capitalism in Russia is not im - differences in the evaluation of Russia to sep - perialist. This is no restoration of the classical arate and fight against each other. type,” that Russia “at this moment is waging
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an anti-fascist battle to defend peace...” ical tactic in the Crimea and East Ukraine. It Hans Guenther Szalkiewicz of the DKP is rehearsing with secret maneuvers such as (revisionist German Communist Party) in the Vostok 2014 with ‘troop transfers over great magazine “Theory and Practice”, June 2014, distances’ for an invasion of Ukraine.” p. 3 laments: (http://www.mlpd.de/2014/kw33/Aufruf_ICO “In a joint leaflet of the Communist Initia - R_Antikriegstag_2014_RZ.pdf) tive Gera 2010, the Organization for the Con - Concerning the article by Jacobs in “Rot - struction of a Communist Workers Party of fuchs”, the Communist Initiative (not to be Germany, the Communist Party of Germany confused with the Communist Initiative Gera and the Revolutionary Friendship Association 2010) published a vehement statement, in entitled ‘Do you want to pay for the struggle which it explains: “Russia is an imperialist over Ukraine’ there are sentences such as: country with a fully developed, aggressive and ‘When the new great power Germany, the EU exploiting, quite normal capitalism.” and the USA have Ukraine under their control, (http://kommunistische-initiative.de/ then they will be directly on the border of their index.php/dokumente-der-ki/doukumente/ rival, the great power Russia’. And: ‘The 1791-erwiderung-auf-h-jacobs-keine- struggle of the great powers leads to the dan - restauration-klassischer-art-warum- ger of war.… We are not on the side of Putin russlands-oligarchischer-kapitalismus-nicht-i and Yanukovych.’ In the call for the Easter mperialistisch-ist) peace march the newspaper ‘Work and Future’ (organ of the Organization for the Construc - What is the reality? tion of a Communist Workers Party of Ger - many), entitled ‘Peace’, the same thing is said From our standpoint it is very clear, that in a somewhat modified manner: ‘Before our today’s Russia is a capitalist country. The rich - eyes a power struggle is taking place.… They est person in Russia, Alisher Usmanov, has as - have acted openly against the great power sets of $17.6 thousand million US and is Russia, with which we do not sympathize’.” number 34 on the Forbes list of the richest per - Hans-Guenther Szalkiewicz argues that one sons on the world. The next is Mikhail Frid - cannot characterize Russia as capitalist or im - man with $15.4 thousand million US, Leonid perialist. He refers to the declaration of the Michelson with $15.4 thousand million US, Free Thinkers, that Russia is a power for Viktor Vekselberg with $15.1 thousand million peace. US, etc. Such assets, we know as communists On the other side the Marxist-Leninist and the workers, employees and the whole Party Germany (MLPD, a Maoist group) in the people also know, are not the result of honest call by ICOR (International Coordination of labor, but of exploitation and criminal machi - Revolutionary Parties and Organizations) for nations. In the case of Russia these assets are the Anti-War Day (September 1) states: “Rus - mainly from privatized state-owned property. sia is pursuing an expansionist, military-polit - To say it clearly, this is finance capital, an es -
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sential attribute of an imperialist state! In the statement of the “Communist Initia - Comrade Hans Guenther Szalkiewicz tive” it is explained with concrete facts that laments in “Theory and Practice”: “Within the today’s Russia is capitalist and imperialist. DKP the statement about a capitalist state is Therefore we quote it at length: repeated from beginning to end.” “To answer the question as to whether Rus - He should say what Russia is. sia is imperialist or whether, as H. Jacobs He resists calling Russia a great power that thinks, the Russian economy is ‘not a fully de - is fighting for its own interests and says: veloped’ capitalism, we should examine whether “It was clear to see that Russia was not ca - the Russian economy is participating in the pable of defending its own interests, even in world economy as an imperialist competitor. the international finance markets when the “1. Without a doubt Russian monopolies banking system of Cyprus was destroyed, and exist. The concentration of production was for the first time in the present economic his - highly developed in the Soviet Union and this tory the bank deposits of the customers (in - was taken over. Today’s Russia did not need a cluding the Russians) were requisitioned for hundred years to develop monopolies – it in - ‘consolidation’.” herited the already highly concentrated so - Even in this statement he says that Russia cialist economy and imposed on it the private fought to save its interests. We say clearly that ownership of the means of production. Russia fought to save the interests of its fi - “In the Forbes list of the largest monopo - nance capital. It was the power in a weaker po - lies in the world there are 28 Russian monop - sition, as he laments. Should we as olies, including No. 4: Gasprom, No. 69: Marxist-Leninists support the weaker, inferior Lukoil, No. 72: Rosneft, No. 91: Sberbank. capitalist great power? Should we cry when “The Russian state owns a great part of Russian finance capital suffers losses in the in - these monopolies. It hold 50% +1 of the shares ternational struggle for super-profits through of Gasprom. The other shares belong to pri - its own speculation? vate individuals and to foreign investors. Ac - Precisely with this example he proves that cording to economic studies the Russian it is a matter of finance capital, which partici - economy is highly concentrated, in some in - pates in international speculation. dustrial sectors higher than in the USA and And we think it is bizarre not to see Russia Germany. For example the percentage that the as a great power. Russia cannot be seen as a 10 largest monopolies contribute to the GDP small or medium-sized power among the cap - (Gross Domestic Product) was 28.9% for Rus - italist states. Regarding its economic, political sia in 2006, for the USA it was only 14.1%. and military resources it is a great power, “Most sectors of the economy, especially which doesn’t say anything about its political energy, machine building, transport as well as character. Even the socialist Soviet Union was food production, are highly monopolized. a great power. Thankfully! Because only with “In Russia we are dealing with monopo - its strength could it defeat Hitler-fascism. lized, highly concentrated capital, conven -
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tional indicators of state-monopoly capitalism. investment by Russian monopolies abroad in - “2. Sberbank is No. 91 on the Forbes list creased rapidly and amounted to $362.1 thou - and is one of the biggest banks in the world. sand million U.S. in 2011, which was 30% of The WTB bank, the Alfa bank and their sub - the GDP of Russia and 18 times more than in sidiary banks in the Western countries such as 2000. The Russian capitalists invest in new in - the Raiffeisenbank also play a decisive role. dustrial resources in foreign countries, in “There are big banks that are closely con - order to attain huge profits in countries with nected to a monopoly company or that belong even cheaper labor power and resources than to it. Such are the Gazprom bank, the in Russia itself.” Promsvyazbank and Uralsib. The facts are overwhelming and clear. And “The merger of bank and industrial capital capital has to increase – by exploiting living to become finance capital has also taken place labor power. Should we refuse our solidarity to a long time ago. The financiers in Russia are Russian workers and trade unionists, because not separate and provide credits to the indus - they supposedly weaken the “Russian angel of trial magnates, as was the case in earlier peace,” when they are on strike for higher stages of capitalism. This separation has not wages, better working conditions and start to existed for a long time, the magnates them - fight for democratic rights and are confronted selves are the owners of the banks. Not for with the clubs of Putin’s police or even worse? nothing are they called oligarchs. In the stage of imperialism, of the monop - “Take for example the financial oligarch olies there is also export of capital and plun - Mikhail Prochorov. From 1993 to 1998, he dering of foreign countries. In the formerly was chair of the ONEKSIM-Bank, from 2000 socialist countries it is most obvious that cap - to 2001 chair of the ROSBank, at the same ital is not accumulated by honest work, thrift time from 2001 to 2008 he was the main share - or diligence, but by robbery and plundering. holder and chief executive of ‘Norilski Nickel’, In the transition to open, unmasked capitalism, making his profit by mining nickel. Nearly all the different groups of oligarchs, who were all Russian oligarchs have a similar biography. part of the revisionist leadership, greedily The merger of industrial and bank capital is grabbed the privatized state property. completed. The financial oligarchy is a second One asks, how can so many on the left be characteristic of imperialism. so confused that they now consider capitalist- “3. Export of capital. Does Russia export imperialist Russia to be an “angel of peace”? capital? Of course! In the 1990s there was an uncontrolled flight of capital to the West. The On the defensive new capitalists tried to secure their stolen wealth in the Western banks. It is obvious that Russia found itself on the “But since 2000, the cash flow to the West defensive since the transition to open capital - has become relatively small (5-8% of the ex - ism. Step by step its capitalist competitors port turnover per year). The volume of direct snatched away its spheres of influence and
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they continue to do so. All the Eastern Euro - machine, the state of the capitalists, the ideal pean countries came under the control of EU aggregate capitalist.” (Socialism: Utopian and and NATO from one day to the next. Germany Scientific, 1880, English edition.) underwent a rapid increase in power and in - Thus the state has the task of asserting the fluence. In those places where they could not interests of the whole capitalist class, also take control voluntarily, the USA, EU, NATO against individual capitalists. Putin did this. and Germany intervened with all means, eco - Putin deprived oligarchs, who were ready to nomic, political and if necessary military. Wars totally sell out the country, of power. He such as in former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, strengthened the state and rebuilt it as a func - Iraq and presently in Libya, Syria and Ukraine tioning machine. He strengthened the military are examples of this redivision of spheres of and put it in working order again. This was in influence. Russia was dramatically weakened the interest of the whole Russian capital, as a great power in this process. which did not want to be a loser forever. In fact the ruling class in Russia initially Now that it has been strengthened the great was busy getting as rich and grabbing as much power Russia is more and more intervening in power as possible. Everyone fought against the struggle for the redivision of the world. For everyone else. The nouveau riche were ready the present it is still on the defensive, because to buy and sell everything. Corruption, bribery, it had lost a lot of influence in previous years. prostitution, drugs – everything blossomed. But the fact that Russia has again gained For a long period the country was in the chaos strength can be seen impressively in Syria, of robbery and division of the loot. This led to where it smashed the plans of US imperialism a situation where the state declined and the in a defensive but determined manner. Also in military was substantially weakened. Corrupt the Crimea Russia has made it clear that one military personnel, who wanted their share of must take it into account militarily. The USA, the loot, sold weapons and equipment. In this NATO, EU and Germany wailed and cried, but era of the division of the loot the ruling class they did not dare to act directly against the was occupied with itself, so that it could only union of Crimea with Russia. act defensively abroad and could only look on Many people, who are furious about the helplessly as the USA, NATO, EU and Ger - wars of US imperialism and the new military many expanded aggressively. adventures of the German military, were glad No one can assert that with the change that at last someone stopped their advance. from Yeltsin to Putin nothing essential hap - In addition, Russia acting defensively is re - pened. In fact with the replacement of Yeltsin viving its old connections with states such as by Putin this first phase ended. Russian capi - Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and Korea. On the one tal wanted to consolidate its loot and avoid hand it has open markets in these countries and greater losses of influence and power. can trade with them without harassment and Frederick Engels said: “The modern state, sanctions, which increases the profits of the whatever its form, is an essentially capitalist ruling class. On the other hand Russia is forced
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to support them in their resistance against US He knew clearly that these temporary “allies” imperialism. With its still existing weakness it could become the enemy tomorrow. And this is needs these states as partners against its com - what happened, when the German Reich used petitor USA. the weakness of revolutionary Russia to bring For many people, this seems to be a sign of large regions under its control. Lenin looked on a progressive policy, while it is in reality a nor - these things realistically, as a materialist and on mal imperialist tactic. That it is not a progres - the basis of an analysis of imperialism. sive policy is shown by a quote from Putin that We too have to analyze unemotionally the is cited in the statement of the Communist Ini - contradictions and development of imperial - tiative: “President Putin called the October ism, including Russian imperialism. We revo - Revolution a ‘betrayal of the national inter - lutionaries have to use these contradictions ests’. He claimed that old Russia had ‘done when it is possible. But this does not mean everything to convince Europe to regulate the having illusions about the peaceful character conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary of Russia or even more the idea that Russia is peacefully and without bloodshed. But Russia not completely capitalist or imperialist. was not listened to. It had to accept the chal - We do not consider finance capital peace - lenge and protect its sister Slavic people’.” ful, so also not Russian finance capital. It is This openly propagates the national inter - forced to strive for maximum profit and it was ests of a bourgeois-capitalist country – there is not simply because of greed but because of the nothing progressive about it. need to accumulate capital. Therefore we can - These contradictions between the compet - not look at Russia as an “angel of peace.” But ing powers are sometimes objectively useful in the present situation we will not agitate for countries in their struggle against US im - against Russia – though we will disassociate perialism when they ally themselves with Rus - ourselves from it. This is a question of princi - sia. These contradictions are also objectively ple for us: Our attack is directed against our useful for the progressive, revolutionary and own ruling class. Our solidarity is for all peo - communist forces in Ukraine, which are being ple who are threatened by the imperialist wars brutally persecuted, so that they can at least for the redivision of the world. Our struggle is find a safe shelter. These contradictions are ob - directed against our government and against jectively useful for democrats and anti-impe - its imperialist alliances, the EU and NATO, rialists like Edgar Snowden, who has actually which carry out these wars. found shelter in Russia. Lenin also used these inter-imperialist contradictions, when he was The main enemy is at home (Karl in exile in Switzerland or when he travelled Liebknecht) through Germany and Finland to take over the Regardless of what we think about Russia, leadership of the party and the revolution. the main enemy is at home! In the final analy - But this did not mean that Lenin treated sis the Russian working class and people will Switzerland or Germany as “angels of peace.” decide about the development in Russia. We
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do our political work in our own country. place before everyone the alternative of When we want to mobilize against war, then whether he is for or against Russia, must be we have to mobilize against the intervention aware that this means aiming for a very small of the German army in foreign countries, anti-war movement. against the German export of weapons. We We need the opposite! We need the broad - have to mainly unmask and reject the policy est possible anti-war front. This is the task for promoted by Berlin for a treaty of association all progressive, revolutionary and communist between the EU and Ukraine, which is an in - forces in our country. In fulfilling this task, strument to tie that country closely to Western everyone can show what he is capable of and imperialism, to the USA, particularly to what he contributes to the result. Sectarian dis - NATO, EU and German imperialism. cussions are harmful. For this we need a broad front, in which all In this spirit we regret the statement of the who fight against war can work together – re - Communist Initiative, which is factually cor - gardless of whether they are pacifists, ideal - rect in many aspects. Its tone makes it clear: ists, social democrats, trade unionists or They do not want to sit or more importantly communists. What they think of Russia is sec - work together with anyone who has a differ - ondary and less important. This is a question ent position on the question of Russia. We look of analysis, especially for the communists, so at this differently. All those who are against that they determine their policy without illu - war, intervention in foreign countries and sions. We are ready to continue the discussion weapons exports have to sit together – whether about this objectively among comrades. Who - they are for or against Russia – and to awaken ever today makes the attitude towards Russia the people in this country with multifaceted into a principal question of unity, prevents this actions, to mobilize and organize protests on unity. Whoever today thinks that he should the broadest basis.
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G R E E C E
Movement for the Reorganization of the Communist Party of Greece (1918-1955)
Reactionary anti-communist bourgeois theories that conceal the restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union (1953-1990) Part B
B. The reactionary anti-communist ceal this reactionary process of going back bourgeois theory of “developed from socialism-communism to capitalism. socialism” of Khrushchevite In their attempt to formulate a new and social-democracy suitable “theory” concealing this reactionary process and the emerging society of restored fter the violent overthrow of the Dic - capitalism, euphemistically called “developed Atatorship of the Proletariat and the tri - socialism” (!), the Khrushchevite-Brezhnevite umph of the Khrushchevite revisionist revisionists came up with the well-known the - counter-revolution in the Soviet Union in 1952, ory of “advanced socialism.” while pursuing the scheduled and systematic Both the theory of “developed socialism” policy of gradual restoration of capitalism fa - promoted by the Khrushchevite traitors and the cilitated by the implementation of capitalist theory of “ convergence ” promoted by West - economic reforms , the leading anti-commu - ern bourgeois reaction are anti-communist re - nist group of Khrushchev-Brezhnev of what actionary bourgeois theories because, during had become the bourgeois social-democratic the period of their dominance (1955-1990), Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), they were directed against the communist per - sought to formulate a suitable theory to con - spective of the Proletariat, they obscured the
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Proletariat’s communist prospect, presenting socialism” to which the Dictatorship of the the restored capitalism of the Soviet Union Proletariat “corresponded”. At the same time, as the “communist” future while, at the same they formulated the theory of “developed so - time, they were in total breach of the objective cialism” without using yet the terms that be - historic progress of society toward socialism- came well-known later: “developed socialism” communism. The class character and content and “advanced socialist society”. of the two theories was based on the defence The theory of “developed socialism” pro - of capitalism: the theory of “convergence” de - moted by the Khrushchevite renegades consti - fended the traditional capitalism of the West - tutes, as will be shown below, a complete ern countries, while the theory of “developed revision and a blatant, crude rejection of rev - socialism” defended the restored capitalism of olutionary Marxism. the Soviet Union and the other revisionist As a theory, so-called “developed social - countries. (Details can be found in “Anasin - ism” has nothing in common with the revolu - taxi”, no. 373, August 2012, p. 3.) tionary theory of Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin; it Since the treacherous, renegade amounts to its negation and is an anti-commu - Khrushchev-Brezhnev group “managed”, at nist bourgeois theory. The much advertised, the 20th Congress of CPSPU in 1956, to arbi - but non-existent “advanced socialist society” trarily and provocatively present capitalist- was nothing more than the restored capitalism fascist Yugoslavia of Tito as “socialist”(!) – a of the Khrushchevite-Brezhnevite period as view imposed on the international communist shown in previous articles. According to the movement (N.S. Khrushchev: “Report to the anti-communist Brezhnev, this type of society 20th Party Congress, 1956: “Much has also had already existed in November of 1967, that been achieved in the building of socialism is to say, when capitalism had been fully re - in Yugoslavia” , a clear proof that the stored (on the occasion of the 50th anniver - Khrushchevite clique had decided to follow sary of the October Revolution, he had Tito’s counter-revolutionary, capitalist path – declared that “ In the USSR a developed so - and promoted a kind of “socialism”(!) that cialist society has been built ”). would come about “peacefully” without the The theory of “developed socialism” later need for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat. dominated the new bourgeois constitution (i.e. This group officially confessed and publicly the constitution of restored capitalism ) of the admitted, during the 22nd of Congress of Brezhnevite period, while the euphemistically CPSU (1961), that there was neither a Dicta - named “advanced socialist society” found its torship of the Proletariat nor a revolutionary full expression in this – a constitution which, communist party in the Soviet Union of that for the first time, officially legalized and con - period and that these had been replaced by the firmed not only the state-capitalist (articles 10- “state of the whole people” and the “party of 11) and collective-capitalist ownership all the people” and mentioned, for the first (article 12) but also the individual capitalist time, the “transition period from capitalism to ownership (articles 13-17) in the Soviet
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Union’s society of that time. It also legalized abandonment of the Marxist theory not only capitalist competition between autonomous en - of the revolutionary party of a new type but terprises, the “socialist commodity producers”, also about all political parties considered as and capitalist profit (article 16). In this consti - separate organisations that defend the differ - tution, the content of the “advanced socialist ent interests of particular classes. society”, that is, of the Soviet Union’s restored 2. The Khrushchevite social-democrats capitalism is generally described. promoted the well-known bourgeois view ac - The elements from which the theory of cording to which parties stand above classes “developed socialism” was made are the fol - and they are, therefore, defenders of the inter - lowing: “the party of all the people”, “the ests of “most” or “all classes”. state of the whole people”, “transition pe - 3. As is known, according to revolutionary riod from capitalism to socialism”, “three Marxism there are no organisations and par - phases of communist society”, “socialism: a ties that belong to “all the people”, that is par - new autonomous mode of production” . ties of all classes. Since the Khrushchevite Concerning the theory of “advanced social - revisionists themselves admitted that there was ism” and the euphemistically named “ad - no longer a revolutionary communist party in vanced socialist society”, there is a vast the Soviet Union of that period, because, ac - literature of many articles and books. How - cording to them, the Marxist-Leninist party ever, we will make a limited use of them and had been replaced by the party of “all the peo - cite only those extracts that highlight the ple”, then the new CPSU, that is the so-called counter-revolutionary essence of this bour - party of “all the people” could not be anything geois reactionary theory. else but a bourgeois, social-democratic party. Consequently, the CPSU, that was revolution - 1. “Party of all the people” or revolu - ary until the beginning of the 1950’s, changed tionary communist party? its class character: from a Marxist-Leninist party of the working class, it became a bour - At the 22nd Congress of the CPSU (1961) it geois party, a defender of the class interests of was stated: “our Marxist-Leninist Party, the emerging soviet bourgeoisie. which arose as a party of the working class, The character of a party, according to has become the party of the entire people” , Marxism, is determined first of all by its ide - an anti-Marxist view which later passed into the ology and, among other things, by its pro - new Brezhnevite bourgeois constitution (1977), gramme. The new CPSU, that is, the so-called where it was formulated as: “The CPSU exists “party of all the people”, was no longer guided for the people and serves the people” . (Arti - by the ideology of revolutionary Marxism, that cle 6 of the Soviet Constitution, 1977.) is, Leninism-Stalinism, but by the counter-rev - Some quick comments on the anti-Marxist olutionary ideology of Khrushchevite revi - view “ party of all the people ”: sionism (which is a version of bourgeois 1. The adoption of this view meant the ideology ).
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In the following decades the new CPSU of this party the Dictatorship of the Proletariat Khrushchev-Brezhnev as well as the cannot possibly exist. That is why Stalin is Khrushchevite parties of all countries were very right to point out that “the dictatorship of (and still are) bourgeois, social-democratic the proletariat is exercised through the Party, parties because: a) they were not guided by that without the Party, a united and monolithic revolutionary Marxism, b) they had reformist party, the dictatorship of the proletariat is im - programmes that cannot lead to the overthrow possible” (“Joint Plenum of the Central Com - of capitalism, c) they adopted an anti-Marxist mittee and Central Control Commission of the view of socialism-communism since they ad - C.P.S.U.(B.), July 29 – August 9, 1927”), that vertised the restored capitalism of the “the dictatorship of the proletariat can be im - Khrushchev-Brezhnev-Gorbachev period as plemented only through the party, as the guid - “socialism”(!), in other words they claimed ing force of the dictatorship” and that “the that there was allegedly “socialism” in the So - dictatorship of the proletariat an be complete viet Union from 1953 to 1991. only if it is led by one party, the Communist 4. Neither can socialism exist nor can the Party, which does not and must not share the construction of socialism continue without a leadership with other parties” (“Interview with revolutionary communist party of a new type, the First American Labour Delegation, Sep - that is, of the Leninist-Stalinist type. There - tember 9, 1927”) (both in Stalin, Collected fore, after 1953, it was inevitable that the con - Works , Vol. 10). struction of socialism in the Soviet Union finally stopped and the new CPSU, that is, the 2. “State of all the people” or “party of all the people”, was at the forefront Dictatorship of the Proletariat of the capitalism economic reforms that com - pletely eliminated socialism and resulted in the In relation to the state of the Soviet Union full restoration of capitalism by the mid- of that period, it is mentioned in the 22nd Con - 1960’s. gress that the state of the working class had 5. Socialism-communism cannot be con - been transformed into the “all people’s state”: structed without a Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist “The state of the whole people is a new stage party, precisely because this party “has put for - in the development of the socialist state, an all- ward a class policy, the organization of the important phase on the road from socialist proletariat as an independent political party, as statehood to communist public self-govern - the primary condition of its struggle, and the ment” (22nd Congress of the CPSU, Report on dictatorship of the proletariat as the immedi - the Program of the CPSU) and that “the con - ate aim of the struggle” (Engels, The Housing ditions which necessitated the dictatorship of Question , Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1970) the proletariat disappeared…” (ibid.) for the and also it is the party that: first, is the organ - construction of socialism in the Soviet Union. iser and leader of the giant work of socialist- Later, this anti-Marxist view passed into the communist construction and second, without new Constitution (1977) – from which the
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term Dictatorship of the Proletariat had been Moreover, the construction of socialism had deleted (justifiably so since it had been already stopped in 1953 after the death-murder of been overthrown in 1953) – and which con - Joseph Stalin. The continuation of socialist firms that the Soviet Union was no longer the construction in a country without the Dicta - state of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat as it torship of the Proletariat is totally impossible was in the era of Lenin-Stalin but the “state of and inconceivable. Also, the maintenance of the whole people” (“Constitution 1977”, p. 19: socialism is unimaginable without the Dicta - “The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is torship of the Proletariat since, for Marx, the a socialist state of the whole people ”). concepts of socialism and Dictatorship of the The anti-Marxist view of the Khrushchev- Proletariat are inseparable. As early as 1850, ites about the “state of all the people” is rais - Marx noted regarding socialism: “The class ing some important questions worth of special dictatorship of the proletariat as the neces - consideration: sary transit point to the abolition of class First , by denying the necessity of the Dic - distinctions generally, to the abolition of all tatorship of the Proletariat during an important the relations of production on which they phase of development of socialism-commu - rest, to the abolition of all the social rela - nism, the soviet revisionists-social democrats, tions that correspond to these relations of and in such an important and central question production, to the revolutionizing of all the the reformist Khrushchevite parties, aban - ideas that result from these social rela - doned Marxism and it is known that nobody tions.” (Marx, The Class Struggles in France ). can be regarded as Marxist without the recog - Third, the Khrushchevite concept of the nition of the dictatorship of the proletariat. As “state of the whole people” not only meant a Lenin noted: “Only he is a Marxist who ex - rejection of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat tends the recognition of the class struggle to but it constituted a complete revision of the the recognition of the dictatorship of the Marxist theory on the state of the Dictatorship proletariat. That is what constitutes the of the Proletariat and the state in general. This most profound distinction between the is why Lenin emphasized that “the essence of Marxist and the ordinary petty (as well as Marx’s theory of the state has been mastered big) bourgeois. This is the touchstone on only by those who realize that the dictator - which the real understanding and recogni - ship of a single class is necessary not only for tion of Marxism should be tested.” (Lenin, every class society in general, not only for The State and Revolution ) the proletariat which has overthrown the Second , it is important to note the open bourgeoisie, but also for the entire historical confession and the official admission made period which separates capitalism from by the Khrushchevites that there was no Dic - “classless society”, from communism.” tatorship of the Proletariat in the Soviet Union (Lenin, The State and Revolution ) of that period, and it was exactly for this rea - Fourth , the Khrushchevite concept of the son that there was no longer any socialism. “state of the whole people” bears no relation to
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Marxism. It is alien to Marxism because ac - tory of the armed Proletarian Revolution and cording to the Marxist theory there is no state the complete smashing of the old state ma - standing above classes, that is to say, “state of chinery; it is preserved and strengthened and it all classes” of a society; this is a bourgeois is absolutely necessary for the whole transi - view. On the contrary, the state always has a tional period from capitalism to socialism. The class character: either it is the state of the bour - state of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat is geoisie or it is the state of the proletariat. In the never transformed into the “state of the whole period of transition from capitalism to social - people” (it is also known that Marx and En - ism-communism, there can be either the dicta - gels rejected with irony the so-called “free torship of the proletariat or the dictatorship of state” in the “Critique of the Gotha Program”. the bourgeoisie. This is why the famous Eng - The Dictatorship of the Proletariat exists until lish Marxist George Thomson, in 1971, very it withers away in the higher stage of commu - rightly emphasized that the “state of the whole nism, in the communist classless society: “For people” declared by the treacherous the state to wither away completely, com - Khrushchevite clique was in reality “a dicta - plete communism is necessary” and that torship of the bourgeoisie”, or to be more exact, The state will be able to wither away com - a dictatorship of the new soviet bourgeoisie. pletely when society adopts the rule: ‘From Fifth , the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, each according to his ability, to each ac - according to the teaching of Marx-Engels- cording to his needs’.” (Lenin, The State and Lenin-Stalin, is established right after the vic - Revolution )
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I TA LY
Communist Platform
Gramsci, a Bolshevik
ne of the greatest inaccuracies spread the opposite emerges, namely a coincidence Oby the opportunist politicians and the with the Bolshevik positions and a clear criti - bourgeois intellectuals about Antonio Gram - cism of the positions of Trotsky and other op - sci is the alleged distance, or even opposition, ponents of Stalin. So let us now let Gramsci between his positions and those supported by speak. Lenin and Stalin, and consequently his close - ness to the ideas of Trotsky. In his activity of leader and secretary of The origins of this legend are remote and the Communist Party of Italy well orchestrated, beginning with the fascist “Il Messaggero” , which, on May 12, 1937, In 1924 Gramsci, in his address to the announcing Gramsci’s death, spoke in an ig - “Conference of Como”, for the first time norant and cowardly fashion of “his fidelity to sketched a parallel between Bordiga and Trot - Trotsky” . sky (who also had differences between them), In the 1960s and 1970s, Gramsci’s “Trot - criticizing both: “Trotsky’s attitude, initially, skyism“ was the daily bread of revisionist can be compared to comrade Bordiga’s at swindlers, which in this way constructed the present. Trotsky, although taking part ‘in a dis - unworthy and undeserved myth of the alien - ciplined manner’ in the work of the party, had ation or even aversion between the “good” through his attitude of passive opposition – Gramsci and the “evil“ Stalin. similar to Bordiga’s –created a state of unease In reality, by examining the texts exactly throughout the Party, which could not fail to
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get a whiff of this situation. […] This shows lutionary movement; […] Finally, lessons that an opposition – even kept within the lim - should be drawn from the Trotsky question for its of a formal discipline – on the part of ex - our party. Before the last disciplinary meas - ceptional personalities in the workers’ ures, Trotsky was in the same position as Bor - movement, can not merely hamper the devel - diga is at present in our party: he played a opment of the revolutionary situation, but can purely figurative role in the Central Commit - put in danger the very conquests of the revo - tee. His position created a tendentially fac - lution.” (“The Building of the Communist tional situation, just as Bordiga’s attitude Party.” English translation from Antonio maintains an objectively factional situation in Gramsci, Selections from Political Writings , our party. […] Bordiga’s attitude, like that of 1921-1926, University of Minnesota Press, Trotsky, has disastrous repercussions.” (Ibid., Minneapolis, 1990, pp. 252-3). p. 284.) In the following year Gramsci, pursuing Again in 1925, on the occasion of the Fifth his struggle for the bolshevization of the Party, Plenum of the enlarged Executive Committee asserted that Trotsky’s positions about “Amer - of the Communist International, the Italian ican super-capitalism“ were dangerous and delegation, led by Gramsci, sided in favor of had to be rejected because, “postponing the Stalin’s positions concerning the criticism of revolution indefinitely would shift the whole Trotsky without reservations. tactics of the Communist International […] For Gramsci, the decision to build social - They would also shift the tactics of the Russian ism in the USSR under the conditions of cap - State, since if one postpones the European rev - italist encirclement was perfectly consistent olution for an entire historical phase – if, in with the needs of a period characterized by the other words, the Russian working class will relative stabilization of capitalism and the not for a long time be able to count on the sup - ebbing of the revolutionary wave. port of the proletariat of other countries – it is Therefore his intransigent criticism of Trot - evidence that the Russian revolution must be sky, of his strategy of “permanent revolution”, modified.” (Gramsci, Report to the Central which he considered incorrect, simplistic and Committee of the Communist Party of Italy, insufficient, and his firm commitment to the February 6, 1925. Ibid., p. 284.) strategy and politics of the Bolshevik leader - Gramsci was always aware of the impor - ship which, as we shall see, he would confirm tance of the struggle against the deviations in his Prison Notebooks . from Leninism and against factionalism. Gramsci was always concerned for the co - Therefore, in the same report he stated: “The hesion of the Russian party, which was needed resolution should also say that Trotsky’s con - by the proletariat at both a national and inter - ceptions, and above all his attitude, represent national level. a danger inasmuch as the lack of party unity, In those years, in which the divergent po - in a country in which there is only one party, sitions between the Soviet party headed by splits the State. This produces a counter-revo - Stalin and the Zinovievist and Trotskyist bloc
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were become programmatic, Gramsci several Selections ..., op. cit . pp. 426-432). times warned about the risks of a split which In this letter Gramsci intervened, in the the international bourgeoisie could take ad - name of the Political Bureau of the Commu - vantage of in order to overthrow proletarian nist Party of Italy, in the harsh political battle power in Russia. that was developing in the USSR between the With regard to the struggle engaged in by Bolshevik leading group and the Trotskyist- the CC of RCP (b) against the opposition bloc Zinovievist opposition, declaring “basically of Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev, Gramsci correct the political line of the majority of the wrote: Central Committee of the CPSU” . (ibid., p. “In fact, one question is of the greatest im - 430), headed by Stalin. portance in the measures jointly adopted by Although Gramsci was only partially in - the Central Committee and the Control Com - formed about the Russian situation, his siding mission of the Communist Party of the with the Leninist majority was vigorous and U.S.S.R.: the defense of the organizational unequivocal. His accusation against the oppo - unity of the Party itself. It is evident that, on sition bloc was very harsh and motivated by a this ground, no concession or compromise is main reason, explained by Gramsci in very possible, whoever promotes the work of the clear terms: disintegration of the Party, whatever the na - “We repeat that we are struck by the fact ture and degree of their past merits, whatever that the attitude of the opposition [Zinoviev, the position that they hold at the head of the Kamenev and Trotsky] concerns the entire po - communist organization. […] So we think that litical line of the Central Committee, and the whole International must gather closely touches the very heart of the Leninist doctrine around the Central Committee of the Commu - and the political action of our Soviet party. It nist Party of USSR in order to approve of its is the principle and practice of the prole - energy, rigor and resolution in striking im - tariat’s hegemony that are brought into ques - placably at whoever threatens the unity of the tion; the fundamental relations of alliance Party.” (Measures of the C.C. of C.P. of the between workers and peasants that are dis - U.S.S.R. in Defence of the Unity of the Party turbed and placed in danger: i.e. the pillars of and against the Work of the Faction, in L’U - the workers’ State and the revolution.” (ibid., nità, July 27, 1926). p. 431). The same concern for the organizational Being a fierce supporter of Leninist princi - and ideological unity of the Soviet party, and ples, Gramsci in the same letter harshly criti - its national and international implications (par - cized “the root of the errors of the Joint ticularly the struggle that was taking place in Opposition, and the origin of the latent dan - Italy for the development of the Party) inspired gers contained in its activities. In the ideology the famous letter “To the Central Committee and practice of the Joint Opposition are born of Soviet Communist Party” written in Octo - again, to the full, the whole tradition of social- ber of 1926 (published in Antonio Gramsci, democracy and syndicalism which has hitherto
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prevented the Western proletariat from organ - analysis of the Prison Notebooks] in Gorbacev izing itself as a leading class.” (ibid., p. 432). e la sinistra europea [Gorbachev and the Eu - It is a stance that Gramsci further rein - ropean Left] , Rome 1989, p. 75). forced in the following letter “Gramsci to These are unscrupulous lies and decep - Togliatti” (October 26, 1926) (ibid., pp. 437- tions, because the passages in Prison Note - 440), in which, thinking about the slowness of books that deal with Soviet socialism are all in the Bolshevization process inside the Western favor of Lenin and Stalin and against Trotsky. parties, he wrote: “The Russian discussion and There are four questions that Gramsci ex - the ideology of the opposition contribute all amines in his Notebooks in order to defend the more to this halting and slowing down, in Bolshevism and criticize Trotsky: 1) The the - that the opposition represents in Russia all the ory of the permanent revolution; 2) The stages old prejudices of class corporatism and syndi - of the revolution, and the consequent strategy calism which weigh upon the tradition of the and tactics; 3) The industrialization in the Western proletariat, and delay its ideological USSR; 4) The relation between international - and political development.” (Ibid., p. 439.) ism and national policy. And he concluded by pointing out: “Our Let us now examine the corresponding letter was a whole indictment of the opposi - notes in the Prison Notebooks , on the basis of tion, not made in demagogic terms, but pre - the edition prepared by the International cisely for that reason more effective and more Gramsci Society (IGS) (the text corresponds serious.” (ibid., p. 440). to the critical edition edited by V. Gerratana Therefore an interpretation of these letters and published by Einaudi in 1975). that aims to strengthen the idea of a “Trotsky - In square brackets we insert the necessary ist Gramsci“ or a vacillating Gramsci is com - explanations of the pseudonyms (for instance, pletely without foundation. It is very clear on in the Notebooks Lenin is called Ilyich, Stalin which side Gramsci stood in the struggle that is named Vissarionovich, Trotsky is some - developed within the Russian party: on the times called Bronstein, sometimes Leon Davi - side of the Bolshevik majority of the Party dovich) and rewordings used by Gramsci in members. order to elude the fascist censorship. 1. Gramsci already wrote about Trotsky in In the Prison Notebooks Notebook 1 , §44, at the end of an important note entitled “Political class leadership before As is well-known, the revisionists assert and after assuming government power” . In - that in his Prison Notebooks Gramsci does not spired by the historic events of the Italian Uni - write about Stalin, except indirectly, and that fication, he referred to the enormous and when he mentions Stalin’s USSR, he does it in unprecedented challenges that the Soviet gov - a critical way (see, for instance, the thesis of ernment had to face. In this note Gramsci dealt G. Vacca in L’URSS staliniana nell’analisi dei directly with the Trotskyist slogan of the “per - Quaderni del carcere [Stalin’s USSR in the manent revolution”:
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“As regards the ‘Jacobin’ slogan which in the second case [Bolshevism] , a Jacobin Marx directed at the Germany of 1848-49 [the temperament and content in keeping with the idea of uninterrupted revolution], its complex new historical relations, rather than adhering fortunes should be examined. Revived, sys - to an intellectualistic label.” (Ibid., p. 151.)] tematized, elaborated, intellectualized by the It is interesting to observe that Gramsci Parvus-Bronstein [Helphand-Trotsky] group, took up this same note almost completely in it proved inert and ineffective in 1905 and af - Notebook 19 , written in 1934-35, that is, after terward: it was an abstract thing that be - the definitive break with Trotskyism. longed to the scientific laboratory. The Gramsci returned to the question of the tendency which opposed it [Bolshevism] in “permanent revolution” in Notebook 7, §16, in this intellectualized form, however, without a famous note titled “War of position and war using it ‘intentionally’, in fact employed it in of maneuver, or frontal war”: its historical, concrete, living form adapted to “One should determine whether Bronstein’s the time and place as something that sprang [Trotsky] famous theory about the permanence from all the pores of the society which had to of movement is not a political reflection of the be transformed, as the alliance of two classes theory of the war of maneuver (remember the [working class and peasants] with the hege - observation by the Cossack general Krasnov); mony of the urban class [the working class] ”. whether it is not, in the final analysis, a reflec - (Antonio Gramsci, Prison Notebooks , Colum - tion of the general-economic-cultural-social bia University Press, 1992-, Vol. 1, p. 151.) conditions of a country in which the structures According to Gramsci, modern “Jacobin - of national life are embryonic and unsettled ism” expressed itself above all in a policy of and cannot become ‘trench or fortress.’ In that alliance with the peasantry, under the hege - case one might say that Bronstein, while ap - mony of the working class. So Gramsci eval - pearing to be ‘Western,’ was in fact a cosmo - uated the correct Bolshevik policy conducted politan, that is, superficially national and by Stalin against the Trotskyist thesis of the superficially Western or European. Ilyich “permanent revolution”. This thesis underes - [Lenin] , on the other hand, was profoundly na - timated the importance of the poor peasants as tional and profoundly European. In his mem - a revolutionary force, and expressed complete oirs, Bronstein recalls somebody saying that distrust in the ability of the proletariat to lead his theory had proved true... fifteen years later; all the exploited and oppressed people in the he responded to the epigram with another epi - revolution, until it arrived at the impossibility gram. In reality his theory, as such, was good of building socialism in one single country. neither fifteen years earlier nor fifteen years The note ends with a very harsh accusation later.” (Ibid., Vol. 3, p. 168.) against Trotsky, who is compared with the re - After having opposed Lenin to Trotsky, actionary bourgeois Crispi: “In the one case Gramsci added: “Bronstein’s theory can be [Trotsky] , a Jacobin temperament without the compared to that of certain French syndical - adequate political content, typified by Crispi; ists on the general strike and to Rosa’s [Lux -
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emburg] theory in the little book translated by highest phase in the political-historical situa - Alessandri. Rosa’s book and theory, moreover, tion, since in politics the ‘war of position’, influenced the French syndicalists.” (Ibid., once won, is definitively decisive.” Vol. 3, p. 169.) On the basis of this consideration, that 2. In his reflections, Gramsci linked the Gramsci realized by analyzing the profound question of the “permanent revolution” to the crisis of the ability of the bourgeoisie to lead question of the transition from the “war of ma - and govern, as well as the greater resistance of neuver“ to the “war of position”. In particular, the State apparatus in the West and the exis - after the defeat of the revolution in Germany tence of large intermediate social groups, he in 1923, and the transition of the worker move - added in Notebook 7 , §16: ment to defensive positions, Gramsci was con - “In my view, Ilyich [Lenin] understood the vinced that the problem of the development of need for a shift from the war of maneuver that the revolutionary process in Europe had to be had been applied victoriously in the East in redrawn up, understanding the reasons of the 1917, to a war of position, which was the only temporary ebb and establishing revolutionary viable possibility in the West […] This, I be - tasks appropriate for the new phase. lieve, is the meaning of the term ‘united front’ The observation contained in Notebook 6 , […] Ilyich, however, never had time to develop §138 is dedicated to this fundamental strate - his formula. One should also bear in mind that gic and tactical question: Ilyich could only have developed his formula “Past and present. Transition from the war on a theoretical level, whereas the fundamen - of maneuver (and frontal assault) to the war tal task was a national one; in other words, it of position – in the political field as well. In required a reconnaissance of the terrain and my view, this is the most important postwar an identification of the elements of trench and problem of political theory; it is also the most fortress represented by the components of civil difficult problem to solve correctly. This is re - society, etc.” (Ibid., Vol. 3, p. 168-169.) lated to the issues raised by Bronstein [Trot - We are here in the heart of the research pro - sky], who, in one way or another, can be gram that Gramsci developed in the Note - considered the political theorist of frontal as - books . But there was another key aspect of the sault, at a time when it could only lead to de - strategic and tactical methods determined by feat.” (Ibid., Vol. 3, p. 109.) the historically created relations of forces: that Facing the complex problem of the alter - of the Soviet Union. Regarding this question, native, or rather of the combination, between Gramsci wrote ( Notebook 6 , §138): “assault tactics“ and “siege tactics“, which had “The war of position calls on enormous been discussed in the Communist Interna - masses of people to make huge sacrifices; that tional, Gramsci started from a consideration of is why an unprecedented concentration of extraordinary importance, systematically ig - hegemony is required and hence a more ‘in - nored by the revisionists and reformists: “All terventionist’ kind of government that will en - this indicates that we have entered into the gage more openly in the offensive against the
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opponents and ensure, once and for all, the kind of “Americanism“, based on coercion, ‘impossibility’ of internal disintegration by command and the military systems. putting in place controls of all kinds – politi - That is, the forced and accelerated intro - cal, administrative, etc., reinforcement of the duction of forms of production, modes of life hegemonic positions of the dominant group, and culture tied to the needs of private capital etc.” (Ibid., Vol. 3, p. 109.) (in fact Gramsci recalled “Leon Davidovich’s It is an open support of Stalin’s line, for the interest in Americanism. His interest, his arti - reinforcement of the proletarian dictatorship, cles, his studies on “byt” [life, mode of living] a political line that “requires exceptional qual - and on literature” . (Ibid, Vol. 2, p. 215.) ities of patience and inventiveness” , but was In the same note Gramsci affirmed that the only successful one in that concrete his - “the principle of coercion in the sphere of toric situation. A political line diametrically work was correct [...] but the form it assumed opposed to that of Trotsky. was wrong.” (Ibid, Vol. 2, p. 215.) 3. As we have seen, a fundamental aspect Therefore it was a position incompatible of the “war of position” was the defense of So - with Leninism, a position which contradicted viet power and the building of socialism. In the “temporary retreat” of the NEP and would this last case too, acute problems did arise. The lead to the breakup of the alliance with the criticism expressed by Gramsci at the begin - peasantry and to the ruin of Soviet power. So ning of a famous note ( Notebook 4 , §52) is ex - it was a tendency that had to be smashed, as it tremely interesting: would have led to the restoration of capitalism. “Americanism and Fordism. The tendency Gramsci never evinced doubts on this mat - exhibited by Leon Davidovich [Trotsky] was ter. In fact, on two other occasions he ex - related to this problem. Its essential content plained and approved of the elimination of was based on the ‘will’ to give supremacy to Trotsky: in Notebook 14 §76, marking the industry and industrial methods, to accelerate elimination of Trotsky like “an episode of the the growth of discipline and orderliness in pro - liquidation “also” of the “black” parliamen - duction through coercive means, to adapt cus - tarism which existed after the abolition of the toms to the necessities of work. It would have “legal” parliament” (Selections from the ended up, necessarily, in a form of Bona - prison notebooks of Antonio Gramsci , Inter - partism; hence it was necessary to break it up national Publisher, New York, 1971, p. 256); inexorably.” (Ibid, Vol. 2, p. 215.) and in Notebook 22 (that can be dated to Gramsci here takes into account one of the 1934), when, referring to Trotsky’s tendency, crucial questions of the harsh debate that in - he repeated “the inexorable necessity of crush - volved the RCP(b) and the Communist Inter - ing it”. (Ibid., p. 301). national in the 1920s: the question of the forms 4. Last but not least, let us look at the note and rhythms of industrialization and the NEP. in Notebook 14 , §68, in which Gramsci, tak - According to Gramsci, Trotsky is the high - ing as his starting point the speech of Stalin at est representative of a harmful tendency, a Sverdlov University in Moscow (June 9, 1925
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– see note at the end of the article), directly shevism] really hinges. The accusations of na - contrasting Stalin (Vissarionovich) and Trot - tionalism are inept if they refer to the nucleus sky (Davidovich). of the question. If one studies the majorititar - Gramsci writes, deeply examining the ians’ struggle from 1902 up to 1917, one can question of the relation between international - see that its originality consisted in purging in - ism and national policy: ternationalism of every vague and purely ide - “A work (in the form of questions and an - ological (in a pejorative sense) element, to swers) by Joseph Vissarionovitch [Stalin] dat - give it a realistic political content. ” (Ibid., p. ing from September 1927: it deals with certain 240-241.) key problems of the science and art of politics. It is clear as day that Gramsci, tracing the The problem which seems to me to need fur - “fundamental disagreement“ between Trot - ther elaboration is the following: how, ac - sky/Davidovitch and Stalin/Vissarionovitch, cording to the philosophy of praxis [Marxism] shared Stalin’s position, the interpretation of (as it manifests itself politically) – whether as Bolshevism that, in Gramsci’s opinion, cor - formulated by its founder [Marx] or particu - rectly put forward and resolved the problem of larly as restated by its most recent theoretician the combination of national forces that the in - [Lenin] – the international situation should be ternational class must lead and develop in the considered in its national aspect. In reality, the perspective of world communism. internal relations of any nation are the result of a combination which is ‘original’ and (in a One of the best Bolsheviks certain sense) unique: these relations must be understood and conceived in their originality In the light of the texts, an interpretation of and uniqueness if one wishes to dominate them Gramsci’s thought in a Trotskyist sense is and direct them. To be sure, the line of devel - groundless. On the contrary, from Gramsci’s opment is towards internationalism, but the work, including the reflections contained in point of departure is ‘national’ – and it is from the Prison Notebooks, there emerges a ruthless this point of departure that one must begin. Yet criticism of Trotsky. the perspective is international and cannot be In all the passages where Gramsci writes otherwise. Consequently, it is necessary to about Trotsky the content is always one of a study accurately the combination of national harsh polemic. At the same time, Gramsci pos - forces which the international class [the pro - itively appraised the positions of Lenin and letariat] will have to lead and develop, in ac - Stalin; he approved the whole of the Bolshevik cordance with the international perspectives policy, including those features that the bour - and directives [i.e. those of the Comintern] . geoisie and revisionists include in the mis - […] It is on this point, in my opinion, that the leading concept of “totalitarianism”. fundamental disagreement between Leo Davi - There is no text or speech, neither in free - dovitch [Trotsky] and Vissarionovitch [Stalin] dom nor in prison, in which Gramsci ex - as interpreter of the majority movement [Bol - pressed a negative opinion much less
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denigrated the leadership of the Bolshevik sheviks who grew up in the ranks of the Com - Party and comrade Stalin. munist International in the spirit of the doc - The manipulators of modern revisionism, trine of Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin, in the the magicians of “socialism of the 21st cen - spirit of Bolshevism.” (Communist Interna - tury” and all the bourgeois and reactionary in - tional , July, 1937, 435-436.) tellectuals are completely refuted. To rescue Antonio Gramsci, the great com - Antonio Gramsci was a great revolution - munist leader, from the claws of the bour - ary leader of the proletariat, a giant of com - geoisie, the revisionists and opportunists is an munist thought and action, who always fought important task for the revolutionary prole - against anti-Leninist deviations, who always tariat. defended the dictatorship of the proletariat, the system of working-class democracy embodied June 2014 in the Councils (Soviet), against the false bour - Communist Platform (Italy) geois democracy and its social-democratic variants (such as today’s “participatory Note: Stalin’s speech, titled Questions and democracy”). He always insisted on the ne - Answers (Works, Vol. 7), was translated into Ital - cessity of a revolutionary transformation of the ian and published in serial form by “L’Unità” in whole of society through the smashing of the 1926. Gramsci, quoting by memory in jail, by bourgeois State, and always remained faithful mistake confused the date of that speech with the to Marxism-Leninism and to proletarian so - date (September 1927) of Stalin’s Interview with cialism, until the last day of his life. the First American Labor Delegation , that was As the Communist International wrote on also in the form of questions and answers the occasion of his death, caused by long years (Works , Vol. 10), of which Gramsci had read an of fascist imprisonment and cruelty: “Closely account in a magazine while he was in jail. linked to the masses, capable of learning in the The change of dates was not noticed by the school of the masses, able to understand all editor of the critical edition of Prison Notebooks , aspects of social life, an unyielding revolu - Valentino Gerratana, who perpetuated the mis - tionary, faithful to his last breath to the Com - take with a misleading commentary. munist International and to his own Party, Instead it is clear that Gramsci was referring Gramsci leaves to us the memory of one of the to the Questions and Answers of 1925 (see par - best representatives of the generation of Bol - ticularly Stalin’s reply to questions II and IX).
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M E X I C O
Communist Party of Mexico (M-L)
Two urgent tasks to confront the onslaught of the neoliberals and imperialists in Mexico
uring the second half of August, From then to now it has not recovered its D2014, a pamphlet was published in growth rate, even when in 2010, there was a Mexico entitled “Two urgent tasks to confront growth of 5% of GDP according to govern - the offensive of the neoliberals and imperial - ment statistics. The ensuing years were not en - ists in our country”, printed by Ediciones Van - couraging: in 2011, the economy grew by guardia Proletaria (Proletarian Vanguard 3.9% of GDP, in 2012 by 3.8% and in 2013 its Publishers) signed jointly by the Revolution - growth began to fall again, reaching a growth ary Popular Front (FPR), the Union of Revo - of only 1.1% in GDP. lutionary Youth of Mexico (UJRM) and our When he took over the Presidency of the Party, the Communist Party of Mexico (Marx - Republic, as the result of electoral fraud, En - ist-Leninist) (PCMML), a summary of which rique Peña Nieto (EPN) stated that with the we present here. structural reforms that he imposed, the econ - Mexico is no stranger to international dy - omy would accelerate its growth. But the fact namics, nor can it be as long as it is buried in is that in 2013, the year in which these struc - economic dependence, suffering oppression tural reforms were imposed, the Mexican by US imperialism. The international eco - economy actually was at a virtual standstill, nomic crisis that struck the world meant for with just a 1.1% growth of GDP. Mexico a decrease of approximately 5% to 6% The Mexican economy has no firm, real of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2009. basis that could reverse this trend of stagnation
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and crisis that the country is experiencing. Eco - returned to Los Pinos [residence of the Presi - nomic dependency is deepening every day, dent – translator’s note ], in the person of EPN. there is no independent development, the eco - Naturally, the financial oligarchy not only nomic plan of the regime is for greater de - planned the return of the PRI to Los Pinos; this pendency. It is trying to increase the presence was not the end in itself. It also orchestrated of transnational monopoly capital in the coun - the imposition of the dictates of the World try. All its efforts are aimed at guaranteeing for - Bank, IMF, Organization for Economic Coop - eign investment, maximizing profits for the eration and Development, and other imperial - investors. For example, it has granted conces - ist financial institutions. That is why, two sions of about 30% of Mexican territory, weeks before the presidential turnover, in No - mainly to Canadian and US mining companies. vember of 2012, the labor reform was ap - The concessions for electricity generation and proved by the Congress of the Union. exploitation of hydrocarbons will also be to in - The disagreements that began to appear be - crease the profit of transnational corporations. fore the impending election fraud of July 2012 Economically, the country is increasing its de - grew with the labor reform. The bourgeoisie pendency, particularly on the US economy, and saw it was time to close ranks, and it did this therefore its bad situation depends on the law through the “Pact for Mexico”, an agreement of maximization of the profits of the monopo - among the three main political parties of the lies of that imperialist country. financial oligarchy, the PRI, PAN and PRD The economic outlook for Mexico during (Party of the Democratic Revolution). This en - this year, 2014, is abysmal and still the depth sured them absolute control over the political of the new wave of crisis that has already been institutions and powers, such as the Federal announced is not clear, with diminished ex - Electoral Institute (IFE) of that time, the pectation for growth in the United States. Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Judi - Politically, after nearly 80 years of govern - ciary), and the Congress of the Union (Legis - ment by one sector of the national financial lature), as well as, the structures of the three oligarchy, allied to the Institutional Revolu - parties making up the self-styled Pact for Mex - tionary Party (PRI), the alternation in office ico, all controlled from the Executive in the that the country experienced in 2000 with the person of the “President of the Republic.“ arrival of the National Action Party (PAN ) did The imposition of the subsequent structural not represent any change in the direction of reforms was only possible with the complete oligarchic rule. Moreover, it highlights the po - closing of ranks of all the political institutions litical decay and corruption and deepened the of the financial oligarchy. The plan was laid neoliberal policies. The defeat of the PRI was out; it had no loose ends. Therefore they con - not consolidated; only 12 years later, the PRI tinued with the so-called education reform (it regained control through a great electoral was actually the labor reform applied to edu - fraud in the elections of July 2, 2012. The old cation workers). The reforms that followed gang of the PRI, with a new televised image, were: to telecommunications, adopted in gen -
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eral in mid-2013; the political reform (second States it is among the top three. The income quarter of 2013) and the fiscal-tax reform earned through exports is third most important (adopted in September of 2013), concluding in the share of GDP; the consequences that this the constitutional reforms with the energy re - will have on the Mexican economy will be a form (December of 2013). Following these large hole in the public treasury. Most of the constitutional changes came the regulatory social spending will virtually disappear, leav - laws for these counter-reforms; so that until ing no resources in the budget for social secu - the middle of 2014 they are finishing adopting rity, health care, education, programs for the the secondary laws in telecommunications, en - recovery of the Mexican countryside; in gen - ergy reform and political reform. eral all social programs will have to be se - In one year 11 structural reforms were verely cut back as a result of the adopted! The majority of these reforms were energy-privatization reform. Until now, the begun more than 20 years ago, but the total of - share of the budget coming from the petro - fense was unleashed in 2013 and 2014. This chemical industry is more than 30%. means that the regime and its oppressor class is The Labor Reform essentially legalizes a not willing to negotiate more with the prole - whole series of practices that that the bosses tariat and the masses, it will advance in its of - have been implementing in the country for fensive if we the exploited and oppressed several decades, such as job outsourcing, flex - classes do not stop them and kick them out of ibility, extension the working day, the reduc - power. tion in workers’ rights, the extension of the legal powers of the bosses, etc. Likewise laws The hurricane gales of the crisis are to weaken trade unions and restrict the right to blowing strong in the economic field. strike were adopted. The education reform is an extension of the labor reform to workers in The economic outlook for the country is education. The agrarian reform , which is not not encouraging; on the one hand, faced with yet finished, is actually the legitimization of a the possible approach of a new international process of dispossession of the poor peasants crisis that is brewing within the imperialist and indigenous people from the land and nat - economy; on the other hand are the terrifying ural resources of the country, which broke out consequences of the structural reforms on the before the agrarian counter-reform of 1992, conditions of life, work and study of the great with a large offensive against the ejidos, the masses of the Mexican population. communities of collective land tenure. An - Let us mention them in order of the eco - other big reason for the urgency of the neolib - nomic impact that the major structural reforms eral agrarian reform is that the dispossession will have, starting of course with the energy from the land and territories through the en - reforms . Mexico ranks second, surpassed only ergy reform will grant concessions right and by Venezuela in the Latin American countries, left to the private capitalists and their transna - and as an exporter of crude oil to the United tional and national monopolies. This requires
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that the Mexican government get rid of the The factor of the international economic barriers that exist to the use of the territories crisis is another element of the outlook of the granted in concessions. crisis that Mexico has been experiencing in re - The small and middle bourgeoisie is one of cent months. In fact, as a consequence of the the social sectors most affected by the Tax Re - crisis of 2008, the majority of the countries of form , which has created new taxes, particu - the world are over-indebted as a result of in - larly the so-called System of Tax jecting resources from the public treasury into Incorporation . This is aimed at “formalizing“ the big monopolies. Very soon they will be un - the informal sectors, with the sole purpose of able to pay the high interests on the foreign bleeding their economy through taxation. debt to which they have been subjected. The Moreover all the small and medium business major economies, including the US, China and owners will inevitably go to ruin; in fact offi - Europe, are expected to grow less and less; the cial data indicate that from January to July of major powers of the world, except for China, this year nearly 30,000 businesses closed each have debts that exceed the value of their GDP. month, showing an accelerated process of pro - That will actually lead to a new stage of global letarianization of these sectors with tax and fi - crisis, which will seriously affect Mexico in nance reform . the coming months. Mass consumption in the telecommunica - tions industry and the consolidation of mo - A quick look at our movement nopolies in that sector are fundamental elements behind the reform in telecommuni - In order to pass from the defensive to the cations , the distribution of production and the offensive, to accumulate forces and resist the market among Carlos Slim (one of the richest neoliberal offensive, one must be clear that the men in the world), Televisa and TV Azteca, history of Mexico did not just begin. Today we were the main points of discussion since the have a wealth of experience, a heritage of or - debate began in the Congress of the Union. ganization, and many great lessons from The reform in the social security system , which we must begin to chart our tasks facing that began with the reforms to the Law of the the mass movement. IMSS (Mexican Institute of Social Security) A considerable sector of the organized and the New Law of the ISSSTE (Institute for masses are still under the control and patron - Social Security and Services for State Work - age of the bosses of organizations linked to the ers), imposed since 2008, has not yet con - PRI, such as the Confederation of Workers of cluded. This process of privatization of health Mexico (CTM), the National Peasant Confed - care services and retirement funds is continu - eration (CNC), the Torch Peasant Movement, ing, the most recent is the bankruptcy declared the National Confederation of Popular Organ - by the IMSS and the attempt to replace the izations (CNOP), the National Confederation rights gained with the so-called “Universal In - of Productivity (CNP), among others. These surance”. organizations have served to control the move -
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ment and in many cases have acted as scabs, Constituent Assembly (CSHNC), which has strike-breakers and movement-breakers, be - held 10 national meetings; the Forum of the coming a form of paramilitarism, depending Proletarian Left (PIF); the Conference of So - on the conditions of struggle. It is also the case cialists and Communists of Mexico (ESyCM); that the mass movement independent of the the New Federation of Workers (NCT); the bourgeoisie, its state and its political parties National Coordinator of Workers of Education has been growing. (CNTE) that has initiated the National Teach - Another important block is marching under ers and Popular Conference (ENMP) that has the banner of social-democracy, reformism been scattered; the Zapatista Army of National and opportunism. However, this sector of the Liberation (EZLN), its Regional Organiza - organized masses is tending to disappear; a tions and its Councils of Good Government; small part is moving to the right, but the great the Popular Movement of Guerrero (MPG); majority have started to put a lot of pressure the process of reconstruction of the Popular on their leaders to call for mobilization and Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO); struggle; if they do not do so, these masses in the Popular Front of the City of Mexico large numbers will abandon the ranks of these (FPCDMX); the Regional Coordinator of organizations that still have an important Community Authorities – Community Police weight in the mass movement. (CRAC-PC); the United Front of Struggle of A third camp is made up of our democratic, Baja California, etc. independent and revolutionary organizations. Beside these movements that have histori - This sector of the organized mass movement is cal roots, there are emerging movements that making an effort to unify, by converging all are jumping into the arena of the class strug - their forces in a great flood of the workers, gle, in a sporadic manner, but with such force peasants and popular struggle, advancing a that they have helped to revitalize, give new process of accumulation of forces to take the impetus to and inject dynamism and strength offensive against the regime. This group of or - into the class struggle of the proletariat. Not ganizations is still very diverse, but each one is even the most aggressive media propaganda, gaining strength. Although they are still dis - nor the militarization of the police forces, nor tant from the needs of the growing movement the army in the streets, nor the toughening of of the masses, they are creating the conditions the laws, nor the control of the masses by the to contend for leadership with social democ - pro-government organizations, could prevent racy. Moreover, the last 10 years have been the constantly new mass movements from arising most successful in the struggle to build the that are eager to take to the streets and defend unitary processes or instruments needed for every inch of the rights that they have won. building the united front. Throughout this The contemporary movements have some time, there have been various experiences, and particularities that we should know how to several of them are still relevant and active, in - grasp. For example, the latest movements are cluding: the Social Congress towards a New strongly interconnected with the new technolo -
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gies of communication and in particular the so - their amorphous spontaneity, the anarchy of cial networks and the “alternative” media. None their actions and the difficulty in finding which of these movements could be explained with - way is up still makes things much more com - out the existence of tools such as Facebook, plicated for the working class, its party and the Twitter, Whatsap, and at the risk of being left organized movement, to contribute to its behind, in most of the emerging movements, in strengthening. The petty bourgeoisie and re - their own names or acronyms they use hash - action also use precisely these features to exalt tags: #YoSoy132 (a movement that arose in the the non-partyism and the anti-organization midst of EPN’s presidential campaign, its main sentiment of these movements, symptoms that objective was to prevent Peña Nieto from tak - lead to disaster, if they do not become aware of ing office), #PosMeSalto (similar to the Free the danger of these reactionary positions. Fare movement of Brazil, it has promoted the The general evaluation that we make of the jumping of turnstiles in the Metro Collective current situation in the country is that there is Transport System in the national capital, as a a growing discontent which is multiplying the way to reject the rising price of transportation), mobilized forces, against the most varied #YoSoy17 (a movement of doctors who take as forms of political, economic and social op - their symbol the criminalization of their pro - pression. There is a rise of the mass move - fessional activity, coming out in the streets en ment, every day new sectors are joining the masse after very many years), #PosCirculo (a fight against the regime, but they are still very movement that arose against the extension to scattered and fragmented. Meanwhile the Saturdays of the program: Do Not Drive Today regime has succeeded in imposing its struc - (Hoy No Circula), which applied to vehicle traf - tural reforms, but now comes the real battle. fic in the capital from Monday to Friday, osten - On the one hand the regime would like to im - sibly to reduce pollution), etc. pose its reforms, but it will undoubtedly find Besides, these movements tend to develop the fiercest opposition and resistance of the at unimaginable speeds; in less than a tweet or workers and peoples. Until now the mass a like, the orientation of the mass action can movement, despite having already given his - change, can be radicalized or weakened. These torical examples of heroism, has not gone be - and other characteristics peculiar to the move - yond actions of resistance, because it still ments in this golden age of social networks, suffers from a number of diseases within the which have overly exalted the bourgeois and movement: trade-unionism, economism, spon - petty bourgeois intellectuals, with a great num - taneity, evils that we must urgently eradicate. ber of arguments that seek to avoid firm organ - ization and the continuity of these movements. We need a single National Plan of It is necessary to master the characteriza - Struggle, built in a collective manner. tion and peculiarities of the emerging move - ment in order to influence them, to help them It follows naturally that facing a disorgan - build real, long-term perspectives, because ized fight that is growing in the country re -
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quires drawing up a Unity Plan of Struggle mass action whose objective should be, in the that would be built collectively with all the first place, to raise the morale and the build - forces of the masses, a plan to bring order to ing of the power of our army-people and in - the actions, so they can unite in action and or - flict a political, ideological and economic ganization; that would break with the anarchy defeat on the capitalist-imperialist oligarchic of the different calls for the struggle against pole. In the second place would be the total the regime, but cannot concentrate sufficient paralysis of the country’s economic activity forces to make well-aimed blows against the (production and circulation of commodities) oligarchic neoliberal offensive. as well as the paralysis of the entire political The Plan that we need to build requires structure of the capitalist system. Likewise all making precise the strategic and tactical ob - this would be directed at totally neutralizing jectives, that is, the objectives to be achieved the repressive action of state, in such a way in the short, medium and long term; neither that all the actions aimed at achieving this im - confusing nor counterposing any of these ob - pact would strengthen the HPG. jectives. For strategic objectives, it is neces - If we have already learned that the teach - sary to be convinced that we want a system ers’ struggle and their first two national strikes change, building in its place a socialist system in 2013 at least put the government of EPN in in the country, with a government of workers trouble, if we have been convinced that the ac - and poor peasants, passing through the estab - tions up to now have not been sufficient to de - lishment of a Provisional Revolutionary Gov - feat the neoliberal reforms, and moreover we ernment, which would convene the affirm that bourgeois and petty-bourgeois Democratic, Proletarian and Popular National pacifism, as well as parliamentary and legal Constituent Assembly, which would enact a means, have been exhausted as ways to new Constitution. Of course this is our contri - strengthen the mass movement, then it is clear bution to the objectives, there are others; one that the road that remains is to build on the ex - would have to debate them. But to advance perience of the CNTE, of APPO in 2006 as more rapidly in the process of unity, we must well as other experiences and to generalize a clarify the objectives in the medium and short Political Strike nationwide. If events unfold as term, that in summary, we all agree that is the up to now, over the coming months, it is very struggle to defeat the structural reforms all to - probable that spontaneous and generalized gether and, if conditions permit, to bring down demonstrations will take place throughout the the government of EPN. country, in the form of a General Strike. How - ever, they will not achieve specific objectives The General Political Strike is the form if they are not the result of a systematic and of struggle that will define all the rest. well organized work. Therefore it is important that they be the result of a single plan of strug - The General Political Strike [HPG for its gle nationwide. initials in Spanish – translator’s note ] is a The successful realization of the first HPG
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will not be the culmination of the class strug - threads of the class struggle, in order to unify gle. On the contrary, it will be the beginning our struggle, organize and project it on a na - of a new stage, more favorable for the revolu - tional level, requires the formation of a great tionary process, with greater expectations. It National Assembly of the Proletariat and will be a demonstration also for the mass Peoples of Mexico (ANPyPM). This would be movement itself, that the radical transforma - the organized expression of our tactic of a tion of society is possible through the revolu - United Front in Mexico. The ANPyPM would tionary action of the masses. The HPG will be built with the convergence of all the unitary restore confidence in their own strength to the processes that have so far been built, whether proletariat and the peoples of Mexico, and it at a national, state, sectoral or thematic level. will revive the hitherto dormant strata, so that The form of organization of an Assembly they will come out to fight alongside us all. or Council has a rich history in our country, The HPG as a form of struggle does not deny because it also has deep roots in the communal or exclude all other forms of struggle; on the forms of organization of the indigenous peo - contrary, it projects them and defines them ples, and in the democratic unions. Therefore, around the main objectives of this stage of the a focus of our plan of work is to build grass - class struggle. roots or popular assemblies, in every factory, in every neighborhood and community, as a We need the formation of a National As - solid foundation on which to build a grand Na - sembly of the Proletariat and Peoples of tional Assembly of the Proletariat and Peo - Mexico as a concrete expression of the ples of Mexico . united front. Some 40 days separate these lines from the journal Unity and Struggle, from the pamphlet For the battles of the proletariat to be suc - “Two urgent tasks....” However there have cessful, a high degree of organization is re - been many events that confirm that the analy - quired, and the higher the degree of sis that the FRP, the UJRM and PCMML made organization, the more the masses will be in a about the reality and the tasks of our move - position to achieve their victories. Of course, ment continue to remain very relevant. For ex - this also involves other aspects, such as cor - ample: from the side of the regime there has rect tactics and clarity in the strategic struggle, been the disastrous offensive against the peo - but once one has a plan, organization decides ple, because the former has increased its de - everything. ployment by launching its neoliberal reforms. To define the forms of struggle it is neces - In early September a series of mega-projects sary at the same time to define the forms of or - were announced, including the new Interna - ganization. In other words, for the HPG to be tional Airport of Mexico City, which will af - successful requires a consolidated process of a fect thousands of hectares of land in several united front. In the case of our country, what towns, including San Salvador Atenco, which we propose in order to centralize all the 13 years ago prevented the construction of the
83 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
airport. Several student and popular leaders point the formation of the united front and a have been killed. On the part of the movement specific plan for the outbreak of the HPG. at this time (end of September, 2014) there Thus already these two tasks that we have have been two major strikes in the capital, that been pushing can no longer be postponed for of the students of the National Polytechnic In - an important sector of the organized move - stitute (IPN) and of the Union of the Institute ment in the country. It is true that there is a of High School Education, both sketching the long way to go to meet these expectations, but perspective of HPG. The process of formation the wheel is turning in our favor, we commu - of the ANPyPM is cast, it is a topic being dis - nists in this corner of the world are now mak - cussed by various forces. The 10th Meeting of ing every effort to fulfill our historic mission the CSHNC, held on August 30 and 31, with with the immortal teachings of Marx, Engels, the presence of representatives of important Lenin and Stalin: to struggle together with our organizations and trade unions in several working class for the victory of the tactics and states, took up the task of building the AN - strategy of the proletarian revolution and the PyPM as well as of preparing the HPG. The dictatorship of the proletariat, socialism and teachers of the CNTE also took up as a central communism in Mexico and around the world.
Revolutionary Popular Front (FRP), Union of Revolutionary Youth of Mexico (UJRM) Communist Party of Mexico (Marxist-Leninist) (PCMML)
84 NO: 29 PERU
P E R U
Communist Party of Peru (M-L)
On the inter-imperialist contradictions, the growing dependence of Peru and the presence of BRICS
On the international situation undertake processes of national and social lib - eration led by their proletarian vanguards. n the international context of the politi - The contradiction among imperialist coun - Ical and economic crisis of capitalism, tries and the struggle for spheres of influence the contradictions among the imperialist coun - are creating instruments for contention over fi - tries for the new redivision of the world, mar - nancial domination of the world market. On kets and spheres of influence, are taking the one hand, U.S. imperialism and the mem - increasingly acute forms. In that sense the con - bers of NATO, with their instruments, the tention to systematically exploit and plunder World Bank, IMF, World Trade Organization, the peoples is once again becoming more ag - UN and other agencies of neocolonial subju - gressive politically, economically, ideologi - gation, and on the other hand Chinese and cally and militarily. This is so not only for the Russian imperialism and the members of inter-imperialist contention, but also for the in - BRICS, which recently established other in - creasing struggle and resistance of the peoples struments of domination of finance capital attacked by imperialist greed. These processes called the New Development Bank and Re - are taking place in the context of the revival serve Fund. Even though it has another name, of the popular movement, which is ready to it has not changed the essence of domination
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by finance capital. La essence of imperialism ensure maximum profit by exploiting and ru - has not changed, nor have the characterization ining most of the population. This leads us to and fundamental contradictions of our epoch point out some elements that show the in - pointed out by Lenin. While it is true that the creasing dependence of our country, regarding formation of economic alliances among impe - the presence and interests of BRICS in Peru. rialist countries, in one way, manifestations of The political situation, economic depend - power, leading to military invasions and push - ence and the presence of BRICS in Peru ing the peoples into war, the imperialist coun - Currently the peoples of Peru are at a stage tries are at the stage of internal decomposition of struggle and resistance against the imperi - and corrosion. An example of this are the var - alist offensive and penetration. An example of ious demonstrations and strikes taking place this is the organization of the popular move - in the imperialist countries, such as the U.S., ment to oppose the mining concessions, labor China, Germany and France, among others. flexibility, the privatization and pollution of This shows the correctness and relevance of the water, the pollution of the environment, to the Marxist-Leninist theses on imperialism reject the Free Trade Agreements, to reject the and proletarian revolutions. import of genetically modified seeds; to de - Some opportunist groups claim that within fend national and food sovereignty, among the inter-imperialist contradictions there is a others. All these struggles are also directed good imperialism with which we can ally and against the deepening of neoliberalism, by the a bad imperialism that we must fight, trying to counter-reforms made during the period of Al - embellish imperialism thus denying the revo - berto Fujimori, Alejandro Toledo and Alan lution, the historic task of the working class Garcia. There is no difference between these and peoples for their class emancipation and and the current government of Ollanta Hu - denying that both imperialist camps are the mala. We have a country in which there not the backbone of capitalism on a world scale. least regulation of the voracious appetite of the Lenin said that “finance capital strives for transnationals, of imperialism and its allies, domination, not freedom” , so that imperialist the parasitic bourgeoisie. countries, their aggression and the capitalist system must be fought at the same time as one The failure of denationalization, the sale fights opportunism, revisionism, reformism, of the country and the Free Trade Trotskyism and social democracy in their var - Agreements ious shades, which in practice support the domination of capitalism in its stage of impe - In the period of the application of neolib - rialist decomposition. eralism in Peru, state enterprises, port and air - The development of these instruments of port concessions and our territory have been domination promotes the granting of credits privatized and auctioned off, highways have and loans that reinforce the economic and po - been built allegedly to develop and connect litical dependence of the borrower, in order to towns largely neglected by the state. But the
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truth is that they were built to facilitate impe - what is being done is to extract radioactive rialist penetration and plunder, through tax material and gold. An example of this is the evasion and fraud, the payment of taxes for leader Aida Gamarra of the village of Moro - works that widen the highways and access cocha displaced by this project, who has been roads to mining areas, supposedly being built hospitalized due to contamination by radioac - in the public interest. tive material, who had lived and worked near this mining center. In the mining sector This sector is dominated by Chinese transna - tionals, which control 33% of the total invest - Recently, under the pretext of reviving the ment; in these projects they use the police and economy, as Peru was one of the fastest grow - military to impose them, as well as in the min - ing economies in Latin America with 7.6% ing projects of US and Canadian imperialism. growth in 2006, 9% in 2007, 9.84% in 2008, 1% in 2009, 8.8% in 2010, 6.8% in 2011, 6.3% The metallurgical sector in 2012 and 5.02% in 2013, there has been a slowing down due to the effects of the inter - In 1992 the government of Alberto Fuji - national crisis and the struggle of the peoples mori, beginning the privatization of the strate - against mining extraction, which have led to gic economic sectors of the country, negotiated paralyzing the major mining projects. The so- the sale of the mining company Hierro Peru called economic revival that the State is lead - S.A. (Peru Iron Inc.) and granted the pier of San ing is in no way aimed at benefiting the Juan de Marcona to the national Chinese com - people. On the contrary, it is to facilitate the pany Shougang Corporation, based in Beijing. looting of our country, easing the minimum re - This news was received with great enthusiasm quirements for the establishment of large-scale by some trade union cliques and opportunist mining projects, known as the “environmental parties, which claimed that this company and package.“ These followed along the line of the the Chinese Communist Party were led by com - last message to the nation by the President of munists and that this would lead to the benefit the Republic on July 28, in which he stated the of the Peruvian working class. The character of “need“ to promote mining mega-projects: the Chinese enterprises was revealed when the Constancia, Las Bambas, the expansion of operations of the company Shougang Hierro Cerro Verde. The expansion of the Toromocho Peru S.A. began. They laid off a large number was granted as a concession to the Aluminum of workers, made the contracts conditional on Corporation of China (Chinalco), at the source not recognizing the right to unionize, at the risk of the Mantaro and Rimac rivers that supply of layoffs and the imposition of a long list of water to more than 10 million people in Lima. abuses such as payment below the average The mining project Tia Maria was presented wage compared to other mining companies. by the government as a center of copper min - Currently this company sends 84% of all the ing but in the particular case of Toromocho, minerals extracted from Peruvian soil to the
87 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
Chinese market and less than 5% of the miner - the domestic market. Because of this, it is es - als supply the domestic market. This has af - timated that about 30,000 jobs were lost in this fected the high cost of steel production, serving productive and commercial sphere, causing a as a justification for the new owners of Siderur - high rate of closing of small and gica de Peru (Peru Steel), the Brazilian corpo - medium=sized textile enterprises. The main ration Gerdau, to stop producing steel and centers of textile imports are from China and import it from its other sources, mainly from India that have low production costs. The Pe - Brazil, leaving the workers of the steelworks in ruvian government is resuming the negotia - Chimbote unemployed and affecting the region, tions for signing the FTA with India, an act which had been energized by the existence of that will end up destroying national produc - this industrial center. tion. In 1996, the government of Alberto Fuji - mori held an auction of state bonds in Peru In the agricultural and livestock sector Steel – Siderperu, from which the consortium Sider Corp. benefited, buying up almost 97% Recently, the Congress of the Republic at - of the shares of the company. This consortium tempted to pass a bill that would allow the im - was made up of GS Industries Inc, a US com - port of genetically modified seeds for pany, Wiese Financial Investments and Stan - production on a small scale. This was despite ton Funding Co. But the crisis of 2001 caused the fact that these were disallowed in 2012, the bankruptcy of GS Industries, so in 2006 under the regulations of Act No. 29811, which the Brazilian transnational Gerdau acquired postponed the import of these seeds, after a 86.66% of the shares of the steel company. process of struggle by the rural communities Since 2012 Horno Alto, which smelted in defense of national production, when the iron, was paralyzed, stagnating production and 10-year moratorium of imports of Genetically instead becoming distributors of steel im - Modified Organisms (GMOs) was established. ported from Brazil to supply the Peruvian mar - ket. This process was part of the plans to The struggles undertaken by the work - sabotage production that imperialism and its ing class, peasantry, youth and peoples transnational corporations carried out in order to destroy local production and strengthen The struggles of the working class, peas - their chains of domination. ants, working people and youth have raised their level of political organization and partic - In the textile sector ipation, opposing the new wave of legal and political measures that seek to limit the rights Since the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) won through great struggles, such as the right with China came into force in 2010, the Peru - to labor stability, health care, free and scien - vian textile and clothing industries were hurt tific education and legal security, while the with the import of underpriced garments for land of peasants has been granted as conces -
88 NO: 29 PERU
sions to the imperialist transnationals. In all re - sity to militarize the country in order to gions of the country the class struggle is in - strengthen its dependency, showing the degree tensifying and is marked by new forms of of decomposition of the state of the parasitic clashes and the creativity of the peoples to bourgeoisie of our country. confront the dictatorship of capital and impe - rialist plunder; they are coming together in Position of the PCP (M-L) towards this order to put an end to aggression and ex - scenario ploitation. In the health care sector the indefinite 1. We propose to develop tactics to organ - strike of the health care workers has been de - ize, mobilize and politicize the working class, veloping in defense of their labor rights and peasants, students and popular sectors. We op - against the privatization of health care, as well pose the imperialist penetration, exploitation as in the struggles of nurses, midwives and and plunder, fighting capitalism and the para - staff in this sector, who have been on a na - sitic bourgeoisie, the opportunism that pretti - tional strike for more than 120 days, which fies and supports the concessions of government does not want to resolve. On the communal territories and the privatization car - contrary, it is promoting the privatization of ried out by the government. We fight to annul health care through concessions to private the laws that take away the rights won by the companies, thus showing that this pseudo-na - working class: the law of reforms to the edu - tionalist government cares more about the ex - cational system, the law of “service“, the traction of minerals than about the life and “health care reform” and for the restoration of health of the Peruvians. the rights of state workers, we fight for the an - In the peasant movement, the imperialist nulment of the FTA, for the cancellation of offensive and submission of the government mining concessions and for the repeal of the in office makes them implement the mining law of “Prior Consultation“ of Ollanta Hu - projects as such Cañaris, Conga, Toromocho, mala, who does not respect the decision of the Rio Blanco, Tia Maria, Lagunas del Sur, etc. people for the defense of national sovereignty. and oil projects that were rejected and fought 2. It is necessary to regain the leadership by the peoples since they violating their right of the trade union federations, to remove the to property, polluting the water, life and farm - revisionists and opportunists from the leader - lands. Recently the government has imple - ship, and to raise the banners of the principles mented a legislative package that removes the of class-struggle unionism. It is necessary to minimal restrictions to mining extraction in forge the anti-fascist and anti-imperialist our country, and in response to the resistance united front, based on the worker-peasant al - of the peoples, they have implemented fascist liance. measures to criminalize the organization and 3. In the process of clarifying the political repress the protest of the popular movement. scene, we must identify and fight the class en - Thus the government is showing its propen - emies who confuse and divert the working
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class, the peasantry and the people from their struggles, and we also need to identify who our friends are who struggle to organize and make the revolution, to put an end to the dic - tatorship of capital over labor, to the imperial - ist exploitation and plunder and to establish socialism, as the transition to a classless, com - munist society.
Central Committee of the PCP (M-L) September 2014
90 NO: 29 SPAIN
S PA I N
Communist Party of Spain M-L (PCE M-L)
Where corruption... and the Bourbons reign Raul Marco
Of all the histories in History those who have turned him to poverty undoubtedly the saddest is that of Spain, and kidnapped the health of Spain. because it ended badly. As if man already tired of struggling with his demons, I ask Spain to expel these demons. decided to entrust them to the government That poverty rises up to the government. and the administration of his poverty [...] That man should become the master of his his - tory. I have often thought of those men, (Jaime Gil de Biedma) I have often thought about the poverty of this country of all demons. ad and painful verses that perfectly And I have often thought of another history Scondense the history of this land called different and less simple, of another Spain Spain. It is as if it was when the poet wrote where a bad government does matter. [...] these verses, today they are, indeed, a tragic and unfortunate reality: Because I want to believe that there are no 26% of the economically active population demons. (six million people) are without work; among They are men who pay the government, the youths it is 50%; two million families in the entrepreneurs of the false history which all members are unemployed. Hunger they are men who have sold the man, that mainly strikes children, of whom a large
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percentage have only one meal a day, which tution, the king is not accountable for his ac - they receive at school through cafeteria tions. Who is responsible for his acts or knav - grants, which they are now eliminating. Thou - ery (let us say, Bourbonry [a pun on the term sands, yes thousands of people who lost the “bribonadas,” or knavery – translator’s note )? homes that they bought because they are un - An old saying from the Castilian lands trans - able to make the mortgage payments, many of lated as “fablar“ paladino1 (tell tales clearly), them immigrants who have lost their savings asserts that the one who holds the ladder is as earned despite the exploitation they have suf - much a thief as the one who robs. fered, in addition to the racist attacks, xeno - The Bourbon and Bourbon (it rhymes to phobia of the neo-fascist packs (why “neo,“ the consumer’s taste) with a fortune of several as they are the cubs of the fierce wolf of al - hundred million euros (some say it is two ways?). And those families who have been thousand million) does not know nor is he able evicted, who have paid their mortgages for to explain its origin; he has resorted, as other years, besides being robbed of their homes, swindlers did, to an “inheritance received from are forced to continue paying the debt on what his father” that he kept in Switzerland... they have been robbed of. They must pay the This mister king, while he was president of thieves, such as Bankia and many if not all of a society for the protection of elephants, which the banks that have cleaned out those whom are endangered, went to Africa to kill… ele - the “right-thinkiers“ describe with derogatory phants. He was accompanied by his girlfriend epithets. (the gossips use another name for this friend - Corruption operates here and in other ship), the German Countess Corinna zu-Sayn countries, but we are speaking of Spain where Wittgenstein. it reaches unimaginable heights, it is a scourge He had a good student in his daughter, the from which the parties and unions are not princess Cristina who, with her husband, Ur - spared. Every day cases of corruption, money dangarin, established the non-profit Noos In - laundering, theft disguised as compensation, stitute, which they and their partner allowed to etc., scandals that involve ministers and for - make a profit of a few million in deals and mer ministers, heads of state and private en - public procurement contracts, in collusion terprises, are being discovered. Even the royal with various authorities, particularly from Va - family, some of whose members are involved lencia. Despite the pressures that the investi - in this corruption and criminal acts. gating judge suffered to close the case, it is The king imposed by Franco, Juan Carlos likely that the princess, her husband and part - of Bourbon and Bourbon, has been forced to ner will sit in the dock of the accused. It re - abdicate for his repeated scandalous conduct. mains to be seen, because the pressures This individual, I refuse to call him Sir since continue. the parameters place him very, very far from Let us continue with the corruption that is that, has transgressed, lied, abused, and more devastating these lands. than that, but according to the current Consti - The president of the CEPR (Center for
92 NO: 29 SPAIN
Economic Policy Research), Guillermo de la These are facts and data eloquent enough Dehesa, recently wrote a well-documented ar - to demonstrate how corruption, fraud, or ticle with the significant title “Private corrup - frankly speaking theft, is practically habitual tion in Spain,“ from which we quote a few among bankers, millionaires and others of the paragraphs: same kind. According to various studies, given “If there is public corruption there is nec - the difficulty of controlling this kind of econ - essarily also private corruption. The 3% or omy, the underground economy, black work, 5% that some request, others pay,2 willingly reached up to 28% of the GDP in 2013. All or not, if they get what they want in return. these percentages are above the EU average, Private corruption begins with the basic dis - which stands at 18%, and certainly much tinction between those who pay their taxes and higher than that of France (11%) and Germany those who do not pay. The last published pay - (13.7%). ment of personal income taxes (IRPF) in 2012, Corruption, white collar banditry, is in the by steps, shows that 19.37 million wage earn - hands of the real mafias, known and tolerated ers and self-employed reported income for this because the political and police authorities tax. However, only 4,168 reported income of turn what we call here the “blind eye.” This is more than 600,000 euros of tax base, only what Guillermo de la Dehesa calls, crudely 60,313 reported income of more than 150,000 and accurately, the “criminal economy”: euros and only 548,823 reported income of “The criminal economy operates com - more than 60,000 euros. [...] pletely outside the law and with black money, “The majority of people with very high in - made up of terrorism, drug trafficking, arms comes and assets did not report income to be trafficking, smuggling of women and children, taxed and uses the Investment Companies with body organs and animals, as well as induced Variable Capital (SICAVs), whose profits pay prostitution and drug trafficking. All these ac - 1%. These SICAVs were created to prevent tivities have in common that they are funded people with large assets from deciding to almost entirely with high denomination ban - legally relocate to other EU countries with knotes in euros, dollars and Swiss francs of, more advantageous tax rates than Spain. whose owners or users cannot be identified There are also SICAVs in France, United since they are bearer banknotes and that they Kingdom, Italy and Holland. The VDOS Sto - often try to ‘launder’ in tax havens. [...] chastics (2014) estimated that the assets under “In 2007, at the height of the real estate management by SICAV in Spain were 27,575 and construction bubble, there circulated in million euros. Spain 36% of all the 200 and 500 euro ban - “[....] Tax evasion in Spain has increased knotes of the euro zone, while the GDP of by 6.8 points of GDP between 2008 and 2012, Spain was only 11% of the total for the zone, from 17.85% to 25.6%, more than 65,000 mil - that is, three times lower, a scandalous per - lion euros, reaching 253,000 million.” (“El centage.” (Ibid) País” [“The Country”], September 21, 2014.) The figures speak for themselves. Let us
93 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
look at some very significant data: In 2012, the head of the bank; he had been Minister of 443 people had reported income of over €30 the Economy from 1996 to 2004 in the gov - million, exceeding the 2011 figures by 25%, ernment of the neo-fascist Aznar. Needless to and double the number of multimillionaires say, the salaries of these people are fabulous. from the pre-crisis figure, which was 233 peo - But they did not seem enough, and the leaders ple in 2007. It is obvious that, in times of a and “advisers” appointed by the PP {People’s tremendous crisis such as the one we are ex - Party], PSOE [Spanish Socialist Workers’ periencing, poverty increases and all sorts of Party], IU [United Left], and the CCOO calamities strike the working class and the [Workers’ Commissions] and UGT [General popular masses, at the same time as they en - Union of Workers] trade unions, distributed rich the already rich to an insulting degree, to black credit cards, that is, their use was not the point that Spain is the most unequal coun - subject to any control, and the amounts that try in the EU, behind only Latvia, according they withdrew with these cards were camou - to Eurostat [statistical office of the European flaged with methods of payment that did not Union – translator’s note ]. allow them to be identified. In two years, these A recent study by the OECD (Organization ladies and gentlemen spent €15 to 20 million. for Economic Cooperation and Development, Some examples of the doings of this rab - based in Paris) states that between 2007 and ble: in just one month Blesa, the former direc - 2011, the average income of the poorest 10% tor of Caja Madrid (later Bankia) spent €9,000 fell 7.5 times more than that of the richest on a safari in Africa and €10,000 on bottles of 10%. This also explains the previous scan - an excellent wine... They all spent huge sums dalous figures. That having been said, the on luxury hotels, jewelry, parties, trips (prefer - crises are for the poor, the workers, the people ably to New York, what do they have over in general; that is, the rich get richer and the there?). An “advisor” appointed by the leader poor get poorer. Nil novi sub sole3... of the United Left, Moral Santin, spent As we have already said, corruption in €365,000; another “historic” leader of the these parts extends to political parties, trade Workers’ Commissions, Rodolfo Benito, beset unions, institutions (such as the Church, as re - by scandal and his adventures, was forced to actionary and obscurantist as it is), the leaders resign. The leader of the UGT, Jose Ricardo of the employers’ association, banks and sav - Martinez, spent 12,750 euros in one month at ings accounts. The phrase (from Hamlet) a luxury store. Juan Iranzo of the Board of Di - “something is rotten in the kingdom of Den - rectors, a member of the PP, spent €46,800... mark“ is a smell of perfume compared to the The list goes far beyond the space we have stench we breathe here. available in both cynicism and larceny. Consider the case of Bankia, formed after The fraud having been discovered (there the near collapse of Caja Madrid. The State in - appears to have been a tip-off), the main lead - vested €23,000 million to save it, and Bankia ers of Bankia, from before and now) are being was established. Rodrigo Rato was appointed investigated, called before a judge and will
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probably be brought to trial. Among these that is an inheritance left by his father which thieves we can find, besides the leaders of the he kept abroad, in case the situation in Spain PP, PSOE, IU, former senior political leaders, became difficult. As can be seen, the story of and personalities “above suspicion.” They the inheritance was repeated among the eco - have all used, why not say stolen, millions of nomic criminals. It turns out that there is no euros of public money. Once again one must will, it has not been found, and strangely his repeat the axiom: privatization of profits, so - own sister denies it, she never knew that her cialization of losses. father had left an inheritance. Indeed, the fa - These robberies, etc. by political leaders, ther of this individual was a known currency trade unionists and public figures, do not jus - smuggler just after the Spanish Civil War tify offending the feelings of the masses with (1939). the oxymoron political-honesty.4 It is true that It is revealing of the nature of this very practices and attitudes of some politicians honorable person, who headed the Banca abound, including many whose integrity Catalana that drained its funds before bank - leaves much to be desired, even becoming ruptcy. He has been one of the most rabid na - brittle, but they cannot be measured by the tionalists for the independence of Catalonia, same standard as that of the people who are where the phrase was coined “Spain robs us.“ fighting for the winning of a real democracy, This is now the object of laughter and jokes freedom and solidarity, against reaction; they when it was revealed that he has a fortune cannot be compared with the miserable, cor - whose origin and that of his children he could rupt freeloaders who live off their political po - not explain. One of his children, Oleguer sitions. Pujol, 35 years old, accumulated a fortune of One of the biggest cases of corruption and €2,177 million. theft is that of Jordi Pujol, who was President The widespread corruption at the highest of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government levels is beginning to be denounced. Some of of Catalonia) for nearly thirty years. This very these righteous patriots are already in prison, honorable President, who formed a real mafia such as Barcena, treasurer of the PP who for clan with his wife and sons, could not explain years paid bonuses to the leaders of this party, what happened to the 600 million euros de - as all their own lists submitted to the judge posited in a bank in Andorra, with which they prove. The former president of the employers’ had been trading and wheeling and dealing association of Spain, Diaz Ferran, was jailed here and there for years. Nor could they ex - for fraud and fraudulent bankruptcies of plain the operations conducted by the San - Marsan Travel and other companies. He had tander Bank which the recently deceased Botin the nerve to say that the workers “have to work led (another out-and-out element), nor by Prisa more and earn less.” The scandal of the worth €2,000 million. Their wealth is held in opaque, black cards has revealed no less a per - tax havens, such as Andorra, Switzerland, son than the principal advisor to the Royal Luxembourg, etc. Jordi Pujol could only say House, a certain Spottorno, as well as the for -
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mer Minister Rodrigo Rato and Miguel Blesa. Notes: This is one more scandal, exacerbated by 1 Paladino: public, clear and patent (DRAE the tremendous inability to cope with the [Dictionary of the Spanish Language]) Ebola virus, which uncovered the mismanage - 2 The “bite” (“bribe”): Income or money ob - ment and arrogance of the Minister for Health tained from some person for an official or em - (an economist with no medical training what - ployee through abuse of their position. A fruit of soever), and his advisers. influences or bribes (DRAE). Our note. 3 There is nothing new under the sun. “Of all the histories in History...” 4 Oxymoron: The grammatical combination of terms with opposite meaning or sense, such as October 10, 2014 “a deafening silence.”
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T U R K E Y
Labour Party (EMEP)
Entanglements and disintegration in the Middle East
ince last summer, world public opin - barism be present in the 21st century?” is spec - Sion has been following what is hap - tating the revival of medievalism in the Mid - pening in the Middle East with great dle East through the lens of a media that is astonishment, anxiety and anger. As of June, covering the events in this region as phenom - the people of Iraq and Syria are facing a bar - ena that are unconnected to, devoid of, and in barism embodied particularly by the actions of existence despite the bourgeois-capitalist civil - the forces of the Islamic State in Iraq and the isation. The monopoly media delimits the cul - Levant (ISIL).(1) Medieval religious wars are pability of the imperialist countries to its practically being revived in the region. As hesitance to intervene to end this barbarism. though the death of hundreds of innocent civil - This desire for intervention does not stem from ians losing their lives on a daily basis to the humanitarian reasons but from the scare and suicide attacks in Iraq and the civil war in prospect that “this savagery will land on our Syria were not enough, the people of this re - doorstep”. In fact, the medievalism we con - gion have now to withstand also the primitive temporarily see unfolding in the Middle East is forms of violence orchestrated by ISIL via sec - nothing more than the inverted version of cap - tarian cleansing, beheading, and women being italist imperialism! trafficked in slave markets. In the past, the ‘neo-cons’ and their US The Western public opinion, puzzled with generals threatened, in a rather haughty man - the question of “How can such forms of bar - ner, that any regional force in the Middle East
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and Asia resisting their will and impositions the victors of the First World War, particularly will be “bombed backed to two thousand in the Middle East, is undergoing a process of years”. As countenanced by all, this warning dissolution – a process described by some as was not solely constituent of words; it had “constructive chaos”.(2) This process is con - practical implications: the US and other impe - stitutive of a negative and a positive dynamic. rialist powers, by means of war and attacks The Arab uprisings and resistances represent have slumped Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya into the latter, while the former is epitomised – bitter and torturous realities. The “technolog - firstly and foremostly by the US – by the in - ically sophisticated” bombs that have come to terventionist and destructive policies in this re - fruition in the imperialist era of modern capi - gion. talism have not only led to civilian deaths and If you can impose your will on the world, the destruction of inhabitancies in the Middle then, you have profound economic, political, East, they have also toppled the states, engen - military, diplomatic and mediatic resources. dered the dissolution of the social fabric, and This wealth of resources allows an imperialist – their artificial and brutal nature notwith - state to implement a policy that also aims to standing – led to demolition of nations and turn failures into successes. The policy of the states. Resultantly, tribes, sects and religion US under Obama regarding the above-men - have largely shaped the ideational issues and tioned dynamics can be summarised as an at - sensitivities, instead of states and nations. The tempt to transmute the negative dynamic into floodgates to sectarianism in the Middle East the positive dynamic and vice versa. In other have purposively been opened by imperialist words, the US, on the one hand, concomitant wars and interventions coordinated by the US. to derailing the Arab rebellions that have Thus, ISIL is indirectly a by-product of the im - shaken the autocratic and reactionary regimes perialist wars in this region. in this region, by means of making use of the political and organisational drawbacks of these A new period of disintegration in the revolts, has used these uprisings as means of Middle East imposing its imperial policies and projects. On the other hand, they want to prevent the re - Today it is clear that the strategy of “state gional and international forces from taking ad - building” of George W. Bush has led to the vantage of the vacuums caused by state and “state destroying“. (The Obama administration social disintegrations, which are simply the knows it. It would be superficial to interpret consequences of their policies, and to use them the bombings by the US – after the creation of as a means of restructuring. a broad coalition – as a transformation of The former case is demonstrable with the Obama into Bush.) case of Egypt, and the “fight against ISIL” The actuality we are faced with can be concretises the latter case. Clearly, the US has summarised with the following words: The aided ISIL, with which it only waged war very borders of the states and regimes fashioned by recently, as a pit-bull to subdue particularly the
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States and forces in the region. The overthrow nouncement of the decision “not to send of Nouri al-Maliki (former Prime Minister of ground troops,” and the reality of the need for Iraq), who had “crossed the line“ in Iraq was ground troops (admitted by the General Staff just an initial spin-off of this policy. In addi - of the US) to annihilate this enemy once and tion to utilising ISIL to upend the hegemonic for all. aims or projects of the states in the region (and As demonstrated by these conflicting fea - these states include Turkey, Saudi Arabia and tures, “the fight against ISIL” is not founded Qatar), this force is also used to reinvent the on the alleged claim: the necessity of eradi - tarnished image of the US in the region. These cating ISIL. Also, if one takes into account the developments have facilitated a shift in the ties statements of the leaders of the US, namely the states in the region have with one another that “this fight will take at least three years“ as well as giving birth to alliances among (the former president of the CIA and the Pen - states that share similar interests. For example, tagon, Leon Panetta, says same thing: “we are Iran has opted to formally stay out of the coali - going into a Thirty Years War!“), then one can tion and benefit from the somewhat blemished see that it is not so easy to explain what is hap - image of Turkey. On the other, the anti-Mus - pening in the Middle East simply by the events lim Brotherhood alliance between Israel, that have developed in the region. The impor - Saudi Arabia and Egypt has fostered the po - tance of the Middle East remains strategic tential for US’ new approach to yield exten - without any doubt. However, the role of this sive results. And Russia is aiming to build new region in the world hegemony scheme of the and close ties with the state of Turkey, which US is not identical to that imputed to it previ - now has growing disagreements with the US. o u sly. The US has declared the Asia-Pacific as The US has waited precisely for the being the epicentre of its world hegemony strengthening of ISIL. On account of being strategy, and today, partly owing to the advan - well acquainted with the logic, ideology, aims tageous position it has gained vis-à-vis shale and the “social reality” of this organisation gas and oil, it is the most powerful imperialist (the Sunni segments that have lost their old force in the region with the opportunity to pur - status), the US knew where and how ISIL will sue flexible tactics and options. In other attack once it gained ground and hence it has words, the Middle East is no longer the pivot based its intervention plan on this knowledge. around which the US strategy for world hege - However, this plan contains two clearly con - mony revolves. tradictory elements: The nature of the engagement that the US a) the disproportion between the existing has with this region is dependent upon the forces of ISIL (about 20,000 to 30,000 armed steps it can and cannot tread in accordance fighters) and the size of the coalition formed with its aims of world domination. This meas - against this organization (more than 40 coun - ure necessitates the following: hampering tries!). other imperialist and regional states’ attempts b) The contradiction between the an - at gaining important positions in the Middle
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East that would enable them to oppose or ship of “dependence” defined by that collabo - weaken the hegemony of the US! In fact, this ration. Particularly its policy towards Syria, is not unique to the steps the US takes in the linked to the theory of “deep strategy”, devised Middle East; it is a policy that it adopts world - by the current Prime Minister and former For - wide: making it impossible for any other force eign Minister had expansionist “neo-Ottoman“ to gain enough power to be on par with it, and hopes. Turkey has its own demands and ob - obstructing the attempts by the rival countries jectives. “Assad, President of Syria, will be by damaging their positions and opportunities. overthrown,” and they will go to pray in the Via Ukraine, it aims to upset the special rela - Umayyad Mosque in Damascus! To achieve tions between Germany and Russia, and via this objective, as reported by Joe Biden, the Japan and India, it aims to develop strategic US Vice President, in a speech at Harvard Uni - response to China’s hegemony in the region, versity, the Turkish AKP government will not and via ISIL, it aims to discipline the regional hesitate to do it all. Turkey has become the powers and limit the remit of its rivals etc. The port of entry and exit of the international Is - contemporary US is no longer aiming to create lamic Legionnaires. Turkey is risking itself in a “new world” – the coalition’s discourse is these adventures... not based on fighting for a thing, but against a What the regional policy of the AKP gov - thing ! The US’ priority is to fetter others from ernment, whose collapse no one can doubt any conceding positions that would enable them to longer, wanted to do, particularly during the modify the terms of the existing world order war in Syria, and what it actually led to is now of which it is the “seignior” of and thereby im - known to world public opinion. Still the gov - pede them from creating “a new world order” ernment is acting as a poker player who is that would challenge it. about to lose all his money! Seeing a sign of In this sense, the coalition that the US has weakness in the face of the opposing player, formed against ISIL is therefore a platform to he wants to raise the stakes. It also increased restrain and disciplining rival tendencies. The the conditions for its participation in the coali - US as a result of making “the fight against tion during negotiations with the USA: the es - ISIL” a protracted fight it is aiming to attain tablishment of a “buffer zone” in Syria (also time and try to shape and direct the regional known in recent days as a “safe zone”), that dissolution in tandem with its strategy for the zone be declared a “no-fly“ zone and that world hegemony. “the Syrian opposition forces“ (and the wel - come of exiles and refugees) be trained and The actual and assumed role played by armed in this safe zone. It is interesting to note the AKP government that the discrepancy between the axis of strug - gle proposed by the US and the real need to The regional policy of the Turkish AKP achieve the stated objectives of the final and government has not been limited to a simple rapid elimination of ISIL found exactly the op - collaboration with imperialism and a relation - posite reaction to the preconditions proposed
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by the AKP government for participating in ISIL. The prolongation of this issue will force the coalition. Here the situation can be sum - the Turkish government to abandon its ambi - marized as follows: if you pursue your own in - tious policies in the region. In fact, the rapid terests in the name of “the fight against ISIL,“ development of events in the Middle East has then I will link this struggle to the overthrow greatly limited the time for a Turkey that has of the Assad regime! still not resolved the Kurdish question. Turkey The AKP government insists that in order is the actor who must quickly change its posi - for them to give active support to the US-pro - tion. claimed-operation to “restraining and destroy - Indeed, the main dilemma of the US is the ing ISIL“ the coalition forces should aim to following: the limits imposed on its regional overthrow the Assad regime as well. By doing initiatives, in accord with its global strategy, this they believe the US would give in to their will inevitably allow other imperialist forces, demands. No matter how necessary a “ground starting with the European imperialists, new operation” might be militarily in order to opportunities in the region. In addition, the US achieve the declared objective, this does not tactics for the region involve achieving the oblige the US, which has a totally different maximum results with minimum commit - strategy, to meet Turkey’s conditions. Turkey’s ments and proposing a restrictive platform to main error in its calculation here is the fact that the other competing forces. This tactic, how - there is a significant difference between the ever, can lead to the opposite effect. Turkey is short-term objectives of the US commitments aware of this dilemma and is trying to make in the Middle East under Obama and the ob - use of it but it falls short in creating the effect jectives of engagement in the region under it desires. However, this does not mean that George W. Bush. some other imperialist countries cannot bene - The meaning of the blackmail of the fit from this dilemma more than the United “buffer zone” (as posited by the Foreign Pol - States had anticipated. In particular France and icy journal) is very clear: to guarantee that the Germany have acted quickly to offer “help”! United States would be directly involved mil - There is also another issue that should be itarily in the Syrian civil war.(3) Moreover, the highlighted here. The risk incurred by Turkey US defines its positions on this issue (in which is not simply that of not being able to imple - Russia, China and Iran are also actors), not ac - ment an ambitious regional policy. Moreover, cording to Turkey’s dead end policy on Syria, its blackmail policy involving preconditions to but according to what it needs to carry out, for tackle a real threat posed by ISIL, has only dis - world hegemony.(4) In summary, due to the credited Turkey in the eyes of world public above-mentioned tactics of the US, which is opinion and of the peoples of the region.(5) quickly renewing its industry and is trying to What is even more serious are the many con - restore its economy, the intrigue of the Turkish sequences that this ambitious plan, marked in government of the AKP will not work. The US part by a certain secterianism, has had and has “a long time” to wage the fight against continues to have in the internal politics of
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Turkey. At the time of this writing, during the new solution in its place. However, these is - clashes that have taken place in the demon - sues remain as open wounds. And it is pre - strations of support for the Kurdish resistance cisely these open wounds that leave Turkey in Kobane, about 40 people lost their lives. open to all these processes of the decomposi - The government has introduced legislation to tion of the states and communities of the Mid - create a climate to terrorize all those who pur - dle East and their clashes. In summary, as a sue citizens’ rights and to expand the powers result of the greed and ambition, the State and of the police is only one aspect of the situa - the Government of Turkey risk losing what tion. The other aspect is that the process of up - they already had. heavals in the Middle East and the domestic “policy of overtures,” Turkey’s so-called ini - The importance of the resistance of tiatives to resolve decades-long internal con - Kobane for the peoples of the region flicts, implemented by the AKP government with the expectation of bringing immense What is happening in the Middle East and gains to it in the region, were intertwined at a in particular the current position of the Kur - disadvantageous time for them.(6) dish people in the region and the democratic In other words, the AKP government, a struggle that it has waged has made the Kur - short period after coming to power, began with dish question a defining one, as never before its neo-Ottoman dreams unstick itself here and for the near future of Turkey. there from the elements of the “glue“ that “The peace process” initiated by the Kur - holds the Turkish nation together, formed by dish national movement, and for which the the Kemalists after a long period of resorting State has not taken any concrete action has in - to repression and denial. The “overtures“ to - troduced a dilemma in the internal politics of wards the Kurds, Alevis, Romanis, etc., to the government, but it still remains a “trump solve the historically deep problems of the card” in the regional dilemmas.7 Moreover, country have been declared, but despite the the positions taken by the AKP government, years that have gone by, there have been no faced with the fearless resistance waged by the real democratic steps taken to resolve them. Syrian Kurds in the town of Kobane against The government recognizes the main prob - the attacks by the Islamic State, show how dis - lems of the Republic, but rather it takes ad - tant the government is becoming from its own vantage of them to consolidate its domestic reality and that of the region. power and also to realize its imperial ambi - The reasons why the government wants the tions abroad. Instead of resolving these issues fall of Kobane by militants of ISIL are clear. in a bourgeois-democratic framework, the This town is one of the three cantons of the government makes them into instruments of Kurdish autonomy in Rojava, which is located its political tactics. It dissolved the old “glue“, in northern Syria. Moreover, this democratic which covered many national, religious and autonomy of Rojava represents a bad example regional problems, but it did not establish a that the Turkish state needs to eliminate, since
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it wants to keep negotiations with the Kurds in ian barbarism. It is precisely these two ele - Turkey at a minimal level. Moreover, this is ments that are confronting each other in not only for the inspiration that it can give to Kobane; this is not a coincidence. the Kurds of Turkey; Rojava also represents a Therefore, a US indifference to the fall of danger to the oil cooperation between Turkey this symbol, when it is claiming to be fighting and the Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq. against ISIS, would not only encourage this “The Kurdish oil“ in northern Iraq is sold to organization, but it would also discredit the the whole world through pipelines crossing new US initiatives in the region. The more Turkey. The existence of this autonomous re - Kobane resists the more it becomes a symbol, gion of Rojava in northern Syria represents a the more the intrigues to make it fall have risk of bypassing these pipelines.8 For all failed. After all, the more the AKP government these reasons, the AKP government has hoped stubbornly refuses to acknowledge this reality, for the fall of Kobane and furthermore it im - and therefore to really enter the coalition, the posed as a precondition for negotiations with more the US was driven to multiply the air the United States that the latter not intervene to bombardments to provide support to the pop - save this town. And the US complied with this ulation of Kobane. Finally, to further expand for some time, until it got what it wanted from this support, they stated that they had met di - Turkey. Furthermore, it was also in its interest rectly with the PYD.... that these cantons with certain anti-imperialist * * * characteristics not be consolidated and In Rojava, starting with the Kurds, the strengthened, because they represent a demo - Arabs, Armenians, Syriacs and Chechens have cratic example for the peoples of the Middle come together to establish a democratic au - East and because their struggle is led by an tonomy. One can have differences with the armed organization (PYD / PKK) [Democratic concept (democratic modernity, autonomy, Union Party / Kurdistan Workers’ Party]. radical democracy, etc.) that has inspired this However, these intrigues did not material - structure. It is even possible to think of it as a ize! The people of Kobane resisted heroically utopia, something reformist, and to think that and are continuing to resist. This resistance has its foundations are fragile.9 But none of this gone very far beyond the boundaries of the changes in any way the importance that Ro - town and has become a symbol for the whole java (Kobane) represents for the peoples of the world! Those forces that are confronting each Middle East. It means that the peoples of the other in Kobane in a way represent the past different nationalities and communities can and the future of the Middle East. work together in a democratic environment Although it is still not clear what will re - and determine their own future. They can do place what is now disintegrating in the Middle this with a democratic conception and spirit East, one can say that there are green shoots and they can fight collectively for it without of a democratic future for the peoples of the becoming part of an imperialist project or be - region as well as the risk of a primitive sectar - coming imperialist lackeys.
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Our Party supports this initiative of the tradiction. The surrogates of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, peoples of Rojava, this democratic conception who since 2003 have been responsible for many and spirit, this struggle that is exemplary for deadly attacks, took the name of Al-Qaeda in the peoples of the Middle East today. Iraq (The Islamic State of Iraq – ISI) in 2004. But this support should not be seen as a With the outbreak of the fighting in Syria, the simple question of solidarity. In fact, Turkey militants of the Islamic State of Iraq who went today is a country that, on the one hand, is to Syria founded the Al-Nusra Front under the open to the disintegration that is taking place leadership of Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani. The in the Middle East, to various provocations Al-Nusra Front managed to attract militants from and incitements of the peoples against each all regions of the world, from Georgia to Europe, other and, on the other hand, it is a country from Libya and Tunisia through Afghanistan, ruled by a government that is becoming ever which allowed its leader, Al-Joulani, to consoli - more violent to the degree that its failures are date control over the organization. Then in April aggravated and the mass struggle increases. 2013 the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), In this context in which the masses are Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, announced through a pushed to understand the events from a com - recording that the Al-Nusra Front was a branch munal, nationalist and chauvinist point of of the ISI and that the two organizations had view, our Party gives the utmost importance to united under the name of the ISIL. But the leader the broadest unity of the masses of different of the Al-Nusra Front said that this union had not nationalities around the democratic demands taken place and that they were affiliated with the and objectives as well as broadening the ac - leader of Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. In June tions to build this unity. of 2013, the latter said he was against such a merger of the two organizations, but al-Baghdadi October 2014 refused to obey this order. During this period the Labor Party (EMEP) – Turkey ISIL also carried out attacks on other Islamist www.emep.org groups, including against the militants of the Al- Nusra Front and quickly became the largest or - Notes: ganization in northern Syria. It managed to 1 Although the dynamism of the forces of the control the border posts and to form an emirate in ISIL now seems surprising, it is enough to con - the town of Rakka and thus became the owner of sider the ethnic communal schism, which ap - the oilfields. Towards the end of 2013, after hav - peared after the occupation of Iraq by the US and ing conquered the town of Deir ez Zur, near the how the attempts at intervention in Syria have border with Iraq, ISIL rapidly established rela - exacerbated these contradictions, to note that the tions with the Sunni tribes of the village of Al- scene that appears today is not a surprise... Al- Anbar, who were violently opposed to the Maliki Qaeda, which did not exist in Iraq before, found government in Iraq. After the murder of the fertile ground among the Sunnis who were dis - brother of the Sunni Deputy Ahmed el-Alvani in paraged in the context of ethnic-communal con - his home in an operation organized by govern -
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ment forces in the village of Al-Anbar in De - writing, has not been elected to be a member of cember 2013, the ISIL was able to conquer the the United Nations Security Council is related to towns of Ramadi and Fallujah. It then pro - this loss of its reputation. Moreover, some West - claimed the Emirate in Fallujah. Also ISIL, ern writers are beginning to state that to the ex - which had been supported by Turkey and Saudi tent that Turkey continues to pursue its policy Arabia on behalf of the successful interventions against Kobane, it should question its member - in Syria, quickly obtained the conditions to con - ship in NATO. quer the regions populated by Sunni tribes who 6 In other words, this interlinking occurs in a were in violent opposition to the Maliki govern - context in which it is not Turkey that is influ - ment in Iraq. encing the region, but on the contrary it is the re - 2 Obviously the issue is not limited with the gion that is influencing Turkey. consequencies of imperialist interventions. 7 The recent statements by the government Countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, etc. show that it is aware that not to unblock this have been states with a lot of difficulties because “peace process“ could cause it to lose its best of the disintegrated economies caused by wrold “trump card.” But it is not certain that the steps capitalism. Therefore, they have similar prob - that it claims to be ready to make will be suffi - lems with other countries in the region. cient to dispel the doubts that its policy of recent 3 “The United States needs Turkey to join the weeks have caused among the Kurdish people as fight against ISIL. But Turkey won’t do it with - to this “peace process“. out dragging the US deeper into Syria’s civil 8 According to the latest reports, the Parlia - war.” Kate Brannen, “Blackmail in the Buffer ment of the regional Kurdish autonomy in Iraq Zone“, Foreign Policy, October 15, 2014. decided “to establish official relations with Ro - 4 We cannot predict today whether or not java.” these measures will require a buffer zone in the 9 In our theoretical journals our Party has al - future. ready published its analysis of this concept and 5 The fact that Turkey, at the time of this the theories that have inspired this.
105 UNITY & STRUGGLE SPRING / SUMMER 2015
V E N E Z U E L A
Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Venezuela (PCMLV)
The study of Capital in the consolidation of Marxist-Leninist cadres
apital is one of the most important A short historical review of Capital Cworks of Karl Marx and Friedrich En - gels; although outlined and written primarily Capital first appeared in 1867 in the native by the former, it was completed by the latter language of the author (Das Kapital, Kritik der because Marx died without finishing his out - politischen Oekonomie); later, in August 1872, standing work. it was published in French, in installments for It fell to Engels to complete the work that ten centimes, which continued until 1875, took decades of the life of both of them, based being published after an exhaustive revision on manuscripts and with the help of Marx’s by the author. He not only revised but rewrote daughters. It is a work of great importance the text, introducing “changes and additions.“ that, despite the extensive and high level of This lead Marx himself to say: “Hence, what - specialization of the topics discussed, was pre - ever the literary defects of this French edition pared using a method which simplified the ex - may be, it possesses a scientific value inde - planations, first because its author took pains pendent of the original and should be con - to make it understandable, and second because sulted even by readers familiar with the working class, for whom it was written, German.”(1) can assimilate its content with remarkable ease After Marx’s death, his comrade Engels since it deals with issues they experience in and his daughter Eleanor Marx took up the everyday life. task of working on the original manuscripts to
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complete the second and third volume. Years The huge size of the work and its cost later the Marx-Engels-Lenin Institute of the made its purchase by workers difficult. There - USSR, as well as other publishers, took on the fore Marx and his publisher sought a practical task of reviewing all the quotations and find - answer: “The method of publication that we ing the exact sources from which they were adopted, a serial for ten centimes each, have taken. Hundreds of translations into various the advantage of allowing a greater number of languages have made of this extraordinary our friends to get their book, because the poor masterpiece a must reading for the serious stu - can only afford to pay for science with very dents of economy and especially for us Marx - little money; and the objective that you set will ist-Leninists, who find it an invaluable have been achieved: make your work accessi - contribution to the study and dissemination of ble to everyone.”(3) the scientific conception of society. We Marxist-Leninists should break down Some theorists have spread the idea that the myth of the inaccessibility of Capital and Capital is too complex a work, only under - encourage our members to study it, looking for standable by scholars. This may also be due to the method that will allow them to make prac - the fact that it is a voluminous book, which tical use of the explanations and ideas con - could frighten many people. Furthermore, the tained in this wonderful work. For such a task beginning of the work presents a degree of ab - the role of the party is very important in order straction able to intimidate, which has helped to promote its study and make practical use of to strengthen the image of intellectual inac - the understanding shown by Marx and Engels, cessibility. This was rebutted by the editor [of so that it does not remain a simple task of in - the French edition] La Chatre in a letter to tellectuals or for pure theoretical abstraction. Marx: “As for the fear that readers will be put For this reason the PCMLV has made known off by the dryness of the economic material its experience during 2014 which aims to dealt with in the first chapters, the future will make practical use of studying this work of tell us if this has merit. Let us hope that peo - Marx and Engels, promoting its scientific ple who take up your work, which has as its study and application to the militant action of main objective the study of economic doc - the party and its mass organizations. trines, will not stop reading it due to the appli - cation of your analytical methods; everyone A concrete experience with Capital will understand that the first chapters of a book should be used for abstract reasoning, a first As a product of the historical development requirement for burning topics that excite the of our work, and after several years of at - spirit, and only gradually can they arrive at the tempts, our party has developed the first solution of social problems discussed in the school of Capital , in which the cadres of the following chapters. I am convinced that all PCMLV will learn the investigative and ex - readers will want to continue until the end of planatory method of Marxism and the deeper your magnificent theories.”(2) knowledge contained in this great work.
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Many people may ask how a party in strug - From the beginning significant results have gle with countless tasks to take up can dedi - been seen, since the group of facilitators has cate itself to investigating and bringing its had to develop intense individual study and cadre to a school on Capital ; for us the answer team discussion sessions, in addition to is in the question itself: the more complicated preparing their exposition. This has raised the the scene of struggle, the deeper must be our theoretical level and has led to discussions, understanding and the higher our preparation. even in the Central Committee, to unify crite - For this reason we have made an effort, after a ria on the interpretations and expositions; fur - year of final preparation and a great number ther, it has promoted among the members the of meetings and discussions to define the search for answers to many questions that method and facilitators of this task. We con - arose in individual study. cluded with a method that combines individual By the end of 2014 about 30 cadres of our with group study, of facilitators and partici - party will have completed the first cycle of pants, the preparation of areas and the tech - study of the three volumes of Capital and an - niques to adjust the system of study to obtain other similar group is preparing to complete the best result. this study by the end of 2015. Among the various objectives planned for The task has been difficult but rewarding the First School of Capital for the cadres of and we hope that it will serve for exchanges the PCMLV, there are: 1. To deepen the un - with other fraternal parties that have devel - derstanding of the economic foundations of oped experiences of this kind or who are will - the functioning of capitalist society, 2. To Con - ing to take part in them. solidate the concepts of Marxist political econ - omy, 3. To raise the ideological and political CC of the PCMLV level and the unity of the party cadres, 4. To Venezuela deepen the investigative and explanatory September 2014 method of Marxism-Leninism. Explanations of the facilitator, videos and Notes: questions are combined with previous work 1 Marx, Capital , Afterword to the French sessions, among the facilitators, which have edition, 1875. been extended for a year, and which ended 2 Letter from Maurice la Chatre to Marx. with two consecutive days of study for each June of 1890. From the Spanish edition of volume, with an interval of one month for the Capital by Cartago Publishers. next. 3 Ibid.
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