rnational WPOINT lssue 235 September 28, 1992 81.50;$2.75; C$3;16FF A year of Yeltsin
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* France: befole the Maastricht referendum # Poland; revival of workerc struglglles * BtaziFthe last daYs of Mr. Glean? CONTENTS RUssrA L2 PERU 24 Contents JOYLESS anniversary of COVERNMENT preens il sell failed coup highlights debate on capture of guerilla leader, but economic situation over economic strategy - BRAZIL 3 Poul Funder Larsen continures to deteriorate - Roland Wood THE impeachment of a Plus tamished "Mr. Clean" reopens A CU IDE to Russian political pafiies Hans-Jurgen GREECE 26 question of govemmental - power can the Workers Schultz SOCIALISTS oppose - chauvinist hysteria Pafty meet the challenge? - Alfonso Moro - INDIA L7 Document PROGRAMME of Plus FRANCE 4 liberalization and deregulation STRIKE wave threatens hits women hardest Vibhuti rightwing govemment MAASTRICHT referendum: a - Patel - Nicos Simeonides plebisicite on austerity - Maxime Durand ISRAEL 19 THEIR MONEY AND RABIN govemment ouRs 28 ECONOMY 6 M A DN ESS on the markets welcomed by the West but RAVAGES of free market fuel Colin Meade - Palestinians look for - calls for state intervention Plus - something more than empty but where do interests of IV FUND and circulation geslures Michel workers lie? Ernest Mandel drives continue ! - Warshawslq CORRECTION POLAND 9 ELSALVADOR 20 lN previous editions of /Yan STRIKES multiply as incorrect number for postal transfers AFTER a war that ended in govemment attacks last stalemate, what kind of peace (322 42\ has been published: you remnants of self-management will find numbet (2 wil follow? - Paquito the correct 322 - Jan Malewski Gomez and Rudie Hasting 42T) printed on the form below. * Payment: French lrancs pielerred. Cheques to PEC. Postal translers Subscribe to PEC, CCP No. 2 322 42T Paris. Bank lranslers to PEC, BNP Robespierre, Account 230179/90. ? IMPOBTANT: ALL BANK OF now a POSTAL TRANSFERS MUST ALSO BE NOTIFIED BY LETTER Subscriptions and correspondence to lnternational Viewpoint, 2, rue Bichard Lenoir,93'108, Montreuil, France SUBSCRIPTION RATES All surtaco maal and EEC ahmail: tr 1 year 280FF; e28; $48 tr 6 months 150FF; f,15; 928 Airmail (non-EEC): Eu@pe outsi.te EEC'J 1 year 3O0FF; 830; 951 O 6 months 16OFF; Cl6;$29 Middle East, I'lorth Africa, North Ameical 1 year 340FFi 834; g5? tr 6 months leOFFi 818;$32 Asia, Arrlca, Latin Amefica tr 1 year 380FF; E38; 964 D 6 months 200FF; e20;935 Oceania J 1 yeat 420FF; e42; $70 O 6 months 220FF; t22; g38 (Please tick where appropriale; Dollar prices all uS dottars) (BLOCK LETTERS PLEASE) Last name-..... First name...... Address...... City...... Country...... Code...... 2 Renewal ol existing subscription New subscrip on (ptease indicate) lnternational Viewpoint# 235 4 September 28, 1992 BRAZIL
and among the ftiends of the president has not stopped growinS; Pero Pablo The last days of Leoni, former Secretary oI Stratepic Affairs. is mixed up in the scandal of the state oil firm Petrobras; Jorge Fuiza, Mr. Glean? currenl minister of Social Affairs. recei- ved 100.000 dollars from the Brazilian Federation of Banls as a penonal dona- THE findings of the parliamentary commission of inquiry tion to his electoral campaign; former (PCl) cleariy show that Brazilian president Fernando Collor, Dresidenlial secretary Claudio Vieira is "anti-establishment"' Mr' Clean ticket, accused of having used confidential elecied in t-ggO on an debt bonds. set up by information to buy foreign benefited directly trom the nelwork of corruption Collor's own wife, former president of his lormer campaign treasurer, influential businessman the Brazilian trgion of Aid (LBA), had of Paulo Cesar Farias. With the release ol the PCI'S report to leave her post after the discovery ol Collor's trial, the president's manv ifiesularilies recorded during her and the beginning time in th-is organi/alion The list of resignation seems imminent. examples could go on endlesslY. It ii clear rhat lhis govemmenl is cha- lisl of corrupt acti- ALFONSO MOBO September 4, 1992 racterized by a long - vities of everv kind, and Collor is in the driver's seat. This is why it is not suffi- manoeuvres and corruption HEN president Collor up atl rhe cient tlrat Collor alone resigns, and why to light app€ared on television in which are now coming his entire team should be condemned' Collor govemcd the early June in an Once in Dower, of course. those same interest groups - mirmer' He attempt to convhce the countn in an authorilarian which before sang the praises of Collor austerity program on ooDulation of his innocence he had a implemenled hi. the redeemer want to avoid such a 'giite - focussing panicul?Lrly on ar tris side. ln so doing. he hoped the population. condemnation at all costs. whom he rccused of the people would forgive him for the the union', privileBes With his sins everyone knew he had commitled: enioying enormous order of friends. poputarty Crisis of ruling the acts of comlplion. embezzlement intimate circle of Alagoas"' accusations of cor- and other crime' for which he is now known as the "Repubtic Faced with these place a system which the and social beinP iudsed. Since lhen he has had Collor pul into ruption. Political people'\ savings and currenl the Brazilian sfale and funhei oplonuniries lo explain himself confiscaled crisrs of in the banks At order. which began with on tetevision; after each appearance he accounts o[deposit rulins time he to Put the e"nd of the military dictator- becomes even more unPopular than the same Proposed inflation in one fell ship in 1984, deePens each before. lndeed. a majority of Brazilians an end to according to him dav. We are witnessing a Pro- are now demanding his resignation' swooo. whrch required that everyone \iBhten their cess of recomPosition of the whose Moral foundations b€1t". different social forces. A little less than two Years later, end is far from sight. The presidential elections Collor won the Bmzil devastated bY a sPiral of government has lost all a time as govemor of the - rs and even of 1989, after mounting hyPer inflation - social legitimacy small and impoverished northeastern going through a deeP though the call for Col- to re-esta- state of Alagos. with pledges economic recesslon lor's resignation is a cor- ot socletyl blish the moral foundalions The wealth of the ! recl democratic demand put end to lhe ntordo' he vowed to an countrY remains in from an ethical Point of by the mdra- miar (privilegest received the hands of a tiny view, it is the verY model public ofllcials lcs (the nami given lo privilcged minoritY: of society in the country financial and oho en.loy signiiicanl 18% of the national that is at the hean of the same time he materiaibeneilts). At the wealth is concentrated cuIrert conflict. panies in general' took aim at political in the hands of 17. of The official media. the denouncing ihem as being responsible the population one rithtw ing Parties' the army This approach - tor the country's crlsis of the highest concentra- and the bosses have trend ilrs in wett with the neo-liberal tions of wealth in the demanded a to fur- sweeoing. rhe world which seeks world. At the same "negotiated transi- political ltfe ther di.ince people from rime. more than l8 tion". in which Col- dirtY and - a life chaiacierized as billion dollars have lor would be replaced by his vice-pres'- meant onlv for the experienced' been sent abroad to service the coun- dent Itamar Frinco, former member of the presidential In rhe second round of try's debt, rhe Partv of the Brazilian Democratic only lwo candidates remained (PMDB). This would allow elcclions, the hunter of maraias Morement in th. race Collor and Lui\ Ignacio Meanwhile, implementation of the immediately jusl how flr hts the continued da Silva. popularly- Lnown as Lula ' ;howed economic and social pro- hvDocritical moralizing could 8o' nco-liberal oresident ofihe Workers Party tPT) pram which has already inflicted severe trideed. rhe comrption. influence pedd' lnd supponed by the Brazilian People's on the population since lgq0' lins. and so on of which he is loda) ir..n. rr.,nt iFBPt. Aimost all the media and end to lhe current conflicl' are not only of his doing Since Such"an a big iegment of the bourgeoisie sup- """ir.ed cenain not to resolve the cflsls the beginning of his mandate the thoush oorid iollor. unleashing an openly leiitimacy of the stale and lhe regi- 3 amount of corruptlon in lhe minlstrles ot anti-communisl campaign and covering Viewpoint Seplember 28, 1992 a # 235 lnternational BRAZIL / FRANCE
me. would produce a Collor govem- They undertook political alliances ment. without Collor. with other panies, borh in Parliameot The mirage ard in the sreets. Once the PCI was Explosion of scandal designated, the PT organized rhe fight to ensure that the inquiry was not shut It is no accident thal in response lo the of down, as was desired by those seeking explosion of the scandal people like the to save the image of the principal cunent minisler of lhe economy. Marci- defen- dant, president Collor, lio Marques Moreira, have gone to great At the begiming Maastricht lengths inside and outside the coun- of July, rhe narional leadership try to- insist that the economic pro- of the PT pledged its com- - mitment the Bram of the government will not chan- to struggle for Collor,s resignation. THE possibility ge, even without Collor. In so ot a "no" doing, he pT hopes to calm lhe nerves of intematio- Meanwhile, inside the a debare vote in the French took place nal creditors, the lntemational Monetary wirh one side wanring to referendum on the Fund (lMF) limit the political acrion of lhe pafly and rhe Brarilian ruling lo Maastricht Treaty on class, the narrow confines of parliament - European Unity Everyone is now desperarel) lrying lo that is, defending the perspective of on save their skin. lronel Brizola. central electoral struggle and preser\ ing Ihe September 20 has been leader of the Democratic Workers panv alliance with orher panies. On rhe orher widely given as one reason (PDT) and cunent govemor of rhe sta; side were those who wanted to give for the current financial of Rio de Janeiro, has always held a plonty to mass mobilization withour to crisis in Europe. But, as populist line. For some time he has abandoning the insritutional terrain. been an open supporter of Collor: accor- arguing rhat, following lhe probable Maxime Durand explains in dingly at the beginning of resignation the July - when of the presidenl, llamar article below, the source Foof against Collor came to light _ he Franco's lenure in government should ol the economic disorder declared rhar lhe president was the vic_ only be lemporary so lhat early elec- lies much tim of a conspiracy designed deeper; to over_ lrons could be held- lurthermore throw him, In mid-August, after lhe Even if ir is difficull lo guaranlee Maastricht demonstration a of more than 150.000 real mass mobilizalion of the popula- means more austerily, thus people which took place in Rio de lion. this second oplion is more cofiecr a deeper recession and Jaleiro with the slogan, among others, even though we have yet to see the additional reasons "the govemor of Rio - lor suppons a lhief. creation of a real organized movement. Brizola decided to change financial chaos. camps, This is the greal challenge facing rhc hoping in this way lo appear as qreat a PT. the only political and social force defender of democracy. MAXIME capable of offering a genuine solution to DURAND' We have seen the same kind of beha_ the coun!ry's current crisis. y]o_!r flom the Liberal Front pany (PFL). It has l4% of parliamenlary Municipal elections HATEVER the outcome deputies, and has been the principal sup_ porter of govemment. of the French referendum the Collor coun- It should be recalled that rhe Collor ted on the Maastricht Treatv on rhis pany ro help him prevent rhe affair is reaching its climax one month on European union, th! openrng ot a polirical trial againsl him, before ,.no" the municipal elections, schedu- rise in suppon for a but they are now keeping has revealed the lheir dislanre led for Ocrober 1992. true from him face oI Euro-democracy. When lhe Moreover, a referendum on the form weight of forged evidence is not enough to The press and media who had for rhe govemment of desired by the Brazilian gel a con\tclion. the establishment most parl acted as propaganda looks agents people is supposed to be organized for for the hand ofrhe devil. lor the governnent are also taking their 19q3. These two facrors [f we are dtslance. also iuslify the to believe the kind of articles now presenling themselves as holding of early elections. alirhe morc appearing in the French press at the end of the defenders of morality and the rulin8 so since the govemment as such no lon_ Augusl. the danger of a vore against Maas. order. Papers llke Folha de Soo paulo ger exisrs. given irs roral losr of legiri- rricht on Seplember 20 was the direcr and O Jornal do Erasil, Iike rhe televi- macy. cause of the fall in the dollar. while the sron monopoly O Globo, have deman_ The PT presl lg iou \ pro-government ded ftar the whole affair quicklv is today faced with a decisive dar lt le be setl- ll4onde devoted test the perspective a whole lront page lo a led and rhar. above all. the economic - of govemmental power ts once again on concocted catastrophe scenario. proSram applied unril now should nor lhe agenda. In fact, the dollar,s fall and its be changed. This possibiliry, while ir open.s up a effects on the European curency started qua)iratively different siruarion as much even before the opinion for Brazil as for rhe whole polls, and its causes lie elsew_ Role of Workers party of Latin here. America, will nol become a reality The The cunent economic buzzword conclusions reached by lhe pCI unless the actions of the pT remain is defla- cannot be rion. It is used lo describe a sluggish world e\plained withoul unde^rrn. clearly in rhe camp ofradical and demo_ economy whrch is refusing ding the role played by rhe Workers cratic opposition to Collor. lo respond to an) ol the remedies promoted Parly. From rhe end of Mav Above all, the bv lh€ lgg2 . majoriq, of the popula_ variour onwards. economic purus. On top of this is the national execuliv; of the tron must find its voice in a conscious lhe vast \reighl lhe P[ was commifled lo calling and of debl\ accumulaled for a nalio_ organized movement so that it is nal mobilization on all sides during the 1980s. It thus looks for the esrablishment ot ready and able ro defend- a democratic as if lhe co\is oflhe system 4 a commission of inquiry. and popular govemment. - meaning its * rnabrttt) lo regain a minimum dynamism lnternational Viewpoint # 2g5 a September 28. .1992 FRANCE
- has set in for the longterm. The economic stupor takes place in a The I "no " to Maastricht context of disorganization thal is enough to THE French and Euro-establishments have been pulling out all the explain the fall of the dollar. High German stops to gel a "yes" vote in the Seplember 20 reletendum in Fran- inlere\t rales are drawing in capital: eve- ce on the Maastrichl Treaty on European Union, An unending ryone wants to own deutschmarks rather parade ol Eurocrats, experts and celebrities have predicted the than dollars. The resulting rise in the mark direst catastrophes. One of the highlights has been the stage- throws the European monetary syslem o[l managect "debate" between pro-Maastricht French president Fran- balance; the British pound, falling sharply Mitterrand and the Gaullist advocate ol a "no" vote, Phillippe within a hair's Qois against the mark, comes S6guin, betore a hand-picked audience ol eight "yes" and six "no" hreadth of devaluation. while the defence supporters. of the strong franc rules out any cut in The choice of S6guin was signitlcant! apart trom boing tipFd French inlere\t rales. The monetary disor- as a possible member ot a luture Mitterrandist centre coalition, his der strengthens the obstacles to growth, presence told the public thal the opposltion to Maaslricht comes already stifled by austerity policies. exclusively ,rom the right. Furlhermore, there were no left critics The moral of all this is that the system ol Maastricht from the Communist Party, lhe Greens, the ,ar left does not need bad opinion polls for it to or lhe antFMaaslrichl- current in Mitterrand's own Soclalist Party slump into depression and that the good in lhe audience. health of curencies is obtained at the - But there is, in fact, signillcant support lor a "no" to Maastricht expense of jobs. In France we have a trom the lelt, an oppqsition based nol on ,ear of toreigners and strong cunency and high unemployment. appeals to national sovereignty, but on lhe treaty's anti-working class and pro-auslerily content. The Ligue Communisle R6volutio- The president speaks naire (LCH French section of the Fourth lnternational) has been at centre- ot eftorts to explain why workers and all progressive' Would the measures envisaged in the lhe minded people should relect lhe troaty; it has also toughl hard to Maaslricht Treaty improve thingsl In his ensure lhat the letl opposition remains untainted by nationalism big Tv appearance lo defend the treaty, and xenophobia. Throughout France tho LCR has helPed to build Mitterrand used a new French President meeiings lo pul forward the case tor a lettwing "no", drawing a single market set up by the ioint argument: in lett Socialists, Greens, dissident Communists and other lar left would be incomplete: it Single Act alone currents. lts camPalgn cutminated in a big rally in Paris on Sep' $ould one of a poorly conlrolled libera- b€ tember 17. to have '-''itri'riJit lism. It would b€ highly dangerous issue of ,ywlll repo( on the results ol the reterendum without a single currency. a single market and give a more detailed account ol lhe progress ol the leftwing (and a series of lf this is true. Mittenand "no" to Maastrichl ln France. * Eu(rrats) should resign for incompetence, since in 1988 he went into battle for the Single Act and has been praising its merits ved at the level of the overall economy ever since. The basic swindle is well- On the other hand the economic effect of quo monetary union would pose tew prol known from business: they sell you the a "no" would be a retum to the status then governments have blems (at least ftom an economic point of basic gadget cheap, but you then find that ante; the capilalist offer other than austerity view). But Maastricht puts the cart before all the accessories needed to make it work nothing els€ on proposing that monetary union are very expensive. whatever the result. the hone, is predicting conver- In fact there is no reason to suppose that The pro-Maastricht camp should be the engine of economic they lose this rhe single market would be incompatible all kinds of catastrophes if gence. Even those economists who are argu- with lhe existinB European monelar) \)s- referendum. ln fact, however. lhe most enthusiaslic ahul l\4aastrichl envisa- them. No study tem. The margins of flucluations are not ment can b€ tumed against ge an incomplete monetary union, without Maastricht greal and lhe financial erpens have a fair demonstrating the benefits of the southem European countdes. Which is for the grasp of the risks. Furthermore they have has yet been published. This makes you wonder about the Point of are all bad and are been at pains to a.sure us lhat lhe possibili- good reason that they signing a trcaty that everyone in lhe know wraps. Only one ty of a "no" vo{e has alteady been taken thus being kept under agle€s cannot be implemented. has slipped out. Claude Soula into account by speculators. IMF study This brings us to the heart of the matter: comments in le Nouvel ObsetYateur As for the single currency, the present the Maastricht Treaty is a sort of plebiscite rAugusr 6. 1992) on lhis linle semi-offi- mechanisms preserve a degree of flexibili' on austerity; approval of the treaty will be cial study" and ils conclusions which he ty that has been tested to the limit during taken as a mandate for continuing and tou- finds "hardly surprising; in fact a child rhe recent excitement. [t is hard to see how ghening the austerity policies aheady in could could have reached them; when states go a more riSid post-Maast cht system operation lhroughout Europe. The drastic dollar on a strict diet... growth slows and unem- have coped with lhe fall in the plans recently announced in Spain and pieces, Dlovment rise\", Thi\ is uhat is hidden without exploding into Portugal arc related to the demands of thus distinguish between the inder all the pro-Maastricht Euro-guff. We should "convergence" and foreshadow the catas- significance of the Indeed the whole single cunency project Dolilical and economic wor- a of bizane feti- trophes planned for the continent's Seotember 20 referendum. On the political is the expression of form the final cause kers. For them, a 'no" vote is simply a level. a French no" would bring the unity shism which sees money as s€nsible defensive reaction. * process g nding to a hah. As Herv6 Monet and effect of economic life. plan convergence of put in the Lc Morde on Seplember 8. 1992. The Maastricht ior means i'negative developments could be exPected the economies of the EC states between in the shon tenr". However "it is cerlain trying to achieve a rapprochement . This anicle firsr appeared in rhe Scpremb€r l0' diflerent as those of Germa- ls92 issue of fte Fre,rch revotutionarv Marxist that a 'yes' would mean a better immediate economies as 5 were to be achie- situation". ny and Portugal. If this
September 28, 1992 a # 235 lntenational viewpoinl ECONOMY
AS the disastrous been influential since lhe Reagan/Thal- consequences of cher era. super-free market In fact there is nothing aulomatic The twilight of about this process. Keynes' arguments policies become on this subject are convincing. Capita- apparent, voices lists are under no obligation to invest a are being raised monetarr lt their extra income in production. They in capitalist and may prefer to store the income away or use it for speculation. Even when they social democratic invest. this may be in rationalization of circles demanding state intervention to revive the production that cuts jobs. This was the economy. But what are the real history and real dominant form of investment in the implications of such "neo-Keynesianism"? And where do t970s. In reality, capitalists do not work "for the interests of working people lie? the general interest". They make choices aimed at maximizing their pro- EBNEST MANDEL- fits, and this must lead periodically to rises in unemployment and more or less p.otracted economic crises. During I T WAS the Enslish economist a tendency for the budget deficit to these crises the mass and the rate of I ,onn ntuynuro Ke\nes \r'lro Lr\t grow *ithout any corresponding bene- profit fall. Then the resloration of pro- I o"ua,ooao tne tneor\ thal ir bud- ficial effects on employment. On the fits becomes the absolute priority for I gcr oerrcrt couro De useo ro cum- contrary, since the wage-workers pay the bourgeoisie. An increase in the rate bat economrc criri' and unemploymenr. the bulk of taxes, the growth in the of exploitation of the workforce the Workers' organizations in man; coun- public debt implies a redist bution of rale of surplus value. according- to tries accepted this idea, proposing high national income from the working class Marx s formulation - is the key instru- levels of spending. in particular on to the bourgeoisie. menl for lhis. It is no accident thar aus- public works, as a way of reviving the However, does not the growth in the terity policies are being implemented economy. The various anti- everywhere. In the last analysis, unemployment plans of the "monetarist" deflation and Key- second half of the 1930s were nesian inflation arc two valiants also inspired by this concep- of the same orientation. tion. The histodcal balance-sheet From a rheoretical point of of the Keynesian policy is, fur- view, raising overall demand themore, clear. The most pro- (effective disposable purcha- mising experiment, Roosevelt's sing power) given in a country New Deal in the United States, will facilitate a recovery inso- ended in failure. Despite the far as there is pro- disposable rise in public spending, it ended ductive capacity (unemployed in the crisis of 1938, when workers. stocks of raw mare- t unemployment reached l0 mil- rials and intermediary pro- lion. It was massive rearma- ducts, mach ines work ing ment which reduced mass below capacity). These unused unemployment. resources .ue mobilized by the This confirms Rosa Luxem- additional purchasing n power burg's post-First World War created by the budget deficit. prediction; she saw the arms 0nly when these reserves are economy as a "substitute mar- exhausted do you get rhe fatal ket", that is to say as providing onset of inflation. il new outlets for the sale of But there is a snag. In order goods and the realization of sur- for the budget i deficit nor to plus value. In fact, arms fuel inflation before spen- full ding served as the motor force employmeft is reached, direct of the expansion of the entire taxes must increase the in economy in the United States same proportion as income. after 1948, and this expenditue However the bourgeoisie pre- underpinned the "long wave of fers to buy state bonds rather expansion" between 1950 and than pay taxes, since the for- 1970, even if at rhe price of a mer make them money. Fur- budget deficit and permanent thermorc, tar evasion is a uni- inflation. versal phenomenon in the The other big stimulant for bourgeois society of the lare 2Oh cenlu- Srowth has been ballooning credit, that ry. Thus the budget deficir income is almost of capitalists stimulate invest- ir to ray an increase in the indebledness always accompanied by a growrh in the ment and thus employment? This was public debt. the argument advanced by supponers of * Servicing this debt eats up a growing the "supply-side" recovery, who oppo- Th€ foUowing anict€ has been rranstated from the Augusr 28. pafl of public spending. so rhar there sed Keynes in lq92 isru. olz a,?./r., a Swis rcvotu. 6 i\ the 1930s and who havc tionary Mdisl fonniShlty.
lnternational Viewpoint # 2gS a September 28, 1992 ECONOMY
private have be Subsidies to enterprise llilt etetYthi4 increased. Unemploymenl and wide- *flet thz ning social inequalities have been sti- bette? oui ! xolt I rf etnlw? mulated. ln the last 20 years the number of unemployed in the OECD countries has risen fourfold. The overall social effecls have been even more disastrous. You can leam on any college course on economic deve- \) lopment anywhere in the world that the J most productive long-Em investments are those in education. public health and infrastructure. However the neo- liberal dogmalisls overlook rhis ele- mentary ruth when they approach pro- I blems from the point of view of an "equilibrium" lhal must be re-establi- ). flnil shed at any cost. Their favourite targets a for cuts are precisely education, health frar1. care, social security and infrastructure, with the inevrtable harmful effects, I including on productivity. Does this mean that socialists should of big firms and better off households classes were to profit, and with what prefer traditional Keynesianism and Even small scale credit to relativeli results for society and the economy as a variants o[ the wellare state to lhe poi- depriyed sections of the population whole? sonous cocklail oI monetarism and neo- increased rapidly after lhe 1974-75 Keynesianism curreltly on offer? If our recession. both in the USA and Europe. Austerity oflensive answer is positive, it must be heavily In the poslwar period the capihlisl eco- qualified. Traditional Keynesianism nomy floated to prospe tY on a sea ol From this poinl of view the facts implies various forms for the exercise debt. The debt counled in dollars (lea- speak tbr themselves. Reagan/Thatcher and division of power u ithin the frame- ving aside that counled in other curren- neo-Keynesianism. connected with the work of bourgeois society. This leads to cies) has reached the astronomical sum so-called monetarist imperatives, has various forms of social contract and of some $10,000 billion, of which the brutally reinlorced the ausrerily offen "consensus" \.!rlh Ihose who cunently Third World Debt represents a mere sives everywhere. Social spending and hold economic power. on lheir lerms. t5E . spending on infrastructure have been This is a purely one-way consensus, This debt explosion is anorher substi- cut: arms spending has expanded mas.i- and it runs counter to an essenlial prio- lule market. rl creales additional pur- vely in the USA and Britain and to a rily: the defence of lhe immediate inter- chasing power which can counteract the lesser extent in Japan and Germany. ests of the workers and the pursuit of effects of the inherent contEdictions of the capitalist system. However the benefits have a time limit; the gro- wing debt fuels inflation and beyond a cenain point this begins to hinder rather than aid expansion. This explains the change from the ttrt long wave of expansion to that of Irttt t depression which took place at the end of the 1960s and the start of the t 1970s. t There is something bizane in the way in which neo-liberal dogma- tists contrast their "supply-side" policies to those based on creating demand through deficit budgeting. Never, in fact, have budget deficits been higher than under the neo-libe- ,( rals' champion Ronald Reagan. The same is to a large extent true of the reign of Mrs Thatcher. They imple- mented record breaking neo-Keyne- sian prcgrammes while all the time professing quite the opposite faith. The real debate was not about the size of the budget deficit, but what ?t arrrr^ it was used for. What social classes or major sub-groups of social 7
September 28, 1gg2 a # 235 lnternational viewpoint ECONOMY
the objeclives of the new social move- ments. Such a defence requires the The i nternational ist alternative maintenance or reconquest of political independence by the working class. THEBE are only two consistent approaches for workers, their Furthermore. tradilional Keynesia- unions and the new social movements in their conlronlation with nism is only the lesser evil compared to the growing internationalization of capital and the increasing a deflationary policy insofar as it leads power ol the mullinalionals. to a rapid and radical fall in unemploy- The lirst is that ol collaboration wilh their "own" ruling class ment. However, in presenl conditions againsl "the Germans", "the Americans", "lhe Japanese" or whoe- neo-Keyne s ian ism is leading to an ver. Such an orientation can only luel chauvlnism, xenophobia increase in unemploymenl and the mar- and racism. lt is also a policy which olfers no perspective. The ginalization o[ growing sections of the multinationals can alvrays find a country where wages are lower, population. lt is doing nothing to stem working condilions poorer and democratic liberties more restric- the realization of the fleo-liberal plan ted. The road o, delence ot "our industry" means to enler upon a for a "dual society", that is to say .rn spiral oI decline lor incomes, working conditions and democratic instrturionalized division of the work- rights, in the name of competilion. ll means levelling down. force and the gror.r ing degradation of its The second policy and the only effective one in lhe medium least secure seclor. The depoliticization term is that ol cooperation- belween workers and social move- and despair that this feeds provides a ments- throughout Europe (and beyond) wilh the aim o, delending breeding ground for the growth of a pasl gains and raising the wages and conditions of workers in the "neo-fascist" far right. less favoured countries towards those existing in more forlunale Lare capiralism. funhermorc. iS mar- lands, This orientation would also involve Europe'wide proposals ked by a far greater level of intematio- on the whole range of social, economic and ecological issues. nal concentration and centralization This would be rhe only tramework broad enough for such propo- lhan in lhe pasl. Multinalional or lrans. sals to be etfective. national films are now the main form of It ls true that nuances between centre-right and centre-left can organization of big capital. Less than be detected in the "European" institutions; these have been seen 700 of them contrcl large parts of the over lhe Social Charter. Nor can we be wholly indifterenl when it world marker. [aced with lhese all- comes to supporting a better against a worse position. However, powerful transnationals, the traditional whatever the nuances, there is unanimity on the need for an aus- nation state is increasingly less capable terity policy. of effectively applying a cohercnt and We should not oppose the Maastricht Treaty in the name ot effi cieff economic policy. giving priority to polilical action inside the national state, On the contrary, we should support any initiative which ,osters aware- Decline in state inlervention ness ot lhe need tor common action and solidarily on a European scale. Nor is this in contradiction with defensive battles at a natio- Of course. multinationals are not the nal level. only form of big enterprise. Beside An essenlial moral aspecl ot such a policy is tor the workers lhem essenlially 'nalional llrms contr- and social movements to revive the principle and sentimert ol nue to exist as well as public and seur- solidarity, well expressed in the motio of American trade unlo- public enterprises. Thus the economic nism: "an iniury to one is an iniury to all".-E. M. * role of the state has not fallen to zercr. Nonetheless the long term tendency is some of the real anributes of a state. this mean a "Europe of the five"? The towards a grxdual decline in rhe effi- This tums out to be more complicated mechanism is by no means as well oiled ciency of the economic interventionism than expected. Thus. European unifica- as EC Commission president Jacques of the national state. The neoliberal tion remains suspended betwcen a Delors pretends. ideological offensive is to a large extent vague confederation of sovereign states On top of this there is a time-bomb: the product and not the cause of lhi\ and a European federation with some of the medium term effects of the so-cal- basic evolution. the characteristics of a state, with a led "budgetary stabilization" on the Faced with the rise of transnational single currency, a central bank, a com- economic situalion and on employmenl enterprises. the nadonal stale is no lon- mon industrial policy, in panicular. According to a confiden- ger an adequate economic instrument and agricultural joint almy policc tial note from the OECD these will be for lhe dominant factions of the bour- and forces and finally govemmental very bad, a conclusion supported by geoisie. However, the ruling class needs a central authority. The institutions embodied in rhe several studies. the state for self-defence. lt needs a The provisions Single Act or the Maastricht Treat) mere facl that the of nation slate to defend ils specific inter- thc Maastricht Agreement mean a tou- reflect this hyb d character. They are ests including in lhe various super- ghening of austerity policies should be - pre or semi-state forms, with the real national bodies against its foreign enough for the wo*ers' movement and - power competitors. [t needs the state to absorb resting in the hands of the EC's the Ieft to reject them. economic and social crises. And it Council of Ministers. that is to say in However we should not be fooled. needs the state for repression in case of that of lhe l2 associared govemmenrs. Under cover of "budgetary discipline", explosive socio-political crises. Real surrenders of sovereignty are few. Maastricht offers nothing more than an Insofar as the national state becomes The Maastricht Agreement requires excuse for the continuation and toughe- less useful. the effofl is made to subsri- of lhe states that rhey reduce thetr bud- ning of austerity policies that the tule supranational institutions for il. get deficits to 3olr of Gross Domestic go\ ernmenls concerned are alread) However, important political, culrural Product (GDP) in the name of monetary implementing. And it is these policies and ideological obstacles have to be stability. Few states will achieve this that have to be fought above and I overcome if lhese latter are to take on goal by 1996 or even i997 or 9li. Will beyond the Maasricht Treaty. *
lntemational Viewpoint # 235 4 September 28, 1992 POLAND
gotiable, and has thus reached usurious Workers strugigfles proponions (the inflation rate for 1992 is not expected to pass 6070). The discontent of the peasantry has given rise to a new reYrYe radical peasant organization called Samoobrana (Self Defense) which has organized traffi c blockages. Unlike the big strikes of the previous decade which were united by common lN some respects the Polish scene this summer recalled demands directed at the govemment in the great social struggles in Poland of the previous decade: the name of union freedom, the srrikes of occupied factories supplied by discontented peasants, last summer resemble those of a much demonstrations, inter-factory strike committees, and so on. earlier period o[ Polish labour histor]. quite The strikes, which began at the end ol June in The demands are divene and unfo- the Upper cused. and Ihe union movement is scalle. Silesian coal mines, spread to the huge lactories that have red, divided and disorientated by the new traditionally been the centres ol Polish worker militancy. rules of the economic game. While these strikes were not a repeat ol those of August 1982 as some commentators have held1, they did constitute Background of strikes the lirst serious social warning to the new regime. And the Thus, the background of the strikes in changes on the union and political plane which they began the Upper Silesian mining fields was rhe will not fail to have repercussions in the future. deterioration of lhe miners social silua tion who had previously been amongst the best paid layers of the working class as JAN MALEWSKI well as the still unclear plans to close mines considered non-profitable fuom the poinl of vie\r o[ the goremmenl s resl.ruc- FOR twenty days of work, I eam nomy were 4.470 below what they were in turing plans. 3i two million zlotys (about $150). the fint srx months of I99l and 6.8% in The miners' anger has been fueled by They don't pay for nothing. I work hard relation to the last six months of 1991. wage cuts amounting to about one half of for them. I'm not a communist but I want Peasant incomes also collapsed. Accor- lheir salaries o\er lhe lasl feu months. to earn as much as I did under the old ding to an official study by the cenffal sta- which is why their demands have focused regime. Otherwise I'll stay out on strike tistics office (GUS), the real income of on wages. To this can be added a sense of unlil the end. They must understand p€asant families was l8olo below that of having been betrayed by Solidamosc in thrs."l In these few wordr. a striking the first semester of December 1991.6 general. and their oun colleagues in part'- miner summed up the feelings of many cular, who once having become ministers workers. They trusted Solidamosc and the seem lo have forgolten the demands Government policies successive govemments that it supported. which brought them to power. On July They believed that only the market econo- These results are the direct fruit of the I0, a local leader of Solidarnosc was my could assure their well-being. They policies implemented over the last three lhrown oul of a mine by striking miners. believed in the promises lhat were made years. The taxation system for public Soon after. the unions which cam€ out of according to which Poland would enjoy enterprises has led to the paradoxical rhe old state organizations(the OPZZ and an economic boom as soon as hyperinfla- situation that the taxes paid by these others) and Solidarity '80, took over the tion was stopped. But three years later, enterprises over the last year amount to leadenhip of the strike. the gulf between their hopes and reality 1257" oftheir plofits! Contrary to private A completely different situation has has led to big disappointrnenls. The polili- enterprises which arc taxed on thefu own developed in the PZL-WSK aeronautic cal and economic crisis in which Poland sales, the state enterprises must pay a factory in Mielec where plans to reorgam- finds itself is longer and more serious "dividend" calculated on the basis of the ze production have led to waves of than they had imagined.3 capital lproductive as well as unproducti- layoffs which have been accepted by the policies The resuls of the social of the ver of the enterprise and a tax on the rai- form the new regime the background of sing of wages beyond that of the norm I 'Exacdy twelve yes ago, we hld the sme $ena wave. no in $a! couolry and Ihe su,n" Aur *trit" rh" strike At the €nd of July 1992, (called popire,t), in which the rate gows u"too. there were 2.4 million unemployed wor- curc govemmeol aulhonrie\ weE rhen panicipa in an exponential manner when the nolm ting in sir dowD strikes. they now inhabit posh kers (l3.l7o of the economically active is exceeded. The result is that 45'lo of thc gov.Eme offices- And thos who now strike ed population). One quarter of the unem- wrile appeals to their fomer coll€agues e bmded state enterprises are heavily in debt, a ' ployed lost their last jobs through mass violerr h.rde. sho m lDing to denrny rhe ule large proportion of this being made up of srcre r rolomn,"r in rhe darly Soc'.1 Democ,ar'c layoffs. Nearly one million unemployed debts contracted to pay taxes or debts organ InDx,! on August I 2. have been \eilhout worl for over a year. 2Gd:eta wlborcza r,o. t-10 ofJuly 21, 1992. owed direcdy to the treasury! , and lherefore are no longer eligible for 3 See lateaotioMl yieapoinr no. ?34 September Indebtedness also plagues the peasan- social securiry.a Real average incomes, 14, t942- try. Those who believed the promises that 4 See Z!.ie Gos"odar..e. no. 15 of AuSu$ 30, 1992 which have collapsed since the beginning and no. 36 of September 6, 1992 a\ well as r'r'r2 no. the new govemment made in 1989-1990 of the implementation of the market l7 of Seplember 10, 1992. and took out loafls to buy agricultural Named afrer Le5^k Balcerctr ,cz. lhe vroe-mrnh- reforms known as the "Balcerowicz 5 machinery, arc today on the verge of ban- rer ud minister ol fin ces in lhe finr r$o go,em- plan", continue to drop.s ments of fte D€w regime. kruptcy. The interest rate, devised in rela- During the first six months of 1992 real 6 Incomes are radidon.lly h,gh.r durios rhe scond prevailing rate inflation, yed due ro the paym.nl of vdious md wages in the six main sectors of the eco- tion to the of half of fie of which reached 585'/o in 1990. is not rene- 9
September 28, 1992 O # 235 lnternational Viewpoint POLAND
unions who have done nothing to save the dampen the strikes by sp€aking of nego- forces that the press most ftequently iden- Iactory from bankruptcy. This factory tiations- and if that fails of future nation- tifies with the old rcgime), was adopted. which produced transport planes for the \ride actions at some undetermined time. On August I l, the two forces informed wa6aw Pact has been totally destabilized According to a press repon: "Solidar- the government of their intentions. But by lhe changeover to a system oI pay- nosc is in a particularly difficult situation. soon after, on August 13, it became clear menl\ in hard currenc) for er.hanges bet- It is limited by its support to the Suchocka that the union leaderships were balking at ween the ex-COMECON countries. governmelt, which was formed as the acruilll) leading a general \lrike. For Sol - In mid-July, when the workers received result of the work of Solidamosc parlia- damosc'80, unity with forces who had only a small portion of their wages, a sit mentary representatives, and it fears been identified with the "communist down strike was called with the suppoft Iosing int'luence amongst the workers. In devil" clearly posed a problem. The ot the OPZZ and Solidarity unions. After general, it is the last to join strikes or does OPZZ wavered out of fear of the potential one monfh on strike. the workers won a not participate officially." 7 dynamic of such a move. small wage hike and work began again, However, while denouncing the secto- ln fact, a national general strike must without, however, an agreement being ralism of other unions. it has found itself either lead to the fall of the govemment reached conceming the fate of the 4,500- incapable of stopping or controlling and to a radical change in the policies fol- 10.000 workers slated to be laid off in strikes. The differences within it, already lowed over the last three yean (though December. The govemment proposes to present before the strikes, have sharpened the OPZZ does not have an alternative divide the factory into several ioint stock under their pressure. Today more than programme), or it will end in a defeat companies and has spoken about creating ever before, Solidarnosc appears as a which will weaken those who paticipated a tax-free zone. transmission belt of the govemment. in it. When the hesitations of the union The OPZZ and the other important leaderships became apparent, the two lead Demand collapses autonomous industrial unions have sfrikes took conftadictory paths: a sell-out attempted to fill the void left by rhe Soli- in the copper strike at Lubin, and a deter- A similar situation faces the UEus trac- darnosc leadership, and have used the mination to fight to the finish in the FSM tor factory where the strike that had been social climate to step up pressure on the strike. Union unity incomplete in the called by Solidamosc and a small union govemment for wage demands. first place did not -move forward. that came out of a split ill it, was not sup- However,- the national committee has ported by the OPZZ. While 70,000 trac- Strike committees conrinued its acrivity."What is vital is the scheduled be produced per tors were to capacily lo act togelher and present a uni- year, lactory only produced 4,000 An imponant development was signal the ted front in negotiations with the govem- because the p€asants can no longer afford led by the strike committees at FSM ani ment" for "as long as the enterprises are KCHM which founded a national inter- to buy tractors. The st kers demanded publrc. a cenrral union confederalion i\ would allow them to recon- union negotiating and strike committee state aid that necessary to negotiat€ with the govem- which vert production as well as a change in the lasl July 10. in the OPZZ and Soli- ment", explained OPZZ president Ewa factory's legal status. darno.c 80 unions have parlicrpated as Spychalska.8 Tlough rhe \trikes in the Lubin copper well as the Federation of Miners Unions, Faced wi*r this developing union united mines factories and the FSM automo- the Polish Miners Union, rhe train dri- and front, Solidamosc has lost its privileged Tychy also raised wage vers's union and the peasant organization bile factory at position. As a leader of Solidarnosc' demards, the outcome was quite diffe- Samoobrana. As a result, the various "Network" in the big enteryrises has put rent. Both the KGHM copper combine strikes which had up until that point been it, "historic differences and apparatus and the FSM are potentially profitable uncoordinated. took on a coherent folm interests must take second place to the and are up for p vatization. At the former with a common list of demands aimed at higher interests of the workers". This net' it is directly the govemmental policy the state. Among the 21 demands drawn work, which brings togethff Solidarnosc the famous popluet that is the main- up by the committee is the demand for the committees in 260 of the country's enter- obstacle wage hikes.- At FSM where the immediate cancellation of Ihe puT,lu el to - prises, first tried to convince the union Italian car firm FIAT is taking control, ir lhe rax thar has blocked the implemenra- leadership to act but finally decided to is the resistance of the workers to beco- tion of the wage hike agreements. call a nationwide two-hour waming strike ming a cheap labou. source for FIAT that The olher demands reflecl the ma"s di\- for September l0 and form a National was the oigin of the conflict. content about the situatiol as wel] as the Slrike Commilee wirh ils headquarleri in Since July 22, 3,500 workers have been absence of an altemative project accep- the Huta Warszawa steel plant in War- occupying the plant and the director's table to all the signatory organizations. offices. ln the face of FIAT'S refusal to This is the case for the demand that negotiate with an "illegal strike", the "chaotic privatisation which is tantamount govemmelt gave the go-ah€ad to FSM to to theft by the capitalist and political Strike call heeded fire the strike.s. 400 lay-off notices have elites be immediately halted", as well as The comminee called on the gorern- been mailed out. The latter have hardened various demands aiming at a more "\la- ment to efld the wage controls and the their rcsolve and have even resorted to a tist" and "interventionist" govemment. dividend system, free enterprises of their hunger strike which continues as of this The founding of this committee in spite debts and guarantee the workers a role in writing. of the absence ol Solidarnosc union their reconstruction. The attitude of the unions in the face of forces, was seen by the workers as a The strike call was followed in 60 this discontent has been uneven. Though means of changing the balance of forces enterprises and many other commissions Solidamosc '80 has supponed the strikes, in their favour. New strikes began with showed thet support. 5,000 out of 7,000 and its militants in Upper Silesia have, to the call for a l5-minute protest action by workers at the Gdansk shipyard where the chagrin of the govemment, introduced the OPZZ that were, according to the Solrdamosc uas bom rook pan in the slri- the use of flying pickets to spread the press, followed in half of the country's the national leadenhip The perspective stdkes, of Solidar- enterprises. of a unitary 7 Gazeta Wybotcza. no. l'13, Jrly 24, 1992. general strike that has been promoted by a hldfliee in Cdreld Wlbol.zd m. 201 August 27, I o i"",: Yffi tii ffffi i:T*"JTi:1'l: the OPZZ and the Samoobrana (the two 1992_
lnternational Viewpoint * 235 a September 28, 19{t2 POLAND ke. Roman Galezowski. rhe Solidamosc leader irl the shipyad and a Network lea- der, who is considered within the latter to be close to president Walesa, explained his fnction's anitude: "When I organize a referendum.in the yard and 1,650 people demand radical action and an end to union dues payments to the national lea- dership which is not doing anything, I have only two options: either to listen to my union members or to the union leader- ship. If t do the second, I will b€ kicked out of Solidarnosc".e Other Solidarnosc officials also took their distance ftom the national leadership,revealing the divided and weakened state of the union. The govemment responded by putting pressure on the directors, and avoiding any direct confronhtion with the strikes. A statement issued on July 22 reads: "The Council of Minislers cannol be a pany in tiese conflicts ... the government cannot example formed by the workers) or the be the aim of lhe unions. This is rhe regi- take responsibility for decisions on wages public treasury... The main way to find an me we must create. We have given our- Iaken by management under the pressure owner is privatization, and that is why we selves a mere three monlhs for this. This of these strikes. It can on the other hand, give it so much space in the pact."ll is the time span we have sel for negotia- draw the legal consequences conceming As bait for the workers, the pact will tions with the unions".l3 directors who take irresponsible deci- make leasing by workers' associations in Thal is to 5ay. everything is up for dis- sions".lo the smaller enterprises (less than 1,000 cussion apan from the orienration impo- At the same time. the team around the workers) easier. The only novelties are sed on th€ country by the new regime labour minister Jacek Kuron prepared an the proposals concerning debt and over the past thrce yea$. This orientation emergency project for a social pact aimed changes to the tax system.l2 On the latter is now to be rounded out by the abolition at revitalizing the austerity programme issue. it is proposed to abandon rhe "divi- of the self-management rights won by the launched in 1989-90. This new venion of dend" mechanism for a mechanism of workers in 1981, rights which despite the same old policy involves maiotaining three-way division of the profits: one for many attempts to negate them, have wage controls, speeding up privatization accumulation (this must not be less than meanl lhal \rorkers have retained a mea- and imposing strict financial limits on the one third of the profits), the second for sure of uorkers' control in the big enler- state sector. However the apprcach has the workers, and the third, a sum equal to pnses. changed. For the past three yea6, all the the second. for the state. It is surpriring lhat lhe elemenl of r,\or. variants of the policy have been imposed This scheme. which will not have much kers' strength represented by lhe existen- by the govemment without negotiations impact on workers' incomes, has the ce of th€se self.management councrls with the workers or unions. Given the advantage of facilihting self-financing by enjoying wide prerogatives is not being weak legitimacy of these governments enterprises and putting an end lo the auto- laken inlo account by the unions in wor- which are the product of elections with matic worsening of the indebtedness of king out thet strategies. massive abstention rates. this has meant unprofitable or barely profirable enter- Only the Nerwork. and onl) then incon- their ever more widespread repudiation. prises represented by the dividend. sistently, sresses the right of workers to This time the idea is to implicate the wor- oversee the reorganizalion of the enter. kers' representatives in the taking oi Dotting the "i"s prises. The decline since the heyday of unpopular decisions at every level. Solidamosc in 1980-81 of worker support Thus the popirrfk will henceforth be So that nobody should be in any doubt for the notion of'taking our fate in our govemment's negotialed each quaner by a nalional tri- about the intentions, Jacek own hands ' i:, rhown by the fact lhal stri- partite negotiating commission. Formed Kuron dotted the "i"s: "We must be ke commi ees during the recenl striker place of representatives of the govemment. the aware lhat in the first we must chan- were not electedl in general they were ge way public bosses and the unions, this commission the our enterprises arc run. formed by appointed union and rnter- give Sometimes we hear that such enterprises will legitimacy to wage freezes. union commilteer. This is a big asset for Thus unions, representatives also exist in highly induslrialized coun- or other the govemment as it manoeuvres to find a by woIkerc, tdes, elected will have a third of new legitimacy for a policy whose ban- votes "This is a misunderstanding. Such an the in the commissions. kruptcy is already clear. * feconomic] creation (of the recent past in Poland), even when called an autonomous Basic aim unchanged 9- larflie\| in Go:eto Wlborc.a Do. l7l lul\t 22. subject. does not erist in a markel econo- t9E2_ Despite this, the aim is still the same as my. Here there is a management and a 10. Quoted in Ca:era W)tx,rcza no. 171 loly 22. ever. The draft of the pact leaves no room self-management council, but there is t992. I l. Q@ted in Gazeta Wlbor.za no. 213 S€ptcmb€r for doubt about this: "One of the most nobody representing the interests of the to. t992. imponant questions is to find owners for state. of the owner. I2. Thi( in!olves th€ auftorizuon ot deh mgoria. the public enterprises, since an enterprise "The enterprise must be managed by tion in th€ public mrrkq 6 well as rcnogotiaring encrpns &hs. Th.s. lrfler involve ptrrrce\ bor that does not belonS to anybody cannot be someone in a sryle aimed at maximizing rowed diedy frcm fie IMFI efficient. This owner can be a private profils and developmenl. and only secon- 13. Quoted in Ga:.ra WyDorea no. 213 Seflember individual, a joint stock company (for darily at paying higher wages. This must 10, 1992.. 11
September 28, 1992 O # 235 lntemational Viewpoint RUSSIA
- with people purcharing 259 less mill, Yeltsin's first year: products and 50da less clothing and shoes. About half rhe population rs now living b€low the olficial povenl line. Malnutri- tton is increasrng - a recent poll of From shock to slump young people in St. Petersburg found that 40ol. were "constantly hungry" while a lurrher 40olo raid rhe) oflen fell WHEN RUSSIAN President Boris Yeltsin addressed the hunger".1 Russian public on August 19, the lirst anniversary ol the The drop in real income has affected most groups but at the same time wage failed coup d'etat, lhere was little left of the triumphant differentials have widened sharply with attatude of last year's victor. ln spite ol massive media white collar workers in education, the coverage in the liberal press and Yeltsin's invocalion ol a health service or lhe adminirlration as "Russia that has not only a great past but a great future"l well as students and pensioners lagging gloom frr behind. while some groups o[ workers was the dominant note in most comments on the {norably lhe miners, are fuing companti- occasion. vely well.5 One year after the ascent of the Yeltsinites to near Bul even if nominal wages are increa- absolute power they have little reason for optimism. The sing, the shonage of cash money created by the tight monetary policy moans that IMF-inspired economic shock therapy carried out by acting many worke$ are not getting thei pay at prime minister Yegor Gaidar is in a dead end while a fierce all: "The deficit of money is growing power struggle is taking place in the pro-capitalist camp. sharply - there is nothing to pay out to This struggle centres on the intertwined questions ol the people. The situation has been particularly (mining) reform policy catastrophic in Kemerovo and economic strategy and lhe loreign obiectives (oil-producing) Tyumen. On the first of o{ the "new Russia" particularly in relation to the non- May unpaid wages and pensions to the Russian republics of the former Soviet Union, most of population may have been some 70 billion $rhom are now part, with Russia, of the so-called roubles. According to estimates, on the Commonwealth ol lndependent States (ClS). This article firsl of July the state may owe people well above 100 billion roubles".6 looks at the struggle over economic strategy; a later one The slashing of public spending has had will look at the role ol Russia within the ClS. very serious consequelces for education and the health service. Among signs of the POUL FUNDER LABSEN deteriorating conditions and the general impoverishment are lhe rise in infant mor- tality (up by 97o between January 1991 and I HE onlv subsranlial promi\e lhar which the Caidar govemmenl has several 1992), a drastic decline in the bfth rate and I V"tr.,n waq ahle ro male rhe Rrrr- times promised lhe IMF il \r ill reduce to the re'emergence of epidemic diseases such 57, is likely to reach 20%, as it did in as typhoid fever not encountered in Russia I ;;*r:*:*:n::i;iflfl:r l99t.l for decades. tion voucher uonh 10,000 rouble\ (nomi- All in all rhe tMF inspired policy has fai- 'Ihe nall) about $50). was thar end of lhis led even to reach its so{alled financial sla- Bankrupt industries year will be the most difficult period at bilization targers. while aggravating lhe cri- - In the first nine months of shock therapy least so far.2 Indeed the first eight-months sis of the whole economy. The freeing of inter-enterprise debt increased from less of Gaidar's shock therapy have plunged the prices and the restdctions on money supply. rhan 100 billion roubles by early January Russian economy into a slate o[ unprece- in fte framework of a sfongly monopolized and 600 billion by April to the cunenl dented depression. I economy. has acceleraled the rapid fall in astronomical figure of 3,000 biilion (around According to official figures from the production, The sho( term consequences of 40'6 of CNP). This means lhal mo"l enler- State Committee for Statistics, production the total disanay in the economy have had a prises have considerable outstanding debts, fell by 18'/a in lhe first half of 1992. but disastrous impact on agriculture where which paid. /:r'estila several independent experts give higher most of cannot be prices are rising more slowly thaa in indus- recently reponed thal nine oul of len enler- estimates. On rop of the falls of previous try, maldng producers reluctant to sell. with prises in the Yekaterinburg region were years, there has been a drop in production a harvest below expectations. a lack of seriously in debt. Many factorie\ have had of as much as 507o since 1989. This fall is machinery and bad infrastructure could lead lo reduce production due to problems with not likely to stop since investment fell by to a severe food crisis in the coming winter. financing and Iack of orders, sending their 467, in the first six months of 1992. Bul even before the winter. Russians have l. /:!eir-ra Augusl 20, 1992. Inflation is estimated at between 1.600 been paying a high price for the "initial 2.Ibid. Au8usr 24. 1992. and 3,00070 by rhe end of the year, while phase of reform". Real incornes have been 3- lbid, July 20, 1992. Fo. a morc comprehensive the rouble has collapsed in relalion to the drastically cut: prices for consumer goods analysis of the Yellsin-Oaidar rcft)m s@ "Shck rheEpy (ome\ lo Rusia' by Drvrd Mddel. /r,?,. dollar. Earlier this year the govemment was have risen 1.170% over the past year wirh national viNpoint. no- 224, Mdh 16, I92. having sweet dreams of a rapid move money incomes riring on average by 590%. 4. I zPr|ila, ldly T. 1992- towards convertibility at a rate of 80 Meanwhile runaway inflation has wiped out 5. There are varying estimat€s of the drop in real income. On Augusr 8 E.onomist wtot roubles to the dollar, but at the slafl of Sep- the savings o[ mosl ordinary people. Conse- Ir? : \eal wages s ftr this y@ rc only 4096 of lheir avera8e quendy total consumption went down by in 1991 . I 2 :THI#l3i H: iX'JtT#1 Hlt: one quafler in the first six months of 1992 6. Pttrda.l$e9,1992.
lntemational Viewpoint * 235 4 September 28, 1992 RUSSIA
staff on enforced vacations. Russian political partaes One example mentioned by l:vesti\a is the Kalinin Plant in Yekaterinburg which COMMUNIST AND SOCIALIST ORGANIZATIONS has been forced to switch to a three-day All-Union Committee ol Communisls: presents itself as the only succes- week and is now paying its 40.000 worken a month (below sor to the old ruling Communist Party ot the Soviet Union (CFSU), although an average of 2,000 roubles poverty A large number of facto- no well-known former leader has supported it. On July 4-5, 1992, it held a the line).7 bankrupt according to "29th Congress of the CPSU" in Pushkino in lvloscow. All lhe Communist ries are effectively of -Trade Unions groups were invited, but most did not show up. The 90 delegates elected a the Moscow Federation in ;entral committee as well as a control commission and adopted an Aclion 90% of the military industrial enterprises Moscow are in such a slate. Programme. The strength of this organization is unknown. have been no large-scale Russian Communist Workers Party: was lounded in November 1991 However, there or major factory closures thus far. ln out of the Communist lnitiative and is mainly based on the rormer party Iayoffs spite of several readings the Supreme apparatus in Siberia and the Far East. This neo-Stalinist party claims Soviet has failed to pass a bankruptcy law, 20,OOO members. (Leader General Makashov.) reflecting pressure from enterprise mana- All-Union Committee Party ol Bolsheviks; was formed in November gers and fear that factory closures will trig- 1gg't lrom dilferent lactions ol the former CPSU (Unity, the Bolshevik Plat- ger off massive social unrest. On June 14 form and others). lt characterized the August 1991 coup as "slage-mana- Yeltsio bypassed the Supreme Soviet by ged". lt has come out with slogans such as "Motherland and Death", and decree making itpossible to decla- iSocialism or Death". lt is strictly Stalinist and has some 35,000 mem- issuing a re enterprises bankrupl, but it slill remains bers.(Leader N. Andreyeva.) to be seen how and on what scale this will Socialist Workers Party: was formed in October 1991 out ol parts of be implemented. and oppolitionists. lt considers itself reform communist' tne oiJ apparatus One of lhe main reasons for the rclative 7o,ooo members and over 40 deputies' (Leaders: R' Medve- ii r,". ro'ni" social calm, in spite of the drop in living l. Rybkin, G. Sklyar and L. Vartarasova ) dev,- standards is precisely the very low rate of Party oi Communists: was formed in December 1991 as a ir""i"n unemployment. There are only a few hun- Communiit party (taking the Nsw Economic Policy of the 1920s as relorm dred thousand registered unemployed - and successor to th; Marxist Platform lt has some 5'000 mem- irs mooel) less than l% of the workforce. though many A. Khrushchev and V Burdyubov ). --bers. (Leaders: more workers are affected by forced reduc- was lormed out of a section of the lormer Marxist Co'rlnrnist League: tions in working hou.s Bul due to the Priga-rin. lt has a few hundred members lt lavours wo'ker PI"tf";;, A. intense struggle in the ruling circles around "all power to the soviets" lt also calls for the unifica- ."if-rrn"fi"r"nt ;nd the queslion of enterprise closures. mass organizalions. tion'- of all Communist '1991 redundancier seem to have so far tleen aveF p..ru lounded on August 29, as an initiative by oi f-"Uour: w;s ted, and it is unlikely that the forecast by Moscow trade unionJlM Nagaitshev and T frolova)' m"'*olt"ir" otir,r" the lntemational Labour Office (ILO) of l0 j;; Platform (A. Buzgalin) and the socialist Partv (B' ;;I? M";rist million unemployed by the end of lhis year of Anarcho-Syndicalisls and Moscow oepu- iaoarlitskv) the Conlederation will come true. (on"n lts lirst conleren:" t-o-ol- ii"J if.r. and V. Kondratov) f '1:" 'n lanuarv f9g2. The party presents itself as an organizalion based on the workers' Enterprise closures ir-ro" oeienos worting class interests lt is in lavour oI but also :il;;ft;;;r;o"'i,i"".1"0 d"roc,util manasement ol the economv' With Yeltsin's decree on bankruptcies lar rhe riohts ol indeoendent domestic properly owners' and lhe announcement of a sweeping priva- '- as lhe Association.for the issue il";;;i.; ;h6r" i"ri". ol groupings such tization programme it is clear that the ror the lnvestigation th; "Ri;ht. oi corrrii.tt, th; commission of entemrise closures and propeny nghls D"t;;;"i ol.Left Patriotic Jiir]" e"ririiL. 6l uixn"it Gorbachev, the Association will be io the lore lhis autumn.q Recently Front ol the Working i"t"". ui'tf," U"irersity of Moscow and the Uniled the government has b€en trying to portmy People. the issuing of share voucherr lo ever) cttl- ' --ine have been moutnpieces of the conservative Communist forces zen as a miracle rolutton that will secure and Lileraturnaya p-rJ, ruri"
september 28, 1992 a # 235 lnternational viewPoint RUSSIA
ze production. how they receive credits, - claims '12,700 members and demands the "restoration of peasant pro- how stable deliveries can be secured. and perty on the land", aiming to represent the "political, economic and social what should happen to those who don'r interests of peasants". lts journal Russkoye Pole has a circulation of work in a factory. Of course. workers can 50,000. lt has seven deputies. be dragged into this process for various People's Party ol Hussia: was founded in May 1992 by the investiga- expedient reasons: il creates a collective tors Gdlyan and Borodin who had been strongly attacked because of some responsibility for what will happen. Then of the investigations they undertook. lt stands for "economic freedom and later, when the enterprise closes or is sold human rights" and has 6,000 members. lt is probably only a transitional lor- cheaply to a private enaepreneur, the blame mation. will Iie with the workers, who allegedly Chrislian-Democratic Union ot Russla: was set up in August 1989 by made wrong dispositions wirh lhe proper- various dissident groups; it has some 6,000 members, oveMhelmingly reli- tY".l0 gious believers from the inlelligentsia. lts programme is based on thal of its The real conflict looming behhd much of Western counterparts, but it also includes social demands. (Leaders: A. the factional scuffle around the Russian Ogorodnikov, Y. Tverdochlebov.) government is precisely the question of Russian Christian Democratlc Party: was created in June 1991; it is indusrrial development and wilh that the based on Christaan values, promotes people's capitalism and has place of Russia in the intemational some division 3,000 members. (Leader: A Chuyev). of labour. The policies of the Gaidar .1990. Party ol Constitutional Democrals: was formed in May lt has govemmenl have been panicularly benefi- 700 members and considers itself a liberal capitalist party. (Leaders: V. cial for the speculative lalers of entrepre- Solotaryov, N4. Globachov.) neurs often linked lo mafia-style slructures Conslitutional Democratic party (party ol popular Freedom): in the old apparatus. but have generally appeared first in June 1991 as the ,,relormation been harmful to the state enteqrrises. congress,,of the former Cadets, putting forward a neo-conservative economic programme coloured by nationalism. lt demands a Russia in its,,historic borders;. [s 4,000 mem- Zealous conlormity bers are from the intelligentsia, and partly from the CPSU. (Leaders; M. Astafyev, D. Flogoshin. Throughout the process of drafting and A. Shamin.) ..stabi, implementing the fint phases of the .-Sussian Party ot Democralic Change: was formed in September 199'l with the providing lization programme" the govemment has aim of the new middle class with a liberal orooram_ me. 1,800 zealously conformed with the demands of lts members are f rom the intelligenlsia and lhe tormeriiny apparatus. (Leaders: y. lhe IMF lo lhe poinl uhere Rursia A. Braginsky. Gabely. A. Kissilov.) - lslamic Party Bebirth: appears as the IMF 'role model ' for the . ot was set up in-summer 199b and exists in a g24bn the lslamic regions other CIS \tates. Bul e\en lhe oromj- of the former USSR. lt aims to unite tne fr4usfims oi aff nationalities. tt presents ,the sed b1 the C7 - of uhich only abour onc lstam as only lorce ttrat can toOay wiihsianO American-style billion has been paid over ii linle rnore universalism and its conception ot a n"*,rorta orOeii. tt - sees ..the lhan a drop in lhe $ean. According to eco- .lslamicization as only chance for Bussia to avoid oeo_oollticat annrnlalton nomics minisler Andrei NeLhaev the debl the number of members is unknown. but in some places the service parly has a- massmembership (Tadjikistan). o[ Rus\ia will amounr lo $2:bn in In Russia its main OJses aie ,n ratarstan. North 1992 slqng.lt The West has pul conitde- Caucasus. Moscow and Leningrad. lts moderate win;. ted by W. Sadar, rable pres(ure on Russia ro wrn political wants to create the condilions for-an rsramic *iy oi rire,'wrrire another and economic concessions in exchanpe for under G. Dj€mal wants an tslamic Republic. lhe financial supporr - prompting vice- prestdent Ale, lnternational Viewpoint * 2gS a September 28, 1992 RUSSIA fiscal managers of state enterprises, but involving stalemenl slrongly criticired the Sovern' shock cure, tighl monetary and seriously weakened. significant pans oflhe old ruling nomenlla- ment's privatization programme as giving control, have also been of credit to indebted rura (includrng the mililary pans) pur Cai- too much power to the state authorities.l5 Several major outlays have been announced both by dar on the defensive. Even if thir alliance and the one bel- enterprises govemment and fte central bank under At the end of May the influential Russian ween Volsky and the FNPR is unlikely fte - less monetarist, head, viktor Union oI lnduslriali\ls and Entrepreneurs lo be prolonged. Siven thal lhey are defen- its new, and In early August, he which consists primarily of managers of ding mutually contradictory interests in the Geraschenlo. Promis€d lhe that debts of enterprises to the state worth state enterprises and is led by former top privatization process. It doe\ underline the 1.5 billion roubles would be wrinen off' a appuatchik Arkady Volsky, founded a new extent to \.rhich the alliance around which caused panic among hard line political party called Renewal. A month enterprise managers has seized the Polilical move process in Russian poli economic liberals.lT laler rhe new pany went on lo form a broa- iniriative. Thi\ key In several interviews Geraschenko has der oolilical bloc, lhe Civic Lnion This tics has been described by Russian socialisl the lMF-prescribed programme alliance also includes vice presidenl Nikolai Preobrazhensky: "our directors arc dismissed into the political as harmful to the Russial economy and cri- Alexander Rutskoy, the People's Party of now making their entrance the voucher privatization scheme as (which, rather dubiously, arena with all their experience. connec' ticized Free Russia - "an unserious whim reminiscent of the Trav- tions and economic power; well-informed: claims 100,000 members), Nikolai As the freedom to do DaDeFmoney game Monopoly".l8 kin's Democralic Party of Russia (with with their new, considerable party uinds have changed even Yeltsin has had lo New Generation what thev want; no longer subject to 50.000 members) and somewhat from the IMF ever more distinctl) organized inlo distance himself (snPna) Darliamentary faction. rutelage; able to sosDel: "Al tirst lhe IMF wanted to apply brings together indus- rheir various organizations; and The Civic Union ivoical. classical framework lo us But count on the support of at lea$ a pan of the is tdalists (including many from the military- are oot the wor- Ru.sia i:. unrque and the reform" leaders and work collectives. lt is they industrial complext. mililary - For 74 yean Russians didn l Lnow movement (except for the miners) who unioue. hish-rankhe stite officials. who suppon the ken and real poli- Drivate propen). real entrePr€neurship but wanl a diflerent have the best chance to influence Y!lr.in oreridency. a market economy. Cradualll people now The) reform itrategy lo Yellsin s Pul find themselves in the market framework' Russian state you emphasis on a strong - but this is not simple My waming is: inlervene in rhe implying a readiness lo have to realize that a few monlhs ago I and an intemal affain of other CIS states - didn't feel anv limits lo people s conirdence lhe salva' economic reform higNighling in the reformi and the presidenl' but nou I through a slo- tion of &e nation's industry" do".l9 wer process of liberalization uoder tight state control. The industrialists' offensive contradictions within the Cabinet reshullle The inhercnt Yellsinile bloc and lhe rndustria!isls' offen- clear posl- Bv earl\ :.ummer il was increaringly sive may have temporarily led to $e rr,aiGaiOat t bredkneck liberalization had nnn"ranr of somi of the govemmenl s failed and lhis was reflected h the cabinet ,or" atroaioua plans However' this does Vladimtr cy."l6 settmg reshuff'le canied out in earll June not mean that the Civic Union, now and pro-labour' Sfrum"iio. a lormer enterprise manager the fashion, is anti-capitalist or llrsl Grand Plans Postponed prepa- a close ally of volsky. was appoinled According to Volsky: "We are not (on a level lIlth uar- govemment' we intend d€puly prime minisler Consequently. lhe govemmenl. has b€en ;ng to to-ppfe the Union supporters were pollcy dair ard othet Civic backtracking on a series of major onlv to help it."lo As the pro- uithin the incoroorated into the cabinel iisuer: lhe grand plans for a swltt move The Civic llnion is operating lhe and titrral weeklr Kornmers0,l put il under i.,*".ds futi contenibilily for the rouble Yeltsinite framework, in itself a divene phase reform' lhe direc- spite of several headline 'A ;ew of h"u. b"., oortponed The freeing of all unstable coalition. ln "ln facr lhi\ new phase is would pre- an organizalion rxhich toru rake power": energy price* a move which ,it"ar,tto found gradual crawling lo lhe - role in the coalition ifr. tong iotgon.n ciottale a wave of bankruptciesl - amoun_ could'olat a dominant ot a strengthening ot memoran- "presidintial pany ' of sons)' this ha\ nol .urr."ion t-n. basii cJd in the official Povemm€nl 1a ol the economy' slowed ot a"ruling pafly" it" funaua"nrut branches aum to tn" tUf il March has been irappened. tn ttr" ab.ence Ryzhkov and Valentin tests on his own wide- a"u;sea bv Nilolai dowrl. iJlirin's oreridency personal apparalus 2l Pavlov in i990-9t."tl Th" comentones of the first phase of lhe r*ging po*art and Meanwhile the industrialiss sought new 8 nartners to improve their position: on July and 24 ed Sep_ Ir," nutti.n Union of lnduslriallsls 18. S€e, for examPle lzv's' d Augu$ hft S. lgg2 Ryzhkov md Pavlov entered into a formal alliance \3- Konnersont. Gmber 2. 1992. EntreDreneuni werc onme mrDn.E underGotuachev' rqe2' Yertsin aho \rared' the Russian l'edera- on worr'ng i,ii.,"i,ii,, r,r, rs. wnn ihe leadership ot ra ln sD're of rh. mas'i\e on\'aughr :tn. pi+ea u\ rowards a lreez'n8 or hom an 1[f 1,1. Trade Unrons {FNPR)' *oote ihe mpt leadeAhiP ha refrained of Bul *' drdo I so tion of lnOepenOenr errenr of *ases wrrhoul a freeztng Pnces Assembly 1".1 .""i'.""i." wtlh ieh\in rhe in itt. trtri"otr of a so-called Asre'm'nr'o w'th rne s-calteo General August t9c2' are now jointly a 20 /:vdlivd, l. ni social Pannership lhe) 'tnrne, rwo ed o in lnparl Rusri' antdte nor ",i".---.m "motnv"," now 2l Nenherrhe loor DemocBtic irg rtt. ,.tt-intulation daily Raio' i.."mmr*ionr"na ti tare March' The FNPB Demo(att Retorm tA orbtirt vrorared vrnuarrv ,r" i,",- u*".*' i\rrong t4 ;i; 8.1"-..nr ha! "' rtrlo a pRstoen_ cha'to Tribuno :d;";;il manaped rc rEnsfom tr*ll .ircr" p"iri ,t rht agr"m'nr Nelcnhcle\s o"rn*mric Rs\ia undcrwsr a of the slrengthening of the iiJ t.."nrtv ,( funher sign "'"^s worbni on a ne* one ror t99l' "ir" r" r'unde6 lncrudine Yuri danger .i;I".""rii -,i.t industrialists and yel another ta t Prlu,julY21992' ."0 r**" ic sr' Pee^burs bre'h - torce' and pohl'cal PeF ii"i^*, came in JulY when it -n. drsamv of sral Lr' n fie't degen'rarion ol the mo\'_ .lnnat ro Caiaar - in /?!bit'a' sr' "ii...nricrzins wilh one of *,,- r- ir,.;-u^ i,. ln-tt'Piece for th' sowminB v8irit i**a u;oint slalement 'p""t-Urte. tp."e l9c2'"r'ment Trannared in the Bullc'in ,"'i -.uor"t { E influenlial new rich TJ the m'osr protifii and d Defen\e ot Mar^$nno'q9 Ptutdo,MaY'1.1992' The Ptd\'lo, AuSust J leer 22. an,r"Pranarrr. Konstantin BorovoY t1 ion\odol\^dta vlewPotnt $ptember 28, 1992 O * 2g5 tnternatlonal BUSSIA Thi' include' nresidential repre'enlalives ln C POPULIST AND NATIONALIST PARTIES all resionr ol lhe countr!, a' \rell as newl) '1991 forme'd "security council" (already dubbed was founded in August under-the Peoole's Partv of Free Russia: the new politburr-,'r' Yellsin's lormal Party of the Communists of Russia with 7'230 tn" Democratic po*er is Lhus lormidable. bul il is unceflatn ".r! "i its current name two months later' Its 100'000 mem- members, assuming to whal extent thir syitem actually works. '1OO deputies) represent lhe reform minded,wing oflhe Ueo iina rnot" tnai ridden as it is by conflicting interests, dval which has increasingly taken a populist and nationalist oto nimenxtatura, cliques and comrPtion a piagmatic and non-doctrinaire party" states its Guidelines' tin".'w" rt" It is clear that neither the industialists up of a new society '. but the solulion of the "Our aim is not th;setting nor the predominantly conservative problems poseO Oy iite" (Leaders: Vice-president A Rutskoy, V' concrete People's Congress/Supreme Soviet have Lipitsky.) ' any intention ofpursuing a line consistently Democratic Party oI Russia: was formed in May 1990 with the support to rhe benelil ot worLing people. Boris ol aiready organized opposition groups l\'lemorial, independent trade - Kagarlitsky's description of the People's unions, Shield (the organization defending the rights of conscripts) lts hits the nail on the head: "lt is not 50,o0o members are mainly drawn from the technical intelligentsia, many Congrcss it and. under the threat lrom the arms industry (represented by N Tolstoy) Their president N dilficult to frighten it to carry out any pro- Travkin is a former apparatchik. The party calls lor a market economy and of dissolution, force gramme the government and the wants to restore the unity of the former USSB. The authoritarian leadership of once- proved style has led to many splits among which the Russian Bourgeois Democra- People's Congress has already lack of tic Party (1,700 members, same programme) which through l. Butov leads its incompetence, foolishness and the World Congress ol Russian Folk. Another is the Liberal Democratic ability to withstand manipulatiol when it A. lvlurashov and the chess champion G. Kasparov, who in April handed over lhe power lo Yellsin and his Union of .. 199'l split ofi a quarter of the party to openly propagate Thatchefism. Ieam. Russian Christian Democratic Movement: was constituted in April It is vital lor the embryonic Russian wor- 1990 and has some 20,000 members (15 deputies), some ol whom colla- kers movement to maintain its independen- borated with the former system. Today it demands "private properly and ce and not subordinate itself to any faction Christian justice, competition and solidarity, private initiative and a sense of in the apparatus. Nikolai Preobrazhensky responsibility". They want to revive the traditions of Russian entrepreneur- makes this point emphatically when spea- ship and demand a strong Russian state with new borders. (Leader: V. king about the attempts of eoterprise mana- Aksyutshitz, V. Polossin, L Konstantinov.) gers to link up with the workers movement: National Republican Party ol Russia: was created in April 1990, "Generally speaking this classic patemalism taking as a reference point the thinking ol the writer A. Solzhenitsyn. lt ('there are no conflicts between workers wants a "Russian Union" of Flussia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan and and bosses: thel are allone big happy [ami- the "rights of Russians who live outside their historic homeland to defend ly') is actually behg advanced to justify a lhemselves, il necessary with arms". They have sent volunteers to South bid for the leadership of the workers move- Ossetia (now in Georgia). Their chairman, N. Lysenko, is from the Pamyat ment. movement and promulgates "legal and conslitutional authority" and " colla- boration with the army and KGB". lt has 5,000 members. Director initiated strikes Liberal Democratic Party of the USSB: was formed in 1989 with the "We must not forget that in our country support of the party apparatus. lts chairman, V. Shirinovsky, worked for the we have accumulated three years' experien- state-sponsored peace movemenl and helped himself to at least Dl\il 3m. ce wift 'director initiated' strikes, particu- He was a candidate in the recent presidential elections, doing quite well larly strike calls and pre-strike (with 6 million votes 8% of the total). The party is radical nationalist. The situationst in the Donbass, Tyumen, on the milroads and party emblem is nolable:- a falcon surrounded by a picture of the "old" Rus- in Estonia... However the majority the sian territories including Finland, Poland and Alaska. of - factory directors even those who are Bussian National Union: was lounded as a movement in October 199'1 - concemed aboul Lhe welfare of Ihe collecti- by the nationalist parties and a series of patriotic associations. lt is for the ve as a whole... are at the same time against Iamily and tradition and sees itself as "an open movement based on state I patriotic principles" and, as a "civil and patriotic union of the Russian the independence and self-activity of the labour people" wants to see 'the rebirth of Russia in its historic borders". collectives".2S It is a sign of the weakness of rank-and- A controlled market economy would be introduced in a ten-year transj- file social organization in Russian society tional period. Yeltsin should be overthrown and indicted. At its congress in '1992 thal mobilizations in lhe streets and in thc June it decided to create a shadow cabinet, whose composition has workplaces have played no direct role in not been announced. The journal Dyen is close to it. (Leaders: S. Baburin, N. Pavlov.) halting Gaidar's programme. There is no doubt about profoufld Russian People's Assembly: is a union of the previously mentioned the frustration among broad layers of the population. This has nationalist parties and movements, formed in February 1992. lt is also sup- been re\ealed in counrless polh ported by the Cadets and the Christian Democrats. lts aim is a government opinion - ol national unity. for example in a recent one, people were asked what were the best yeus for Russians The Sobor ol the Bussian Nation: was founded in February 1992 as a this century: 27,/o mentioned the Brczhnev "Movement of Russian National Resistance", with about 1 ,OOO members. lt years, 204la Tsarism, prefened is headed by the lormer KGB general A. Sterlikov (head of Otficers lor the 87c the Stalin period, Awakening of Russia) and the writer Valentin Rasputin. 67c that of Khrushchev and only 57o rhe cunent period.2d Along with Fascists: there are a series of organizations such as pamyat or Rus- this [rus- sian National Unity with several thousand members who have formed para- military organizations. They have not yet registered as a party. 23. Nikolai Preobrazhensky, op..it- (Suruey compiled by Hans-lurgen Schutz) * 24. l.restila. July 6, 1992- 16 25- lzyesti)a. J]d,y 2l. 1992. lnternational Viewpolnt # 235 4 September 28, 1992 RUSSIA / INDIA tralion there is also a growing dislasle for the whole polilical scene. A by-election in Women mid-July in the Dimlrov Region near Mos- cow saw a voter tumout of less than l0%.25 So far the feeling of gloom, has only rare- and the ly been tnnsformed into action. Compared \ to the spdng of 1991 with ir protracted miners' strike there was a clear drop in the NEP number of sriles in the first six monlhs of 1992, From January to April there were SINCE taking oflice after reports of some 3,000 stdkes in Russia cau- last summer's general sing the loss of more thafl I million wor- eleclions in lndia, the king days. In May the number of strikes minority Congress'l rose somewhat, primarily due to strikes government has part its arnong health workers and teachers more implemented a series of economic reforms as of - 16 than 300,000 people struck in this month. New Economic Policy (NEP). The measures take lndia But overall, the independent workers path of economic liberalization and I further down the movement is only in its infancy. Nikolai deregulation opened up in the 1980s by former Congress Preobrazhensky gave his ass€ssmenl of lhis Minister Raiiv Gandhi. "Our Prime \lare of affairs: workers movemenl ts As oart ol its response to the iob losses and price rises poorly not only extremely weak. but organt- bv the reforms, the Centre of lndian Trade Unions Should zed and without a firm structure. "ri"ir..a: centre of ihe communist Party'Marxist) and it could only act iciiu r"io" there be a social explosion, f"t bttwing unions called a general strike lor June 16' ramrod, crashing the gates for others, lr"f as a was hjeded by workers in the maior urban centres' launcher, propelling others to itre caff or a rocket oo*n lactoriei and banks across the country' The great heights.The old tlade unions enjoy no iio"i* pre- responded with repression, including the confidence by and large; the new ones, with io-r-"rir"nt to 1O,OOO "potenti"l the exception of those in the mining Erptire anest of up :Ltil:f -iie examines the specific impact-'-, of-.. the regions, ale very weak. There arc no serious ioffo*ing article appeared in the Julv 4 issue ol political organizations expr€ssing the inter- Ni;;;;;;' lt originallv parlie\ esrs o[ rhe workers movemenl nor the Bombay-ba sed Weekend Observet' which the masses of workers could coNider thet own. their reliability to be counted on VIBHUTI PATEL 2T without fear of betnyal or deception" Obviously this doesn't mean that there is no potential for action left in the Russian and retrenchment have rcndered layers closures working class indeed the ruling the lgql - ll 6.6 million jobless. according to than anything else' I J",'$ffi':"i xl$,I;TliHl fear this capacity more ,nnLral survev of induslry. Recruitmenl in A fear expressed by among othen Arkady :" J,"JJ;i,:il'', ;' ]""'Jj: insurance companies. banks and the rail- I :;;J,lT: is also that in the vinually stopped There Volsky: "What wonied me is menl. devaluarion. slashing of subsidies wa\s has lhe rerenchmenl in the textile indus- intemal struggle. in the struggle arcund the on tood and ferlilizers. and culling massive women being fired first Alrea- understand the danger budget tor development planning caprlal- rrv- with president. we do not by hi-lech producttve acltvt_ ay. 5OZ of joOt in faclories supponed explosion, when people go oul rntensire and of a social NIC have gone. bul ties. on the streets not under some banner, to the 1991 census, women's - It also involves cutbacks in govemment Accordins tf the railroad workers or the rate t is 23olo For rural by themselves. exoendirure. lncrea\e\ rn banking and nanicioatioi IWPR go on strike WPR is 277o while for urban worke$ in the energy sector insurarce charget as well a5 rail fares ln women. 28 *omen il is l0o/.. There has been a con\i- this is sufficient to Panlyze th€ country" a nutshell, the policy aims at capital ener- growlh with lhe derable rise in WPR since the 1971 and The immense challenge for the left wing sv and imDon intensive ton' c€nsuses. is to link ielp of diualuarlon. denationalizal l98l in the Russian workers movement profile shows that deflation. Wial are its However, a sectoral undoubtedlv deresulation and up with the sruggle! that will women workers in ruml areas are in impl"ications for the toiling women? most appear around such queslions as pflvallTa' occuoalrons such as uea\ing, handicrafts' give fish, silk and tion and plant closures, in order to railoring. toreslry. sale of industiles poultry farming. ln urban areas.-the majo" them a radical perspective ol independence Sick r.ir, oi women workers are €ither in lhe from all factions of the apparatus * The NEP has decreed a large number of u.tion sector or in the nursing a'd orivate and Dublic qector unils economl' "oir.tEachinq orofessions. working either on a iallv unviabie and therefore '!rck" This conraJt-basis or self-employed has re5ulled in millions of job losses 26. Dek^or M t, t\ne 6, 1992 within a year of the introduction of the t 7 27. Nikol.i tt obrdhensky oP cit' uf,ilx]ff [L'; disinvestment in public seclor unlts' .,[fr"'rIrT['I 28. f:veitiYd, Augusl 3 1992' NEP ViewPoint September 28, 1992 a # 235 lnternatlonal INDIA pur, thc WPR of women is higher but Indian waters. As a resulr 50,000 fishcr- who are responsible for procuring staple quality of employmenr in terms of wages folk have lost their livelihoods. Food plo- goods for the household". or income and working condilions is cessing industries with foreign collabo.a- Cuts in health and education programs deplorable. ln all three sectors, women tion are being established. The resuh will will directly affect the already high mor- ground are losrng in the organized sector. be a major shift in crop pattems from sub- tality/morbidity rates among Indian Subconlracting. home-based produc. production sistence to cash crop produc- women as well as standards of literacy. tion, the family labour system and pay- tron. In the 1991 budget, the only item ment of wages on a piece rate basis arc process This wili affect women's concemilg women for which the alloca- the lot of women. According to rhe 1991 employment in agriculture. a! all studies tion of funds has increased is "population census, 1970 of the total female workforcc have shown that women are the first ro control". Massive sums have been provr- constitutes unpaid family worke$. lose rheir jobs during a shifr from subsis- ded by ihe USATD to push contoversial Even in the state with the highesr lirera- tence to cash crop production. This has contraceptives like Norplant/Net-O-En cy. Kerala. only l79o of women are gain- been seen in the "green revolution,' areas which are banned in the West. Targeling fully employed, The new economic policy of Punjab and Haryana. will poor women for birth conrol has been a only reinforce this rrend of informali- A major restructuring of the Indian eco- crucial NEP concem. Poor women are zalion of rhe workforce. As il is,94Ea of nomy is underway. In 1970, India had 60 also blamed for causing the environmen- women workers are in the unorganized million economically aclive women. in tal crisis by breeding like "cats,'and sector. 1990 this had risen to 76 miilion. Howe- ftlIs ver, according to UN estimates, the eco- Flexible labour force nomic activity rate has fallen ftom 3gqo [o 297o in the same period. Ethics ol population control The key ro the NEp is the notion of the Of the total female workforce. a mere formation of a.,flexible This raises rwo crucial issues. Firsrly. to labour force". 2% are administrative "Efficiency" and managerial whal extenl can lop-down populalton and,.productivity,, are its workers, I l7a are cle*s, sales and service control programmes two other concerns. A shift from a that violate the inre_ ,.flexible,, worken. 15% are industrial and transDon srable/organized iabour force ro grit) of a women's bodl be justified? workers and 3l7o work in agriculture and ..popula- workforce has meant hiring women on a Secondly. to focus narrowly on hunting. These figures show rhat rhe NEp parr-time basis and substiruting cheap rion explolion" as lhe cause of lhe envi- has further marginalized women from thc female labour for better-paid male $qr- ronmental crisis is to ignore other factors agricuhural and manufacturing sectors. kers. such as industrial toxic waste, chemical True, ther€ will be some increase in the This expresses itself in the closure fertilize$, nuclear arrns or over-consump- of employment of women in large units in industrial the service sec_ tion towns and cities; tor. More by the affluent. In First World coun- the women will find work in the work once done by large factories is tries the environment has continued informal industrial sectors in electronics, to now being done by tribal and rural girls deteriorare despite diamond. garments and pharmaceuricals. falling birth rates. on a piece-rate basis for ancillaries oithe We must leam from But here again. rhere is a disturbing the experience of same company. The NEp not only perpe_ counlries in Africa and underlying realily. As produclion is Latin America luates bul also strenglhens pr"_eiirting slo_ which undertook balized. research and management'are structural adjustment conditions of ineguity betwcen women programmes controlled by the in the 1980s. Even the and men. First World. while srrc_ ..unskilled', World Bank has declared nuous, monolonous, and the 1980_90 In t-he name of increasing marginal effi_ decade as the ,,mal-develop- temi--skilled' work is being done decade of crency of financial capttal lhere bj have been Third World women. ment" in Africa and Latin America. attacks on women,s access lo credit. Nonetheless, ir is pushing lndia down rhe exlension services and input subsidies. same path. Tte sarne concem Low pay in intormal sector for efliciency and pro- What India needs is an per altemative eco_ management of public funds, howe_ Lamenting rhis situation. the United nomic model which reorients our econo_ ver, is not to be seen when Nations it comes to Report The World's r onen: my towards the assessed needs stock of the market speculators. 1970-1990 states,..The informal masses. secror rs which promotes produclion Dro- The banks now indicted in the countrv,s by no meals panacea a for romen. ll r\ cesses which are ecologically sensiiive biggest financial scam increased rheir far less secure than formal sector work and women-friendly and which ensures interest rates to the detriment and generall) of self_ it pays le\s lhan lhe mini_ suyainable development jusl employed women alongside depending on loans. mum. wage". In other words it is nothing dlstnbutron * Consequenlly. lhey have to eirher aban. less than disguised colonization of Third don their small businesses or fall prey to World women. private-moneylenders charging compound The 1992 budger saw bip culs in rates ot tnlercsl. funds and resources for devilopment NEP'S attack on credir has affected mil- programmes and reductions in subsi- lions of self-employed poor women. As a dies, resulting in sharp rises tn the resuil. the burden of debt-repaymenl of pnces ot essential producs. The deaths asselless women has increased. ot unemployed weavers in Andhra [ta_ Liberalization of the economy has nor desh has exposed the absurdily of quile tz liberated the working woman. Eli- govemmenf proclamations about self- m.rnation of 7.000 licences. scrapprng of sufficiency in food. a MRTP I limits and reductions on customs Slashing spending on Dovenv relieI duties on capital goods have given lree and job crealion proaram; has in;rease.t grazing ground for foreign capital. poverry. "Market-friendly., policies Following economic liberalizarion seve_ have led to galloping inflation and- as g '"-t:ili#,,,f:,i lhe UN report states,'.lhe burdeo of I ;:i l"fi J:1"J,:,X1; inflation has fallen heavily on women lnternational Vlewpoint# 23S a Septemb€r 28, 1992 ISRAEL fles mears controlling a population of a million and a half people who have demonstrated during more than fifty months of the ,rrrqlda their refusal to live under Israeli domination. The maintenance of the status quo would involve disastrous ALMOST immediately after assuming his new post as consequences: tensions with the intematio_ prime party nal community, absence of national minister, lsraeli Labor leider yitzhak Rabin re_ opened negotiations consensus, a feeling of insecurity due to with the Arab countries and the lhe acl\ of re\i\lance ol rhe Palertinian., Palestinians. Afler years of foot dragging on the part ot the use of the army for functions far from the Begin and Shamir governments, thiJdevelopment was its "normal" tasks and so on. welcomed by the western powers. This was not the case End to quo however in the occupied territories, where the status sought Palestinians are looking for something more than empty Unlike the preceding governrnents, the gestures. Laborites walt to put an end to the status quo that has lasted for nearly a quarter of a century, during which Israel has not been MICHEL WARSHAWSKY. able to absorb the million and a half Pales- tinians in the occupied teritories, especial- I T THE dawn of his second credits, Rabin had to respond favonbly to ly as all forms of repression have proved f, a\ nrrme mrnr\rer \,7- president Bush's incapable of breaking their resistance. "ur"", ultimatum demanding I nu* kaorn rrnos nrm\el rn an that Israel immediately cease the building The autonomy that the Israeli govern- I I enviable position, with several of \ettlement5 in the occupied tenitories. ment Foposes today is not conceived as a advantages at his disposal. On his right, Knowing that ir an electoral period Bush step towards the self-det€rmination of the confusion rcigns in the Likud, tom by the needed lo pul an end lo the ten.ion bel- Palestinian people but, rather, as a means struggle of the various contenders for the ween hrs administration and the lsraeli of allowing the Israeli army to leave the party leadership. The left, including the govemment, Rabin was able to obtain the West Bank and Gaza stuip. For Yitzhak formaLion: which are nor pan of lhe gorer- US credits without having to proclaim a Rabin, the autonomy project is not a ning coalition and the extnparliamentary total frceze on the settlements. concession to th€ Palestinians, even if they formations, have given him a rneasure of have an interest in presenting it as such. suppon which, if not unlimited, will give Critics neutralized Rather, it reflects the needs of the State of him a broad margin of manoeuvre for at Israel in changing the forms of the occupa- least several months. By distinguishing between political sett tion. The Americans. followed by the Euro- lements - which will be halted - and It is clear that fhe Palestinians do not peans, have decided to treat him as if one settlements built lor security reasons, he view these propositions in this way. They of their own had assumed the functions of was able to neutralize his critics on the demand that this autonomy be a tmnsitio- the Ismeli head of state and have offered ght in order to keep his hands untied so nal step towards independence which will $l0bn in credits in exchange for verbal that he could continue part of Shamir's involve aspects of a Paiestinian power. declarations and a fe* relatirely meanin policie( under lhe cover of 'nalional \ecu- This is the real meaning of the debate on gless measures. rity problems". Lhe role o[ the autonomy council uhich is As.ured for the momenl o[ general sup- The panial freezing of sefilements in the supposed to be elected in several months port, Rabin can begin a radical turn in occupied tenitories is not only a conces- time. The debate concems whether or not lsraeli politics, in particular around the sion to American demands. It is also a it will have an adminisffative or legislative question of negotiations with the Arab political and economic choice lhal reflects role. as well as the role of its memberc: 15 counlrie: and rhe Palestinians. \evenhe- the state of Israeli public opinion which, as as the Israelis want, oI 80 as demanded by less, one question remains unclear: does has been shown in the last elections and in the Palestinians. the new govemment really plan to effect a rarious polls. demands that lhe govern- What type of autonomy will the Palesti- major change, or will it merely enact a menr begin lo find answers lo the increa- nians live under for the next year? The handful of cosmetic changes around a few singly pressing day to day problems of the Rabin model of autonomy, that is a sort of minor reforms? big majoriry of the populatron. and there- municipal autonomy on a grand scale, or IrI his acceptance speech Rabin insisted fore cease thg spending of enormous sums the autonomy which Doctor Nabil Shaath that his government would change the for some tens ofthousands of colonists. speaks of, which would be a transitional order of national p orities. If the building The negotiations are the secold area step towards independence and the total of settlements in the occupied te[itories where the differences between the Rabir withdrawal of Israeli forces? wa\ the number one priorit) lor Shamir. and Shamir govemment can be see[. For The answer to this question will be a the new p me minister sees his primary the lalter. as he admitted in a recenl inler- function of the detemination of the Pales- ra\k as above all tackling lhe intemal pro- view in the daily newspaper Mddriv, the tinian negotiators, on the condition, of blems of I'raeli \ocier): hou.ing. emplol negotiations were intended to lead to course, that they are not content with menl. inle8ralion o[ the new immigranls. nothing, their sole objective beinB to buy merely negotiating bul al\o with mainlar- health, education, and so on. the necessa4 time to chdrrge lhe demo$a- ning the pressure on the ground, and In order to do this. it is vital that Israel phic situation in the ocr.l,oied territories. making life tough for the occupation forces obtain banl loans ol $l0bn from the I n - Things are different with the Labor Party. and the colonists. ted States. And in order to obtain these ln their opinion the occupatior is bad for To give a bit more credibility to the pro- lsrael at Ieast in its cunent fom. Once positions of his govemment, Rabin took a *This anicle ti6t appeded in rhe September 3. 1992 - crea- (l issue of rhe French revolutionary M8xisr newspa the option of expelling the population there ieries of poliricj mea"u.e" aimed at { is excluded, the occupation of the tenito- Ling a new climate" in the occupied territo- r v september 28, 1gg2 a # 295 tnternationat viewpoint ISRAEL / EL SALVADOR Heights of Speculation N February 1, 1992, the cease fire between rle two opposing SPECULATION has recently been rife about the possibilily of a rappro- forces came into effect. The chement between lsrael and Syria Syrian president Hafez al-Assad members of the National has spoken of the need to conclude - "peace a of the brave,'with the Zio- Army for Democracy (the END, armed nist state, while lsraeli prime minister yitzhak ,,territorial Babin talks of wrng of the FMLN). were grouped in compromise' around th€ question of lhe Golan Heights, conquered by camps spread throughout the country, lsrael from Syria in 1967. while the armed forces were shut up in At.lirst sight, this would . seem an unlikely development. lt had pre- their barracks. viously been thought possible that yitzhak Shamir,s governmenl Likud In order to verify compliance with the might seek such a settlement with Syria the area does n6t lorm part accords a UN commission, ONUSAL. of the biblical territoty ot Eretz lsrad, and- the Likud,s ideological attach_ was set up. It was charged with over- ment to it was accordingly not strong. Moreover, the ,.secuiitv value..ot the Golan is fairly seeing three areas; the military aspects dubious in rhe October 1973 war lsriel had to (surveillance divert vital mititary forces - protect and verification of the two to the tiny handful ot seitteri inen panies), living there. policing (helping rhe conslirurion of the flational and civii police) Rlqin's Labor Party initia y seemed much and . tess likelv lo strike a human rights. deal. The 12,000 Jewish setflers in the Golan are ove'rwhelmingly Though rhe fighting has sropped, the Laborite and lhe tast Labor pany convention in December fggf oaised application olthe accords has encountered a rasorutton tavouring increased setflement in the area. many difficulties. Why the change in tone now? The basic position On August 13, 1992 Syiian seems Manack Goulding. unchanged: a comptele tsraeli withdrawat fro, tfi" depuly secretary fur Coflni. a oiJcon_ UN special affairs. rraveled to peace rreaty. The kind ot panial withdrawat El Salvador El31 lol,,"ny mobted by to try to overcome the Haorn wrl not satisty the Syrians, and any final settlement obstacles. could not The negotiations touched rgnore lne olher area where lhe two states on several confront each other, direcfly crucial queslions or through proxies: southern Lebanon. eut il ooei ;e; ih;; i;"r" which lie at Ihe orisins b99.1 signats or of the armed conflict: lhe demilitariza-rion lLv-e- ltexibility from rhe Syrian .ia",-*-ni.n ilrOin ,. of socrery. the land problem and the distri- of dividing the. Arab negoriating reams, threalening .r:rg^,1.^,ll:,rne raresuntans l"pg bution ofwealth. wrth the orosoect of complele isolation and preparin! his.own Since 1932, and the repression hardline political base for any eventuat set ement. of the However, tsrael's presenlation peasant irsunection begun by Farabundo - of a seven page proposal to Svrla on September't5 which faited to mentron witnorlwii i",i[jnE Mani. the Salvadoran army has alwavs cates.that ':pli.":'i."tn"i"i#'i"0, played the role ot the oligarchy lhere is strll a long way to go. ln any .r"", s wat;h least rikery outcome or arr dog. The accords aim ar inding rhis by tirls lsiaers"rgTb p,i""J ui,ri;i],"n L"g17p, glyg it. a tree hand launch calling for ils subordinarion ro i civilian to its muroerous rnvasion of Lebanon in 1982: th_e prospect regime as well as an ot a simitar deat with Syria *ouro O" overall reslructurinp likes of Babin_as a goroen opporrunit17 t" ijrii """ri6i'in" in order lo make il serve the needr of rerri to al tance of the Palestinian oeoole i.I the West Bank""j "ri".i"ii"%r,._ defense. B.c. * and Gaza Strip. _ Dissolulion of national guard ries, They included panial a freeze on new This explains why rhe palestinians selllements g00 in The legislative assembly bul a,so rhe freeing of the\e territories rhur decreed pollltcal have nol reacted posilively the dissolurion prisoners. the cancelling of lhe of rhe narional guard and to tlese measures, which have b€en welco- oectslon lo depon palestrnian lhe rural police al the end of June 1992. ll leadrrs med wilh enthustasm in the Wesrem Dresj). However and a liberalizalion of the work permits for about 2,000 of their members To show its good fairh. the Israeli govem- were Palestinians employed in lsrael. illegaliy reintegrared inlo lhe natio- ment must do better, Aside from he cancellarion much b€tter. in other nal pohce.a of lhe depor- words tatron totally freeze the new installations; This body is orders which has real polirical signi- now the sole public securi- iree all the administrative detainees (there ty body (placed trcance, the measues announced bv Rabin directly under the control are at leasr 800 and according to rhe lsraelr of rhe president lhe hardly go very tar. For example. it has of Republic. Alfredo been authorilies Ihey are lhe true popular ( nstranr). while rhe the lsraeli employers who have long lea- National Civilian ders) $ho have never Police IPNC) has demanded $ork permis for workers wur- been convicred of b€en sel up which is ro anything at all; allow be composed king in lyael. The freeing of E00 prjsoners rhe immediate retum o[ 20?c lormer members of Io lhe Wesl lhe END.2070 ls stnllar to the amounts regularly released Bank and Caza slriD of all men lrom the national police by.the army during religious holidals, Ihose resident\ and their famrlies who lor and 607, new recruib. administrative However rhe pNC which oflen only concem prisoners with reasons have been denied still has no oflices. several the righl There are other problems v,eeks left to serve of their sen- lo live in rheir land or rith lhe[ as well. For lences. famrly: example, Cristiani has named But lhe mosl serious polnl ts clear_ respecr the righl of polilrcal a:,\o iB leaders Iy the conlinualion cralron: without consulting rhe COPAZ.5 of lhe buildine in the observe and respecl the letter of occupred The accords also involve a 52qo lerritoriej of whal Rabin has cal- lhe fourth Geneva convention. rcdut.- led rion of rhe members of the army security seltlemenls.. Accordins to These are the measures which would before -fr.rr January 3t. t994. Amiram Coldblum. spo pe prove thal In January I692. rhe kes rson the new government has the general Peace Now. sla,f declared thal the armed lhe exceplions to the freeze on intenlion of tuming over a new leai and forces had 63.000 men (a figure se lemenls $ill allow lhe inuoduclion beginning, even inflared at a slow pace, lhe !rith- by torced recruihenr). dunng the four year mandate of the Rabin drawal of lsraeli Iroops from lhe occuDied ponce According ro Enrile, the com_ Bovemment of more colonists than any of territories. Unfonunately, norhinp seems to mander in chief ot tle army, nrs successors could ever have 20.700 sol_ installed in indrcate lhat these are lhe intintions ol drers \hould the occupied territories. already have been demobiii_ 20 Rabin and his govemment. * zed panicularly - conscripb at the end of lnternational Viewpoint # 2SS a September 28, 1992 EL SALVADOR Also, the minister of agriculture dragged his feel belore provlding the land commis- Towards war or sion with the means at his disposal. Final- ly, on July 27, representatives of the FMLN and of lhe govemment began the peace? verification process of the land in litiga- rion. under lhe arbilration of the ONU SAL. to an inventory carried out ON January 16, 1992 the Farabundo Marti National According government on a national level. 45 out of I 16 ownen Liberation Front (FMLN)l and the Salvadoran of more than l0 hectarcs of land refused (UN), signed accords under the aegis of the United Nations to sell, while 7l planned to do so. which were aimed at ending twelve years of war2 and, at The latter arc subjected to conradictory one hand. the least officially, resolving the causes of the crisis within nine pressures: on Sovemmenl encourages lhem lo not sell. so thar il can months. itself be responsible for the redistdbution a On August 2,1992, the FMLN sent a declaration to of land, which would augment its prestiSe "friendl!" group of countriesg and to the UN announcing and allow il to control the process. points of the agreement that should have On the other hand, they know that the tnat Cg ot t-tre S6 occupy the land yet been implemented Dea\ants who currently been applied by inat date had not rhe FMLN will probably not allow and.the and Oue to b'pposition lrom the authorities, the army, their land to be raken awaY. empfoydti. Does such a situation indicate that hostilities t-ikewise. article 205 of the constitution' pan of the agrarian reform will begin anew? introduced as of Duarte's Christian Democmtic govem- ment in 1984. limits the size of land hol- PAQUITO GOMEZ dines to 254 hectares Thil clause should than May l' RUOIE HASTING hav-e been applied no laler 1992. But 300 land holdings still exceed rhat limit. a modest price lo the cunent occupants' thei. term and the 6,000 members of the The purchase ot the totalil) of rhe land nationalpolice. AmbiguitY ol negotiations claimed bv rhe FMLN (l8ao oi the coun- Also, ihe ad hoc committee entrusted about $460 mil- the land negotiations past soldiers try's territory) would cost The ambiguity of with investigating the of ln lion. arises ftom the fact that the govemment charsed wilh human rights violalions has of But until now the government has only fact has no intention of "leaving" l87o nor ten able lo work becau\e those who dollars for this purpose h land in the hands of the FMLN ThiS guitly have been senl out of released $l5m the are probabty that characle- has even made a ProPosal to the FMLN also erplains the hazineqs lhe counlry (as mililary allaches In con'u- work logelhet to oblain dona- rizes lhe means of reselling and credit tdPS). lhat rhe! lates, or for study 20olo oi the rions or loans ftom the intemational com- For the moment. neithe. the nor even munitv. demobilized FMLN fighters, become economic received land' O,ff icers Th# loans wilt aggravate the country's those of the almy, have was involved in torce debl. As for donations. lhey are not in allhough the govemment stale to for- the general gilen wilhout slrings attached: rhe traisfer oi 175 Propenie\ Since the t930s, and especially in lheir counlries in the European Lommu- mer soldiers in order lo facilitale aftermath of the large amount of mon€y some made demands retum lo civilian life. lo llnance the war' lhe nrtv (EC) have already provided by lhe US l9a2 issue o[ Diario represented aona"*,rg the organizalion of agricultu- In the Auqusl ll, l..v'. suoerior officers have of the national pri- production. Latino toiet members a sisnificant economic force Several ral and the rural police complained o[ {electricity water' ard suard uoiJ.nt.tprit.' iaving received neither indemnities nor companiesl belong to lhe colo- US aid restricted telephone nrofessionaltraining for nels. Aid from the US is clearly reserved An orsanization of demobilized handi- The ofllcers closely lied to lhe lradttlo- ir has individual fanning plans. and tlrerefore capped v-eterans of the armed forces conlrol the banks faclo- nal oligarchy also to communities and peasant organized a demonslratron lo propertles' tnr\ not available aliiady ries and large agricultural The EC's plans currently simple cooDerati\es. of 5 pani€s: the People s .iruation cinnot be resolved by I . The FMLN is composd the same paltem. !'62mn has alrea- which emersed from a can only follow ReYolutionary ArmY (ERP . measures of demilitarization: it lhe rhe Popular dv been ranted by the EC to suppon radicalized Christian bd$ movenenl): profound evolution of split frcm the CP f,upf.r, tt.orgt a in lhe Forces of Liberation (FPL, which t*a Uanl unO rural de\elopment ol Liberario' the balance of forces in the 1960s)i the Armed Forces deDanment of Usulutan question is another ltumbling (FAL)r the Naiional Resisrmce The land problem of financing' PanY ln lhe zones in addition ro Lhe ERn: the Relolutiona! hlock in the negoliarions imporlant problems like workes (PRTC). the war there are other 1992' occupied bY lhe FMLN during or 2 See /Y222, FebruaiY l?, rhe absence of land regi'ters' falsified ' durinS rh< regouallon' Chatelango' Morazan' 1. Th€ rnendl) coulne. Irhe ;eDanments of large debt slalc and colon La non-existent propeny deL'ls, the prceqs were Mexrco. rhe SPanrsh (rn Vicente. Cabanas. Noflh Usulalan' landed proprietors who have not hia have occupied the of the l-ieuE\ de hLen lrcm Union), the Peasants the war yea$' 4 Mcl of lhe Snen 'rofu' paid their land taxes during ,-x a ttrlv md Ausxsl l99l. larse abandoned ProPerties ih" accords slipulate that lhose owners -fl ii.oJio* ,".., unlikelv that the land ;*i.:::nm'*";;lf; Eilli;Itr,]: 2 *ho rnra" will sell lheir land lo lhe I question can b€ resolved in nine months' govemirent who will in tum resell lhem al MewPoint September 28, 1992a #2f5 lnternationa EL SALVADOR first batch (PRN), supposed to equitably reintegrate into civilian life the demand land and credit. Du ng the first which is aid to those who of demobitized fighters The END is the semester ol 1992. only 30t7o of lhe wor- distribute intemational peasants FMLN s bargaining chip in lhe negolia- the absence of need it the most the poor who kers obtained loans. In the - the war. tions. It would b€ utopian to think that these loans, la[d redistribution cannot be have suffered ftom under FMLN FMLN will allow itself to be disarmed caffied out. ln lhe various zoner \ational Recon.- without adequate safeguards after 12 years The other big obstacle to implementing control. Committee\ of with of war in which it has not been militarily rhe accords i\ lhe allitude of lhe busin€\:'- truction (CRN) are to be established represen- defeated. men ried lo the industrial sectol Organi- municipal council\. community governmental tact, cenain far right seclors have sla- zed in the National Association of Private tatives. FMLN members, h as soon as the FMLN is totally Enteryrise (ANEP), they refuse to particr- Ieaders, non-governmental Salvadoran ted that 8 carry out a general pate in the forum on economic and social organizations and peasant associations disarmed they will Since the concenffation which is charged with dra- They are to elaborate various proposals massacre to wipe out the "reds". wirtg up a new economic development conceming basic infrastructures such as summer of 1992 death squad activity has the model in EI Salvador that would represent roads, electricity, waterways, health cen- increased. On June 2 the offices of a more equitable distribution of the ters. schools and so on. Associated Prcss (AP) and the Inter Prcss nation's wealth. Where the municipal governmenB are Service (IPS) in El Salvador were fire The implementation of this plall in the in the hands of the Christian Democrats, bombed. In early June, the Salvadoran context of the peace accords goes against the committees have for the most part press agercy (SAIPRESS) was the victim the gmin of of the neoJiberal policies of been set up and the fircl cobildos abie os of a similar attack. the C stiani government, supported by (open assemblies) held. On the other tn mid-July a leader of the Salvador t+re ANEP. hand, it is very difficult to have the Workers Union Federation (FENAS- For the moment. a coalition of six accords respected in the areas where TRAS) was kidnapped, torturcd and then union federations, the govemment, small ARENA controls the municipal govem- assassinated, b nging to 16 the number of and medium enterprises and the FMLN ment. such incidents since mid-January. On July arc participating in the forum.6 The refu- The CRN represent for the FMLN 31. another FENASTRAS leader was sal of the employers to pafiicipate pre- above all a means of institutionalizing its killed while a membs of the human rights ve s this body from functioning properly. presence and influence, consolidating the commission (crcated by the accords) was bases won during the war and allowing injured by a bullet. General strike called the civilian population in the war zones to On August 3, a unionist of the Wo*ers participate in communal life in prepara- Association of the Mini.lry of Public ln an attempt to force the ANEP to par- tion for the next elections. Works (ATMOP) was murdered. On ticipate in the forum the unions issued a However the national reconstruction August 7, the leader of the Reconsftuction call for a general strike on July 13 and 14 plan does not include the zones where the Committee of the southeast zone, com- which also demanded that the proposed conflict was the heaviest. which includes mander Tomas Martinez Ramos. was shot sales lax of 1070 be rescinded and that poor pafticular many regions, in the slums by thrce men. wages be increased. have war that been swollen by lhe and 10, the house of a comman- But the suike was only a mired success. On August rural exodus. Forces Liberation Over 150,000 public sector workers struck der of the Popular of (FPL) but transpofi workers and p vate sector in Santa Ana was broken into and Far righl hinders negotiations workers failed to do so. many documents stolen. Several days later. Federalion The govemment has justified the sales The delays in applying the accords the offices of the of Agn- (FEDE- tax as vital for the reconstruction of the underline the contradictions within the cuhual Production Cooperatives COPADES) was raided. counfy. But it is in fact a direct function Sovemmenl. lhe army and the employers. ofits neoJiberal policies. This indirect tax The most reactionary sectors have tried to Every day members of unions antl poli- will hit lhe entire populalion hard. e'pe- hinder the negotiations. tical organizations receive threatening let- cially the poorer layers for whom income They have nor accepted Lhe militarS .ta ters. Many of these militants are medium taxes we.e lowered by 347o in the first lemate and do not in any way want to give Ievel cadres who for the moment have quarter of 1992. up lheir preroSalives. in rpite oI US pres- escaped assassination attempts. The price of many basic goods rose at sure to contain the Central American This psychological pressurc is obviously the end of July. The Consumer Defense conflagralion in the inleresls ol the big aimed at ftightening Salvadomns who are Committee has nored thal 70olo ol the Sal. American market.g 6. Narional U oo of Workers md Peasanrs (UNOC, vadoran population lives under conditions These stalling tactics take their toll. The Cbristim Democratic)t National Union of Salvadc of extreme poverty. FMLN is forced to assign many cadres to ,o worler\ (UNTS. clo\e to rhe FMLN)' Coniede Er,on otSal\adonn workea,CTS. righr,\r,: It has urged that sugar, oil, eggs and the \uccessive negotialions the Ireat). Cene. ol ,al Conlederdrron ot wo.le^ (CcT, .ocral Chri\ flour be excluded from the sales tax a which - ha\ rhe re\ult o[ reducing the poliri- rid,: Demcr.ric Alliance ol Pedsanr. {ADC. !e". request that has been ignored by the cal Fopaganda work it can do in rhe rank sa.t orgaoization close to the FMLN): General Association of Public and Municipal Employees govemment. The Permanent Committee and file in the regions where it has litde (AGEPYM). Each of thes conrederarons includes for a National Peace Debate (CPDN), influence. The FMLN leade$ are aware of which involves 73 organizations,T also this. 7. The CPDN includes the churches. the social asked Cristiani to veto the law on the sales Faced with such a situation. the FMLN mo\emenr. rhe \mall enrerpn\e,. Lhe Cenrral Amen- td Un,!e^rr) (UcAr and rhe UnireFiry oi Sat\- tax, again without success. nevertheless has an important asset: its dor (UES). The introduclion of thr,. tax demon.,- army. On June 30 in compliance with the 8. Leh pany in the |MLN ha\ lomed ir. ohn no orgdizarion. Thet work priDcipally trates the fragility of the peace process accord\.20% oflhe E\D ras to be demo- Sovemmental in the Nas of educadon, health dd development. and lhe limilation\ of the differenr instilu- bilized. On July 31. 1992 a second conlin- 9. See/Y223, March 2, 1992. tions set up to monitor it - the COPAZ, gent representing 20% of the fighters were 10. This legalization ba been reiected on lhe basis CPDN, the Forum, and others. to hand in their ams. of a number o{ legal argumerrs. The ARENA Broup in the assembly opIDSed iI, arSuing rhar, The same is true of arcther element of But this never happened accordinS due to a ro rhe tonsrirurion. an amed orSeizarion cmor be the Plan oi National 22 Reconstruction conllict arising ftom the lack of a plan ro declded a polilical organiation- lnternationat Viewpoint # 235 O September 28, 1992 EL SALVADOR ready to work with the FMLN. Coupled emerge behind ARENA. The wilh the delay in sanctioning lhe Front as CD, discredited by the previous a political pany. it impedes the organiTa- president, Duarte, lost even tion of propaganda work.lo more influence as it was not present at the negotiating lable. Resumption of armed struggle In any case, the FMLN and unlikely the CD plan on concluding an agreement for the second round. ln spite of these provocations, which are ln this electoral battle, the Front inspired by conservative forces probably should be able to count on the tied to the army, a relaunching of armed Democratic Convergence (DC) hostilities is unlikely for the moment. The and on the Union for National FMLN appears to be convinced that Democracy (UDN), former armed struggle must now Sive way lo legal branch of the Salvadoran political and social struggle, with an eye Communist Pany.ll t to the 1994 general elections. For its pan, ARENA is coun- It is very probable that we will see a ting on a victory in thc first renegotiation of the timetable for imple- rourd thanks to ao alliance with menting the accords after October 3l and Solidaridad, a new pany based a prolongation of the cease-fire. The on evangelist sects that enjoys a ONUSAL will probably remain in the large audience.l2 country after that date. FMLN leade.s But a thoroughgoing electo- figure that the process will last around two ral reform is needed before or thre€ years. 1994. There have never been .\ The Front has no illusions as to its "clean" elections in El Salva- appeal today. The western part of the dor, and the electoral registers country. which was largely spared during have only 600,000 names out of the armed conflict, has been swamped by a population of more than 6 goverrunent propaganda and is much less million people. open to FMLN influence ARENA on lhe Likewise, 90olo of the inhabi- FMLN munities of retumed exiles. even if it is orher hand has enjoyed new legilimacy in tants in the zones conrolled by the papers nor voting true that the opening permitted by the the eyes of many after it signed the peace have neither identity case of manY cease fire has unleashed tendencies accords. cards, which is also the towards tumine inwards towards the farni- The presence since last MaY of the exiles who came back to the country at the ly hearth and the abandonment ol collecti- FMLN's two principal radio slations end of the 1980s. - papers to the entire ve structurcs. Radio Farabundo Mani of the FPL and lssuing identity would require large fund5 and The Front supports reconstruction aid Radio venceremos of the People's Revo- population lhe parl ol lhe that allows communities to collectively lurionary Army (ERP). which beforehand above all a real will on have lard that they occupy. includin8 had onl! broadcast several hours a day govemment. FMLN representatives purchare lhe eleclions lake where lhe peasanls decide lo under difficult conditions, should help the ilready demanded lhat inslances of intemalio- land individually This solution FMLN. Dlace under the surveillance wort their with its slrategy of conquering prevent a rapid reconcentration of But these means of communication nal bodies. *ill municipal govemments, the lhe targe land owners due to the remain modest compared lo lhe many pri- a number oi land b) altemative econo- vate and povemmental radio and televi- FMLN hopes to create credit soueeze. in lhese lone: model\ sion statlons. Furthermore, with the mic poles of developmenl The :,itting up ol lhe\e diflerenl serve a! an example for the is marked by the exception of Di0rio Lalino. tak€n over b) whi;h will oi social development population. of the panies that lhe workers in cooperative Iorm slnce rest of the different characteristics lgq0. the press is entirely under lhe make up the FMLN. control of the governmenl and private Self-sutliciencY Prioritized For one member of the central commil- Revolutionary caoital. tee of the Cenral American The economic Projects that have been ilthoush cenain sectors of Ihe intelli' Workers Pany (PRTC), the existence of Dut forward in this framework. although university stu- components oithe FMLN' which gentsia tiigh school and i,urr,."., to prioritize food self-suffi- different lawy€rs and so on) could seem to be a weakness, in fact iems and orofessors, ciency. involving the development of FMLN. a pan oflhe midd' the opposite: 'lhis has allowed lhe are close to the aqro-induslry and profilable projecls reflects from the wage the war in different ways le classes who have benefitted (fishing, fish-breeding, conseryatorres' FMLN to US aid given during the war and it will now help it bring about peace colossal and so on); but such projects pose many years not ready to give support to the with the same diversity. This is a strong are Droblems. Darticularly in a overpopulated "subversives". iountrv ltke El Salvador (249 inhabilants poini'. situation, the FMLN il is neiLher more Faced with such a par rqrura kilomerer). wilhoul primary The FMLN hold\ lhat has given priority to reinforcing it' resources and wiLh a mvaged environment I L The Denrocratic Conve.genc'e. $hose its -baltions' for the munici- zanora (leader influence in (foresls destroyed by extensive agricultu- rra". i" *" So"iut O"*...ur Ruhen ohained oal elections. Bul il also lnlends lo work soil, lack of of th€ Scial Clrislian PoPular Movcmenl) re. war, the e\haustion of lhe in lhe legislalive electio's of in other pans of the counlry during the 12-6% of the Yoies water and so on). March 1991. for the legislalive eleclions America lhe campaign ln such a siluation. the FMLN has Prio- 12 A\ elswhere,r Cnrrrl md t'r'n electlon ls El Salva_ As far as the presidential of collecli\e organization .!deel!l secl\ m curenl\ Sroshg 'n rirized forms d6r the ble*inE of rhe Unired Srart\' uhl'h concemed. cenain observers thir* that the ;,rh {produclion and service cooperatives) r.es rhem a5 a means of lhe sub overtake the Christian 8@d 'ounrering FMLN could which have already been set up ln com- !.6pe idcology ottbe liberalion fteologrars' 23 Democrats in the first round but still September 28, 1992 O # 235 lntemational viewpoint EL SALVADOR / PERU nor less divided than it was during the armed conflict. As before. each experi- Fujimori's ments in "its" zones with its own develop- ment Eojects - which is certainly a sour- ce of richness, but will not help in elabo- propa$anda coup rating an altemative national project. But during negotiations with lhe government, the Front will speak with AS the economic situation in Peru worsens lollowing the only one voice, which will be defined by April coup carried out by President Fujimori, the arrest of intense intemal discussions. the Maoist Sendero Luminoso guerrilla movement leader The unified leadership of the fronr Abimael Guzman Renoso is a major propaganda boost for however, has decided that during rhe pro- government. paganda campaigns in the regions where il his is barely present. its militants will present themselves as membeN of the FMLN and ROLAND WOOD not ofthis or that party. However, in the field there have becn hile one of the reasons bul some leflist intellectuals saw them attempts at raiding between the different given for the coup was the as the only effective form of- opposition. cunents. This was seen in Usulutan where need for a free hand to take With the subsequent rise in repression, communities lied to the FMLN current on Senderol. the arrest is Sendero were better placed than arly other dominant in the zone opened negotiations probably rhe first and c€rtainly rhe organization to respond. with municipal governments most - without important tangible result there ln contrasl, the mass Peasant Confede- consulting other communities has - that were been. mtion (CCP) and the General Confedera- linked to other FMLN cunents. ln a television broadcast on September tion of Peruvian Workers (CGTP) who There has also been competition over l3 Fujimori described Gfizman as a were forced underground following "devilish genius" obtaining loans from intemational orga- who had amassed a attacks on their headquaners by the mili- huge penonal fonune nisms and govemments. These funds arc from rhe drugs traf- tary, have nowhere near the same exp€- lhen tlc. distributed to the communities on thc rience as Sendero in clandestine opera- There is indeed clear evidence basis of the political positjons of each that Sen- tions. The same point could be made for dero levies communities. taxes upon the narcottofi- much of the Peruyial left. rurres in the areas where they have some Having increased their presence in the control. but their general involvemenl Cleavages at all levels in towns and cities, particularly in Lima, the drugs rraffic is really quire small in Sendero now believe lhey are on lhe thre- These cleavages comparison with the military and a whole are found at all levels shold of tie "strategic offensive for taking of political and social life iocluding host of individual poliricians, past and power". present. women's organizations, student, agricultu- Thi\. they claim. corresponds wilh rhe The hypocrisy involved here ral and industrial unions. and so on. will nor fiflh and final srage go rhrough which the In the July unnoticed and therc can be linle doubt 22, isste of Diaio Latino, Peruvial revolution must pass. [n a docu- comrnander that Fujimori knows that this is not the konel Gonzalez claimed that ment published in 1984 Sendero descri_ main issue. Of far morc impofiance at a meeting of 176 members is the bed this of the FpL psychological stage as full-scale civil war in central effect that Gizman,s arresr, committee, it was decided lhat rhe which the people's army will move in alongside eight other Central Committee five organizations of the FMLN should from the countryside lo surround members, will have on Sendero the dissolve ard "build as a cities. There a sole structue for lhe whole. willbe an urban insurrection 1994 electoral campaign" in order to win to complement the noose drawn around a maximum number ofvotes. the cities from the counryside. Solid events This perspectiv€, which would trans_ form the Fronr into one sole pany with In a recent statement Gfzman, under his Pol Potist activities various cu[ents within il, was immediate_ more favoured pen name of presidenre Gonzalos, Initially, Sendero's violence was direc_ Iy contested by lhe other forcos who held said that '.the masses must be ted at corrupt elemenls in the countrysidc, that in the current situation taught with solid gvents, so that ideas arc such a deve, families rhal bludgeoned inro them". had oflen rurhlessly domina- lopment is not on rhe order of rhe day. led whole The arrest of Gdzman ..solid communilies for ienturies. The five parties who make up the is one FMLN This won them supporr.But as are currenlly event' which Sendero is unlikely lo have Sendero preparing their respective activities increased. peruvian foreseen. lt is far too many in lhe congresses and documents. early ro say whether they will paralyzed le[l began to characterize them not su Despite be or galvanrzed. Ir is lhese divisions, the FMLN is much as Maoist but as pol potist. a queslion of whelher thetr slrenglhs or The today more lhan a simple political party; it lherr weaknesses reason? Sendero began Io attack oppo_ represents come to lhe fore no\a an undeniably strong economtc nents on the left as that G[zman is no longer at their head. much as the riehr. and social force. They Sendero has thrived in the posr-coup have been responsible for rhe ln spite of a regional "execurion and intemational envlronmenl ol lension and violence. of imponanl and respected context which is hardly favorable communlty. trade to revo- Increasing numbers not just the poor union and peasant lea- lutionaries. the choices made up unlil now - ders I Independent eaty\r: e\Umare lhar by the FMLN and lhe le\el of social overlappins One of their most recent victims was memDc^nrpot tr'e Cbmmunist pan! of peru and rhr mobilizatron leave Maria Elena Moyano, a popular the situation open. PopularGuerilla Amy (ECp,. which mates uo sen- leader of dErc. h abour s.0m. The h,she{ trsurc e$imared the women's movement in the Villa Et lor rhe llf i,l :fl#lilix,"ll.l or8annariotr'\,tmed,are DeriDhe.v r0o"" Salvador slum, in the oulskins of 24 i, ffn.FnannotTthe\.Septe.t. il. rqS,:.'^ Lima. "l*klll Nol satisfied with having shor her, Sende_ lnternational Viewpoint # 2gS (D September 28, 1992 PERU ro blew her body apart with public works and bad debt dynamite. relief for banks. This is the kird of "solid The IMF has been honest event" with which Abimael enough to point out that this GUzman would prefer to "blud- will do little to ease the geon" the masses. Indeed, eftects of the recession. In human rights groups believe fact, the IMF has even gone that, with the escalation in Lima so far as to say that Fujimo- of their often indiscriminate ri's govemment went too far, bombing campaign. Sendero is too soon. now responsible for most Squeezed between the vio- I deaths. lence of the militrary and Sen- In the meantime. the econo- dero are the poor and the mic situation continues to dete- democratic workers' and pea- riorate. In Lima, 8070 of the sants'organizations. workforce is said to eke out a Their immediate response living in the "informal sectoi', has b€en one of self-defence. street peddling goods from but the form and role this small, unsafe workshops, or tou' takes can be quite varied. ting dollars ftom sreel comers. What has been critical in The existence of this informal every instance is their inde- sector is nothing new but it now pendence from both the mili- contribules over 40% of the tary and Sendero. and the Cross Domestic hoduct (GDP), creation of genuine structures while the traders themselves are of democracy and accountabi lucky to make much more than lity. $2 a day. In areas where the CGTP President Alberto Fujimori's and the CCP have still been two-year old austerity program- able to function, they have me has increased the numbers in been central to the emergence "critical poverty" by another of defence committees or seven million, bringing the total "survival organizations", country's to more than half the has been pul forward by a human rights which have often taken over functions population. 23 million organization, the Andean Commission of that would have been caried out by the Jurists. A spokesperson recenlly descri- state, in particular the distribution ofbasic The signs ol a bed rhe mililary as largely incompetent - food stuffs. country in decline leading, in the first instance, to the death In the countryside, rorulas campesiuts (peasant committees) have caused somo ln Lima's city centre rubbish piles up. of many innocent victims. contoversy. Even Fujimori has claimed Days without electricity, owing to Attempts to stabilize the situation have formally he supports them; but, as many have droughl affecling hldro-eleclric plants. had littte effect. Fujimori has to a new "demo- asked. which rondas does he mean? add to the sense of a city and a country in announced that elections congress" will take decline. cratic constitutional A wors€ning economic crisis has been place on November 22nd. This announ- Armed self-defence cement follows a pledge to the Organiza- accompanied by years ot incr€asing mili- ln many areas the ,ordds, often first tion of American States (OAS) in May. tarizaLion. beginning under former Pre\i- established in the 197&;, constitute a form The proposed congress is to have a dent Alan Garcia. of armed self-defence for lhe masses wor- countries mandate due to last until the end of Like other Latin American - king under lhe leadenhip o[ local demo- period 'democratic Fujimori's term in July 1995 to write a during the of so-called - cratic popular organizations. Links are in the ea y 1980s, the military new constitution and oversee govemment opening" slowly being forged between these rordas retained significant influence in the state decisions. and the committees in the towns. apparatus. But in other areas the military have Fujimori govemment's links with The Veneer tor continued been organizing peasants' groups of the the military. and in particular with the dictatorshiP same narle under the prctext of fighting army, have been one of the pillars of ils is that Peru's Sendero. The reality, however, immediate stability. But it is unclear how many of pan unless the new rontlas establish their Fujimori merely took lhis relaliohhip opposition parties are willing to take independence from lhe military they are funher the coup earlier this in the elections. The congress will have one slep merely used as pawns. in!ariably atlac- - lhe lnler- only 80 members, a third the size of the year - as a way of re-assuring king all those who are opposed to the Fund (lMF) and the pre-coup parliament. lt is increasingly narional Monelarv govemment's policy. World Bank that iheir neo-liberal diktats being seen as a veneer for continued dic- Il i5 the democratic ,.elf-defence organ,- would be applied. tatorship. The aim is to have sanctiols ,ations rhat desene and need our solidar,- Over half the country is now, nominal- lifted and extemal aid restored without ty. Despite a real decline in struggles ly, under some form of military conrrol or having lo make any real political changes they have a potential to become centres of administralion. Nominally. because in The announcement of elections came a an altemative popular power a third many areas the state's writ has simply day afler Fujimori said he \ ould modif) - torce lhal in the future will be bener pla- ceased to run. his economic policy by injecting $300m !t ll to assen rhell tn a cnaollc rcru.x l-{ One explanation for lhis slate of affairs of accumulated govemment savings into ced september 28, 19924 * 235 lnternatlonal viewPoint GREECE cal war on independent Macedonia' a war which is expanding from political socialists oPpose (non_recognition) to econo- Greek declarations mic embargos, and perhaps ultimately to warmon$erin$ military intervention. In this war, Greek imperialism must be defeated. Otherwise it will remain a permanent danger with the Greek population itself as a constant target.... THE embattled New Democracy government in Greece has attempted to stifle popular anger over continuing attacks on Bight to self-determination issue-of l[acedonia' living standards and ilgtrts by seizing on the the Slavic its Just like any other nation, ThJ lormer Yugoslav republic ol Macedonia has declared Macedonians have the right to self-deter- independence, ind some extreme nationalist currents there have mination, state independence and their taid ctaim to Greek Macedonia, including the country's second exercise of this right must be supported largest city Salonika. The Greek ruling New Democracy Party has unconditionally, above all in the neigh- including Greece. The up nationalist hysteria against the alleged threat bourjng countries, be6n whipping hislorical discussion about the "nationa- new government in to Greece'i integrity presented by the tiry" ol rhe ancienl \4acedonians i\ ab.o- Skopie; attempti to protest against this campaign have met with lurely irrelevanl from lhis poinl ol view repression (see ,y no. 229, May 25, 1992). Whar i5 al stake is the possibilily of One point of dispute between Athens and Skopie has been the human being. and ol populalion: lo liee- ly decide for themselves, and neither name Macedonia by the latter, which the Greek side use of the particular the Greek state, nor Support Ior the Greek slates, in insists implies claims on Greek territory. histo ans have the right to deny their view has come from the European Community, which has independence. refused to recognize the Skopie government. Greek natioralism, like all aggressive We print below extracts from a resolution giving the position ol nationalisms, presents its imperialist against external the Gieek revolutionary Marxist organization, the OKDE intentions as defence threat. It insists on a Greek copyright on has been active in the anti'nationalist (Spartakos), which the word "Macedonia" and considers its campaign, on the Macedonian question. use by non-Greeks as a threat. Such an approach can only rcinforce the political DOCUMENT positions of both Greek aid Macedonian Slav ultra-nationalists - expressed for example in the 'war of lhe map'' [sho- wing respective territorial claimsl... To lhe ideology of expansionist "liberation" we REEK imperialism has deci- nuances, all of these share the same "Sta[- mu\t oppose the principle of free rell ded to strangle culturally, no-MeNhevik" view that the nation is a determination. It is up to the Macedonian economically, politically and suprahistoric entity equipped with .ights Slavs to choose their own name and the later perhaps militarily - a that have to be imposed on living human duty of the Greek workers movement to whole population, that of Slavic Macedo- beings. They disregard the nationalism of demand that the Greek govemment reco- nia. For this purpose, which is one of a oppressed peoples as crcations ol "impe- gnizes at once and urconditionally the classic imperialist type, it has not only rialist instigation"; ihis police philosophy Republic of Macedonia. enjoyed the solidarily of the other EC leads them today to support Serb and Revolutionary Marxists must defend the states but has succeeded in winning the Greek great nationalism. dghts of minorities in their own counffy. suppon of much of the Greek population, Their various proposals both in terms The Greek state increasingly violates lhese with the help of the big refomist paities, - of supporting Greek nationalist aspiations rights. It denies certain citizens - for PASOK (social democ.atic) d the KKE and in demanding a UN confercnce on the e\ample. lhe Turkish minoril) lheir (the Communist Party). Balkans, ignore existing populations and nationality and tries obstinately to lbrbid We are confronted with a form of leaves the way free for their political sup- the Slavs in Greek Macedonia from using racism that wants to rese e privileged pression on national grounds. Most direct- their morher tongue. claiming rhal lheir rights for the "Greeks" at the expense of ly affected by this odentation are minority language is non-existent. Greek political the "Slavs" and others and which sup nationalities inside Greece (Slavs, Turks, parties are called on to state thal '1here are presses the democratic rights of the natio- Pomaks and so on). no Macedonian Slavs in Greece", but only nal minorities in Grcece. In the course of Despite these parties' declarations about "people with two languages" and repeat the advance of the nationalist steam-roller human ghts which we have to use to the allegation that there are no Turks, only even the most elementary democratic further the anti-nationalist- cause they "Muslims"-.. rights get crushed. accept and take paft in the hyste.ia- which Fu hermore Greek military involve- identifies every "member ol a different Right to dilference ment either alone or as part of an imperia- race", "stranger" or "hetetic" as an agent The arrogance of the Greek ruling class list alliance cannot be excluded. The most of the "enemies ofHellenism". who are imposing terms and identities ori crucial problem lor the Creel. uorlers i. Greek impe alism is seeking to forbid other peoples and using their political and how to fight the chaurinirm uhich is rhe people of Slavic Macedonia from decr economic advantages (economic embargo, ding independently what they want to be EC membership) as means oi coercion to 2 6 [i:iltii"I;::lit iJ]tti:"]J.,k1? and do. lt has therefore declared ideologi this end is based on a conception of the tnternational Viewpoint # 235 14 September 28, t 992 GREECE Greek state which wants to impose "unity!' and annihilate difference. Thc Greek workers and socialist movements A strike wave with hare r6 66.1ur. openly and \rruglle \lub bomly for fie followiog: a political edge a) Culrural and human righh for all rhis lN country's citizens. These include freedotll HECENT weeks Greece has telecommunications, which have b€en on of language, religion seen a wave of mass protests and nationality. strike for several weeks. b) Self-determination against policies for all the peoples the of the The CCl called a 2a-huur general .tri_ ol" the Creek srate: thi5 means the de\truc rightwing New Democracy ke for September 3. a 48-hour strike lor tion of the Greek apartheid which divides government. September 9 and I0 and another for Sep citizens into different categories. tember 16 and 17. The tumour has been very c) The brealing-up of imposed national NICOS SIMEONIDES high in the public .eclor and ade. quate in the private sector. The union integration and lhe ac(eptan(e ot dilleren- September 1S, | 992 organized demonstration ce as a source ofcultuml wealth. on September l0 broughr out more than 100.000 d) The free unification of rhe Balkan FIER the coming to power ofthe people, who shouted "Down with the New peoples in a socialist. pol)glol and multi rightwing New Democracl, Party Democracy". national confederation in April 1990, Greek workers as an integral part The struggle is hiShly polilicized, wirh of a Europe have faced a huge attack; while ofthe working people. * even the more moderate unions raising the inflation has been dsing at an annual rate of question of a new goverflment. Even the 177., wages have been frozen: more than bosses have raken ftight, with the Alliance of 10,000 public sector employees sacked; state Indust alists calling on the govemment to companies privalized or closed; sharply Sri Lanka make a deal wilh the unions, while leading rising unemployment; and restrictions on officials of the New Democracy Pany have NSSP union rights. Several times, demonstrations leaders arrested been calling lor d more subrle e.onomic po'i- have been broken up police. EIGHT members ol the Nava by c). Howc\er Prime Vtni.ler Mit.otaki, ha\ The same two years have se€n a number Sama Samaia party (NSSP of rejected such ideas, wirh the suppo( of lhe Sri Lankan section ol the Four-- struggles by the mass organizations against European Community. the dghl's policies, but all have th lnlernalional), includ'ng its failed ro halr What is.aring the governmenl for the their progress. Nonetheless, there remains general secretary Vickramaba- a moment i\ rhe allilude L,f lhe opposirjon par hu Karunaratne ("Bahu") widespread mood of opposirion expressed were ties who first refused to Sive this slruggle a through renewed struggles and rhe hope arrested on July 1, 1992 while for a political perspective, and, now that such a new govemment taking part in a Jana Gosha which will reversc curretl perspective has been raised from below, are ("people's noise") campaign to policies. tr)rn8 ro bring lhe moremcnt lo an end d. oppose government policies The general discontent was revealed by the soon as possibie. PASOK's solution is thal it and demand new eleclions. resulls of a recenl by-election in Athens 'hould tdke o\er poremrnenl dnd i. deman Belore the arrests the demons- where the New Democracy and the Commu- dinp earl) elecrion\ lo lharend. Hr-ruerer ir is tration was violently dispersed nist Party did nor run candidates and called by police who were particularly remaining coy about what measures il would tbr an abstention or spoiled ballot: the social take once in power. vicious towards women taking democratic PASOK party. ho!vever. did part on behall disappeared ol stand. describing the poll as a referendum on people presumed taken by United front relected govemment austerity measures and raised its the authorities.- ,100.000. (KKE) According lo a Reuters vote iiom 280,000 to The Communist Pany and the Left reporl quoted by the lsland Since then everybody has been predicting Allrance 'Slna.pi5mo.r uhrch il dominare\ (Colombo July 2, 1992), crushing defeat for the New Democracy are again.r rai\ing lhe demand lor the Jo\ n "thousands -of Sri Lankans lit govemment at the next elections (scheduled iall oi the goremment. again5l earl) eteclionr tirecrackers, blew horns and for April 1994) and a PASOK victory. dnJ claim rhJr PASOK and rhe Neu Demo banged pots in a lunch-time In July the go\remment announced 1,400 cracy arc fie same. Ill general they reject any anti-government protest orga- redundancies in the Alhens public bus com united front against the govemment. nized by lhe opposition. pany and the firm's 8.000 wo*ers launched It ls possible that the present strike wave "Police armed with machine an all out strike. The govemment rcsponded will die do$n. bur the situation in Greece guns, batons and lear-gas by closing the company down. Since then will remain tense. The populalion has had slood by as demonsirators... there hd5 been nL) bu\ :Je-\lce ln Athen.: enough o['hr. go\ernment and ir. pulicicr called tor lhe overthrow ot Pre- people are travelling in military trucks and and there will be further struggles. The 8,000 sident Ranasinghe Premadasa buses driven by soldiers. The 8,000 sacked sar:led br,: uorkers are conlinuing thell pro and his ruling United Nalional workers, who are organized in a PASOK-led tests, and enjoy broad public sympathy Party governmenl." union. have been corning into the streets according to opinion polls. The eig ht NSSP members every day ro demon'rrate again.r rheir layol[. Funhermore bie inrernul pre..ure i. buil. are charged with leading illegal The CGT union called a demonstration in dinp uo un the PASOK leJder.hip ror a more demonstrations and violating support of the bus workers which was a big Jlnamrr polrcy. PJn) members anJ 'ulpor Emergency Regulalions. They success, bringing out tens of thousands in rer\ dre dilinp "uh) dlrn r qq lnpple rhi. are currently out on bail; their August. The same month, the government govemment?" case is lo be heard on Novem- announced a social secudty law, raising the The govemment has suffered considerable ber 19. * retirement age and cutting pensions. Thls damage in recent months but is hoping that provoked a big strike wave headed by the the storm will pass. Even if ir does. it will eiectricity company, the banks, and posls and soon face another- * 27 September 28, 1992 O # 235 lnternational Viewpoint THEIR MONEY AND OURS Some of the most spectacular events so lnternational View' Markets $o mad far have come in Scan- pornt needs You counffies dinavia. The betore the of this region (aPart As we announced THE explosion ol the European Monelary are summer break, ti nancial from Denmark) lorcing us to Svstem rellects economic tensions that run not pan of the EC, but conslrainls are and trequency lar deeper than doubts about the outcome ol they hope to join and review the Price publications. the French relerendum on the Maastricht are therefore attemp- o, our Treaty on European Union on September 20' ting to manage their ln response to apPeals made Thesi tensions will persist whatever the currencies as if theY this past summer, we have part of the ERM. short-term imPact of that vote. were received donations ltom across Finland, hard hit by Europe and North America. the loss of Soviet mar- hope is thal as COLIN MEADE Our People kets, decid€d to bail settle into another -political year out and on September further responses will come IIE immediate cause of the excite- 9 let its cunency fall against the Geman -in. meDt was a continued and aPPa- mark. rently unstoppable fall in the The next day neighbouring Sweden' Accordingly, we are rene' value of the American dollar, sli- \r hose welfare state tradilions male il hi8h- wing the call lor contributions, T '. ding against the German deutschmark since ly suspecl in the eyes o[ "lhe markets rai- and remind you that no dona' the middle ofJuly. sed one of its key interest rates to 7570 (!) tion - and no effort to Promo' The reason for the dollar's weakness has as "a strong signal that no one can doubt te the magazine - is too small. been the willingness of the US Federal a fixed exchange our commitment to defend Here are some ideas ot how Reserve to lake measures lo combal endu_ (Ff, 10, 1992). However rate' September you can help us: ring recession. According to lhe Financiol this was not enough, and the same rate was Iin?j of August 24, 1992: "In the US the raised further to 5007c (l!) on September a Firstly, by taking an active consensus is that US monetary policy 16. part in our drive to increase cir- should be dictated by the needs of lhe That's fie story so far (September l7). culalion. lf each currenl sub- domestic economy". This approach is felt to scriber could lind another our contrast sharply to the strong money policy lnsane rationality obiective ot linancial stability pursued in Gemany. could easily be met. Evelts took a dramatic turn on Friday Financial experts and politicians view September 4, when the US central bank cut these developments as being about 'strortg" we are renewing our special interest rates in response to news of an and "weak" currencies resting on stronger otler ol a lhree-month subscrip- increase in unemployment. and weaker "real economies". Thus "the tion for only $11/[6/60FF. We The impact in Europe was devastating. markets" are seen to be passing judgement are conlident that lhe calibre ol The Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of on the perfo.mance of economies by buying the magazine will convince the European Monetar) S)srem rEMS) and selling cunencies - a reasonable acti- those who take advantage ol requiEs that the value of the various Euro- vity. this olfer to renew at the end oI pean Community currencies remain in a However, unenlightened souls suffering their three months. closrly defined rario to one another (via the th€ effects of prolonged recession may lurd a Secondly, you can sup- mystedous European Curency Unit th€ the workings of the system as a whole porl the lund drive by donating ECU). somewhat perverse. Against a background direclly to the lund we have This means that any cunency that stafls of crippling worldwide recession in the established to saleguard the "real 'the to fall compared to another must be defen- economy', markets" are to be luture ol our publications. ded by any means necessary. In the concre- found rerardla8 economies pur.uing rece* te instance this meant that as the deutsch- sionary policies and punishing attempts to Cheques should be sent to mark rose, the other cunencies had to try to stimulate the economy. /% 2 rue Richard Lenoir, 93108 keep up; for weaker economies this implied Furthermore, there is a strong dose of Montreuil, France, but please drastic interest mte rises and expensive panic at work behind curent market move- indicate that you are conlribu- allemprs lo support their currencies - ments. Looming over the financial tumoil ting to the lund drive. For pos- implying further deflation on top of an is the shadow of the colossal debt. Thc tal and bank transfers, please already severe recession and/or even bigger Swedish irterest rate hikes hay€ taken place see details on page 2 . public against the background of a c sis of the debt. Our lhanks go out to the lol- pressure Swedish banking system. Similar financial Under the Germals cut their lowing people lor their respon- int€rest rates on Monday September 14, but black holes can appear anytime alywhere se to the lund drive: Sluart R. by such a tiny amoult much less as we have seen, for example. with the than (GB), Liam M. (GB), Berta L. predicted y - American Savings and Loans or the ban- that it or sefled to underline Alan J. (USA), Edmond kruptcy of British newspaper magnate {USA), the Bundesbank's determination to maintain K. (USA), lngo S. (FRG), Martin Robert a strong mark. This was the death knell of Maxwell. B. (Austria), Perer T. (USA), the ERM in its present form. To stave off impending disaster, market Paul N. & Edith S. (USA), The Italian was devalued plalerr the veq same Maruellr. lila by 77o the Suedi Jacques B. (France), Anon. same day and a few days later the British sh banks or Savings and Loans are com- (USA), Ray D. (USA), Adam S. pound was taken temporarily out of the p€lled to engage in more and more frenzied (USA), Vancouver SC (Canada), ERM as an alternativ€ to further speculation, paper interest seeking short term R.O. (GB), Thomas H. (USA), rate rises. The Spanish, Portuguese and advantages that can cover over widening Rita S. (USA), Ray D. (USA). * 2A Irish cunencies are also in trouble. cracks in their balance sheets. * tntematlonal Viewpoint # 235 4 September 28, 1992