MASS MOVEMENT
The following interview with a member of the Political Bureau of the Liga Comunista Revolucionaria/Euzkadi ta Azkatasuna-VI (Revolutionary Communist League/Basque Nation and
Freedom-VI), sympathizing organization of the Fourth International, was taken on January
13, 1976. INPRECOR. How would you describe the political program of the dominant sectors of the bourgeoisie after the death of Franco and the coming to power of Juan Carlos? LCR/ETA-VI. The government program now supported by big capital can be summed up in two words: reform Francoism. There are two aspects to this reform: first, give the bourgeoisie a chance to organize into political parties, and second, grant some recognition to the organizations of the workers movement, without "going beyond the limits" of the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español - Spanish Socialist Workers party, the Social Democracy). The bourgeoisie wants this carried out as a medium-term project to be fulfilled within two years. But there is more than one reason to expect that the calendar will be upset. I won't say much about the pressures of the international bourgeoisie; more important and decisive are the limits the mass movement is going to impose on the concretization of this bourgeois plan. Besides, things are s'ill going to be complicated by the resistance of the personnel of the Francoist apparatus. This apparatus is not inclined to accept any reform of Francoism, because this would imply the loss of its privileges within the state apparatus. But fundamentally, the crucial question for the government lies in the difficulty in what you could call coordinating the pace of the expression of the mass movement and the pace of the "reform of Francoism. " The mobilizations for amnesty and against the wage freeze during the past few weeks point to the real limits of the government's whole project. As far as deciding how fast to move is concerned, they have to take several factors into account. The regime promised the bourgeoisie a series of reforms within the perspective of making sure that there would be some stability and that the mass movement would be kept under control. Now, on two important questions (amnesty and the wage freeze), if the dictatorship gives up, this, will stimulate the rise of the mass movement and the goverment's plans will be
•SPAIN: • RISE OF THE placed in question. But if no concession is made, there is a risk that the illusions that now exist among the secfors generally under the influence of the reformists will be dissipated; the reformists justify their policy on the basis of the results achieved by their tactic of putting pressure on the government. As for the bourgeoisie, it cannot be satisfied with a solution that on the one hand offer no clear perspective for the future and on the other hand is incapable of preventing the ruling class from being bypassed by the mass movement. That is the impasse of the present situation. INPRECOR. What have been the most important developments of workers struggles in the past period? LCR/ETA-VI. The first important struggles were the ones for general amnesty for all political prisoners, including those accused of "crimes in which blood was shed," who the regime wants to exclude from future indultos (amnesties), and for the return of all political exiles. The first demonstration took place in Madrid on the very day of the coronation of Juan Carlos. On December 7 a total of 30,000 people demonstrated in front of Carabanchel Prison and in various neighborhoods around Madrid. In San Sebastian in Euzkadi (the Basque country) there was a demonstration of 8, 000 people, a very militant demonstration, with people marching through the streets for three hours chanting "Tiki, Otaegui, we will avenge you!" and "Dissolve the Civil Guard! " There was a massive movement to get petitions in all the cities and villages. But the most important thing was the extension of these mobilizations to cities where there had never been street demonstrations before. For example, 2,000 people marched in Salamanca and 5,000 in Alicante. This movement for amnesty brought new layers onto the political scene, and the CP clearly played a big role in the mobilizations, if only because of the form taken by the mobilizations for the moment (demonstrations that
3
SPAIN were sometimes officially tolerated, petition campaigrs, and so on). The struggle for amnesty was also linked up with the struggle for workers demands against wage freezes and for the renegotiation of contracts. Sector after sector came into the battle: bank employees, telephone workers, metalworkers, construction worken, and so on. One of the key demands of these mobilizations was "amnesty in the work place, " which means the rehiring of all employees laid off because of their political or trade-union activities. This demand was at the center of the platform drawn up at SEAT, for example. (SEAT is the big auto factory in Barcelona - INPRECOR.) At the present time, the CP doesn't agree to this demand. So getting it into the platform was an important political victory for the masses of workers. In fact, with the figure of unemployed of one million, the rehiring of more than 25,000 workers would represent both a victory against the employers' policy on jobs and, above all, a de facto recognition of political and trade-union activity. Workers struggles have been developing since the beginning of January and are tending to become generalized. Strikes have begun to break out in the big workers bastions like Standard Electric, ITT and all its state-run affiliates, Pegaso, Kelvinator, and so on. A unification of demands is taking place: equal monthly wage increases of 6,000 pesetas, social security payments to be made by the companies, forty-hour workweek, thirty days vacation a year. The general strikes of December 11 in Madrid, Barcelona, and Euzkadi and of December 16 in Austurias were successes and marked an important stage in the rise of the movement. The subway strike in Madrid marks the beginning of the post-Christmas extension of struggles. It is the first strike to occur since the subway was built. And it triggered a solidarity movement in other sectors: banks, telephones, metals. The solidarity was militant and economic. On
January 9 about 18,000 people marched in a solidarity demonstration with the strikers in Getafe, an industrial suburb of the capital where there are many metal facfories. There were demonstrations in the center of Madrid on Saturday and Sunday, January 10 and 11. The support mobilization culminated with the January 12 general strike in Madrid. In Getafe on that day there were
30, 000 striken. In the whole Modrid area, about 120, -
000 people were on strike. On the same day, thousands of bank employees walked out in Barcelona. The strike also extended to the dockers in the Barcelona port and to the workers of the FESCA electricity company (Electrical Power of Catalonia). About 24, 000 SEAT workers took part in the solidarity mobilization. And so on. All the signs of an acceleration of the movement for workers demands throughout the Spanish state came to the fore during that week.
This development of struggles clearly shows what the next step can and must be: a centralization of struggles and the preparation of a call for a general strike throughout the territory of the Spanish state for the overthrow of the dictatorship. INPRECOR. In this context, how is the process of recomposition of the workers movement occurring? LCR/ETA-VI. To arswer that question 1 have to first explain the meaning of the massive participation of the workers in the trode-union elections. The entire working class feels the need to have some representation and a permanent organization that can defend its interests. The elections of the enlaces (the delegates of the CNS, the official, verticle union) were a success for the CUD (Democratic United Candidacies, dominated by the CP). The platform on which these delegates were elected is identical to the one that has been put forward in the present mobilizations. It includes a clause on the necessity of holding general assemblies to ratify any agreements that the enlaces may be led to sign. This victory of the CUD was reflected within the workers commissions. In its relations with the mass movement, the CP is now giving priority to the enlaces rather than to the united structures of the workers vanguard in the factories: the workers commissions. For example, the CP now issues appeals for general strikes from meetings of enlaces. The December 11 general strike in Madrid was called by an assembly of 3,000 enlaces. Nevertheless, under the pressure of the workers vanguard, the experiences in self-organization, and the basic thrust toward workers democracy, a "discussion" is now going on irside the CP. More precisely, various positions are being put forward about the future role of the workers commissions.
One strong current, concentrated in Catalonia in the PSUC (United Socialist party of Catalonia, which is the CP in Catalonia), explains that from now on the CUD should take the leadership of struggles. This goes in the direction of liquidating the workers commissions and relying only on the trade-union structures. On the other hand, some of the leaders of the workers commissions,
Camacho among others, are proposing a sort of combination, using the enlaces on the legal level and the workers commissions on the factory level. Corrillo (the head of the CP), who stands in the middle, says that the enlaces cannot be the sole channel of expression for the mass movement, but that the workers commissions themselves are too narrow a framework to encompass broad sectors of the masses during general mobilizations. So he puts the emphasis on the maintenance of the apparatus of the workers commissions, controlled by the CP; the workers commissions would then be not membership organizations but a sort of movement. Also, a discussion is developing within the CP about the role of committees elected in general assemblies during struggles. This discussion covers some of the same ground as the discussion about the "delegate councils" in Italy in 1969.
"THIS DEVELOPMENT OF STRUGGLES
SHOWS WHAT THE NEXT STEP CAN
AND MUST BE- CENTRALIZATION
& THE PREPARATION FOR A GENERAL
STRIKE TO OVERTHROW THE DICTA-
TORSHIP» It is important to note that during the struggle of the Madrid bank employees there was a linkup between the workers commissions and the CUD. In fact, a coordinating body of delegate assemblies elected by the employees during the struggle worked in close relation with the enlaces; all the decisions taken in common were ratified by general assemblies. INPRECOR. What are the prospects for the reconstruction of the trade-union movement? LCR/ETA-VI. The corporatist trade union was one of the pillars of the regime. So any "reform of Francoism, " not to mention any bigger upheaval, poses the question: What kind of trade union will be built? The position of the CP is to build an autonomous and independent union on the basis of positions that have been won inside the CNS, on the basis of the enlaces. The majority of the PSOE calls for the building of the UGT (General Union of Workers). Thus, the problems that are posed are those of trade-union division and the democratic functioning of the union. In face of this, the CR/ETA-VI raises the slogan of a "trade-union constituent congress" based on the factory trade-union sections, united and democratic, with the right of expression for the various cur-
SPAIN rents of the workers movement, that is, the right to form tendencies. It is only on the basis of such positions that It will be possible not only to fight for the unity of the trade-union movement - to wage a battle against the divisionist line of the PSOE, for example - but also to combat the bureaucratic program and manipulations of the CP. Such an orientation also permits a more effective response to the ultraleftist sectarian tendencies that may develop positions of the "red union" type. INPRECOR. Apart from the struggles in the factories, have there also been mobilizations in the neighborhoods? LCR/ETA-VI. Around the two themes of amnesty and support for the workers struggles there were mobilizations that were based on neighborhood organizations, legal or paralegal tenant associations. These associations were formed to fight against the effects of wildcat urbanization, which was a product of the economic boom. weir first battles were waged over the question of improving public services (lighting, sewers, parks, school equipment). These problems of urbanization are still themes for mobilizations. In December 1,500 people held a nighttime torchlight march in the Orriol barrio in Valencia to protest against lack of street lighting. These neighborhood associations have a strong base. They may include, for example, 1,500-2,000 people in a neighborhood of 15, 000 inhabitants. But their politicization is mainly crystallized around the permanent bodies they set up, things like urbanization commissions or women's commissions, which usually are composed of housewives to engage in struggles around issues like childcare. In Barcelona, for example, in protest against the closing of schools for a week during the official mourning period after the death of Franco, the women of one neighborhood decided to take their children to their work places, thus forcing some of the banks to close. The women's commissions also played a very important role in supporting workers struggles, especially through their actions aimed at convincing shopkeepers to extend credit to the families of strikers. INPRECOR. With the emergence of the UDM (Democratic Military Union), for the first time there is a group inside the army that contests Francoist legitimacy. What is happening inside the army, the pillar of the Francoist order? LCR/ETA-VI. The UDM includes about 200 organized officers and puts out a bulletin with a circulation of 3,000 copies. Although the UDM has broken with Francoism and "Juancarlism, " its major demand remains very limited: "a technical army, " that is, a modernized, spit-and-polish army. The events of November 25 in 6
Portugal were salutory for Spain, because they opened the eyes of broad sectors of the vanguard who were full of illusions about the contribution a "Spanish MFA" could make to the revolutionary process. As for us, we insist on the necessity for the independent organization of soldiers, sailors, and airmen. The CP is working on building the UDM and subordinates all work among the soldiers to its attempts to sweet talk a few officers. It thus sacrifices the autonomous organization of the soldiers to respect for the hierarchy, preservation of the unity of the army, and the myth of a "democratic army." The LCR/ETA-VI, as well as other revolutionary currents, presses for the formation of committees of soldiers in the barracks. Our work is beginning on a minimal level, around the daily problems faced by the soldiers: quality of the food, compulsory mass every Sunday, content of the barracks libraries, that is, the right of free circulation of books, including Marxist books, of course. The committees publish a review called El Soldado. In certain cases these committees have been able to link up with the workers movement. In Euzkadi on December 11, during the general strike against the death penalties, contacts were established between the central strike committee and the committees of soldiers. Finally, we should stress the demoralization actions taken against the colonial activities of the army in Sahara. There were soldiers committees in the Sahara in which militants of the Front Polisario participated. At the time of the withdrawal of the Spanish troops, for example, a truck loaded with arms was "abandoned, to the great profit of the Front Polisario militants. INPRECOR. What are the main lines of the action of The CP and the PSOE? LCR/ETA-VI. The reformist organizations of the CP and the PSOE are trying to channel the rise of the mass movement toward political solutions of class collaborafion. The PSOE does not have any great political weight today, especially not in the working class. Obviously, this does not mean that there will be no favorable ground for a rapid development of this party in the near future. It is enough to recall the development of the Portuguese SP after April 1974, and that was an SP that was much less substantial than the PSOE. There are various currents within the PSOE. One of these is prepared to collaborate semi-openly with the dictatorship and enter into the game of reform of Francoism being pushed by big capital. This current intends to make use of the maneuvering room it will be granted by the regime in order to try to grow, push itself forward, and bolster its positions against the CP. But another current is more sensitive to the dangers of any more or less
open collaboration with the present government. The possibilities for future growth could be strongly compromised. Finally, a left wing is emerging in the Socialist Youth. It puts forward the necessity of overthrowing the dictatorship, rejects any collaboration with the bourgeoisie, and demands the dissolution of the repressive corps. The CP represents the major force for confrolling the mass movement. Now, the bourgeoisie has openly said that there is no possibility of reaching any ogreement with the CP for the next two years. Because of this attitude of the central bourgeoisie, the CP is trying to prove that it is in fact the essential force with which an agreement must be reached in order to guarantee the viability of any project aimed at stabilizing the situation. These are the very words of Santiago Carrillo. He says to the bourgeoisie: "If you want to sign a social pact, first you have to agree to a political pact." That is: "Recognize all the political parties, including the CP, the malor force of the workers movement, and we will commit ourselves to controlling the mass movement. " The CP sees the fight for the trade-union contracts and for amnesty within this perspective. But there are now some new elements in relation to the strategy of the Junta Democrática. After the death of Franco, there were changes in the bourgeois camp, which facilitated the expression of the "peripheral" bourgeois forces, especially in Catalonia and Euzkodi. The CP approaches this situation from somewhat of a new angle. In Catalonia, where the CP is very strong and the bourgeoisie has a certain autonomy, the CP has reached a genuine political pact with the bourgeoisie. It has formed the Democratic Council of Catalonia, which is a body within which significant bourgeois forces are represented (the Catalan bank, currents of the Catalan Christian Democracy). In other words, it is not just a matter of window dressing or of "representative personalities, " as is the case with the Junta Democrática. In Catalonia the CP has succeeded in carrying off an operation it has been unable to duplicate with the central bourgeoisie. In Euzkadi, in spite of the differences in the situation, a Democratic Assembly has been formed that includes the Basque CP and the PNV (Basque National party). It may be noted that in these bodies, unlike the Junta Democrática, the CP raises the national problem in some way. INPRECOR. What are the general orientations of the far-left organizations? LCR/ETA-VI. Generally speaking, the right centrist groups have a tail-endist attitude toward the CP and even toward the PSOE. The MCE (Movimiento Comunista d'España - Communist Movement of Spain) participates in the Convergencia Democrática, while the Partido del Trabajo (Labor party, Maoist) is in the Junta Democrática, into which the Bandera Roja organization'has already partially dissolved.