Spain
AMNETIALO
SKATASUNAIET
LATER LEL LI
ARIAS
NAVARRO'S
SPEECH
100 Ce from beyond the grave
We are publishing below the response of the Liga Comunista Revolucionaria/Euzkadi ta Askatasuna-VI (LCR/
ETA-VI - Revolutionary Communist League/Basque Nation and Freedom-Sixth Congress) to the programmatic speech of Spanish Prime Minister Arias Navarro, which was given on April 28, For an analysis of the referendum referred to, see "The Bourgeoisie on the Run, " INPRE-
COR, No. 50, April 29, 1976.
"The spirit of April 28" is haunting Valle de los Caidos. A voice from beyond the grave has just repeated the umpteenth version of the Francoist message. Arias is no longer the heir of the dictator; he is his medium. The "battle of the referendum" that has been waged by the various political factions during the past several weeks has resulted fundamentally in new victories for the far right: on the date of the referendum (October instead of June), the essential instrument of the reform (the Cortes instead of the government), and even the content of the reform (maintenance of the principal institutions of the regime, the National Council, the Council of the Kingdom, etc.). And above all: the proclamation of the illegality of the whole workers movement, implicitly including the Social Democracy in this illegality. Thus, Arias's speech represents a real demonstration of the powerlessness that, instead of freeing up the government's action as had been claimed by the reformer ministers, extends the freeze to its ultimate consequences. The "Francoist reform" is no longer but a fossile. In addition, a series of events that preceded and went along with Arias's speech show that "tolerance" is in the process of wearing down. Incapable of in any way preventing mass action from outstripping all concessions, the government has taken a step backward, as can be seen in the new wave of repression during past weeks: machine-gunning of several militants of the ETA; murder of Oriol Sole, Suarez, Peredo, Garmendia; torture of militants of the Communist Youth; dissolution by the Guardia Civil of the assembly in Durango of the Coordinating Committee of workers commissions of Euzkadi; application of the antiterrorist decree; the new law against pickets; detention of workers of factories in struggle; rejection of all permits for the May 1 demonstration; suspension of the activities of the Council of Workers of Navarra, and so on. The entire Francoist repressive apparatus, machine guns in hand, bars the road to "democracy, Spanish-style."
PHILIPS: AUTO RADIO GRAN ALMACEN 1 S TUNZU PAMPLOSA RECR-ETA VE BRUNE GUNA: 76 LBER LAR Under these conditions, the so-called negotiated break (ruptura pactada) proposed by Santiago Carrillo (head of the Communist party) clearly reveals its role of paralyzing the only force capable of putting an end to Francoism and winning freedom: the mass movement, with the working class at its head. It is the general strike against the Francoist monarchy and not any sort of pact that will break the chains of our people. The preparation and organization of this general strike must be the objective of all the current struggles. And for this it is necessary to forge in action the workers united front against the dictatorship and against exploitation, maintaining the most absolute political and organizational independence of the workers and the people from the bourgeoisie. The referendum has been announced for October. Since nothing can be expected of this referendum, if it in fact even takes place, it would be absurd to sit around and wait for it. We must immediately seek the necessary united response of the workers movement to what constitutes a real political provocation. This response must include the slogan for the active boycott of the referendum, to be raised in the factories, on the construction sites, in the schools, the neighborhoods, etc., utilizing all forms of mass action, coordinating and centralizing all the representative organs of the workers and people's movement, particularly the elected committees and the workers commissions, and all the workers and revolutionary nationalist organizations. Against the puppet democracy of the government, which maintains thousands of our best comrades in prison or in exile: for amnesty, unrestricted democratic rights and liberties. Against the Francoist reform and any maneuvers around "coalition government" or "constituent period": immediate election of a Constituent Assembly by universal suffrage with the right to vote at age sixteen. Against the farce of the "regional commissions": immediate election of sovereign national assemblies that guarantee the free exercise of the right of self-determination. Against the fake trade-union congress of the corporatist bureaucracy: a congress of workers unity that defines the orientation of the workers movement in its ongoing struggles, centralizes the definitive effort toward the general strike, and prepares a national constituent congress with the fall of the dictatorship. Finally, against suicidal compromises with any sector of the regime and against the desire of the entire bourgeoisie to maintain the essential part of the Francoist repressive apparatus in one way or another: dissolution of the repressive bodies, purge of the army. These slogans sum up the response that must be immediately organized against the Franco ist monarchy. None of the "necessary measures" that Arias has threatened to use will be able to prevent this response from triumphing. The task of all revolutionaries is to hasten the hour of victory. Down with the Francoist monarchy! April 30, 1976
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Ford QUESTION. WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC BACKGROUND TO THE CURRENT WAGE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE TUC (TRADE UNION COUNCIL)? ANSWER. The most important point is the collapse of profits during the past few years, especially 1973-75. Between 1963 and 1973 the rate of profit in British industry fell by 50 percent, and between 1973 and 1975 it fell by half again. In spite of the economic crisis this produced, until the winter of 1974-75 the working class managed to maintain its standard of living, which went up 8 percent during the year following the fall of the Heath government in autumn 1973. The economic situation remains disastrous for the bourgeoisie despite the fact that since the important defeat of the working class in summer 1975 the standard of living has fallen 6 percent and unemployment has risen to 1,250,000 without any serious working-class resistance. For the first quarter of 1976, for example, profits in real terms were half of what they were in 1964. There are now recommendations for a 3 percent cut in workers' living standards by means of limits on wage increases and another 5 percent cut by means of tax charges -and still without any improvement in the economic situafion for the bourgeoisie. The rate of inflation would re16