THE “
CENTER LEFT" DEMAGOGY OF GENERAL BARRIENTOS
[The following article on the political demagogy of the head of the military junta in Bolivia has been translated from the May 1 issue of Lucha Obrera, organ of the Partido Obrero Revolucionario, Bolivian section of © the Fourth International. It is of interest as background material to the present upheaval in the small republic. |]
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The Military Junta has declared its policy to be center left, and has called for the formation of a Front of center-left political parties that could back the presidential candidacy of General Bar-= rientos,
The call for a Front mobilized all the opportunists, who hastened to likewise call themselves center leftists. From the revived PIR [Partido de la Izquierda Revolucionaria] to the mine bosses! Unidén Republicana of Mr. Hertzog, passing by way of the party of the management of the enterprises directed by Crespo, all of them appear as center-leftists, seeking in this way to hook on to generals and to gain the Palacio de Gobierno along with them in the next election.
: It is clear from this that the Military Junta -as well as.the reactionary parties are labeling themselves "center leftists" in order to confuse and delude the people. Conscious of their unpopu~larity, the rightist parties are putting on a mask that can appear attractive, the better to peddle their contraband political merchandise.
But besides the presence of these parties, what shows up the famous "center left" as a trap is its political content. In his speech adopting this position, General Barrientos outlined a right-~ ist program and an anti-Communist, antilabor policy in the service of imperialism,
From its first steps, the "center left" label thus appeared as an expression of the counterrevolution, despite the efforts some of the opportunists made to make it more presentable with progressive adjectives,
It is clear then that the worst reaction and the most squalid opportunist groups have baptized themselves center leftists. But even if this were not so, the so-called center-left position would only be a return to the bourgeois-democratic revolution or national revolution exhausted Py, the MNR [Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucion- “ario] in power,
After the experience with MNRism in Bolivia, Peronism in
in Argentina, the latest experience with Belaunde in Peru, there is no longer any point to talking about the bourgeois democratic revo~ lution. The bourgeoisie and the petty bourgeoisie have demonstrated their absolute incapacity to carry out a program to develop the country and to raise the living standards..of the masses. . The MNR began by placing itself in a center-left position, between the old rosca mine owners] and the Marxist tendencies. It even called itse anti-imperialist. But it ended prostrate at the feet of the Yankee boss and it re-established relations with the men of the old rosca,.
The so-called center left, with or without Barrientos, would be nothing but a continuation of the MNR , of its plans and methods, The workers cannot let themselves again become mired down in this position which has been cancelled out and rejected by historic events.
In Bolivia, it must be repeated, there is no room for halfway positions. The struggle will be defined by the extreme poles of national politics, fascist counterrevolution or proletarian © revolution. No group or tendency that tries:-to take a middle road will gain political strength; it will be liquidated in short order, Every centrist tendency, in practice, at the present moment, only sows confusion and helps the rightist positions,
The workers and their vanguard are duty bound to energeti-~ cally.combat the center-left positions, because they are an obstacle to the struggle of the working class ‘in assuring its leadership in the political process. The centrists try to impede the proletariat from assuming the role of leader: of. the. nation and from turning the . revolution toward socialism.
In face of the radicalization of the working class and its constant politicalization, imperialism and the extreme right foster the center left. precisely in order to divert it away from the main issues, draining away its forces.
But not only must we combat this bourgeois deviation fostered among the workers by the PRIN [Partido Revolucionario de Izquierda Nacionalista] and the PCB [Partido Comunista Boliviana]; we must struggle to guarantee the leading role of the working class, boldly posing the slogan of a workers and peasants government as the only viable alternative in the present situation.
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