POSSIBILITY OF A NEW COUP D'ETAT IN ARGENTINA
[The following article has been translated by World Outlook from the February 20 issue of the Buenos Aires weekly 1 La Verdad (The Truth). J
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Another coup d'état in March?
Before taking up this question directly, let us first note how it has been ap— proached by some of the journals representing currents among the bosses. or nonworkingclass sectors who were or still are with the so-called Argentine Revolution.
. Grondona, an editorial writer of Primera Plana who is unquestionably a defender of the June 28 f1966] coup d'état, in his rhetorical, affected style, ends his article last week as follows: "This is the modesty which the Argentine Revolution lacks. The necessary humility to admit that it came about not as a grandiose undertaking but in response -to:a concrete need ~- to bring order into the economy and political scene until it is again possible to have a satisfactory democracy. To reform, perhaps, the ‘'written' Constitution. But not to definitively discard the 'real' Constitution. The sovereignty of the people goes back to May (18104, constituting us as a nation." Grondona not only explicitly. criticizes the failure of the economic and: political plans of the government, but insists on the necessity of returning to the "spirit of May."
An4lisis -- the magazine of Carlos Acevedo, €ueto Ria, Eustaquio Mendez Delfino, Enrique Ruiz GuifiazG -- in the "measured" way characteristic of the big bourgeoisie, notes the situation in which the government finds itself. "The harassment of the government" is the subtitle of one of the essential paragraphs in its weekly analysis. “In any case," we read, "the reality is that the government is being harassed from one flank by radicalism, which has raised the banner of a return to a democratic regime, and from the other, by Frondizi-Frigerism, which is demanding that the Revolution adopt its development theses."
The article ends with the following prediction: "Both positions -- at times it is
between the lines of those who formulate them -- are meeting with some wide echoes in the Army which wants neither a dictatorship nor stagnation, and they can perturb the Army, including both sides simultaneously, which could create further confusion in the situation that could be posed in the immediate future." To put it plainly -—- a leak.
Although we don't think that Correo de la Tarde has a wide audience, ‘being read less and less by the workers, it is worth noting what this liberal rag has “to. say on the subject. "At times it appears that the regime is not aware that critical circumstances are impending. Even the ordinary man in the street thinks that the President is badly informed, cutting himself off from the reality in which we are living." A pa
After an endless flow of verbiage, we: are offered the following conclusions: ",,..a Vandorist group, plus MIDism or UCRism, plus the Christian Democracy, plus political.minorities like Diaz Colodrero's Uni6én Federal, plus certain ambitious political bosses and their different entourages, all this mixed in a pot well-seasoned to taste im accordance with the dialectics of the case and whatever is utilizable whether a tradeunion outlook, a religious group or a military emotion. And under the banner of securing support for the revolutionary government ° in the 'great policy of an interregnum,' to decree the ‘death of. the Revolution. > : : ;
The question now has the scope which we sought to indicate by asking at the beginning, will there be another coup d'état in March?
_ Unfortunately we cannot answer categorically because we do. not have a crystal ball. But what we can say is that all the conditions for a new crisis are appearing. The texts we have noted are not the product of the imagination of different editors but the reflection of a very concrete reality. The present climate is very much like the one accompanying all critical moments in the successive governments of the bosses. The wave of “dreadful" rumors and the openly voiced-allusions to the possibility of a coup d'état and a military move are genuine elements supporting this view.
This is not the first time we have referred to this phenomenon. The political and governmental crisis shaking the country has a deeper base in the economic crisis, which in its own way extends into all corners. The workers movement and the popular sectors are the most affected, but management — itself shows its concern over the slowness of the economic recovery for which this regime has no solution.
Plant shutdowns, layoffs and the decline in production and sales are also real and concrete phenomena. This situation fosters obvious elements of discontent, squabbles and conflicts among the bourgeoisie. If there have not been sharper manifestations of this worry it is because the government with its policy directed against the working class and popular sectors gained complete support from the various management groupings with the exception of those in the Confederacién General Econémica (secondary layers primarily in the hinterland). But this united front in practice against the workers movement does not prevent the development of deep differences over general policies and economic plans.
In short, we cannot be sure that a coup d'état will occur, but that the. government. has already: been caught in a new crisis is quite clear. How will it emerge from this crisis? This points to a different question: Are the bosses capable of overcoming the present impasse and finding a way out?
To this we must. reply, yes. In fact through a compromise based on repressing the workers movement they can reach an agreement that will guarantee them a certain tranquility. The proposal made by the former governor of Cérdoba in a conclave of the UCRP {Unién Civica Radical Popular] pointed in this direction. The formation of.a transitional government selected by the bosses organizations, the army, the Church, the political parties and the CGT [Confederacién General del Trabajo] is the ingenious device under contemplation. Agreement on two electoral slates, which we have also previously discussed, one headed by Amadeo and the other by Aramburu, is a way out which the bosses..as a whole would be inclined to agree to provided that the workers movement is denied any possibility of lifting its head and is barred from independent political action. If Krieger Vasena does not succeed in reanimating the economy, these variants will be put on the agenda without ruling out a new coup d'état. ; . ‘ ;
All this concerns the exploiting forces, but the problem nevertheless contains another unknown and this is the role of the struggle between the workers movement and the forces of the bosses. ; ;
It is necessary to insist on this. None of these variants correspond to the needs of the workers movement. It is well known that the top trade-union leaderships, including the CGT, ask only to be included in the schemes for a bourgeois government. A genuing workers position has nothing in common with that. For this reason, the Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores [Revolutionary Workers party] holds that there is no way out except to defeat the present government and establish a provisional government of the CGT and the parties adhering to the workers movement. Such a government upon being installed should call a constituent assembly in which all séctors can participate on an equal basis. in order to organize the country in a definitive way.
Undoubtedly, for the leaderships in question, this proposal would mean playing with fire, but the working class and the majority of the middle class should realize that there is no other answer if we really want to emerge from the present situation of stagnation and growing misery. oe oS
Quite clearly this would revitalize the struggle. But what other way is left open under the measures being pursued by the government? Thus what is involved is to understand that the struggles of the workers movement and the popular sectors are not going to result in mere defense of our jobs or decent wages, .for example, but in disputing the power held by the usurpers. This understanding is now beginning to be deepened, furthering the actual tasks. imposed by the new plan of action.
4,000 COAL MINERS STAGE SYMPATHY