WE ARE NOT IN THE DICTATOKSHIPS IN EUROPE

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Friends in need ..?

The Archbishop of Braga and Socialists Party leader Mario Soares.

its basic ideas about the character of the struggle in Portugal, the tasks facing the working class, and the strategy it has pursued since When the Caetano regime collapsed, the Portuguese Communist Party was the only organised force in the country with deep roots in the workers' movement. But its political ideas were set firmly in the stalinist mould of Communist Parties around the world. It argued that the task facing the Portuguese masses was simply the construction of a 'democratic' order in place of the discredited fascist regime, that socialism was not on the agenda for some time to come,and that it was therefore necessary to unite with and support those 'progressive' in this period to impose its will on Portuguese society if there had been a force with mass influence prepared to lead it in that direction.) • After the victory of 28 September there was a massive upsurge in the confidence and combativity of the working class. The anti-working class laws became a dead letter as militant workers brushed them aside with the contempt they deserved. Efforts by the capitalists-both national and international-to sabotage the economy were met by occupations, the establishment of workers' control over production in individual factories and firis, and widespread demands for nationalisation. In all this process the PCP played a strictly back-seat role-following behind the masses, rather than trying to propel them forward.

DILEMMA

Nonetheless the Communist Party leaders faced a serious dilemma. The working class was on the move and would not tolerate anyone who tried to stand in the way. The PCP's old strike-breaking tactics would be a recipe for disaster. At the same time the monopolists and their supporters had clearly gone into the camp of reaction, and the road was open to the implementation of the PCP's programme for the 'democratic and national revolution'. The PCP had no intention of breaking with the classcollaborationism that was carved into the

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august 1975