the Basque country.
Yet Adolfo Suarez continues his relatively unruffled course towards the veneral ciocrions on 1S June - Spain's first in more than dO vers. How can the man wha authoriset his police to shoot down demonstrators, bans the May Day marches and refuses agalisation to most of the working class parties be leading Spain towards democracyr But that, in a deformed way, is what is happening. Or, to pur it another way, the project of reform of the Francoist system which seemed almost impossible a yeur ago has gone furtber than even its most optimistic champions can have hoped.
When Suarez succeeded Carlos Arias Navarro as Prime Minister last summer everyone saw him as a stop-gap. In faet he represented a turn away from the almost imperceptible reformism of Arias 1o up a bourgeois democracy. The reason for this turn was that in a number of respects Francoist apparatus bad outgrown its use for Spanish capitalOn the cconomic terrain, for example, the impact of the world recession from 1974 made it all the more important for Spain to integrate itself into the European economy as a whole. Practically this meant entry into the Common Market. The different strategie economic and political future of Spanish capitalism could no longer be left to the discretion of a single Bonaparte. Some forum was needed to resolve these questions — a bourgeois parlia ment.
Above all it was boped that the growing militancy of the working far greater than in Portugal before the Tall of Caetano could be bought off by these political concessions.
Of course this WAs always intended as a face lift for the old regime, not a radical break. While Instruments of capitalist democracy would besetup - from which large sections of the working clas were to be excluded - he old repressive mnchinery of the dictatorship would be left intact. Only the diner me water el through the abolition of the military tribunals.
Red Weekly has pointed out all faced this project the very probiciosal was desigoed to solve The economic situation would NEVEr SLOW COrSUCH CHIC sions to buy off the workers molence!: tbe worting cinst had Four demonstrators were killed and 20 wounded when police attacked marches of hundreds of thousands last Sunday in The killings were the climax of a week of violence. Sixtyyear-old Ralael Gomez Perez had been gunned down by police in Renteria earlier in the week. Four others were seriously wounded after two thirds of the workforce in the San Sebastian Industrial belt had come out against the continued holding of political prisoners by the Suarez regime.
a whole series of political partes while the bourgeoisie had none; and the militancy of the workers movement and its growing experience of direct, workers democracy would make it impossible tosell them this project.
So why has the trom not :80 far? The reasons are complex but and Socialist Parties, have been breasted to back ine bourgeois reforin up to the hilr.
Only twice has there heen any threat to Suarez from the right. Firsty in Jamaary when tascists initiated a week of slaughter in Madrid and again last month when prominent army officers resigned in protest at the legalIsation of the Communist Party (PCE).
In January che PCE supporter Suarez' handling of the crisis. I hardly raised a murinur when he arrested 1,200 left wing militants and only a handful of fascists. In Apeil the party tried to pacify army opinice support to the Juan monarchy. These are the marikint chapters in a long collaboration by the PCE and the Socialist Party(PSOE). They were happycoabandon their strategy of 'mass pressure to bring about the 'negotiated break" with the dic tatorship and replace it with a strategy of rarefied talks in which the masses do not even play a token part.
This bas given Suarez the breathing space he neededto begin to construct an array of bourgeois political parties. Ofthe 150 parties registered for the clections four have put themselves at the front of the field, Fragn Tribarne's Papu lar Alliance, to the right of the Government, isrecioned to get up to 20 percent of the vote product of its months of campaigning while the workers parties remain illegal. The Centre DensoCING ALONE SEE DISTO himself, a figure of considerable presuge and yudicatoo Bi las year's referendum as the man Spain'.
LARGEST The Centre, which naturally stands by the Suarez project, is expected to be the largest single party with up to 40 per cent. Most opinion polls reckon that the Socialist and Communist Partie will be rewarded for their subservience with about 20 and 10 per cent of the poll respectively with another 10 per cent going to the smaner social democrate partes That, you may notice, adds up to 100 per cent. So the estimates The Civi Quercs plastio nats n are probahly optimism on the Certainly there are other slates which can expect a proportion of the vote, notably tbe four from the far left, if they are allowed on the ballot papers.
Our Comunista Revolucionaria initially proposed joint slates of all the workers parties and independeni srory. organisations of the class, elected by assemblies of local factory and In this way they were fighting both for a united working class response to the Governeat which could argue the need to overthrow he dictatorsbip finally and to develop the organisation of the working class in its own repres entative bodies.
It is hardly surprising that the PCE and PSOE weat abcad with heir own party slates. The LCI has managed agreement for a joint slate with wo ocher revolutionary organi sations: the Organisation (OIC) and Communist Action (AC). Both have, have had, Links with the Socialist Workers Party in Britain.
The tasks of this slate are rather roposal. One aspect is the figh for a united revolutionary oce anisation inSpain. Althaughthere are a number which have explicitly backed all inces with the capitalist partics the revolutionary suffer the same fragmentation as in Britain. Particularly in recent months a process of unification has been underway.
The LCR, by far the largest of the revolutionary organisations, continues to be in the forefront of this struggle, Talks have been held to try and resolve the many dillerences our comrades have with the OIC, a process which can only be advanced by this agree The central task of the slate will of the Suarez supporters.
comrades of the Liga TELOUS Presentation.
PLATFORM provide a to come to an because we LET OHIOIS LISTE stimulate workers UPRISE IL of Macist parties established. left does not foreign exchange.
STRIKES The bourgeois building PCE's atrempts strike. be to explain the need to overinstutions Ot dictatorship. That means calling for elections to an assembly which would bave the power to redraw the whole constitution. The pre conditions for that would he a fuil democratic rights: che legaliantion of all working cinss parties, a total amnesty for political prisoners, assemblies of the oppressed nutionalities, che dissolution of the repressive bodies of Francoise and election by proportional sepIt is because of the need to platform for these sations rejected arguments for a believe that elections are fully democratic bur to take fall advantage of the semi-lega literantedto exposethi undemocratic nature of the regione Nothing can be finally resolved by tbese clections. For example, the competence of this bew Jegislature to appoint the Governmeal — or rather the willingness of the king to recognise irs decisions — has nowhere been There is a giant contradiction berwsen the stated aim of the clections and the continuation of the apparatus of dietatorship. In the longer term tbeobstacles to the stabilisation of a bourgeois democracy remain.
The economy goes from bad to worse: the capital goods industry inflation runs over 20 per cent by COSTCRE MEETING PRIl widens and the balance of pas mens womens a paces cae return of emigrant workers be has put grealer pressure on jobs and cut off an important source of political alliances exist in embryo and will survive the elections, but litle more, Simply the mumber of political parties indicates char.
And, most of all, the working class has suffered no major defeat. Despite the open collaboration of che PC.E, Mriggles have continued around polirical demands and in orence or aving Sangards, mak ing the Government's attempts to favour unworkable. Struggles like Ine Eeneral striKes In Coc bhau! country and the Roca strike show Ene rebordess or barge munDers ou workers to break with the PCE's stronghold o there has been as • PCE overwhelming rejection of the StoP their All these are indications that the problems of Adolfo Suarez and his peymasters are far fromaver * Hong Kong Seven comrades of the Revolu pathing organ sation of m Fourth Intemetional, have been arrested in Hong Kong fortrying to or mility Merely.
on 29 April, whan they were Com onersonin working class neighbourhoods On 1 May Hself the decision to announced heRe dated e ban by having two comrades march with banners and sio gans demonstration la defined as three or more while about a thousand peopl They marched to the police to protest at the arrest of hunger kee then shamateh the two. who ПІЧНО ВІ ЩО БЕ COM aRO there were clashes with police In which five more people were arrested. * Israel This woek's elections in larse mate for the governing Labour Firsliy there was the replace mentof Prime Ministor Rabin as LAPOET PRI TONGOT after ih8 WHITE account was revealed, Now the who comprise majority of the Labour Parly naw soon series of rumours that Amarican Carter's talks with Syrian Presi CHABARE ciass politician favours a Palesstate, even a Weat Bank mini-slate. But recent events have placed obstacles in the way orthose in the covere mon who were looking to cook up a permanent' settlement.
Indicate that nor the ANO CIRJO WHEWID MORE SUSH hortness intern caving the king-making role withaclusterof smaller parties * Poland Astudent lender and member ol he Workers Delance CommitStanislaw Pyjaa' body found at the bottom of a sta well. He la reported to have died of head injuries.
A JOCH TO TADOW CRIE down the stairs and tha I contained a high of alcohol axplanation which did not impress the two mousand people wow aneano • requlem mass and demon. stration through Krakow lasi PEDAL THE DumBI Too repression against the Workers after the atrikes last June whic!
A number ol miltee were arrested as they red to go to the funaral, amo them Jacek Kuron and Adam * France A DAY MAAM OUTSELIE Police and Notion has appearec It Is almed at police officer and all those who are concerned protection of their propenty. It promises that "the polica public service. be able to play thair tull role ir sater sociely The journal la produced by the Communist Parly