Chile and who explain the importance of international actions in backing up the resistance to the junta. The Minister of the Economy, Fernando Ceniz, deciared on televiscn the olier day chal: Tis: housewives have a lot to learn about buying. 4f prices are too high, it it better to stop being a consumer for the time being isic). At the moment, prices are high, therefore it is more advisable to concentrate on production in order to level out the situation.
In what way is the economic situation the main concern of the Chilean junta today? They are not worried about the hardships of the workers and peasants, that's for sure. At the present moment, after the defeat they have sufferod, the workers are in no state to put up any resistance which could have the slightest effect.
What worries the junta, on the other hand, is the stale of mind of the mactionary petty bourgeoisie, the shopkeepers, the craftsmon, the small landed proptictors They are the real 'mass buse of the regame. They pave it enthusiastic support in the first hours after the coup d'etat. Their defection would considerably weaken the junita.
However, and it is not the least of the contradictions of the present policy, the complete freedom of action given to these sectors in gratitude for services rendered before and after the coup is the major reason for the incredible rise in prices. The extent of this inflation has paralysed some sections of the cconomy.. allecting those who sown tve ecacuuce tom B. To take one example: in the poblacion 1 referred to earlier, I talked to one of the local small shopkeepers, Before the coup he sold an average of 6,000 chickens a month. Last month he sold less than a hundred-and his problem was not with the sapplier. It is the same with everything. You only hire to road the barers. the sule of theatre tickets has fallen by 70% since mid. Oclober, stille cafe and restaurant owners have comPlatnod to lhe press about a 50% drop in the number of their customers. Sales of consumer goods have dropped right off, although there is a plentiful supply. A worker now has to hand over the equivalent of l6 months wages in order to purchase the cheapest and moit base kind of washing machine. The butcher are probably the inost discontented of all During the Popular Unity government they accumulated fortunes behind locked doors They sold thair meat on the black market to those who could altan it A bound ofsteak an the black market cost a worker the oquivaicot of two or throc days' Only on four days of the month were they obliged by the government to open up shop and sell mcat at a very low prie, so that every one could have the chance to eat incut regulurly.
effecis of further internal betrayals. They hope through paying their employees more than is to get a new formula for paying the NUPE workers past the Pay Board, but if this does not succeed they will consider alternative methods of payment it statt threaten to strike again, As tat as rent collection is concerned. their plans are more definite. The Coumeil are to redeploy their reat collectors to other jobs as soun as the new round of rent increases becomes due on EJanuary, This means that no council afficers will be available to collect reat. Job. Hence, although Council meetings are Therefore Skilington will be unable to tum the courts on them, and will have to employ his own officers instead, so the Council hopes, Under the Act, the Commissioner is cititled to employ has own officers and take over the tunction of rent collection from the Council. Thus would mean a new escalation of the struggle, function like any ober Labour Council, and for now the renants of Clay Croes will he actively refusing to pay the increases, rather than the councilors failing to apply for them from the tenants, The Council intends to Today the "four day" rule has been outlawed, The shops are open seven days a week. The slabx are overflowing with good quality meat. But the prices are three or four times as high as they were on the black market under Popular Unity, it now takesat Jcast a week's wages to bay a pound of steuk. Many of those who bought meat on the black market three months ago cannot even afford to bay it legully now. So there has heen a consideruble drop in sales...
The distlusion and discontent of the small shopkeepers and craftsmen is a big problem For the regime, So far it has not had any important political consequ coces. Those sectors shill support those who 'warded off the Marxist peril", as they say in Santiago. But pone if the hysterical enthusiasm of the first few days. These contradictions which the junta tried to shut away have burst out into broad daylight again, and are rapidly paining momentum.
Aware of this situation, Pinochet and his cronies have come up with the feuble and hardly original exeus: that it is all the fault of the provious regime. So thero nas been a renewed campaign of revelations, of denunciations of Popular Unity policies, of the corruption of its leaders, and so on, And the repression?
It continues at the same rate as hefore. More eloctive, and therefore more effective, wilhout any doubt But the effects of censorshin together with the porcmment's rantings make it very difficult to assess exacty what umpact it nas bad on the partics or the left. There has probably been no groat change since earlier reports, although ther are signs that the selective nature of the repression has posed increasing problems for the Communist Party. A large embassies Rather the same goos for its man organise tons, particularly the Youth. A son of its disorganisation is the political raaterial it is producing typed with several carbon copies, and further reproduced in the same way.
At this lovel, the MIR (Movement of the Revolution aty Left has demonstrated its organisational cohesion and the saveral of a Dollica and adminstra tr structures It has already put out printed leaflets on Averal occasions, not only in Santiago. And this week: the first istie of its underground newspaper appeared. This is an important factor. For mary people in Chile today, the mere sight of a leaflet provides a small Elean of hope, an encouragement to stripele against demoralisation and despair, It is difficult to understand this from bere, but it is extromely Important Still on the repression. You mentioned briefly a lew minutes ago the importance and the allowed ander the pay laws.
But despite all this, Clay Cross is far from being any kind of 'mini-soviet." Essentially the councillons regard this period of activily as something out of the ordinary. Once the Tory Government is out of the way, the class struggle will hopefully get back to normal. The councillors say that they were elected to do a mote open than those elsewhere, and they may coopt people we can trust on to the Council as the struggle requires, they see no directly revocuble by assembly or by representalives of local working class organisations. In most respects the Council continues to representatives of workers orgmisations have no control over it on a day to day basis. function of the political sackings in the junta's policy of breaking the workers movement. Is this still going on?
Ill reply by piving you a concreto examnlo, In DINAC the national body for the distribution of food products, 1987 out of about 3,000 employees huve been sacked during the last few weeks. Te this way the government has killed two birds with one stone it has effectively dismantled an aspeet of the nationalsad sector of the ceonomy, while punishing and in what a way all those thought to support Popular But once again, such a policy, pursuad en such a scale, can only open up new contradictions foru regime which has not hesitated to disropt the sconcisy in order to destroy the left even it, in rome cases, political sackings have made firms more profitable.
One last question. Have the ripples of the enormous movement in solidarity with the Chilean people reuched Chile itscif, in spite of the censorship, the wall of silence imposed by the junta? What concrete role can such a movement play in relation to the sitution inside Chile?
Knowledge of the international solidarity moscoent is beginning to sprcad in Chile in spite of the rigid censordip which provails This is importart. The demoniasation or certain sectors, particularly in the working class, is very real and deep-gong Knowledge of the solidarity notement coa hrip to combat thir an well or encoraging those who gre wrency fighteng back For in the ranks of the workem movement there are sectors which have reorgansed themscives very quickly. Cortals trade union structures, completely underground, have already heen eslublished. This is very, very Imporlant - the more so, as the MIR is playing an important and in some cases decim tole in this process. Is militants, its clandestine structuros, its national contacts have in many cases made this restructuring possible. This is important politically, and this attitude of the MIR, combined with the lessons of diree years of i reformist government, could be key in the evolution of the poltical relation of forces asid tha worsens move ment in the coming period.
But this task undertaken by the MIR, as well us hy other cutrents on the left and excreme left here and there where they hine managed to clape the ropes sion, cannot continie and bear fruiL escalating into real, armed resistance, without massive support. That is clear-there must be massive support for the militants and the rovou tionary orgunisations which ane pushing forward and giving a real lead in the struggle. Political support, of course, but also material support. Mashe support in the context of the struggic apainst the repression as well, Today, caught in the contradictions of its own polices, completely depen dent on international aid, the junta is more vulacrable than in the first weeks of the regime to actions and campains lanched abroad:
More than ever, this is the tone for the various.
full weight of the fonces of the left, on un internation al scale, into the balance of international public Decrwe, isclated, Faced with nu let up in the reprosion, the Chileun militants will be unable to pursae their struggle. And it is also our struggle as the Crock genecals and the wooki-be Nazis who are springing up here and there all over Furope Show only too well.
/Range!