What led to yesterday's attempted A whole serics of measures which the ruling class is trying to introduce into Portuguese political life in order to control the workers movement, They have begun by attacking the extreme left, but this is only in preparation for a more general repres son of the whole workers movement.
They started by imprisoning a leader of the maoist orpinisation MRPP the editor of their paper, Tula Popular. Then they intervened in strikes at the Timex factory and by. the postal workers. After that there followed a law which placed a whole series of restrictions on the press There have been purges of left-wing josimalists from the newspapers, and the imprisonment of left-wing papcr The attitude of the military junta towards the organisations of the fir left was made extremely clear in Spinola's last speech. He said that only orpinisations that totally sup ported the programme of the armed that there would be strict regulation of political organisations along these lines, and that arganisations which wete not prepared to give such support to the armed forces would become illegal The first thing that happened after this speech was the banning of the MRPP's paper, Luta Popaiar. Yesterday & demonstration was called againse Last Wednesday (7 August) the Portuguese army turned the centre of Lisbon into an armed camp. More than 500 troops of the newly created internal security force, COPCON (Continental Operational Command), heavily armed and equipped with armoured cars, cut the city centre in two and sealed off the two main city squares.
Meanwhile riot-equipped military police moved in against leftwing militants (protesting at the banning of the maoist paper Luta Popular and the imprisonment of its editor) and prevented them from assembling, making more than twenty arrests in the process.
This, one of the largest military operations since the coup, was directed against a crowd of no more than a thousand peaceful and unarmed demonstrators. It was clearly designed as a massive show of force to back up the junta's recent warning that no political opposition to the programme of the armed forces will be tolerated.
Red Week/y correspondent Chris Balfour was in Lisbon at the time and the next day obtained the following interview with a militant of the International Communist League (LCI), sympathising organisation of the Fourth International in Portugal.
this ban and the reactionary restrictions on (he frecdom of the press.
What has been the response from the left to this attack?
The only organisation to support the demonstration which was called by the MRPP was the LCI, Even the ollier organisations of the far left did not react vigorously and support this The Socialist Party placed a notice in the press saying that the banning of Lute Popular was illegal according to the logic of bourgeois law, but no orpanisation except the LCI declared itself in solidarity with the MRPP.
What is the significance of these events for the future?
The Portuguese ruling class is currently going through a serious comone ino poutcal crisis.1Dc bourgeoisie is trying to overhaul its econontic machinery and draw closer to the Common Market, But the economic crisis is difficult to overcome because of the colonia problem which they are now trying to resolve forces would be tolerated. He warned and the rise of workers' militancy.
The Communist Party and the other reformists are making a hig attempt to control strikes and workers struggles through propaganda They call fora big effort for national recoestruction', This plays right into the himds of the reactionaries.
see, after the big wave of struggles which followed the 25 April coup a series of particular strupples that of'strike committees, democratic bodies for spreading the struggle, equip itself with a reliable army in the class struggle. The first time the army intervened in a workers"
a second time during the postal workers strike.
class led to the collapse of the first provisional government and the establishment of a second which is stronger, more coherent, and more sorts of struggles. One of the first steps of this Government was to establish a special army unit, COPCON. This force appeared for the first time at a demonstration in officers who had refused to intervene aguinst the postal workers' strike. Its second appearance was against yesterday's demonstration.
Now that the declatation in lo turn the colonial army into an entirely on the use of the army and General Spinola to take over the Government on their behalf and defend capitalist interests from the economic crisis and the working class.
How is the LCE attempting to respond to these developments?
The LCI has set as one of its central tasks the mounting of a militant fight in defence of the democratic freedoms won after 15 April. In the course of this fight the LCI will attempt to unite the entire revolutionary left, and give a Tead to the organised workers move ment, including workers under the influence of the Communist and with the declaration of independence), Socialist Parties An important part of this fight will be directed against the fascist groups which are now organising themselves. We have issued a call for a united fighr against these groups, that describes these militant strupeles both In the revolutionary left and in solidarity with the Chilean people is an important means of devBut they haven't succeeded in con- cloping this struggle have exemplary aspecis: The establish ment of elected workers committees.
workers coordination committees, ete in order to deal with these strug ges the bourgeoisic sees the need to prepared to intervene on its hehalf strugpie was during the recent strike at Timex. They prepared to step in