living:
Furthermore, they have introduced many other forms of superexplanation increasing the hours worked, raising the line speed, etc. throwing millions of Chileans into misery as they see with despair trat their wages are not sufficient even to cover the most basic family necessities.
The military-lascist dictatorship. put in to run a capitalist system in an advanced state of decay, has been able to offer only the alternative of a reactionary, backward and compromised regime.
it is tor this reason that one year after the coup the military have almost entirely lost cheir social base of support. Only the big bosses grouped in the SOFOFA association still offer them any backing. The organisations to unice around it vast sections of the population, prepared today to strugee for the recovery of the purchasing power of the working masses, the restoration of political, democratic and trade union rchts. und the overtbrow of the dictator ship.
Revalutionury militants have starled to push forward with determination these elementary demands. and are sparing no effort to organise large sections of the population aroued chem But we must be careful not to foster any criminal illusions!
The strugale of the masses must sot be halted at the Jevel of economic and democratic demands From the moment that conditions permit it these strugies must be developed within a perspective of slogans whose A nationwide lock-out by the bosses is a rarber rare erent. But it happened on l6 July in the small Indian Ocean istand of Mauritius, the pretext being the Income Tax Bill introduced by the Government of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam.
The action started out as a strike called by the Manities Tax Payers' Association (MTPA), a new middie class Presure group. But an the cas all the hig businesses the sugar factories, the docks, the banks, the import and export houses - were also closed, blowing the NTPA's cover And exposing its back ers.
The Income Tax Bill represents the mildly leftist rosponse of the Labour Government to the collapse of its coalition with the right-wing Mauritian Soc ial Democratic Party (PHSD) in Decenber 1973, This deprived it of the two-thirds majority in Parliament needed for a farther postponement of the elections If it is to recapture the carlier poplarity it won through the achievement of independence from Britain in 1968, it will now have to cone down its previous reactionary policies (most dramarically expressed in the smashing of a massive work ers" upsurge in 1971).
MASS MOVEMENT
clan Militant Movement (MMM), Starting as a student group in 1969, the MMM rapidly hecame a mass movement with great its documents it claimed to be MarsistLeninist, und stood for the nationalisation of most forms of private property. was also anti-electoralist, comectly insisting that the bourgeois state could only be overthrown chrough mass action by the workers and peasants.
In September 1970, however, the MMM stood in a by-election and won The effect of this. Tollowed by the subse quent failure of the mass strike in 1971 which at organisod. has been to dilute the party's policies so that it now only calls for general clections and the achlevement of power by a guvernment which will apply a truly socialist pro gramme. (which includes the nationalis ation of only four out of the 20 sugar factories)
Indeed, it now seeks to achieve power not through the mobilisation of the mases but through an alliance with the middle classes, This lod it to give unconditional support to the MTPA on 16 July come Tax Bull"
On its left, though, stands the MauriIn one of particular.
Open 10-8 Weekdays A usuaily crowded street is left almost deserted is the bosses lock-out takes affect White at the same time hacking the In NO ANSWER Such a policy provides no ailswer to the present cisis The kack out on 16 July was a clear Chile-style warning by the bosses of how they will deal with any fur- It must not be forgotron that the last Ther concisions to the masses, no matter hew "constitutionnily" they may he legis lated. And besede the bosses stands the #MSD, which apposed independence Jon Mauritius and since then has pursued an openly pro-impecialise Fine, developin Jose links with South African capital i books Hugo Blanco at al-Coup in Chile 100 Huge Blanco-On Chile and Peru 15p Les Evans tedi -Disaster in Chile £T.25 James Petras- The Chileon Coup 15p 97 Caledonian Rd., London N.1, (te. 01-278 9526)
10-5.30 Saturdays MAIL ORDER: add 15% to orders under E5, 15p to orders under Ei These intrigues can only he resisted hy a movement which bases ibell on the independent mobilisation of the Mauritian workers and peasants Such a movement will also require international solidarity, not least against the manoeurres of British imperialism Labour Government only granted indep endence to Mauritius in exchange for the stand of Diego Carcia - now being trans formed into a major US air-base; nor that British influence is still exerted today through the presence of advisers in important posts in the administration and LESSONS OF THE COUP WHICH WAY TO WORKERS POWER?
Tung Ali Gerry Hedlay NEW IMG PAMPHLET I JUST OUT! Available from Red Books, 97, Caledonian Rd., N 1. (Price 30p inc, p & pl