Caefano dictatorship in Portugal on 25 April 1974, the final victory over reaction is still far from assured. A Apart from the continuing political manoeuszes, the survival and perpetuation of reactionary ideas on social questions such as the family, the position of women, ete. also threatens the ability of the working class to launch a united struggle in defence of its interests.
This was brought home most forcefully on 13 January, when a group of women in Lisbon decided to org anise a small demonstration to mark the start of International Women's Year.
In a letter sent to a London women's group, one of the women who took part in the demonstration describes what happened them:
"We were no more than 15 when we left home We were dressed in different ways to symbolise the pos ition of women in this society - a bride, a pregnan eral apposition groups.
strikes.
In many of France's prisons the political prisoners took part in a hunger strike last October, as part of a strucele The balls and chains used by the dictalarship in its efforts to silence the revolutionaries have been turned against it to denounce a regimo whose existence is based on the most open repression.
Thus denunciation has borne its fruits:
stoppages of work in the CAF, Bilone and Palmera factories, workers' demonstrations at General Eloctrica and Babcock-Wilcox: demonstrations also in Kenteria and Saragossa; mass meetings in the engineering factories in Madrid These with which the working people have taken part in the defence of the political prisoners, in the struggle to free them, and also to their own desire to froc themselves from the yoke of this totalHarian capitalist regime, The historical period through which we are passing is being transformed into a hattlefield on which will be played out the overthrow of this regime, whose '35 and mystilication. 35 years of bousgeois peace, in fact. Francoism is caught OUS PENCE I SAMIACE DE IC CEO!
omic crisis and the ancil of the masses"
strugeles, and is theretore in a state of crisis to wiich there is no solution.
The struggles at SEAT, el Ferral, Nabarra; the way in which they have gone beyond legal channels (official unions".
Labour Courtsi; the establishment of mass mootings as decision making bodes;
the election of workers' delegates to take purt in negociations: the elaboration going beyond the limits of purely trade MALUE SUA 01 democrane demands:
and the first stops towards transitional DESPITE THE OVERTHROW of the poster saying: Children yer, but only if we want them!"), a typical sex object (with long eye-lashes, a violet wig, high heeled red shoes. cte.), a housewife, and one dressed in a sheet on which was drawn a naked hody with prices on various parts just like a cow. Others cur ried posters with slogans calling attention to job discrimination against women, sexism, ete We also had ten children with us - the youngest one was only three! They were supposed to burn toys whose purpose is to Impose a sex role on children i dolls, little pots and pans, irons, ete. for girls; guns, tanks, "action man" types ete for boys).
But thousands of men were wal ting for us. As soon as we arrived they saw us and started running and screaming Here they are. Let's get them!' Then they jumped on us, and after a struggle destroyed all the posters we were carrying Then they undressed the ones who wete masked, and we heard all sorts that which took place in the years leading up to the Civil War of the 1930's. beginning to trouble the ruling class, and recent news indicates that unease is even spreading among the army officers - one of the main props of the present setup. The heads of both the army and navy have recently had to warn officers against having anything to do with libThe political prisoners in Franco's jails - a living symbol of the repression on which the dic tatorship is based - have played an important part in recent events. Even from the depths of their cells these courageous militants have taken part in the struggle by launching hunger Their action has made the demand for an amnesty for all political prisoners the rallying cry for the opposition to the dictatorship, and a central demand in many recent strikes. The following is part of an appeal issued by militants of LCR-ETA (VI), Spanish sympathising organisation of the Fourth International, imprisoned in Segovia prison, calling for an international campaign of solidarity with their struggle. years of peace have consisted of terror and Franco fright) makes a new reactionary acquaintance Chilean admiral Jose Merino AUNETA sente Order Court; in prisan for over larewed aller being wunder Later we found out that they had also beaten an old lady who had brought a broom to burn, as well as undressing a young girl of 17 who was probably just coming from a school nearby.
There were aboul five or six thousand men, and only about twe hundred women at most, the CopCon (a special military unit which is supposed to maintain publie order"), and finally they said that if there were many people in volved they couldn't come!"
important it is for the workers' org anisations to launch a campaign against such reactionary ideas - and particularly against the repression of women -among their membership.
Otherwise they are offering the right wing a golden opportunity to use this means of gaining a wide hearing for a whole range of anti-working class ideas - in the same way as organisations like SPUC and the Festival of Light over here act as front-runners for the fascist ANDUNI AHHIZASALAGA (enterine to death by a military court, sentence com müted, in prison for 6 veers: JULIAN ARREGI tarrested after being wounded, serenced to 12 years by a military court, imprisoned for over 2 yearsi, ANDON PEDIALby a military court, in prison for over five years).
J0SU BELBAO enteroed to 15 years by a rifttery court, in prison for 6 yean): JOSE LUIS EGIREUN (sentenced te 20 veer: by a mil tary court and 6 years by the Pubic to 25 years by the Public Order Court, in prison for over 3 yean!; INAKI GARZIA sentenced to 25 years by a military court, in erson for over 9 years, PATXI JACA fencenced to 20 years by e military court, in peison toi over Bycarl, JOSU ORONO sentenced to 14 years by a military court, it prison for our 5 yeers, INAK VIAR sentenced to 20 yers By a military court and 5 years by the Public Order Court, in prisen for 2 years; JUAN Ma 20S GARY Intenced to These yeers by the Public Order Courtin prion for 2 veers); PEDRO MA ZUGADE We called the police several times, and even the National Front.
This incident underlines just how deepens. payment to women.
This turmoil is Three of the women who look part se the camonstration In, Portugal this is an immodiate question for the working class movement as the economic crisis As the letter points out:
*The condition of working women is now worse than before, due to the crisis of employment.
Several letters have been publisted in the newspapers asking the Gorernment to fire all the women su that they can make room for "beads of the family"
'None of the work-contructs formulated since 25 April gives equal The average is 4D'S less. In some places, like fic tories, they pet less than the minimum established by law She concludes: The only way of being able to do something in Partugal 1s with international help. We ask you, please, to give all the publicity you can and if possible to demonstrate and picket the Portuguese Embassy and other government offices.
This appeal must not go unheard. The implications of what happened on that demonstration in Portugal are too important to be ignored by the workers" movement here.
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of Insulte: "Women are only good in The last few weeks have seen a massive wave of working class struggle in Spain, similar to