touched off by the overthrow of the reactionary and repressive Caetano regime in Portugal has presented the Portuguese Communist Party with a serious dilemma.
On the one hand these struEdcs forced the Portuguese ruling class to include the parties of the left (the Socialists and the Communists) in the new Government in order to stave off a confrontation with the -Howtur the contination of these struggles beyond a certain point would challenge the very foundation of capitalist rule in Portugal, and thus jeopardise the 'national coalition al progressive capilal15 a00 nots when a c centrepicce of the CP's policy.
ENSCONCED Little wonder, shen, that the CP, once securely ensconced in the upper ecacions to holding back the struegle and viciously cury it torward, On Friday the Portuguese Communist Party issued a statement attacking Lisbon public transport and bakery workers who had bunched strikes for higher wages.
The Party's statement said "We are facag a conspiracy of the most reactionary workers, that the real threat of counter-revolution lies THE BIG WAVE of workers struggles from their positions of power by the April 25 movement. These elements with the conscious or unconscious help of aroups or adventurists trom the so called left are tryine to bush towards a stuton of ceonomic cones, hoping to destroy Ene democrstir conquests alruady achieved.
Aways cant to Jap on a prosine hand wacon, the Communist Party of Great Britain joined the chorus with an editorial in the same issue of the Morning Star that published the Portuguese CP's statement fear 31 MAVI:
"As recent experience in Bellast bas shown, reactionary forces are quite capable of usine the weapon of industrint action for their own purposs. e so lare show the strike be no surprise at the fact that in Portugal strikes to try co discreet and weaken use provisional government, disrupt democratic unity, and prepare the way for the retum of fascism. In this... the most reactionary clements are assisted by the the new Government, turmod its energies the stage reached in the people's struggles. and of the noed to build broad unity in detendine and advancine the democratic gains which have been wen, repoats the fatally disruptive role of the ultraleft in struggle after struggle, whether in Spain in the 30s, or in Chile in 1973, or in Britain toduy."
SLANDER
The Mornine Star's analogy between Spinola (right) and armed forces chiefs — it is here, not in ranks of striking Portugal and Ulster is a scurrilous slander (This type of argument, and the ominous referenoes to Spain in the 30s, are revivals of the bit lie technique perfected by Stalin in tho 1930 s, and exposed as suca in the mid-50's by the leadership of the Soviet CP. Both the Uister strike, and the Chilean truck owners strike which the Morning Star editorial also reters to). could be readily labelled 'reactionary because of the social position of the strikers (in the one case a privileged layer partners in the oppresdon or Inci cHow"
middle-class group) and the demands of today counter-revolutionaries are provoking respect with Portuguese has drivers and bakers!
echoed by the Communist Party, have attackes unreasonante wage camEs In DI course of the transport workers struggle the Government fired the entise manageing what it considered an excessive wagu minimum wage for all workers of f22 g week!
Perhaps the Icaders of the British Communist Party would like to explain to the readers of the Morning Star why Harold Wilson's calls for wage restraint in the national interest are to be rejected while the same call coming from Alvaru Cunhal (President of the Partuguese CP)
Portuguese workers.
produced by the Communist Party for wage restraint is that dhe big Portuguese monopolies will readily grant wage rises out of business and strengtben the monopolies hold over the econamy:
This picce of stunning political quackery has only one menit it exposes BE ACE Basa Me Com munist Party's 'asti-monopoly allianoe (held by the Portuguese and British parlies alike). Under this scheme workers are openly asked to keep their wages down. not even in the national integest, but to help maintain the protits of the smaller capitalists!
airendy las what i probably the most highly monopolised economy in the Sugars: CP is up to:
workers, and in the cent ca a poucces Rut what simiarilv is there in either The Portuguese Government. lant ment of the Lisbon underground for grantList NATO alliance.
is supposed to be a shining inspitation for in order to drive their snaller competitors QUACKERY Apart from its blatantly pro-capitalise character, this argument is absurd. Portugal capitalist world (the largest single monopoly monopolies hardly seem in aced of a help Ing hand from the workers movement.
The positions of the Communist Party may be absurd on locical crounds, bur they all. much can happen in a year. Dicia make political sense given the course the Pornogese CP has odopted. The CIs anti-monopoly talic and its concern about Tactionary Connis is Just a maco no! exproson air. Let us look at exactly what tie Pore* They are serving as ministers under a Picene who was a cop army ricea in the fascist regime, who volunteered to fight with Franco against the Spanish republicans in the 1930s, who served with Hiller's armies in Rusia, and who was the architect of a brutal "Vietnam type atrategy for the suppression of the colonial liberation lighters in Guine-Bissan * They are serving in a Government in which the majority of ministers are there purely and simply as the direet represen hitives of the Portunese canitalists lin cluding the main monopoly groups) - they Soculists, exclading representatives of the сао сат до гергеселі порепапу ске. * They ane serving in a Government which is presently engaged in diplomatic manocutes to keep the Cape Verde sland: our of the hands of the tiberation fighters in order to save it as a base for the imperial* They are serving in a Government whose - fate is totly in the hands or too army. and calling for unity with the any as c whole, when top army leaders have repeatedly threatened kgitimate workers" struggles, denouncing them as insubondinaliberation movements with an escalation of the colonial war unless they agree to a des!.
What are the imesponsible, ultra-lefts up to? They are waging a principled struggle to end die dity colonial wars and concede immodiate independence to the colanies, with no strings attached. They are trying to promote and extend the self-onganisation of the working class the only real defence against a reactionary One of the main demands being put forward by the Portuguese Tronsky ists of the letomational Consmonst League ELCh is for the immediate convening of'a constituent assembly, clocked by universl suffrage. What has the Portuguese CP to say about this? Allor ali, does this nor clearly take into account the stage reached in the people's struggles? And what better way could there be to baild hraad unicy in defending and advancing the democratic LaIns AnCh have been wor For the past forty years the Partuguese CP has had a pocal deal to say about a constituent assembly - d has beco sor principal plank in their programme. Even struck dumb since entering the GovernThey are going along with the military Junta's vigue promise of elections 'within could be organised within a month? After simply gives the toactionames the oppor tunity to regroup, while the mass struggle The Communist Party is bolding back on the demand tor a constuent assombs not hecause it is afraid it might lose in the elechons hut because fE KHOWEN CUNiE wit. There is no doubt that clections beld al the pacect mamene would give a mussive majority to the Communist and Socinlist Parties PAINFUL But the CP would then face a choice which, given its potitical plan, would be very painful indeed.
It could form a Goweenment with the capitalists. Bat its strategy of building up democracy pradually (as a prelude to huikl ing up socialion), and trying to avoid conner revolution by cuddling up to the lop militarists and monopolists, would then go down the drain and it would have no policy to deal with the mobilisation of reactsonary forces Alternatively, the CP and the SP could try to maintant their "national coalition h generously offering cabiner posts to bourgeois politicians who had been exposed in the gleessons as representire nochine. This might put back the date of the eventual showdown with the reactionaries, but would show to the catice working masses that the CP'y allian pe with the representat with the immatarity of the mass struggle. but was due solely to the Cl's inability and unwillingaess to lead a cual struggle. The hand of the revolutsonary left would be in creased correspondingly As in the case of Chile, the Portuguese workers and peasants have before chei ta roads they can cely as the revolutionary Jeft urges, on their own struggles and organisations; or follow the CP and trust in compromises, deals and sucet tall to stave o1f counter-evolation The torst is the Toad to the socialist revolution, the second, as Chile proves, the raud to disaster.
The CP is richt about one thing the leaders of saunter-revolarion are about, and will emere in the not too distant future to try and do their dirty work. But their faces are not to be sought in the inkso okie workers or poolutioner demonstrators They are smiling at the CP from the other side of the ministeria! conticrence table