SUPPOSEDLY as a response to the thwarted coup, the Portuguese Gorernment recently announced a ban on three political groups —one from the far-right...and two from the far Jeft!
The hypocrisy of this move is only too blatant. One of the groups the Christian Democrats (PDC) is a regroupment of reactionaries, led by a former close friend and associate of General Spinola, and probably connected, either directly or indirectly, with the abortive coup The other two groups, the 'Re organising Movement for the Party of the Proletariat' (MRPP) and the "Workers' and Peasants" Alliance (AOC), are sections of the workers' vanguard who, whatever their failings, played a part in the mass mobilisalions against the coup, as they have in previous struggles against reaction. IN PRACTICE Formally the ban knocks all these groups off the ballot for the upconing elections, and prevents them eng aging in any political activity until after the elections. In practice, they will mean very different things. For the PDC the ban legitimises all the mass actions that have already been. taken against this right-wing mob and will make it impossible for it to raise its head. It is unlikely that the PDC will be heard of again as such.
For the AOC and the MRPP the main effect will be to deny them a place on the hallot It is not yet clear if the army will attempt to prevent them engaging in other political activities, but in any event they will certainly be back in business after 25 April The reasons behind the ban are various. The Armed Forces Movement is obviously worried by the international propaganda campaign being mounted to defend the capitalist parties, and hopes to keep the imperialist press happy by banning only one of the two right-wing parties (the even more influential Centre Democrats are left untouched - by the military, although not by the masses) and by balancing this by hitting out at two far-left groups. Red Weskly 27 March 1975 Page 4 For the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) the ban may well be just the thin edge of the wedge for plans to try and tackle the problem of the growing influence of groups on their left. For a while before 1! Murch the PCP was engaged in a left tut, issuing a lot of rhetoric about the "Portuguese proletariat being ready for socialism, and organising limited mobilisations of the working class. But now that the political situation has settled down in their lavour and their position in the Govern ment is assured, they are more concorned with gradually consolidating their grip on the existing machinery of the cupitalist state. Indeed, a real mass upsurge that led to the emerg ence of workers power and laid the basis for a workers state would cut across all the schemes of the Comm unist Party, because it would leave them holding on to the wrong state.
RIGHT MARCH' "Right march" is thus likely to become the order of the day from the PCP leadership to its militants, und already talk of socialism has been dropped by the wayside as "consolidation of democrucy" is put on the order of the day.
The past policy required a tactic of unity towards ut least sections of the revolutionary left, who had started to gain a degree of support among the masses. But the present situation makes it both possible and necessary for the PCP to take a tough stand against forces on its left.
Of course it can't do the job all at once. Many currents of the revolutionary left have great respect, even with the base of the Communist Party, and are seen to be genuine fighters for the interests of the working class, Moreover the PCP's memb ers are likely to be confused by a sudden attack on groups who just a few weeks ago they were being told HED TELL AS SURAN The PCP therefore bas to start with the weak links - those sections of the revolutionary left whose sect arian and ultra-left policies have disBoth the AOC and the MRIP certainly quality on these two counts, although even they continue to have the group which has most consistently and vigorously opposed Portuguese colonialism, and supported the resistance of draftees The MRPP was also the first group to go into the streets against the 11 March coup, and is quite vigorous in pointing out several obvious failines of the Armed Forces Movement-such as the fact that the Movement is made up of various different currents, most of which are not capable of mounting a cons istent fight aguinst capitalist reactcredited and isclated them politically. ion, and the complete failure of che AFM to permit any degree of organisation among the mass of ordinary soldiers For this reason the MRPP 5 greet defeat of attempted coup on 12 March The MRIP is still remembered as SECTARIAN PLANS certainly retains a certain degree of sympathy within the ranks of the The AOC, on the other hand, has equally soctarian and ultra-left policies (both groups, for example, de scribe the Communist Party as 'social fascists'; the AOC is therefore prep ared to cooperate with the Socialist Party against the Cl, and the MRPP raises the lunatic slogan "drive the social fascists out of the unions"). But it has a major foothold in the workers' movement through its leadership of the important Chemical Workers Union. This is another reason, why the AOC is a particular target for the Communist Parly who want to wrest control of the Chemical Workers from them.
At the urging of the PCP the Government has recently arrested seven members of the AOC who are on the executive of the Chemical Workers Union and charged them in connection with a variety of alleged irregulacities in internal union affairs. Despite the protests of the state Electoral Commission (live of those arrested wore AQC candidates in the election), the Government refused to release them. While the pol icies of the AOC bave dainaged their reputation in the union and allowed PCP supporters to pain certain victories recently, the PCI's recourse to state repression to sort out the problems of the workers' movement has hit their following even more If the Government and the Com munist Party are able to get away with these blows against the left they andoubtedly have plans to make other heads roll The air of such moves would he to block the development of a mass movement committed to pushing the struggle forward to socialism. It is to he hoped that the Portuguose revolutionary left will at least be able to unite in this situation to light the threat of Chis repression.
The Sociulist Party has cymcally come out against the banning las part of its campaign against Comm unist Party dictatorship") but this undoubtedly retlects the view of many working class militants. Even more importantly a recent general assembly of the militant workers of the state airline, TAP, adopted a motion denouncing the arrest of the Chemical Workers' leaders and opp OSing state interference in Elte unions No matter what may be the errors and failings of the MRPP and the AOC, the left must insist that they he dealt with willer the workers movement, through the methods of worker democracy - and not by the capilalist methods of state rep ression. The watch word must be, in the wards of the Lisbon Shipyard workers" Repression for the reactionarics-democracy for the workers', No bans on the left!
Free the jailed union leaders! Workers' democracy-not state rep ression!
No state interference in the workers movement!
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or workers' democracy?