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Pensions, lifeboats and Pinochet are coming to the arena again

Few months ago a partial pardon of the external debt of
semi-colonial countries -depleted by imperialistic First World-
was announced with fanfare. The fact that this initiative was
limited and tricky was already denounced on early date by plenty
of institutions. On August 13th the UNO said that the richest
countries had reduced humanitarian aid by 24% (have they
mistaken the item they intended to cut?) and as a direct result,
12 million Africans are starving. In case of somebody among them
-or the rest of the hundreds of million Africans that the
metropolis are not intending to aid -but to exploit when it will
suit them- could try to immigrate, the Spanish government has
already solutions. A new wall around Ceuta is being built, by
expensing thousands of million Peseta in order to get it
quatriplet and  much higher and sophisticated. The strait of
Gibraltar is electronically watched over and patroled by earth,
sea and air along the shore for hundreds of km. to prevent an
increasing flood of immigrants pushed by desperation. Dozens of
them die every spring and summer, drowned, and hundreds are
expelled. Or they stay in dtention in awful centers in Canary
Islands, Ceuta, Melilla, Cadiz ... where they will try to escape
or moutiny to obtain a job, that would be probably near
slavery-like conditions.

This government is totally impotent to sort this tremendous
human drama, exactly as impotent as the precedent governments,
because it is a  product of the crisis from the capitalist
system itself. Political partys, so called 'right wing' or 'left
wing' are devoted to hide this chastly, while brainy bourgeois
analizers backed by conspicuous 'progressists' claim for
investments in Africa in order to build 'maquiladora' facilities
(a Mexican word for the factories working under transnational
contracts, to take profit of cheaper workforce and inexistent
regulations and unions), like the ones currently being built in
Morrocco with participation of Spanish funds. Maybe for that
reason are the conferences with the new monarch and not because
of the colonial 'enclaves' of Ceuta and Melilla.

People 'without  documents' don't vote, but the pensioners will
be induced to vote on October 17th in the Catalan Election, so
the 'autonomous government' of CiU has broken the agreement with
the PP and has advanced the crisis of the 'Toledo agreement' by
taking off 500 million to distribute in favor of 70.000
pensioners and it seems that has opened a competition to see
'whom is able to increase more quicker the pensions and in a
most ridiculous amount', where do participate the presidents
Bono and Chaves, many city councils and the PP government
itself- to answer them. We will not be the first to say that
this is a mere electoralist bid, since everybody has said so.
What is important now is to mind why millions of pensioners are
damned to a pay inferior of around ESP 80,000? ... and why all
this could be such an enormous burden for the social security,
that Mr Arenas and Mr Almunia are fighting each other by
denouncing one another for being responsible for the billionary
debt, and prepare the path for a new edition of the 'Toledo
agreement' that could limit the 'distribution' system and start
the 'capitalization' one, that is to say a system two times in
charge of the workers: one by direct contribution and another by
discount to the pay, all that for sake of the Social Security's
budget equilibrium, since this is foreseen as threatened by an
unfavourable demographic evolution (numbers of active people in
decay while numbers of pensioners are rising).

Pujol has ordered to increase ESP 150 montly for past due
amounts, Almunia claims for ESP 2,000 monthly to be given by
decree, in favor of the lowest pensioners. For this reasons the
'responsible' Aznar charges the first one with the rupture of
economical policy and the second one is accused of 'induction to
suicide' (of the Social Security) and he is impelling Mr. Arenas
to promise an increase to all pensions in the year 2,000, not
only the lowest, in case that the pensioners vote for him in the
general election, which is the aim of all of them. The way how
the government Aznar could possibly exchange the cumulated
deficit, make the increases, set a Reservation Fund that he has
also promised is somethingh portentous. The entrepreneurs remind
to such 'generous' people that if patronal quotas for the S.S.
are reduced, they will find more will to create jobs and, as a
result, the SS balance will improve. Pensioners feel manipulated
and cheated by so many 'social sensitiveness' of the bourgeois
serving working representatives.

We cannot doubt on the 'humanitarian will' of the Foreign
Ministry to solve the Pinochet case by a deal or diplomatic
arbitration what, regarding the dictator's health, the interests
for to consolidate Chilean democracy, the own economical
interests between both countries or even the duration and
defects argued by public prosecutors Cardenal and Fungairi$o,
all that becomes nothing, the general will come back to Chile,
Mr Abel Matutes position matches that Felipe Gonzalez 'reasons
of State' and all has happy ending  for all them -except for the
people claiming for justice, of course-.

But it happens that these people will not obtain justice even if
the procedure continues, which is the case, by the moment. What
is the meaning of judge's Garzon order to the butcher to attend
to the Madrid court in 20 days? Garzon is not a 'vedette' acting
because of his 'ego': his act serves to justify and clean
bourgeois democracy, by processing Pinochet for a minimal
fraction of his crimes and unknowing all the system that
produced the coup d'Etat, including military and polticians that
remain active today, and all the yankee imperialism that planned
and supported it. All of them get, in fact, exonerated and the
anti-democratic policy of imperialism is covered with this
symbolic process to this blood-thirsty individual.

The pensions, the lifeboats and Pinochet are only three examples
of the moment that reveal how the interests of working people,
including its elementary social and democratic demands to obtain
a decent pension, a job, reparation for oppression and
atrocities endured by a whole nation - are denied by the
capitalistic regime of exploitation. Under the varnish of
bourgeois democracy, public responsibilities are being traded,
to reach the embarrassing spectacle when the constitution of the
Ceuta and Melilla governments. And Mr Ramon Jauregui proposes to
review all PSOE membership in these places in order to check
'what is there' and to avoid new unpleasantness ... The level of
rotteness in the left wing supporters of the regime matches its
own corruption. But they are always prepared to join the right
wing in order to save the front of the status building from the
ones that, like the GIL or the corrupt gang in the Tax Dept. in
Barcelona (stealers controlling tax payments), could demolish
the democratic credibility even quicker.

Near election in Catalonia are a challenge for that. It appear
as a trial for the year 2000 general election. The voter reches
the possibility to choose between a nationalist candidate .who
has been ruling for 19 years and supporting the 'status' of a
regime that constitutionally excludes Catalonian rights and an
aspiring 'progressist' candidate, son of the bourgeoisie,
leading a bourgeois coalition -by its shape and programme. There
is also more options which main character is the will to rule
alongside with the one or the other -and in the case, to choose
the best offer as ERC does.

Maragall launches a degraded version of the 'ulivo', by
dilluting the PSC in a project of big party in american style.
'Iniciativa per Catalunya' is little more than an electoral
apparatus, worried only to remain itself as it is -so Rib"
declares his support to Maragall after the election, rejects a
common declaration before that and joins the lists in 3 of the 4
constituencies: a whole exhibition of bourgeois electoralism.
EUiA is the pure desperation of the 'Anguita supporters' to
survive to unstoppable loss of influence of 'United Left', by
trying to be the far left of the 'changing block': that is to
say, adapted to the 'reformist' bourgeoisie and unable to
justify the rupture with IC.

For the working people, there's no alternative without political
independence. To broke with the bourgeoisie is needed, wheter
this is dressed in Spanish nationalist, Catalan nationalist or
'progressist'.

The urgent task is to rebuild the working class movement in
order to fight for their own solutions as a class, from the
immediate demands until socialism.

Today, this is totally missing in the partys claiming to be of
the workers. To prepare a political alternative from below is
what should make possible that some day a working candidacy
could be presented and set a revolutionary perspective. This is
our goal. Join us!

8 September 1999