Argentina - September 5, 2024
Milei is moving forward the big bosses’ and US imperialism plan of colonization and worker-slaving
supported by the union bureaucracy and the bosses parties
The working class resists in hard partial fights
in spite of the betrayal of the CGT and CTA leaderships
The government is launching a full attack on the working class: sinking the salaries, with over 600,000 layoffs and furloughs, millions of unemployed and retires suffering hunger, wild price rises. It is a brutal economic strike on the workers movement and the poor.
A fierce police regime has been set against workers, by means of harsh repression, political prisoners and persecution of unemployed’s movements, left parties and even the Madres de Plaza de Mayo.
The Parliament has ratified the all-encompassing Necessity and Urgency Decree (NUD) and voted for Milei’s Bases Law giving him extraordinary powers, brutally belt-tightening the working class. It establishes a regime (RIGI) for the transnational companies that protects and rewards their looting the nation for the following 30 years and paves the way for future privatizations.
Some –such as the Kirchnerites or the FIT, affirm the Milei government is a weak one, in political crisis. What they do not explain is why, having a tiny minority in the Congress, he is getting ahead with his brutal attack against the people.
They hide this government is directly led by the US embassy, BlackRock and the AEA (Big Bosses' Chamber) Videlista capitalists. And, above all, they hide that the US colonial and worker-slaving plan is moving forward with the support of the bosses’ parties and the union bureaucracies.
Milei is one of the spearheads of Wall Street offensive over South America for its lithium, Vaca Muerta shale gas and the agribusiness. Because of that the Pentagon has disembarked in the Parana river- from where 96% of Argentinean exports go to the world- and will install a navy base in Ushuaia while in Bolivia they have renewed the weight of their military party and in Chile, both the Chilean and the US navies go on with joint military exercises.
A part of this aims at recovering the Argentinian Armed Forces in internal repression tasks against the working class (as they were in the 70s). Moreover, Milei´s fascist agitation supporting Biden and Zionism’s genocide against the Palestinian people is a true imperialist war cry against the exploited masses in the region.
The union bureaucracy, having closed the way to a general strike, is the great holder of Milei and imperialism’s plan.
This plan and Milei’s real strength is grounded on the union bureaucracy betrayal. In these 7 months the working class has tried to launch a popular and workers counter offensive through two general strikes, last December pot-banging protests, April’s pro public education demonstration, plus hundreds of hard fights for salaries, metal worker strikes, etc.
The union bureaucracy went out of its way in its obstruction and betrayal of all these attempts, collaborating with the government to pass the attack in exchange for the administration of the huge funds of the unions’ health services.
The same ones that had supported the Peronist government that had imposed labor flexibility to 60% of the working class working both registered or non-registered jobs, have today agreed with Milei on the labor reform, the elimination of collective bargaining agreements and thousands of layoffs and furloughs, such as the Kirchnerite union bosses Furlan (UOM, metal workers) and Pignanelli (SMATA, automotive workers). They have left millions of unemployed and precarious workers to their fate.
They have deepened the division among the working class ranks, tearing them into employed, unemployed, unregistered, eventual, etc.... US ambassador Stanley should build Peronist union bureaucracy a monument!
PJ, UCR, PRO: the bosses “opposition” parties, controlled by Stanley and the AEA as well, covers and supports from the Congress and the Government of the provinces, the National government’s attack.
The union bureaucracy, seconded by the left parties representatives un the Congress, said Milei could be stopped by a parliamentary action forming an opposition block comprising PJ, UCR and PRO, just in a moment that these parties, under Stanley and AEA’s orders, voted all the laws the government needed to attack the people!
This has highlighted by Peronista senator Pichetto, who told the government not to abuse the opposition: “Congress is not that bad: it has provided two fundamental laws (The NUD and the Bases Law).” The farce was exposed. This “opposition” is clearly led by Stanley, and the Congress is ever more futile since it has delegated its legislative faculties to the government with the Bases Law. Its only utility is to cover Milei’s police regime as he governs by means of decrees and ministry resolutions under the faculties given by the reactionary constitution of 1853-1994.
Today every capitalist party celebrates the labor reform. They all want Milei to finish his mandate. They all answer to Stanley, starting with the PJ and Crisitna Kirchner, whose governors, such as Kicillof (Buenos Aires) and Quintela (La Rioja), apply Milei’s “there’s no money” attack on every province, starving the people without touching the money of the oligarchy or the imperialist mining companies.
Worker resistance needs to be re grouped and the counter offensive prepared.
The working class has suffered partial defeats due to its leaderships. The fighting organizations that the workers have set up during decades –unions, unemployed movements, political parties, etc.- have been laid by the worker´s leaderships at the feet of the class enemy in a decisive moment.
The task is no other than reuniting workers with a program and an independent worker strategy to defeat the union bureaucracy and prepare the masses’ counter offensive.
Today the workers resist in isolated struggles. It would take the fighting sectors, such as SUTNA, oil makers, university workers (both teaching and administrative ones), Garrahan Pediatric Hospital, the unemployed, etc. to send delegates to Neuquen where the teachers have carried out a huge fight against the government and the union bureaucracy, un order to set up a National Fighting Committee to unite the resistance. Nothing prevents this call from arising from the organizations currently meeting at the SUTNA (tire workers) facilities to discuss what to do on the face of the government’s attack.
Against the union bureaucracy that hands off workers conquests: Self-organization and assemblies!
Work for all. Working hours reduction without wage reduction, no to furloughs or layoffs. Minimum, mobile living monthly wage of AR$1,500,000 as the oil-mill workers have conquered. Everybody working under collective contract. 82% (of the active worker wage) adjustable pensions for every retiree.
Down with the NUD and anti-workers laws of Milei and the bosses’ politician’s.
Expropriation without compensation and under workers control of every factory that shuts down, furloughs or lays off their workers. For a thousand (recovered and self-managed by its workers factory) Zanons!
Stop repression and persecution! Freedom to Matias Santana!
Milei’s “there is no money” catchphrase is a complete LIE. The money has been taken by the bankers, the IMF, the transnational companies, the great bosses and the oligarchy. There are no decent wsged or jobs without breaking away from imperialism and ending the looting of the nation!
This is why every worker program must disavow the foreign debt and pose the expropriation of banks, factories and imperialist and AEA parasite institutions without compensation and under worker control. Out with the IMF and the US ambassador in Argentina. The program needs to raise the takeover of any property larger than 500 hectares in the wet soils and nationalization of foreign commerce to put food and agrarian rent to the people’ service.
Though, nothing will be achieved through parliament and courts. We insist. We need to prepare the workers & popular counter offensive. The government will be defeated with the methods of the 1968 Cordobazo and 2001 Argentinazo, the methods of the revolution. The cry of 2001 must come back: “All of them must go away for good, not even one should remain!”
This combat puts on the agenda a revolutionary and internationalist re grouping of Argentinean workers. We need to refound the party of Mateo Fossa and Leon Trotsky, under the flags of the 1938 Fourth International. That is the fight we LOI-CI/Democracia Obrera Trotskyists propose to the vanguard workers and youth to be jointly waged.
Today more than ever…
Argentina will be socialist or a Wall Street colony.
Editorial Committee of Democracia Obrera
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