LEFT-WING PERUVIAN UNIONISTS SCORE SUCCESS
LIMA, Jan. 10 == The ruling military junta in Peru dropped its “benevolent” and anti-imperialist" mask at the beginnins of the month. Hundreds of trade unionists, intellectuals, workers and students and well-known leftist political ficures ‘'ere arrested and interned under very harsh conditions in concentration camps in the Anazon area. This was the junta's way of attemptirs to ster the strong rise of militancy anonr the workers and peosonts at the end of the year.
One of the indicetions of this rise in militancy occurred at a National Conference held by various unions as part of an effort to build a new trade-union confederation following .the collapse of the
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trade-union center led by the APRA. The left wing scored a big victory at the conference when it was decided to elect a new central trade-union leadership. This meant a definite break with the old APRA leadership. a:
The Communist party opposed the move but had to submit to the decision under strong pressure from the rank~and-file delegates.
Among the almost 200 delegates who attended the conference, the Communist party had a fraction of around ninety. The left wing, which ircluded Trotskyists and so-called "Leninists,”" led a minority of about thirty-five.
Our comrade Oswaldo Valderram, secretary of the Metal Workers union, was elected to the central trade-union leadership as "secretario de trabajo." a