April 4, 1963
IMPORTANT NEW MEASURES IN ALGERIA
PARIS == On March 29 the Algerian government enacted into law a number of measures that were initiated during past months in various sectors of the country's economy. Thus another essential step was taken on the road of Algeria's development toward socialism. The twopart decree involves the "“o ization and management of vacated industrial enterprises and agricultural undertakings" and the “division of the revenue from undertakings and enterprises under self-managenent."
In addition, on the same night, the Algerian authorities tock ‘over some huge properties which were not at all "vacated"; particularly the immense Trappe farms held by Henri Dorgeaud, who for many | - years made and unmade the governor generals sent by Trance to Algeria. | The properties nationalized in this way were turned over to manage - ment committees elected by the workers. :
- In its decrees the Algerian government has not yet formally raised -—— on the legal plane -- the question of the ownership of the properties in question; but in decid that it would no Longer utilize the term "vacated properties" ("biens vacants") and that Algeria from now on will be dealing with "seli-management undertakings" ("exploitations d'aut tion"), the accent is placed on the decisive social aspect o new measures; that is, the management of these means of production through the workers themselves on the - scene. : ' Possession is nine-tenths of the law, says an old juridical adage in regard to personal holdings. But to take practical action in this sense in regard to real estate will at once arouse vehement protests from the French government, which expresses in the circumstances the thinking of the capitalist world.
The Algerian Revolution, after having conquered independence, is now in a social phese in which victory cannot be gained except | through a socialist revolution culminating in establishment of a
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workers state. This point has not yet been resched, but the measures which have been taken, together with their repercussions in Algerian society, have stimulated and strengthened the trend toward this out- Gome- Force would now. be needed to take these enterprises out of the hands of the workers and go back to the past.
A noticeable feature of the decrees is the stress placed on the most effective possible participation of the workers in the management of the enterprises, Of course, it requires more than mere legizlation to convert texts into realities, above all in this domain, but the texts constitute a point of departure, a guide and a stimulus for ae into practice measures that are profoundly revolutionary. In his speech presenting these measures to the Algerian nation, Ben Bella, as head of the government, emphasised that this was the meaning of the actions that have been undertaken.
Just before announcing the decrees, Ben Bella told a group of youth preparing to form a volunteer work brigade: "In the second phase of our revolution, we are going to put into effect extrenel important decisions. We are going to deal a mortal blow to specula-~ tion in this country. We are going toe malice those who want to continues in the pattern of the colonial bourgeoisie understand that there is no place for them here. We are going to see to it that there will no longer be a bourgeoisie here that profits from the labor of their brothers but only