A NEW
GOVERNMENT CRISIS IN ARGENTINA?
{The following article has been translated from the January 22 issue of La Verdad (The Truth), a weekly newspaper published in Buenos Aires. ]
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It is characteristic of our country that in the summer months [it is sunmer now in the Southern Hemisphere] the bosses and the bureaucrats take vacations and put off their projects, intrigues and brawls until more comfortable weather. The writers on the bourgeois dailies then find themselves in straits to come up with startling news to electrify the public mind.
Despite this general law, which is still being observed, the last fifteen days have brought two events to the forefront: the attack on Krieger Vasena by the liberal [old-line capitalist] group in the government, which is headed by the Alsogaray brothers; and the jailing of General Candido Lépez for his demonstration in Salta. In this article we will take up only the first iten.
We all remember the signs of joy displayed by the employer class when last year's crisis ended with the ouster of Salimei and his replacement by the limp Vasena. Almost all the sectors favoring the regime began to cherish renewed hopes that the country would be set back on the path of "order."
Most of the measures taken by the new minister of economic affairs (devaluation of the currency, free trade, the wage freeze, rationalization in the state enterprises, complete submission to the economic dictates of imperialism, etc.) drew applause from these elements.
What has happened, in roughly a year's time, for the stock of this typical oligarchical expert to have fallen so low that he is coming under a steady barrage from such an unimpeachably progovernment organ as Correo de la Tarde?
We gave our answer months ago in the general statement that "neither Salimei or any other representative of the bosses, however capable or brilliant, is going to solve the country's chronic crisis." Structural problems demand revolutionary measures.
All that the different agents of the various capitalist groups: who succeed one another in the command of the economic life of our country can do is to try palliatives and soothing syrup and kow-— tow more submissively to the ruler of the capitalist world -- Yankee imperialisn. Krieger Vasena did everything the Inter-
national Monetary Fund asked; but the
sought-for capital investment, for which
Alsogaray has got down on his knees more
than once, has not increased.
With the failure of their campaign
in Europe and the United States to raise
the money necessary for investments to
revive the economy, and their failure to
win the collaboration of native capital,
the only virtue retained by Krieger
Vasena and his group was the fact that
they favored putting the screws on the
working class and the people.
The picture is completed if we add
the discouraging background in interna-
tional trade. England's decision to sus-
pend imports of Argentine meat on the
pretext of an epidemic of hoof-and-mouth
disease has had a decisive impact on the
trade balance; it was already in decline
relative to other years, to the extent
that in September, for the first time in
three years, there was a deficit of
13,100,000 pesos [350 pesos = US$1].
These are the key reasons for the
drop in popularity of the current minis-
ter of economic affairs. Underlying these
political and ideological differences is
a more important cause which in the last
analysis determines the superstructural
events in question. Those capitalist sec-
tors whose interests are not satisfied
begin to lose patience and decide to open
fire on the current capitalist represen-
tative. The country's hopeless position
is what causes these recurring government
crises.
Needless to say, the working class
and the people must not echo the differ-
ences among the various capitalist sec-
tors or side with any of them. But it is
important for us to understand their
positions in order to better prepare our-
selves to fight then.
The "liberal" [old-line capitalist]
wing, which shares control of the govern-
ment, is starting to attack Krieger Vasena
for having "abandoned" his former policy
and yielding to the "nationalist" group
{the other wing which favors government
intervention]. The two points on which
they are centering their attack are the
announced budget and price controls.
This sector of the Argentine bour-
geoisie feels that the budget shows alarn-
ing signs of a statist [state interven-
tion in the economy as opposed to pure
competitive capitalism] orientation in
allocating 300,000,000 pesos worth of
projects to government enterprises. Its
view is that these projects should have
been left to private enterprise.
The other point, price controls, is an abstract one, since with or without "controls" both retail and wholesale prices have risen in complete disregard of the half-hearted government measures.
Along with these proposals, the "liberal" current demands a speedup of the rationalization projects in the state enterprises.
It is on the basis of these fac-— tors that the union bureaucracy is seeking a new accommodation. Some openly and others -- the majority of the union lead~ ers --— in a veiled way, are trying to justify their contemptible sellout attitude by seeking the support of the sector of the government which is disposed to negotiate with then.
The leadership of the light and power union which hobnobs with the International Monetary Fund representatives and gets warm accolades from them, heads the list of these sellout artists; but leaders like Vandor and Framini, who are trying to maintain an in-between position, are also playing at "participation~ ism" [collaborationist politics] by their friendly relations with the scoundrel San Sebastian.
At the present juncture there are no tractable or “more progressive" wings in the government from which the workers movement can hope for a solution to its problems. Only disgraceful sellout artists like the present CGT [(Confederacién General de Trabajo ~- General Federation of Labor] leadership can place any hopes in the present dictatorship.
The workers movement and the people can have only one proper objective -struggle to the death against the Ongania gang. The strategic objective must be the fall of this government, not just of this or that minister; and this aim is indissolubly linked to the establishment of a government of the workers and the people. Any variation can only be grist for the mill of the capitalist forces, even if they change their insignia.
Today the perspectives of the struggle have changed. In the past -before the defeat of the workers movement caused by the bureaucratized union leaders, and especially before the establishment of the present military regime -there were opportunities for significant victories on minimum demands. Now even the struggle for a mere increase in emergency raises [raises granted as a temporary solution for pressing problems, such as a sudden sharp rise in the cost of living] means in fact battling the government. ;
This defensive phase, which has deepened since Ongania's coup, makes the
organization of resistance to the govern-
ment's offensive a vital necessity. Block-
ing layoffs, firings or increased exploi-
LT. GEN. JUAN CARLOS ONGANTA
tation through harsher and harsher ratio-
nalization schemes requires more than
ever a granite organization.
Unfortunately, the totally bureau-
cratized union leaders cannot be counted
on for anything. On the contrary, they
are the best agents that the bosses and
the government have.
From this analysis of the overall
situation, our party, the Partido Revolu-
cionario de los Trabajadores [Revolution-
ary Workers party] has drawn the conclu-
sion that a slogan must be launched which
can serve to guide the preparation for the
struggle against the bosses. It is "Re-
sistance Committees" in the factories and
the unions ready to employ all means nec-
essary. How intensively these committees
employ the strongest means will hinge on
the general level of consciousness and
maturity.
This analysis also leads us to
warn that armed confrontations are al-
ready in the offing in this country. The
events in Tucuman last year and the ac-
tions of San José and Bella Vista should
make us realize that a struggle going
beyond ordinary means is not just an
oratorical phrase but is on the order of
the day. The task of a revolutionary
party is to find a way to combine these two necessities.
Our party, the Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores, recognizes these needs but it is not so foolish as to think that its present members alone will be able to accomplish the historic tasks on the agenda. The Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores realizes that to take on this gigantic task the unification of all revolutionaries is necessary.
Therefore it wholeheartedly solidarizes itself with the position taken
CORRECTION -- ON
We have been asked if we did not make a mistake in last week's issue in suggesting that President Johnson, in working up a new public image, has gone so far as to have his hair "marcelled."
The inquiring youth who brought
THE BOUMBAGE -109-
by the Cuban leadership in OLAS [Organizacién Latinoamericana de Solidaridad -- Latin-American Organization of Solidarity], proposing the creation of powerful revolutionary organizations in every country. This is the reason for our unconditional support for OLAS and our continual urging that it become the real mass leadership which the circumstances demand.
In the meantime, it is possible, by joining our party, to struggle against the bosses, the regime and the imperialists, and for the establishment of a government of the workers and the people.