General strike, repression and death
FRON A Report from Peru by HUGO BLANCO The social crisis has intensified in Peru in recent weeks. Inflation will hit 400% by the end of the year. There has been a two-day general strike against the government.
President Garcia has spoken about the need for tougher repressive measures, and the lawyer defending the second-in-command of the Sendero Luminoso ("Shining Path") guerrillas has heen assassinated.
Initially the Garcia government did have some success in holding down inflation which had heen spiralling out of control in the last months of the provious Belaunde government. But it could not maintain this control, and now its record is as bad as any. with intlation rocketting upwards.
With this fall in living standards it is not surprising that the general strike. called on July 19-20 by many trade union federations. was a succoss. July 19 is a spocial date in the calendar of the Peruvian people because it was on July 19 1977 that massive illegal strikes put an end to the Bermuder mintary dictatorship and opened the present period of relative democracy.
That heroic strike kicked out a government which had wanted to stay at the helm for another ten years. It led to the constituent assembly, free clections, the end of special military powers and curfew laws, and the retum of political exiles like myself.
So there was a conscious reference to this inspiring memory in the date chosen for this. year's general strike. It was called by the CGTP (Confedcration of Peruvian Workers), the main trade union confederation. and the ANP (the People's National Assembly). The latter brings together in a coordinating body the main peasant organisation the CCP (Peasani Conferderation of Peru): SUTEP (the united teachers "trade union): CITE (public sector workers); FEB (the bank workers): FEP (students); the street vendors" association (this is an ever-growing sector in a country where unemployed people receive no state benefits): the poor barrin or neighbourhood assocutions (also increasing in number); and negeleted regions of the country suffering from Peru's super-centralism.
Other forces could not avoid falling in with the strike, such as the CTP (the trade union contederation linked to APRA, the populist party now in government) and the private owner bus drivers who are part of the public transport sys tem. Their pro-government Icaderships lett it
FEA
Peru
squads
open to members to decide whether to go along with the strike.
The two-day stoppage was a success throughout Peru in spite of a huge government and right wing campaign and despite government Grancial inducements to those who hroke
Each year the President gives a sort of 'statc of the union' speech on July 28, which is National Independence Day in Peru - the biggest national holiday.
There were great expectations this ycar, because last year President garcia dropped a political bombshell with his decree nationalising the banks. a micasure which shook the whole CoUnIry:
The most important capitalists broke with the government and the far right revitalised itself under the leadership of the famous writer Mario Vargas Llosa. These sectors managed to Garcia: privatisation and repression developsuch a campaign against the decree that the government was forced' to back down: the substance of the nationalisation has been totally gutted and the major consequence has only heen the resurgence of the far right.
So this ycar both the capitalists and the far right organised an intense campaign in the weeks running up to the keynote address, warning the government against any "nasty!
The country's business leaders listened to this year's televised speech in the CONFIEP (equivalent of CBI offices. They all streamed out afterwards beaming approval, and the far right also applauded.
The main point of the speech had been to offer more legislation against "subversion". Not only would taking part in terrorist acts be punished. but also being a member of a "subversive" organisation. The police practice of planting urms in the homes of accused per-
FEATURE sons will now be condoned by the law as proof" against the accused.
Garcia's speech went on to look at the Peruvian Institute of Social Security (IPSS) - a state body financed by the contributions of working people, which is supposed to provide finance for medical treatment and retirement. Riddled by corruption, it is in crisis. The remedy advanced by Garcia is not the reorganisation of a proper taxation and benefit system, but the progressive privatisation of this service!
Privatisation will also be extended to more puhlicly-owned industries and services that have been bankrupted by APRA corruption similar to that in the IPS.S. The bosses certainLy had something to be jubilant about.
A few weeks ago, the second most important Teadrofthe Sendero Luminoso. Osman Morote. was captured, He has to face five separate charyes. Onc onc of these he was found innocent. He is still in prison, but the innocent verdict on even one charge was too much for the ultru-right, which cried "scandal' in the mass media accusing the tribunal of cowardice, and claiming there was immunity" for the senderistas. Апі The President joined in the right wing chorus, and his highlighting of repressive measures in his speech was in part a product of this.
Morote's lawyer was Manuel Febres, a les distinguished professional: he was assassinated Just hours before the Presidential P spcoch. A few hours after he left home. his body was found in a quiet street; there were signs of torture.
It appears the far right and sectors of
APRA are already beginning to turn to death squad methods used in Central America. It is probable that this group is made up of policemen operating illegally but with offical
The death squads communique stated that *for cach mayor, soldier or policeman assassinated, a leader of Sendero Luminoso or of the groups that protoct or support them will be killed." We know only too well that this language from the far right means the whole left wing movement is threatened.
If the country and international solidarity are not mobilised in time, then we will see Peru in the not too distant future converted into another Argentina under the generals.
Yet at the sume time workers" struggles continue: the miners are marching on Lima demanding wage increases and an end to repression, while hank workers have been on strike since August L:
August 1988.