Virginia Marconi from the Argentinian MST spoke at the International Socialist Movement fringe meeting at SSP conference last month. cation. This is part of what she said: IN THESE LAST few months the masses in Argentina have overthrown three civilian governments, for the first time in the country's history.
The Argentinian working class and the people have before overthrown military dictatorships but this is the first time that the masses moved against a "democratic" government. This is creating a tremendous change in the consciousness of the people.
This does not mean to say. as some people say, that we are in a period that is similar to February 1917 in Russia. What we can say is that for the first time the masses are beginning to organise themselves at this level.
There is a very interesting discussion going on in Argentina at the moment as to whether it is the working class that is moving forward or whether it is the middle class -this undefined thing that has no Marxist definition or characteripresident. The thing is that in the last 20 years the working class all over the world has changed. The MST thinks that what we are seeing in Argentina is the struggle of the working class by different means. week one in front of the It is unemployment and the fact that workers cannot start strikes in their workplaces without being sacked - absolutely corrupt. because of the level of repres- Because of this, now sion - that has made them take part in the popular assemblies. The 3 governments that fell did so because people went out into the streets banging pots and pans (in what we call caceroleos) and creating a situation where they could not stay. That does not mean that they left peacefully.
De la Rua was the first president who was. overthrown on December 20. His Minister of Defence and the Chief of Police neighbours get together to disof Buenos Aires are currently cuss what activities they are under investigation by a judge going to do in the next week, on the charge of assassination who they are going to target because 32 people were killed with the caceroleos. in those days. So people paid a Then there is the movement price for overthrowing the of the unemployed workers, the piqueteros, who became In spite of the repression peo- organised over the last year. ple kept going onto the streets. Mostly these are workers who There was a caceroleos taking have had trade union experiplace in front of the House of ence but who lost their jobs. Government almost every They have been blocking the week, and also almost every roads into the capital to get unemployment benefit or jobs. Supreme Court. People want These people have their own the Supreme Court to resign, assemblies and they have their because they know they are own programme.
One month ago they marched to the capital and Congress is starting a political were received by the popular trial against the Supreme Court assemblies. Buenos Aires is and all the members of the mil- more or less the size of itary dictatorship who thought London, so just imagine somethat their crimes would not be body coming from say Reading punished are now being sub- (I don't know Scotland so well) mitted to caceroleos every and walking say 20 hours. They week. They cannot go into the started walking from different streets without people going neighbourhoods to the capital after them and chasing them. and the popular assemblies fed Every week in every neigh- them and marched with them bourhood in the capital there is into the main square, to the a popular assembly where the House of Government. What emerged from this was the slogan "Piqueteros and caceroleos have only one strugele" and also " They all have to leave" - that is all the people in the government, all the politicians have to go.
On February 16 there was the first national meeting of the piqueteros and caceroleos and there will probably be a 2nd around March 15. So these organisations are developing and coming together.
The programme that they raise calls for Freedom for everyone who has been imprisoned for participating in these demonstrations Non-payment of the foreign debt Nationalisation of the banks and the main enterprises Pensions to become state. pensions again That those who are unemployed don't have to pay taxes That those whose savings have been frozen in the banks get them back That the 13% cut in state salaries and state pensions be restored This last demand is very important. The money was taken in order to pay the foreign debt. Now the government says not only won't they reverse this cut but that they might not be able to pay state salaries at all.
This might well lead to strikes by public sector workers. The teachers have already said that they will not begin classes at the end of the summer holidays unless they are paid.
The movement is very heterogeneous but everyone agrees they don't want political parties.
If the left wants to talk to the workers there is an enormous opportunity to develop the socialist programme. This programme that is the programme of the movement is not socialist but it on the way to it. If people understand this they can understand that they will not be able to achieve this under the capitalist system.
But unless the left learns to talk to them, to accompany them in this there is no possibility that the left will benefit.