More from the Trots> (Not THE Trots!) M.Pugliese
----- Original Message ----- From: "Lev Trotsky" <saltasolidarity at yahoo.com> To: <sf_adam at rocketmail.com> Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2001 9:48 AM Subject: Communique from Salta -- 6-20-01
Communique from the Pagainas Piqueteras del Norte de Salta (Argentina)
Comrades,
Just time for this one update today. Yesterday, at dawn, the Gendarmes attacked the barricades at the entrance to the town of Mosconi (North Salta, Argentina) and arrested 50 piqueteros. They then conducted a house to house search, where they randomly and savagely beat the occupants, smashing several wooden shacks to smithereens, in a real re-edition of the Israeli zionist-fascist house-by-house attacks against the heroic working class and people of Palestine, dragging off family members as "piquetero ringleaders". This state terrorismo did its work: many of the 20,000 inhabitants became absolutely terrified, revealing the objective: to beat the working class and people of Mosconi into a mental state such that the last thing they ever want to do again would be to resist, fight, set up roadblocks. But they were not able to find or arrest any of the real leaders, hidden away in safe houses. A few hours later, the piqueteros began to gather in small groups in the town central square. Hebe de Bonafini had arrived, and had spoken on the television and local radio, calling for the release of all political prisoners and Gendarmes out of Mosconi. This great fighter, of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, who had stood up to the military dictatorship of Videla, was in Mosconi!!! This changed everything. Marcelo Miranda, of Paginas Piqueteras del Norte de Salta, who had travelled into Mosconi with the delegation of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, spoke openly also, and the fascist virtual state of siege was broken. The workers and people of Mosconi began to gather in the square. They began to shout at the Gendarmes patrolling there. (local Argentine television) They shouted "Assassins out of Mosconi, out of Salta", "Free the political prisoners", "General strike, everyone come to Mosconi to break the blockade". The father of the youth Barrios, shot dead by the Gendarmes just the other day, headed up the pressure against the Gendarmes. The people began surrounding them, shouting "murderers", "killers", "out of Salta". Soon 500 and more were in the Plaza, saying they were not going to leave until the Gendarmes left Mosconi and Salta and until the political prisoners left. The leaders of the piqueteros came out of hiding, and spoke at the impromptu rally. They realized that the safest place in the town was in that town square, liberated by the heroic struggle of the workers and people. Standing ovations for Hebe de Bonafini, Marcelo Miranda, Walter M., P., P., and P. and other piquetero leaders. Then the crowd actually chased the Gendarmes out of town. They are there still, the Gendarmes taking refuge on highway 34, which they were sent to clear in the first place. The workers and people in the square, shouting their demands. They say all working class organizations and human rights organizations should send representatives to the tent: but whoever comes, has to stay: no-one can come there and then go and "negotiate" with the Governor in the Province Capital of Salta. Conspicuous absences: trade union bureaucrats, and Jorge Altamira of the Partido Obrero, who is publicly saying he has nothing to do with the events unfolding in Mosconi. Militants of the PO were told by their cadre leaders that the tactic being followed was to "save" Altamira from getting arrested: nothing must interfere with the upcoming October elections!!! The people of Mosconi say he is welcome to come to Mosconi and stay in the tent. But not if he is going to go and confab with the Province Governor. Where are you, Jorge Altamira, Legislator of the City of Buenos Aires, who refuses to put his immunity and funds behind the struggle of the working class and people of Mosconi! Today there will be a multitudinous rally in Buenos Aires. We will be posting flyers, etc. The rally is called by the CTA and the "regime left" like the PO, PTS, MST, and the objective is to call for negotiations, to "bring peace to Mosconi", in accord with the objectives of that wing of the bourgeoisie who is sure the only way to end this revolutionary resistance is by offering "carrots" in exchange for all the arms being returned, and in exchange for promises never to block highways again. It remains to be seen whether the working class of Buenos Aires can throw off the trade union bureaucracy and "regime left" leadership, and transform this rally into a movement of revolutionary support for the resistence of the working class and people of Mosconi and North Salta, support for the militant strikers of Aerolineas, support for the resistance of the entire Argentine working class against the economic plan of hunger and misery and death, which the bankers, the bosses and the IMF are willing to push through by means of bloody repression: Two years ago, the labor reform bill was voted, liquidating after a two year period all collective bargaining agreements. Two years later, imperialism is presenting the bill to the Argentine working class, through its lackey government. If North Salta is crushed, then the Aerolineas strike will be crushed. If the Aerolineas strike is crushed, then the collective bargaining agreements will be crushed one by one, factory by factory. The world capitalist crisis has entered the US and Europe itself, instead of affected just semi-colonies and colonies. The Argentine working class today may declare war on imperialism and begin to coordinate all the struggles in a single Congress of Workers and Unemployed, where they can plan and vote a general strike indefinitely until this government of hunger, death and misery and its economic plan of the IMF and the bosses and the banks is brought down, replaced by a workers and peoples government, who can call for an emergency economic plan as a working class solution for the crisis, for the punishment of the genocidal repressors of yesterday and today, for the canceling of the foreign debt, for the nationalization of big business, banks, foreign commerce under workers control. This is the task: and if there existed an international pole of principled trotskyism of just, say, 20 comrades, who reject being "regime left": how different things would be for the organization of support for the heroic workers and people of Mosconi, who are paying the price of blood and iron for the traitorous leadership which negotiated a few months ago at Campo Duran, bringing down the dual power which had lasted months, which had been the vanguard of the Argentine working class: now this revolutionary challenge is national in scope, the blockade against Mosconi must be broken by heroic acts like that of Hebe de Bonafini and Marcelo Miranda. Act, comrades, act. Then we will struggle to put in place a new Kienthal and Zimmerwald, to sweep out the garbage and regenerate and refound the IV International, the world party of socialist revolution.
Vicente Balvanera for Pagainas Piqueteras del Norte de Salta paginaspiqueteras at hotmail.com http://www.geocities.com/democraciaobrera San Francisco (US) Committee in Support of the Salta Workers (SFCSSW) email: SaltaSolidarity at yahoo.com
----- Original Message ----- From: "Lev Trotsky" <saltasolidarity at yahoo.com> To: "Lisa" <lw at npns.org>; "Teemu Luojola" <tempe at pp.inet.fi>; "Abel Mouton" <abelmouton at hotmail.com>; "Dr. Larry Murdock" <lmurdoc at hotmail.com>; "operario" <abst-timor at marxistworker.org>; "Marxilainen oppositio" <marxopp at marxistworker.org>; "Nicholas Palmer" <nicholaspalmer at hotmail.com>; "James Paris" <jparis at marxistworker.org>; "A. G. Phillbin" <agfilbin at ixpres.com>; "Michael Pugliese" <debsian at pacbell.net>; "Jari-Pekka Raitamaa" <jari-pekka.raitamaa at pp.inet.fi>; "Kath Bates" <kath_bates at yahoo.com>; "Lia Bear" <liabear at mindspring.com>; "David Bedgood" <davidb at ak.planet.gen.nz>; "Mark Benson" <mbensonsf at yahoo.com>; "Greg Butterfield" <theredguard at hotmail.com>; "Dragan Draca" <shaka.zulu at sezampro.yu>; "Elias" <elisf at jps.net>; "Keith Gottlieb" <kgottlieb at ixpres.com>; "Pete IWW" <sabcaty at yahoo.com> Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2001 12:18 PM Subject: Urgent appeal
> Comrades,
> The murderous assassins of the Gendarmes have put a
> price on the head of all the acknowledged leaders of
> the struggle in Mosconi, (North Salta, Argentina).
> They are accustomed to the morals of the cave of
> theives of the bankers and bosses, the Argentine
> government, whose hands are red with our comrades
> blood. But they underestimate the morale of
> independent class struggle movement, with its two
> centuries of struggle against Capitalism and its
> history of revolutionary struggle.
>
> Comrades, at this moment (15:00 hs June 20, 2001) over
> 500 strong are protesting in a demonstration in the
> town square of Mosconi, braving gunfire and tear gas,
> shouting "Gendarmes, out of Mosconi, out of Salta" and
> "free the political prisoners now"; and there are
> signs "support our working class struggle, don't leave
> us isolated".
>
> Comrades, in every major US and European city, and all
> over the world, get your asses out on the street in
> front of the Argentine Embassy, and smash in their
> windows and smash in their doors until they comply
> with our comrades demands:
>
> GENDARMES, OUT OF MOSCONI, OUT OF SALTA!
> FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS NOW!
> DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST OUR LEADERS!
> COMPLY WITH ALL OUR DEMANDS!
> COMPLETE RECOGNITION OF the UTD AS REPRESENTATIVE OF
> THE PIQUETEROS!
> WORKING CLASS TRIBUNES FOR PUNISHING THE MURDER OF OUR
> BROTHERS AND SISTERS!
>
> Union of Unemployed Workers
> (Union de Trabajadores Desocupados)
> 25 de Mayo y Alberdi
> 4582 Gral. Mosconi (Pcia de Salta)
> Tel. 03875-482.232
>
> send voted and signed support (especially from
> independent class struggle and working class
> organizations and places of work) to
> paginaspiqueteras at hotmail.com
>
> It will get to the piqueteros.
>
>
> posted by Vicente Balvanera
> for Paginas de los Piqueteros del Norte de Salta
> paginaspiqueteras at hotmail.com
>
>
> __________________________________________________
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----- Original Message ----- From: "Louis Proyect" <lnp3 at panix.com> To: <pen-l at galaxy.csuchico.edu> Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2001 6:07 PM Subject: [PEN-L:13706] Crisis developing in Argentina
> > Argentinian indymedia
> > http://argentina.indymedia.org/
> > is comparing the situation in Gral. Mosconi to the military
dictatorship.
> > Can comrades from Argentina give us an update, what is going on?
> > Johannes
>
> Yes, dear Johannes. The situation is getting worse by the minutes. But at
> thesame time these events are generating a reaction of outrage in the
> wholecountry. Together with the piracy on Aerolíneas, the events in the
> North aredemonstrating what is the actual consequence of imperialism in
our
> country.There are many signs of a new political mood brewing beneath the
> muteastonishment of our countrypeople. It would not be impossible that we
> canwitness some form of popular uprising within short.
>
> As you all may guess, I am caught into a Maelstrom of political activity,
> thatis why I am not posting more frequently and on length. But I can
> comment onyour postings. I count on your understanding. Unfortunately, the
> bird of Athenaflies at dusk, and we are in full noon here these days.
>
> Cheers from Nestor, biting the tether and eager to jump to the streets,
>
> Néstor Miguel Gorojovsky
> gorojovsky at arnet.com.ar
>
>
> Louis Proyect
> Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org/
>