and

ean the crisis policies of
1, Snopoly, the prospects of anew
| ,Psurge, and the need to win a
A stinorratic solution to the con-
C Utional crisis, strengthen
jy aadian independence and ad-
! ‘ance the fight for peace.
A UNITED STRUGGLE

le left wing and the Com-
busts, all those who see the
“Reed for a fundamental reorgani-
af Zation of society, cannot achieve
in ese aims by themselves. They
ced allies in the struggle. The
entre forces in the trade union
eet those who do not yet
J ae” Need for fundamental
‘the ge but who nevertheless see
Avithic for democratic reforms
Ss oe the capitalist system, in-
PN nationalization, who see
© Need for a new made-in-
j anada Constitution and for
| jnadian independence, who ac-
Pt the necessity of peaceful co-
“4 st€Nce and detente, these are
the forces with which the left and
iso] Ommunists, must ~unite- to
roti: and defeat right-wing
ano Cles, and advance the eco-
Jag and political struggle
¢ ~'Mst monopoly. _
RS ft-centre coalitions won't
one OY themselves. Their reali-
Se depends in the first place
fa.q © &xistence of a strong left
! aa Communists in the trade
‘the | Movement. The stronger
Im, tt> the stronger the Com-
ait: eS» the sooner will such co-
} nea be realized. Therefore,

4Dsolute necessity of building
ect! arty in industry. This is di-
d Y related to our policy of
It eo concentration.
. © Not only the working class
rigs feels the impact of the
| “lS. The burden of the crisis has

Sunem

\. ‘The

) the right to a future.”

“What is required is a democratic alternative to the whole economic

Social policies of state monopoly capitalism and its government.

Uch an alternative includes a 50% reduction in arms expenditures, and
withdrawal from NATO and NORAD.”

i young generation must have the right to
| nga te right to acquire skills and training, the right to education,

been placed on the backs of the

working people. In these condi- ©

tions the need for uniting all these

allies of the working class, the .

farmers, the intellectuals and stu-
dents, small business, the poor,
the tenants, the Native Peoples,
all those who feel the weight of
monopoly policies on their backs,
is an urgent necessity.

The farmers are confronted
with growing crisis conditions.
The temporary good times of
yesterday are giving way to de-

clining incomes for farmers in all.

parts of Canada. The price of

wheat is down but the cost of liv-

ing is up for farmers. :
Costs of machinery and equip-

~ ment double and even triple as a

result of monopoly profiteering.
Monopoly control has brought
decay, lack of decent housing and
services,
tunities, along with inferior edu-
cational, recreational and hospital
services. What is evident is that
the boom, if there ever was one,
is off for the farmers.

The decline in income for far-
mers, will affect the economy as a
whole and the jobs of workers in
the cities and towns.

New policies are required in the
countryside as in the cities. A
guaranteed annual income for
farmers alongside stable prices
and expanding and stable markets
are essential for the well being of
the farmers and consequently for
the well being of the workers.

There is a community of in-
terest between workers and far-
mers which ought to find expres-
sion in united action against
monopoly and its crisis policies,
and for policies of expanding
trade, peace and disarmament.

: i TOUT A
ploymerit

ee ae +h aia SE CETERe &
‘ | | aL ed MILLION) EDS Jes stead

OG

@

ajob, to useful, creative

lack of job oppor- .

Quilapayun in concert. The voices of the fighting Chilean people.
More than 1,400 Canadians heard the songs of struggle and defiance at Toronto’s
Convocation Hall Oct. 31. Representing the New Chilean’ Song Movement, Quilapayun’s

concert ‘‘Beyond Songs” inscribed on the audience the depth and beauty of Chilean and ©

Latin American people’s culture and the power of music as a weapon of liberation.

By STAN DALTON
TORONTO — Well over 1,100
people turned out to welcome the
world-renowned leader of the

People’s Progressive Party (PPP)-

of Guyana, Cheddi Jagan, here
Oct. 28. To the enthusiastic
crowd Jagan explained the critical
situation that currently exists in
Guyana and the Caribbean.

The ruling party, the People’s
National Congress (PNC), led by
Forbes Burnham, is leading the
people down the road to catas-
trophy if it doesn’t sever its ties
with imperialism — the U.S. in
particular, said Jagan. Currently
there are 25-30 million jobless in
the Caribbean and there is no end
in sight. In Guyana itself there is
the need to create 500,000 jobs by
1980. But the PNC is not respond-
ing. On the contrary, their policy
of collaborating with U.S. im-
perialism is serving only to aggra-
vate the crisis. There is a severe
balance of payments crisis: last
year’s debt was $190-million. Yet
there was more than $180-million
paid out in extravagant salaries in
the same time period. :

The price of flour rose by 50%;
electricity by 25%; poultry. feed
went up resulting in inflated egg
prices — a single egg costs 21 ¢!
“Shops are a nightmare for
housewives’ Jagan said. The
cost of imported oil and other
goods is up.. Moreover, taxes are
constantly increasing to pay for
this crisis: Between 1967 and 1974
they increased by 774%. Income
tax increased by 376%.

In the past 7 years the cost of
living has increased by 72%, yet
the minimum wage is a miserly
$5.51 per day!

Production is down. The cur-
rent rate of fish production allows
only 40 oz. per person per week;
beef — 3-4 oz.; sugar production
might break even; and bauxite
production would be reduced to
50%.

CHEDDI JAGAN

In comparing Guyana to Cuba,
Jagan pointed out that Guyana is
twice the size of Cuba yet cannot
solve the unemployment problem
as Cuba has done. With the re-
sources Guyana possesses there
should be an annual rate of
growth of 10% — yet last year’s
growth was only .06%! Foreign
control of the economy, parti-
cularly by U.S. corporations, is
the major contributing factor to
the crisis.

Rather than nationalize the
basic industries as the PPP is cal-
ling for, the PNC is advocating an
open door policy for more foreign
investment.

“‘The corporations should be
paying us, not we paying them’”’
Jagan pointed out. He argued in
crystal-clear terms that .the only
way out of the crisis was to
nationalize the basic industries
and put them under people’s con-
trol. That to continue to support
the sell-out policies of Burnham
and his PNC would only lead to
further aggravation of the
already-explosive situation that
currently prevails.

On top of this, and basic to it, is
the increasing erosion of democ-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 11, 1977—Page 7

racy in Guyana. There is govern-
ment intervention in the electoral
process. The 1972, °74 and °76

elections were postponed. More-

over, people’s organizations such
as trade unions, etc. are neither
respected nor _ recognized.
Government and other institu-
tions are not accountable to the
people and are rife with cor-
ruption, insubordination, bad
management, and general decay.

With sugar production down
and the sugar worker’s conditions
progressively deteriorating it was
necessary to call a strike. The
PNC called it a political strike in

- an attempt to justify calling in the

army and police. No less than
6,132 scabs were recruited to put
down the strike, but international
solidarity carried it’s. punch.
British longshoremen refused to
load ships carrying oil to Guyana
— so crucial to its economy, and
other instances of international
solidarity were cited by Jagan.

The political situation is in-
creasingly developing along the
lines of right-wing dictatorship.
Democracy has eroded to such an
extent that if you are critical of the
existing regime you will be dis-

criminated against in a variety of -

ways: jobs, promotion, educa-
tional opportunity, etc.- As the
situation deteriorates the PNC
becomes ever more reactionary.
The U.S. has financed its present
government and expects “‘re-
sults’’. The trade union. move-
mentcomes under increasing fire
as the U.S. moguls push to maxi-
mize ever-increasing retums from
its investments thus forcing the
PNC to take an ever-harder line
with the trade unions.

Jagan warned the audience that _

this was a very real possibility and
called for stepped-up inter-
national solidarity to support the
people’s struggle in Guyana.

ees