All over Latin America

Workers step up political action

The upswing of the liberation
movement in Latin America and
fhe successes of the Cuban Re-
volution are exerting a great ef-
fect on the labor movement,
which increasingly combines
economic slogans with anti-im-
perialist and anti-oligarchy ap-
peals and with demands for
structural reforms. Everywhere
we observe the growth of poli-
tical features in the working-
class struggle, its manifestations
depending on the scope of the
liberation process in each. given
country.

In Chile and Peru, the parti-
cipation of working people in
social, economic and _ political
reforms has become the decisive
factor. There the workers’
strikes are directed in defense of
their governments, against the
old ruling classes that are in op-
position to them. Combatting the
latter, the trade unions strive to
solve problems that arise
through negotiations with the
authorities, to compel the em-
ployers to observe the terms of
agreements, and to do their best
to draw the workers into strug-

gle for the support and develop-
ment of progressive reforms.

Chile’s United Trade Union
centre, with about 70% of the
country’s workers, concluded an
agreement with the Popular
Unity government on the parti-
cipation of working people in
production management. Vari-
ous forms of participation in the
state-owned, mixed and private
sectors have already been evolv-
ed in the various sectors of the
transitional economy, and ad-
ministrative councils, rational-
ization committees and safety
engineering committees have
been set up, respectively. A na-
tional system of “self-governed
enterprises” is to be founded as
well, which. will be managed
directly by workers employed at
each of them.

The Popular Unity govern-
ment, on its part, uses mobil-
ization and the threat of a gene-
ral strike to frustrate Right-
wing conspiracies as was. the
case in the attempted military
coup in October 1969, as well
as in 1970, and in other cases.

In Peru, the government of

Velasco Alvarado officially ac-
knowledged the General Gonfe-
deration of Workers as the or-
ganization that represents the in-
terests of the workers. Support-
ing the program for strengthening
the country’s national economy
and sovereignty, the Confedera-
tion unswervingly defends work-
ing people’s interests, and with
democratic legislation, conflicts
are resolved, more often than
not, through negotiations.

The example of Cuba, Chile
and Peru undoubtedly exerts an
immense effect on the consci-
ousness of working people who,

_as they defend their demands,
increasingly link the struggle

for them with a struggle for
complete national liberation.

In Panama, Venezuela, Ecua-
dor and other countries, work-
ers’ strikes take on more pro-
minent anti-imperialist charac-
teristics.

The politicization of strike
struggles in the most developed
countries — Argentina and Bra-
zil — has come in collision with
the policy of reprisals on the
part of the ruling circles and

Moncada attack 19 years ago

HAVANA — On the morning
of October 16, 1953, 80 days
after the attack on the Moncada

rracks in Satiago de Cuba, the
Cuban barrister, Fidel Castro,
standing before the “court” of
that city wearing the customary
formal gown was about to make
the most extraordinary self-
defense plea ever recorded in
the history of Cuba.

Castro, who had led the at-
tack on dictator Batista’s mili-
tary fortress, had been sum-
moned before the legal authori-
ties of the regime, who accord-

ing to the reporters present
“had never been put into such
a tight corner” in all their lives.

No one imagined at that time
that the allegation which was
made in such adverse conditions

and before so few people would |

have, only a short time later,
such vast worldwide repercus-
sions. The hearing started at 9
a.m. Castro was described by
one of the reporters present as
“bathed in sweat and wearing
handcuffs.” As soon as he came
in, it appears he addressed the
court with the greatest sarcasm:
“It’s a real pity that having such
a fine new Palace of Justice you
have to come and work in this
place.”

He opened his now famous
speech with these words: “A
barrister has never had to exer-
cise his profession under greater
stress; a defendant has never
had to put up with so many ir-
regularities.” He spoke for two
hours. Rather than a plea made
in self defense Castro’s speach
contained the
program of the new-born “July
26 Movement.”

The defendant, together with
the small number of companions
who had survived: first the at-
tack and then the massacre un-
leashed in reprisal, were all
sentenced to prison. The Mon-
cada action, which marks the
beginning of the Cuban Revolu-
tionary fight for freedom, was a
closed affair for the governors,

revolutionary ,

|, PACIFIC [RIBUNE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13,,1972;-PAGE10

while for the Cuban people it
was simply a beginning. The
first edition of Fidel Castro’s
speech at the trial was pub-
lished in 1954 with 10,000 copies
under the title of the conclud-
ing sentence: “History will ab-
solve me.”

Haydee Santamaria, one . of
the two women who attacked
Moncada, and who is now direc-
tor of the Casa de las Americas,
recalls how she and one of the
revolutionaries later killed for
the cause, Gustavo Alemijeiras,
travelled around in an old car,
without any financial aid, dis-

tributing the book all across the
country.

During the turbulent years
between 1954 and 1958 several
editions of ‘History will absolve
me” were published in Cuba and
abroad. Since then it has been
translated into various languag-
es and published repeatedly in
all parts of the world.

Now, 19 years after the at-
tack on Moncada, it is worth re-
reading the speech which fore-
cast so accurately the Cuban Re-
volution as a result of that
action.

(Prensa Latina)

Fidel Castro (second from left, top photo) marches along with his
comrades following their armed assault on Moncada barracks in
1953. Photo below shows the bullet-scarred fortress.

“Now Chile is a land free from Yankee imperialism

street sign in Santiago.

with attempts to restrict and put
under control the trade union
movement by establishing obii-
gatory arbitration or by simply
prohibiting strikes.

In Mexico the government de-
clared all major strikes in the
state sector to be unlawful.

The rise of the class, anti-im-
perialist struggle, promoting the
political activity of the work-
ing class, has stepped up -the
process of the demarcation and
realignment of forces ‘in the
trade unions and has intensified

» the tendency to unity.

The inter-American ‘Free’
trade union movement, organ-
izationally and ideologically pat-
terned on the ideas of the “pan-
American community”, is living
through an extremely acute
crisis. The growth of inner con-
tradictions and the crisis of the
Inter-American Regional Organ-
izations of Workers (ORIT) has
lost it large groups of workers—
the National Confederation of
Industrial Workers of Brazil, for
instance, with about 3.5 million
members. A departure from the
official principles of the ORIT,
the American Institute for Free
Labor Development, the AFL-
CIO and other organizations de-
pendent on the U.S. State De-
partment is also observed in the
trade union centres of Venezue-
la, Mexico, Colombia and Peru,
which recently were their sup-
port.

At the 6th Congress of the
Latin American Federation of
Christian Trade Unions (CLASC)
in November 1971 in Caracas,
the “deconfessionalization” pro-
cess resulted in dropping the
word “Christian” from its name
and adopting anti-imperialist
and anti-capitalist elements in
its program, and also in sup-

porting unity of the Latin Ame-

rican trade union movement.
The class trade unions which
coordinate their activity within
the permanent Congress of
Trade Union Unity of Latin
American Workers, have mar-
kedly gained strength. The Ge-
neral Council of the Permanent

-Congress issued the call for a

broad anti-imperialist working
people’s front at a conference in
La Paz in August 1971, emphas-
izing that the historical mission
of the prceletariat was not only
to gain specific aims, but also
to play the role of patriotic
vanguard.

The joint conference of the
Permanent Congress and CLASC
on questions of social mainten-
ance, held in the summer of
1968, marked the first stride
towards the unity of action be-
tween the two bodies. This was
followed by a number of indus-
trial trade union conferences
and congresses, at which repre-
sentatives of various ideological
trends met.

Joint conferences of the lead-
ing bodies of the two centres in
1969 and 1970 identified a wide
range of questions on which

‘arity Trade Union Con

‘The working class, heat

- violent Arctic winds. at

measures of the governmé * ol
Peru and Bolivia, to integ!
processes on the continent, P h
cularly the Andes Pact, or
Allende government 10 ~
etc.

In February 1972, 4 §
session of the leading

odies
a y
the Permanent Congress |

CLASC decided to conver

: : Pree
Latin American Unity rere!
in 1973. ati

The working class of ye
America is playing an incr aft
role in the liberation MOV"

Communist parties am

progressive organizations,
veloping steadily into,
creasing force in the li
movement. The working ©
an increasingly decisive |
force capable of rallying
broad masses — farmers,
bourgeoisie, middle urban 5
intellectuals, students an ip
true patriots who strive for z,
pendence, democracy an ?
progress in a demo
anti-imperialist_ movement.

NORILSK—The world’ ol
set TV tower — the Ost

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tower in Moscow (5 econ

Norilsk integrated mining 56
metal plant. (Norilsk 15 1
Siberia, above the Arctl é
The 600-meter high Fe
(1,969 ft.) designed by vist
grad specialists, is disting <0
by an original structura ”—
tion. nat
It has been calculated
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times stronger at the ye
at the base. The top will i
as all tower tops do. 90
swings, the three side su
will be pressed into the nce
pulling out with a resistay”
18,000 tons.
In order to tame the dee
giant, the designers hav? io,
ed to make a cliff work
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(tubes nearly 20 ft. in d
Giant shoes at the ends i rl
legs will be held in pla¢
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The unique structure wi
gin operating in 1975.

Polar Vegetable 1
MURMANSK (APN). oo
experimental station of is
viet All-Union Institut pd
Piant-Growing, in the :
insula, has obtained né
ties of vegetable crops
growth in the Far Nort ye?
recent years, scientists nies
duced dozens of varie. &
potatoes, cabbage, cane
cumbers, tomatoes, fodd® it!
and even berry beds for
tion in protected. groun®