1 —~- = PORTUGAL Continuing left swing seen _ possible in April 25 vote sey tugal’s general election, April 25, will be held in a tting of political, social and economic crisis in that Country. Originally set for 1984, the vote next month, One year early, reflects the ongoing struggle by Por- fee democratic and left forces and mass voter defec- : on a the right alliance in the December, 1982 munic- e. A Unique feature of the Portuguese election is a system + Which Portuguese immigrants abroad are entitled to ote by registering, and some 12,000 persons living in With we Vil be casting their ballots. The Tribune spoke as José Monero, a member of the Immigration Com- i Of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) who Scribed what’s at stake April 25 both for his country = the Portuguese community abroad and why they Ould support the left alliance candidates: * * * oat lection in 1980 of a right coalition government Mprising the Social Democratic Centre and Social ~“Mocratic Party (SDC-SDP) has forced the country a Crisis. more ‘‘concelhos”’ or boroughs which means APU now administers 55 of the countries 304 ‘‘concelhos”’ incor- porating the major industrial and large farming regions. In geographic terms, APU now administers one-third of the country on the municipal level. * a * The key electoral issue for the left forces, April 25, is to roll up the largest possible APU vote which will help prevent a new alliance of the Socialist Party and Social Democratic Party from being formed. Such an alliance APU explains while differing in name from the present SDC-SDP coalition, will differ little in substance or licy. : S without the APU (especially the Communist Party which holds 37 of the 40 seats for the APU in parliament today) it will be impossible to solve the burning social and economic problems facing Portugal’s working class and working people. The APU, which garnered 17% of the vote in 1980 is aiming to achieve 20% next month which would increase their representation to 45 seats. * * * Portugal’s electoral system in general elections pro- vides four seats in parliament to represent nationals liv- ing outside the country. Political and economic factors over the years have created a situation in which almost one-third of the population lives abroad — 235,000 in Canada, 600,000 in South Africa, 260,000 in the U.S., 60,000 in Argentina, one million in Brazil and close to: one million in western Europe. Two candidates sit in parliament representing Por- tuguese in western European countries, one for North America and one for South America. At present, the four represent the right coalition. In this election candidates of parties other than the APU live in Portugal, the four running on the APU ticket live abroad and are part of the immigrant community. APU charges that the four present MPs, once elected, pay little or no attention to immigrant problems and - know nothing of their conditions. The left alliance urges TRIBUNE PHOTO —F. MANILA May Day, 1975: soldiers reading the Communist daily Avante. Socialist Party candidates. A vote for the Socialist Party April 25, APU points out, is a vote for a possible coali- tion with the right which will only perpetuate the crisis. APU supports the establishment of a Ministry of Immigration in the Portuguese Government to deal with special immigrant needs. These needs centre on such issues as the preservation of the Portuguese language and culture, a review of immigration accords and establishment of a permanent commission in each coun- try where thousands of Portuguese nationals live. At present official Portuguese agencies abroad pay little heed to such questions. A vote for the APU April 25, by the Portuguese electo- rate abroad is a vote for democracy and social change in favor of the working people in their homeland and for their own needs. immigrant voters to reject the right coalition and aiso the Tom Morris. Democratic Senator Daniel fe ortugal’s inflation rate is running at 24%; over ce ar? 000 People are jobless. Anger and frustration at this or | oa was reflected in municipal elections in De- ‘0 Nber 1982, where the right forces lost 500,000 votes. Ap Be S trend away from the right is expected to continue oe 0 the April 25 general elections. ; f * € standing at present in Portugal’s 246-seat parlia- +H nt is: SDC-SDP coalition 120, Socialist Party 80, S. fople’s United Alliance (grouping the Communist Par- tu- | ne Portuguese, Democratic Movement and _inde- ua | hdents) 40 and one independent. iG ee € political picture in 1982 was marked by two gen- to | Tal strikes for the defence of jobs and working condi- be | nea and against attacks on the country’s agrarian re- rm policy. The depth of the economic crisis is shown in ust i eal's foreign debt — a massive $14-billion (Can.). his | Yerage wage for a skilled worker is $240 per month. Support for the People’s United Alliance (APU).can- didates last December increased with the winning of five eit : : Fe 10 = . | | Intemational Focus ats ae - bak : : x ck The man must see Soviet Prec eae =a i said Reagan was deliberatley a be anSORC lying about Soviet nuclear o Ronald Reagan outdid him- superiority and charged 4 self on nation-wide television Reagan’s star wars plan would last week. carry the arms race into the 10 ‘Stunning his audience witha 21st Century. “*. . . It would ac- ‘ot | Vision of space-age warfare _ tually open the floodgates of a ix | carrying a $2-trillion price tag, | Tunaway race of all types of on Reagan was the consumate ac- Strategic arms,” the Soviet eo tor. He dragged out charts try- leader charged. aa ing to show the U.S. was be- : es hind in the arms race. He Inouye was just as blunt: ly pointed ominously to aerial “Reagan left the impression of | spy photos of Cuba, Nicaragua that the US. is at the mercy of ne and Grenada warning of a_ the Soviet Union,’’ he said. threat to America’s southern flank. : Reaction was ‘swift in com- Visions of lasers ‘‘Most respectfully, Mr. Presi- dent, you know that is not true. You have failed to present an honest picture.”’ The facts, Inouye said, are that the USA has a total nuclear warhead arsenal of 9,268, the USSR has 7,339. - More and more voices of concern are being raised about Reagan’s bent to present the ‘Soviet threat’? myth in a scare campaign designed to foist the largest peacetime mili- tary budget ever on the U.S. and its NATO partners. Now he’s into laser beams, particle beams and killer satel- lites. He’s talking about her- metically sealing off the United States. ‘‘Engaging in this is not only irresponsible,’’ Andropov responded, ‘‘it’s insane.”’ Calling Reagan’s . speech **bizarre’*, Connecticut Senator Christopher. Dodd commented: ‘‘Can you im- agine the reaction here and ab- road if Andropov had made that speech?”’ Lying’, ‘‘bizarre’’, ‘‘in- sane’, “‘irresponsible”’, are — some responses to Reagan’s plan. Future historians (if we have a future) will shudder as they analyse the Reagan years. They will ponder how it was that in this nuclear and high- tech age, a man was put in charge in Washington who couldn’t pass a saliva test. The great airport plot One of Reagan’s ‘‘smoking guns’’ was. an aerial photo of Grenada’s new airport under construction. The cowboy had areal zinger for the crowd: “It has a 10,000-foot runway’’, he intoned. ‘‘Grenada doesn’t even have an airforce. Who is it intended for?”’ The next day on ABC Night- line, Grenada’s Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was happy to enlighten the president. ‘‘It’s intended for tourism’’, he said. Bishop explained what everybody knows, except Reagan. Tourism is one of the Caribbean’s major industries. Until the airport is complete next year, tourists must trans- fer at Barbados for the 40-45 AIRFIELD UNDER CONSTRUCTION POINT SALINES, GRENADA ak 16.000 FOOT @ RUNWAY 5 us It has a runway! minute flight to St. George’s. It’s inconvenient and time- consuming. The airport, financed by World Bank, West European and Mexican loans, is being built with Cuban technical help. When complete it will handle wide-bodied jets and people will arrive in the sun di- rectly from home. Just like they do in Cuba, Mexico, Barbados, Bahamas, Trinidad-Tobago and count- less other Caribbean islands. Even U.S.-controlled Puerto Rico. If Reagan regards 10,000- foot runways as a threat, he’d better re-institute the draft. There must be several right here on his northern flank. A team of World Bank ex- perts, following a on-site study of Grenada’s economy, pro- nounced it one of the healthiest in the region. In its report, the WB listed the new airport at Point Salinas as the most im- portant infrastructure being built, for both tourist income and trade. Reagan might consider bombing the World Bank. Or he might take a trip to the nearest travel agent and read the Grenada Tourist Bureau brochure which explains: ‘Our international airport is being constructed and the first phase will be completed at the end of 1982. The entire com- plex will be ready in two years The plot - thickens... . Soviet-built Mi-8 helicopters on the field at Managua’s air- port! A clear and present danger to U.S. security — and Reagan’s photo shows them. The next day Reagan learns that one of them was used to transport Pope John Paul dur- ing his visit to Nicaragua this month. The Vatican’s involved too? Every arriving passenger at Managua’s Sandino airport can see them by simply looking out of the aircraft window, but Reagan presents the ‘“‘evidence’’ with a stern de- meanor designed to impress an Arkansas farmer. Three days later, his CIA- backed troops butchered the people of Rancho Grande. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 8, 1983—Page 9