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28
Letter
from
madrid
The onset of winter was characterised this year by a prolonged spell of summery sunshine. For weeks on end the cloudless blue skies over Madrid were blemished only by the heary fall of industrial pollution which hung like a shroud over the capital and the other industrial centres of Spain, Barcelona and Bilbao. The people did not welcome the unnaturally fine weather. They cursed it. In the strangled, sprawling. unplanned streets of Madrid, the masses of parked cars were covered each day with a fine layer of gritty dirt. which descended in an invisible rain from the contaminated atmosphere. The act of breathing became a torment. Cyclists were seen sporting gas-masks in the city centre. According to 'El Pais', the leading liberal daily, seven hundred people had died in recent weeks directly or indirectly as a consequence of pollution.
After decades of chaotic, unplanned industrial growth under the Franco dictatorship. Spain has paid a heavy price in terms of poisoned rivers, beaches little better than open sewers, workers' suburbs unfit for human habitation, polluted air and impossible roads. Bilbao, the mighty industrial heart of the Basque country, has fared even worse than Madrid and Barcelona. One Basque commented bitterly on the attitude of Madrid towards its northern
neighbours:
hated us cou to develop in
"Only Id have a
this way.
regime llowed
which Bilbao
SPAIN VOTES FOR A CHANGE
A few months ago many millions of Spaniards voted for a change in their lives in the first local government elections to take place in over forty years. After four decades of town-halls dominated by corrupt fascist 'caciques' working hand in glove with the speculator and the rack-renting landlord, the people wanted a complete break with the past. Only one month after the defeat of the left in the general election of March Ist, the towns of Spain voted overwhelmingly in favour of the left in the municipal elections. Over 70% of the Spanish people now live under town councils run by the left, mainly the socialsits and communists, who joined together in a pact at local government level, but also radical nationalist groups in the Basque country, Andalucia and the Canary Islands. In a triumphal atmosphere, the PSOE's candidate Tierno Galvan became mayor of Madrid. Even middle-class strongholds of the Centre Union party such as Salamenca and León voted left in
these elections, after which the voicepiece of the reactionary right 'El Imparcial' asked itself gloomily what future the newly-elected conservative government of Adolfo Suarez could have, with 70% of the town-halls in the hands of the left and the factories in the hands of the 'Marxist' trade unions?
Nine months later, there is no room left for jubilation. The local councils, which inherited massive deficits from the old fascist-run town-halls, are on the verge of bankruptcy. The scandal of the wave of pollution served to show just how little things have changed here since 'democracy' arrived.
People here breathe the same bad air, live in the same expensive and over-crowded accommodation, work the same long hours. Those who are lucky enough to find work (and that is increasingly difficult), must work many hours of overtime to make ends meet. Normally, a married man with children has to have two, or even three jobs in order to live. Have you ever wondered how there are so many barmen, waiters, taxi-drivers in Spanish towns? They are mostly men who work all day in a factory and then take a job in a bar or a café, and some will even work nights as well, driving a taxi, working as a night-watchman or anything else, to make up his wages.
The trade unions want to reduce
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over-time. But with prices going up all the time, it's hard to see how this will be possible. A recent economic survey showed that Spanish workers work many more hours than any EEC country. This despite the fact that unemployment here is much higher than in the Common Market. Officially, unemployment stands at 1,160,000 or 8.7% of the active population. The average for the Common Market is 5.5%.
In reality, unemployment is much higher. Earlier this year, the Bank of Bilbao published figures showing that the real unemployment is near 1,700,000, if you include those who do not sign on at the Labour Exchange. By the way, less than half of those officially registered receive any kind of unemployment benefit. And this is only very small, and lasts only six months, after which the unemployed must sink or swim.
HE ANDALUSIAN POWDER-KEG
The position of the unemployed in some parts is really desperate. In the more backward, poorer regions of Spain, Andalucia, in the south, Galicia in the north-west, and Extremadura on the borders of Portugal, unemployment is a widespread and endemic cancer, especially on the land. Here, to be without work means to go hungry. The lot of the agricultural labourer in the south is a terrible one. In the best of times he finds work on a casual basis for a few months a year, harvesting grapes or olives, for a miserable wage. The rest of the time he is without work.
In the years of the post-war boom, the unemployed from the regions could go to find work in France, Germany or Luxembourg. Now, with the coming of the world recession, the safety-valve of emigration has been closed. The young men in the villages have nowhere to go. Over half of the unemployed are less than 25 years old. In Seville alone. the number of unemployed farm labourers increased from 10,741 in August of 1978 to 19,560 this August, that
is, practically doubled. This situation has been made worse by the with dozens injured and arrested.
agriculture recent years, which has meant less jobs. 'El Pais' (14/10/79) recently commented
'According to some estimations the loss of emplyment in Andaluz agriculture between 1971 and 1980 will rise to 138,000 in the four eastern provinces and to 125,800 in he western ones. In Extramadura he loss of jobs is around 80.400.'
This situation is beginning to worry the Suarez government. which fears the possibility of the spread of violence in Andalucia, now widely described in the press as a 'powder keg', of comparable dimensions to the Basque country, which could explode at any time. Rafael Esuredo, president of the regional council of Andalucia has said that "It looks like the government will only take Andalucia seriously when people start getting killed.
An indication of the government's concern was the so-called "Law on manifestly under-exploited farms," which theoretically allows for the expropriation of big estates (latifundia) which can be demonstrated to be under-utilised by their owners. Naturally, the powerful estate-owners will have no difficulty in proving to the law's satisfaction, that their estates are being properly farmed, and the peasants will be left with their hands empty, as always. Madrid has also given 12,000 million pesetas to the local councils in Andalucia for so-called 'community works' for the jobless. Under these said a pittance to sweep the street,
those without work get
plant trees and such-like. But this is not enough. The main trade unions estimate that next year 23,500
motion pest a ville needed are
ucia!
Nueva, which led to bloody clashes with dozens injured and arrested. The clashes were particularly violent in the city of Cordoba, where the masses beseiged the headquarters of Furza Nueva, smashing the windows, till the police dispersed the crowds to defend the fascists.
THE NATIONAL
QUESTION
Next year, both Andalucia and Galicia will go to the polls in regional referendums to decide the question of devolution. Following the statute of autonomy won by the Basques and Catalans this autumn, many other regions of the Spanish state are also clamouring for similar rights. In Andalucia, in particular, as a result of the appalling conditions of poverty and unemployment brought about by decades of neglect by the central government in Madrid, there has been a growing mood of frustration, the clearest expression of which was the vote secured by the previously obscure and mis-named Andaluth Socialist Party (PSA) of Alejandro Rojas Marcos, a middle-class demagogue with links with big business and who had been a local councillor under Franco. The blame for the uequalled rise of this party and of 'andaluth nationalism' must be layed fairly and squarely at the door of the right-wing leaders of the Socialist and Communist parties (PSOE and PCE) who have consistently failed to give a lead to the increasingly desperate masses of Andalucia.
Of course, all socialists must year 23,500 support the fullest possible autonomy for Andalucia, Galicia, Valencia, and any other region whose people express themselves in favour of devolution. But given the catastrophic nature of the crisis of Spanish capitalism, the mere granting of a parliament for the andaluths or galicians can solve practically nothing. This will be seen also in the Basque country, where factory closures and unemployment have also risen sharply. According to the Basque industrialist, Luis Olarra, in order to rescue Basque
The discontent of the workers, peasants and unemployed in Andalucia was shown on Sunday 2nd of December, on the Day of Andalucia. when half a million andaluths demonstrated on the streets of Seville. Cordoba, Malaga, Granada. These big demonstrations were accompanied by violent provocations by the fascist organisation Fuerza
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30 industry, a new 'Marshall Plan' from union leaders Madrid would be needed, in the order of $400,000 million to $500,000 million US dollars. With similar problems all over Spain. and with a yawning budget deficit and inflation inexorably wards 20% by the end of the year. it to see how the Suarez government could contemplate such astronomic quantities of aid. For the time being.
the Centre'
government has adopted a policy of and mend'
economic front. Terrified of a direct confrontation proletariat, continued to temporise, granting aid to the ailing shipbuilding and steel industries which were threatened with massive closures.
LEADERSHIP LACKING But with the looming world recession, Spanish capitalism now finds itself in an increasingly weak and exposed position. In a desperate attempt to get points of support, the government has tried to enlist the aid of the leaders of the socialist trade union (UGT). Foolishly, these leaders agreed and began to negotiate deals with the employers separate and apart from the rival Communist Party-dominated union, the Workers' Commissions (CCOO). What is evidently at stake is the handing-back of the UGT's property, confiscated by Franco at the of the civil war. In months, the UGT leadership leaned over backwards to show itself 'moderate' and 'reasonable', opposing strikes and mobilisations. As a result, it has suffered a severe slump in membership and left the ground clear to the rival Workers' Commissions to appear as the more radical of the two, though in practice, the only complaint of the latter is that they have been left 'out in the cold' by the government's separate negotiations with the UGT.
manoeuvres government, employers and trade have caused temporary confusion and disorientation in the ranks of the workers' movement. But beneath the apparent surface of calm, there groundswell of discontent, reflected by the fact that many more days have been lost in strikes this year than in 1978. Some of these strikes have borne a violent character, notably the 49-day long general strike of the lorry drivers September, which at times looked liked a mini civil war. The lorry drivers' pickets fought the armed police with sticks, stones and chains. The police replied with gunfire, killing one worker and wounding others. The leaders were arrested and eventually the army was used to been strikes of teachers, railwaymen, building workers, bakers, hospital workers, agricultural labourers, shipyard workers and other sectors. The discussion, in the parliament, of kind of bill of rights for the trade unions, also provoked widespread protests, demonstrations and strikes. The overt wheeling and dealing government and the between the caused enormous discontent at rank and file level. Despite all attempts to break unity, the UGT and Workers' Commissions in Granada jointly called a one-day general strike to against the government's 'statute'.
At first, it looked as though the UGT in the Basque country was also going to call a joint 24-hour general strike together with the CCOO. But under pressure from the national UGT leadership in Madrid, the Basque UGT leaders withdrew. Only the UGT of Alava maintained firm and went through with the strike call which was practically 100% successful.
Discontent at the leadership's stand was expressed by the radical Asturian miners' union which also called a strike and demonstration on December 7th to coincide with the general strike in the Basque country. It is clear that the leaders of the and UGT cannot continue indefinitely with these policies which the loss of caused the general a election on March 1st and massive losses in membership of both the party and the union.
The situation facing the mass of a Spanish workers is truly catastrophic. The working class will not give up its hard-won gains without a struggle If that means taking the leaders by the scruff of the neck and forcing them to lead, then this will be done. The Spanish workers were not intimidated in the past by the Franco dictatorship. They will not be deterred now by the pusilanimous and short-sighted behaviour of their own leaders.
JORGE MARTINEZ MADRID 12th December 1979 MILITANT BESTSELLERS CAPITALIST CRISIS TRIBUNE'S 'ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY OR SOCIALIST MAN Andrew Cly THE 35 HOUR WEEK EN The Fight Agahst Unemployment Available from World Books 1 Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PN
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