The people's struggle for democracy, social and national liberation in in Europe and Africa.

Contribution to Workshop 1: the cause of national liberation, democracy and social liberation against imperialism and all reaction. International League of People's Struggle, 4th International Assembly July 7-9, 2011 Wim De Ceukelaire, intal, Belgium The ongoing economic crisis has hit Europe hard and is a challenge for the prevailing order and the stability of the eurozone1 in particular. The gap between the strong economies under the leadership of Germany and the weaker economies in Southern and Eastern Europe is increasing. How can an economic union and a common currency zone survive when Germany's trade surplus is breaking records while Greece and Portugal are all but bankrupt? German capitalists do not feel like paying for a solution to problems of the Greeks or Portuguese. European President Herman Van Rompuy established a task force to look for solutions to the crisis but it was German Chancellor Angela Merkel who held the pen. That's how a proposal took shape during the European Summits of 2010: some kind of European Economic Government. The solution is simple: Everyone is supposed to follow the so-called 'German model' of harsh neo-liberal economic governance. In Germany real wages went down with 5% in the past 20 years. Unemployment benefits are now a meager 450 after one year, if at least the beneficiary has sold his house. Poverty is on the rise. Throughout 2010, mainly under the Belgian presidency, the concept of European economic governance was conceived. During the 2011 Spring European Council an EU Economic Governance pact has been signed that puts national governments under tight European surveillance. Instead of the European Commission making recommendations, it is now authorized to verify the concrete commitments of member states with regard to budgets, labor policies and pensions and to penalize them if they do not comply. Just like 22 other European countries, our country is now under European tutelage. For example, when one Belgian negotiator was asked during the prolonged government negotiations what his preferred coalition was, he answered that it didn't really matter whether there would be a left or a right coalition: There will be a government that will implement the dictates of the European Commission. The big difference is that governments now have to submit their plans beforehand instead of waiting for the EC's judgment after they come into force. Plans are now evaluated by the Commission every June and this judgment is ratified by the European Council before the end of the month. National governments are supposed to take these assessments into account when drawing up their budgets for the following year, and especially reforms of health care, labor market policy, education and pensions. Member countries that fail to obey can be punished with sanctions. The consequences of this kind of economic governance for social policies can be tremendous, as the example of Greece, Ireland and Portugal is already demonstrating today.
1 The eurozone is an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 17 European Union (EU) member states that have adopted the euro () as their common currency. The eurozone currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. Of the 10 EU member states outside the eurozone, seven states are obliged to join, once they fulfill the strict entrance requirements.

Old wine, new method The method might be new but the content is not. A general characteristic of the European plans is that the US serves at their model. This is no coincidence. For more than sixty years, the biggest US capitalists have ruled the world economy in their interests. And the 'remedies' the US adapted to stave off the crisis of overproduction have heavily influenced economic and financial policies in the European Union. The whole process of neo-liberal reforms accelerated in 1992 with the Maastricht Treaty. In anticipation of the single currency, the national economies had to be streamlined and European norms for budget deficits and public debt saw the light. Under the guise of competitiveness, European corporations through the European Round Table of Industrialists - demanded a yet higher productivity and flexibility of the workers, lower corporate taxes, more cuts in the social security system and in the salary cost of the workers, policies that were already in place in the US. Their demands would lead to the Lisbon Agenda, adopted in 2000 and aiming at making Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge economy in the world by 2010. In many fields, the EU and its member states indeed began copying US policies: tax reforms to the benefit of the big companies, privatizing social security, the total deregulation of the market, the excessive development of the stock market, diminishing social benefits for the workers and so on. Since the early 1990s, the EU is implementing the liberalisation of telecommunications, railways and the postal services. The formerly public services are becoming new fields for profit for private capital. These policies resulted in massive lay-offs, erosion of civil servants' salaries and working conditions, and service to the broad public. The Bolkestein directive also liberalized services that are supplied by the private sector but policies on wages, social security and the labor market are still decided at national levels. With its Lisbon 2000-2010 strategy, the European Union also tried to intervene in these matters. In order for the European companies to compete with their US counterparts, the exploitation of the European workers had to become more intense and comprehensive, adding to the capitalists' arsenal new concepts such as flexicurity (supposed job security in exchange for working extremely flexible hours), employability (the disponibility of workers for the labor market at any time) and the activation (forced integration in the labor market) of the unemployed, elderly and even handicapped people. This kind of competition with the US is nothing but a rat race to the bottom as regards social rights and welfare. The Lisbon Agenda set standards for an overall employment rate (70% by 2010), for an increase of the retirement age and the labor market (the 'flexicurity'-hype). Member states were given good and bad points to exert moral pressure but there was no enforcement of these policies. It was a so-called open coordination. Economic Governance in action When the financial crisis broke out in 2008, the European governments had to incur debts to save their banks. Today the governments have to stem their budget deficits, with the money of the workers. With the 'economic governance', the EU, has all necessary tools to intervene. There are targets, as well as a compulsory judgment beforehand and afterwards. The first recommendations, that were made early this June, tells a lot about the Commission's objectives: demolish the social system in favor of the European

monopoly capitalists' profits. Take the six recommendations for Belgium as a example: Our country has to reduce the budget deficit faster and take the necessary measures mainly on the expenditure side by the time of the 2012 budget to achieve an average structural effort of at least 0.75% of GDP. Belgium likewise has to prevent early retirement in order to increase the effective retirement age and curb wage increase through reform of the system of wage bargaining and wage indexation. Our country was also urged to introduce a system in which the level of unemployment benefits decreases gradually with the duration of unemployment and take steps to shift the tax burden from labour to consumption. Liberalization of the retail sector and the electricity and gas sectors are also on the EC's agenda, just like a restructuring of the financial sector. The Commission's recommendations were met with enthusiasm by our country's employers and the most conservative liberal parties. Trade unions and progressives condemned these expressions of the EC's economic tutelage. We are not against Europe but we are against this rightist Europe, said Anne Demelenne, the secretary general of the main socialist trade union, because it is currently organize social breakdown. It is those who have caused the crisis who are benefiting while the workers see their wages cut. What we need is regulation of the financial sector, a tax on speculation, quality jobs for everyone and solidarity with countries in difficulties. Ferre Wyckmans, from the Christian trade union said: From a democratic perspective this is really inconceivable: a country's budget proposal has to be approved not by its own parliament, nor by the European parliament but by the European Commission. Also in our neighboring countries, the trade unions and progressives are protesting. In Luxemburg, the solidarity tax has been raised from 2.5 to 4% since January 1, 2011 and all employees also have to pay a supplementary crisis tax of 0.8% of the income. The indexation of wages has been postponed. The Luxemburg Communist Party is therefore continuing the struggle against the social breakdown which is the consequence of the policies written by the UK, Germany and France but imposed by the financial markets. What we are witnessing now is the creation of a European super power dominated by German monopoly capital, says the German Communist Party's Klaus Wagener. Merkel and Sarkozy's pact will impose Germany's social and political policies, based on cheap production for export, on the peripheral countries. That raises the question: to whom are these economies going to sell their products after this wave of belt-tightening and impoverishment? These measures are being conceived by all present European governments. They want the weakest to pay the crisis in order to recover the billions they have distributed to the banks and big transnationals to save them from bankruptcy, says Didier Louvet of the French CGT trade union. We think the reason for the crisis is to be found in the low wages that hinder economic growth through domestic consumption: Significant wage increases and better social protection should give the economy a fresh start. Portugal and Greece It is in Portugal and Greece that the resistance is best organized and steadfast. This is no coincidence. Not only are Greece and Portugal among the countries that are hit exceptionally hard by the crisis. At the same time, both countries are also home to a strong labor movement and communist parties. In Portugal, wages of public employees are frozen until 2012 and the minimum wage was lowered to

485. The government raised VAT on many basic products. As a result the price of bread increased with 10% and electricity with 6%. For the banks, however, taxes were halved. The Portuguese Communist Party, with no less than 400.000 members, is at the heart of the protest. Last year, there were more than three million people in the street on November 24. That is 75% of the workers. The PCP led the discussion at all levels, from its local groups in factories up to its representation in the parliament. The party had a strong showing in the recent elections, gaining 2 seats in the national assembly (total of 16) and posting its highest vote total of the 21st century despite a voter turnout of less than 60% nationwide. The party's secretary general Jernimo de Sousa clarified: The unparalleled action of clarification and mobilization we built during this election campaign, mobilized determination, unleashed energies, contributed to a widespread perception and awareness about the countrys real problems, about those who are responsible for the current situation and, above all, contributed to assert a patriotic and alternative left-wing policy, which will live on in the future activity and struggle which the workers and the people will be called upon to wage. Undoubtedly, Greece suffered most from the crisis in the eurozone. It has launched a number of austerity reforms in order to assure itself of bail-outs from the IMF and the EU. In the past two years, more than 45 billion have already been saved by cuts in government programs or collected in extra taxes and yet the public debt has risen from 135% to 156% of the GNP. In just one year, unemployment has risen 40%. Among the youth, 42% is unemployed. Last year, the Greek economy shrank 5,5%. VAT on many basic necessities has jacked up to 21%. Greece agreed to privatize government assets for 50 billion Euro: airports, railways, power plants, even its tourist beaches. So far the shock therapy had no effect and yet prices are skyrocketing while the average income of the Greeks dropped with 9% in just one year. The most visible expressions of people's protest are the massive rallies in the streets of Athens and other big cities and general strikes. This year's May 1 demonstration of PAME (All Workers Militant Front), the militant trade union platform, mobilized many times more people than that of the social democrats. The June 15 general strike became a rousing success. While protests continue, people's committees are established in neighborhoods and villages across Greece. Workers, farmers, independents, women and youth are organizing in order to strengthen resistance. The people's committees are aiming to unite the people who are hit by the attacks of the government and the capitalists, says Alekos Perrakis, a PAME militant who is organizing the committee in Kallithea, a popular municipality that makes part of Athens. The committees want to solve the problems at the level of the neighborhood and get direct answers to our questions. It's the people themselves who make the proposals for actions, he added. One of the issues these people's committees are taking to heart is access to health care. They demand free health care and more money for public hospitals. In Kallithea they focus on access to care for the unemployed. In Larissa, a city in the center of Greece, the elderly occupied the offices of the social security agency and demanded a meeting with the director. Every month more people are losing their jobs, sais Giorgos Skokos who is active in the local people's committee. The workers are demanding higher wages and better working conditions, the farmers want higher prices for their produce. Unemployment, poverty and misery are hitting every household. That's why we are creating the conditions for a general counterattack by the people. We are uniting the people and organize them with

the perspective of a general uprising. Through organized struggle we can re-appropriate the wealth we are producing and use it for our needs. After the successful general strike of June 15, the third this year, the PAME wrote: Through general assemblies, meetings, the strengthening of the action of the popular committees and the trade union committees, the workers must push forward the situation, must believe in their power and massively enter the struggle. Discussions must start within the working places, the poor neighborhoods, amongst the youth. No worker must be left out from this call of struggle. Meanwhile in Africa While capitalism in Europe is in crisis, European imperialism is slowly forced to loosen its grip on Africa. The ouster of two of North Africa's dictators, Tunisia's Bin Ali and Egypt's Mubarak, early this year is a case in point. It is the achievement of the Tunisian people that they were able to inspire others in the region with their revolutionary chants The people want to overthrow the regime and Depart! Depart! that were quickly picked up by the crowds in Tahrir square. The people and organizations that took the lead in the uprisings ware met with violent repression. In Egypt, for example, hundreds of protesters were killed and many thousands injured by Mubaraks security forces but the people were not discouraged and continued to demonstrate. In fact, millions of people across Egypt demonstrated in a magnificent show of peoples power and defiance. The people's courage played an important role in thwarting the Tunisian and Egyptian rulers from getting the army generals to order the soldiers to open fire on the people. Significantly, it was the youth and the working class that have been most active in both uprisings, with large-scale strikes carrying both economic and political demands proving to be decisive weapons in their hands. Even if almost anyone was taken by surprise by the massive uprising, these were preceded by years of social struggle by both legal and underground trade unions and social movements. Through these years of organizing and mobilization, the backbone was built for a movement that was able to unseat the powers that be. In Tunisia, traditional trade union leaders were forced to resign because of their cooperation with Bin Alis regime. In Egypt, the workers have dismantled the official trade union organizations, which acted as the direct arm of the regime. Finally, it was the general strike that proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back. In neighborhoods across Egypt, the Popular Committees to Defend the Revolution have continued to advocate for better services and to remove corrupt officials. Last month, Egyptian journalist Hossam elHamalawy wrote in the Guardian: Two things have changed in Egypt in the past 100 days which give me hope, and both relate to the fact that the revolution is unfinished. The first is that mass strikes are continuing. The second is that workers have taken the step of establishing independent trade unions, which I believe are the silver bullet for any dictatorship. According to him, this is phase two of the revolution, the phase of socio-economic change: What we need to do now is take Tahrir to the factories, the universities, the workplaces. There is huge resentment within the Egyptian working class about the neoliberal policies that have impoverished them over the past 20 years, and the struggle for change will be a dramatic one. No doubt the western powers and Arab monarchs who are already deeply unhappy at what they see taking place in Egypt will be even more dismayed at this, el-Hamalawy adds, But however much pressure they put on the military junta, the pressure of the street can be stronger. The Egyptian people are vigilant about their own revolution.

The generals in both Tunisia and Egypt are clearly biding their time. While they were willing to ditch the ex-presidents Bin Ali and Mubarak, they are not making other concessions except when they are challenged by the people on the streets and in the workplaces. Still revolutionary enthusiasm remains high, in spite of the repression. However, there is as yet no powerful nationwide umbrella structure for the emerging free trade union movement. The current attempts are brave and have potential but remain relatively weak. Furthermore, although in Tunisia workers' parties have played a significant role in mobilizing the masses to challenge the old regime, they are not able to shape the course of events. This is even more true in Egypt where the organized left is even weaker although a myriad of new political groups have been established since the revolt. Tilting the balance of forces In contrast to the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia which have have been materially self-reliant, the leadership of the uprising in Libya quickly fell into the grip of imperialist interference. Its selfappointed leaders succeeded in focusing attention on seeking western military intervention at an early stage of the popular uprising. Libyan opposition figures based in Paris and London denounced Qaddafi's regime and called for western intervention. Meanwhile, NATO is gradually destroying Libyas infrastructure, much as the US did in Iraq during the years of sanctions and subsequent occupation. All of this is supposed to further human rights and support democratic movements. In reality the intervention has to secure Libya fully for the NATO powers and let them use the country as a base against the social movements in Tunisia, Egypt and beyond. Monopoly capitalism has relied on its exploitation and control of the Middle East and north Africa for more than a century. It wouldn't have been able to sustain its dominance without backing a parasitic and corrupt elite and armed them to the teeth to maintain their extremely repressive political order. This is not different today and the case of Libya shows that the imperialist powers are ready to prop up whatever local puppets as long as they are acting in their interest. Whether we are talking about the people's resistance in Europe or north Africa, we come to conclusions that are very similar. First, the working people in both continents are facing the same enemy. Monopoly capital is exploiting the working class not only in its former colonies but also in Europe, and the current economic crisis has sharpened the class contradictions at home. Second, the strength of the labor movement matters in these circumstances. Without solid trade unions, popular committees and workers' parties, the future of the resistance movement is uncertain. It is where these organizations are taking strong roots among the people that the resistance has the best prospects. Third, reactionary forces are still strong in Europe as well as in north Africa while the forces of resistance are relatively weak. As the crisis of capitalism is worsening, its inability to solve the rising contradictions will become clearer for the workers. The challenge is to consolidate their organizations so they will be able to tilt the balance of forces in their advantage.