2023-05-19 00:25:16
The recent first of May, despite the difficulties imposed by the emergency regime, gave signs of the awakening of the social movement, since the two main social forces in the country, the National Alliance El Salvador in Peace which mainly brings together army war veterans, ex-guerilla ex-combatants, the workers’ movement of the national civil police, trade unions and social organizations; influenced by parties such as PAIS, Nuestro Tiempo and Vamos y the Popular Block of Resistance and Popular Rebellion that brings together unions, popular movements: environmentalists, feminists, NGOs, indigenous movement with strong influence of the FMLN among others, marched together and had a joint central act.
By Platform of the Working Class-International League of Workers
Unity to fight is still the way
The mobilization joined circumstantially with another independent effort from the government and its applause committees, the National Confederation of Salvadoran Workers-CNTS, in the Alameda Juan Pablo Segundo, it was on this route where all the mobilizations converged and it was the maximum expression of all the independent sectors, the most conservative calculations count between 40,000 and 50,000 people on the street, a clear sign of an important social force that is slowly beginning its awakening.
The main slogans were: Against the presidential re-election, for the end of the emergency regime installed since March 2022, against layoffs in the state, for the increase in the minimum wage, slogans for water and the environment, in favor of of sexual diversity and the sexual and reproductive rights of women, all important slogans, however, power slogans were not visualized, nor a program that would lead to the authoritarian government, and to the capitalist crisis, in addition, this unit is absent in the problems of the concrete class struggle, which can bring important victories to the class.
Examples of this lack of concrete unity are the solitude with which the SITRASOYA compañeros faced their fight for wages in recent December, we also saw the compañeros of ADES Santa Marta alone in their fight against the criminalization of the fighters, we have seen as trade unionists They continue to be imprisoned without a national and international campaign being unleashed for their release, the unit has limited itself to commemorative dates and not to the specific struggles, much less to a program that organizes and mobilizes the sectors in resistance, much remains to be done in terms of unity and popular struggle. It is important to point out how the electoral politics of the opportunist sectors begin to appear, the effort of the FMLN party to revive or co-opt legitimate struggle efforts, such as the fight against megaprojects, or efforts like the BPRP, with a purely electoral objective, is evident. , despite being directly responsible for the dispersion and weakening of the popular organization, we call on the organizations not to allow the electoral use of their struggles, it is enough that these parties that only want to take advantage of the struggle to get votes, and begin to consider the need to build our own party for the fight against capitalism and for a new society, without the center being the elections.
the other gear
But this mobilization was not the only one, the government, through the yellow unions, organized a march in support, the self-styled Salvadoran Union Unit, which according to their statements brings together some 250 unions, started from the Constitución roundabout and moved along Sisimiles street until they reached to the Mexico roundabout, where the Minister of Labor, Rolando Castro, who was a municipal leader in the past, would be waiting for them. In this march, support for the management of President Nayib Bukele, the presidential re-election, the emergency regime, and Some demands were very cordially requested, such as an increase in the minimum wage, among other cosmetic demands.
Undoubtedly, the government of Nayib Bukele still enjoys broad levels of acceptance, the main letter of introduction is the “frontal” combat against the maras or gangs, despite the fact that we clearly know that he has continued with the dark negotiations with the leaders of gangs. However, his repressive policy has led to the perception of tranquility and peace in marginal neighborhoods.
The decrease in extortion in small economic initiatives, and ultimately the “authoritarian” control of the territory, despite the so-called “collateral damage”, have an impact on people’s daily lives, however, apparently; The population is willing to put up with the military and police boots, the loss of rights, the imprisonment of innocents, as long as they can breathe, even for a limited time, what they have not had for a long time, tranquility and peace to be able to circulate in their territories. .
This situation has led the repressive apparatuses to improve their popularity and violations of fundamental human rights are accepted, however it is a trap, since from our point of view it is not a definitive solution and it is only a pressure cooker that in any moment will explode with harsh consequences for the population that will suffer again, but we will develop this point in greater depth in other material.
This overcharged, super-extra-dura Hand has achieved that broad sectors of workers still blindly trust the government, and that the sectors in struggle maintain a pyrrhic level of response.
Harsh conditions for the working class and the people
Despite this, the economic situation is very complicated for the Working Class, according to recent opinion studies, about 70% have reduced the food they put on their table, in addition, about 40% of the population stopped eating for at least one period of time. food a day, on the other hand, unemployment levels, despite the fact that the government tries to disguise these data, are high. 40% of young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are unemployed, and many adults are in sub-employment and self-employment is increasing daily. In addition to this, nearly 3,000 Informal Sector Vendors have been “cleansed” from the large cities, mainly San Salvador, incorporating only 5% of them into the markets, making their condition even more precarious. With the recent pension reform, the working class has once again been deprived of their savings, and the pension system is threatened with bankruptcy in the next 5 years. mobilized, there are already close to 25,000 dismissals in the State, among other situations that demonstrate the true nature of the Nayib Bukele regime.
Real unity and a program for the resistance are needed: Let’s build the Meeting of the Resistance.
From the Platform of the Working Class, section of the International League of Workers Fourth International, we celebrate the unity efforts of the sectors in struggle, but we believe that much remains to be done, it is necessary to move from commemorative unity to unity of action, about a fight program, conceived and designed from the bases With workers’ democracy, this program should take into account some important axes such as the break with imperialism, the nationalization of strategic companies that were privatized, the recovery of monetary policy, the break with the immoral and illegal foreign debt, Among other measures that go to the root of El Salvador’s problems, this program should be defined in a Meeting of resistance to the regime to discuss the construction of a force that proposes through a coordinated Plan of Fight the defeat of the authoritarian regime from the streets and the construction of a socialist society. For this meeting to be possible, it is necessary to break the sectarianism of the union and popular organizations, in addition to overcoming the electoral opportunism of the left and right opposition parties, which once again try to divert the path of the fight to the polls, it is important make it clear that we will defeat this undemocratic regime in the streets and not at the polls.
For the Meeting of the Resistance!
For the unity of the fighters!
For a Unified Fight Plan to defeat the authoritarian regime!
San Salvador, May 18, 2023
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