international debt.
ment to stem the crisis have taken the form of a combined package of austerity and nationalisation of the banks.
PRT Revolutionary Workers Party, Mexican section of the Fourth International), now the country's fourth largest party, explain what has happened since the July elections and their party's attitude to the government's latest measures.
THE ELECTIONS showed a massive increase in the overall COEL OT votes COSL This surprised everybody.
The increase did not to the Revolutionary Party), but to the opposition.
The main reason was the economic crisis and the crisis in the PRI. this year was of gigantic The CCONCHC crisis proportions even before the spectacular results of the international crisis of this month.
ion rade or icted inflation FaLC cent. Probably a million people will be fired this year, and employed rate 65 percent of the workforce.
In March this year there was an eight per cent cut public which followed six years of austerity. This cut includconstruction that was not directly linked to producuon, which means roads On the other hand the PRI has failed to pacify the rank and file of the union and peasant movement and a new movement in Mexico - the shantyThese movements have escaDed PR control and have formed a national coalition.
Socialist Challenge...18 September.1982, page.10. Measures taken by the Mexican governHeather and Raquel, two militants of the The PRI was looking for a mandate, and not just a majority vote. Their tallure meant they had to commit fraud.
Fraud is very normal in Mexican elections. But it was very blatant this time.
But the PPS and the PST - the former an old the latter 'Marxist-L Leninist' SUU* porters of the PRI - were given' votes.
Lopez Portillo This raised the amount or minority votes particular raised the votes of those minority DC LIC supported the PRI and therefore in proportion lowered ours.
They also lowered the PRT's votes so that we only had 1.47 percent of votes, not enough to any members ment even though we got more than 2 per cent .on the presidential - enough to get registered.
We feel, of course, that we got the same amount on the votes for members of parliament were denied them because of this juggling.
We are the only party which nationally registered but does 10 I any members of cannot risk having revolutionary members of parliament to expose it. On the day the fraud was announced prices of bread, tortillas and gasoline and cooking gas and of electricity were increased by 100 per cent On the same day the government announced that they have contracted a $400 million loan from the USA and that they will sell te amount of ol to the USA at the old fixed price.
This of course was the price of the loan.
This whole period was summed up by President Lopez Portillo in his state of the union address on 1 September when he announced the tion of private banks with their debts.
This was accompanied by a move to get a mass base decreeing the unionisation 140,000 bank workers This nationalisation of the banks is a progressive Peasants at a PRT rally There is a small DalEH. group of about members with expect to fuse soon; and there are larger organisations of a Maoist tradition step of course, but it was also a ploy.
objectives are to control the financial situation. But the devaluation WILOWel the cost labour and investment will much for foreign capital. thus speeding up the 'dollarisation' of our economy - in spite of control of dollar exchange.
Portillo says that nationa isation will prevent the flow of dollars out of LIC DUL THOSE the dollars that leave the COULLY dICH DaylCHE OI the national debt.
Nationalisations
AI C who have now, for the first time, been forced to take us into account, work with us, and discuss with us.
The third thing want to do is expand our completely tied up with a policy smashing dependent organisations despite the working class the unionisation decree among bank workers.
netimalso have firings, sometimes workers in a single factory from one day to the next; and we say that there is a danger yet crystallised -conservatism if the bosses or a certa are forcing choose: either we fire you or you go on short time working.
There have been some arcacuoss tiere are tree Photo: TIM WRIGHT mass work. In the peasant movement have an organisation which have been building since 1976, mass peasant organisation anti-austerity coalitions but they organise only the vanguard of the vanguard of the working class. Our policy to unify these three coalitions.
Portillo also called for "political austerity'. This is a new term, but not a new policy. It means and immediate increase in repres sion which began straight after the electoral fraud OUT comrades have been harassed, picked up and terrorised particularly where they play a leading role in struggles - and this is obviously not confined to us.
16-25.000 people which now says that it recognise. the PRT as its party. We want also to expand mas: work amongst women and amongst shanty town dwellers, WANT to organise the turn to in although this is difficult CUSLI much better. during a recession; but it includes national fractions for workers who have joined during the campaign DeLici workers auto workers, electricit workers, and so on.
. Lastly, our major cam paigns are expand There will be local elec toral campaigns, but our major national campaign will wil be cat austeri against austerity 5 programme of capitalist measures such as ; nationalisation, Lax reforms to tax profits and cancelling the national debt; the basic campaign, nowever, will be to fight attacks on our standard of second national campaign is SO02E the Salvadorian revolution; and we have a finance campaign to raise 15,000,000 cluding a raffle of a house and car!
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been rocked by anxiety as to the conse- quences of Mexico being unable to repay its