Corruption crisis robs Rajoy government of all legitimacy
Below we publish a declaration published this weekend by Socialismo Revolucionario (CWI in Spain) following the explosion of the government party’s corruption scandal, in which President, Mariano Rajoy, has become directly implicated along with a wide swath of PP leaders. The allegations, revealed in a leaked document claiming to consist of handwritten “off-the-books” records made by former PP treasurer, Barcenas, of illicit payments made on a regular basis to PP leaders, originating in illegal donations made by big business to the party. The documents allege that Rajoy himself was awarded over €25,000 per year in such payments, over an 11 year period, as well as supplementary payments for “suits” and clothing! The future of Rajoy and his government now hangs in the balance. More information & analysis to follow in the coming days.
socialistworld.net
Down with the government of thieves!
For a 48 hour general strike and a plan of struggle to bring down the PP government and its policies!
For elections now! The left must fight for a workers’ government!
The latest revelations in the ‘Barcenas’ case represent an unprecedented blow to the government, its President and other significant leaders. It has seen the last shreds of legitimacy which the government has been able to maintain in the last months, dissolve in a matter of hours. It is now clear that a government, made up of millionaires, who fill fraudulently fill their pockets while bleeding dry the workers and youth, the poor, the disabled and pensioners in a never-ending austerity offensive, can have no legitimacy whatsoever. The scandal also sheds new light on the farce that was the last decades of economic “boom”, out of which the rich ruling class has emerged further fattened through corruption and looting, while the majority sinks under the impact of the polices being implemented to save the system. It is a new expression of the character of rotten, robber ruling class which rules in this country, and a new source of motivation to fight for its overthrow.
These demolishing revelations also come at a moment when a new wave of struggle against these policies in developing, with the magnificent struggle of the health sector in Madrid at the forefront, as well as a growing number of indefinite strikes taking place in individual companies and councils around the country. With a government as weak as the present one, a powerful unification of these struggles, to deal an united blow, could immediately transform things, and open the possibility that for the first time during this crisis, the struggles of the workers and social movements could deliver a break in the situation. If the working class movement had a consequent and combative leadership, willing to fully mobilise the power of our class, they need only lift a finger to do away with this hated government of thieves.
Along these lines, Socialismo Revolucionario (CWI in Spain) calls for the building of a general strike of 48 hours against the government, a necessary intensification to reach a higher more intense phase of struggle following the 3 powerful one-day strikes of the last 2 years. A 48 hour strike, combined with mass mobilisations and occupations of key workplaces and public buildings (following the example of the Madrid health workers) could show sufficient force to shake the government to its foundations. If necessary, the struggle would have to be even further intensified afterwards, in order to secure the fall of the government. The formation of democratic assemblies and strike committees is a fundamental part of such a strategy, establishing and strengthening democratic control of the struggle from below, and planting the seeds of democratic self-organisation of the working class.
It is possible that the ruling class, conscious of the danger of Rajoy’s situation, Hill move to sacrifice him, and replace him with another figurehead, either from the PP (although their leading layer seem equally implicated in the scandal), or of a “technocratic” character. We must also struggle and mobilise against the imposition of such “solutions”. We must fight for new elections, so that the people can send this government to hell. However, we must also open up a debate and discussion in the left and workers and social movements about the preparation of an alternative. The left – IU in particular but also new formations like CUP and Bildu – would register important breakthroughs in elections, with opinion polls showing a splendid increase in support. A united front of these forces could make huge gains, decisively disputing the hegemony of the pro-capitalist PSOE as “opposition” party, and opening up the possibility of fighting for an alternative government to rule in the interests of the majority, rather than the markets. A united front around a programme which rejects all cuts, opposes the payment of the debt, and proposes the confiscation of the wealth of the corrupt super-rich through massive wealth taxes, could wage a viable struggle for a left government. This would radically change the situation, and accompanied by mass struggle in the workplaces and on the streets, begin a struggle for a workers’ government, and democratic socialism on an international level, the only way to overcome this crisis in the interests of the majority.
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