Spain

On Monday over one hundred people crowded into the CAUM Centre in Madrid to hear Alan give a speech launching his latest book, which is an in-depth reply to the reformist ideas of Heinz Dieterich, who has been providing a theoretical back-up to the bureaucracy within the Bolivarian movement which is attempting to slow down the pace of the revolution. If listened to, these reformist ideas would lead to the derailing of the revolution.

After six months of struggle, 18 days of strike action and on the first day of their all out strike for a reduction in working hours, the bus drivers of Barcelona have achieved an important victory. And they won as a result of their united mobilisation, based on mass workers' assemblies taking all decisions, and coordinated through an elected committee.

The PP controlled Guadalajara council has denied the Frederick Engels Foundation a stall at the Guadalajara Book Fair. Please sign and send a letter of protest against this attack on the freedom of expression.

The PSOE has won a decisive general election victory after a heated and bitter campaign in which the right wing Popular Party mobilized the forces of reaction, using language that was reminiscent of the period before the Civil War in the 1930s. Alan Woods in Madrid looks at the meaning of this result.

Morala and Carnero, the two trade unionists jailed in Spain, have been released - although they have not been acquitted and have only been granted a conditional release. Despite their ordeal, they remain in good spirits and are prepared to continue the fight for a better world.

On Thursday, December 14, there was a rally against fascist aggressions outside the offices of the F. Engels Foundation and the Students Union in Vitoria-Gasteiz (in the Basque Country), which have been the object of fascist attacks six times in the last few weeks. See the Spanish version here.

In the recent period the Spanish School Student Union and the Frederick Engels Foundation in Vitoria (Gasteiz), in the Basque Country, have become the victims of fascist harassment. UGT activists have been physically attacked and hospitalised. Before something serious happens, these fascist thugs and their backers in the state, must be made aware that workers and youth around the world have their eyes on what is going on. Stop the fascists now!

Manzoor Ahmed, Pakistani MP and president of the Pakistan Trade Union Defence Campaign (PTUDC) met with leaders of the Spanish UGT (General Workers’ Union) on July 3, establishing links between the Pakistani and Spanish workers.

On June 18, a referendum was held in Catalonia (Spain) on the new Estatut.A big majority voted “yes” but the level of abstention was very high, with only 49.5% turning out on the day. Abstention was particularly high in the working class areas. The massive “yes” vote was more a vote againstthe right-wing PP than an enthusiastic vote for the Estatut itself.

The Madrid Book Fair organisers have taken a decision to exclude the F. Engels Foundation from this year’s book fair. The FFE is the main publisher and distributor of Marxist books in Spain and has been participating in the Madrid book fair since 1998. The growing interest that it has generated is seen as a threat by the organisers and sponsors of the Fair. The organising committee is meeting for the last time before the book fair on Monday April 24th. We have received an appeal for protest letters to be sent to the organisers asking them to review their position. There is a model letter in...

A militant mood is developing among Spanish workers. Thanks to their mobilisations a PSOE government is in office. Now reaction has reared its ugly head, including army officers, but the leaders of the left and the trade unions are doing everything they can to hold back the workers. At the same time the bosses are on the offensive, announcing plant closures and sackings. However, the workers are not always prepared to stay calm and do nothing.

Last year the PSOE leader Zapatero was swept to power on the back of mass mobilisations against the war in Iraq in the aftermath of the Madrid bombings. He has introduced some minor reforms, but has not tackled the real issues facing the Spanish working class. Now the PP, backed by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, has been mobilising the most reactionary layers of Spanish society. The “two Spains” are back.

Ezker Marxista and El Militante organised a speaking tour last week throughout the Basque Country, with Gerry Rudy and Danny of the IRSP (Irish Republican Socialist Party) speaking in many Basque working class neighbourhoods, drawing the lessons of the experiences in Ireland and linking these to the struggle for national liberation of the Basque Country. The common thread was the need for the organised working class to take a lead in the struggle and link it to a socialist perspective.

One year ago the Zapatero PSOE government came to power after a truly gigantic mobilisation of the masses. Apart from a few minor reforms the direction of this government has not changed in any fundamental way from that of the previous PP government. The workers and youth are watching and drawing lessons. Sooner or later this government will face the wrath of the Spanish workers. Editorial statement of El Militante, the journal of the Spanish Marxists.