b
English edition
issue 5
e
year
Information and analysis of the working class
movement and left forces throughout the world
2003
International
Correspondence
new series
spotlight
 Interview with Blade Nzimande
general secretary of South African CP
 Iraq : a world facing the war
 China : ideological debate : classes, party
and strategy
elections
 Elections in Europe
social struggles
 What is the World Social Forum ?
 Italy : resumption of struggles
debates-controversies
 ALCA : US strategy for world domination
 NEPAD : what perspectives, what stakes ?
International Correspondence new series
Information and analysis of the working class movement and left forces throughout the world
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Correspondence
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International Correspondence — new series is an independent international journal specialising in information on left forces and
workers’ movements throughout the world. It aims at giving, on the basis of both raw and digested facts, the most reliable possible information
and analysis to a wide readership of specialists, academics, cadres and activists of political, social and cultural movements. The journal, as
such, does not take up any particular political or ideological position. Views expressed by contributors are their own. The columns of
International Correspondence are open to organisations and individuals with the strictest respect for all of them.
Origins
The origins of the magazine lie in a French-based publication, created in 1991 and called Correspondances Internationales. In 1996 a
process of widening and deepening was begun and which led to the present journal, justifying the inauguration of a ‘new series’.
The permanent features
Regular features in the journal include :

spotlight places in their context the forces, parties, movements, coalitions and trade unions as actors in society (origins, position,
membership, influence, debates, events, congresses etc.);

elections gives detailed, comparative and commentary of election results, with special attention to the left forces;

international events presents reports of international meetings, assemblies, symposia (extracts from the documents presented or adopted,
comments etc.);

social struggles gives information on the popular movement (strikes, demonstrations, appeals etc.) with the protagonists, objectives,
results;

debates-controversies echoes the movement of ideas, and reviews of books and publications .
About ourselves
Publication is assured by a Paris-based editorial team bringing together contributors from many countries. To improve its quality and
reliability, the journal relies on a network of specialists from all continents, brought together on the basic criteria of specialisation and
competence.
1
Contents
Page
Contents
1
Editorial by Jaime Ballesteros
2
SPOTLIGHT
South Africa :
Interview with Blade Nzimande, general secretary of South African Communist Party :
3
“We assert positively who we are”
The three dominant paradigms within our NLM over the last decade (SACP)
12
Iraq (documents previous to the war)
A world facing the war (statements)
14
Interview with Tariq Aziz, vice-president of Council of Ministers and Ba’ath Party representative
16
“the USA wants the oil and to extend its power”
China
Ideological debate : classes, party and strategy by Patrick Theuret
17
-‘Three represents’ : Jiang Zemin speech (extracts)
23
- Jiang Zemin in Der Spiegel
26
- Hu Jintao : “plain living and hard work ”
26
Ideological tendencies and reform policy in China by Al Sargis
27
ELECTIONS
Europe : Elections in European countries by Patrick Theuret
31
- Appendix : elections results
36
East Timor : Elections for a new state by Esperança Nascimento
40
SOCIAL STRUGLES
WSF : What is the World Social Forum ? by Ricardo Abreu
41
Italy : Resumption of struggles by Bruno Steri
44
DEBATES-CONTROVERSIES
FTAA and the US strategy of world domination by Jose Reinaldo.
47
NEPAD : what perspectives, what is at stake by Lô Gourmo
50
INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENCE
International Correspondence
56
Issue 5
Year 2003
2
Editorial…
War or Peace ?
Bush and his team, the present day leaders of north American imperialism, propose securing
world domination by the most summary methods. The United States has placed itself outside
international law. We are faced with a militarist policy that is not the consequence of the 11
September attacks. It was formulated prior to those attacks — considerably prior to them — although,
certainly, they enabled the creation of a climate favourable of transforming an ultra-imperialist
doctrine into one of world-wide anti-terrorism.
Let us remember that already, in 1982, when Reagan was president, Bush senior draw up a
foreign policy project which was not sufficiently well received to gain approval. It lay, apparently
forgotten, until 2000 when the arch-conservative association Project for the New American Century
(PNAC), closely linked to Bush junior, brought together 27 experts and ideologists to draw up a report
“Rebuilding the United States’ Defences for the New Century”. The authors of this report
acknowledged their great debt to the 1982 plan.
The new report laid out clearly the intentions of Bush and his group: military control of the Gulf
region, whether or not Saddam Hussein was in power, as a first step to military control of the world.
The document says, in so many words: “The United States has sought, for decades, to exercise a
more permanent role in the regional security of the Gulf. Although the still unresolved conflict with
Iraq offers an immediate justification, the substantial presence of US Armed Forces in the Gulf
transcends the question of Saddam Hussein’s regime”. It stated that the new tasks “required the
political leadership of the United States more than that of the United Nations. It recommended that
the United States install military bases in places where it did not yet have any: the Middle East, South
East Europe, Latin America and South East Asia. It advised abandoning the treaty to limit anti-ballistic
missiles, signed with the Soviet Union in 1972. All of Bush junior did on becoming president. Iraq,
North Korea and Iran were identified as regimes to be overthrown in the short term. It also argued
that the United States increase its military spending up to 3.8% of its GDP — which Bush has already
practically done.
This report, taking advantage of the favourable climate created by 11 September 2001, took
the form of the present official “United States Security Strategy” as from September 2002, which
guides the extremely aggressive north American policy. It takes up and gains acceptance for the
PNAC’s orientations — which, for its part, was essentially following the conclusions of the Bush plan of
1982.
Thus, both in the decision to invade Iraq and that to pursue North Korea and Iran, to extend
north American military bases in various regions of the world and to bye-pass the United Nations, this
whole policy has a long history. It is that of the most extreme and violent trends of north American
imperialism, closely linked to the oil and armament industries.
Following the crisis of neo-liberalism, the fresh advance of popular and left forces in Latin
America, the consolidation and growth of China, the present economic crisis and the rejection by large
sections of capitalism of the form of new world order that the United States is imposing and, above all
the growth of the movement against neo-liberal globalisation — all this has created this world-wide
pressure for peace and against the war on Iraq. A tug-of-war is developing between a great worldwide coalition such as we have not seen for many years, and the great north American imperialist
forces led by Bush.
In these conditions, the struggle between those working for peace and those who want to
impose the war strategy and indisputable power of the US on the world carries with it the necessity to
seek an alternative to the present type of international society.
A new standard of behaviour for world capitalist society? A global strategy towards a new
society more just and democratic, socialism? Chaos?
Jaime Ballesteros
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 3
SPOTLIGHT
Interview with Blade Nzimande, General Secretary of the South
African Communist Party: “We assert positively who we are” 1
What are main issues currently facing South Africa?
This question goes to the heart of the current phase of
the National Democratic Revolution and is essentially about
the structural features of contemporary South Africa and the
challenges going forward.
The April 1994 democratic breakthrough represented
the strategic defeat of white minority rule that had
underpinned a particular path of capitalist accumulation over
the previous century. The 1994 breakthrough represented a
huge advance for a bloc of radical forces, led by the ANC,
with their mass base amongst the historically oppressed black
majority which is overwhelmingly constituted by the working
class.
In
the
brief
period
since
1994,
the
ANC-led
government has undertaken significant measures in favour of
the working class, including the restoration and consolidation
of a stable political and constitutional environment, a very
progressive
labour
market
dispensation
as
well
as
achievements on the socio-economic front which have laid
the basis for the expansion of a social wage for the majority
of the people. These social measures include programmes in
the
provision
of
health,
education,
electricity,
water,
sanitation, telecommunications, housing and the beginnings
of land restitution and land reform..
These are remarkable achievements over a short timespan.
However, notwithstanding these achievements, the
systematic inequalities and underlying structural crises we
inherit from apartheid are proving to be extremely stubborn.
Race, class and gender continue to play a determinant
role in regard to poverty and inequality. We remain one of the
most unequal societies in the world and, despite the ending of
formal racial discrimination in 1994, racial inequality remains
a dominant reality. As inequality between races diminishes
marginally and as intra-race inequality grows, increasingly it is
class
that
is the most significant
determinant
factor
underpinning poverty and deepening inequality. This implies
strongly that the racial divide of the apartheid era is
increasingly becoming entrenched as a deep class divide in
the post-1994 period.
The economy is characterised by sluggish growth,
continuing formal sector job losses, deepening of poverty for
many in the midst of persisting high inequality, disappointing
levels of Foreign Direct Investment, significant capital
outflows from domestic and international capital, and our
vulnerability to speculative movements on currency and
capital markets.
Unemployment levels have risen almost without pause
over the last decade. By 2001, the official unemployment
figure
was
6.96
million,
or
37%
of
the
potentially
economically active. Unemployment is deepened by the fact
that the economically active population is growing by half a
million each year. Unemployment strikes at young people with
particular severity. There were 2.5 million unemployed young
people in 1999. This dramatic job loss bloodbath has led to
survivalist self-employment in the informal sector with the
number of those active in the informal sector rising from 1
million to 2.7 million between 1996 and 2001.
The Report of the Taylor Committee (the Committee of
Inquiry into a Comprehensive System for Social Security for
South Africa, established by the government), published in
March 2002, estimates that 45% of the population (18 million
people) live on less than $2 a day, that 25% of African
children
have
stunted
growth,
10%
of
Africans
are
malnourished and that 60% of the poor get no social security
transfers. In 1996, 61% of Africans lived in poverty compared
with only 1% of whites.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is already impacting in very
significant ways on poverty, inequality and the general
vulnerability of a large proportion of our people. Life
expectancy at birth in South Africa has already declined from
63 in 1996 to 56 in 1999.
The
legacies
of
national
oppression
and
class
exploitation are deeply intertwined with gender oppression.
The South African capitalist accumulation path also rested on
the harsh triple oppression of the majority of women. Black
women generally, and African women in particular, played a
central role in the reproduction of the working class – a
working class that was cheap (for the capitalists), not just
because it suffered direct coercion, but also because of the
burden of its reproduction was carried by the unpaid labour of
1
Given to International Correspondence on 15 February 2003.
International Correspondence
women. It remains black African women who have been the
Issue 5
Year 2003
4
worst victims of casualisation and outsourcing, by virtue of
has been aimed at highlighting the fact that it not only
the fact that they tend to occupy marginal and vulnerable
threatens to unravel whatever gains we have made, but is
jobs. But at the same time, not only are women vulnerable in
also likely, in the medium and long term, to undermine
the labour market, they also have to bear the brunt of
effective addressing of the national and gender questions, let
performing unpaid labour: looking after the sick, the elderly
alone our objectives for a better life for all.
and the unemployed. Therefore, any sustainable growth and
This sobering reality has been met with general
development path has to address the position of South
intensified working class struggles in the current period.
African women.
These are an expression of the evolving class contradiction in
In other words, notwithstanding the defeat of the
the transition. This heightened working class militancy and
apartheid state and many outstanding achievements by the
anger rooted in what we have been saying over the last few
progressive forces since 1994, fundamentally, the prevailing
years, that the working class, despite important gains made
growth and accumulation path will not be able to resolve the
since 1994, has borne the brunt of restructuring in both the
systemic, structural crises of under-development that besets
public and private sector over the last 10 years. This is but
our society. This sobering reality is partly the result of the
one expression of the difficulties associated with having to
burden of the past, and partly the result of new dynamics and
transform our society on the terrain of capitalism. As the
challenges that include the massive restructuring of the
SACP, we have paid some attention to the problems of
working class, the exposure to global capitalist instability, and
the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
This means that the working class is not only
negatively affected by the accumulation regime underway,
but also through the absence of mechanisms to ensure
sustainable livelihoods by the working class. The structure of
the financial sector in our country – incidentally our major
SACP campaign – illustrates this reality graphically.
Government housing subsidies are mainly aimed at the
lower end of the market (those with earnings of less than
R3,000 per month). Yet a significant section of the organised
working class earns between R2,500 and R5,000. At the same
time banks are very reluctant to lend to this section of the
market. This means that the working class, predominantly
black African, falls within the cracks. They neither qualify for
government subsidies nor are able to access bank loans. But
the most disadvantaged sections of the working class is the
informalised sector, which neither has access to banking
services nor access to credit. It is also estimated that more
than 10 million South Africans are unbanked.
Therefore, in the light of the analysis above, it would
be folly to underestimate the contradictory and uneven
character
of
the
delivery
itself
in
the
light
of
the
overwhelming capitalist reality in our country. For instance
progressive labour market reforms stand in contradiction or
threaten to be eroded by the job loss bloodbath as more and
more workers are outside this labour market. Similarly the
truly impressive gains in provision of basic services stands in
stark contrast and threaten to be eroded by the inability to
pay - indigence. This underscores the need to consciously
analyse and confront this capitalist reality and how to
confront it. The accumulation regime underway in our country
International Correspondence
prosecuting our revolution on the terrain of capitalism but
without
sufficiently
analysing
the
contradictions
of
contemporary capitalism. We have consistently argued that
this approach runs the risk of a restructuring process that
leaves the fundamental inequalities of our society intact.
The SACP has participated in the government of South
Africa Since 1994. How do you evaluate your
participation and your influence in this government?
What sort of difficulties do you face?
In recent history, the SACP has contributed immensely
to the democratic framework existing in South Africa – from
our unbanning in 1990, mass mobilisation, negotiations with
the apartheid regime, the murder of Chris Hani1, mobilisation
for the 1994 elections and the collective development of the
Reconstruction
and
Development
Programme.
This
contribution has led to the misunderstanding that the SACP is
a formal part of the South African government. We are, and
we are not.
Firstly, SACP members who are in the cabinet,
provincial and national parliaments, and municipal councils,
are appointed and elected into those positions in their own
right as bona fide ANC members and leaders. This is informed
by the strategic choice we make that the ANC, as a multiclass broad front with revolutionary traditions and a bias to
the working class, is the best located force to lead the
transformation of South African society.
This
means
that
SACP
members
who
are
in
government (whether national, provincial or locally) are
acting as ANC representatives under an ANC mandate. But
1
General Secretary of SACP from December 1991 until his murder on
10 April 1993 by a fascist commando. He had been a National
Executive Committee member of the ANC since 1974 and chief of its
armed wing (MK) since 1987.
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 5
this has raised very important operational and strategic
electricity and sanitation. According to government reports,
questions for us.
50% of this target has been reached. This does not mean
Whilst we have generally reaffirmed that communists
that
our
views
and
positions
automatically
become
should abide by all decisions of the structures in which they
government policy. For example, the SACP disagrees with the
serve and our commitment to defend all these communists
government’s macro-economic policy (which includes trade
(even if some of the policies they are implementing on an
liberalisation, restrictive fiscal policy and privatisation). This
ANC mandate are in contradiction with some or all of the
specific example implies that in one way the SACP is not part
party positions), we have argued that the SACP should raise
of government and its processes.
such differences with the relevant structures. At another level,
As you can appreciate, our being part and not being
we also expect all members of our party to defend the unity
part of government is a complicated issue to conceptualise
and integrity of our party, and advance its programme by,
and manage. Our analysis is that we have contributed and
amongst other things, to inform and engage the party
our impact has been felt. But this has been limited by
consistently, and even more so around areas where there
differences that exist within the ANC-SACP-COSATU Alliance.
might be differences between the position of structures in
At the same time as participating in the government,
the communists, through the party and the trade
unions, have actively participated in very important
struggles against neo-liberal measures, such as
privatisation. Is there not a contradiction between
these two different kinds of intervention?
which communists serve and the positions of the party.
Practically,
this
means
that
communists
deployed
in
government should be able to rise above their governmental
and ministerial portfolios and engage the party in particular
also from the standpoint of the SACP’s policy positions. We
have also, in agreement with the ANC, established a Party
Discussion Forum (PDF), in the national parliament as a
forum for MPs who are SACP members to debate issues and
assist the SACP where necessary and relevant. This has been
good to ensure that ANC MPs who are SACP members can
undertake their work as communists without undermining the
ANC mandate.
Over and above this, all SACP members are active
members in the ANC, meaning that they, as ANC members,
also contribute to the development of government policy and
programmes. The most recent example of this has been the
very thorough, open and democratic process to decide the
policy and decisions of the ANC’s 51st National Conference
held in December 2002. This process included discussions and
draft resolutions debated in more than 3,000 ANC branches
(through branch meetings and workshops), 53 ANC regional
councils, 9 ANC Provincial Councils, and a National ANC Policy
Conference. In addition to SACP members participating as
ANC members in these debates, SACP, COSATU and the
broad mass democratic movement were also invited and
participated in the regional councils, provincial conferences,
National Policy Conference and the 51st National Conference.
This is an example of how the SACP is contributing, indirectly,
to government policies and programmes.
The above implies that in one way the SACP is,
correctly, part of the ANC-led government.
We think that we contributed to government deciding
that from 2000 onwards government will work to ensure that
all South Africans receive free basic amounts of water,
International Correspondence
Our class analysis, as an SACP, has precisely been
aimed at ensuring that as an Alliance we are vigilant about
the class consequences of our economic policies, but much
more importantly to highlight the class intentions and
behaviour of the bourgeoisie in the current period. Much
more importantly we need to engage the reality that
capitalism and the current accumulation regime is placing
severe constraints on accelerating change and a better life for
our people. Hence the importance of relating these class
considerations to the NDR. The independence of the SACP
and COSATU have been critical in this regard because we
have been able to raise issues and our opinions within the
context of the Alliance.
And to highlight the class contradiction in the current
struggles does not mean that the form which this class
struggle is taking means the ANC is on one side of the class
divide, with the SACP and COSATU on the other. This would
be a mischievous and obviously incorrect analysis as it is not
true. But on the other hand this requires that the Alliance
debates and evaluates its own policies in terms of the extent
to which they might be, intentionally or unintentionally,
fostering a particular kind of accumulation regime that
favours the capitalist class. In this instance, the SACP has
sought to distinguish its subjective intentions from the
objective (unintended) consequences of government policies.
It is for this reason for instance that the SACP has been
calling for a comprehensive review of the economic policies
including identifying the major beneficiaries of these policies.
This also required that we frankly reflect on some of
the recent experiences so that government does not
Issue 5
Year 2003
6
unwittingly stand as a buffer between the narrow interests of
global capitalist system. At the heart of NEPAD are African-
the capitalist class, and the legitimate struggles of the
initiated strategies to overcome under-development. But there
working class. The essential question that we have raised is
are several weaknesses and a number of potentially grave
that of whether government should not be much more
dangers within the NEPAD initiative. These include the lack of
cautious in how it relates to both capital and the working
democratic mass participation and inclusion in the processes,
class in our country.
the weak link between gender and underdevelopment in the
As the SACP we have also tried to underline the
NEPAD initiative, the under-estimation of the critical role that
importance of the ANC in government to maintain dynamic
a progressive and strategic public and parastatal sector can
contact with, and leadership of the masses of our people and
play, the challenge of an attempted neo-liberal hegemony
their
mass
over NEPAD, and the conceptualisation of NEPAD as a
mobilisation goes hand in hand with access to, and utilisation
partnership with the west instead of a partnership between
of, state power. On its own, state power can be subject to
the peoples of Africa across different countries and with their
neo-liberal, bureaucratic and other pressures. In addition to
governments.
legitimate
social
struggles.
In
our
view,
mobilising the people and building their power, mass
mobilisation would act as a buffer against these pressures and
NEPAD creates space to take up the challenge of
underdevelopment.
would be a key to unlock barriers to transformation.
The role of the masses in any policy development must
So, no, we do not see a contradiction but a dialectical
be participatory. The masses must not be turned into passive
complementarity of mass (class) struggles and state power.
recipients of policies from benevolent states. The SACP
How do you evaluate the role of the South Africa in
the international scene and especially in Africa? What
role is South Africa playing in SADC 1 and the NEPAD 2
project? Are the conditions ripe for an anti-imperialist
front of non-aligned states against US policies?
actually supports a NEPAD that is mass-driven and biased
The relative victory of the democratic forces in South
Africa has partly and not wholly displaced the strategic
interest of the west in the SADC region. The 1994
breakthrough has also made possible the spread of South
African capital in Africa. This is because of the history of
economic development in the SADC where South Africa
extracted cheap labour and held an unfair trade advantage
over most African countries.
In recent years, the role of South Africa internationally
has been
characterised by the NEPAD
initiative,
the
transformation of multilateral institutions and the promotion
of world peace. This has contributed to the growth of a new
consensus in world affairs that is different to, and potentially
challenges the imperialist agenda.
From our perspective, the NEPAD initiative, and the
general vision underpinning it, marks an important potential
shift from the dominant international relations paradigm that
prevailed in government after 1994.
Potentially, NEPAD enables an approach to our
country’s and continent’s problems from a perspective which
acknowledges that the world is not normal and that Africa’s
marginalisation is characterised by under-development which
is a consequence of an integration of a particular kind into the
towards the interests of peasants and workers.
What is your opinion of development in neighbouring
Zimbabwe whose anti-colonialist and anti-apartheid
struggles were so close to yours?
The overcoming of the colonial legacy, addressing the
national and gender questions, and economic transformation
- at the centre of which is the land question – remain as the
key issues facing the Zimbabwean revolution and its people.
Cutting across these issues is the challenge and urgency to
rebuild the liberation movement rooted amongst the mass of
the people of Zimbabwe.
The entire South African and imperialist media
throughout the world has approached the question from the
standpoint of demonising Mugabe as a dictator and defining
the primary challenge as that of democracy, understood as a
need to have a strong opposition. Here one sees the uncritical
celebration of the MDC3 as the saviour of Zimbabwean
democracy and its people. In these sections of the media the
land issue does not matter and has been simply reduced to an
election gimmick by ZANU-PF, and the question of poverty
and economic misery facing the Zimbabwean people hardly
featured at all. This approach would not even deserve
mention were it not for the unfortunate reality of the extent
and dominance of (neo) liberal and racist media in the
analysis of the Zimbabwean situation.
The other approach and analysis of Zimbabwe is that
of seeing current developments as purely an expression of
counter-revolution hatched everywhere - in the western
1
2
Southern African Development Community
New partnership for African Development .
International Correspondence
3
Movement for Democratic Change.
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 7
capitals, the non-governmental media and the offices of the
to benefit from the privatisation of state assets under this
opposition forces in Zimbabwe. Whilst we should not discount
programme.
the presence of counter-revolutionary activity, it would be
programme under the hegemony of this class is perhaps the
completely wrong to approach the question purely from this
single most important explanation for the erosion of the
standpoint. It is as if we have not witnessed the painful
power and influence of ZANU-PF amongst the people, and
collapse of eastern bloc countries as a result of yes,
therefore requires some detailed attention.
imperialist-backed
counter-revolution,
but
also
internal
The
effects
of
the structural adjustment
The first ten years of Zimbabwean independence
weaknesses and serious errors by the parties in power. This
(1980-1990)
crude position is completely ignoring ZANU-PF policies that
improvement in the social conditions of the majority of the
have hurt the working class and the poor over the years, the
working and poor people. For instance there was a massive
bureaucratisation of the party, and consequently the growing
expansion of social services, in particular in the spheres of
distance between it and the mass of the people.
health and education.
The current developments in Zimbabwe, particularly
witnessed
some
major
advances
and
The most important lesson to learn from this is that
the election results, are an expression of three interrelated
though
realities, viz. the colonial legacy and its contemporary political
programme was principally due to the World Bank, when its
expression;
adjustment
destructive effects began to be felt, these institutions, and the
programme of the 1990s, and the bureaucratisation of ZANU-
imperialist media blamed the crisis on Mugabe and his
PF. The intractable nature of the colonial legacy, is principally
government. To them the problem was no longer the colonial
expressed through a combination of the persistence of
legacy and the structural adjustment programme, but the lack
economic inequalities and the grossly unequal distribution of
of a viable opposition in Zimbabwe. Another important lesson
land. This legacy continues to express itself politically through
out of this is that neo-liberal economic restructuring does not
sections of the white Zimbabwean population opposed to
alter the economic balance in favour of the working people
redistribution of land and seeking to roll back whatever
and the poor, but benefits the same forces which benefited
modest gains have been made since independence. This bloc
under colonialism and a small stratum of black people. In
of essentially counter-revolutionary ‘Rhodesian’ elements is
spite of such economic restructuring, the national grievance
backed by imperialism, mainly the UK and elements
of the Zimbabwean people - the land - remains.
the
effects
of
the
structural
the
imposition
of
the
structural
adjustment
connected to sections of South Africa’s white opposition. The
It was principally the growing impoverishment of the
colonial legacy is also expressed in the arrogant refusal of the
Zimbabwean people which began to alienate the mass of the
UK - the former colonial power - to honour over the years one
people from ZANU-PF and government, and led to the
of the main agreements in the Lancaster House1 settlement,
emergence of food riots and strikes by the trade union
payment for the redistribution of land. Instead, all indications
movement in the mid-to-late 1990s. It is of course true that
showed that the British government has chosen to support
counter-revolution does exploit such grievances by the
any expression of opposition in Zimbabwe, including the MDC,
people, but the creation of these conditions needs to be
to the point of introducing a new condition for release of
looked at not only externally but also from within the political
funds for land distribution, that ZANU-PF must work with the
behaviour and economic programme of the liberation
MDC, whatever that means.
movement itself.
current
After its landslide 1980 election victory, Mugabe’s
Zimbabwean situation, which has been completely ignored in
The
second
and
major
factor
in
the
ZANU quite rapidly began to change character. The upper
all major commentaries, is that of the effects of the structural
echelons formed the political elite in the post-independence
adjustment programme imposed by the World Bank as from
government. The second-layer leadership became officers and
1991, but also implemented by ZANU PF with very little
NCOs2 in the new army. Thousands of rank and file
resistance, until very recently. The uncritical implementation
combatants were demobilised and returned to their remote
of the structural adjustment programme was as a result of
peasant farms. From there they could hardly influence the
the consolidation of the power of a small and aspirant
ongoing
indigenous capitalist and bureaucratic bourgeoisie, which had
students and trade unions had been supportive but largely
become dependent on the post-colonial state, and had hoped
marginal
evolution
in
the
of
post-independence affairs.
struggle.
In
the
early
years
Urban
after
1
Agreement of 21 December 1979 between Britain and Patriotic
Front which led Zimbabwe to independence.
International Correspondence
2
Non-commissioned officers.
Issue 5
Year 2003
8
independence they were organised as tame appendages of
the ruling party.
The challenge facing the Zimbabwean people is to
rebuild the liberation movement, root it amongst the mass of
These developments were unfortunately similar to
the people, and return to a path of pursuing the original
those that have characterised many former liberation
demands of the people - land, economic transformation and
movements on our continent. After ascendancy to political
the struggle for socialism. It is this programme that the SACP,
power, the class alliances within the liberation movement shift
and indeed our movement as a whole, should be supporting
from the pre-independence alliance between the working
and seeking to strengthen.
class, the peasantry and progressive sections of the petty
The liberation struggle in South Africa and in the
region was long time linked to the Soviet Union. How
do you feel today about those links?
bourgeoisie to a new alliance between these (formerly)
progressive elements of the petty bourgeoisie and sections of
local and international capital. This is usually brought about
by the marginalisation of the working class and the peasantry
in
the
post-independence
reconstruction
programmes.
Without participation of the masses, the petty bourgeoisie,
now in control of state institutions and within the context of
the domination of imperialism, seeks to advance its interests
in accumulation into an alliance with sections of local and
international capital. The end result of these developments
has always been the continuation of the economic structure
of the colonial era, albeit under new circumstances, thus
sacrificing the interests of working class, the peasantry and
the poor.
The growing bureaucratisation of ZANU-PF left it
vulnerable to external pressure. In the late 1980s and
through the 1990s Mugabe was unable to resist pressures
from the World Bank and the IMF, and was forced to
implement harsh structural adjustment programmes. Growing
hardship amongst the urban masses saw the once tame
ZCTU1 pursuing a more militant line in the 1990s. The
election results basically show that ZANU-PF has lost the
support of the organised working class, the urban masses,
and the former ZAPU support in Matebeleland2.
The electoral performance of the MDC does not in
itself mean that it is inherently a progressive organisation
better able to advance the historic goals of the national
liberation movement. It would however be reckless not to
realise that within the ranks of MDC are to be found
progressive workers and former liberation fighters and
genuinely disgruntled masses. But at the same time the MDC
is also backed by conservative forces whose mission is to roll
back the national liberation movement, and might be
positioning
themselves
to
implement
the
World
Bank
programme better than ZANU-PF. This is partly illustrated by
the fact that the MDC has no clear programme on the key
issues facing the Zimbabwean revolution.
As comrade Nelson Mandela often reminds us, it was
the socialist bloc which, first and foremost, concretely
expressed solidarity with, and supported our just struggle
against apartheid. This was due to the selfless policies of the
Soviet Union and the rest of the socialist bloc. This included
financial support, political education, bursaries, military
assistance and many other forms of support. We cannot
forget or undermine this contribution and example of
international
solidarity.
This
also
contributed
to
the
radicalisation of the ANC and many other third world
liberation movements.
However, we also recognise that the massive failure of
the socialist experiment in the Soviet Union and eastern
Europe was largely influenced by mistakes and errors
committed by the communist parties. This led to the downfall
of communist party led governments and the rejection of the
socialist vision by these societies. The setback that this has
caused to the world socialist movement is huge.
Some of the negative practices of the Soviet Union
were also repeated by many communist parties, including our
own party. We have learnt very real and important lessons
from the soviet experience which we are re-learning in
practice in rebuilding our party.
However, because the struggle for socialism is derived
from the existence of capitalism, this negative is being
replaced daily by growing confidence and struggles against
the effects of capitalist globalisation. We have also witnessed
attempts at the regrouping of the international socialist
movement. Both these developments are critical in taking the
socialist project forward despite the history and lessons from
the Soviet Union.
How has membership and organisation of the SACP
evolved since legalisation?
At our unbanning in 1990 we had no more than 3,000
members. Our first legal rally was attended by more than
50,000 people in Johannesburg, in July 1991. In the first 18
months of our unbanning we received more than 80,000
1
2
Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.
Southern region of Zimbabwe, peopled by the Ndebele.
International Correspondence
applications for membership.
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 9
At our first Congress back in the country (7th Congress
differences, and argued why a working-class driven and
held in December 1991) we had more than 7,000 members.
oriented NDR is the only sustainable strategic path for our
This figure has grown steadily – at the 8th Congress in 1995
country, and, indeed, for a range of different class forces.
we had 12,000 members, at the 9th Congress we had 16,000
In practice this has meant:
members, and now after the 11th Congress held in July 2002

we are at 23,000 members. This is a huge mass base for the
across the alliance, understanding each other better, and so
present and future of our party. More importantly, the
on, are always to be encouraged, the socialist project in
majority of our members are active in the ANC, government,
South Africa can not be handled primarily in this kind of way.
national cabinet, national and provincial parliaments, local

municipalities, trade unions, civic organisations, school
relations, but on our rootedness within a mass base, and
governing bodies, community policing forums, community
within mass formations.
health

committees,
student
and
youth
organisations,
churches, NGOs and universities.
Our decision at the 11th Congress to re-establish the
Young Communist League is likely to contribute to the
growth, development and consolidation of the role and impact
of our members in all sectors of society.
All communist activists are also ANC members. At the
same time the ANC is a member and leader of an
alliance which includes the SACP and the trade unions
(Cosatu) where communists play a leading role. These
links are unique in the world. How concretely does it
work? What is the degree of independence of SACP in
this context?
Some of the points in response to this question are
covered in answers given to question 3 above. So I will
mention a few additional points. Every SACP member is an
While
informal
and
inter-personal
relationships
The party’s strength must be based, not on personal
Alliance partners must relate to each other, without
apology and at all levels, in the first instance, on the basis of
our formal structures and our duly mandated programmes.

The
unapologetic
assertion
of
our
socialist
perspectives, our working class orientation, and of our party’s
independence, is often presented as a ‘move towards
breaking the alliance’. The contrary is actually the case – in
our current circumstances, the precondition for a healthy
alliance is, in the case of the SACP, a preparedness to speak
boldly, consistently, but, of course, constructively, from our
independent socialist and working class perspective. The
challenge, for the SACP, is to link our perspectives, to make
them entirely relevant to the multi-class NDR project, rather
than to isolate ourselves.
The
process
towards
the
ANC’s
51st
National
ANC member. It is not possible to be a Communist Party
Conference mentioned above is an example of what intensive
activist and not be an ANC member. But at the same time not
alliance engagements can produce. Currently we are also
every ANC member is or can be an SACP member. In many
engaged in a similar process in preparing for a national
ways, the party remains a political school of the Alliance
Growth and Development Summit which will hopefully reach
providing advanced theory and analysis of national and social
strategic agreements between government, labour, capital
struggles. The ANC Secretary General, Kgalema Motlhanthe,
and the community to tackle the systemic economic crisis we
puts it this way “the ANC is a revolutionary national
face. This process can lay the basis for cementing alliance
organisation which uses Marxist-Leninist tools of analysis”.
unity and strength.
This is a fitting tribute to our contribution as an SACP to the
We have always understood the ANC to be a radical,
At the international level the ANC is a member of the
Socialist International. So, indirectly South African
communists participate in it. What are your
impressions?
national democratic, multi-class organisation. The fact that
Before the ANC joined the SI there were no formal
this multi-class character is increasingly substantive, and that
relations other than co-operation and solidarity in the form of
non-working class forces are more and more articulate and
Scandinavian countries and other welfarist states providing
influential is not a reason for the SACP to now become shy of,
support to the ANC. So the SI and its affiliate parties, though
or sceptical about the ANC.
being a social democratic tendency, played an important role
ANC and the Alliance as a whole.
But it does mean that we
consciously engage with and within the ANC with a clear
in an anti-apartheid struggles.
agenda of uniting a range of diverse but potentially
But the ‘Third Way’ ideology that dominates the
progressive class forces around a radical and ongoing, ANC-
leading parties of the SI means that the SI is not able to
led, working-class driven NDR. We have not sought, as the
address the challenges of fighting capitalist globalisation. This
SACP, to suppress or eliminate different class perspectives at
means that the ANC must, together with other progressive
play within the ANC. But we have helped to surface
third world parties, work towards a progressive agenda in the
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
10
SI and in building spaces and forums for engagement within
confirmation of this accumulated party development was,
and outside the SI.
arguably, the most important feature of the 11th Congress.
At the end of the last century, the collapse of USSR
led many CPs to engage in ideological revision and led
to important losses in membership. What has been
the experience of the your party?
The experience of our party in this regard was
expressed by our 11th Congress held in July 2002 whose
significance is related, in part, to the trajectory of the SACP
over the past 12 years. The 8th (1991) and 9th (1995)
congresses occurred in the midst of some fluidity and even
uncertainty – there was considerable instability in the party’s
core cadre (many leading comrades who where still in the
party in 1991 and 1995 have since dropped out or re-focused
elsewhere);
we
were,
internationally
(and
therefore
nationally), on the back-foot following the collapse of the
Soviet Union; there was considerable intra-party ideological
fluidity; there were divisions about what kind of party we
should be building (mass or vanguard), and there was not a
substantive SACP programme of action, although from time to
time we launched some campaigns. To hold ourselves
together we probably relied, considerably, on the popularity
and profile of key leadership comrades – in particular,
comrade Chris Hani. In short, there was a fairly limited
agreement about the character of the party we were rebuilding, the role and function of the party, and the
appropriate levels of independence.
The 10th Congress (1998) began to herald some
changes – it gave greater substance to the strategic slogan
first advanced in 1995 – “Socialism is the future, build it
now!” Post-1998, the potential of this strategic slogan began
to be explored in programmatic action. It enabled us to
engage actively and confidently on the terrain of the NDR as
socialists, and it provided a unifying strategic orientation for
what had been (and perhaps still remain) different legitimate
currents within the SACP.
The strengthening of capacity and resources at the
head office, and in the provinces, focused more attention on
The evidence for this was manifested in the high levels
of effective delegate participation in the 11th Congress, the
relatively high levels of unity, especially ideological and
strategic unity – although some comrades may dispute this
and greater confidence in the party, and a preparedness to
robustly assert the SACP’s independent profile and role, within
the context of a broader alliance.
In short, the 11th Congress was a moment in the
party’s history in which we began to assert more positively
and more consistently who we ARE, rather than being
preoccupied with looking over our shoulders, explaining who
we are not (defensively against the backdrop of the collapse
of the soviet system), or in defining ourselves in marginal
contrast to the ANC, or in wondering what those over our
shoulders would be thinking about us.
These realities had an important national resonance
beyond the congress and beyond the ranks of the party, and
even beyond the ranks of our broad movement. The following
are excerpts from Sunday Times (the leading capitalist
newspaper in South Africa) lead editorial of 28 July 2002,
entitled “A voice of conscience”:
“About 1,000 people gathered in Rustenburg, North
West, this week for the congress of the SACP. They were a
disparate lot, ranging from Cabinet ministers, MPs, councillors
and unionists to rural activists. What bound them was a belief
in something called socialism, a philosophy that many believe
was tried, tested and rejected by millions around the world in
the last century. There has therefore developed a convention
that if we ignore our communists long enough, history will
deal with them in the same way that it dealt with those who
presided over the Soviet Union…But this is South Africa and
things are not that simple here. The SACP was an integral
part of the anti-apartheid effort, producing some of the most
respected leaders in that struggle. The party is therefore
respected in the communities and is a key part of the ANC-led
tripartite alliance…It has shown that, despite its loss of
cadre-development, ongoing strategy and policy development
stature, it remained an independent critical voice when many
(including two national strategy conferences), the deepening
were choosing to follow orthodoxy. When, in 1996, President
of the organic links into the trade union movement, the more
Nelson Mandela declared that the economic debate was
effective
with
closed and that everyone should rally behind the GEAR1
hundreds of the party’s leading cadre involved in local
strategy, there was general consensus that those who raised
councils, legislatures, cabinets and state apparatuses (and
their
bringing this experience and these challenges into the party),
developments have proved that more open debate might
and much more coherent programmes of action (and notably
have produced improved policy options. GEAR did, indeed,
accumulation
of
governance
experience
doubts
were
backward-minded.
Subsequent
the finance sector campaign) have all made a tangible
qualitative impact on the party. The evidence for and
International Correspondence
1
Growth Employment And Redistribution : name of the economic
programme of South Africa..
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 11
achieve some successes, notably economic stability and the
are significant (and confirm what the party has been
protection of SA from international market turmoil. But it did
arguing for some time);
not achieve all its objectives. Growth is still sluggish,

Growing concern that the capitalist co-option
employment is in negative territory and the redistribution of
strategy (accommodating and fostering a new elite in
wealth has resulted in an increasing gap between rich and
order to blunt popular aspirations), openly advocated not
poor… For many within the ruling ANC, it has been easy to
so long ago by newspapers like the Sunday Times, might
deal with opposition from their right. Traditionally white
not work, and might be unleashing a highly problematic
parties are labelled reactionary and accused of resisting
accumulation regime.
transformation. It has been more difficult to deal with
opposition that purports to speak on behalf of the poor and
The SACP stands for building now the socialism of the
future. What do you mean by this?
criticises policies that may have an impact on the
The SACP believes that the strategic goals of the NDR
effectiveness of service delivery. Together with COSATU, the
are crucial objectives in their own right, but in South African
SACP has tried to be the voice that pulls the ANC and the
conditions, and from our strategic perspective, our “Socialism
government back to their stated objectives of improving the
is the future, build it now” slogan underlines the fact that the
lives of South Africans. Its economic pronouncements may
1994 breakthrough provided a situation where momentum
not always be sound, but if the SACP serves to remind the
towards, capacity for, and even elements of socialism could
ruling elite of its obligations to the poor, then it is a voice that
(and needed to) be struggles for in the present as an integral
should be heard and taken seriously.”
part of advancing, deepening and defending the NDR. This is
Of course, this editorial is not free of its own
underlined more and more by the impossibility of prosecuting
scepticism (in regard to socialism), and nor is it entirely free
the NDR on a terrain of capitalism, as analysed in my answer
of a certain hypocritical praise of the party in or order to
in response to question 1 above.
score points against the government/ANC. But it is patently
more thoughtful than just a cheap shot against the ANC. We
have quoted the Sunday Times editorial at length, but
significantly very similar views (with each newspaper, radio or
TV station adding its own particular spin) were expressed by
the widest range of South African media – those with a
largely white (English and Afrikaans-language), and those
with a largely black readership/listenership.
There are several principal reasons for this. These
include:

The party’s evident principled commitment to nonracism, and our refusal to demagogically play the ‘race
card’. The party’s theoretical seriousness, the substantive
Congress papers, the Political Report, and the obvious
encouragement of open debate;

A growing concern (well expressed in the Sunday
Times editorial, but also picked up by many other

In
our
South
African
conditions,
the
1994
breakthrough provides space to embark on massive socialist
education and propaganda amongst the working class and the
overwhelming majority of our people who stand to benefit
from socialism.
Our task is that of building the political consciousness
and confidence of the working class, not in abstract terms,
but by taking up concrete struggles on issues affecting the
daily lives of the working class. All our campaigns try to raise
a critique of, and education about the evils of capitalism. The
SACP’s immediate focus is on socio-economic transformation
– building of co-operatives, comprehensive social security, a
growth
and
development
strategy
led
by
the
state,
transformation and diversification of the financial sector, and
a systematic focus on the transformation of local government
and local economic transformation.
publications, including the leading financial media,
This is premised on the objectives of seeking the
Business Day and the Financial Mail ) that prevailing,
consolidation of worker-led popular power, rolling back the
GEAR-inspired economic policies are not working, and
capitalist market, transforming (socialising) the market,
that the poor, in particular, are increasingly marginalised,
socialising the ownership function, and a moral renewal of
with gaps between rich and poor increasing;
our society, based on solidarity with and for the workers and
This concern is reinforced by two major polls that
the poor.
show that, while the ‘middle classes’ (white and black)
are increasingly well disposed to government, there is a
significant decline in positive sentiment amongst the
poor. These changes in attitude to government are not
equivalent to changes in likely voting behaviour, but they
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
12
The three dominant paradigms within our National Liberation
Movement over the last decade (SACP)
1
In order to ground an effective strategy and tactics for
realities,
this approach
can
easily degenerate into a
the SACP it is necessary to go further than just noting a
voluntaristic subjectivism – with some of the following
diversity of ideological traditions within our broad NLM (and
characteristics:
indeed within the SACP). We need to ask the question: What,
-A tendency to greatly exaggerate the possibilities of a
over the last ten years, have been the dominant ideological
continental renewal – or to associate such a renewal with
paradigms within the ANC-led alliance? 2
relatively superficial realities. …
At the risk of being schematic we suggest that there
- When the shortfall between exaggerated and/or
have been three major paradigms. It must be emphasised
short-term expectations of African renewal, or of South
that these are not factions, but strands of thinking found
African growth and development and actual reality becomes
within the movement. We are referring to paradigms, ways of
apparent, this approach to reality has a tendency to move
thinking about and analysing our contemporary reality, these
into denial…, or into subjectivist explanations – allegations of
are NOT labels to be attached to individuals, or to groups of
‘conspiracies’ (whether from the ‘left’ or ‘right’), or an overly
individuals. These ways of thinking about reality have
psychologised explanation for persisting injustices (white
emerged out of older traditions and legacies. These three
racism, or global Afro-pessimism). …
paradigms are certainly not water-tight compartments, they
-This paradigm has, most recently, been espoused and
continuously cross-fertilise and influence each other, and they
adapted by some sections of an emerging/aspiring black
characteristically (and usually correctly) present themselves in
capitalist stratum. This results in a further weakness emerging
hybrid forms. Nor do they neatly begin and end at the
within this paradigm. There is a tendency to confuse the
organisational borders of the three component parts of the
subjective interests and advancement of a new black elite
Tripartite Alliance. These paradigms are:
with the totality of transformation. …

An Africanist paradigm;

A modernising, progressive, pragmatic paradigm; and

A socialist paradigm.
Strengths and weaknesses of the pragmatic paradigm
A
progressive,
‘modernising’,
more
pragmatic
paradigm has come strongly to the fore in our movement,
However fluid and hybridised they may be, these
especially (as we might expect) given the huge technical and
paradigms are real enough and they tend to manifest
professional challenges presented by the ANC’s having
themselves whenever the ANC and its broader NLM have to
become the ruling party in 1994. The great strength of this
adopt a position on any of the major challenges of the day –
general paradigm is, precisely, its attention to technical and
Zimbabwe, or the HIV/AIDS pandemic, for instance.
managerial detail and its focus on acquiring skills. In the mid-
Each of the three paradigms has strengths and
1990s this ‘pragmatic’ tendency, greatly encouraged by
potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
powerful forces within our country and externally, has played
Strengths and weaknesses of the Africanist paradigm
a
leading
role
in
advancing
(supposedly
‘neutral’)
This paradigm responds to what remains the principal,
‘technocratic’ solutions to our transitional challenges – endless
defining contradiction of our society (the persisting legacy of
strictures about ‘international best practice’, and the need to
racial oppression of the majority). It is a paradigm that is
‘align ourselves’ with ‘global trends’. At least until a year or
potentially attuned to the aggressive character of imperialism.
two ago, ‘globalisation’ tended to be presented in a uni-
It is also a current that has most consistently foregrounded
dimensional way, as a more or less entirely benign
the importance of a major effort to place the struggle against
‘development and extension’ of the ‘forces of production’.
the marginalisation of our continent onto the international
agenda.
Many of the policy and practical choices favoured by
this general paradigm are increasingly less-assured, both
However, if it becomes detached from a consistent
because the triumphalist assumptions of neo-liberalism in the
working class ideological grounding, and from a systematic
early 1990s are now more challenged internationally, and,
Marxist scientific analysis of domestic, regional and global
above all, because of practical experience over some eight
years here in South Africa. The fundamental weakness of this
1
Extracts from SACP Congress documents (July 2002).
2 The Alliance is composed of three organisations : ANC with 400,000
members, COSATU trade unions 1,856,000 (+180,000 since 1997),
SACP 23,000 (+7,000).
International Correspondence
general tendency is that, without a systematic analysis of
global capitalism and its principal features and main
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 13
trajectories … pragmatism on its own is quite incapable of

overcoming the historical legacy of CST. After eight years of
drifted away from Party membership in the first half of the
A significant proportion of the former Party leadership
governance this is more and more evident.
1990s;
The strengths and weaknesses of the socialist
paradigm

The socialist tendency within our movement is not

in the same period, there was considerable fluidity within
the Party’s internal ideological orientation;
moves, from certain quarters within our movement,
identical to the SACP as an organisation, for two main
particularly over the last three years, to marginalise the Party,
reasons. On the one hand, there are significant socialist
or to greatly diminish the Party’s influence.
forces partially outside of the SACP (not least within COSATU
Faced
with
these
challenges
and
uncertainties,
itself). On the other hand, the SACP is an indigenous and
including also certain tendencies even within our Party
rooted reality, the other two paradigmatic perspectives (the
towards liquidationism, there is one obvious dominant
‘Africanist’ and ‘pragmatic’) exist legitimately within the SACP,
danger, it is a tendency within the SACP, and also within
although their relative weight and influence might be different
COSATU and a broader ‘left’. This is the danger of a socialist
within the SACP as compared with the ANC.
(or left) isolationism. It comes in several variations:
However, notwithstanding these qualifications, it is

asserting the independence of the Party, or COSATU, by
important to note that the SACP is overwhelmingly the
seeking to distinguish every action we take from the ANC,
leading, the most coherent and the most rooted socialist
seeking to prove at all times that we are different from the
political force within our society. To talk about the strengths
ANC, irrespective of the issues at hand. …
and weaknesses of the socialist tendency within the NLM is,

therefore, to address oneself principally, but not mechanically,
the SACP (or COSATU) structures (as important as building
to the SACP.
these structures is) to the exclusion of understanding the role
It is a measure of the rootedness, the historical legacy,
an excessive and mechanical inward focus on building
and importance of the SACP and COSATU in building the ANC;
the strategic capacity, and theoretical dynamism, and the

practical commitment of thousands of communist cadres that
socialist ‘purity’. This variant adopts what is, in the end, a
the SACP is, today, larger than it has ever been in its more
liberal cynicism towards state power (that it is inherently
than 80 years of existence. The SACP has survived the
bureaucratic, venal, authoritarian and a sell-out), and it pits
challenging 1990s as a united and relatively dynamic force.
popular mobilisation against government, rather than seeking
The Party has significant influence within our movement,
constantly to unify government and people.
within many key institutions and, indeed, within our broader
The strategic and tactical tasks confronting the SACP
on the political and ideological terrain of our alliance
society.
renouncing all responsibility for governing in favour of a
However, it would be true to say that, while the
The SACP has the historic responsibility and possibility
SACP’s influence is now greater within the progressive trade
of actively engaging with its alliance partners and with the
union movement than at any other time in the last several
mass base of the alliance. We must do so honestly, openly
decades, the Party’s influence within the ANC is not as
and with a deep commitment to unity. It would be a serious
hegemonic as it was in the two-and-a-half decades between
error for the Party to isolate itself within a socialist cocoon.
1960 and the mid-1980s.
…The SACP needs to constantly, and without apology, build
This earlier hegemony occurred in the context of a
its own independent structures, capacity, programmes and
seemingly powerful alternative global power bloc (based
analyses. … But, at the same time, the SACP must understand
around the existence of the Soviet Union); and major national
liberation advances in the South influenced by MarxismLeninism (Cuba, Vietnam, Southern Africa, etc.).
The SACP is now, manifestly, operating on a different
terrain. We should not be surprised or unduly demoralised if,
with the external conditions favouring our hegemony having
changed so dramatically, there has been a considerable
subjective impact within our movement. This has manifest
itself in several ways :
International Correspondence
itself to be no less ‘nationalist’, and no less ‘practical’ than any
other current within our NLM. Indeed, scientific socialism
alone has the potential to:

inform
a
consistent
and
far-reaching
progressive
‘nationalism’; and

develop strategies, tactics, policies and programmes that
are really practical – in the sense that they will actually
achieve the tasks of the NLM.
Issue 5
Year 2003
14
IRAQ : A world facing the war
This issue of International Correspondence was
originally planned for publication at the beginning of 2003,
when the war was in the offing but had not yet begun. What
dominated the international scene at the time was the
extraordinary popular movement to prevent it happening, to
The movement of non-aligned states (116 states,
representing 55% of the world’s population)
“We reiterate our commitment to the fundamental
principles of the non-use of force and respect for the
sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and
denounce the motives and its immediate consequences for
security of all member states of the United Nations. … We
the future of humanity. The events all feared have taken
welcome the decision by Iraq to facilitate the unconditional
place. American imperialism and its allies launched their war.
return of, and cooperation with, United Nations inspectors in
This, at least in this first form, has developed and concluded
accordance with Security Council Resolution 1441, which will
in the way we all know.
assure the world in a peaceful way that weapons of mass
In view of the undesired but unavoidable frequency
destruction are eliminated in Iraq. … We believe that the
(once or twice a year) and size (around fifty pages) of each
peaceful resolution of the Iraqi crisis would ensure that the
issue, we cannot treat such important events while they are
Security Council will also be in a position to ensure Iraq's
still hot issues. We will come back to this in our next issue,
but we could not have ignored it and left a vacuum in our
publication on an issue which has dominated the international
scene.
Consequently we are publishing here a selection of
documents which spotlights (the title of our column) the
sovereignty and the inviolability of its territorial integrity,
political independence and security, and compliance with
Paragraph 14 of its Resolution 687 on the establishment in
the Middle East of a weapons of mass destruction free zone,
which includes Israel”. (Kuala Lumpur, 25 February 2003)
covers a wide political range of states, public figures and
China (1.3 billion inhabitants)
“1. Recommend the solution of problems by political
political organisations and also includes an interview that we
paths in the framework of UNO and the adoption of all
had on 28 November 2002 with the former Iraqi leader Tariq
possible measures for avoiding war. 2. The UNO disarmament
Aziz.
inspectors will continue to strengthen their inspection of
hostility to this war. The sample is, inevitably, limited but
The way we will treat these events and their
armaments in Iraq to ensure the application of Security
repercussions in our coming issues cannot, of course be
Council Resolution 1441. 3. Demand of Iraq that it applies
predetermined, but already several avenues for thought and
discussion have fuelled comments in the international press,
such as:

The alternative between imperialism and a multi-
polar world; convergences and divergences within antiimperialist forces; inter-imperialist contradictions; the role
of international and regional institutions

US strategy — its strengths and weaknesses

The
totally and to the letter the relevant Security Council
resolutions so that the country really possess no weapons of
mass destruction, on the other hand, the sovereignty,
independence and territorial integrity of Iraq must be
respected … President Jiang Zemin explicitly gave his support
to the joint declaration by France, Germany and Russia”
(Xinhua Agency, 3 March 2003).
democracy, the content of democracy and national
France-Germany-Russia
“Resolution 1441, unanimously adopted by the
sovereignty
Security Council, offers a framework, whose possibilities have

articulation
between
the
struggle
for
Nation states, ethnic groupings, federalism, the
right of self-determination of peoples

The
development
of
Arab
CCVINU and the AIEA have already produced some results.
nationalism,
the
relationship between secularism, Islamism and left forces
in the world

Military struggle and popular struggle, forms of
resistance (stages, mobilisation, armed struggle)

Individual
freedoms,
social
emancipation,
emancipation of women: universal values and culture

The economic and strategic stakes at issue (oil…)
The editorial staff
International Correspondence
not yet been fully explored. The inspections conducted by the
Russia, Germany and France are in favour of continuing the
inspections and substantially strengthening their human and
technical capacities by every means, in discussion with the
inspectors and in the context of resolution 1441. There is still
an alternative to war. The use of force can only constitute an
ultimate
recourse.
Russia,
Germany
and
France
are
determined to give disarmament in peace every chance.”
(Paris, 10 February 2003)
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 15
Nelson Mandela
“The attitude of the United States of America is a
Iraqi national coalition 1
threat to world peace. Because what [America] is saying is
“continues to consider that this war of uninterrupted
that if you are afraid of a veto in the Security Council, you
aggression that threatens Iraq’s independence and its historic
can go outside and take action and violate the sovereignty of
choices is only a manifestation of that hegemonic policy
other countries. That is the message they are sending to the
tending to annihilate the national determination and control
world. …. It is clearly a decision that is motivated by George
the resources of Iraq and the Arab nation” …. This gathering
W. Bush's desire to please the arms and oil industries in the
of opponents of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein called for “a
United States of America.
genuine national reconciliation” that “cannot be achieved
The coalition denounced ‘American unilateralism’ and
Scott Ritter, a former United Nations arms inspector
without the abandoning of the hegemonic power of the single
who is in Baghdad, has said that there is no evidence
party and transition to democracy and a multi-party system”.
whatsoever
(Paris, 8 February 2003)
of
[development
of
weapons
of]
mass
destruction. Neither Bush nor [British Prime Minister] Tony
what we know is that Israel has weapons of mass destruction.
Communist, workers and left-wing parties 2
“ There can be no doubt that preparations for the war
Nobody talks about that. Why should there be one standard
were decided upon in advance, regardless of UN resolution
for one country, especially because it is black, and another
1441 and the work of the UN inspectors and regardless of the
one for another country, Israel, that is white “.
accommodating measures taken by Iraq in the face of UN
(Newsweek, 10 September 2002)
demands. It has become increasingly obvious that the
Blair has provided any evidence that such weapons exist. But
Not in our name (United States)
“ Let it not be said that people in the United States did
nothing when their government declared a war without limit
and instituted stark new measures of repression. We believe
that peoples and nations have the right to determine their
own destiny, free from military coercion by great powers.
Thus we call on all Americans to RESIST the war and
repression that has been loosed on the world by the Bush
administration. It is unjust, immoral, and illegitimate. We
choose to make common cause with the people of the world.
… President Bush has declared: “you’re either with us or
against us.” Here is our answer: We refuse to allow you to
planned war will pursue the military aim of gaining control of
a strategic area, oil and markets. (…) The war will result in
huge losses among the Iraqi people, who have already
suffered severe hardships as a result of years of embargo, air
strikes and policy of Saddam Hussein’s regime. The war on
Iraq, (…), will further the military aims of the US in the Near
East and contrasts sharply with its support for the
government of Israel and its toleration of the repressive
occupation of the Palestinians’ land. Aggression against Iraq,
which is based on the new US doctrine of ‘pre-emptive’
strikes, threatens to destabilise the whole region and bring
grave consequences for human civilisation as a whole.”
speak for all the American people. We will not give up our
(26 January 2003)
right to question. We will not hand over our consciences in
return for a hollow promise of safety. We say NOT IN OUR
Socialist International
"The world is living under the threat of war that creates fears
NAME “
around the world. We, the Socialist International, stress that
(The Guardian, 14 June 2002, 30,000 signatures)
war is not inevitable. We should do everything possible in
The Pope
“The international community has been living for some
order to avoid war: we must give peace a chance (…) The SI
months in great anxiety of the danger of war, which could
forces fighting for democratic and peaceful change in Iraq.
perturb the whole Middle Eastern region and aggravate the
(21 January 2003)
- expresses once again its solidarity and support to those
tensions that, unfortunately are already present at this start
of the third millennium. … It is the duty of all believers,
whatever may be their faith, to proclaim that we will never be
happy to be pitted against one another: the future of
humanity can never be assured by terrorism and by the logic
of war”.
(Rome, 23 February 2003)
International Correspondence
1
Including the pro-Syrian wing of Ba’ath Party, the Socialist Unity
Party (Nasserist), the Arab Workers’ Party (patriotic, marxist), the
Arab Socialist Movement, two Kurdish movements, the Communist
Party – patriotic trend and personalities.
2 68 parties including CP of Bohemia-Moravia (initiator), Communist
parties of Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Israel, Turkey, Iran, Jordan, the
People’s Party of Palestine. Communist parties of USA, Canada,
Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Australia. The communist parties of India,
Nepal. Thirty European communist parties, Red-green Alliance of
Denmark, United Left of Spain, German PDS etc.
Issue 5
Year 2003
16
Interview with Tariq Aziz (28 Nov.2002)
Vice-president of Council of Ministers and Head of
bureau of international relations of Ba’ath Arab Socialist Party
Question: Iraq has been hit by very heavy measures,
including the embargo from which the Iraqi people
suffer. To this should be added the very serious
consequences in all areas caused by the continued
bombing by the United States and Great Britain. What
assessment do you make of this aggression?
Tariq Aziz: The treatment of Iraq since 1991, with
total military aggression, the pursuit of the embargo, the
north and south exclusion zones and, on top of this, the
repeated aggressions of 1993, 1996 to 1998 have no relation
with international law and Security Council resolutions,
although these were already pretty severe. We find no
relationship with them, quite apart from the fact that the
treatment of Iraq has nothing to do with the claimed
objectives of security and stability in the region.
The real objective being pursued by the United States
and Great Britain, whether through their unilateral actions or
through their pressures on the Security Council decisions, is
to change the political regime of independent Iraq and to
impose a puppet regime which will obey the United States
and Britain. If that objective did not appear clearly at first, the
United States now announces it without the slightest scruple.
We can prove this by comparing the resolutions, practices and
decisions they have taken over the last twelve years with the
resolutions passed by the Security Council in similar
circumstances in other parts of the world. Yet another proof
regarding the United States is the contradiction between its
aggressive plans towards Iraq and its behaviour towards the
announcement by North Korea that it had a programme for
advanced nuclear weapons. Recently some north American
journalists asked me “How do you explain the difference in
the US behaviour in the two cases”. My reply was clear: “The
reason is that North Korea has no oil and is not near Israel”.
Q: President Bush, not satisfied by having spread so
much destruction on Iraq and its people, is
brandishing the threat of military invasion. What, in
your opinion, are Bush’s real intentions in his
determination to destroy Iraq?
Tariq Aziz: As I said in reply to the previous question,
the US objective, in all it is doing and will do is to control
Iraq’s oil and thus extend US hegemony over the whole
region. Moreover, it aims to turn Israel into the sole major
force in the region. This is an imperialist and zionist policy
whose objective is to appropriate the whole region and thus
control the whole world through its control of oil and of the
Middle East region as a whole. It is a threat not only to Iraq
but a threat of world-wide dimensions whose end is the
hegemony of the United States and the satisfaction of zionist
claims.
Q: Bush accuses Iraq of being a threat to world peace
and of making, or preparing to make, nuclear
weapons and of holding stores of chemical and
biological weapons. What truth is there in all this?
International Correspondence
Tariq Aziz: Iraq has accepted the return of the
inspectors without any conditions. They will be able to check
on the truth of these accusations with scientific methods. But
what happened was that the United States have refused the
return of the inspectors to prevent them checking these
accusations with scientific methods that exist in matters of
armaments, and obliged the Security Council to pass a new
severe resolution that attacks the sovereignty and rights of
the Iraqi people. The principal objective of this new resolution
is to provide pretexts for attacking Iraq, because if the
inspectors work with scientific methods and techniques, and
without any provocation, the complete absence of any basis
for these North American and British accusations would be
seen and their real objectives brought to light.
Q: You are also accused of not respecting United
Nations’ resolutions, particularly with regard to the
work of the inspectors. What is the position of the
Iraqi government on this question.
Tariq Aziz: The inspectors worked during the years
1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998. They created
a system of control covering all the installations and regions
that they wished, installed cameras, sensors, and through all
those years inspected all the places they wanted, whether
military, industrial or academic, as well as inspecting security
centres and ministerial offices, like, for example the Ministry
of Defence, then the presidential zones. In the morning of 16
December 1998, they withdrew from Iraq and the same night
the US and British began bombing Iraq. The withdrawal of the
inspectors was decided by Richard Butler, without the
knowledge of the UN General Secretary or of the Security
Council. This behaviour revealed the plot by Richard Butler,
UNESCOM, the USA and Britain — and, moreover, throws
light on the fact that it was not Iraq that failed to respect UN
resolutions but by the United States and Great Britain.
Q: Bush launched his ‘war against terrorism’ after the
attack on the New York twin towers, but some people
think that he only aimed at taking advantage of this
attack to get a ‘blank cheque’ authorising the United
States to impose their own law, above international
law on the whole planet. What do you think about this
‘war against terrorism’ by Bush, its possible
repercussions in the Middle East region or in the
world, in the event of its being really carried out?
Tariq Aziz: I agree with your presentation. Bush took
advantage of the 11 September events, not to make the
causes of terrorism disappear but to create an artificial
atmosphere behind the smoke-screen of fighting terrorism
and thus imposing north American hegemony on the world.
Experience subsequent to 11 September shows that north
American policy is not oriented towards destroying terrorism
and its causes but to further imposing north American
hegemony on all the countries of the world. The results of
this policy in the Middle East are very dangerous, as can be
observed in Palestine, with the Israeli government’s criminal
policy against the Palestinian people and the United States
threats to Iraq. This constitutes a grave danger for the whole
world.
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 17
CHINA. An ideological debate : classes, party and strategy
Capitalists in the Communist Party ?
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary1 of the
creation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), its General
To be exact, the question of admitting capitalists into
Secretary, Jiang Zemin, make a speech that has since become
the CPC is raised, at this time, less on the practical and
the most commented of texts in China, in view of the
quantitative level as on the theoretical and qualitative level. In
perspective of calling of the 16th
Congress2.
This speech was
fact, bearing in mind the evolution of contemporary China,
rapidly summarised as laying out the theory of ‘three
and that the Chinese elite are members of the Party, some
represents’, itself reduced to the proposal of admitting
capitalists are already members, essentially because they
capitalists into the Communist Party of China.
were already members before changing their social status5.
Strictly speaking, the thesis put forward in this speech
Finally, the Chinese definition differs from that of the
says that the principle of ‘three represents’, whereby the CPC
capitalist world. It is a matter of contractors and owner-
must represent at the same time the “advanced productive
managers,
forces, advanced culture and the broad masses of the people”
public/private capital, often public companies whose capital
was anterior3 to this, but this speech assumed unprecedented
has been opened to private investment. Moreover, their
importance, giving it a theoretical status,4 subsequently
numbers are slight, compared to the overall membership.6
essentially
managing
firms
with
mixed
strengthened by the proposal to include it the Communist
The issue being debated is of quite a different scope.
Party’s constitution. Similarly, the theory, as it is presented,
It refers to the fundamental nature of the Party. The proposal
(we have published, as an appendix, broad extracts of it)
by Chairman Jiang Zemin was not limited to noting and
cannot just be reduced to that one proposal regarding party
legitimising the membership of individual capitalists to the
membership, a proposal that itself aims at a whole series of
CPC, but aimed at recognising the place of this layer of the
new strata, of which the capitalists are just one component.
population in the party and, consequently, at amending the
But, it is clear, this is the component that is by far the most
Party constitution
sensitive, especially if its presence is raised, in one way or
“Communist Party of China is the vanguard of the working
another, to the level of a statutory principle. Thus it is very
class ”.
which,
hitherto,
stipulated that the
logical that it has aroused a real debate in China, of which we
The question which is thus raised is, indeed, to know
are reporting here some key factors and a contextual
whether this proposal alters the communist, class nature of
background, even if all its outlines are not fully known.
the party or whether it is a simple adaptation to the
contemporary evolution of a Chinese society in full phase of
development. In other words, is China in the process of
toppling over into capitalism or simply adapting itself to its
1
The Communist Party of China was created on 1 July 1921 in
Shanghai by 12 delegates (including Mao Zedong) representing 70
members.
2 Nine have taken place since the birth of the People’s Republic.
They have only been held regularly since 1977 : once every five
years.
3 An article in the Asia Times of 23 October 2001 places its origin in
a speech by Jiang Zemin back in 25 February 2000. The object then,
according to the author of the article, was to face up to a «chaotic»
situation in which the role of the CPC was being challenged. The
President, being on a visit to a difficult region, had thus explained it
“Summarising the more than 70 years’ history of our party, an
important conclusion can be reached, that is, our party won the
support of the people because, throughout the historical stages of
revolution, construction and reforms, our party has always
represented (1) the development demands of China’s advanced
productivity, (2) the forward direction of China’s advanced civilisation
(3) the fundamental interest of China’s broadest populace”. There
was, then, no question about the criteria for membership of the
party. More recently, an article in China Daily of 7 November 2000
confirms this origin but back-dates it to the first debates of 1997 or
even 1987.
4 The principal difference between the speeches (that of 2000 and
that of 2001) lies in its passing from the descriptive (a historical
observation) to the prescriptive (as a guide for guaranteeing the
permanence of the CPC’s power).
International Correspondence
present stage of ‘market socialism’7.
This debate has to be assessed with regard to the
economic evolution of China, where the private sector has
considerably grown, representing 30% of the GNP in 2001 as
against 70% for the public sector (37% State, 33%
cooperative). In 2001 there were 2 million private firms
employing 27.13 million workers8, that is 3.7% of the 730
million Chinese workers9.
5
In Shenzhen, 25% of the owner-managers are said to be already
members of the CPC (“Kicking Marx out of the party” by Jasper
Becker, South China Morning Post (Hong Kong).
6 The figure of 112,000 businessmen members of the party has been
quoted — i.e. about 0.16% of the members of the Communist Party.
7 The Communist Party of China, since its 13th Congress in 1987, has
characterised the present period as the “primary stage of socialism
and will remain so for a long period of time … It will last for over a
hundred years” (CPC General Programme).
8 “Capitalist enterprises in China” , Hong Kong i-mail, 19 April 2002.
9
Of whom 490 million are in rural areas and 240 million in urban
areas.
Issue 5
Year 2003
18
A break-away or continuity ?
The official thesis, relayed by the Chinese media, is
the vanguard of the working class. A person’s background
cannot be used to judge the person’s total quality”4.
categorically : there is faithfullness and adaptation and not a
Internal criticisms
break-away or even the beginnings of one. Such an
interpretation is in keeping, at least to the letter, of the
speech. Thus theoretician Li Zhongje, expressing his view on
the theory as a whole calls for “firmly grasping the
relationship that links the ‘Three Represents’ thinking with
Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping
Theory and preventing any tendencies from separating the
two or having them go against each other. In addressing
Marxist scientific approach, Deng Ziaoping once used two
phrases : one is ‘old ancestors’ and the other is “saying new
things”. That is, we cannot abandon the old materials old
Marxist ancestors, but we should come up with something
new in the light of the development of the times”. After
several quotations showing the ‘continuous line’ of the CPC in
its approach while identifying the new elements of the
should oppose ‘left-leaning’
erroneous ideas on denying the ‘Three Represents’ important
thinking, with their rigid and dogmatic approach with no
regard to changes in historical and objective conditions, and
we should oppose right-leaning erroneous tendencies of
denying basic Marxist tenets and four cardinal principles1 in
the name of supporting the banner of the ‘Three
Represents’.”2
context,
he
states :
“We
In the same spirit, on the question of admitting new
members “Li Liangdong, head of the political and judicial
Department of the Central Party School pointed out : A
political party’s being the vanguard of a class is a determined
by its guiding principle, fighting goals and value. It is not
simply determined by the background of its members. We
have no reason to exclude advanced elements of other social
strata from membership of our party, including advanced
elements of private business operators. … We mean the
admission of advanced elements, not all the people … If they
are not advanced elements, they will not be admitted into the
party. Therefore, we cannot simply say the CPC is developing
into ‘a party of the entire people’ 3. A considerable number of
principal leaders of our party were from families of the
exploiting class. We cannot say the CPC at that time was not
This position arouses, schematically speaking, two
types of criticism, one, said to be of the Right, allegedly sees,
in this proposal, an open road leading, ultimately, to a real
breach with socialism while another, of the Left, is hostile to
taking the least risk of going in this direction.
Thus “some scholars advocate changing the party’s
constitution and its name to cement the new identity. Beijing
University professor, Chen Yingyuan, has even recommended
that Mr Jiang’s Three Represents should replace Deng
Xiaoping’s Four Cardinal Principles in the constitution. This
would formally dispense with the adherence to Marxism
Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, the socialist road and the
dictatorship of the proletariat”5.
In fact, during this period it is rather the other criticism
that has been talked about and which weighs more in the
debate, essentially because it reflects a can partly canalise the
social discontents generated by the changes (rejection of the
new rich and of corruption, unemployment) also relayed in
intellectual circles and amongst the youth by the rise of an
anti-globalist ‘New Left’, very ‘red’’ and imbued with
experiences from the capitalist countries6.
The prestigious US Left review, Monthly Review, has,
for example, devoted a special feature to their theses7. The
review published, in particular, the letter of 14 former leaders
(extracts of this in an appendix here). These leaders call to
question, in harsh terms, the internal democratic legitimacy of
Jiang Zemin’s theory and his orientation, which they accuse of
being a prelude to an abandon similar to that which took
place in the Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries.
This trend has been the subject of considerable
international attention : “Leftists or ultra-conservatives have,
since early summer, been circulating yet another «10,000
character petition”, a reference to neo-Maoist tracts
lambasting the leadership for going down the capitalist road.
The circular said corruption was the inevitable result of Beijing
abandoning orthodox socialism and allowing private and
foreign capital to flourish. The leftists are calling for a political
struggle to rid the party of the ‘tail of capitalism’8.” Several
small newspapers have echoed these positions in China.
The impact of this criticism is hard to evaluate, not
1
The Four Cardinal Principles are : adherence to the socialist road,
the people’s democratic dictatorship, Marxism-Leninism and Mao
Zedong Thought, and the leading role of the Communist Party.
2 “Correctly grasp the relationship links” by Li Zhongje.
3 This allusion to the debate between the Chinese and Soviet CPs
enables them to preserve the positioning of the Chinese CP to the left
of the old ‘adversary’ Khrushchev. Note here the difference in context
— the USSR at the time was a more socially homogenous society in
which the possibility of a reversibility of the system was absent. On
these two points, China is different.
International Correspondence
only as an open opposition but, especially, in the influence it
has in those sectors integrated into the official line, up to the
4
5
Ta Kung Pao 6 September 2002 by Sun Zhi.
“Kicking Marx out of the party” by Jasper Becker, South China
Morning Post (Hong Kong).
6 Libération 11 June 2000.
7 Monthly Review, N° 54, May 2002, www.monthly review.org.
8 CNN.com Willy Wo Lap Lam 20 September 2000.
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 19
top. It nevertheless seems sufficiently strong to affect an
precedes the holding of every congress, since the text
official international event. Thus, on the occasion of an
distributed
interview of a foreign Communist leader, Guennadi Ziuganov,
observers saw in this a confirmation of this new internal
Chairman of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation,
equilibrium.
made
no
reference
to
sensitive
questions
two questions were asked inviting him to express his views on
During the first half of 2002, which saw the election of
the question1. The two questions raised, on the one hand, the
2,120 delegates to Congress, certain specialists also sought to
point that “within our party, we have to face a difficulty,
follow the trends shown in the election. According to an
resulting from the resistance of left forces. These, for
example, have declared their opposition to the entry into the
party of new social strata, beginning with capitalists and
important contractors» and on the other hand that “our old
‘left’ party activists are speaking of a betrayal of the previous
policy and are putting forward strong criticism”. The
American source, for example, “Chinese President Jiang
this, places, schematically, in the continuity of the post-Mao
Zemin has appealed for unity within the Communist Party by
allowing several conservative officials to hang onto their
positions. The reshuffle of leadership in 31 provinces and
directly administered cities, which began last year, is coming
to an end. The majority of party bosses of provinces have
been re-appointed or offered similar positions in other
regions. Several leftist, or quasi-Maoist cadres who have
opposed Jiang’s effort to allow businessmen to join the party
have been given new terms”.5
‘reformers’ : Left (‘conservatives’), Right (‘liberals’) and Centre
A certain international press has preferred to see, over
(‘moderates’). They differ, primarily, over the scope, depth,
pace and direction of economic and political reform. To
simplify, the left wants economic reforms that stress planning
over the market, but rejects political reforms like ‘bourgeois
liberalisation’ ; the right wants economic reforms that
emphasise the market, with the state playing, at best, a
supplementary role and political reform in which the
legislature plays the major governing role ; the centre opts for
economic reform that stresses both market and co-equal
regulatory mechanisms but is content with the status quo
political structure”.2
and above the theoretical debate and the different concrete
A compromise ?
dealt with at the Congress itself (8 – 14 November 2002). On
recognition of a debate that is not totally new.
Three major trends can be observed within the CPC,
all of which Al Sargis, who has drawn a detailed picture of
political orientations to which they could lead, only a quarrel
for succession and prestige between Jiang Zemin, the n°1
man, and Hu Jintao, the future n°1 man, already projected
during the Deng Xiao Ping period as being respectively the
leaders of the third and fourth generation6 and, on the other
hand, a question of prestige attached to whether or not the
theoretical contribution of some leader or other had been
formalised or not.7.
The 16th Congress
All these questions an many others were down to be
This debate seems to have had repercussions at the
the eve of the Congress, an official theoretical article came
top of the CPC and given rise to a compromise with a certain
out specifying the orientation chosen. Making the debate on
Left criticism. Some sources state, for example, that during
the admission to party membership of ‘entrepeneurs’ that
the Central Committee meeting of 24/26 September 2001, the
some, at that time, considered ‘workers’ and others
admission of capitalists was strongly opposed and even partly
‘exploiters’, a debate which, the article said, was around
refused on the basis of a consensus that is said to have been
established at Minzhu Shenghuohui where, at the beginning
of September, most of the members of the Political Bureau
met together with “three high brow senior elders, Qiao Shi,
Song Ping and Lui Huaqing”3. And when Chairman Jiang
Zemin made the traditional speech to the Cadres School4 that
with the Four Cardinal Principles. 3. Acceleration of Socialist
Modernisation. 4. Emancipation of the Mind. “This ideological
guideline decides the progressive nature of the party’s ruling stand,
adding that the future of the country depends on whether the Party
can adhere to it”.
5
1
2
Beijing Daily, 13 September 2002
For more details read further on the republished article “Ideological
Tendencies and Reform Policy in China’s Primary Stage…”
3 Asia Times 23 October 2001, Xu Yufang reported in the Taiwan
owned, Hong Kong based Asia Times Online: “with no fuss and
without a word in public, the ruling Chinese Communist party (CPC)
has rejected the bold plan of its leader, General Secretary Jiang
Zemin, to open the party to capitalists and entrepreneurs”.
4 The speech raised four orientations : 1. “Perfection of Socialist
Ownership … It is basic to the socialist economic system to have
public ownership as the core, developing together with various kinds
of ownership. … 2. Socialist Democracy is an Important Objective,
International Correspondence
“Jiang appeals for party unity” Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN Senior China
Analyst (CNN)
6 The first generation is described as that of the leaders who had
surrounded Mao Zedong and the second that led by Deng Xiao Ping.
Before his death, the latter had prepared his succession with Jiang
Zemin as leader of the third generation and Hu Jintao of the fourth.
The passing of power to the fourth generation having been
programmed for the 16th Congress. Much speculation before the
Congress had doubted that it would really take place.
7 In addition to the founders (Marx, Engels and Lenin) the
constitution of the CPC refers to Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiao
Ping Theory (which was introduced at the 15th Congress in 1992).
The ‘three represents’ is linked to the personality of Jiang Zemin.
Issue 5
Year 2003
20
different interpretations of the ‘marxist theory of value’. It is
following manner : the Party must, said Jiang Zemin, ensure
the first interpretation which has been accepted.1
that it remains the “vanguard of the Chinese working class,
The introductory report by Jiang Zemin confirmed the
place assumed of the ‘three represents’ theory. It is widely
dealt with at the beginning and the end or the report. The
beginning is devoted to past experience and to the ideological
orientation outlined : “the main theme of the Congress is to
hold high the great banner of Deng Xiao Ping Theory,
conprehensively to implement the important thinking of the
three represents”. The thesis is presented as a faithful and
creative contribution to marxism in an international context
marked by the Chinese decision to continue, under specific
forms, the building of socialism after its collapse in the exUSSR and Eastern Europe.
the Chinese people and the Chinese Nation … and that it
always represents the development trend of China’s advanced
productive forces, the orientation of China’s advanced culture
and the fundamental interest of the majority of the Chinese
people”. Finally, after recalling the major communist
principles, Jiang Zemin could conclude : “We should absorb
into our party advanced elements of social strata who accept
the party’s programme and constitution, work for the
realisation of the party’s line and programme conscientiously
and meet the qualifications of the party membership following
a long period of testing. In this way, we can improve the
influence and rallying force of the party in society at large.”4
The question of ‘entrepreneurs’ is treated in this
The doors are open, but perhaps not as widely as
context as a social enrichment, without reference to Party
some expected. The way it is applied will show what
membership2. The principles raised are those of respecting
importance should be given to the political and ideological
the diversity of forms of labour and of the guarantee of the
pre-requisites for membership and to the “long probationary
different personal contributions as well as the strengthening
period”.5 Is that also the result of the compromise?
of national unity.3
As always, in these congresses, there was a lot of
It is at the end of the speech that the link is
attention paid to the choice of people as a means of
established with membership of the Party, and that in the
anticipating tendencies and the way they would be applied.
The core of the leadership (the Permanent Committee of the
1
The authors argue this on the grounds of their honest contribution
to socialism. Today the party’s membership is 94.4% “workers,
farmers and intellectuals”, all the other social strata together making
up the remainder, with 3.7 million members (Developing Party’s solid
foundation” by Xu Wenhua and Chen Dong, China Daily, 7 November
2002.
“With the deepening of reform and opening up and economic and
cultural development, our country’s working class is growing stronger
and its quality is being constantly enhanced. The working class,
including the intellectuals, and the vast numbers of peasants, have
always been the fundamental force in pushing forward the
development of our country’s advanced productive forces as well as
society’s overall progress. Emerging during social changes, the social
strata such as entrepreneurs and technical personnel employed by
private scientific and technological enterprises, managerial and
technical personnel employed by foreign-funded enterprises, the selfemployed, private entrepreneurs employed in intermediaries, and
free lancers are all builders of the cause of socialism with Chinese
characteristics.”
3 “People of all social strata who contribute their efforts to building a
prosperous and strong motherland should unite together ; their
enterprising spirit should be encouraged; their legitimate rights and
interests should be protected; and the outstanding ones should be
commended, so as to create a harmonious situation in which all
people can do their best and be well placed. It is necessary to
respect labour, knowledge, talent and creation and render it an
important policy of the party and the country and implement it in the
entire society. It is important to respect and protect all labour that
benefits the people and society, whether it is manual or mental
labour, simple or complex labour, all labour that contributes to our
country’s modernisation of socialism is glorious and should be
recognised and respected.
Enterprises in our national construction carried out by various
domestic and overseas investors should be encouraged, and all
legitimate income derived from labour and non-labour should be
protected. It is not appropriate to judge whether people are politically
or backward simply by whether they own property and how much
property they own but rather we should consider their state of mind,
political awareness and actual performance”.
Political Bureau) consists of nine leaders, eight of whom are
new, round the new General Secretary Hu Jintao, all of whom
are graduate engineers. Jiang Zemin remains, for his part,
Chairman of the Central Military Commission6, as had Deng
Xiao Ping before him.
2
International Correspondence
The period prior to Congress had been the occasion of
much speculation, particularly by international experts. One of
them announced7, on the eve of the election of the Central
Committee, the consolidation of the ‘era of capitalists’ with
the designation of two of them onto the 350 strong Central
Committee, naming them as Zhang Ruimin and Lui Chanzi,
while adding that they “are not exactly private enterpreneurs,
as they run companies that are partly government owned (i.e.
4
In the constitution itself, which the introductory report describes as
“minor revisions, not major ones”, Article 1 integrates the new social
strata, but with a restriction that does not apply to the working
classes, the notion of advanced elements. “Any Chinese worker,
farmer, member of the armed forces, intellectual or any advanced
elements of other social strata who has reached the age of eighteen
and who accepts the Party’s Programme and Constitution and is
willing to join the CPC”.
5
This is the way the press reported the training courses organised by
the CPC’s Central School and intended for ‘entrepreneurs’ to educate
them “ideological and theoretically” (Ming Pao 29 November 2002).
6 The international press was rich in comments on this point,
stressing the strong presence of people close to Jiang Zemin on this
committee (5 or 6 out of 9) and thus a continuity of policy. Some
analysts have presented this new leadership as a result of a
néegotiation between Jiang Zemin and Li Peng at the expense of the
moderate wing (Li Rihuan) (Hong Kong Economic Journal, 19
December 2002)
7 Straits Times 14 November 2002 “Capitalist Cadre idea…” by J.
Leow.
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 21
the state holds the majority of the shares)” In fact, only the
The second thesis would be that of the eventual
first was elected, and as a deputy member.1 Moreover others
control of the CPC by capitalists. Here, too, we can find two
had predicted2 the rise to the position of n° 2 of Li Ruihan,
points of view, different in their objectives by close in their
considered to be the leader of the moderate wing, and
analysis. On the one hand is the criticism of the Left inside
hitherto in n°4 position. He was not even elected to the
the CPC which (negatively) proposes to direct the capitalists
Central Committee. Another result of the compromise?
towards the small parties maintained by the authorities, in
Another sign, the day after the Congress the CNN expert
harmony with the CPC7, so as to avoid their ‘polluting’ it. This
announced the nomination of Zhang Deijang as Party head in
is also that of the majority of the Western press that
Guangdong (Canton) province. A symbol of the new Chinese
welcomes the Chinese change of direction as confirming and
economy, with 30% of the foreign investments in China, this
announcing the gradual and full integration of China, a
province of 70 million inhabitants (less than 5% of the total)
message intended rather for world public opinion, to signal
produces 10%
of China’s GNP and is 1st province,
that, of course, there is no longer any place for socialism on
economically. Zhang Deijang, a member of the Political
earth, under whatsoever form, rather than to the inner circles
Bureau, is described as a “relatively conservative cadre” who
of political and economic decision makers.
had particularly been noted early in 2001 by “an article in a
Other, less sensationalist, foreign commentators, using
conservative theoretical journal raising doubts about the
political and moral rectitude of private businessmen”3.
the same basic interpretation, place the social and political
The decision to admit entrepreneurs, capitalist or not,
‘capitalists’ but in the irruption of ‘middle strata’8. Certainly
at present taken at the highest level, is continuing to fuel
this notion is disputed. Is the criteria of income enough to
debates of interpretation that is not possible to quote
define them ? Are they politically autonomous ? According to
exhaustively. Starting with the Chinese internal
the
different criteria, this group could represent either 1% of the
majority agree on a double point in common : the priority
population, 5 to 7% or even, in some views, 200 million
given to economic development focuses attention on the
individuals. But there is certainly here some substance to
entrepreneurs with a double objective of social and national
reinforce the fears, or hopes, of the holders of different
cohesion. The first is aimed at fully legitimising the
theses on the socio-political evolution of China.9
contribution
of
these
‘workers/exploiters’
debates4,
issues of the ‘new strata’ not so much in the arrival of a few
who
must
The other dimension is national. The calls to the
accompany the building of the ‘first phase of socialism’ over a
entrepreneurs are also directed at all Chinese, including the
long term. They represent both a contribution and a danger.
diaspora, at all Chinese communities, including those who
If the contribution is dominant, the Chinese Communists have
have proved themselves under capitalism. This is the theory
two schematically opposed responses possible : to include the
of the double vanguard : “The Communist Party is the
entrepreneurs in order to ‘control’ them or to exclude them to
vanguard of the Chinese nation and the working class”. It
avoid their “controlling” the Party. The first is said to be the
reinforces abroad, especially in the United States, the spectre
unofficial thesis (positively) “the idea is to expand the party’s
of the arrival on the scene of an Asiatic great power, the
support base to include private entrepreneurs, so that the
party can maintain control”5 and of certain opponents
tomorrow’s competitor. And that is indeed China’s objective
[negatively) : Bao Tong, a dissident expelled in 1989 warns
increase it fourfold again between now and 2020.
which, after increased its GNP eightfold since 1978 plans to
the West against too easy hopes : “placed under wardship of
an absolute power, the red capitalists cannot become a
driving force for political reform”.6
The final assessment on the 158 deputy members gives 15
entrepreneurs, 13 of whom run state enterprises, a group from nonstate public firms and Zhang Ruimin (Wen Wei Po 19 November
2002).
2 Straits Times 30 September 2002 “Jiang’s rival to move up
1
leadership … China N°4 Li Ruihan, could become No 2 if Jiang retires
completely” by Ching Cheon.
Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN.com 19 November 2002.
We ignore here those theses that consider that China has never
been or is no longer a socialist country, and who consider these
debates yet another justification of their traditional theses.
5 An anonymous ‘political scientist’ in Washington.post.com
4
November 2002.
6 Libération 7 September 2002.
3
4
International Correspondence
The CPC is not, formally, the sole party in a single-party state, since
eight other small parties, called democratic exist (the Revolutionary
Committee of the Guomingtang of China, the Democratic League of
China, the Association for the Democratic Construction of China, the
Chinese Association for Progress and Democracy, the Democratic
Workers and Peasants Party of Taiwan). These parties are integrated
into the regime with consultative status. The have a total of about
360,000 members (1999). The interest of mentioning them here is
that the left critics of the CPC’s official line is to propose that the
‘capitalists’ should join these parties rather than the Communist
Party.
8 “The Communist Party, since 1921, officially under the control of
7
the workers and peasants has, at this Congress been turned over to
the stewardship of the middle class” in “Hu Jintao made head of
China’s communists” Financial Times 16-17 November 2002.
“The main reason to focus on the developing middle group is social
stability” says the party official. “The income gap is the core of our
concern” in “China strives to win the middle classes” The Christian
Science Monitor 25 November 2002.
9
Issue 5
Year 2003
22
The international stakes
What then is the long-term strategy of the United
notable that the global strategy in which the United States is
engaged is to block the emergence of this giant” 5.
China, he writes “is 1.4 billion people. This enormous
mass is still sheltered from world capitalism. The United
States want to break down China’s walls, as it did in 1945
with Western Europe, by setting up all the instruments of free
trade”. Making the connection with recent events
(Afghanistan, Iraq) he adds “what are the principle axes of
this American strategy ? The first is to control the supplies of
fuel and power for Asiatic growth. … For the United States,
having the control of this region is owning Asia’s fuel pump,
and consequently China’s power requirements. The second
American axis is to form a tight network of alliances round
China. In the same way as the United States bottled up Soviet
Russia during the cold war”.
States ? According to Zbignew Brzezinski, considered by some
From a national point of view, this China, by its very
as a world authority : “for America the principle strategic
size, is perceived as a danger, because it cannot be digested
stake is Eurasia”. However “the rhythm of economic growth
and the total of foreign investments — both amongst the
highest in the world — will have allowed China, in the next
twenty years, to become a world power of the same scope, or
nearly, as the United States or Europe … We will then be
seeing the emergence of a Greater China, strengthened by
the return of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, if the latter
submits politically ; it will not only be the dominant State in
the Far East, but also a first rate global power”4.
by the West. From the political and ideological point of view,
A French geopolitical specialist, responsible for the
light of the simultaneity, at the end of the 20th century, of
training of armed forces cadres, explains, for his part : “It is
the advances of a certain capitalism in China with the retreat
clear to see that China is the principal object of their
obsession. In reassembling all the pieces of the puzzle, it is
of certain values inspired by socialism in the capitalist
Regarding the future of the Communist Party of China,
the leading1 force of the second world power, the most
serious candidate, for the moment, for challenging US
hegemony in the 21st century, whatever the choice of ideas
or leaders, the issues at stake have an impact that is not
merely Chinese but world-wide. Since the forms adopted by
the cold war in the 20th century are considered out-dated,
China is working in the perspective of a lasting peace, though
with increasing caution2. Short and medium term competition
has been replaced by a long term struggle at which everyone
is working as of now. It now assumes specific forms, in
particular setting aside direct confrontation, by one side or
the other, in favour of some form of co-opetition.3
this party, which despite its marked evolution, has not
renounced its identity even eleven years after the collapse of
the Soviet Union, is also the most flagrantly bad example of
the non-disappearance of communists from the face of the
earth — and not a water-tight communism, like the one that
had held out for 70 years of conflict with capitalism, but a
new version that interpenetrates with the dominant world.
It is true that this inter-penetration is perceived in the
countries (welfare state) — a coincidence that strengthened,
throughout the world, a feeling of a process of one way
homogeneity, encouraged by the theses of ‘globalisation’.
What would be the situation in another phase, with an anti-
In June 2002 it numbered 66,355 million members, that is 5,938
million more than at the previous Congress in 1997. This means that
about 5% of the population are members of the CPC (as against 10%
in the USSR). The greatest representation in the party is that of the
“workers, farmers, shepherds and fishermen” (45.1% of the total),
then the cadres of government administration, institutional and State
enterprises soldiers and police» (21.3%). Women, on the other hand
are only 17.5% and members of minority ethnic groups 6.2% (as
against 8% in the population). These last two groups are slightly
better represented amongst the 2,120 delegates to the 16th
Congress with 18% and 10.8% respectively. 97.5% have joined since
the creation of the Chinese People’s Republic, 63.1% are under 55
years old, 91.7% of the delegates have been had some degree of
higher education. (Xinhua Agency, 10 September 2002). Furthermore
124,000 members have been expelled over the last 5 years for
“having transgressed Party discipline or State law” 473,000 over the
last 13 years.
2 “However, the old international political and economic order, which
1
capitalist/anti-globalisation movement reversing, even if only
partially, the balance within the capitalist world ? What new
synthesis might result on a world scale if the socialist
dimensions present in both these worlds were to meet ? Who
can measure, today, the political and ideological impact that
China could have, in such a context. An impact not limited to
the Third World, though principally there, — where China
might
well
symbolise
through ‘market
escape
from
under-development
socialism’ — with at its head a party
claiming to embody a communism defeated in the 20th
century, for which many ideologist had seen to have no place
in the following century.
Patrick Theuret
is unfair and irrational, has yet to be fundamentally changed.
Uncertainties affecting peace and development are on the increase”
(Jiang Zemin’s report to the 16th Congress).
3 We use here a concept forged by economic theory to characterise a
relationship involving cooperation and competition in the world of big
business.
4 Brzezinski (Zbigniew), The Great Chessboard : America and the
Rest of the World.
International Correspondence
5
Aymeric Chaupade, Director of Geopolitical courses at the Collège
Interarmées de Defence (Ecole de Guerre, France).
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 23
‘Three represents’
Speech by Jiang Zemin on the 80th anniversary of the CPC
I. Achievements and basic experience of the
Communist Party of China in the 80-year struggle
The speech begins with a historical recall. “ The
rallying power and combat capability of the Party, and always
maintain the vigour and vitality of the Party ….
II. Correctly understand and fulfil the requirements of
the ‘three Represents’ in an all-round way
torrential anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggle of the
In the second part of his speech President Jiang Zemin
people of all ethnic groups of China” in the context of “ the
precises the conditions to continue the trajectory by
tempestuous movement of the proletarian revolution in the
presenting his famous theory of three represents beginning
world “. It mentions the main stages from 1840 to “1911
by : “ representative of the requirements of the development
Revolution led by Dr Sun Yat-sen, which overthrew the
of China's advanced productive forces “ means that the
autocratic monarchy “ After the “ October Revolution of
“ Party's theory, line, programme, principles, policies and all
Russia” and the “May 4 movement of China”, it is “ in 1921,
work into line with the law governing the development of
that the Communist Party of China emerged just as the times
productive forces, make them reflect what is required in
called in the process of applying Marxism-Leninism in the
promoting the release and development of social productive
Chinese workers' movement. “ and that “ invigorating the
forces,… and the living standards of the people improve
Chinese nation had fallen upon the shoulders “. At that time,
steadily “.
he recalls “ the country became impoverished and weak and
“ Productive forces are the most dynamic and the most
the people lived in hunger and cold “. Going through the
revolutionary factor.” They are “the ultimate decisive force of
different stages of the Chinese Revolution until the building of
social development. The contradictions between productive
the “ socialist system “ he adds that “ even in a situation
forces and the relations of production and between economic
where world socialism experienced serious twists and turns
base
and domestic and foreign situations changed drastically, our
contradiction.
and
superstructure
constitute
the
basic
social
Party steadfastly stood its ground like a firm rock in
The movement of this basic contradiction determines
midstream, and socialism in China has displayed its vigour
the direction of the changes in the nature of society and the
and vitality. “ “ China is an ancient country with a civilisation
direction
of more than five thousand years “ and has realised “ a great
development. The fundamental difference between socialism
leap from centuries-old feudalistic autocratic politics to
and capitalism lies in the difference between their relations of
people's democratic politics. … Its annual gross domestic
production and superstructures.” Amongst those productive
product (GDP) has increased by 56 times since the founding
forces “ man is the most decisive factor” and “the Chinese
of New China. “ He adds : “ Upholding the guiding role of
working class, including intellectuals, is the basic force that
Marxism, we have educated the people in patriotism,
pushes the advanced productive forces forward in China. The
collectivism and socialism and made vigorous efforts to
peasant class and other labouring people, closely united with
promote progress in socialist culture and ideology. “
the working class”. This social core stimulates all the
of
social,
economic,
political
and
cultural
He enjoys the “ successful return of Hong Kong and
economic system characterised in the following way : “ a
Macao to the motherland “ and affirms that “ the People's
basic economic system with public ownership as the main
Liberation Army led by our Party is the staunch pillar of the
body and the common development of multiple sectors; we
people's democratic dictatorship, a great wall of steel in
must persist in and improve the socialist market system; we
defence of the motherland and an important force in socialist
must hold on to and improve the multiple ways of distribution
construction. “ … “ We have thoroughly ended the history of
with the distribution of ‘to each according to work done’ as
humiliating
the
the main distribution modality; we must continue to improve
hegemonies and power politics with the strong domineering
our opening-up programme; we must hold on to and improve
over the weak “.
the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class
diplomacy “
and
“resolutely
opposed
Jiang Zemin then turns himself towards the future. To
and based on worker-peasant alliance; we must hold on to
maintain “ the flesh-and-blood ties with the masses of the
and improve the people's congress system and multi-party
people, … we must always consciously strengthen and
cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist
improve Party building, continuously enhance the creativity,
Party and the system of regional autonomy of minority
nationalities. …
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
24
Jiang Zemin then tackles the second represent. “ To
make our Party forever represent the orientation of the
development of China's advanced culture” all its work must
“reflect the requirements of the national, scientific and
popular socialist culture that develops toward modernisation,
the world and the future, enable them to upgrade the
ideological and ethical qualities and scientific and cultural
qualities of the whole nation and to provide the motive power
and support culturally and intellectually. “… “ Over the past
80 years, our Party has held high the marching banner of
China's advanced culture “. It has “ cleaned up the old
decadent and dying culture which was left over from the old
society and infiltrated into China from abroad. And “cadres
and masses have been emancipated and encouraged
ideologically and mentally, and a correct guiding ideology and
a common ideal have taken shape among the whole Party
and the people, while consolidating “ the guiding status of
Marxism “…
We should advocate the ideology of patriotism,
collectivism and socialism among all people, combat and
resist money-worship, hedonism, ultra-egoism and other
decadent ideas, … there still exist some backward cultures in
society that have features of superstition, ignorance,
decadence and vulgarity, and even some decadent cultures
exist that corrode people's mental world and jeopardise the
socialist cause.”
Finally Jiang Zemin exposes the third represent, the
one of “ taking the fundamental interests of the people as the
starting point and purpose. “ and “our party has always
adhered to the principle of putting the interests of the people
above everything else. Apart from the interests of the
overwhelming majority of the people, the Party does not have
any special interests of its own.”
To sum up : “ representing the requirements of the
development trend of China's advanced productive forces,
representing the orientation of China's advanced culture and
representing the fundamental interests of the overwhelming
III. To strengthen and improve the Party building in
accordance with the requirements of the ‘Three
Represents’
Jiang
Zemin
stresses
the
point
to
show
the
consequences in the life and doctrine of the Communist Party
of China of these three represents recalling that “ we must
always uphold the basic tenets of Marxism.” But “in terms of
theory, Marxism develops with the times. If we dogmatically
cling to some individual theses and specific programs of
action formulated for a special situation by authors of Marxist
classics in the specific historical conditions in spite of the
changes in historical conditions and present realities, then we
will have difficulty in forging ahead smoothly and we may
even make mistakes because our thinking is divorced from
reality. That is one reason why we have remained opposed to
dogmatism toward the theory of Marxism”. To meet the
requirements of the ‘three Represents,’ “we must uphold the
Party's nature of being the vanguard of the working class “,
because “the Chinese working class has always been the basic
force for promoting the advanced productive forces in China.
Our Party must remain the vanguard of the working class and
unswervingly and wholeheartedly rely on the working class.”
But “ since China adopted the policy of reform and
opening up, the composition of China's social strata has
changed to some extent. There are, among others,
entrepreneurs and technical personnel employed by scientific
and technical enterprises of the non-public sector, managerial
and technical staff employed by foreign-funded enterprises,
the self-employed, private entrepreneurs, employees in
intermediaries and free-lance professionals. … Under the
guidance of the Party's line, principles and policies, most of
these people in the new social strata have contributed to the
development of productive forces and other undertakings in a
socialist society through honest labour and work or lawful
business operation….
“ To build socialism with Chinese characteristics is a
great and arduous cause. It calls for the worthy people from
all sectors who are loyal to the motherland and socialism to
majority of the Chinese people are interrelated and interact
take action and lead other people in pushing forward this
and constitute an integral whole.” …
cause. The main criteria to admit a person into the Party are
“ The requirements of the ‘Three Represents’ are the
whether
he
or
she
works
wholeheartedly
for
the
basic requirements for our Party to maintain its advanced
implementation of the Party's line and programme and meets
nature and always remain the strong leading core in building
the requirements for the Party membership. The basic
socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is in conformity with
components and backbone of the Party are those from
the Party's upholding of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong
workers, farmers, intellectuals, servicemen and cadres. At the
Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory, adherence to its nature
same time, it is also necessary to accept those outstanding
of being the vanguard of the working class, and its purpose of
elements from other sectors of the society who have
serving the people wholeheartedly.”…
subscribed to the Party's programme and constitution, worked
for the Party's line and programme wholeheartedly, and
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 25
proved to meet the requirements for the Party membership
our hands is given by the people. Cadres at all levels are
through a long period of tests. (…) “The conditions we are
public servants of the people and must be subjected to the
faced with are quite different from those the founders of
supervision by the people and the law…
Marxism were faced with and studied.” The present situation
All Party members, the leading cadres in particular,
is caracterised by « economic development, our people will
must always be clean, honest and just. They must be able to
live a better life and their personal property will increase
withstand the test of reform, opening up and being in power,
gradually. In view of this, it is not advisable to judge a
as well as the test of power, money and badger games. …
person's political integrity simply by whether one owns
The Party does not allow any hideout for corrupt elements
property and how much property he or she owns. But rather,
within the Party. … For this, it is imperative to constantly
we should judge him or her mainly by his or her political
awareness, moral integrity and performance, by how he or
she has acquired the property, and how it has be disposed of
and used, and by his or her actual contribution to the cause
of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.
To meet the requirements of the ‘Three Represents’,
we must adhere to democratic centralism, establish and
improve the scientific leadership system and working
mechanism, give full scope to inner-Party democracy,
resolutely safeguard the centralism and unity of the Party,
and maintain and continue to enhance its vitality. “.
At the same time we must : “ give full play to the
initiative and creativity of the Party members and Party
organisations at all levels … Effective mechanisms should be
set up to make sure that all ideas and suggestions of Party
members at the grass-roots level or in Party organisations at
a lower level can promptly reach those at a higher level. ….
All the major policy decisions of a Party committee must be
made through discussions by the committee and nobody
should be allowed to have the final say alone.”
We must “ resolutely resist the impact of Western
political models such as the multi-party system or separation
of powers among the executive, legislative and judicial
branches. We should firmly avoid making arbitrary decisions
and taking peremptory actions in violation of democratic
centralism on the one hand, and weak and incompetent
leadership on the other.. “. Whereas “ the principle of
fostering a contingent of more revolutionary, younger, better
educated and professionally more competent cadres .…. We
should have a deeper understanding of the loss of political
power by some Communist parties in the world that had long
been ruling parties and learn a lesson from them. The longer
the Party is in power, the more necessary it is for the Party to
strengthen self-improvement, and the stricter it should be
strengthen and improve the Party building and temper all
Party members into firm Communists.”
IV. Continue to strive for the fulfilment of the basic
line and historic mission of the Party
“ We firmly believe in the basic Marxist tenet that
human society will inevitably move towards communism.
Communism can only be realised on the basis of a fully
developed and highly advanced socialist society. … So “ All
comrades in the Party should set up a lofty communist ideal.
… To care about the immediate interests only while forgetting
the lofty ideal will result in the loss of direction of progress. “.
Even if “ the Party's basic line” is to “ concentrate on
economic development “.
Jiang Zemin ends his speech by an analysis of the
international situation. “ The world needs peace. … This is the
trend of our times. “. The Chinese policy is based on the
“ Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence … and “ under the
principles of independence, total equality, mutual respect and
non-interference in each other's internal affairs, conduct
extensive exchanges and strengthen cooperation with all
political parties and organisations in the world and further
promote friendship between the peoples and development of
relations between states. “ Within this framework the Chinese
leader warns : “ Diversity of the world is a reality that should
be recognised. Different civilisations and social systems
should enjoy long-term coexistence and draw upon and
benefit from each other in the process of competition and
comparison and achieve common development while seeking
common ground and shelving differences …
Long live our great motherland!
Long live the great Chinese people!
Long live the great Communist Party of China! “
with its members and cadres. … At present, special attention
should be paid to overcoming the state of lethargy and
seeking no progress, doing away with the grave alienation
from the people and standing firmly against the unhealthy
tendency of formalism and bureaucracy.” … The power in
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
26
Jiang Zemin in Der Spiegel 1
Hu Jintao :
”plain living and hard struggle” 2
… In recent years private companies, stock
exchanges and a new middle class have developed -can China even be described as a socialist country any
more?
reality, restudy the important speech made by Comrade Mao
We still have a clear solution: we are building a
Zedong at the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh CPC
Chinese-style socialist land. We continue to be guided by
Committee” in 1949 “Here, I would like to read the whole
Marxism-Leninism, but are adapting it to our concrete
passage of the thesis. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out
conditions. Marx developed his theories well over 100 years
penetratingly: "We shall soon score victory across the
ago in Europe -- how could he have imagined the conditions
country. This victory will break through the battle line of
in our country? …
imperialism in the east and will be of great international
Is it conceivable that the CP itself may change in the
future and, for example, develop into a party based on
the social democratic model?
significance. … The bourgeoisie doubts about our ability to
Whether today or in the future: we will never change
the name of China's Communist Party. In my youth I fought
actively for the revolution, but at that time my idea of
communism was rather superficial and simple. A great deal of
“It is of great significance to, in light of the new
carry out construction. The imperialists expect that eventually
we will beg them for subsistence. With victory, certain moods
may grow within the party -- arrogance, the airs of a selfstyled hero, inertia and unwillingness to make progress, love
of pleasure and distaste for continued hard living. With
victory, the people will be grateful to us and the bourgeoisie
time is needed in order to realise the great goal. There has
will come forward to flatter us. It has been proved that the
been Confucianism for 78 generations. For the establishment
enemy cannot conquer us by force of arms. However, the
of socialism we need at least a couple of dozen generations.
flattery of the bourgeoisie may conquer the weak-willed in our
We are still only at the beginning.
ranks. There may be some communists, who were not
You have always spoken out against a multiparty
system and the sharing of power. Don't people who
are allowed to freely pursue business relatively need
political rights and independent courts?
conquered by enemies with guns and were worthy of the
The world is characterised by variety. After all, it has
long since been shown that it can rapidly lead to social
upheavals when developing nations copy the political systems
of other countries without regard for the national conditions.
Please remember that social stability is in the basic interest
not only of the Chinese people. Asia and the whole world
profit from it. It is easy to imagine what it would mean if
there was unrest in China.
Germans are, on the one hand, fascinated by the rapid
development in China. At the same time, many are
horrified because many opposition and religious
people still are in jail or in a camp.
name of heroes for standing up to these enemies, but who
will be unable to withstand sugar-coated bullets, and they will
be defeated by sugar-coated bullets. The Chinese revolution is
great, but the road after the revolution will be longer, the
work greater and more arduous. This must be made clear
now in the party. Comrades must be helped to remain
modest, prudent and free from arrogance and rashness in
their style of work. Comrades must be helped to preserve the
style of plain living and hard struggle.” …. This extract from
the thesis put forward by Comrade Mao Zedong is very
important. In particular, two essential ideas in it have the
significance of giving long-term guidance. The first is that
before great achievements, some comrades within the party
may become arrogant, engender the love of pleasure, and be
It is not true at all that opposition people and religious
reluctant to do any more arduous work. … The second is that
believers are thrown into jail. Although I am an atheist, I am
no matter what great achievements our party may attain, we
very interested in religion; I have read the Bible, the Koran
must practice plain living and hard struggle over a long time
and Buddhist Sutras. The Chinese constitution guarantees all
to come, always uphold the true qualities and purposes of a
citizens freedom of religion. The number of religious people is
Marxist political party, and continuously protect and realise
more than 100 million. But one thing is definite: in a nation
the fundamental interests of the greatest majority of the
based on law such as China, everyone, no matter whether he
people. Only in this way will our party be able to always
is religious or not, must follow the law. If someone is
maintain its flesh-and-blood relationship with the people,
sentenced then it is only because he has violated laws and
always win the support of the broad masses of the people,
not because he believes in a religion of some kind.
and always be in an invincible position.
1
8 April 2002 pp 158-161 : “Harmony Is the Foremost
Commandment”. (extracts)
International Correspondence
2
Extract from the first speech of the new general secretary,
published in the theoretical journal of the Communist Party of China.
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 27
Ideological tendencies and reform policy in China's “Primary
Stage of Socialism”1
Where is China headed in the twenty-first century:
by capitalism had yet to be accomplished in China. A socialist
state capitalism, a new form of socialism with uniquely
party was in power, but there were still gaping holes in the
Chinese characteristics, a modern variant of ancient Chinese
socioeconomic and democratic foundations for socialism. This
bureaucratic feudalism? In order to help clarify this question,
was compounded by operating in a predominantly world
I will review some theoretical points of post-Mao Chinese
capitalist economy advancing along the path of a scientific-
Marxism
technological revolution.
that
continue
to
provide
a
framework
for
socioeconomic organization and policy in present-day China,
In
practice,
this
meant
decommunalization.
and indicate the ideological tendencies and their social bases-
Cooperatives should lease land to family farmers. Capitalism
-that struggle to appropriate the theoretical orientations
and state-capitalism should be allowed in industry, including
guiding policy preferences.
foreign joint ventures and foreign-funded businesses. Public
In the late 1970s, China's socioeconomic problems
ownership, both state and collective, remains predominant,
stimulated a reanalysis of Maoist Marxism. Using the slogans
but all economic forms should be ‘marketized.’ Economic
“seeking truth from facts” and “practice is the criterion of
tasks
truth,” Chinese reform Marxists argued that it was not an
socialization, and modernization of production, creating a
abstract theory of socialism, but the level of human and
planned commodity economy and opening China to the
material forces of production that determined the appropriate
outside world. The economy will go through a prolonged
forms of relations of production. They pointed out that China
process
was poor, economically and socially underdeveloped, steeped
semisubsistence/semibarter economy, to a state-regulated
in a patriarchal, semifeudal, semicolonial, and semicapitalist
commodity economy, and finally to a socially planned
background. The forces of production were scattered,
economy. Phased-in democratization of party, government,
fragmented, and technologically highly uneven, and the
and state enterprises will lead to rank-and-file control of the
economy
party, citizens' control of government, and workers' control of
consisted
overwhelmingly
of
rural
peasant
producers.
include
of
industrialization,
dialectical
negations:
commercialization,
starting
from
a
enterprises. Such were the early reform orientations and
Maoists, on the other hand, continued to claim that
changing organizational relations to more socialist and even
policies of the primary stage of socialism.
Deng Xiaoping described the reforms that followed as
of
‘socialism with Chinese characteristics,’ to be applied within
productive forces. They believed that whatever Mao said was
the framework of the ‘Four Cardinal Principles’: the socialist
correct and should remain China's policy — the so-called “two
road as society's form, the Communist Party as leadership,
whatevers.”
proletarian dictatorship as government, and Marxism-Leninist
communist
forms
would
induce
the
development
The first major reanalysis of the Mao period was made
and Mao Zedong thought as ideology.
in 1979 by Su Shaozhi, an economist and director of the
By the early 1980s, the Maoists had been defeated,
Institute of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. An
but the reformers had by now split into three factions: left
empirical examination of China's economic, political, and
(‘conservatives’), right (‘liberals’), and center (‘moderates’).
social conditions led Su to conclude that China was still in the
They differ, primarily, over the scope, depth, pace, and
earliest (“undeveloped, initial, preliminary, primary") stage of
direction of economic and political reform. To simplify, the left
socialism with many tasks still undone that should have been
wants economic reforms that stress planning over the market,
accomplished during the transitional New Democratic phase.
but rejects political reforms like ‘bourgeois liberalization’; the
Echoing comments from Lenin's New Economic Policy, he said
right wants economic reforms that emphasize the market with
that many of the preconditions for socialism laid in the West
the state playing at best a supplementary role, and political
reform in which the legislature plays the major governing
First published in Nature, Society, and Thought, vol. 11, no. 4, 391398, December 1999.
1
International Correspondence
role; the center opts for economic reforms that stress both
Issue 5
Year 2003
28
plan and market as co-equal regulatory mechanisms, but is
would exist only where socialist ownership could not be
content with the status quo political structure, although
immediately implemented. This view generally held sway until
advocating
the aforementioned 1987 CPC Congress.
administrative
changes
to
streamline
the
government.
Another 1980s foray against the right centered around
Throughout
the
1980s,
left
and
right
factions
critiques of political reform, in the process elaborating the
contested with each other over theory and policy making. The
concepts of ‘bourgeois liberalization’ and ‘peaceful evolution’
center, led by Deng Xiaoping, swung to one side or the other,
as
exerting a restraining influence, and at crucial times asserting
parliamentary forms and a reduced CPC role in government.
its own position. The right's high point occurred at the
Also evident was the way in which the left and right framed
Thirteenth Communist Party of China (CPC) Congress in 1987,
their
when the CPC officially proclaimed that China would remain in
‘adherence’ to Marxism, while the right emphasized the
the ‘primary stage of socialism’ until at least the year 2050.
‘development’ of Marxism. In terms of practical effects,
Around that time, it projected that the material and cultural
however, the left largely functioned as a check on the speed
foundations for socialism will have been laid--the completion
and scope of implementation of rightist reform concepts and
of what is called ‘socialist modernization’ (i.e., China will have
policy.
polemics
against
formulations
of
rightist
Marxism:
advocacy
the
of
left
Western
emphasized
reached the level of a moderately developed country). Only
This was true even when, after the 1989 Tiananmen
then could China proceed to construct socialism proper on
demonstrations were crushed, the left came into ascendence
this basis--a task itself of several transition stages that will
and began a program premised on the ‘birdcage theory.’ But
take numerous generations. In the meantime, the slogan is,
between mid 1989 and late 1991, while the left could
‘the state guides the market and the market guides the
administer the center, previous decentralization had put the
enterprises.’
provinces, especially richer coastal ones, largely out of its
With this background, I will now concentrate on leftright ideological tendencies. Two aspects are notable about
orbit of influence. Hence the left was limited in instituting a
new direction or implementing new measures.
reform and ideology: from 1979 on, the left and right have
In early 1992, Deng Xiaoping mobilized the support of
contested every major reform theory and policy; also, both
these wealthier provinces, especially the more market-
tendencies have undergone differentiation as new social
oriented Special Economic Zones, to direct policy more
bases have arisen.
toward the center. He said a particular policy should not be
Left-right ideology can be traced to the point where
judged on the basis of whether it was part of the market or
each tendency placed the origin of reform. The left viewed
plan, since these were not a criterion of socialism or
reform as a continuation of the 1956 8th CPC Congress that
capitalism but a means that could be used by either system.
put economic development to the fore, and advocated the so-
As long as public ownership dominated and the CPC ruled,
called ‘birdcage theory’ where the market was like a bird in
any economic measure could be ultimately channeled away
the cage of the plan. The right viewed reform as a
from polarization and toward common prosperity. Timing his
continuation of the new democracy period, part transitional,
push just before the Fourteenth CPC Congress, Deng
part socialist. The first clear-cut break was over the concept
steamrolled his views over left opposition to adoption as the
of the primary stage of socialism. The left thought China had
party program at the Congress. This was the signal for rapid
already passed from new democracy to socialism and accused
development of the capitalist sector, increased foreign
the right of remaining “outside the edifice of socialism.” China
investment (mainly by overseas Chinese from East and
was not in an underdeveloped transitional stage, but in the
Southeast Asia), and proliferation of unbalanced regional
earliest phase of socialism proper. This required not the laying
investment projects.
of foundations for socialism, but building up productive forces
Between 1992 and 1996, the left attacked Deng's
on the basis of the already-existing socialist ownership (i.e.,
policies and the right defended and tried to extend them. In
nationalization)
and
1995, leading CPC leftist study groups circulated the first of
handicrafts. The market would play a purely supplementary
several ‘10,000 character’ manifestos criticizing reform theory,
role within the framework of the plan and private enterprise
practice, and outcomes. Although no names or organizations
of
industry,
finance,
International Correspondence
agriculture
Issue 5
Year 2003
Spotlight 29
were mentioned, this was a direct attack on the policies of the
promotes more worker control and democratization of the
CC under Jiang Zemin's leadership. According to one report
economy and state. Their criticisms of other aspects of reform
(Ching Pao [Hong Kong], 1 August 1996, pp. 23—26), the
are largely consistent with those in the second group.
piece struck a sympathetic chord among certain high-level
The right has also undergone fractionalization. Some
CPC leaders who told the writers that instead of setting
still advocate the original conception of market reform as a
themselves against CPC policy, they should try to convince
largely presocialist or semisocialist transitional stage. Others
the leadership of the correctness of the left's position.
are market socialists in that they view the market as the
Subsequent manifestos attempted to do so, heralding both a
central component of even mature socialism. A third group
new approach and new differentiations within the left.
has a social democratic hue.
Instead of countering Deng's theory of building
This diversification also reflects the expanding social
socialism with Chinese characteristics, many began giving a
bases of these tendencies. Since reform began, the left has
left interpretation of this theory and its major components.
been chiefly located in the state planning, military, and
For example, the primary stage of socialism is no longer
propaganda organs. In the cultural field, they have nested in
criticized, but supported so long as it is firmly bracketed
leading universities and social science academies, the mass
within the Four Cardinal Principles (especially the socialist
media, and CPC schools. During the reform period they have
road and CPC leadership). State-Owned Enterprise (SOE)
expanded more into upper and middle levels of the trade
reform is supported with the stipulation that workers'
unions, especially in policy advising, research, and political
supervision and management be the key element. This is
education. The left has more influence among cadre in poorer
possible because Deng Xiaoping Theory, still undergoing
western and central regions and SOEs undergoing drastic
systematization, is broad enough that emphases can be
restructuring. The right, originally strong among intellectuals
differentially placed. The right views this as “adhering to
in
reform in the abstract but negating it in the concrete.” Thus
agencies, has extended itself to managers of successful SOEs,
the left can stress equity, collectivism, planning, and state
cadres in wealthier coastal provinces, and private business
regulation of the market and public interests, while the right
owners. In short, support for each tendency has largely
can
resulted from the prominence and decline of different groups
focus
on
efficiency,
particularism,
free
market,
decentralization, and private interests.
certain
research
institutes
and government
reform
during the reform process.
These different approaches are reflected in policies
What about the future? The left has been largely
advocated by each tendency. For instance, both acknowledge
marginalized from policy making for much of the reform
negative reform outcomes (e.g., increasing unemployment,
period, at best acting as a brake on the right. In 1996, with
income gaps, and corruption). The left views these as the
the first of several ‘10,000 character’ manifestos, the left
necessary result of reform measures that stray from the
slowly began to regain its ability to influence higher
socialist road and hence advocates policies that roll back, slow
leadership. This also coincided with deeper-cutting reforms
down, or redirect market reforms. The right views these
that increased unemployment. But the left began to increase
outcomes as a temporary byproduct of the reform transition
its policy influence noticeably in 1999 with the bombing of the
process and hence advocates acceleration of measures to
Chinese embassy in Belgrade, the World Trade Organization
implement a socialist market economy.
concessions proposed by China's premier Zhu Rongji, and the
Together
with
differing
approaches
have
come
Asian capitalist crisis. In practical terms, the left has been
variations within each tendency. The left can be divided into
able to rescind WTO concessions, and raise to a level of
three groups. One consists of those who are against Deng's
serious discussion the possibility of an anti-imperialist alliance
reform project because they believe it will negate socialism. A
with other Asian nations and closer ties with the Third World.
second, probably the majority, is not against reform per se,
It had more explicit emphasis put on measures safeguarding
but criticizes its scope, pace, and trajectory. Third, and most
workers' interests in SOE reform at the CPC Fourth Plenum in
recent, is the so-called new left or neo-Maoists. These are
September 1999.
younger, often Western-educated, theorists who support
This was symbolized when Deng Liqun, the leading
some of Mao's tenets and interpret them in a manner that
leftist elder who was even excluded from Deng Xiaoping's
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
30
funeral because of his hostility to Deng's reforms, spoke on
and upper-level cadre to which it normally speaks and into
29 June 1999 at a CPC-sponsored symposium. Before an
the grassroots with policies that respond to mass interests
audience representing all ideological tendencies, he criticized
and demands, mobilizing the masses to act in their own
Deng by name and said, “Deng Xiaoping's `central theory of
behalf. If the left does not, and the problems engendered by
centering everything around the economy and placing money
reform lead to spontaneous mass action stimulated by serious
above politics' has brought about disaster to our country and
economic and political crisis, the future options could be grim.
our communist party … Practice has proven that Deng
If the left can seize the opportunities arising in the cross-
Xiaoping's theory is, in essence, a combination of an Asian
century period and influence both those above and below,
capitalist social and economic entity with the political entity of
then a strategic reorientation may indeed be on the agenda.
the Soviet Union in the late 1970s.” On top of that, the
No one can accurately predict what will come out of all
leading leftist (Li Peng), rightist (Li Ruihuan), and centrist
this. My estimate, based on China's previous experience, is
(Jiang Zemin) in the Political Bureau praised Deng Liqun as a
that China is flexible enough to switch the means of pursuing
“mentor in theoretical circles.”
its socialist goals if it appears they are being derailed. The
While this is more a tactical than a strategic
only question is whether it will be too little, too late. People
reorientation to the left, it indicates that social pressures from
on the left and right in this country usually can find enough in
below and above, responding to the kinds of views
China to fit their perceptions of what China is and where it is
promulgated by the left, are affecting the top leadership. The
going. In my view, China is a transitional multisectoral
left is in a better position today than at any time since the
socioeconomic system with a major socialist component vying
early 1990s.
with other sectors. The issue is whether it will track to a
But the credibility and even understanding of Marxist
Chinese form of socialist democracy or something else. And
ideology — left, right, or center versions — is not great
that will depend on the strength and struggles of the
among the masses. Also, the left remains identified with a
currently contending social forces, as well as those that may
less prosperous, though certainly more socially beneficial,
appear in the future. The Chinese revolution is still a work in
period. However, workers and peasants respond favorably to
progress.
actions that empower them. For a still largely uncrystallized
left agenda to gain support, it must reach beyond the middle-
International Correspondence
Al Sargis
Center for Marxist Education Cambridge,
Massachusetts
Issue 5
Year 2003
Elections
31
ELECTIONS
Elections in European countries
In 2001 and 2002, twenty European countries
Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic)9 and, in a number of
(excluding ex-Yugoslavia)1 had general elections and four had
other European countries failed to make any sort of break-
presidential ones. The first question that naturally comes to
through. 10 It should also be noted that the general advance
mind is to see if any general trends emerged — and if so how
of the right, which peaked in the autumn of 2001, ran out of
to connect them to certain political, economic, social or
steam from the second half of 2002.
cultural
regional
Examination of the results shows a fairly sharp
(east/west ?, north/south ?) or political explanations or
phenomena.
If
not,
are
there
any
cleavage between the east and west of the continent — a
should they all be ascribed to national specifics ? While we
difference which follows the former Cold War border. To the
can be relatively exact about the statistical, and easily
east (today one would be more likely to say ‘central and
checked facts, we can only, within the narrow limits of this
eastern European countries’) plus the former Soviet Union)
article, be rather modest in our analyses, even if some trends
the right seems to have more difficulty in holding office whilst
do emerge.
its left opponents, have had much better results than in the
An advance of the right and extreme right ?
west.11
Politically, the period was marked by the double
The four presidentials, for their part, confirmed earlier
syndrome of a return of the right and an advance of the
trends (Portugal, France, and Byelorussia), except for
extreme right. These two very real phenomena, however,
Bulgaria, where the success of the socialists reversed the
were not as generalised or as marked everywhere. The swing
trend of previous general elections.
to the
right2
took place in six countries, mostly in the west
Over a longer term (10 years) there emerges not one
the Netherlands, Portugal and
continuous trend but a phenomenon of alternation, with the
but was cancelled out in five others coming from the
right coming in after a social democratic tide. The latter trend
most varied regions (the United Kingdom, Albania, the Czech
had led the left trend towards the domination of Europe in the
(Italy, Bulgaria,
France)4
Denmark3,
Sometimes a change in the opposite
second half of the 1990s, after set-backs in the early half of
direction could be seen in the east (Hungary, Moldavia). The
the decade.12 This phenomenon of rapid alternation13 has,
extreme right advance itself did not prove all that irresistible.
doubtless, been made easier by the increasingly homogenous
It was confirmed in France6, in the Netherlands7 and in
character of the policies carried out by both the right and the
Denmark8.
social democrats. The present right wave is, indeed, seeking
Republic,
Germany)5.
It lost ground in several other countries (Austria,
to escape from this type of equilibrium by emphasising its
1
The former Yugoslav countries deserve separate treatment in view
of the complexity of their party systems and the consequences of the
war.
2 Moreover a distinction should be made between political systems
based on an alternance and those that use a political system based
on a system of fluctuating alliances.
3 Where, symbolically, the change was sharper since the SocialDemocratic Party lost 6.9%, dropping to 29.1% and where the right
won a majority for the first time in 72 years !
4 To these should be added Spain’s swing to the right in 2000 and
the marginalisation of the social democratic parties which were in
office in partnership with rightist forces (Ireland in 1997, Slovakia in
2002).
5 To these countries must be added Poland and Greece in 2000.
6 As illustrated by the score of Le Pen in the Presidential elections. He
came second with 16.86% (+ 1.59% on 1995) to which should be
added the score of his former second-in-command Megret (2.34%)
representing an increase overall of 4%. However, the extreme right
vote fell at the General Election which followed immediately after
with ‘only’ 12.67% (-2.38%).
7 The 17% for the Pym Fortuyn List (named after its leader,
assassinated shortly before polling date) constituted a real irruption
by the extreme right which, hitherto had been represented by a
fading party, the Progress Party, which had won only 2.4% in 1998
(-4% on 1994). PFList then lost two thirds of its votes in 2003.
8 With 12.6% (+ 2.8), 12% of which went to the Danish People’s
International Correspondence
difference by pursuing more reactionary policies than before.
The economic context of this advance of the right was
characterised by the 2001 crisis, which is still deepening,
despite successive declarations of recovery.14 Unemployment,
Party (+4.6) and 0.6% to the Progress party (-1.8).
9 The best example is Austria, where it fell by 27% to 10.2%.
10 This raises the whole question of defining the extreme right, when
its ideas are adopted by more traditional parties
11 Only one (Bulgaria) swung right — but only to swing left again a
few months later.
12 In the European Union, the European elections had, in 1994, seen
44.4% (-6.4%) of the votes go to the various left lists ; see “Left and
Ecological Forces” in Correspondances Internationales, première
époque, issue N°19 May 1995.
13 In contrast with the trends in the 1950s and 1960s which saw long
stay governments either right-wing (Italy, France…) or socialdemocrats (North of Europe ).
14 Growth rates in the European Union are 3.5% (2000), 1.5%
(2001), 0.9% (2002). In central and eastern Europe the crisis is less
marked with levels of 3.8%, 3.0% and 2.7% for the majority of these
countries which, however, have not yet gone back to their 1990
levels.
Issue 5
Year 2003
32
for the moment, is only increasing slightly towards 8%, but
other) while euro-scepticism was strongest amongst the
the neo-liberal policies of cuts on of public expenditure are
oppositions at the both ends of the range (nationalist
causing increased anxiety. In the west, public opinion has
conservative5 on the one side and the anti-globalist and anti-
tended to counter such policies by social democratic
capitalist left on the other).6
governments by swinging right or even extreme right,
These debates were particularly centred on the
whereas in central and eastern Europe it has given preference
question of the single currency in western Europe and on the
to confirming in office or recalling reconstructed ex-
issue of joining the European Union in the east. On the
communist parties.
whole, those parties that were hostile to European Union
The countries which are experiencing the strongest
policies had good scores. Sometimes this helped all such
advances of the extreme right have preferred, in every case,
parties (Greens and Sinn Fein in Ireland) but sometimes, as in
the victory of the traditional right. The siphoning-off of
Denmark, those on the right progressed and those on the left
popular discontent by the extreme right, by draining votes
regressed (the PSP and the Red Greens).
from the left, has shifted the whole political centre of gravity
Western social democrats in retreat
to the right.
The hegemony temporarily acquired by the social
democratic trend has been well and truly reversed. They now
General Elections (2001/2002)
Country
Date
Govt. before
Govt. After
only control five of the 15 European Union governments (as
Moldavia
25/02/01 Centre-right
Communists
against 12 in 1999) and take part in only one coalition
Italy
13/05/01 Centre-left
Right
government (as against two before). More widely, in the 19
Cyprus
27/05/01
G. Britain
7/06/01
Bulgaria
17/06/01 Socialist (ex-CP)
Right
Albania
24/06/01 Socialist (ex-CP)
Socialist (ex-CP)
Norway
10/09/01 Labour
Right
Denmark
20/11/01 Centre-Left
Right
Portugal
17/03/02 Socialist
Right
Ukraine
31/03/02 Centre-Right
Centre-Right
Hungary
Presidential regime1
Labour
7-21/04/02 Right
17/05/02 Right
France
9-16/06/02 Plural
of them,7 have only advanced in five of which only two
Left3
(Greece and Sweden)
resulted in victory. Taking an
unweighted average, the socialist parties had an average
score of 26.8%, a drop of 4%. The top score was Greece that
not only won the highest score (43.8%) but also increased its
score by 2.3%. The heaviest losses were in the old social-
Socialist (ex-CP)
Netherlands 15/05/02 Labour-Right2
Ireland
western countries the social-democrats have regressed in 14
Labour
democratic bastions of northern Europe and Scandinavia.
Right
It also seems that even while falling back, the social
Right
democrats did better in countries with a two-party, or quasi
Right
two-party, system. Multi-party situations, however, (Denmark,
Czech Rep.
15/06/02 Social democrat
Social democrat
Holland) allowed their voters to desert them more readily.
Sweden4
15/09/02 Social democrat
Social democrat
This is confirmed by the fact that the larger parties resisted
Slovakia
21/09/02 Right/soc dem
Right
better than the others.8
Germany
22/09/02 Soc Dem/Green
Soc dem/Green
Latvia
5/10/02
Right
Right
Austria
24/11/02 Right/ext’m right
Right
Attitudes towards the European Union.
The changes in the left/right alignment also reflected
the debates on European issues cutting across the different
political
forces.
Generally,
Europeanist
attitudes
were
strongest in the centre of the political spectrum (liberals and
Christian democrats on the one side, social-democrats on the
1
The Government was unaffected by the elections, but the
communist party, AKEL, secured the Presidency of the Assembly.
2 The so-called ‘Violet coalition’ consisting of the Labour Party (Pvda),
the Liberals (VVD) and centrists from Democracy 66.
3 A socialist-led government with a majority resulting from the
participation of the French CP, the Greens, the Left Radicals and the
MDC (Chevènement’s Citizens’ Movement, which left it in on 29
August 2000).
4 Governments supported by the Greens and the Left Party.
International Correspondence
5
As against this, the nationalists of ‘stateless nations’ are more often
pro-European, hoping to ‘squeeze out’ the nation-state through the
concept of ‘a Europe of regions’.
6 This pattern is, of course, very approximate. For example, it should
be noted that the Greens are generally pro-European but are closer
to the Eurosceptics in Ireland, Britain, Portugal and Iceland. The excommunist trends are more inclined to be pro-Europe in southern
Europe and against in Scandinavia. Within the left parties that come
from CPs we may distinguish two trends : the europeanists (parties
from a eurocommunist tradition, plus PDS, Synaspismos …) and
eurosceptics (wide majority CPs plus Scandinavian parties)
7 Germany 38.9% (-2.4) and 38.3% (-4) if the West Germany alone
is considered ; Austria 36.5% (-3.8) ; Belgium 19.7% (-4.8) ; Cyprus
6.5% (-1.6) ; Denmark 29.1% (-6.9) ; Spain 34.1% (-3.4) ; Finland
22.9% (-5.4) ; France 24.1% (+0.6) ; Greece 43.8% (+2.3) ;
Ireland 10.8% (-2.1) ; Iceland 26.8% (-11) ; Italy 16.6% (-4.5) ;
Luxemburg 22,6 (-2.8) ; Norway 24.4 (-10.7) ; Netherlands 15.1%
(-13.9) ; Portugal 37.8% (-6.3) ; United Kingdom 40.7% (-2.5) ;
Sweden 39.9% (+ 3.3), Switzerland 22.5% (+0.7).
8 We have, conventionally, taken as a standard, a threshold of 30%
at the second to last poll. The losses are fairly similar (-4.3% for
those above the threshold and –3.8% for those below) but, pro rata,
this loss is greater for the latter. On average the small parties drop
Issue 5
Year 2003
Elections
33
In assessing the electoral effect of trends within social
From all points of view this is better than their western
democracy schematically, by measuring the degree to which
friends. The weakest of these parties regressed and even
they are attracted by social-liberalism, symbolised by Tony
collapsed mainly under the impact of communist competition
Blair, no clear tendency can be seen. For example, his
(Moldavia, Ukraine, Slovakia …).
success was followed by the shattering defeat of the new
Overall, these parties seem, for the moment, to enjoy
Dutch leader who is very close to him. The French PS was
a double legitimacy : they are both a guarantee of attachment
beaten, for all its ‘plural Left’ but, shortly after, the Germans
to the developed capitalist world (proposing both membership
won by very sharply opposing the British on the Iraqi issue.
of the EU and NATO) and, on the other hand, benefiting from
The social democratic forces, in the former Eastern
the growing nostalgia5 for the former socialist regimes of
bloc, that are not the heirs of former ruling parties, had less
which, in the eyes of most people, they are the legitimate
success, and only succeeded in making a break-through in
heirs. To sum up, they benefit on two contradictory grounds.
one state (the Czech Republic) as well as in eastern Germany
This double legitimacy contains the ambitions of the right and
with scores of 30.2% (-2.1) and 39.7% (+4.5). In the first
limits the influence of the communists on their left.6
case, the Czech social democrats slipped back in the face of a
communist advance in a context of strong competition ; in
The communist parties : retreat in the west and
advance in the east
the second the German social democrats progressed at the
The electoral map of the European communists shows
expense of the ex-communists of the PDS in a context of
a drop in the west and a rise in the east.
growing cooperation. 1 Everywhere else, except in the case of
In the west, a distinction must be made between those
the Ukraine, Lithuania2 and Latvia their scores were extremely
parties which have substantial electoral base, and the others7.
low — as illustrated by the persisting difficulty of any
Six countries are in this situation. One of them, Cyprus,
emergence of social democracy in Russia, where the latest
stands out as an exception from every point of view. It is at
polls gave it between 1 and 2%.3
once the most powerful of them and is advancing — 34.7% in
Good health of the eastern social democrats (ex-CP)
On the other hand, the social democrats that grew out
of the former communist parties have enjoyed, with an
unweighted average of 25% (+0.5) better progress than their
‘brother parties’4 in the west. This is particularly so
qualitatively, in a context of a definite bi-polarisation,
particularly with the larger ones (those that can hope to win
office) which enjoyed a very clear success : Poland (+2.5),
Rumania (+15.1), Hungary (+9.1), Lithuania (+15) — the
exception being Albania (-11) which nevertheless retained
2001 (+1.7% over the previous election and +1.1 more over
15 years). Of the others, at one extremity is Portugal, with
7.1% followed by Italy (6.7% for the two parties) and at the
other France with 4.8%, preceded by Spain with 5.5%. As far
as changes over the last 10 years, the Greek communists
have had the most positive evolution with a 22% increase in
their influence, followed by the Italians (+12%)8. Conversely,
in the three other countries, there has been a marked
regression — a 22% drop in Portugal, a 51% drop in France,
with Spain in between with a 40% drop in electoral
control of the government. These five won an unweighted
average of 38.4% and advanced by 6 points.
from 21.7% to 17.9% while the larger ones drop from 39.1% to
34.8%.
1 The PDS Congress, which followed the elections, was won by the
trends that were the least favourable to social democracy.
2 The social democratic forces, although outstripped by the excommunists in the Ukraine (2 parties) with 7% (+2.2) and in
Lithuania, have the particularity of a close collaboration between the
two parties, with a difference that is closing, the traditional social
democrats gaining a greater advantage from this unity. Moreover the
Estonian party (Moodukad, the moderates) has risen from 6% to
15%.
3 This trend has recently gathered around Mikhail Gorbatchev : 0.4%
with 3 parties in 1999 — the one led by Gorbatchev, securing 0.1%.
4 We have deliberately used this expression, typical of their
communist past, although reconverted to a structure like the Socialist
International. Three of them are full members (the Polish SLD, the
Hungarian PSH, and the Slovak SDL), one has consultative status
(the Albanian PS), three are waiting to be admitted (the Lithuanian,
Bulgarian and Romanian parties). The Czech, Germans and exSoviets, have not followed this route.
International Correspondence
5
A study, carried out in 1998, with eight central Europe countries,
showed that ‘nostalgia’ for the old regime was, on average, 42% as
against 53% who supported the new. (Source : “Political change and
Welfare Development in Central and Eastern Europe, Mass public
opinion 1991 – 1998”. Osterreichiste gesellshaft für Europapolitik,
Vienna 1998). In 2001 another study, which did not oppose the two
systems but asked for a parallel appraisal gave for a comparable set
of six countries 56% positive opinions (against 43% in 1998) and
57% for all nine tested countries, including Baltic countries (New
European Barometer, Prof. Richard Rose, 12 February 2002.
www.cspp.strath.ac.uk). For Poland, which was not included in this
study, a poll in 2002 gave 40 % positive opinions (against 35% in
1998). In Russia, in 2001, 72% expressed a positive opinion of the
old system.
6 For example in Romania and Bulgaria, where the former CPs were
the latest in going over to Social democracy.
7 The German PDS is excluded here, as its influence is essentially in
the eastern part, since its score of 1.1% in the west places it
amongst those with a weak electoral base.
8 Rifondazione has had two splits since its creation, both got nearer
to the center-left coalition : the Unity Communist Movement (1995)
and the Party of Italian Communists (PdCI) in 1998.
Issue 5
Year 2003
34
influence.1 The smaller parties had varying results — some
communist parties can
losses (Switzerland) and some gains (Austria) — but the
communism would reach about 30-35%.
spectre of total eclipse, which haunted them about ten years
Results of communist and allied lists 7
ago, has been cast aside. Over a long period it appears that,
far from following an inexorable curve, the CPs, like the social
democrats,
have
experienced
periods
of
growth
and
contraction of influence in the course of the last decade.
In eastern Europe, the communists have fared much
better electorally. Certainly the most recent illustration of this
has come from the victory of the Moldavian communists, with
an absolute majority. Byelorussia, with its singularities due to
its president’s personality, confirms the electoral weight of the
communists2, with one of their two parties in the government
and the other in opposition. The 2002 results coming in quick
succession from the Czech and Slovak Republics, with
advances of 11% to 18.5% in the former and a doubling :
2.8% to 6.3% in the latter, are interesting because they are
the successes of the only ex-CP, in this part of Europe, that
did not abandon its identity (Czech)
3
and of the only CP
Moldavia 8
Cyprus 9
Russia 10
Ukraine 11
Latvia 12
Czech Rep 13
Portugal 14
Italy 15
Slovakia 16
Greece 17
Spain18
France 19
Denmark
Hungary20
Switzerland
Finland
Austria21
TOTAL22
%
50.1
34.7
28.6
23.2
18.9
18.5
7.1
6.7
6.3
5.5
5.5
4.8
2.4
2.2
1.0
0.9
0.6
14.9
be expected to
±%
+20.1
+1.7
+0.5
-3.8
+4.7
+7.5
- 1.8
-2.1
+3.5
-0.1
-5.2
-5.1
-0.3
-1.8
- 0.2
=
+0.1
-1.6
win, Russian
Votes (±)
794,808 + 307,806
142,647
+ 21,500
18,082,188
- 488,181
5,647,690
- 902,663
187,564
+ 53,136
882,653 + 224,103
379,870
- 105,462
2,488,025
- 727,935
181,872
+ 87,857
379,454
-713
1,253,859 -1,390,227
1,216,178 -1,303,103
82,224
-9,709
121,503
-58,169
18,568
- 4,000
23,991
+94
26,688
+4,672
31,909,782 - 4,290,996
rebuilt on the basis of a minority of the former CP which has
emerged from having been marginalised (Slovak).4 In the
Ukraine, on the other hand, the communists dropped to
23.2% (-3,8), partly compensated for by the advance of the
pro-Russian lists to 2.4% (+1.6) but aggravated by the fall of
other left (ex-communist) forces to 11.1% (-6.4). 5 The most
significant development, from a geopolitical point of view,
over the last ten years is undoubtedly that of Russian
communism which won 28.6% (+0.5) at the last general
elections, in 1999. The Communist Party of the Russian
Federation has not stopped advancing since its refoundation
(13% in 1993, 23.4% in 1995, and 25.6% in 1999). It is now
credited by the opinion polls with 25 to 30% of voting
intentions6, ahead of President Putin’s party. If one adds the
5% to 7% of votes that the smaller and more radical
1
If the comparison is made over a longer period, for example in
comparison with the highest point reached by each communist party
in the period 1975 to 1981, the results would be as follows : for
parties that have remained strictly communist : the losses for Italy
(top 34.4%) are 81%, and for France 75% (top 20.5%). The
Portuguese (top 18,9%) have lost 63% of their influence, the Greek
(top 12.2%) and Spanish (top 10.9%) communists 50%.
2 25% of MP’s are communists, 45% with those sympathising.
3 The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM), heir in the
Czech Republic of the former Czechoslovak CP. All the others have
become, with varying shades, either socialists (Germany, Bulgaria) or
social democrats (Poland, Slovakia, Rumania, Albania, Hungary).We
exclude here the particularities of Yugoslavia.
4 The Slovak CP (KSS) was reformed after the decision of the former
party to change into a democratic left party. Over the last 10 years
its membership has risen from a few hundred to 23,000.
5 Essentially the Socialist Party of Ukraine.
6 The results are after the split by supporters of Seleznov, leader of
the CPRF parliamentary group, which is now credited with about 1%
and has since moved definitely towards the social democrat trend.
International Correspondence
7
Most recent results (as %) and change since previous elections.
Depending on countries: one or more CPs or electoral coalitions
including significatively a Communist Party.
8 Moldavian Communist Party
9 Results for AKEL-new forces. AKEL is the name of the Cyprus
Communist Party (Cyprus Progressive Workers’ Party).
10 Total of scores for the CP of the Russian Federation (KPRF) led by
Guennadi Zhiuganov and two other, more radical lists (Workers’
Communist Party of Russia) led by Tiulkin and a break-away from
this led by Anpilov.
11 Results for 2002, totalling the votes for three communist parties,
of which the CPU alone won 21.3%. To this could be added four
other lists politically fairly close (in particular the Socialist Party)
which won 11.1% (-6.4) and some pro-Russian lists that scored
2.4% (+1.6).
12 This is the Human Rights Coalition, the core of which consists of
the communists of the Latvian Socialist Party. Its leader, Rubnik, who
had supported the attempted Moscow coup d’état in 1991, spent
eight years in prison.
13 The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM)
14 Democratic and United Coalition (CDU) mainly consisting of the
Communist Party and the Green Party.
15 The total, here of two CPs, the Refoundation Communist Party
(PRC) and the Party of Italian Communists, a breakaway from the
former, led by Armando Cossutta.
16 The Slovak Communist Party (KSS)
17 Score of the Greek Communist Party (KKE)
18 Score of the United Left (IU) including EUIA which brings together
the two Catalan communist parties (PCC and PSUC), which split in
1981 over the question of Euro-communism.
19 Results of the French Communist Party (PCF), whose 2002 score
should be adjusted to allow for the effect of a number of united left
candidates, so that its influence is more like 5%.
20 Munkaspart, Workers’ Party.
21 Austrian Communist Party (KPÖ).
22 Some countries are not included in this table in some cases
because the CPs support other forces electorally (UK,Ireland) or
because comparison is difficult (following elections, party continuity
…). We may note : Belgium (23,081 votes, 0.9% in the French
speaking region), Netherlands 4854 votes, Bulgaria and Rumania (12% with several lists of candidates).
Issue 5
Year 2003
Elections
Over all (and paradoxically in view of the projections
35
The Greens/Ecologists
current ten years ago) it is not generally those parties that
This political family has experienced some progress in
have most clearly broken with their past who had the best (or
the west, with recent definite successes in Sweden, Germany
least bad) results — it is rather the others. Communism has
and Austria. With an unweighted average of 5% it has
not disappeared in the east, and it is in the west that it is
confirmed the position it established in the 1980s, without
suffering the most.
improving on it12. In general, the Greens support the social
democrats, even as far as joining them in government
The ‘New Left’ forces 1
We
have
lumped
together
under
this
‘label’
(questionable2, like all attempts to generalise3) forces in
various countries which, during the 1990s, sought to
engender a ‘new left’ intermediate between the social
democratic parties and the communist parties. In different
countries this family was to have preferential relations with
one or other of these two political families or, often, with the
ecologists — its more radical fringe often identifying itself as
‘Red Greens’4. On a non-weighted average, with 7.2% (-0.7)
(France,
Germany,
Italy).
Sometimes
they
prefer
the
communists (Portugal) or else choose a more independent
strategy to the left of the social democrats (Ireland, the
United Kingdom). In central and eastern Europe this political
family has had very varied results — a net advance in
Latvia13, a collapse in Ukraine, virtually absent elsewhere, as
in Russia. Its area of influence is essentially GermanoScandinavian — the richer countries.
The ultra left
and five recorded a fall in votes and only two advanced — but
The ultra left of trotskyist origins has enjoyed some
these were well worth noting : Holland, Norway — this
success in France and the British Isles. In France it was most
political family seems to be marking time. In general, these
spectacular and temporary in the Presidential elections, with
parties gain little advantage when the social-democrats are in
three candidates totalling over 10% (10.4; +5.1) which was
retreat — and most often lose out when its stands firm.
Country (party)
%
Votes
3.99 -1.11 1,915,797 -599,657
Germany (PDS)5
-west
1,1 -0.1
-east (ex-GDR)
16.9 -4.7
8.26 -3.73 444,854 -186,157
Sweden (V)6
3.2 -1.9 219,918 -127,133
Greece(Synaspismos)7
8
6.4 -1.1 219,683
-37,723
Denmark (PSP)
9
9.9 -1.0 276,756
-14,919
Finland (VAS)
12.4 +6.0 316,397 +161,090
Norway(SV)10
6.2 +2.8 609,723 +306,020
Holland (SP)11
TOTAL
5.3 -0.6 4 003,128 - 498,479
quite unprecedented. But this score collapsed at the
parliamentary elections to 3.6% (+0.4). ‘New Labour’s’ right
turn brought out an even more modest left opposition
(0.5%)14, of which the Socialist Alliance in England and
Wales15 and the Scottish Socialist Party in Scotland (2% in
the Scottish elections) had the most success. As part of the
same movement, the Irish Socialist Party has now members
of the Dail. In Portugal, the Left Bloc, which has moved
towards a ‘New left’ trend, realised 2.9% (+0.4). The maoist
trend fell slightly after an honourable result in presidential
election.16. In other countries these trends are either very
marginal or integrated into other organisations like the
Refoundation Communist Party in Italy and Left Unity in
1
We have chosen the name ‘new left’ in reference to the European
New Left Forum (NELF) which, founded in 1991, attempted to coordinate and make more homogeneous this trend, before the NELF
broadened itself with a selective manner to those CPs considered
closest.
2 Within this trend, of course, there are differences on several
questions. There is, in particular a north/south difference over the
question of Europe, some of the successes in northern Europe being
linked to greater reservations about the building of Europe (eg. the
Norwegian PSP). The Finns are in a coalition government with
conservatives and social democrats.
3
Restricted to the western European countries for greater
coherence.
4 In some cases the communists are included — in others
competition prevails.
5 Party of Democratic Socialism, in office in ex-GDR.
6 Left Party of Sweden, (former communists).
7 Formed by two former splits from Greek CP (1968 and 1991).
8 People’s Socialist Party, created in 1956 by former communists.
9 Left Alliance, formed by former communists.
10 Left Socialist Party.
11 Socialist Party, of Maoïst origin. (2002+2003)
International Correspondence
Spain. Elsewhere their results are minimal and are virtually
absent in the east17
Patrick Theuret
12
In European elections the Greens won 1.7% in 1979 to 7.4% in
1989 then falling back to 4.9% in 1994.
13 Thanks to an alliance with the old conservative Peasants’ Party.
14 The SA had better results than Scargill’s Socialist Labour Party
(SLP) which failed to take-off with only 0.2% (57,288 votes), but
with twice as many candidates.
15 In 2001 the SSP’s 72 candidates won 72,516 votes and the SA’s
98 candidates won 57,553.
16 Unlike France, where the far left won its historic record in 2002,
confirming its advance of 1995, its Portuguese equivalent has never
equalled its 1980 record of 5%.
17 A result that falls far short of trotskyist hopes of benefiting from
the collapse of former communist parties, despite an attempt to win
through the Slovak Workers’ Association (ZRS) — 7.3% in 1994,
participation in Meciar’s government, then a breach with it before
becoming marginalised with 1.3% at the last elections.
Issue 5
Year 2003
36
Appendix : results of general elections (2001-2002)
Italy
Parties
Liberties2
Votes
Norway
%
18,417,844 -1,290,270 49.6
The Olive3 12,992,287
-174,719 35.0
Votes
-3.0
368 + 63
612,632
-291,730
-0.1
247
- 37
FRP20
369,236
-26,140
H21
KRF22
1,868,113 -1,347,847
-3.6
11
- 24
3,822,580 -2,456,664 10.4 +6.7
4
-2
-356,172
630
United Kingdom
Parties
Votes
%
Seats
43
-22
14.6
- 0.7
26
+1
534,852 +164,411
21.2 + 6.9
38
+15
312,839
-40,243
12.4
-1.3
22
-3
SP23
140,287
-64,537
5.6
- 2.4
10
-1
SV24
316,397 +161,090
12.6 + 6.5
23
+14
-4
V25
98,486
-16,591
3.9
- 0.6
2
RV26
30,015
-13,237
1.2
- 0.5
0
Others
107,076
+64,636
4.3
+2.6
TOTAL
2,521,820
- 62,341
10,724,953 -2,791,679 40.7
-2.5
412
-6
Cons.7
8,357,615 -1,245,242 31.7
+1
166
+1
Lib.dem8
4,814,321
464,314
-428,573 18.3 +1.5
-157,326 1.8 -0.2
+284,535 1.5 +1,1
-41,510 0.8
=
52
+6
5
-1
0
0
6
-4
VDLP
0.7 +0.2
4
=
SD
14
+4
659
=
UKIP10
390,563
UUP11
216,839
P.
Cymru12
Others13
TOTAL
195,893
34,863
1,202,953
237,513
28,367,451 -4,919,246
4.6 +1.5
100
=
Albania
Parties
Votes
%
Seats
549,589
41.5
-11.3
73
-26
Right15
487,314
Xxxxx
36.8
+3.0
46
+11
Democ.16
Xxxxxx
67,349
5.1
6
+6
SDP17
Xxxxxx
48,253
3.6
+1.1
4
-4
PBDNJ18
Xxxxxx
34,607
2.6
-0.2
3
-1
Others
197,403
Xxxxxx
10.3
+2.3
8
-1
TOTAL
1,323,900
Xxxxxx
140
-15
1
=
165
=
Denmark
Parties
Votes
%
Seats
1,077,734 +259,840
31.3
+7.3
56
+14
28
1,002,986 -220,634
29.1
-6.8
52
-11
DF
29
413,491 +161,062
12.0
+4.6
22
+9
KF
30
312,310
+8,345
9.1
+0.2
16
=
SF
31
219,683
-37,723
6.4
-1.2
12
-1
179,121 +47,867
5.2
+1.3
9
+2
27
RV32
Socialist.14
Seats
24.3 - 10.7
Labour6
SNP9
%
DNA19
Others5
37,100,824
5.0
Seats
PRC4
TOTAL
1
ERG33
82,224
-9,709
2.4
-0.3
4
-1
KrF34
78,475
-7,181
2.3
-0.2
4
=
CD35
60,701
-86,101
1.8
-2.5
0
-8
FP36
19,687
-62,750
0.6
-1.8
0
-4
998
-11,603
0.4
-0.3
0
=
3,447,410 +41,413
100
175
=
Others
TOTAL
xxxxxx
1
Presentation of the elections in chronological order. Results for
Cyprus, Bulgaria, Moldavia in International Correspondence n°4.
2 Right-wing coalition containing Forza Italia (Berlusconi) 29.4%
(+8.8), National Alliance (ex-fascists) 12% (-3.7), Northern League
(Bossi) 3.9% (-6.2) and Christian-Democrats(CCD-CDU) 3.2% (-2.6).
3 Centre Left coalition : Left Democrats (ex-PCI) 16,6% (-4.5),
Margarita (centrists) 14.5% (+3.4), SDI-Greens 2.2% (-0.7), PdCI
1.7%.
4 Party of Communist Refoundation (PRC). This party split just before
the elections. The minority (PdCI) joined the Olive coalition.
5 Including Di Pietro List 3.9%, Panella 2.2%, extreme-right 0.4%.
6 New Labour of Tony Blair.
7 Conservative Party, whose leader resigned the day after the
electoral failure. He was replaced by Duncan Smith, hostile to the EU.
8 Liberal Democrat party, a merger in 1988 between Liberals and the
Social Democrat Party (a split from a right wing of Labour).
9 Scottish National Party, centre left.
10 UK Independence Party, hostile to European Union.
11 Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, protestants, right.
12 Party of Wales, in welsh language. Founded in 1925, left.
13 Of which 1.3% (+0.2) for the parties of catholic community of
Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin outscoring the moderate SDLP for the
first time ; 0.6 % for Greens, 0.7% for Marxist forces.
14 Former Work Party of Albania (communist), consultative in S.I.
15 Coalition of four conservative parties (including one monarchist).
16 Right wing, which won 1996 elections (55.5%).
17 Social Democrat Party, member of Socialist International.
18 Party of Human rights, Greek community.
International Correspondence
19
Labour Party, social-democrat. Created in 1887, leading Dutch
party since 1927.
20 Progress Party, extreme-right, anti-taxes, anti-immigration, anti
European Union.
21 Right-wing (name of the party), conservative.
22 Christian Popular Party, centre right.
23 Centre party, ex-agrarian, centre right.
24 Left Socialist Party. Created in 1975 from an electoral alliance of
left parties, on the left of social-democracy and anti-UE. The parties
dissolved, except the CP, which separates from the alliance.
25 Danish Peoples Party, created by Progress Party dissidents in
1995. Xenophobe extreme right.
26 Red Electoral Alliance. Created in 1973 by the Workers’ Communist
Party (AKP), maoist.
27 Liberal Party of Denmark, former agrarian party, now a centre
right party.
28 Social-democrat Party.
29 Danish People Party, extreme right.
30 Conservative Party, historical party of big bourgeoisie.
31 Peoples Socialist Party, created in 1956 by the former CP’s general
secretary.
32 Radical Left, in fact a social-liberal party, founded in 1905, proEuropean.
33 United List-red green, formed around one of the two communist
parties (DKP)with the Left Socialist Party and a trotskiyst group.
34 People’s Christian Party.
35 Centre-democrat, anti-taxes, extreme-right.
36 Progress Party, anti-taxes, racist extreme-right.
Issue 5
Year 2003
37
Elections
Portugal
Parties
Netherlands
Votes
%
Seats
2,198,587 +450,165
40.8
+ 8.7
105
+24
2,069,178 -311,464
38.5
- 5.3
96
-19
CDS-PP3
476,967 + 26,261
8.9
+ 0.6
14
-1
C.D.U4
379,875 -105,462
7.1
- 1.9
12
-5
BE5
PCTP
153,920 + 21,874
2.9
+ 0.4
3
+1
0.7
- 0.1
0
=
-0.2
0
=
230
=
PSD
1
PS2
36,129
- 3,596
Others
48,247
-11,367
0.9
TOTAL
5,376,903
-57,589
100
Ukraine
Votes
%
6,108,088 +3,609,826
23.6 +13.8
CPU7
5,178,074 -1,372,279
20.0
ZYU 8
3,051,056 +1,719,596
JT
1,882,087
SPU
10
SDP-U11
Others12
+66
-5.4
66
-56
11.8
+6.7
102
+73
+639,852
7.3
+2.4
21
-2
1,780,642
-493,146
6.9
-1.9
24
-10
1,626,721
+551,603
6.3
+4.4
23
+7
338,252 -1,106,012
1.4
-3.6
0
-19
17.9 -14.4
102
-59
TOTAL
450
=
4,345,826 -3,490,593
25,909,407 +1,657,508
100
Hungary
Votes
Seats
MSZP13
2,361,997
+864,766 42.05 +9.1 178 +44
Fidesz-MDF14
2,306,763
+733,657 41.07 +6.5 188 +23
SzDsZ15
313,084
-31,268 5.57
-2.0
MIEP16
245,326
-3,575 4.37
-1.1
-14
Centre17
219,029
+219,029 3.90 +3.9
0
Workers’
FkgP19
Others
TOTAL
P.18
121,503
-58,169 2.16
19
-5
-1.8
0
42,338
-555,482 0.75 -12.4
-48
6,710
-100,100 0.12 -2.35
5,616,750 +1,068,798
2,653,723 +1,072,670
27.9
LPF21
1,614,801 +1,614,801
17.0 +17.0
26 +26
VVD22
1,466,722
15.5
-9.2
24
-14
PvdA23
1,436,023 -1,058,532
15.1 -13.9
23
-22
100
+9.6
43
+14
660,692
+34,724
7.0
-0.3
10
-1
SP25
560,447
+256,744
5.9
2.4
9
+4
D6626
484,317
-289,180
5.1
-3.9
7
-7
Others
777,482
+79,995
8.1
=
4
-1
TOTAL
9,501,152
+893,365
150
=
Fianna
=
Votes
770,846
Fail27
%
41.5 +2.2
Seats
81 +4
Fine Gael28
417,653
22.5
-5.4
31
Labour29
200,138
10.8
-2.1
21
=
73,628
4.0
-0.7
8
+4
Prog.
Democrats30
Green Party31
Sinn
Féin32
Others33
TOTAL
-23
71,480
3.9
+1.0
6
+4
121,039
6.5
+4.0
5
+1
203,332
10.9
-1.0
13
+7
1,858,116
100
166
-3
France
UMP34
Votes
%
Seats
8,408,023 +4430,059 33.30 +17.6 358 -184
Socialist35
6,086,599 + 124,987 24.11
Ext-Right36
3,198,885
Others
Right37
Greens38
Com.
Party39
- 612,936 12.67
+0.6 140 -101
-2.4
0 -1
2,550,255 -2,722,650 10.10 -10.7
1,434,121
- 291,897 5.68
-1.1
1,216,178 -1,303,103 4.82
-5.1
41 -41
3 -4
21 -17
14 -19
Other Left40
964,341
- 110,331 3.82
-0.4
Ultra-Left41
704,009
+ 65,299 2.79
+0.3
0
=
683,634 + 332,131 2.71
+1.3
0
577
-1
Others
385
-658,249
Seats
GL24
Parties/coalit.
%
%
Ireland
112
Green
Votes
CDA20
Seats
NU6
9
Parties
TOTAL
25,246,045
- 88,441
100
=
1
Social-Democrat Party, right wing party, former PPD.
Socialist Party.
3 Traditionalist catholic right-wing party.
4 Unity Democratic Coalition composed of the Communist party, the
Green party and Democratic Initiative (former MDP).
5 Left Bloc : coalition of ultra-left with ex-maoists of UDP, trotskyists
of PSR and Politica XXI.
6 Our Ukraine Bloc.
7 Communist Party of Ukraine, banned in August 1991 and unbanned in October 1993. In the meantime the majority of its MPs
created the Socialist Party of Ukraine.
8 For One Ukraine, centre right.
9 Julia Timoshenko Bloc, liberal.
10 Heir of the former Communist Party, ruling until 1991. Full
member of Socialist International.
11 Social-Democratic Party-United.
12 Including the Green Party 1.3% (-3.6).
13 Former Workers’ Socialist Party, in power until 1989.
14 Young Democrats-Bourgeois Party and Democratic Forum.
15 Alliance of Free Democrats.
16 Hungarian Party for Justice and Life, far right nationalist.
17 Liberal-conservative.
18 Workers’ Party, from the communist minority of former Soc. party.
19 Party of Small Owners.
2
International Correspondence
20
Christian Democrat Appeal, right-wing.
Pim Fortuyn List, far right.
22 People’s Party of Freedom and Democracy, liberal.
23 Labour Party.
24 Green Left (Groenlinks).
25 Socialist Party, left party of maoist origin.
26 Democracy 66, liberal party, centre left.
27 “ Soldiers of Destinity “ in Gaëlic, right wing nationalists.
28 Split of the latter, christian-democrat.
29 Labour Party, which absorbed Democratic Left in 1999.
30 Split from Fianna Fail in 1985, liberal centre-right.
31 Ecologist Party, traditionally oriented to the left.
32 Nationalist Party, former-Sinn Féin provisional, linked to IRA.
33 Including one seat to the Socialist Party, trotskyist, in Dublin.
34 Unity for presidential majority, created by Jacques Chirac including
former-gaullists (RPR), liberals (Démocratie libérale) etc.
35 Socialist Party, party of Prime minister Lionel Jospin.
36 National Front of Le Pen, 11.34%, MNR of Megret, 1.09%.
37 Mainly UDF (Unity for French Democracy) of Bayrou.
38 The Greens, members of the government, and other ecologists.
39 Communist Party, in the government before the elections.
40 Left Radical Party 1.5%, Republican Pole (Chevènement) 1.2%.
41 Including LCR (IV international) 1.3 % and Lutte ouvrière, 1.2 %.
21
Issue 5
Year 2003
38
Czech Republic
Votes
Germany
%
Seats
Parties
CSSD1
1,440,279 -488,381
30.2
-2.1
70
ODS2
1,166,975 -489,036
24.5
-3.3
58
KSCM3
882,653 +224,103
18.5
+7.5
41
+17
Coalition4
680,671 -369,938
14.3
-3.3
31
Others5
597,428 +178,485
12.5
+1.1
TOTAL
4,768,006 -944,767
Votes
18,484,560 -1,696,709 38.5 -2.4 251 -48
-5
CDU-CSU24
18,475,696 +1,146,308 38.5 +3.4 248
-3
4,108,314
+ 806,690 8.6 +1.9 55
+8
-8
FDP26
3,537,466
+ 456,511 7.4 +1.1 47
+4
0
0
PDS27
1,915,797
-599,657 4.0
-1.1
2
-34
200
=
Others28
1,458,471 -1,441,351 3.0
-2.8
0
=
603
=
Total
39.25
Seats
Grünen25
%
2,113,560 +199,134
%
-4
Sweden
Soc6
Votes
SPD23
47,980,304 -1,328,208
Latvia
Seats
2.86
144
+13
M7
809,041
-395,885
15.02
-7.88
55
-27
FP8
710,312 +462,236
13.19
8.47
48
+31
Parties
Votes
%
JL29
236,973
23.4
PCTVL30
187,564 +53,136
18.9
165,449
Seats
26
+ 4.7
24
+8
-3
KDs9
485,235
-133,811
9.01
-2.76
33
-9
TP31
-34,728
16.7
- 4.5
21
V10
444,854
-186,157
8.26
-3.73
30
-13
LPP32
94,833 +73,105
9.6
+ 7.3
10
C11
328,428
+58,666
6.10
0.97
22
+4
ZZS33
93,758 +70,131
9.5
+7.0
12
+1
TB/LNNK34
-85,001
5.4 - 9.25
7
-10
175,085 -251,248
16.5 - 28.3
0
-29
MP12
246,392
+9,693
4.58
0.08
Others13
247,608 +110,432
4.61
+2.0
5,385,430 +124,308
100
Total
17
Others35
349
Total
53,394
1,061,122 +116,145
Slovakia
Austria
Votes
%
HZDS14
560,691
-346,412 19.50
SDKU15
433,953
-450,544 15.09 -11.24
SMER16
387,100
SMK17
321,069
-7.51
387,100 13.46 +13.46
14,446 11.17
+2.04
Seats
Parties
Votes
36
-7
ÖVP36
1,981,657 +737,985
42.3 +15.4
79
+27
28 - 14
SPÖ37
1,729,929 +197,481
36.9
+3.8
69
+4
25 + 25
FPÖ38
475,926
-768,161
10.2 -16.8
20 + 5
Grünen39
420,322
+78,062
9.0
45,447
-123,165
26,688
+4,672
8,140
-61,119
4,688,109
-123,165
KDH18
237,202
237,202
8.25
+8.25
15 +15
LIF40
ANO19
230,309
230,309
8.01
+8.01
15 +15
KPÖ41
KSS20
181,872
87,857
6.33
+3.53
11 +11
Others
SDL21
39,163
-452,944
1.36
14.66
0 - 23
SNS22
95,633
-209,206
3.33
9.07
0 - 14
Others
388,089
369,592
13.5
+2.5
0 - 13
Total
2,875,081 - 483,695
100
150 (=)
Total
%
Seats
19
-33
+1.6
16
+2
1.0
-2.7
0
=
0.6
+0.1
0
=
0.2
-1.3
0
=
183
=
23
Social Democrat Party.
Coalition of two complementary right-wing parties: Social-Christian
Union (CSU) in Bavaria, and Christian-Democrat Union (CDU) in the
rest of Germany.
25 Green Party.
26 Liberal Party, allied to the right after having been allied with SPD.
27 Party of Democratic Socialism, former ruling party in Geman
Democratic Republic.
28 Including the far right Republicans : 2.3%.
29 New Era.
30 For Human Rights, coalition formed around the communists of
Latvian Socialist Party, with the Party of Human Rights and parties of
Russian minority.
31 People’s Party.
32 Latvia First Party .
33 Green and Peasants’ Party.
34 Homeland and Liberty Alliance.
35 Including Social Democrat Party (LSDSP), member of Socialist
International, with 4% (- 8,8) lost its 14 seats in Parliament.
36 People’s Party, conservative.
37 Social Democrat Party.
38 Liberal Party, dominated by far right leaded by Jorg Haider, in the
government before the elections.
39 The Greens.
40 Liberals.
41 Austrian Communist Party.
24
1
Social Democrat Party
Democratic Civic Party, right wing.
3 Communist Party of Bohemia & Moravia.
4 Coalition formed by Christian Democrat Union (KDU-CSL) and the
Liberty Union- Democratic Union (US-DEU).
5 Including far-right 1% (-2.9).
6 Social Democrat Party.
7 Party of moderate rally, right wing.
8 People’s Party - the Liberals.
9 The Christian Democrats.
10 Left Party : former-Left Party-communist of Sweden.
11 Centre Party, former agrarian party.
12 Environment Party-the greens. Support the government.
13 ÖVR 2.8% (+0.2), OG 1.5% and NBP 0.3%.
14 Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, party of Meciar, former
prime minister, moderate nationalist.
15 Christian Democratic Union.
16 Third Way Party, founded by a former member of SDL.
17 Party of Hungarian Coalition.
18 A Christian-democrat movement, split from SDKU.
19 Alliance for New Citizenship, liberal.
20 Communist Party of Slovakia, refounded in 1991.
21 Democratic Left party, former CP, Socialist International member.
22 Slovak National Party, radical nationalist.
2
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
39
Elections
--------PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS1-------
----------ELECTIONS in 200318 ----------
Portugal
Candidate
Jorge Sampaio
Party
General elections Netherlands
Votes
PS
Ferreira do Amaral Right
Parties
%
1,493,858
34.54
PvdA20
2,631,363 +1,195,340
27.26 +12.14 42 (+19)
VVD21
1,728,707
261,985
17;91
SP22
609,723
49,276
6.32
+0.42 9 (=)
LPF23
549,975 -1,064,826
5.70
-11.30 8 (-18)
GL24
495 802
-164,890
5.14
-1.82 8 (-2)
D6625
CU
SGP
Others
TOTAL
393 333
-90,984
4.07
-1.02 6 (-1)
204 694
150 305
127 093
9,654,475
-36,259
-13,257
-92,819
+153,323
2.12
1.56
1.32
100
-0.42 3 (-1)
-0.16 2 (=)
-1.0 0 (-2)
150
221,971
5.13
Fernando Rosas
Left Bloc
128,927
2.98
Garcia Perreira
MRPP
68,577
1.59
4,321,899
Byelorussia
Votes
Lukashenko2
Gaidukevich4
TOTAL
%
4,666,680
80.67
965,261
16.69
153,199
2.65
Goncharik3
5,785,140
Tassos
Votes
%
Chirac5
5,665,855
- 428,450 19.88 (-0,59)
Le Pen6
4,804,713
+ 259,220 16.86( +1,59)
Jospin7
4,610,113
- 2,299,514 16.18 (-7,03)
Bayrou8
1,949,170
- 3,570,875 6.84 (-11,70)
Laguiller9
1,630,045
+ 30,076 5.72 (+0,35)
Chevenement10
1,518,528
- 5.33
Mamère11
1,495,724
499,657 5.25 (+1,90)
Besancenot12
1,210,562
- 4.25
St Josse13
1,204,689
-225,822 4.23 (-0,58)
Madelin14
1,113,484
3.91
27,404
Others
12,712
-63,906
431,690
+21,711
Total
%
24.7
Seats
+2.3 55 (+7)
SDP30
682,819
+69,856
24.5
+1.6 53 (+2)
KOK31
517,171
-46,664
18.5
-2.5 40 (-6)
VAS32
276,756
-14,919
9.9
-1.0 19 (-1)
VIHR33
223,267
+28,421
8.0
+0.7 14 (+3)
SFP34
128,617
- 8,763
4.6
-0.5 9 (-3)
148,965
+37,130
5.3
+1.2 7 (-3)
21,111
+669
0.8
57,970
2,789,614
-89,803
+108,323
2.1
100
Others17
1,668,082
5.86
SKP36
Others
TOTAL37
26,309,136
82.1
5,736,097
17.9
3.07
Votes
689,147
+88,555
KD35
Le Pen
6.62
KESK29
2.34
Chirac
51.51
+1,971 38.80 (-1.26)
General elections Finland
Parties
667,026
2nd round
+52,435
Alecos Markides28
960,480
-1,275,637 100
213,353
%
160,724
Megret16
28,498,471
Votes
Papadopoulos26
Glafcos Clerides27
Hue15
TOTAL
-1,638,240 3.37 (-5,36)
+2.47 28 (+4)
Presidential Cyprus
Candidates
France : 1st round
Parties
Seats
+0.69 44 (+1)
55.76
PCP-CDU
Candidates
%
28.62
2,411,453
Antonio Abreu
TOTAL
Votes
2,763,480
109,757
CDA19
=
-3.4 3 (+1)
200
18
1
Dates of elections: Portugal(14 January 2001), Byelorussia (9
September), France-1st round (21 April 2002), 2nd round (5 May)
2 President, supported by one of the two Byelorussian CPs..
3 Candidate presented by the trade unions, the other Byelorussian
CP, the majority of liberal and nationalist Opposition.
4 Candidate close to Russian nationalist Vladimir Jirinovski.
5 President, former Gaullist right (RPR)
6 Extreme right.
7 Socialist Party, retiring Prime Minister.
8 Centre-right, former- Christian democrats (UDF).
9 Workers’ Fight (trotskyist)
10 Republican Pole: Citizens Movement (sovereignty left), supported
by right-wing sovereignist personalities.
11 The Greens. In government of ‘ Plural Left ‘.
12 Revolutionary communist League (trotskyist, 4th international)
13 Hunting, Fishing, Nature and Tradition
14 Ultra-liberal Right
15 French Communist Party.
16 National Republican Movement, far-right (split from FN).
17 Including Taubira, left radical (2.3%) and an ecologist (1.9%).
International Correspondence
Netherlands :22 January; Cyprus: 16 February; Finland 16 March.
Christian Democrat Appeal, right.
20 Labour Party.
21 People’s Party of liberty and Democracy, liberal.
22 Socialist Party, left party of maoist origin.
23 Pim Fortuyn List, far right.
24 Green Left (Groenlinks).
25 Democracy 66, Liberal Party, centre left.
26 Centrist Party supported by Communist Party (AKEL) and Socialist
Party.
27 President, conservative.
28 Right-wing candidate.
29 Finnish Centre, liberal-agrarian.
30 Social Democrat Party.
31.National Coalition Party, conservative.
32 Left Alliance, former communists and other trends.
33 Green League.
34 Swedish People’s Party, Swedish minority.
35 Christian Democrat Party.
36 Communist Party.
37 Including Workers’ CP 2,880 votes (-575).
19
Issue 5
Year 2003
40
East Timor : elections for a new state
Presidential elections
In the 3 September 1999 referendum, held under the
auspices of the United Nations, 78.5% of East Timorese voted
Presidential elections were held on 14 April 2002, with
in favour of the creation of an independent nation. East Timor
86% of the voters going to the polls to choose between two
was administered after that by the United Nations Transitional
candidates. José Alexandre ‘Xanana’ Gusmão, who for many
Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). On 30 August, 2001,
years led the armed resistance against the Indonesian
elections for the new country’s Constituent Assembly were
occupation
held. A massive turnout of 91.3% of registered voters gave a
authorities, ran as a candidate for the smaller political parties,
decisive electoral victory to Fretilin, the organisation that led
and was elected with an overwhelming 82.7% of the vote,
the struggle of the people of East Timor for their
while ADT leader Xavier do Amaral, received 17.3% of the
independence, first from Portugal’s colonial domination and,
vote.
since 1975, against the Indonesian occupiers.
Constituent
The 88-member Constituent Assembly saw 75 of its
members elected by proportional representation, in a single
before
In
being
accordance
Assembly
captured
with
the
became
by
new
the
the
Indonesian
constitution,
country’s
the
National
Parliament, and the transitional cabinet became East Timor’s
government.
national constituency, and the remaining 13 members elected
The new country of East Timor (Timor Loro Sae) was
on a first-past-the-post basis in single-seat constituencies.
officially declared independent on 20 May 2002. In September
Fretilin won in 12 of the 13 single-seat constituencies (an
of the same year, East Timor became the United Nations’
independent having been elected in the Oecussi enclave, in
191st member State.
the western part of the island), and scored 57.4% of the vote
Esperança Nascimento
in the proportional representation lists, electing an additional
Constituent Assembly:
total results (proportional)
43 representatives. Fretilin obtained particularly strong results
in the constituencies of the country’s two largest cities:
72.5% of the vote for its candidate in the single-seat
constituency of the capital Dili, and 86.0% in Baucau.
After these elections, a new transitional cabinet was
Political Party
Votes
%
Seats
Independent East Timor Revolutionary 208,531 57.37
Front (FRETILIN)
Democratic Party (PD)
31,680
8.72
55
7
formed, headed by Fretilin’s leader Mari Alkatiri. On 9
Social Democratic Party (PSD)
29,726
8.18
6
February
Social Democratic Timorese
Association (ASDT)
Timorese Democratic Union (UDT)
28,495
7.84
6
8,581
2.36
2
Nationalist Timorese Party (PNT)
8,035
2.21
2
Klibur Oan Timor Asuwain (KOTA)
7,735
2.13
2
People’s Party of Timor (PPT)
7,322
2.01
2
Christian Democratic Party (PDC)
7,181
1.98
2
Socialist Party of Timor (PST)
6,483
1.78
1
Liberal Party (PL)
4,013
1.10
1
Christian Democratic Party of Timor
(UDC/PDC)
People’s Democratic Association of
Timor (APODETI – p.r.)
Timorese Labour Party (PTT)
2,413
0.66
1
2,181
0.60
0
2,026
0.56
0
East Timor National Republic Party
(PARENTIL)
Partai Demokratik Maubere (PDM)
1,970
0.54
0
1,788
0.49
0
Independent candidates
5,341
1.47
0
363,501
100
2002,
the
Constituent
Assembly
adopted
a
provisional final text for the new constitution of East Timor.
This text was widely circulated and debated throughout the
country. Further amendments were considered. The final
version of the constitution was adopted by the Constituent
Assembly on 9 March 2002, with 72 votes in favour, 14
against, 1 abstention and 1 member absent. The opposition
to the text came from the representatives of the PSD and
UDT parties (both headed by members of the influential
Carrascalão family of landowners, who in 1975 opposed
Fretilin) and of the PD (with roots in a splinter-group from
Renitil, the student movement involved in the resistance
struggle). ASDT, which voted in favour of the constitutional
text and has a good working relation with Fretilin, is headed
by Fretilin’s first president, Francisco Xavier do Amaral.
Total
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
Social struggles 41
SOCIAL STRUGGLES
What is the World Social Forum ?
Some say the inspiration for the establishment of the
the Brazilian Association of Non-Governmental Organisations
World Social Forum — WSF — came from activities and
(ABONG); ATTAC-Brazil; the Brazilian Institute of Social and
meetings held by NGOs that paralleled meetings and
Economic Analyses (IBASE); the Workers’ Central Union
conferences held by the UN system. Others say that it all
(CUT); the Brazilian Commission for Justice and Peace (from
started with Zapatism in 1994. Others say it started with the
the National Confederation of Brazilian Bishops of the Catholic
general strike in France, in 1995. We could also say that, back
Church); the Landless Workers’ Movement (MST); and the
in 1992, the cara-pintadas (students with painted faces) and
Justice and Human Rights Social Network. Almost all of them,
other popular movements and progressive Brazilian and
if not all, are headed by members of the Workers’ Party, PT.
Venezuelan parties were protagonists of the first victorious
There was a good reason for the first WSF taking place
steps leading to an impeachment in history, toppling the
in Brazil. The political environment was more favourable here.
neoliberal governments of Fernando Collor de Mello and
Popular movements and progressive parties, especially leftist
Carlos Andrés Perez.
ones, have considerable political and organisational power
The inspiration comes from all those struggles and
many
others.
But
there
is
a
consensus
that
and are also present in electoral and governmental terms.
the
The state of Rio Grande do Sul and its capital, Porto Alegre,
demonstrations in Seattle in 1999 were an important
are governed by left-wing coalitions under the leadership of
landmark, when the diversity existent in the WSF showed
the Workers’ Party, PT. In Brazil there is not an identification
itself in a united form, protesting in the streets. There were
crisis between resistance movements and the political-party
unions, student organisations, youth movements, peasants,
representation of leftist and progressive character — or even
autonomist and ‘direct action’ groups, intellectuals etc., many
anti-neoliberal, we may say.
‘actors’ and many ‘political cultures’, that is, a variety of
After the first WSF, an International Council was
political-ideological movements and orientation united in
created, formed by the founding organisations and by
struggle against neoliberal globalisation. Since Seattle, many
movements plus organisations, networks and campaigns of
massive demonstrations have taken place — amidst financial
international
crises and the beginning of a crisis in the model endorsed by
constituted by the ATTAC, mainly its French section, under
the Washington consensus — mainly in Europe and North
the leadership of Walden Bello; Atílio Borón’s and Emir
America,
Sader’s
becoming
known
as
the
‘anti-globalisation
scope.
Latin
The
American
International
Council
of
Council
Social
is
also
Sciences
–
movement’. In this case, the imperialist globalisation, of
(CLACSO); François Houtart’s and Samir Amin’s World Forum
course.
of Alternatives/CETRI; the Continental Latin American and
The idea of the WSF was born in meetings which were
Caribbean
Students’
Organisation
–
(OCLAE);
the Via
held in Europe in 2000, during events that paralleled UN
Campesina; the 50 Years is Enough network; the Southern
meetings and other multilateral organisations. Some Brazilian
Jubilee, from the Catholic church; the Social Forum of Genoa;
and French organisations and NGOs launched the idea of a
the Committee for the Cancellation of the Third World Debt,
parallel forum to the World Economic Forum that takes place
(CADTM);
every year in Davos, Switzerland. They chose a city in the
Organisations, (ICFTU), and the World Confederation of
southern hemisphere, Porto Alegre, Brazil, to carry through
Labour (WCL). And many others, totalling about 80 member
the first World Social Forum in January 2001, simultaneously
organisations.
with the event in Davos.
the International Confederation of Free Union
The WSF is regulated by its Charter of Principles,
In France, the pioneering organisation was ATTAC
which was approved by the International Council on 10 June
(Action for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Aid
2001. According to the Charter, the WSF is “an open meeting
of Citizens) – France. Its Brazilian counterpart were the
place for reflective thinking, democratic debate of ideas,
organisations
Brazilian
formulation of proposals, free exchange of experiences and
Committee — COB — which today is the International
interlinking for effective action, by groups and movements of
Secretariat of the WSF. The International Secretariat is still
civil society that are opposed to neoliberalism and to
constituted by the same Brazilian organisations. They are: the
domination of the world by capital and any form of
Brazilian Entrepreneurs’ Association for Citizenship (CIVES);
imperialism, and are committed to building a planetary society
that
constituted
the
International Correspondence
Organising
Issue 5
Year 2003
42
directed towards fruitful relationships among humankind and
participation in the IC. The participation of unions in the IC is
between it and the earth” (WSF’s Charter of Principles).
marked by the presence of CUT-Brazil and involves ICFTU and
Another part of the Charter of Principles states that
WCL; nevertheless, the World Federation of Trade Unions
the WSF is “a world process. All the meetings that are held as
(WFTU) still does not yet take part. Even so, there are many
part of this process have an international dimension.” The
national centrals affiliated to the WFTU which are active in
WSF “is not intended to be a body representing world civil
the WSF.
society … meetings of the World Social Forum do not
Students movements also participate in the IC under
deliberate on behalf of the World Social Forum as a body … It
the leadership of OCLAE. There is the Via Campesina, formed
does not constitute a locus of power to be disputed by the
by peasant movements, under the influence of MST and
participants in its meetings …. The WSF is a plural, diversified,
Zapatists and also Indian movements leaded by COfNAIE,
non-confessional, non-governmental and non-party context
from Ecuador. There are cultural movements, those of
that, in a decentralised fashion, interrelates organisations and
solidary economy, anti-racism and the women’s movement,
movements … Neither party representations nor military
some under heavy influence of multiculturalism and/or of
organisations shall participate in the Forum. Government
international finance agencies. Among the members of the
leaders and members of legislatures who accept the
International Secretariat, the influence of the PT’s internal
commitments of this Charter may be invited to participate in a
trends is predominant.
personal capacity.” Political parties, representatives and
There are other important movements taking part of
governors do not participate as delegates, only as invitees or
the WSF, such as ‘Our world is not for sale’, leaded by Public
observers.
Citizen, from the USA, and by Focus on the Global South.
The International Council, IC, has agreed new
Another important movement is the Continental Social
proposals under which membership would be conditional on
Alliance, active in Brazil, specifically by means of CUT and
being an international organisation accepting the Charter of
MST. The Continental Social Alliance is proposing the creation
Principles. The regulations of the IC attributions and the
of a World Social Alliance.
criteria for its constitution and for new memberships are also
On the initiative of the Continental Social Alliance
being discussed. Another proposal under discussion would
during the second WSF in Porto Alegre, an important World
give the International Council the main responsibility for the
Assembly of the Social Movements was held, approving a
political line of the WSF, which today is too concentrated in
political declaration entitled “Resistance against neoliberalism,
the International Secretariat. According to this proposition,
militarism and war: for peace and social justice” and also a
the IC would carry out “a permanent strategic evaluation of
schedule of activities and mobilisations. The World Social
the struggle against the neoliberal globalisation and of the
Alliance plans to be an organised centre of activity within the
role the WSF plays in it without intending to become the
WSF, since it “seeks to strengthen and create new national
leading force in the process of the Forum nor in the world
and international links among organisations and movements
movement against the neoliberal globalisation” (from the
of society” (Charter of Principles) .
document “Political and organisational structure of the WSF”).
The first WSF in 2001 was characterised by a debate
The International Council would be called the International
and diagnosis of world reality under neoliberalism’s ‘market
Committee.
dictatorship’. The second WSF, in 2002, was characterised by
The political and ideological range of the WSF
discussion of alternatives to neoliberal globalisation. From the
participants is very wide, as is the range of organisations and
second WSF on, in order to broaden the WSF internationally,
representatives in the IC. There are many networks inside the
since it was still too concentrated in the Americas and
IC constituted by international and continental human rights
western Europe, Regional Forums (European Social Forum
defenders,
are
and Asian Social Forum) and Thematic Forums (the Forum on
organisations headed by left-wing intellectuals such as Atílio
the crisis of the neoliberal model, in Argentina, and the Forum
Borón, Emir Sader, François Houtard and Samir Amin. There
on the Amazon) were stimulated. The objective of the so-
are important sectors of the Catholic church. There is the
called internationalisation is to increase the participation in
participation in Brazil and Europe of the Fourth International –
regions such as Africa, Asia and eastern Europe.
environmentalists,
NGOs
etc.
There
Unified Secretariat, whose French branch is the Revolutionary
Communist
Communist
more in Porto Alegre, on 23-28 January 2003, is to widen the
There
are
debate on diagnosis and alternatives, at the same time as it
autonomist and neo-anarchist groups, though without a great
emphasise the relations between these and the strategies of
Refoundation
League.
of
Still
Italy,
is
in
Europe,
also
International Correspondence
the
The objective of the third WSF, which took place once
participant.
Issue 5
Year 2003
Social struggles 43
resistance and the desired achievements. The third WSF
covered
five
themes
:
sustainable
and
democratic
development; principles and values; human rights, diversity
and equality; media, culture and counter-hegemony; political
power, civil society and democracy; and democratic world
order, the fight against militarisation and promotion of peace.
About 100,000 people.
The activities of the third WSF took the form of
conferences,
panels,
dialogue and controversy boards,
testimonials, seminars and workshops. As it were in the first
two WSFs, other events took place outside the main
conference, such as the Intercontinental Youth Camp, the
World Parliamentary Forum and the Forum of Local
Authorities. The WSF’s International Office and the São Paulo
Forum are discussing the realisation of a Forum of Political
Parties along with the Forum of Representatives, as in
previous World Social Forums.
The member organisations of the IC, with the help of
the International Office, can all suggest matters, sub matters,
people, organisations and movements to take part of all
activities of the WSF, excepting workshops, which are
proposed and organised directly by delegates who take part in
the event. The fourth WSF, in 2004, is expected to take place
in India, while the fifth WSF is expected to take place in Porto
Alegre again.
The WSF is not made up only of ‘new social
movements’,
although it may seem so. The political
composition of the International Council, and even of the
International Office, proves the contrary. In fact, there is
room for all who fight against neoliberalism, although some
are granted more room. Indeed, the debate against ‘new’ and
‘old’ movements is a false one. A movement should not be
judged by its age, but its political orientation.
The various movements must discuss the strategies to
defeat
neoliberal
globalisation
and
imperialism.
These
strategies certainly will include, on the one hand, the
accumulation of forces for the achievement of political power
by the workers of each country and the strengthening of
these national, democratic and sovereign states, and on the
other hand, the strengthening of internationalism and peoples
resistance. In short, political orientation is the most important
thing to characterise popular movements. The WSF, without
doubt, is a very important place for this debate to take place.
Ricardo Abreu
Member of Political Commission
of Communist Party of Brazil
Subscribe !
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
44
The resumption of mass movements in Italy
The July days at Genoa in 2001 — in the course of
unions (COBAS, etc) the highly significant participation of
which thousands of people demonstrated alongside youth
FIOM-CGIL (the metalworkers’ Union — the largest Italian
movements, class trade unionists, communists — marked, for
union).1
Italy, the beginning of a phase of significant resumption of
These Genoa days, moreover, provided an opportunity
mass actions. Even if this is not an exclusively Italian
to measure the growing repressive nature of the Italian police
phenomenon, the intensity and extent of this awakening are
apparatus. This had been under way for some time, but with
specific to it. As had already happened in 1968-1969, in a
a right-wing government and under an overall supervision of
completely different historical situation, on top of this sudden
a supranational character it reached new heights. The
outburst of the youth — which, after decades of lethargy has
televised images of unbridled police violence went round the
found the way back to political and civic commitment by
world. It is no exaggeration to say that the casualties inflicted
taking with it onto the streets a variety of social actors — was
on the demonstrators — including, unfortunately, the death
added, in the space of a few months, as if by contagion, the
of young Carlo Giuliani — could have been even more tragic.
eruption of working class militancy onto the front of the
scene.
In any case, the attempt to criminalise any initiative
failed. A few days after these events hundreds of thousands
The succession of these events is significant : it is as if
of people took to the streets in the principal Italian cities : this
the actuation of the ‘heavy’ levers of social conflict, the
time it was all the ‘people of the left’ who came out in revolt,
deployment of class resources and contradictions moving
expressing its concrete support for the ‘people of Genoa’. It
through the full involvement of the world of work were, in a
was not simply young people of 20 to 30, not just the
way, prepared (or at least preceded) by a change in the
generations of the ‘new movement’ but the many facets
overall political climate : a change induced by protest
(more or less politically committed, more or less politically
movements which, while not necessarily characterised by
disappointed) of democratic Italy. There remains, in this
clear anti-capitalist options, which, nevertheless, resist the
country, alongside a definite ‘silent majority’ with a ‘populist’
dominant scale of values and critical of the perverse effects of
tendency, a vast democratic and progressive public opinion,
the existing social order.
which the drift of the old left (in particular of the PCI-PDS-DS)
It can thus be said that the ‘anticipatory’ function of
and its neo-liberal mutation of the last decade had managed
these movements was expressed, not so much on the level of
to disperse and disorient. The development of mass
the consciousness and clarity of their contents, as in the
movements of young people, from Seattle to Genoa has acted
general renewal of the idea the ‘things can be changed’’, and
as a catalyst to politically revive the less young and help give
that reality is open to transformation (and, at the same time,
the young the taste for political commitment.
in radically new forms of struggle).
From the point of view of the will for active
participation, the Genoa demonstrations against the G8
summit certainly marked a turning point and showed the
potential for mobilisation that has long been inhibited. Over
and above the essential role of the Communist Refoundation
Party activists, and in the wake of revived student protest, it
showed in action a vast and composite front of voluntary
associations with a preponderence of groups of ethicosolidarity inspiration, of groups engaged in international
cooperation, and the various components of the ecological
galaxy. But, there was alongside the presence of independent
International Correspondence
1
The largest Italian union confederation (5 million members), the
CGIL is the traditional TU arm of the communists and socialists.
Together with the CISL, traditionally catholic, and the UIL, historically
linked to the centre-left, it is the most important of the three pivots
of ‘confederal trade unionism’. As a result of the ideological and
militant crisis in this confederation — an essential part of the more
general crisis of the Italian left — in the 1970s and 1980s, ‘base’ (i.e.
grass-roots) or ‘non-confederal’ unionism became increasingly
important. This is characterised by a more radical militancy, but is
still today divided into a variety of organisations and dispersed in
various trades and categories of workers. The confederal galaxy
includes the COBAS (Base Committee) with 30,000 members, mainly
rooted in the educational field and the CUB (United Confederation of
the Base) with 300,000 members, largely recruited amongst public
service employees (services, transport, and some public metalworking firms).
Issue 5
Year 2003
Social struggles 45
It must be said that such potential did not find
Less than a month later, at the same time as the
immediate expression in the organisations of the movement
annual summit of the FAO, the movement gave fresh proof of
as such. The team that had organised and led the
its strength by calling for a gathering in Rome on 10
mobilisations, which included within it representatives of real
November 2001 in opposition to a rally organised by the right
voluntary associations and social forces — the Genoa Social
coalition - backed by considerable material resources - in
Forum — even decided to dissolve itself in order to develop a
support of Bush’s war. The direct confrontation in the streets
coordination at grass roots level, seeking to take widespread
showed up the balance of forces in a significant manner :
root at local level aimed at showing the link between global
20,000 people responded to the government’s call compared
themes and local political initiatives. After the initial impulse, a
with the 120,000 who marched behind the banners of the
complex work of mediation began, inside a range of distinct
Social Forum to confirm that, as the Italian Constitution puts
political attitudes, at one extreme of which was, symbolically,
it : ‘Italy rejects war’.
the street radicalism of the so-called ‘disobedients’, principally
inspired by the theories of Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt
on ‘the Empire’ and the more moderate orientation of
different groups of solidarity-type associations, less liable to
follow an escalation of conflictual initiatives and street
confrontations. Only in certain cases — and then essentially in
small provincial centres — did the Social Forums in fact act
like organs of socially implanted movements and vectors of a
wide participation. In the real situation of larger cities, on the
contrary, they ended up by becoming small ossified talking
shops, instead of areas of smoothing out the differences
between the varied local or national leaders.
After 11 September 2001, global themes took on a
precise aspect in Italy : behind the declaration of war without
quarter on international terrorism, emerged with increasing
clarity the militarist vocation of globalised capitalism and the
role of US imperialism, the guiding centre of a war that is
declared to be ‘infinite’ in time and objectives. On 15 October
2001, a week after the start of the bombing of Afghanistan, a
vast range of forces — from the centre left to Communist
Refoundation Party joined the Perusia-Assissi march, in the
name of peace and against terrorism. An impressive river of
people (estimated at 300 - 400,000) stretched all along the
25 km route until it swamped and paralysed the Umbrian city.
‘No to War’ was the dominant tone of the demonstration. The
‘real Italy’ thus showed that it did not always correspond to
the representations shown of the parliamentary majorities :
even the opinion polls carried out on this occasion confirmed
that a wide majority of public opinion had not let itself be
convinced by the weight of the Berlusconi government’s
media propaganda.
All through late
movements’
capacity
2001, and early 2002 the ‘new
for
mass
mobilisation
continued
undiminished, opposing, on the streets, the parliamentary
debates on the proposals of the Bossi-Fini law attacking the
most elementary rights of on European Union- immigrants
and fuelling the protests of the students who, together with
large mobilisation of teachers, have been increasing the
opposition in the country to projects to privatise courses in
further education and the universities.
The supra-national character of the Genoa movement
has gradually blended with the development of national social
dynamics both stimulating them and becoming an integral
part of them. On the ground, this has brought into action the
strength of organised labour and a general conflict between
capital and labour. On 16 November 2001 over 100,000
metal workers took to the streets of Rome, joining the
general strike of the industry called by the FIOM-CGIL union,
which had not accepted the pittance offered at the time of
renewal of collective agreements.
The UILM and the FIM (the two most representative
unions in the industry, members respectively of the UIL and
the CISL) dissociated themselves from this movement. This
signalled the breaking up of the union solidarity built in the
1960s, initially to strengthen workers but which, over the last
two decades, has operated as a straight-jacket, committing
them to what was called institutionalised ‘concertation’
between social partners.
The political impact of this working class awakening
was considerable : after a long period of toning down
struggles, a new generation of workers had risen along side
their older comrades who ridiculed the theses of those who
(even on the left) had prophesised the ‘end of work’ or, more
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
46
subtlety, the extinction of the central character of the
class forces) the CGIL pressed on. Thus 23 March saw the
contradiction between capital and labour and even going so
biggest demonstration since the second world war : a human
far as to state the innovatory pre-eminence of the ‘anti-
flood of three million people filled the historic centre of Rome
globalisation’ movement over the labour movement. It is a
in the cause of the dignity of labour and against employees’
strong signal in the most classical area of class conflict.
freedom to sack. A few days later a very successful general
Caught between fixed exchange rates and the necessities of
strike paralysed the whole peninsula. At the end of June, in
international competitivity, employers had long toyed with the
exchange for some euros in tax concessions, the UIL and the
idea of a general settlement with labour : total labour
CSIL signed an agreement with the government that led to
flexibility, an end to national collective bargaining, a drastic
the temporary suspension (for three years) of Article 18.
reduction in the role of trade unions. The right government
Since then, and all through the year, repeated
had not delayed in dropping its demagogic populist mask and
mobilisations have confirmed the good health and even the
taking up the demands of its privileged backers. A Bill was
growth of the mass movement in defence of working rights
hurriedly published to abolish Article 18 of the Workers’
and against the threat of war, its ramification in depth in
Charter, the key-stone of the defence of labour for all firms
Italian society. The CGIL called for a second (successful)
with more than 15 employees, and which obliges firms to re-
general
emply workers who have been fired ‘without just cause’.
relaunched its campaign, collecting the 500,000 signatures
From the end of 2001, workplaces were swept by
intermittent
waves
of
protest.
Spontaneous
strike.
The
Party
of
Communist
Rifoundation
needed to legitimise a referendum — on its proposal to
strikes,
extend the cover provided by Article 18 to firms with less than
autonomous calls by workers, sometimes members of
15 employees. The government was obliged to put a brake on
‘confederal’ unions, sometimes of non-confederal unions, with
its race to abolish Article 18.
one immediate objective — the calling of a general strike. On
Meanwhile mass protests against the war again broke
15 February 2002, the public services and civil service
out : a million people marched in Florence in November 2002
stopped work: but impelled by the global confrontation
during the European Social Forum. Two million people filled
throughout the country COBAS and Base Representation
the centre of Rome on 15 February 2003 during the world
decided to generalise the strike and call for a strong national
day against a US imperialist attack on Iraq.
demonstration.
The mass movement thus confirms its strength. And
The events that followed led to one of the most
the Italian workers know that they are not alone.
Bruno Steri.
memorable days in the country’s history. Berlusconi and his
Labour Minister Roberto Maroni, gambled on trade union
disunity and presented a whole series of new proposals within
Member of the National Political Committee
of Communist Refoundation Party
which, nevertheless, remained the abolition of Article 18.
Unlike the UIL and the CISL, the CGIL refused any suggestion
of negotiation on this point and renewed the threat of a
general strike, even announcing a date for it : with or without
the UIL and CISL, the largest union confederation decided
that the work would stop on 16 April 2002 and that, to
prepare
for
this
event,
there
would
be
a
national
demonstration in Rome on 23 March. And so it was — even
alone (but not at all isolated in the real country and the reality
of the new movements) and despite some very serious
isolated provocations (the assassination of Marco Biagi, the
Find the articles of previous issues
on the web site
of International Correspondence
http://www.corint.net
Labour Minister’s consultant by so-called ‘Red Brigades’, in
fact terrorist groups manipulated by obscure anti-working
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
Debates-controversies
47
DEBATES-CONTROVERSIES
FTAA and the US strategy of world domination
José Reinaldo Carvalho
Journalist, national vice-president of Communist Party of
Brazil (PcdoB), in charge of International Relations.
The process of developing the Free Trade Area of the
Americas is being carried out at a rapid pace since it is
expected to become effective in three years. The FTAA
implies much more than the commercial integration or the
formation of a ‘common market’ of the Americas. It also
means much more than a mere juncture-related economic
orientation. In essence, it consists of a strategic project
spawned by US imperialism with a view to increasing its
dominion over Latin America. Once it becomes effective, the
FTAA project will result in a qualitative change regarding the
traditional relations of economic and political dependence
between the huge potency of the north and the central and
south American countries. It is the most ambitious and
comprehensive plan of panamericanism and subordinate
integration ever conceived by the United States since its
independence in the late 18th century and the Monroe
Doctrine in 1823 which demanded an ‘America for the
Americans’.
The FTAA
is a project for neocolonialist
domination and servitude in which the countries taking part
will become appendages and colonies of the United States.
Historical context
dependence
—
unfortunately
without
positive
results”
(Paradigmas e Utopias, January 2002 – article by the National
Executive Committee of the Labour Party of Mexico). This
reference is important as it reiterates the fact that the United
States does not allow any attempt at integration which does
not comply with its hegemonic strategy. At the same, time it
stresses the differences of the present global situation.
The historical context of the US attack regarding the
development of the FTAA is taking place in a moment when
the neoliberal offensive has reached a global scale. It is part
of the objective processes occurring in the present stage of
imperialist capitalism’s development called ‘globalisation’. It is
a product of the neoliberal imperialism that presents
characteristics which Lenin foresaw in his famous work
‘Imperialism – the highest stage of capitalism’ and also a
series of other characteristics. The present processes of
technological and scientific advances, the internationalisation
of productive processes, markets and finances favour the
maximisation of profits and stimulate the concentration of
wealth and the centralisation of capital. These processes
demand the creation of blocs, the ending of economic barriers
and protection, de-nationalising of economies, the contraction
of and even the disappearance of the national state – of
which
the
attempt
at
substituting
the
Argentinean
In order to present a qualified political and ideological
government with an ‘international committee of economic
counterattack, it is necessary to understand the historical
management’ is a good example – the adoption of neoliberal
context, the present juncture and the geopolitical conditions
policies allowing the free flow of capital, all sorts of
that have allowed the offensive for the development of the
deregulation, reduction of public expenditure related to social
FTAA to thrive. Otherwise the fight against FTAA will amount
matters, and a brutal offensive against the rights of workers.
to empty statements and innocuous actions.
The world is now being threatened with the creation of
During the second half of the 20th century — as the
a worldwide state of totalitarianism. The general rules
USA reacted to the Cuban revolution, the cold war was still
regarding economic policies are formulated by international
very present and the ‘communist threat’ resulted in plain
financial organizations, the IMF and the World Bank, which
hysteria — the United States presented its ‘Alliance for
express the need of great multinational enterprises – whose
Progress’ that remained effective until the 1960s. It was
income represents one third of all world production – and of
presented as a means of integration and promotion of
the capitalist world powers. In the present stage – which
development, but was also the “American response to the
shows clear signs of senility – capitalism/imperialism will
efforts of the South-American countries to constitute the Latin
inevitably change in direct proportion to the increase in the
American Free Trade Association (LAFTA) in 1960 in order to
concentration
fight against the US rule and the commercial and economic
Neoliberalism, the transnational action of financial capital –
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of
capital,
wealth
and
Issue 5
political
power.
Year 2003
48
according to Lenin’s definition – and the formation of huge
countries are not yet in a position to threaten US power, they
regional blocks of countries spearheaded by the main
intend to dispute economic leadership of the world. It would
imperialist countries, all correspond to a vital need of
be too naïve not to realise that the world is becoming more
capitalism/imperialism in this stage.
and more divided into economic blocs, an irreversible
Thus FTAA is part of a strategy regarding the
tendency within the realm of the global capitalist economy.
appendage of markets and productive centres instead of
The European Union is now an accomplished entity that will
territories. It presents all the well-known elements of
dispute economic hegemony with US imperialism and later
imperialism’s neoliberal orientation.
the political and military hegemony, according to the interests
The imperialist initiative driving FTAA is also part of a
of the monopolist-imperialist European groups. Due to its
‘new world order’ being designed after the collapse of the
lasting crisis, Japan is in a different situation. But who could
Soviet Union and the countries that formed its area of
impede the creation of an Asian bloc under its decisive
influence. This was a typical phenomenon of the 1990s and is
influence?
still present today. The new order is not completely designed
If these considerations of the historical and geopolitical
since there are conflicting forces. It would therefore be hasty
context of which FTAA is part are true we cannot but reach
to say that its design conforms exactly to that desired by the
another conclusion – the United States needs it as an
United States, the world super-power.
essential element to fulfil its strategy of global dominion.
One cannot ignore that we live in a period of intense
The FTAA cannot be understood without a clear notion
global competition. At present there are two tendencies in the
of the current historical situation of the capitalist system. Is
dominant centres of world economic and political power. The
this system on the verge of reaching a new stage of
first – and for the moment the main one – is the constitution
expansive development, a contemporaneous ‘gold era’, or it is
of a unipolar superpower exercised by the United States, with
nothing but a vain illusion, a piece of propaganda designed to
a view to establishing its rule over the world, even by violent
disguise the systemic global crisis of capitalism? Technological
means, if necessary. There is also a tendency towards
development is not able to regenerate capitalism and give a
multipolarity that involves the formation of different poles of
start to a new stage of expansive growth. Another factor to
economic and political power in the world. This tendency
consider is that the technological-scientific revolution operates
opposes US plans and results from imperialist rivalries
according to the rules of capital. The more it is intensified and
between the USA and Europe and Japan. It is also related to
accelerated,
Russia, which also aspires to play an active role in the world,
contradictions of capitalism, especially the contradiction
and to the existence of countries such as Brazil. Depending
between the development of productive forces and production
on the orientation adopted, Brazil could become an influential
relations.
the
more
it
aggravates
the
antagonistic
force – at least in Latin America. There is also the
After the heady years of the Clinton era, a scenario of
development of socialist China towards major economic and
global and synchronic crisis is becoming real once again. It is
military power. Depending on the evolution of developments
not only a financial crisis, but it also involves the current
and the solutions provided to political matters, all those
overproduction
factors could result in agreements and alignments entirely
countries, especially in the United States, its epicentre. The
different and even contrary to those desired by US
crisis
Imperialism.
perceptible as the crisis of the capitalist system itself.
These
factors
and
tendencies
of
the
historical
development must be taken into account in order to
understand the FTAA and other components of US policy
related to south and central America. We must recognise –
and it is fundamental to the analysis – that the relative power
today of the US economy has declined in comparison with the
1950s. In the last 30 years other forces are have become
important, such as Japan and Germany. Although those
International Correspondence
of
in
both
neoliberal
peripheral
globalisation
countries
is
and
becoming
rich
clearly
Use of force policy
As it is a product of the objective contradictions of the
capitalist/imperialist system and is part of the strategy of
domination of the United States, the attempts to develop the
FTAA is bound to present contradictions which will engender
inevitable divergences and political conflicts. Therefore the
present context in which US imperialism’s use of force policy
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Debates-controversies
49
is intensified needs attention. Representing a right-wing,
consensus on this matter, these progressive forces must try
imperial,
Bush
to form a broad Latin American and Caribbean unity based on
has enormously increased the country’s
the understanding of the different tendencies of the
military budget and now, after tearing to pieces the anti-
contemporary world. It must favour multilateralism and the
missile treaty of 1972, it is pursuing a policy of nuclear
possibility of opening areas of cooperation and integration
superiority. After the attacks on 11 September 2001, the Bush
among
administration has created a dangerous doctrine stating that
hegemonic dominion scheme of the US imperialism. The only
“those who are not with us are either supporting terrorists or
alternative to the unipolar rule of the north American
are terrorists”, and inventing a supposed ‘axis of evil’ against
imperialist superpower is the concord and integration of
which it is necessary to fight.
peoples free from policies of annexation or subordination
unilateral
administration
and
militarist
tendency,
the
Latin America is not immune to those threats of
militarisation and political reaction. The offensive against the
sovereign
countries
and
peoples
outside
the
leading towards democracy, true independence and social
progress.
Colombian guerrillas, the conspiracy against the democratic
and popular government of Venezuela, the creation of military
bases in Andean countries and in the Caribbean, the
maintenance of a growing number of military ‘advisors’, the
holding of joint exercises involving Latin-American countries
and the United States are all indications that the US
imperialists are in a position and willing to face the ultimate
consequences in order to impede any political shock in the
region they consider to be their backyard. As the preparatory
measures are intensified for the development of FTAA, a
political and military interventionist plan designed by the US
imperialism aiming at Latin America is being put in place.
FTAA versus sovereign integration of
peoples
The struggle against the FTAA will not be easy, due to
the strategic interests listed above. In the present situation,
where the world balance of forces is so unfavourable to the
peoples, this struggle will only be successful – even though
partially – if the progressive forces recognise it as the
convergence of several elements, among which is the
competition between the United States and Europe and the
local resistance of portions of the dominant classes and the
armed forces in Latin American countries. In this scenario, the
Brazilian position will be of decisive importance and,
therefore, so will be its diplomatic conduct in the government.
This fact was shown in the importance of the debate over
FTAA in the recent presidential election in Brazil.
The challenge of dealing with the forced integrationism
of the FTAA must be faced primarily on the basis of the
internal unity of a progressive government with the broad
political and social forces that oppose neoliberalism and its
concrete expression in Latin America. Upon reaching the
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50
The New Partnership for Africa (NEPAD) :
What perspectives, what is at stake ?
By Lô Goumo Abdoul
Lecturer at Le Havre University (France), foreign delegate of
the Union of Progressive Forces (Mauritania)
After decades of ‘programmes’, ‘plans’, ‘projects’ and
‘initiatives’ of all kinds to pull Africa out of its centuries old
state of backwardness and oppression — each as ambitious
(and as disastrous) as the last — African public opinion, as
well as many sincere friends of the continent, had lost all
confidence in the capacity of its leaders to define and apply a
real common strategy of development. Apart, that is from the
various and ill-assorted policies of ‘economic revival’ or
‘growth’ and the ‘structural adjustment’ undertaken in the
framework
of
classical
neo-colonial
‘cooperation’
(Françafrique) or the redeploying of world finance capital lead
by the IMF or the World Bank.
One of the principle reasons for the discredit of the
African governing classes as a whole, as well as of the
existing institutions for cooperation or for continental or
regional integration such as the OAU, the CEDEAO1, SACD2
etc. was, on the one hand, the absence of any real
independence from certain foreign powers, on whom most of
their members were notoriously dependent and, on the other
hand, the proliferation, on the continent, of anti-popular,
dictatorial and corrupt political regimes.
Beginning in the late 1980s and early 1990s, some
important changes began to take place, principally in the
political field with the launching of ‘democratic processes’
which called into question the traditional vision of the
relations of neo-colonial ‘aid’ between Africa and the
imperialist great powers. New political leaders and a new civil
society began, little by little, to emerge from the political and
social interplay, requiring a new approach to the issues of the
development, collective autonomy and integration of the
African states.
The genesis and reception of NEPAD.
The
new
leaders,
resulting
in
the
main
from
context marked by the acceleration of the process of
globalisation and of the continent’s ‘switching off’ compared
with the rest of the world’s economy.
Opting resolutely for an ‘African’ reading of the causes
of the continent’s underdevelopment and basing itself on a
common and united approach, several initiatives were more
or less officially launched with a view to ensuring that, out of
emulation between the different projects, a strategy, a global
and consensual vision of an endogenous African development
might emerge.
A conception and approach which broke away from
the traditional ‘development aid’ in force until the end of the
1970s and whose failure had already been demonstrated by
the debt crisis and the neo-imperialist structural adjustment
programmes of the major international financial institutions.
The
NEPAD
(New
Partnership
for
African
Development) consists of just this — the first important
expression of independent thinking and initiative by the new
generation of African leaders since the 1980s (the notoriously
‘lost decade’) of submission to the arrogant and overpowering
ultra-liberal ‘single idea’.
Two projects enjoyed the support of the greatest
number and ended by fusing : one presented by Nelson
Mandela’s successor, Thabo Mbeki, and called the Millennial
African Plan (MAP) and one presented by the new Senegalese
President, Abdoulaye Wade named OMEGA3.
Adopted at the same time as the formation of the
African Union to replace the OAU, NEPAD very rapidly became
the centre of inter-African diplomatic concerns and the official
programmatic platform of the new-born African Union.
The declared objective of the initiative’s promoters is
to encourage, first of all, a mobilisation of the Africans
themselves, at the same time as the effective support of the
rest of the world to bring Africa out of its servitude and
backwardness to hitch it onto the ‘new’ world economy in full
expansion since the end of the cold war.
democratic elections, were, indeed, to renew the long
abandoned debate about ‘integration’ which was once again
considered the unavoidable perspective for any political action
and for the overall condition for an ‘African renaissance’ in a
1
2
Economic Community of West African States
Southern African Community for Development
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3
A panel of African heads of state, mandated by the extraordinary
OAU summit in Syrte, Libya, in March 2001 : Mbeki (South Africa),
Obesanjo (Nigeria), Bouteflika (Algeria), Wade (Senegal), and
Mubarak (Egypt) proposed the fusion of the two plans into a single
initiative. The New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) was
adopted with exceptional rapidity by all the African countries in the
framework of the OAU at the Lusaka Summit in July 2001 with the
support of the ECA (UN Economic Commission for Africa).
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Debates-controversies
Everyone is supposed to gain from this Pharaonic
enterprise.
51
realism of the African approach. But, more significantly, it can
be thought that it is the objective (catastrophic !) situation in
Apart from the African institutions, for which NEPAD
Africa at the present stage in the globalisation process, that
will be a godsend in regaining a certain credibility and
imposes the dictates of fate and leads the different controlling
mobilising, over and above the ruling circles, the major states
bodies of the world economy as well as the principal political
of the world and the financial institutions which will also be
leaders of the world to undertake more sustained efforts to
attracted by the realism of the African approach and its
bring Africa back into the mainstream of globalisation.
underlying optimism.
Left, till now, to lie fallow and forever doomed to being
Was this not a sort of last chance for the Africans to
a reserve continent — a reservoir of labour and of raw
take matters (back ?) into their own hands and join the high-
materials — Africa may now be in the process of becoming
speed train of liberal globalisation ?
the last frontier of the capitalist economy, which is becoming
Thus the G8, after giving its blessing to the fore
globalised after the dismantling of the Soviet bottleneck and
mentioned MAP at its Okinawa Summit, renewed its
its restrictive effects, including that of the full development of
confidence in the African leaders by officially supporting
capitalism in Africa.
NEPAD at its Genoa Summit in July 2001 and in deciding on
Thus, for world capitalism, it is a matter of taking an
consultations around its ‘Action Plan for Africa’. Thus, for the
interest in the development of African capitalism as was the
first time an official meeting took place at Kananaskis,
case, gradually, for the vast regions of the Asian continent
Canada, on 27 July 2002, between the four heads of state1
and South America, by offering tempting prospects of
making up the Committee for setting up NEPAD and members
investment to the world financiers, and opportunities for an
of the G8.
expansion of their markets to the major industrial groups. In
The same direction was taken by the World Bank and
a different context, this is similar to the setting up of the
the IMF (whose sole official concern, was to see the African
Marshall Plan by the American authorities to revive the war
leaders ‘put into practice’ their breach with fore-doomed
shattered European economy, which was indispensable for
commitments and weak-willed rhetoric) where resolutions of
the expansion of American big business — a vital outlet for its
support for NEPAD were adopted by the highest policy
exports.
making bodies of the two financial institutions.
The justifications for this massive and rather hasty
support were not lacking.
This, perhaps, is what explains the increasing interest
of the United States in a continent that, in the past, it
neglected and abandoned to the management of certain allied
They amounted, essentially, to the fact that NEPAD is,
great powers (essentially France and Great Britain) in the
in the words of Horst Koehler, Director General of the IMF, an
context of the cold war. It was already visible during the
“African concept, drawn up and being acted on by African
presidency of Bill Clinton (nicknamed ‘the African’ because of
leaders and their peoples”.
his repeated visits to this continent — unprecedented for an
But are these sufficient reasons for arousing such
American head of state). It was also seen in the decisive
enthusiasm, particularly on the part of representatives of
action, during the breaking-up of Zaire, to dissuade any
powers and institutions that, up to now, have been accused
French military intervention to save Marshal Mobutu, its long-
of bearing the main responsibility for the catastrophic overall
time ally, as well as in the adoption of the famous American
situation of the black continent ?
law on growth and trade in Africa (AGOA)2.
The dynamics and objectives of NEPAD
Over and above the proclaimed intentions of all of
The international community’s interest in NEPAD is
thus neither fortuitous nor strictly altruistic and humanitarian.
these bodies, and despite the appreciation some may have
regarding their respective interests in the work of this African
initiative, the extent of the support, on the continent and
internationally, is, no doubt, partly due to the lucidity and
1
Abdel Aziz Bouteflika (Algeria), Olesegun Obesanjo Nigeria),
Abdoulaye Wade (Senegal), and Thabo Mbeki (South Africa).
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2
This American initiative can be linked with a number of others
adopted by the international community in favour of the integration
of the continent into the present globalisation process, such as the
Euro-African Plan of Action drawn up in Cairo, the Strategic
Partnership for the reduction of poverty of the IMF, the Tokyo Action
Plan taken on Japanese initiative, and the New World Contract of the
UN Economic Commission for Africa.
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It is motivated by enlightened self interest, and is welded by
profit and guided by the lure of lucre.
If there is no invective or incrimination made directly
at the foreign powers, the latter easily recognise that they are
For the majority of African leaders, and particularly the
largely responsible in the description made of the place
direct promoters of NEPAD, the stakes are different —
hitherto reserved for the continent in the world economy
distanced from, without being totally in contradiction with,
(colonialism at first, then, in the post-colonial era, as a
those of the capitalist international community (far from it!).
reservoir of labour and raw materials).
In fact, whereas for the international community, as
Even the integration into the world’s economy, often
we have seen, the principal stake at issue with NEPAD is the
presented by the international institutions as the panacea, is
expansion of the world market, without this being a matter of
subjected to critical examination since “a greater integration
extreme urgency for the moment (the black continent only
has also led to still further marginalising countries that are
represents 1.7% of world trade), for the African leaders it is,
incapable of being really competitive. In the absence of just
without any exaggeration, neither more nor less than a
and equitable global rules, globalisation has increased the
matter of survival for the continent, as they recall in a
capacity of the stronger to promote their interests at the
detailed manner — even if this survival, for them, involves the
expense of the weaker, especially in the field of trade, finance
building of a vast capitalist economic field. Their real agenda
and technology. It has limited the capacity of developing
is to build an environment favourable to the establishment of
countries to control their own development. The conditions of
capitalism in Africa.
those who are marginalised in the process have worsened in
Here is the bleak picture of the situation they drew up
real terms. A split between inclusion and exclusion has
emerged inside the countries and between them ”.
to justify, in this way, the necessity of NEPAD :
- 340 million people (that is half of the population)
But the novelty of the NEPAD approach, and, that
living below the poverty threshold (i.e. less than $1
which has attracted the most attention and the thing that, no
per day)
doubt, has won the support of the lenders, is incontestably
- a death rate of 140 per 1000 inhabitants
the acknowledgement made in the African initiative of the
- a life expectancy of 54 years
continent’s own responsibility for its drift, particularly
- 18 telephones per 1000 people
regarding its governing class.
- only 41% of children over 15 years can read and
This responsibility is not only measured at its true
write ; etc.
value, thus following the very experience of the African
This tragic overall situation is contrasted with the
peoples, but it draws from it a series of conclusions for future
prosperity of the developed countries and is considered as an
African leadership.
expression of the “continued marginalisation of Africa in the
Apart from the criticism of submission to projects and
globalisation process and the social exclusion of the vast
programmes set up without any real participation by the
majority of its peoples”. For the African leaders, this situation
continent, such as the structural adjustment programmes,
is the result of the very nature of the relations between Africa
NEPAD stresses the unilateral approached, imposed from
and the rest of the world for generations, “for centuries”, and
above, of internal policies of ‘development’ that have
which have been perpetuated through the structures and
everywhere led to the demobilisation and marginalisation of
mechanisms of present day international relations. Thus,
the African peoples. Thus it is that “A great number
quoting the example of the 1970s, the NEPAD document
African governments have not authorised their people to
recalls that “when the African countries became members of
engage in development initiatives so as to realise their
the
the
creative potential”, which is the principal reason for the
credit/debt couple remained the logical basis for the
weakness of the African state, disconnected from African
development of Africa. Credit was translated into the dead
realities, without any real ambition or any real popular
end of indebtedness which, between reimbursements and
legitimacy. “Today, the weakness of the African state remains
rescheduling continues to hinder the growth of the countries
a major limitation to lasting development in a certain number
of Africa …”
of countries. … In fact, one of the major challenges for Africa
institutions
of
the
international
community,
of
is to strengthen the capacity to govern and to define long-
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Issue 5
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Debates-controversies
53
term policies”. The African leaders thus recognise “the failure
to spark off a real process of lasting development on the
of political and economic leaderships…” of the Africans as one
continent, in accordance with the concrete approach that
of the major causes of the permanently catastrophic state in
inspired the Senegalese President’s OMEGA Plan. These
which the whole of Africa lives.
priority areas being expected to have “a catalysing effect on
Furthermore, the African initiative makes “democratic
governance” one of the decisive aspects of its revival
programme.
future actions in other priority areas”.
In order that this programme be achieved, the authors
of this initiative stress, a certain number of conditions are
From an appreciation of the situation of the continent
necessary — namely the establishment of peace, of security,
as a whole, both in its relations with the rest of the world and
of democracy and good governance. Each of these conditions
in its internal management, a general philosophy and an
is the subject of special attention, since they determine the
action programme is derived which constitute an “African
realisation of internal factors (mobilisation of people and
strategy to ensure a lasting development in the 21st century”.
resources) and external ones (mobilisation of the foreign
NEPAD’s general philosophy is based on the principles
community of private and public financial backers) needed for
of “relying on its own forces”, “uniting to act and achieve
the success of Project Africa.
common objectives”, “establishing, with others, a mutually
But, beyond the good crafting of NEPAD, both in its
advantageous partnership”, “integrating into the world while
formal presentation and in its dynamism and objectives,
respecting the independence of each”.
which have attracted, as we have seen, the majority of the
This vision is expressed in the proclamation of a “new
continent’s potential partners, are there not obstacles that still
political will of African leaders” which henceforth takes note
arise regarding its application and which, if not removed, risk,
that “democracy and the legitimacy of the state have been
sooner or later, to add it to the already long list of African
redefined to include, as central elements, responsible
projects and programmes filed away and not followed up ?
government, a culture of human rights and the participation
Some formidable obstacles and some
perspectives to be revised
of the people”.
The agenda for African renewal is based, according to
NEPAD, on “national and regional priorities and development
plans which must be defined by a process of direct and
participative democracy” on the understanding that this
agenda is decided by Africans “on their own initiative and of
their own accord so as to determine their destiny
themselves”.
It thus makes “a call to the African peoples” in all their
diversity to “become aware of the gravity of the situation and
the necessity for mobilising to put an end to the continued
marginalisation of Africa and to promote its development by
reducing the gap that separates it from the developed world”.
This is the fundamental condition for the success of the
“project for African renaissance”, dear to the South African
leadership and advanced by NEPAD.
The obstacles to NEPAD’s achievement are many.
Some are traditional ones in Africa’s long march to get out of
its backwardness. Others are, paradoxically, caused or
aggravated by the progress that is taking place in Africa, and
deserve, for this reason, close attention.
The first and most terrifying of the obstacles is the
continent’s
instability
and
the
strong
tendency
for
intermediary and major zones of conflict to spread. This
generalisation means that not only are more and more
countries affected by these conflicts but that they tend to
widen by ‘leap frogging’ from country to country in a sort of
‘array of conflicts’ of which the Great Lakes provides a tragic
example, where no less than eight different countries2 have
been directly involved in the fighting.
But, according to its promoters, the originality of
NEPAD, unlike all the preceding plans and initiatives aimed at
promoting the development of the continent, lies above all in
its action programme, set up as a framework of global and
sectorial measures combined with a timetable of short-term
actions. A certain number of issues1 are identified as priorities
1
They are essentially infrastructures, human resources, health,
International Correspondence
information and communication technology, agriculture, fuel and
power and access to the markets of developed countries for African
exports.
2 These consist, apart from the central authorities of the Democratic
Republic of Congo and the various military-political movements
backed by foreign powers that are fighting against it, Rwanda,
Burundi, Uganda, Angola, Namibia and Chad.
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54
The Liberian inferno has spread to Sierra Leone and
the countries’ instabilities, African leaders have difficulty in
now directly threatens Guinea Conakry where savage fighting
defining a common and realistic approach, constantly
has ‘mysteriously’ broken out in the last two years.
hesitating between a misplaced interventionist logic often
The war in southern Sudan has had repercussions in
the murderous fighting in Uganda between the government
dictated by external necessities (let’s-act-before-others-do-so)
or a tragi-comic indifference (let-the-crisis-ripen) !
and the uprising of the ‘Army of the Lord’ and is also
The other inhibiting obstacle to the application of
threatening, as if by some maelstrom effect, to lead to a war
NEPAD concerns the persistence — the accentuation, even —
between, Eritrea (which has barely reached a peace
of certain geopolitical fracture lines on the continent and the
agreement with its Ethiopian neighbour) and the Sudan.
strengthening of ultra-nationalism in a number of African
The civil war in Casamance between the Senegalese
central
government
destabilised
relations
and the
MFDC1
between
that
secessionists has
country
and
its
neighbours, Guinea Bissau and Gambia.
countries.
National struggles for influence are multiplying within
the organs of the African Union at the very moment when
NEPAD is bringing integration back into fashion. The different
The Ivory Coast crisis, which has developed into a civil
organs anticipated are the object of intense envy and
war is in danger of setting alight the whole region of west
manoeuvres, as seen during the last OAU summit in Durban
Africa with a serious danger of confrontation between that
(South Africa) in July 2002.
country and its neighbours such as Burkina Faso and Mali,
The sub-regional ambitions have a free rein and fuel
because of the xenophobic ethnic identification of the
fratricidal quarrels and controversies (for example for the five
different groups and the resulting hostility to many people
seats of the new African Union’s Peace and Security Council),
originating from these countries and living in an Ivory Coast
particularly between English speaking and French speaking
obsessed by ‘Ivority’.
countries, to the utter despair of the partisans of Union Now
In fact, virtually all African countries are in danger of
(Libya …). Any localised initiative, be it even for peace, gives
erupting, against a background of essentially chaotic,
rise to interminable back-stage manoeuvres or to polemics
communal and disruptive conflicts (‘Somalisation’).
over precedence (as, for example over the Madagascar or
Moreover these conflicts break out or spread following
Ivory Coast crises).
a biased democratic process in which the principal actors
These ferocious internal struggles that increasingly
(political parties, groups within civil society etc.) are only
poison the political atmosphere can, perhaps, be explained by
concerned with their particular and immediate interests and
the interest that the international community is taking, for the
do not hesitate to have recourse to the ultimate weapon of
first time a very real one, in the NEPAD which prefigures, in a
violent confrontation at the expense of any compromise or
certain way, the building of an integrated economic whole for
search for progressive or consensual solutions, in total
the continent, along the lines of the iron logic of present
ignorance of the positive experience of certain of them, such
globalisation. However, everyone is trying to get into position
as South Africa.
for eventual sub-regional or even continental leadership.
Democratic political struggles, far from arousing the
This interest and vigour of the African leaders in
mobilisation and unity of peoples, more and more provoke, on
defending NEPAD to the financial backers could, moreover, be
the contrary, regionalist or communal over-bidding, blind
contrasted with the disinterest of African public opinion on the
hatred of others and ethnic or even tribal wars. Everywhere,
subject, mainly due to the poor information about the
in the absence of any clear and judicial vision of political
initiative being given in each of the member countries. In this
struggle, African leaders (in power or out) have experienced
the African leaders are far from breaking the lamentable
their inability to escape from this chronic instability, this
tradition
primary obstacle to genuine pluralist democracy and to the
international commitments, even ones having such a decisive
application of NEPAD.
impact for every one of them as NEPAD.
In
of
pre-
or
post-election
keeping
their
peoples
ignorant
of
their
crisis
It is certain that, in view of some these obstacles, the
management, which has now become the principal factor of
intermediate aims set by NEPAD to gear up the ‘strategic’
1
questions
of
The Casamance Democratic Forces’ Movement.
International Correspondence
dynamic of African rebirth is in danger of appearing
Issue 5
Year 2003
Debates-controversies
completely unachievable and even unrealistic, even if backed
by the international community.
55
NEPAD is henceforth an initiative integrated into the
African Union to whose working mechanisms and structures it
Indeed, in an unstable continent, where the leaders
is tied.
still lack any political culture of compromise and long term
But, taking into account the issues at stake and the
common interest, both in their internal governance or their
particularly ambitious objectives of its initiators, it is certain
relations with their neighbours ; where national and
that NEPAD is in danger of becoming stuck in the globalising
continental solidarity is still a wild pipe-dream ; where
sand dunes of the African Union and its ‘unanimity-seeking’
corruption and gangster-like practices are often the rule,
decision making mechanisms.
swallowing into unfathomable abysses the sparse resources
NEPAD, made into the instrument of an ‘African
still available in places ; in a word, how, in a continent still
renaissance’ risks becoming just one more ‘gimmick’ in the
deeply marked by its colonial and neo-colonial past and where
machinery of imagination of the African leaderships, just one
the slightest spark ignite a forest fire — how, in such an
more reason for the continents’ partners to become blasé by
unpromising context can one hope to “reach an annual
the skill in producing projects of continent where everything
average growth in gross domestic product (GDP) of over (sic)
has always succeeded — except escaping from its shilly
7% and maintain it for 15 years … ; halve the number of
shallying state of mind.
people living in extreme poverty between 1990 and 2015 ;
Would it not have been better for NEPAD, for once, to
ensure schooling for all children of primary school age by
be considered as a challenge which only accepted those
2015 ; … reduce the rate of infant mortality by two thirds
states which fulfilled membership criteria, clearly established
between 1990 and 2015 ; reduce the rate of deaths in
at the outset by its initiators (in terms of economic health,
childbirth by three quarters ; ensure that all who need it have
good democratic practice and stability) to which other states
access to health services by 2015” — as the NEPAD document
could join once they met the conditions of good economic,
so proudly claims ?
political and social governance, and thus could enjoy
Still in the this area of critical thought, one could also
adequate international support.
point out the uncertainties and incoherence not only of the
Briefly, it would have been better for South Africa,
programme but of the methods and institutions that
Senegal and the countries close to their standard of general
traditionally have befogged best intentions in Africa and
governance to set up integrating mechanisms and structures
compromise
capable of evolving, supported by NEPAD and based on the
the
success
of
a
number
of
previous
experiments, announced with great solemnity.
principle of the ‘election’ of beneficiaries to partnership and
These are the oversimplified globalisation that tends to
not of self-appointment, as is the case at the moment — with
place all the states on the same level for sharing the
the option of linking the framework thus created to the
experience of the union, without any conditions and
African Union as a whole.
restrictions, and which transforms all the shares of action into
This would, perhaps, have been a way to avoid the
‘forums’, ‘platforms’, and other unending talking shops. There
dangers of ‘approaching development through projects’ by
are neither ‘good’ nor ‘bad’ pupils — all are in the same boat
taking measure of the seriousness of the states concerned to
and there without the stimulus of good experience or guide
leave the beaten track of ‘white elephants’ which has been
model to follow and spread its influence. All African
the official and traditional custom of Africa and making the
institutions
‘renaissance’ something more than just a simple slogan of
are
based
on
the
principle
of
automatic
membership, without any other limitation for its potential
members than those imposed by a more or less precarious
balance of forces.
political marketing.
Were these not the stakes and perspectives defined
and mapped out by the initiators of NEPAD ?
This has always been the case, from the OAU (now the
African Union), as well as the regional organisations
(CEDEAO, SADC, UMA1 …) whose members are coopted
solely on the basis of geographic or geo-cultural criteria.
1
Union du Maghreb Arabe (Arab Maghreb Union).
International Correspondence
Issue 5
Year 2003
56
Summary of previous issues
No 2, 2000
The new series was launched in 1996, with two
transitional issues (one in 1997, one in 1998). Since
1999, one issue has been published each year.
Spotlight : West Timor, Angola (MPLA); Serbia (SPS’
congress); Portugal : country of contrasts and elections.
1997
International
Dossier : progressive European meeting in Paris (press
release, all the speeches and presentations of parties).
Spotlight : Interview with Francis Wurtz (French CP);
South African CP; Labour Party and British Left; PDS and PRC
(Italy); CoC and Labor Party (United States). Elections in 14
countries.
International Events : Interview with Julio Anguita;
European
radical
left;
50th
Congress
of
Socialist
China /Vietnam.
2000. Debates-controversies : What socialism for the 21st
century? Contributions from Corbyn (GB), Cronin (South
Africa),
Trushkov
(Russia),
Risquet
(Cuba),
Ikonowicz
(Poland). Seen through periodicals : After the war against
Yugoslavia : Globalisation and Imperialism …
No 3, 2001
Spotlight : Palestine : The long march towards a
Palestinian state. India : interview with H.S. Surjeet, general
secretary of CPI(M). China : the Chinese CP and market
socialism; Sudan; Philippines; Romania ...
Elections : Romania, Poland, Lithuania, Mongolia,
Spotlight : Indonesia. Congo-Brazzaville : transitions;
Democratic Socialist (USA); Colombia : guerrilla movements
(FARC, ELN...) …
Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan. International Events : third meeting
of Al Mathaba (Libya); Conference in Paris, Stockholm; Rosa
Luxembourg Foundation (Germany), World Peace Council,
Anti-NATO Centre, Second friendship with Cuba meeting.
Elections (in 10 countries).
International Events : Saõ Paulo Forum; 7th meeting
of Latin-American Socialist Coordination; Fortaleza group in
Buenos Aires; Meeting in Asunción; 3rd Franco-African
Forum; Party of European Socialists; Third World Forum;
Debates-Controversies : What socialism for 21st
century ?, Contributions from Jose-Luis Nuñez (Spain), Samir
Amin
(Egypt),
left forces in Berlin; meeting of communist parties in Athens;
Summit of Japan and Chinese CPs.
struggles
:
South
African
trade
unions
(COSATU).
Xuan
Hieu
(Vietnam),
Hassan
Charfo
(Bohemia-Moravia)
No 4, 2002
WFDY; Seminar on Communist Manifesto in Paris, Meeting of
Spotlight :
Revolution
and
counter-revolution
in
Venezuela. Elections :Mauritania, Poland, Bulgaria, Moldavia,
Cyprus, Berlin, Argentina, Nicaragua, Honduras.
International events : Coordination of west African
No 1, 1999
parties, Sao’s Paulo Forum, Transform network.
Dossier : The war in Yugoslavia : a challenge for the
left (analysis by continent and sub-continent of left forces
statements).
Spotlight : Interview with Ramon Balaguer (PB of
Cuban CP); India : towards elections; Russia : revenge of
oligarchy; South Africa : CP congress, SACP document : ‘our
Marxism’. Elections ….
International Events : Blairism, the left and European
elections etc.
Social
Democratic
Social Struggles : Ecuador : movement of 21 January
1998
Social
International
Prague, Mexico etc. International organisations of maoists.
etc.
Russia. Debates-Controversies : Economic reform in Cuba/
:
Resistance; meetings in Wuhan, Limassol, Nal’Chik, Oslo,
International; São Paulo Forum meeting; Fourth International
Social Struggles: Brazil : landless peasants; strikes in
Events
Struggles
:
Poland,
controversies : left journals in the USA.
Australia.
Debates-
Debate-controversies :
What
socialism
for
21st
century ? (F. Melo, A. Mohamed, Robert Hue, Daniel Cirera,
Yu Wenlie). International situation (G.Thürmer, Zhiyou Cui,
Wengdond Luo, Fausto Sorini, Karen Talbot)
1991 - 1996 Collected issues
All the issues of the ‘first period’ have been
republished in a single volume, but solely in French. In total,
there are nearly 600 pages of information and analysis,
access to which is facilitated by an index of 1,750 entries, by
theme and by proper names. Price 60 euros (Institutions
120 euros) plus cost of postage.