ARGENTINIAN BOURGEOISIE FEARS "RED REVOLUTION" IMMINENT by Jim Wilcox
larger scale in the past few weeks: some 2% million workers occupied hundreds of factories in the course of the "combat plan" of the CGT (Argentinian TUC). Newgeck commented: "The tactic (of occupying factories) was first introduced two years ago by a non-Feronist union, and it brought immediate results. Plagued by overproduction, limited markets and the lack of working capital, factory owmers often found strikes welcome respites. But being held as hostages b ry workers was something else again." However, the comment on the recent occupations was as follows: "The CGT's combat plan was not very combative. In most instances the workers simply closed down «a plant by welding the gates shut, locked up a few unpopular foremen and executives in a storeroom, and then waited for the police to free them. Rarely did the whole operetion take more than a day nor was it meant to. The CGT told its © members to leave firearms at home and offer no resistance to the policesese He (the General Secretary of the CGT) promised that the one day take~ overs would continue until June 15 when every plant and business would be occupied simultaneously by its workers = unless, of course, the CGT's demands are met." These demands include a minimum wage of 130 dollars a month (the current average wage is 7Odollars a month) , reduction of the 1% unemployment, an end to inflation which has caused prices but not wages to gsrow by 20% since December, and an end to the repressive laws against Perinists and Communists.
The Newsweek report continues: "The dangor is, however, that workers! takeovers can easily escalate into revolts and, indeed, most Argentine industrialists consider them the first stage in a 'Red Revolution'....Fortun= ately CGT boss Alonso has so far elected not to exploit the Government's softness by pressing for revolutionary measures. Yet the crucial question remains - if the CGT does not get its demands and does take over every business in Argentina, what happens next?" (For the background to the Argentinian situation see Alberto Ciria's article in Week No. 8). Ed. Notes The latest news we have to hand on the Argentine situation is that the state prosecutor has demanded the banning of various trade unions and the arrest of and indictment ageinst 7 CGT secretaries and 110 branch secretaries, The CGT has declared a state of alert and the strikes and occupations continues