Slaughter in Guatemala

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the working class districts that halted all buses. Now the buses are running thanks only to military escorts - and the milit ancy and anger of workers continues to mount.

The 'Movement against the Cost of Living' has been organised on this upsurge of working class action. In the city of Belo Horizonte, bus fare increases had to be withheld for fear of provoking a national mobilisation on the issue.

They have now been imposed on the basis of an army takeover of the entire town centre. Victoria, Manaus and Fortaleza have also seen class battles over transport.

Squatting

As the capitalist crisis throws more and more workers out of jobs. leaving them without any form of unemployment benefits, payment of exorbitant rents has become a sharper and sharper focus of struggie. Workers have turned to mass boycotts The number of assassinations, acts of torture and mutilation, and wholesale massacres continues to increase under the bloody regime of Gen. Romeo Lucas Garcia another one of Reagan's Central American allies in the bosses' crusade against mass resistance to poverty and oppression.

'White Hand', 'An eye for an eye' and other bosses' death squads are operating with barelydisguised support from the official armed forces _ in fact, most of the death squad butchers are during their working hours members of these official forces.

The murder of workers. peasants and militants has long been crucial to the protection of bosses' rule in Guatemala. But today's rate of murder is beginning to rival even the horrors of El Salvador.

At least 400 people have been butchered this year. And still the heroic fighting spirit of working people is unbroken. More and more are turning to the Guerrilla Army of the Poor and other organisations to build their defences and take forward the struggle.

Alliances As in El Salvador, the danger is that the top lead. ership of the guerrilla armies, trade unions and mass parties will seek to tie the workers and oppressed to alliances with their political parties and their supporters amongst the army officers.

Independent These people may opposed to the Lucas regime and its imp rialist backers - but they are even more opposed to the independent strength and interests of the working people.

Gunpoint

They stand for the reorganisation of capitalist rule - while the most basic needs and demands of the mass of the people can only be met through the overthrow of all forms of capitalist exploitation and oppression.

Mexico's Lopez Portillo who like to parade as a 'democratic' supporter of the Salvadoran oppressed, recently showed his true colours in relation to the struggle of the Guatemalan oppressed. In July, he expelled 2000 Guatemalan refugees at gunpoint, fearing that they might give ideas to the oppressed Mexicans.

When it comes to thé crunch, 'democratic' bosses and their spokespersons will always act in defence of the private property and profits of their class.

Lucas Garcia

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Socialist Organiser, Thursday 12 November 1981 Page 5