[on BM Box 5355. London WCIN 3XX persons…]

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on BM Box 5355. London WCIN 3XX persons or segments which are in favour of broad democracy for the popular masses, independent development and popular freedom.

The programme goes on to call for the nationalisation of foreign trade, electricity, oil and banks, but:

"all without affecting the small and medium companies, which will be given stimulus and MAY I HAVE THE LAST SLIDE, PLEASE? ..THANK YOU. change of allegiance appears to be their calculation that the repression was simply fuelling resistance and stood no chance of ensuring prolonged stability of economic development.

In addition, their political weight and 'respectability' has been lent to the FDR only on the understanding that its programme is restricted to reforming the most brazen aspects of THUS IS AN AGRIAL VIEW OF JUST ONE OF THE DOZENS OF CUBAN-STLE ARMY BASES BEING BUILT IN NICARAGUA TODAY. NOTICE THE SOMET-STYLE TRAINANG GROUND ANTH ROMANIAN-BACKED NICARAGUANS IN NOTH KOREAN-MADE SNEAKERS DOING CUBAN-STYLE PUSH-UPS. component groupings.

One clear example of this is the Popular Revolutionary Block (BPR), which split from the Communist Party in 1969-70). Its leader. Cayetano Carpio* formerly General Secretary of the CP, as recently as February 1980 denounced Ruben Zamora as 'in close alliance with the NOTICE, TOO, THE SOMEFSTYLE OBANS WEARING CZECH -INSPIRED FATIGUES HAVING LINCH WITH CUBAN-TRAINED NICARAGUANS IN THE BULGARIAN-BUILT MESS TENT. monopoly capital has been penetrating our economy." (The People's Alternative, 11 July 1976).

'Marcial' and head of the FMLN, • Cayetano Carpio, known as recently committed suicide following the murder in Nicaragua of fellow commander Ana Maria.

GREAT PHOTOS, GENERAL, WHATS THAT THEYRE i" EATING?

SOVIET-STYLE PIZZA.

OBTa

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adorean "Democratic Revolutionary Front"

We must aid the struggle of the left-wing fighters the left organisations The BPR argued instead for "revolutionary Front" , which they insisted must:

"a) be led and oriented in its ruggle by the proletariat and is revolutionary principles, the indispensible condition of the Popular Revolution towards b) have as its fundamental triving force the worker-peasant alliance, based on the revolubonary alliances of the people. The worker-peasant alliance will dave to draw around itself the advanced members of the petty -ourgeoisie and of the middle *rata...

(The People's Alternative)

But though breaking from the CP, the BPR did not break from talinist politics - and instead _poked to the alternative arieties of cross-class alliance agued by Mao and the Vietdamese leader Giap. It did not tress the leading role and →ulitical independence of the working class - leaving the mussibility of dissolving that dependence into the confusion • a future Revolutionary Pront"

The events of Nicaragua appear to have tipped the balance in this regard and conrinced the BPR leaders that the Irategy they fought against for ten years should in fact be applied, and that they should join the struggle for a government which, in Cayetano'swords:

"will not be socialist, bur, rather, a government that, with the efforts of the entire people, will build an economy on the soviet basis of independence and sovereign development."

Similarly• the Nicaraguan revolution undermined the political stand of the FAPU, which was set up in 1974 from a group of trade union caucuses to the left of the CP. In February 1980, FAPU declared (correctly) that:

'the fundamental social classes are the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and that the struggle between these two classes constitutes, without any doubt, the essential nucleus of class struggle in El Salvador."

(Polemica Internacional, But only a month later the same grouping was arguing that:

"the second lesson which the Sandinista Revolution has taught us is the necessity of In February 1980, then guerilla leader Cayetano Carpio above centre, with Nicaraguan leaders Borge and Ortega) a nounced former jun man Zamora (far right) as a close ally of the US State Department. A month later he welcomed Zamora and social democratic leader Ungo (right) into FDR. establishing the broadest alliances democratic torces...

(Pueblo, 10 March 1980).

In other words at a point where the Salvadorean Communist Party was hopelessly discredited by its participation in the 1979 junta, and its political line of collaboration with the bourgeoisie was wide open to attack from the left, a misreading of the lessons of the Nicaraguan revolution led the left instead to capitulate to the Communist Party.

Small wonder that with FDR firmly established o: THE Salvadorean regime nor democracy but has reverte attempts to smash the worker: arises the workforce. Strik disobeying orders. Decree 1! municipal workers. Decree 31 union (STECEL) after a oneconfessions obtained by tortur reformist - albeit radical -platform, it has drawn diplomatic support from bourgeois governments in Mexico and elsewhere, fulsome praise from the class collaborators of the so-called "Socialist International' and the backing of the Stalinist leaders of Moscow and Havana, who have all joined attempts to pressure Reagan to negotiate a settlement with the FDR.

The paradox is that while the fighting in the field and the mass popular support which constitute the negotiating strength of the FDR come from the left wing forces, the top-level talks and political manoeuvres are largelý in the hands of the bourgeois leaders who have little if any mass support in El Salvador. .

While it is clearly the case that solidarity with the Salvadorean struggle must at the present time be directed through the centralised fronts -the FDR and FMLN — it is also important that this is not confused with acceptance of the political line and strategy of the FDR leadership, or advocacy of the type of bourgeois reformist government which they propose.

We must find every way possible to aid the struggles of the left wing fighters in El Salvador in defeating imperialism and its stooge regime: but we must recognise that there can be no long term solution to the problems of the working masses of El Salvador without the overthrow of capitalist rule. We must counterpose to the petty bourgeois call for a cross-class "popular, democratic government" the demand for a workers' and peasants' government with no bourgeois parties or ministers.

As the Trotskyist Transitional Programme pointed out in w speaks occasionally of political d to outright repression in its s' movement, e.g., Decree 44 militers can be court-martialled for 96 outlaws strikes by public and 66 disbanded the power workers' day strike and Decree 507 legalises re.

1938: 'When the party of the proletariat refuses to step beyond bourgeois-democratic limits, its alliance with the peasantry is simply turned into a support for capital as was the case with the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries in 1917, with the Chinese Communist Party in 1925-27, and is now the case with the "People's Front"

in Spain, France and other countries".

To these examples could of course be added the tragic lessons of the Chilean "Popular Unity" government in which the ''Marxist" Allende and his supDRU FDR FDS CRM. PSC MNR UDNporters tied the Chilean workers movement to an alliance with "progressive" capitalists_ and generals.

In El Salvador, as in Nicaragua and every country where mass movements against imperialism have fallen under the leadership of the petty bourgeosie we raise clearly the demand for a workers' and peasants' government. As Trotsky points out:

"Of all parties and organisations which base themselves on the workers and peasants and speak in their name we demand that they break politically from the bourgeoisie and enter upon the road of struggle for a workers' and farmers' (peasants') government.

On this road we promise them full support against capitalist reaction. At the same time we indefatigably develop agitation around those transitional demands which should in our opinion form the programme of the 'workers' and farmers' government' "

Marxists There are large forces among the rank and file of the left wing organisations, in the trade unions and in the guerrilla groups that already see themselves as Marxists engaged in Make up of the opposition in PCS ERP UDN LP-28 PCS FPL FAR ERP Direccion Revolucionaria Unificada Frente Democratico Revolucionario Frente Democratico Salvadoreno' Coordinadora Revolucionaria de Masas Partido Social Cristiano Movimiento Nacionalista Revolucionario Union Democratica Nacionalista the ism.

In driving a wedge between the healthy, militant forces of the oppressed on the one hand, and the 'liberal' bourgeoisie and their petty bourgeois allies on the other, a programme transitional demands must be developed which centres on the independent role and class interests of the proletariat.

Militias

This must include the central demand for the formation of armed workers' militias, based on the factories and working class neighbourhoods, to defend trade, union organisation and revolutionary militants against state and right wing violence.

In this way any tendency of workers to rely for their protection on petty bourgeois guerrilla groups can be combatted and new blows struck at the regime.

At the same time the economic demands of both the working class and the poor peasantry must be given a clear-cut socialist answer.

In particular it is important to raise the demand for the opening of the books of indusiry, of the banks, of the large agricultural suppliers and transport concerns, to show how both the workers and the poor peasants are exploited to boost the El Salvador FPL: FARN MPLI BPR FAPU CRA DRU LP-28 BPR FAPU MPL PCS ERP FARN profits not only of imperialist finance capitalists but also of "democratic". capitalists in El Salvador itself (who oppose the present regime because they see it as simply an obstacle to further extension of their own profit-taking).

Wedge Thus the demand for the opening of the books can assist to drive the wedge between the exploited and the exploiters in the cross-class FDR, laying the basis for agitational work designed to mobilise a workerled alliance of workers and poor peasants in the revolutionary expropriation of capitalism in El Salvador.

The demand must be raised alongside demands on wages, and demands for a programme of public works to create jobs for the mass of unemployed.

And socialists must insist in El Salvador as in every other struggle that such revolutionary demands can be fought out successfully only under the leadership of an independent proletarian revolutionary party that has absorbed the lessons of betrayals under reformist, Stalinist and nationalist leaderships in the last sixty years and firmly grasped the necessity to carry through the struggle to the establishment of socialism.

MNR PSC Coalition FDS FDR (1980)

Ligas Populares 28 de Febrero Bloque Popular Revolucionario Frente de Accion Popular Unificada Movimiento Popular de Liberacion Partido Communista de El Salvador Ejercito Revolucionario del Pueblo Fuerzas Armadas de Resistencia Nacional

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Socialist Organiser no.131 May 12 1983 Page LAST WEEK, Iran's Islamic Republican Party (IRP) regime dissolved the Tudeh Party (the Moscow-loyal Iranian 'Communist' Party).

The IRP regime has long ranked amongst the world's being a Soviet spy: 'There was espionage, deceit, treachery. These are serious aberrations and they deserve the most severe punitive actions that the Islamic Republic may decide to mete out."

The irony of this confession should not be overlooked. In iately after the Pasdaran commander had met with Khomeini to discuss what should be done. and yet it is Khomeini who is meant to be the head of the "progressive" line in the regime!

Having spent so much time and energy whitewashing the Khomeini - 'anti-

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TROOP NOW!

There are large forc that see themselves as Marxists