SALVADORAN TRADE UNION COORDINATOR.
"THE STRUGGLES OF
THE WORKING CLASS AND
PEOPLES AND
THE
INTER-IMPERIALIST
DISPUTES"
A combative and supportive greeting on behalf of the Salvadoran Trade Union Coordinator. We especially greet the Revolutionary Youth of Ecuador and the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Ecuador for organizing this seminar. Likewise, to the different popular, trade union, political and revolutionary organizations that are participating and giving life to this important platform that allows us to express ourselves and discuss the problems of the revolution in our countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The theme of this 27th SIPRAL allows us to take stock of two situations; on the one hand, the inter-imperialist disputes, and on the other, the struggle of the working class and peoples.
In this sense, it is necessary to be clear about the basis of our approaches to imperialism, since we cannot only speak in general of imperialism; that can be done by anyone who belongs or does not belong to our proletarian class. Just as one is not a Marxist who only recognizes the class struggle and denies the dictatorship of the proletariat, neither can one be a Marxist-Leninist who considers that there are "good" imperialists and "bad" ones, that one must wager on a "multipolar" world, or worse, that there is a "savage" capitalism but that it can be "humanized". Many of these deviations about imperialism have caused and continue to cause much damage to our movement, as they disorient the struggle of the working class from achieving the goal of the seizure of power. Instead of taking advantage of the inter-imperialist and inter-bourgeois disputes or contradictions that currently exist, we weaken ourselves in discourses that end up falling into opportunism, in continuing to reproduce theses such as those of the 20th Congress of the CPSU of 1956 about "peaceful competition", "peaceful coexistence" and "peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism", or even older theses such as those proposed by the Second International.
In this period of development of capitalism, imperialism, we find the big monopolies, the capitalist states and their associations in conflict and vying for control of territories or regions for the extraction of raw materials, energy sources, transportation routes, energy sources, markets, etc. In different parts of the world, especially in Asia and Africa, wars are being waged with tragic results for the peoples and the working class, wars that are promoted and financed by the imperialist powers in favor of their monopolies; billions of euros, dollars, rubles, yuan are being invested in the arms industry. Government budgets intended to meet popular needs are being channeled into banks and big business, rescue plans are being drawn up and state-owned enterprises are being privatized. Fascist "puppets" or "personalities" or fascist-tinged governments are being used to carry out imperialist plans and keep the people subjected. Coups d'état are promoted to impose governments in favor of one or another imperialist power, as is currently happening in some African countries; terrorism, dirty and low-intensity warfare are still used. In almost every corner of the world the impact and consequences of imperialist and bourgeois struggles are being felt, which tend to become more and more acute; the crisis of the system is deepening and each solution proposed within the framework of capitalism, in addition to perpetuating its existence, sinks it deeper into crisis. The imperialist alliances such as the BRICS led by China and Russia that recently had their 15th summit do not represent an alternative for the peoples but a way out so that the so-called emerging economies can compete with their hegemonic rivals and continue to reproduce the system.
One of the great tasks we have is to deepen this analysis of imperialism with Marxist-Leninist criteria; we must strengthen our positions whose foundation is the class struggle, clarify to the people and the working class the nature of the system and define the tasks. Marxism-Leninism, scientific socialism, makes it possible to understand the laws of the system, to scientifically pose the bases of exploitation and to define the historical project of the proletariat. And above all we must always bear in mind that "Imperialism is the eve of the socialist revolution of the proletariat." (V.I. Lenin).
ON THE NATIONAL REALITY IN EL SALVADOR
In El Salvador we are at a very difficult juncture due to the Bukele government, which has already completed more than three years in the executive branch. His government has meant a hard blow for the unions and social organizations; however, there are still organizations like ours that have been able to confront the attacks and attempts to want to drown out any voice that denounces the anti-labor, anti-union, anti-popular and anti-democratic measures of the current government.
It has been more than a year since the emergency regime was imposed, a measure that has served on the one hand to contain the rise of the gangs, but at the same time to contain and impose terror on the popular struggles. About twenty union leaders and unionized workers have been arrested so far by the regime; of them, one died behind bars, dozens of community leaders such as those of Santa Marta and Cabañas are imprisoned.
The indigenous populations of the west of the country have been severely hit; children of indigenous leaders are imprisoned as in the case of the sons of tata Santos Zetino, from San Antonio del Monte, or the children of other leaders from Nahuizalco and other areas of Sonsonate. Organized communities in Chalatenango or the Bajo Lempa Zone (San Vicente or Usulután) are being harassed by the army and police. Approximate 65,795 people have been arrested from last year until March 15, 2023, and more than a hundred have died.
This represents a panorama in which two percent of the adult population of El Salvador is held in prisons; that is, there are 1,200 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, mostly young people between the ages of 18 and 30. The government in its propaganda accuses all these detained people as being "gang members or terrorists" and anyone who criticizes the emergency regime or government measures can easily be arrested, accused of collaborating with gangs.
Last year, in the first months of the implementation of the emergency regime, the Minister of Labor, Rolando Castro made the call and even gave the order to the National Civil Police to proceed against all the people who took to the streets to demonstrate to commemorate May 1st, accusing all the demonstrators of being collaborators with the gangs.
As organizations we see the actions undertaken by the government as a great danger since the Constitution of the Republic is being easily manipulated by the ruling party to favor its business group and the capitalist class of which it is its representative.
The blows that the ruling majority bloc of New Ideas has been giving out, from the Legislative Assembly to the Judicial Power, only suit the interests of the economic group that Bukele represents and some oligarchic sectors. The three branches of government are controlled by the ruling party, just as institutions such as the Office of the Procurator for the Defense of Human Rights (PDDH) are kneeling to the regime. This situation closes off the democratic openings in the country and puts in place an authoritarian, dictatorial and militarized government like those we had at the time of the military dictatorships from 1932 to 1979.
The working class has been hit hard since Bukele's coming to office. Since June 1, 2019, approximately 12,637 illegal and forced layoffs have been carried out in the executive branch in more than 45 government agencies. In about 25 municipalities governed by the ruling party, 3,838 layoffs were added and in the Legislative Assembly 2,550 workers were dismissed. In total, the number of layoffs in different state and municipal agencies (as of March 2023) amounts to 19,025 people. (According to data presented by the Permanent Table for Labor Justice – MPJL.) On the other hand, in the private sector, especially in the textile industry where mostly women work, 3,331 layoffs were reported as of January of this year, due to the closure or reduction of personnel in at least thirteen factories established in the different Free Zones of the country.
The State has been one of the main violators of labor rights and has focused its attack on the union organization, the imposition of Rolando Castro as Minister of Labor has caused many unions to become illegal since legal status is not granted to organizations that are not pro-government; also, there have been delays in providing authorization to the leading bodies for up to nine months; it has taken over large unions such as the historic STISSS. The Ministry of Labour continues to be useless in the face of the serious violations of labor rights that are committed on a daily basis, mainly in the private sector, thus benefiting the employers. In the same way, it has remained silent in the face of the criminalization of trade union activity.
A recent case is the dismissal of three general secretaries of trade unions who were negotiating a new collective agreement at the Ministry of Public Works. No significant increase in the minimum wage has been gained and the National Minimum Wage Council under the Ministry of Labour exists in name only.
On the issue of pensions, a reform was approved that is not paying off any historical debt, since the privatization of the pension system is continuing and the savings will continue to be in the hands of the Pension Fund Administrators-AFPs; in addition, the government has a free hand to dip into pension savings to solve its financial crises, without major restrictions. It is noteworthy that $233 million has been cut from pension funds by the government in order to finance the upcoming elections.
As for the living conditions of the population we can say that the cost of transportation, electricity, drinking water, telephone, internet have increased; the cost of basic necessities has gone through the roof, the price of gasoline and diesel, the price of gas, and agricultural inputs are very high and there is no price control by the competent institutions; before that the latest increase in the minimum wage is a mockery. The "bitcoin" was approved as a currency, which has only created fraud, speculation, waste of public funds and corruption. Faced with this situation, as organizations we keep up our banners of struggle, which are:
Stop excessive government borrowing (as of March 2022, the debt represented 80% of the Gross Domestic Product)
Restoration of democratic freedoms and constitutional order.
No presidential re-election.
Reduction of salary and unnecessary expenses to senior officials and deputies.
General increase in wages, elimination of VAT [Value Added Tax] and price controls on basic products and services.
Elimination of the AFPs and creation of an Independent Institute of Social Welfare.
Respect for freedom of association, collective bargaining, and job stability.
Non-criminalization of trade union organizations and activity.
Access for the people to free and quality health care, water and education, decent housing within reach of the working class, stable work and social security.
Defense of the natural wealth and the environment, stop the granting of environmental permits to producers such as the Dueñas, the Pomas, the Regalados and the transnationals. End the eviction of communities to develop luxury urban projects, hotel zones among others.
Freedom for all innocent people unjustly seized under the state of emergency.
We categorically demand for working women a living wage, equal remuneration for work of equal value, equal and equitable labor benefits, working hours in accordance with the provisions of the law, the fulfillment of social rights. No employment discrimination and freedom to organize in unions, no sexual and labor harassment.
Respect for the autonomy and independence of trade unions by the government and employers.
Reclaiming the great popular and working-class struggles, promoting the union of organized and unorganized workers, the union of manual and intellectual workers and all sectors, youth, students, women can no longer continue to have isolated struggles.
Only the organized and conscious power of the working class can carry out the great social, economic, cultural and political transformations to put an end to the exploitation and oppression imposed on us by the capitalist system.
Long live the 27th international seminar
"Problems of the revolution in Latin America"!Long live proletarian internationalism!
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