Intervention of the Communist Party of the People of Spain by Carmen Morente

First of all, I would like to thank the CPG for the opportunity it has given us to speak at this Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties from all over the world. We salute the organisation and efforts made, which supplement other such events held by other fraternal parties, such as the one held last year in Havana.

With the greatest care, we have read the material presented in the name of the CC of the CPG by the General Secretary and reached the conclusion that there is a great coincidence of views between us. This is why we would like to raise certain issues of particular concern in this new global conjuncture, which is characterised by globalisation and by the fight for acquisition taking place between the three imperialist camps, of which the EU is of decisive concern to the working men and women of the peoples and nations that make up Spain.

The assessment of the repercussions of neoliberalism – which we define as the imperialism of our times – on the working class and the peoples of the world is common for all of our peoples and countries. At this time, we propose as our strategic tasks:

- the need for an ideological battle to combat the great offensive against revolutionary and progressive programmes, an offensive headed by neoliberalism and its "uniform thinking", which wants, first of all, to shake our confidence in our theory as a tool for analysing and transforming the world now.

Many of the difficulties we meet are related to the new conditions generated by the economic policies of de-nationalisation, privatisation and harsh adaptation. The internal changes within the working class, its realignment, the uncertainty and deregulation of the labour market, and the growing army of the unemployed etc., while not casting doubt on its nature as a revolutionary class, nevertheless do require new forms of struggle and organisation, especially in those countries in which the process of the submission of classical trade unionism to the demands of neoliberalism has become more widespread.

Today, as 150 years ago, it is of decisive importance to deepen our understanding of the class nature of the state and the machinery that secures its power. The world oligarchies have made profound changes in the old-style nation-states. Within the context of globalisation, states reinforce their repressive and autocratic operations. It is our understanding that the model of the state which is being entrenched has no relation to the old structures of official democracy.

The CPG’s text confirms the historic role played by social democracy and the need for us to defend the timeliness of our revolutionary programmes against its arguments.

We agree with those points proposed by the CPG: struggle against the political, military and financial organisations of the New World Order.

At the same time, we understand that the estimation of the so-called "welfare state" characterises the differentiation between social democracy and revolutionaries. Can we continue to demand a state model that will be divided by the very development of capitalism? Is defending the democratic, social and economic gains of the working people the same thing as raising high the banner of the welfare state?

Neither of the theoretical or political stances that define social democracy has proved its historic validity, its idealistic view of the growth of capitalism, the nature of the state, its choice for the model of the inter-class party etc.

In our opinion, the policy of alliances and the party model are closely related. The Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain is in absolute agreement with the proposal made by the CPG regarding social and political alliances, which will make it possible to organise resistance to the aggressiveness of the system and open the way to the goal of profound transformations. We are talking about the Global Anti-imperialist Front, a democratic and pluralistic front.

The oligarchisation on all levels (economic, political, military) brought by globalisation makes us – in the case of Spain – defend ourselves and creates the need to build a strategy of social and political alliances of an anti-monopoly and democratic nature which will permit the defence of all social strata that have sustained the attack by the European imperialistic structure. We call this strategy the Political and Social Front of Forces of the Left.

A front linked with social mobilisation, the building of the alternative power of the people which will respect the various popular and progressive traditions of the regions, peoples and nations of Spain, which will respect the pluralistic nature of the social and political left, will be able to overcome the present day process of disintegration of the working class and the popular strata, to overcome discouragement and fatalism, to become a point of reference in the process of social emancipation and national liberation.

The strengthening of revolutionary class programmes will be decisive to all these. The Leninist party, the "new type" of party, today as yesterday, constitutes a historical necessity. But the process of strengthening it will not be possible without some self-critical evaluation that will make it possible to overcome the mistakes and distortions of the past, preserving all the wealth of our century’s revolutionary thought without forgetting that the view of the "vanguard" is linked with historical development and that, beyond determination or self-determination, it must aim to realise it.

As a communist woman, I would like to congratulate all the women who are here at this International Meeting, which opened with the speech by comrade Aleka Paparigha. I also salute the communist women who, without taking the floor, co-operate to help us in our work.

Thank you.