1-15-07, 9:27 am

Contribution of the Communist Party of Chile to Lisbon Meeting of Workers' and Communist Parties, Novemebr 11-12, 2006


A meeting such as this one is undoubtedly a contribution to our common struggles. Today, even more than yesterday, the interrelationship between national and international struggles cannot be underestimated. In fact, the international situation is a determining factor in the progress or retreat of our peoples in each nation, in terms of respect for their rights and the materialization of their aspirations for a better life.

The contrast between the formidable possibilities to satisfy human needs generated by the development of the capacities of humankind, and the waste of material resources, lives and intelligence, is the dramatic paradox of this era. Such accumulated capacities could enable the resolution of the most severe global problems: hunger, extreme misery, massive unemployment, illiteracy, and the insecurity of life on the planet. However, within the framework of neoliberal globalization imposed under imperial rule, those capacities are used to further exclusion and inequality among and within nations. Overcoming this situation is the common task of all peoples.

The political, military and economic aggressiveness of American imperialism in different parts of the world, seeking to consolidate its unchecked domination, is a determining feature of today's world. The use of force is a condition for the existence of neoliberal globalization: without the recourse to violence, the realization of the interests of transnational capital would be impossible.

For this reason, American imperialism uses the pretext of a supposed struggle against terrorism that implies the deployment – with the collaboration of its most servile allies – of a brutal state terrorism, which together with the open aggressions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, promotes the arms race, anti-democracy, the legitimacy of torture, and the limitation of the civil and democratic rights of its own people.

In Latin America, these policies are also disguised behind reports of 'narco-terrorism', the deployment of the so-called Forward Operative Emplacements (EOA), American military bases with sophisticated technological resources, capable of speedily assembling military intervention forces comprised of thousands of soldiers. Added to this are undercover destabilization operations carried out with the collaboration of internal allies in each country, and other control and penetration methods.

The main objective continues to be the elimination of the revolutionary experience in Cuba: the tightening of the embargo is now accompanied by an interventionist plan aimed at recovering control of the island and turning it into a vassal state.

Another key objective is the destabilization of the Venezuelan process. The call made by Condoleeza Rice before the UN Security Council for the creation of a Latin American front against the government of Hugo Chavez and the boycott of his candidacy is evidence of this objective.

To forward its policies, US imperialism seeks the support of docile governments such as those of Alvaro Uribe in Colombia and Alan Garcia in Peru, and will continue to try to co-opt governments such as those in Chile that have supported its efforts to impose the FTAA (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas).

Alternatives to Neoliberalism

Such hegemonic pretensions find increasing barriers in all latitudes. 

The heroic resistance of the people of the Middle East has bogged down the Bush government and has been decisive in its growing domestic loss of prestige. Its European allies, such as Aznar and Berlusconi, have suffered defeats, and the people are imposing their demands for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Blair is steadily losing power, while France and other countries seek to distance themselves even more. There is an increasing rejection of preventive wars and the disastrous effects of neoliberal transnational capitalism.

Movements against capitalist globalization continue to develop, as the impact of the World Social Forums, especially those in Latin America and Europe, becomes steadily stronger. At such meetings, there is an increasing trend toward the establishment of coordination among left-wing political parties and movements.

In Latin America, there is a definite movement towards the left, and we are working very actively for the development of such a political scenario in Chile.

Efforts have been made to use the health condition of our Comrade Fidel to end the revolutionary process Cuba. The result has been exactly the opposite. The Cuban leadership has demonstrated that one of Fidel's merits is to have contributed to the creation of a firm and solid revolutionary leadership rooted in the people. New approaches to policy-making, the courage and dignity to uphold their national sovereignty, and the practice of internationalism and solidarity expressed in all fields, including key aspects of peoples lives such as health and education, increase Cuba's prestige and influence in Latin America and the world.

The Bolivarian revolution becomes ever stronger in Venezuela, with the people increasingly the main protagonist of change, as they succeed in defeating imperialism's destabilization and coup efforts. The Bolivarian revolution is beginning to play an increasing role in a process of bringing the countries of Latin America together.

Brazil's center-left coalition government headed by Lula, a former metallurgical worker and leader of the Workers Party (one of the founding parties of the Sao Paulo Forum), has provided strong encouragement throughout the region. This government, in the midst of complex contradictions, played a decisive role in the failure of the FTAA and has launched new types of economic integration initiatives with Venezuela and other countries. The Lula government’s reelection, in the second round, brings hopes of an even greater contribution to the improvement of the living conditions of its people and the strengthening of popular forces in the continent.



The resounding popular victory of Evo Morales in Bolivia, who has nationalized the country’s fossil fuels and other large enterprises, is also an expression of this liberating trend. Another example is the newly-elected government of the Frente Amplio coalition in Uruguay, which is promoting democratic policies in situations that are not free of contradictions.

In Colombia, despite the reelection of Uribe, the Polo Democratico Alternativo obtained 22% of the votes and became for the first time in history the second largest political force in the country. In the meantime, the struggle waged by FARC continues, confronting increasing American intervention and the government's right-wing policies, while also seeking a peace agreement.

A central issue on the continent is the trend to establish a new form of Latin American integration and solidarity. This is well expressed in ALBA (the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) which promotes the integration process between Cuba, Venezuela, and now Bolivia. This agreement, and the prospect it offers for cooperation in the spheres of  politics, economics, finance, culture, and healthcare, openly defies the FTAA and the imperialist globalization process. Following this trend, other governments have also launched cooperation initiatives in the areas of energy, finance, and telecommunications, evidencing various degrees of autonomy from the United States.

Oppositon to Neoliberalism in Chile

Chile is presented as a paradigm of the success of neoliberal policies. However, a new political situation is arising in our country, influenced by the democratic and progressive successes of popular struggles in the world, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, that have resulted from the failure of the neoliberal system and the disastrous effects of transnational globalization.

The main event that shapes this new moment is the increasing mobilization of different social sectors. This is linked to the tactical step taken by the Party in the second round of the presidential election, when we decided to support the present President (Michelle Bachelet) based on programmatic objectives, including explicit government commitments that have significantly contributed to the development of the current political situation in chile.

Today, a broadly based social and political convergence is being created around the views promoted by our Party as a condition of our support, which include:

1) An end to the present binominal electoral system, which excludes from Congress all those forces that are not part of the two major coalitions which support the present system (for instance, at the national level, Communists and their allies obtain over 7% of the votes but are excluded from both chambers of Congress). Ending the present binominal electoral system would advance the democratization of the institutional political system and give rise to participative democracy.

2) The expansion of workers' rights by doing away with legal restrictions inherited from the dictatorship that limit the right to strike, facilitate layoffs and wage cuts, and  promote divisions by  weakening and atomizing trade union organizations.

3)  Reform of the social security system. Today, the system is in the hands of powerful, primarily foreign economic groups such as U.S. Citbank that exploit workers by charging extremely high commissions, and employers contribute nothing to workers' social security. Under these conditions, workers conclude their working life with miserable pensions.

4) Reforming the present educational system, which has weakened and damaged free public education, by permanently cutting-back resources and favoring the proliferation of private companies which profit from education. Thus misconceived, education becomes a fundamental element in the reproduction of the neoliberal system.

5) To obtain complete truth and justice in the area of human rights violations.

6)  To win full recognition of the rights of native peoples.

7)  To achieve respect for biodiversity and the environment.

The Communist Party of Chile's basic idea was to focus on actions involving major sectors of society, paving the way for mobilizations to promote new demands, and challenging neo-liberalism as a system.

This past year has been characterized by major struggles waged by health workers, secondary school students, teachers, copper miners subjected to discriminatorysubcontracting, and housing debtors in cities.

Chile is no longer the same country it was a few years ago. Today, political forces and popular social movements are decisive actors and have opened up great possibilities for challenging the hegemony of the neoliberal sectors.

The present government headed by Michelle Bachelet, which we oppose, continues to essentially apply the same neoliberal policies as its predecessors. However, faced with the question of maintaining unchanged a model that is confronted by large-scale social mobilizations, or making certain changes to ensure this model's future permanence, and taking into consideration the increasing social discontent that right-wing forces are attempting to capitalize on in a demagogical fashion, coupled with strong criticism from the left, the government and the parties that comprise it have been forced to adjust the model. The appearance of internal contradictions between the privatizers and those who favor greater state intervention, between defenders of fiscal expenditure restriction and those who support the need to increase social expenditure, between those that seek protection by repressive measures and those that favor a dialogue with the forces of social mobilization, are all evidence of the changes taking place. Despite minor differences, such contradictions exist in all the government coalition parties, and thus a greater presence has been achieved by those that criticize the market-oriented and anti-popular policies implemented to date. This situation explains the fact that for the first time there is a certain willingness to recognize the need for change, as well as the legitimate role played by social movements and the excluded political forces.

We also take into careful consideration the experiences in Latin America that have highlighted the possibilities offered by wide-ranging fronts and the convergence against neoliberalism.

In Chile, until 1989, the main obstacle for the democratic popular forces was the dictatorship and the main contradiction was clear: 'Democracy or dictatorship'.

The policy of mass popular rebellion, which implied the use of various forms of struggle, was able to resolve that main contradiction and displace Pinochet from power, but the negotiated nature of the end of the dictatorship has meant the exclusion from the political scene of those that for 17 years were at the forefront of the mass struggle for democracy. This was instituted in Pinochet's constitution and has been maintained by the present government coalition, the Concertacion. 

The Concertacion governments have consolidated and strengthened the neoliberal model. Most of our basic resources and state-owned companies were privatized or put in the hands of transnational companies. This has meant that today the State is unable to intervene to protect the country from the continuous crisis of globalized capitalism, as occurred in 1998 and 2003, when unemployment increased and the revenues obtained by our country were reduced. The openness to international financial capital that this neoliberal policy has produced, and which has become even more acute as a result of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, has made Chileans more vulnerable in the face of new and serious dangers. This is especially the case for exporters and domestic producers, as demonstrated by the impact of the devaluation of the dollar.

In consequence, our Party congresses have defined the clash between neoliberalism and democracy as the main contradiction in this period, setting forth the democratic revolution as the valid, strategic historical objective.

The stands we have taken have been confirmed as the correct strategy. Allied with tactics based on a decisive and resolute process of social mobilization, new possibilities are opening for a reformed electoral system that can be used as an important instrument for winning control of the government and launching measures for economic, social, and political transformation.

This is a cumulative process where the unity of the left-wing and revolutionary sectors combines with those sectors of the reformist and nationalist movements who are willing to break away from neoliberal hegemony. For this reason, we are working to restore the full activity of Juntos Podemos Mas, the left-wing coalition that was able to make such important progress, in order for it to become the basis for the construction of a wide anti-neoliberal front. A powerful left-wing movement cannot be constructed apart from the widest possible anti-neoliberal unity. Likewise, the anti-System unity that is required will not be possible without a left wing capable of promoting and driving it forward.

The emergence of a new political moment in Chile has created favorable conditions for generating a convergence of social and political forces, including sectors on the right, that in one way or another, and in various situations, agree on the rejection of neoliberalism and converge in a program of profound democratic and social transformation in Chile.

It is in pursuit of this objective that we have set out to win a new type of government, to overcome the neoliberal governments upheld by the Concertacion coalition now in power and the right-wing forces that gathered around Pinochet. We seek the creation of a democratic, sovereign government of social justice, supported by an active and participative national majority.