LAST WEEK Socialist Action carried the first part of an we conducted EVANS, an economist working with the Nicaraguan Economic and Social Research Institute. This week Trevor considers the impact of the war and the criticism of those who argue the Nicaragua hasn't experienced a real socialist revolution because a significant part of the economy remains in private hands.
How has the increase in attacks, the war, contra affected the economy?
The war is a sophisticated strategy by the US. I don't think that the Us have any illusions the Sandinista Since 1982 they attacks aimed bry the the cooperatives, the investments the state farms, the social the figures the United 1983-84 result contra atvalue of So the first duction.
The devoted By the budget quarter of the total thus tage.
So how has the government responded econom. ¡cally to these problems?
By 1984 serious problems emerging. Whereas can get the basic six foods official cheaper prices was becoming much more difficult to get other essential goods at official prices shirts, trousers and shoes for example. People therefore have had to go to the free the prices are much higher.
What had been happening was that members of the informal commercial sector buy up goods cheaply at the official price and then sell them again and again until the fina consumer can only get them much inflated prices.
As a result of that situation the government introduced an emergency package of measures February. This has several components. tried to increase output by people back from commerce into production. This will make more goods available and reduce the number of people living off the difference between official and free market prices.
with TREVOR The attempted to reduce the amount of monev in the economy by cutting the government delicit so as to prevent free market prices rising so much. Inis meant freezing expenditure social programmes, and with great reluctance eliminating subsidies on basic foods.
Although official spies hey are to loner lower has affected popular revolution!
very grim • in There have been tors.
COIL impression that the situation more ficult.
The has eaten living atay standards, life enormous against life is dif evel. ficult, my that for the bargo?
been there 1982. So with the SUICE about 18 of exports. this loss is important.
's harvest So, least of other U.S.
She is beef, embargo. The most machinery which old got US since most of the CIA agents lead contras near Costa Rican border The response of othe countries to the embargo has been excellent. It was countries in Europe but particularly by Inost of Latin America — even by relatively conservative countries.
An interesting expres sion ot the boltical suoport that Nicaragua is currently getting from other Latin American countries the fact that the Nicaraguan ambassador in Britain has been elected as the spokesperson Latin American lobbying diplomats.
the contra Since 1982 the the revolute social try nas had to be vival. government takes the possibility US seriously.
although other pressure on the Us not to invade is very important, only real Nicaragua has against invasion own preparedness to defend the country und the tary the military authorities will know that the country will be defended every inch of the way.
Some people on the left here say that Nicaragua's is not a proper revolution, it's not a socialist revolution. Not all the means of production have been nastill allowing the cantaists to operate and indeed they are even subsidising some of them, etc.
would you swel this type of criticism? Firstly there is the issue of what happened in 1977 to 1979. think wasn't simply a political revolltion, wasn't simply change of government. It was genuinely popular revolution. The urban and agrarian workers ticipated in overthrowing the government and the process of social transfor nation. So I think it was social as well as a political revolution.
Since 1979 the governand set an example for the rest of the European working class. deserves.
19 July 1984 and has continued to support.
consumer selectivity. In Ireland themselves.
old-fashioned methods of bullying their ment has had to develop all sorts of novel torms to deal with the Lype. of inat they face. Part of that included capitalist sector of production One of the lessons of the revolution however is the innovation the FSLN have introduced in forms of social control. So while It is true lal part or lne private handsme FLN remains have evolved forms Workers at Dunne's supermarket in Dublin have been on strike for over a year now after being sacked for refusing to sell South African goods. They have won world-wide fame — THE LABOUR Committee on Ireland this week announced that it is bringing Mary Manning, leader of the Dunnes' workers anti-apartheid strike in Ireland to this year's Labour Party Conference in Bournmouth. It is seeking co-operation from a range of sympathetic organisations to ensure that her visit wins the wide support in Britain which it The strike at Dunnes started over a year ago on win support ever since. The picket line in Dublin's Henry Street is an essential part of any visit to Ireland — and has seen Bishop Tutu as well as Arthur Scargill come to pay respects to the womens' stand and record their In Britain the demand for a boycott of South African goods has focussed on the government and - thanks to the determined stand of the distributive workers' union IDATU led by militant left-winger John Mitchell -this struggle won the support of shop workers Many big stores conceded to pressure early on and quietly withdrew South African goods from their shelves. The Dunnes management, steeped in predominantly young female workforce, and social regulation and control that ensure these private sectors subject to social regulaLION government constantly having to deal wiu large contradictions problems at the same time. i is also constantly having to balance of domestic, contradictions. Constantly the government is having to choose the lesser of disregarding the union, failed to reckon on the determination of Mary Manning and her eleven colleagues.
much about South Africa or Apartheid a year ago.
It all happened so quickly. One minute Mary Manning was sat on the food checkout counter and Tuesday morning shoppers were stepping out intr the drizzle with bags full of groceries. The next moment she was refusing to ring up South African goods on the till and suggesting the customer bought some other brand.
boycott and which were not. There was instant union backing, and further provocations by management — who fired all eleven union members. By tea time nineteen year old Mary was on television explaining how she had been persuaded to act by a union circular reporting the IDATU conference decision to boycott all South African goods.
finding visit to South Africa which included a visit to Winnie Mandela. They were held in the airport in Johannesburg and sent back to Ireland without setting foot outside.
This strike is not just the longest running industriz, acion taken in solidarity with soutt African blacks — it is the only one and should be the focus for raising support for the boycott throvch ut kuroDe Many estimates suggest that financial support for The Britsh miners strike ran at an even higher rate in Dublin than in Birmingham. Anti-apartheid campaigners in Britain have a perfect demonstration of practical actions that can be taken to aid the struggle in South Africa and focus attention on the abhorrent regime. Financial support for the Dublin strikers is vital.
Those wishing to get written material on the anti-apartheid strike or hear Mary Manning in other towns should contact LCI, BM Box 5355, London WCIN 3XX Sandinista soldiers prepare defence of Managua several evils, dealing with the problems as they come up, and decide the best option at any moment to pursue the aims of the revolution within its general philosophy.
In this sense the criticisms of comrades other countries don't take account of this. They just miss what it is like having to try and manage socia transformation under-developed country The strikers freely admit that they knew nothing Management staged an immediate showdown, demanding to know which staff were supporting the In August this year the strikers set out on a fact Irish workers have a fine record of solidarity.
FEW WORDS are used in discussion on socialist strategy on the left as much as 'hegemony' — the working class has to fight for hegemony in the struggie against apartheid in South Africa, working class in Britain has to fight for hegemony in uniting the whole of the exploited and oppressed against capital.
Directly tied to the idea of hegemony however is that alliances. Because necessarily involves leading, and allying, with other social forces. Internationally the tant such alliance is that of the working class and peasantry. But uniting the working class internally achievement ailiances with women, blacks, the unemployed, many other social layers decisive aspects of the struggle for the hegemony of the working The concept hegemony is not a new one. It was coined as a political term by Russian Marxists in the 1890s. It was strongly defended by Lenin but its origins the of hegemony most impor1n the feudal Marx discussing with Parisian workers Socialist Action 6 September 1985 the labour policy. the left.
"classical
humanity aspirations. the trade-union secretary, but the tribune of the people, who is able to react to every manifestation of tyranny and oppression, no matter where it appears, no matter what stratum or class of the people it affects."e In Lenin's words any retreat from struggle for hegemony represented a capitulation to reforms. "To preach to the workers that what they need is "not hegemony, but a class party" means to betray the caus of the proletariat to the liberals; i means preaching that Marxist labour policy should be replaced by a libera idea of hegemony is the crudest form of reformism."
The idea of the hegemony of the working class is the most fundamenta of all political perspectives. It flows directly from Marx, through Lenin. to the current debates on strategy or Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, Llamal arrists" the other great presented the working class as the vanguard of all its progressive Marx's support for the North and ringing denunciation of slavery during the American civil war Marx's support of the German and Italian struggles for national unifica