Peru: Cut to the Bone

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sources of the military regime's' p from about ¼ million in the political crisis which is • first half of 1977 to almost 20° little time in turning against the as "evidence" turned out not to focus for militant opposition to that his regime cannot live workers who at first looked to match each other. the savage, Islamic reaction alongside Bhutto. The question An early display of left demagogy from AUEW bureaucrat Bob Wright avoiding blacking call last year An early display of left demagogy from AUEW bureaucrat He went on to use military Bhutto's more general crimes is of course because epitomised by the Zia regime. But finishing him off could after executing him.

In the last three years cut in half and unemploy. ment has nearly doubled.

• Those are the drastic conclusions to be drawn from dramatic figures just released by the military government and an independent. economic research organisation.

Peru's overall economic crisis is reflected in large drops in production in many industries, an acute crisis in the finances of the state and a massive level of due debt repayments which have been "re-scheduled" on condition that the government sharply tightens its policies of austerity.

It is these policies plus the savage "rationalisation" policies of the capitalists which have imposed the heavy burden on workers and their families which the new figures reveal.

In the two years from June 1976 to June 1978 money wages went up less than 50% while the official cost of living figures soared by 150%-a fall in the real average wage of 40 in two years.

Unemployment up

Since then there has been another considerable fall as a result of the latest round of price increases in basic foods decreed by the military regime which have been much higher than the permitted rise in pay.

While the average wage is down by a half in 2½ years, the level of unemployment (even on official figures) went up from around 250,000 in 1976 to an estimated 428,000 today.

MILL Armoured car in Lima Most of this is in the nonagricultural sector of the economy and so the ¼ million increase in the unemployed is largely to be found in the towns, already bursting with poverty-stricken workers living in squalid shanty-towns.

These developments, of course, are among the major without doubt a loathsome specimen whose crimes against the working class would merit execution by a people's court.

But this is not why he is now. undor contance nf death His period of office was marked by the wholesale repression, beatings, imprisonment and torture of his political opponents: The always flimsy facade of legality was stretched to breaking point by the use of the 'Defence of Pakistan Rules' which allowed arrests without proof and people to be jailed without charge or trial. power on the basis of populist And butto, wiu. rust lu oL. • she man rAtO + rhetoric amid a wave or тастогу occupations in 1971 wasted him as a 'socialist' leader: expressed in its problems in controlling the Constituent Assembly elected last year and its fears for the scheduled general elections in a few months time.

This political crisis also shows up in the most recently available strike figures: hours of work lost through strikes were he drop?

violence to repress demonstrations and strikes only to fina, in mid-1977, that the military chiefs headed by General Zia, preferred to cut out the middle man and assume direct control over Pakistan.

Bhutto, discredited further for his brazen rigging of elections, was placed under arrest.

Since that point he has been brought to an appalling stage-managed 'trial', , charged with ordering the murder of a political opponent.

Farce

The case was a farce from the outset, based entirely. on testimony from a witness operating under a state pardon (who hac channad hic ctatement four ...t. IMMI times) and other • statements aubrantad indor fartiiro Canne and spent ammunition produced million same 1978.

Betwèen the same periods, the number of workers who took strike action went up from equal to over 90% of the employed non-agricultural workforce!

These figures would already be as high for 1979 were it not for the calling off of last month's general strike after one day.

This failure resulted from the failure of its leadershipespecially the Stalinist dominated CGTP-to make serious political preparation for an event which would have brought the immediate future of the regime into quesțion.

Such preparation at the present acute stage of the class struggle must involve the building of armed workers militias since many workers were intimidated from striking by massive military occupation of the mines and the streets in industrial areas. The troops had orders to shoot demonstrators and suspected strikers.

are being exactly copied by the present military regime that they are ignored and this absurd case is being used to hang him:

Zia recognises that Bhutto and his party, the PPP, are the only substantial political force with any mass support in Possible eu nasmasin, nasnuin en frin, Ae Inna as Rhutto remains alices for mirant opposition different sectors has gone along with other guerrilla tactics.

Whole towns were closed down and barricaded off on last Friday's day of demonstrations and temporary protest occupations also took place.

At the same time the railway network in the east was thrown into four days of confusion when a group of steel workers managed to empty more than 1,500 tons of imported iron ore from a train onto the tracks.

The choice of targets reveals the nature of the leadership involved in these struggles.

Maire and the Socialist-ted CFDT have been able to score points off Seguy and the Communist Party organised CGT for the rabid nationalism of their claims that the problems in the steel industry nationally have been caused by the pressure from other national sections within the EEC.

Such bankrupt and reactionary positions can offer no explanation of the current record level of unemployment in France-1.3 million jobless workers-and cannot lead to the necessary fight for work sharing on full pay.

Armed with such policies all the Stalinists and reformists can offer to steelworkers improved terms of redundancy and the prospect of further attacks in the near future.

Bhutto whip the PPP's supporters into a wild frenzy which no political leadership could at present control.

Before giving the go-ahead for the hanging, Zia must feel that the absence of any genuine workers' party and the lack of any clear perspective will hold back the opposition movement.

Hence the delays and hesitation in putting Bhutto's head in a noose.

Zia now appears convinced is whether it can survive long

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-INTERNATIONALhave brought about

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s Bhutto for PHOTO: Laurence Sparham, IFL NOARMS MARIE

average living standards of Peruvian workers have been

Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto, ex- President of Pakistan, is

a mere 28,000 in 1977 to 1,131,000 in 1978-a figure