Election victory for Portuguese right

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frrest of fascist secret policeman 1974: now fascists celel fascist mass base; its aim is from above to repress the labour movement and change the balance of forces in favour of the bourgeoisie.

In this respect the September 12 regime is to be characterised as a bonapartistmilitary dictatorship.

Such a regime has been explained by Trotsky in his writings on fascism in Germany:

"Two mighty camps are locked in irreconcilable conflict. Neither side can win by parliamentary means. Neither would willingly accept a decision unfavourable to it. Such a split in society foreshadows a civil war. The threat of a civil war creates a need in the ruling class for an arbiter and commander, for a Caesar. That, precisely, is the function of Bonapartism.

Every regime claims to stand above classes, safeguarding the interests of the whole. But the effects of social forces cannot be so easily determined as those in the field of mechanics. The government itself is made up of flesh and bone. It is bound up with certain classes and their interests. In peaceful times a democratic parliament seems to be the best instrument for reconciling conflicting forces. But when fundamental forces veer off at 180 degree angles, pulling in opposite directions, then the opening for a Bonapartist dictatorship appears."

(The German Puzzle, from The Struggle Against Fascism in Germany, Pathfinder).

Elsewhere, Trotsky goes on:

"this is the most important function of Bonapartism: raising itself over the two struggling camps in order to preserve property and order. suppresses civil war, or precedes OI •does not allow it to rekindle."

(German Bonapartism, ibid)

Forward movement It was in the period of "free collective bargaining" during 1980, with the beginning of the forward movement of the working class that the September 12 coup emerged.

It is often boasted that the great political upheavals in Portugal in 1974 and 1975 took place without anyone being killed in street political violence.

People were killed last week, however, when the general election victory of Sa Carneiro's right wing Democratic Alliance (AD) brought bands of aggressive fascist demonstrators into the streets to celebrate.

In various towns they beseiged buildings owned by workers' parties and attacked known left wing militants in the street.

At least two people have been killed so far in the wave of fascist rejoicing, and several were injured.

The Portuguese Socialist Party was not far wrong when it commented that Sa Carneiro's government was "the continuity of the regime of Salazar which Caetano didn't manage to achieve".

What, of course, the SP failed to add was that the reason that the continuers of Salazar's political tradition can regain political control in Lisbon is that the way has been paved for them by the Socialist and Communist leaders' betrayals of the The SP and CP leaders played a crucial part in deflecting : the great and militant mobilisations of 1974 and 1975 and preventing them from finally killing the forces of Salazarism.

And since then the main workers parties have both failed to defend the gains of 1974-5 and failed to provide any policy to advance the interests workers and peasants.

In the recent election the Socialist Party didn't even present its programme until five days before the voting.

Sa Carneiro's victory is now a prelude to a new capitalist offensive against the remnants of the gains made by the workers and peasants in the last six years-not only the material gains, but even the formal ones such as references to 'socialism' in the constitution.

This means a sharpening conflict between Sa Carneiro and the current pro-Socialist Party President Eanes and the Revolutionary Council of military officers.

In the Presidential election to be held in December Eanes will be opposed by Sa Carneiro's candidate General Soares Carneiro (no relation to either of his namesakes)-an extreme reactionary who sent MPLA militants to concentration camps during his term of office as Secretary General in Angola when it was still a Portuguese colony.

It is still predicted that Eanes will win the election in spite of the AD's support for Soares Carneiro.

But Sa Carneiro says that if that happens his government will resign and refuse to rule any longer with Eanes as president.

So, whoever wins the presidential election, Portugal imminently faces a new huge political crisis in circumstances where the main leaders of the workers' parties are paralysed and discredited.