Stability Franco's Hers

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The Moncloa Pact signed in October by the 'democratic' Francoist government parties has not brought stability to Spain.

Continuous worsening of economic conditions and the seemingly endless delays in the implementation of promised democratic reforms has brought workers into the streets : in hundreds of thousands in all of Spain's major cities.

In demonstrations of up to 250,000 workers have demanded democratic rights, action to end unemployment, and wage increases to match inflation.

Massive demonstrations There have also been massive demonstrations in support of autonomy for Spain's various component nationalities and regions.

• Proposals for regional autonomy have been made not only in regions with strong traditions of national struggle such as Catalonia and Euskadi (the Basque region) but also in areas like Cartille and Leon and Extremaduva..

There is hardly a province in which some project for autonomy has not been launched.

This fervour for 'autonomy' springs from a combination of genuine populat pressure and opportunism. The struggle for national rights especially in Euskadi has been a major part of the struggle of the masses against Francoism.

Through militant mn ass mobilisations and threats to boycott its reforms the Suarez regime has been forced to release all Basque political prisoners captured before last December's referendum.

Head off

But at the same time it has tried to head off this militant predominantly working class movement for democratic nights by attempting to make a deal with the bourgeois nationalists (the Basque Nationalist Party) for what has become called 'decaffeinated' autonomy.

This plan is already at an advanced stage in Catalonia where the exiled head of the Generalitat (autonomous government) in exile made a deal with Suarez in September, was re-installed in office in October and last week announced his virtually powerless regional cabinet: composed of members of the Democratic Centre (Suarez" democratic francoists) the Socialist Party, the Catalonian CP and the bourgeois Democratic Pact for Catalonia making it Spain's first formally deciared. popular front since the so-called rebirth of democracy.

In other regions too Suarez' Union of the Democratic Centre has leapt onto even launched the autonomy band wagon.

In several regions even Manuel Fraga's fascist Popullar Alliance has joined in.

These capitalist parties as well as the Socialist Party and the CP have tried to use the question of regional autonomy to create a diversion from the struggle about wages and jobs and for real democratic rights, instead of a fictional autonomy.

In places this diversion has worked. But increasingly legal demonstrations to see workers have come to by the signatories of the Moncloa Pact as an opportunity for getting on to the streets to demonstrate their hostility to the Suarez regime.

(Demonstrations with that as the declared objective would never be permitted by the police).

This is what happened in Malaga two weeks ago when a 'respectable' demonstration for autonomy got out of the control of those who had called it.

Angry

It was one of a number of demonstrations throughout the southern region of Andalusia (including a march of 300,000 in Seville) as part of a government sponsored 'Day of Andalusia' The Malaga crowd became angry when they found that the Civil Governor, the agent of the interior Ministry which had encouraged the demonPHOTO: Derek Spiers, IFL stration, was retusing to the Andalusian flag from administrative building.

Police attack

The Francoist armed police attacked the crowd, injuring many, and killed Manuel Garcia, a nineteenyear-old worker and member of the Workers' Commissions.

Garcia's murder provoked further fury against the police and for several days the situation in: Malaga took on an insurrection-like character.

Public buildings were attacked and burned, barricades were built against the police attacks. The Civil Governor was forced to resign before order could be restored.

Since the 'democratic reforms were initiated after Franco's death two years ago the police have murdered at Condemn least fifty demonstrators and have injured and tortured hundreds more.

No democratic or workers' rights will be secure in Spain until these repressive forces of • Francoism-the armed police, the security police, the civil guard and the armyare dissolved..

The astronomical distance between the demand for the dissolution of the repressive state apparatus and the policy of the reformist and Stalinist leaders was highlighted last week during a meeting of the parliamentary committee studying the future of the Spanish army.

Army 'apolitical

The Chairman of this commission is Socialist Party MP Enrique Mujica.

After last week's meeting between the commission and the Defence Minister General Gutierrez Mellado (appointed a General by Franco himself, Mujica announced with approval the General's statement that the army was "apolitical' He didn't mention, of course, the three occasions this year, on which sections of the army have semi-openly advocated a military seizure of power.

While this 'Socialist' is off hob-nobbing with these budding Pinochets, his 'Communist colleague Santiago Carrillo's chosen friends last week were the bishops.

The Spanish church issued a protest against the proposal made by the constitutional commission of the Cortes to disestablish. the Catholic Church and break all constitutional links between church and state.

In response to the bishops' protests Socialist Party leader Felipe Gonzales at least said:

'We Socialists don't ask to participate in the synod of bishops. So they shouldn't meddle in the constitution'.

Carrillo, however, never one to leave aside a chance for collaboration with the forces of reaction, made a unctuous statement saying:

'I am ready to listen to the bishops if they have reasonable things to say'.

So perhaps Carrillo is about to add a state catholic church to the long list of other things he supportsincluding the monarchy, the integrity of the Prancoist repressive forces, and Amercan military bases.