The virus capitalism and the necessity of socialism
Per Alejandro Bodart
We are witnessing phenomena of immeasurable magnitude. Half of humanity is in quarantine, affected by a virus that threatens to claim millions of lives. The current economic crisis may be the worst in recent years 90 years. Nothing will be the same as before. Revolutionary socialists must prepare for what is to come.
A 31 March the infected with COVID-19 amount to 900.000 and the dead a 50 thousand. These are data partial because, due to inadequate screening tests and the policy of various governments not to count deaths in private and geriatric homes, the most conservative calculations say that contagions can exceed up to 10 sometimes the reported ones and the deaths are many more.
Only in Italy, a study by Imperial College London reports that they already exist 6 millions of people infected, he 10% of the population, i no 100 thousand com inform the authorities.
Countries and cities that have been during decades symbols of the “first world” and imperialist superiority like New York, Roma, Madrid or Paris are full of sick people and corpses. With the systems of collapsed health and terrified citizens. Unable to detect in time the infected, sense personal, no beds, nor sufficient respirators, choosing who to attend to and who to let die.
In Iran, the virus is advancing uncontrollably, while the imperialist blockade prevents the entry of essential material to attack the disease. Millions of workers left in India without employment and living in subhuman conditions they flee on foot from the cities to their villages in order to avoid the contagion. And hi ha 186 affected countries and in a few more days there will be none left without the sick or the dead.
Advanced 21st century, Lack of global health resources has made hand hygiene and mandatory quarantine in homes the only tool to slow the spread of the disease.. Although compliance is virtually impossible among the poorest populations in each country, who live crammed into precarious housing, no sewers or running water. Frank Snowden, expert in the history of epidemics, in an interview with the newspaper La Nación he asks: “How can they wash their hands or isolate themselves in a favela in Rio de Janeiro or in the neighborhoods of Mexico City or Bombay, or from South Africa?"We might as well ask ourselves about the marginalized towns and neighborhoods of Argentina or any underdeveloped country.. Or how the millions of people who work in the informal sector or who have lost their jobs and cannot walk freely on the streets today will be able to avoid starvation.
Pandemic and economic crisis
Attempts are being made from the upper echelons of power to blame the outbreak of the economic crisis and the global recession that began with the appearance of the coronavirus when, in reality, the pandemic has been the trigger, but not the cause of a long-announced defeat. The drop in oil prices has only added fuel to a fire that has become uncontrollable with the pandemic.. We are at the beginning of a process that can end in a great depression similar to or greater than that of 1929.
As in 2008, we are witnessing the outbreak of a spectacular financial bubble that this time will be combined with the greatest contemporary health crisis that humanity has ever suffered.. The economic recipes of US and European imperialism in the face of this crisis are similar to those of 12 years, but the magnitude of what is happening has forced it to invest sums never seen before in history. To save banks and corporations again and cynically using the excuse of the virus, they have begun to implement multimillion-dollar state bailouts. Knowing that most likely, as well as the rescues of the 2008, in the face of the prospect of less and less profit in the productive circuit, again these funds go to speculation and feed a new crisis in the near future.
We are currently witnessing the paralysis of different branches of production, industries and services such as tourism and a drastic decline in international trade. That's why the layoffs have begun, unpaid licenses, wage cuts and complete loss of income for informal and temporary workers. But this is only the beginning. When the forties are over, they will try, as they do from the 90 and deepened from the 2008, that rescues and the crisis are paid for by the world’s most unemployed workers and the poor, wages for the lands, greater degrees of flexibility and new adjustments in public budgets to pay off debts.
No government prioritizes the health and economy of the people workers
The performance in pandemic in countries such as Italy and Spain and the existence of the pandemic of right-wing governments such as Trump and Bolsonaro or the center-left Lopez Workshop, which at first downplayed the pandemic and refused to use it quarantine to avoid paralyzing the economy, have been used by other bourgeois governments to differentiate themselves and be sensitive to the people and not to capitalist gains.
In reality, they are more the similarities between the two rather than the differences. The health of the most of the world's population is committed to structural reforms which were carried out in the last decade of the last century and by the constants adjustments and new privatizations that from the 2008 is going to intensify. He health collapse we are witnessing is the result of the reduction systematic budgeting in health, of divestment in science i technology, staff shortages and lack of infrastructure and equipment countries face this catastrophe. The same we can say of the economy of the popular sectors, which for years have supported one attack on the other against their standard of living and their rights and that now even they are being the most harmed. The only economy that cares about is the one that benefits 1% to the detriment of the 99% remaining.
The various capitalist governments and political parties that have alternated in power for decades are responsible for this reality.. Tots, without exception, have prioritized the profits of an ever-shrinking handful of overexploiters over life and nature.
A global repressive turn
Under the pretext of the health crisis and the need to ensure mandatory quarantine, there was a turn authoritarian and repressive global reach. Site states, curfews, ban on meetings, to manifest, of circulating and militarization by part of the various repressive forces are advancing in more and more countries. All this has encouraged institutional violence and violations of rights humans of the popular sectors.
The purpose of these measures is to maintain the social discipline of the workers and mainly of the youth, what is at the forefront of struggles around the world. They have one preventive confrontation with the confrontations that the current crisis of the system capitalist will sooner or later develop and possibly try to keep them even after the pandemic is over.
We must denounce every hit and run a call to workers and youth not to be intimidated. Far from delegating in governments and business the decisions of our destiny, it is necessary that we all participate to respond appropriately and be able to protect in a way effective our lives and those of our families.
What we need to prepare for
The events that are taking place are being highlighted, as it had not for decades it was happening, the magnitude of the decline of the imperialist capitalist system. The The first major manifestation of the fragility of the system took place on 2008 i impacted the class struggle, triggering important social phenomena and politicians. Everything indicates that the catastrophe we are suffering will change much larger dimensions.
The weakness of Yankee imperialism has made another leap, which will encourage disputes with China, which has also suffered the effects of a crisis that had it as central protagonist. The G7 and G20 are conspicuous by their absence. A Europa, epicenter of the tragedy, the crisis in the Union has prevented them from acting in this way unified. In a large number of countries provincial and local governments take over measures that contradict those of national governments. This camp who can is an expression of the new times we have to live.
The Socialists revolutionaries we must prepare for the general strikes, the rebellions and revolutions that a few months ago shook the world, when the pandemic begins move back, become widespread and spread to new countries and regions. And that new situation that these processes opened, motorized by new events, can evolve into a pre-revolutionary situation a world level.
The commotion that is happening in the consciousness of millions of people, seeing the consequences of a system in its putrefaction phase, is doing that this is starting to move forward and the next few months may be crucial for you to make one huge leap forward. We are already seeing how the discourse begins to be dismantled prevailing in recent decades over the advantages of the private sector over the public, of the market over the state and to grow hatred towards big business people who they quickly unload on workers the weight of the crisis.
We come from several events that have raised awareness of the need to defend nature is above the profits of corporations, and now defense is added of public health and life. The struggle of women has evolved into whole fringes towards anti-capitalist positions. And they have started to grow among young people socialist ideas, as we see in the US and the UK.
All of these phenomena will increase over the next period. Social polarization and policy will be deepened, and trends toward a left and right turn rebellion will be the most likely and dynamic. This does not mean ignoring the contradictions and dangers, as well as the counter-elements, that us they will accompany you from here to eternity and almost always confuse the skeptics and petty bourgeois.
Model, party and international
The pandemic and the defeat are putting fundamental aspects of our agenda on the agenda revolutionary socialist program and this forces us to deploy a set of proposals to respond to the main needs of the moment: test massive; more beds, respirators and staff; security equipment for all workers; ban on layoffs and pay cuts; suspensions of paid work and social assistance for the self-employed and the precarious. Along with that take great importance to raise the nationalization of laboratories, clinics and private hospitals to integrate them into a single, public health system. And for to solve all this, non-payment of external debts and nationalization of banking and foreign trade.
But at the same time as long as we shake and explain these slogans it is imperative that we proclaim that today more than ever we need to end capitalism before it is irreversible barbarism and we fight for a socialist model of society, wherever the democratically organized workers are govern.
It is in the service of these struggles that we promote the construction of revolutionary socialist parties in all the countries in which we operate and a world organization., the Socialist International League. You are all invited to join.
