Historic general strike after 14 years

On 11N there was a general strike in the midst of a political and social crisis. While the right tries to capitalize on discontent, The day reaffirms the urgency of building a revolutionary and socialist alternative.

By Flor Salgueiro

A measure imposed from below

The leadership of the UGT and CCOO were forced to call the general strike of the 11 of November. Pressure came from the housing movement, detonated by the eviction and death of Maricarmen Abascal (87 years) and the camping in Puerta del Sol.

The strike had statewide scope, with the highest incidence in Catalonia, Andalusia and Aragon. With impact in Madrid, Galicia and the Valencian Community, especially in the industry, transport, logistics and ports.

It was supported by grassroots committees and pickets from the first hour in workplaces., road closures and access to airports, university camps and business closures, joined a consumer strike. transportation, Health and education operated at the limit or below minimum services. Some of the slogans expressed were: “It is not understood, people without homes and houses without people” and “Salaries are going down and rents are going up”.

There was no shortage of police charges, protesters arrested, nor the confrontations with the repressive forces.

In the afternoon there were unitary and massive demonstrations, like in Barcelona, Madrid -in the rain-, Valencia and Bilbao.

From SOL we actively participate in the day of struggle.

The employers and the political right (PP y Vox) and the media boycotted the strike and, miserably,  They tried to minimize its reach because they are terrified of the struggles of working people.

The strike had inequalities and there will be time to delve into its impact.  But the fundamental thing is that the street overflowed with claims that go against the government and private businesses at the expense of the public.. The actions were successful and there is a change of mood in the will to fight of the masses that marks a turning point; Therefore we can define it as a historic strike.

So, It is worth asking: What causes give rise to struggles of such magnitude and what may be the perspectives??

The wear and tear of the government and the regime

The government of Pedro Sánchez has growing discredit due to the deterioration of living conditions, the privileges of banking and large companies, and the cost of military rearmament dictated by the European Union at the expense of social items. Added to this are corruption and poor management in the face of the DANA catastrophe in Valencia and the railway tragedies of Adamuz and Urda..

At the same time, the scaffolding of the Regime of the 78. Faced with the denial of the right to self-determination, The judicial subordination to political power and the impunity of the elites accelerate the decomposition of their institutions.

The polls do not resolve the underlying demands

The electoral advance shows both the political fragility of Sánchez and his maneuvers to retain La Moncloa. Although the elections in Andalusia, Castile and Leon, Aragón and Extremadura show the decline of the PSOE and Podemos in the face of the rise of Vox and the difficulties of the PP; Sánchez has demonstrated the ability to survive, with initiatives and maneuvers.

At the international level, at the same time that Europe is on fire and is mobilizing against reactionary policies, the electoral defeats suffered by figures like Orbán, Bolsonaro, Netanyahu or Donald Trump confirm that the right is not invincible.

Like that and everything, the polls will not solve the underlying crisis: Providing a real solution requires structural transformations that no party in the regime or capitalist system is willing to undertake..

something is changing

The crisis of the ruling class, The growing unrest of the middle and lower classes and the greater willingness of the masses to mobilize allow us to glimpse that the situation is favorably changing the relationship of forces between the classes.. With the weakness of not counting on the existence of a revolutionary party with mass influence, capable of contesting power alongside the working class and its dual power organizations. What is happening is not a “lightning in a clear sky” but a reflection of the new European situation.

There are immediate tasks

A program of struggle is essential that unites immediate demands with a fundamentally anti-capitalist solution..

In front of the union leaders of UGT and CCOO who intended to use the strike as a mere social decompression and electoral relief, It is essential to give it continuity through a fight plan debated and voted on in assemblies, with our sights set on an Iberian Strike, without concessions to bourgeois governments. The task of confronting the extreme right in unity of action and a united front until defeating it in the streets becomes an urgent task..

further, the next 20 November we will mobilize with student unions and young people against military rearmament and social cuts for imperialist wars.

We will continue fighting for achievements such as the self-determination of peoples and full rights for women and migrants, without diluting class independence or subordinating ourselves to any bourgeois government.

An opportunity for the consistent left

The crisis of those at the top and the willingness to fight of the working class mark a favorable change in the correlation of forces, despite the lack of a revolutionary party with mass influence, What is the big problem to solve?.

The challenge of the radical left is to overcome fragmentation and build a revolutionary and socialist political alternative. It has been a small positive step - which must be extended- the unitary pronouncement of GTR, STAR, LI and SOL facing 11N.

From SOL we raise as central slogans: “No to Fortress Europe. No to austerity for imperialist wars. For the international unity of struggles. By workers' governments. For a Socialist Europe”.

The challenge of regrouping the revolutionaries at the national and international level as we propose from the International Socialist League lies ahead. (LIS) to build strong parties with the strategic perspective of favorably resolving the dilemma of Socialism or Barbarism.