Communist Party of Mexico

The PCM and the working class facing the economic and sanitary crisis

Ángel Chávez Mancilla, Director of El Comunista1 , Alternate Member of the Politburo of the CC of the Communist Party of México.

83The struggle of the Communist Parties to transform current society into a better one, whilst being a perspective of the future, implies the betterment and vigilance of the working class’ current life in the face of war or any manifestation of barbarie, famine and impoverishment derived from the economic crises and epidemics. For this, the PCM decided to act to face the pandemic originated by the Covid-19 Virus, worsened by the conditions of capitalism, as the negative results until today (hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of infections) are in direct relation to the economic and social foundations of this system.

Although the productive forces allow the production of enough wealth to satisfy the needs of the worldwide population in terms of food, housing, leisure, health, and to have protected the population in the health crisis, with guaranteed support to avoid infection and death, the existing contradiction between the productive forces and the relations of capitalist production prevent this from happening. It is the call to the working class of the world that relations based on capitalist property must change, they prevent that social production be at the disposal of those who create it. This, added to the economic crisis that wasn’t unleashed by the health crisis but was gestating based on the inherent contradictions of capitalism, but that together potentiated the difficulties of the conditions of the working class in each country and internationally.

In the face of this panorama, The Communist Party of México resolved to develop work with the working class and social sectors signaling that the dynamic of the capitalist system prevents guaranteeing health and life for them. In this manner the immediate struggle was connected with the need to fight for socialism. We will proceed to present the experience of our Party in the confrontation with the measures taken by the socialdemocrat government of López Obrador in his administration of the sanitary and economic crisis that has had disastrous consequences.

Mid-February the Mexican State informed of the first cases of Covid-19 in national territory, despite the sanitary alert that had been decreed in other countries, the mexican government did not take measures until the following month, “social distancing” being the main one and de-

84 nying the need of the use of facemasks, with ridiculous arguments such as religious protection, underestimating the importance of this basic object. In the face of such negligence and foreseeing the gravity of the situation, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the PCM on March 17 issued its statement “Facing the Pancemic of the Covid-19”, in which a series of measure were proposed, including: the immediate strengthening of the Public Health system destining financial, logistical and technical resources, as well as the hiring of medical personnel, the immediate centralization under the public health system of all private hospitals, pharmacy-clinics and the pharmaceutical industry; the immediate guarantee that the full public hospital network and in every place of employment there is access to the necessary consumables and equipment, guarantee paid leave for all workers and benefits in case of infection, immediate cease to the interruption of electric and water services in working-class neighborhoods, where millions of workers do not have the conditions to pay for these basic services; cease the retention camps where overcrowded migrants were kept, among other things2. But whilst demands to the State were made, workers were called to be willing to fight with the slogan “We can expect nothing of a government at the service of capitalists. Monopolies will only care for their interests. Us or them.”. Also in the same statement we pointed out the deficiencies of the public health system to face the pandemic, the process of dismantling of the Public Health System in favor of the Private System and that the great majority of the population does not have access to basic health services. It was also explained that in

Mexico the support of social security, including ther public health system was obtained through worker struggles that conquered rights against the bourgeois State, as well as for the advance guard of the process of socialist construction in the USSR and other countries, that forced the capitalist world to temporarily concede benefits to workers. The objective of this was to point out that the worker’s struggle is fundamental; and given that the public health system cannot harmonize with private health, socialism is the only alternative in which workers have assured free health, as a universal right. For this, alongside the statement, the Party issued a poster with the slogan “There will only be health in Socialism”

During the month of April it became evident that During the month of April it became evident that the State was incapable of guaranteeing the wellbeing of workers, the number of infections increased, health workers denounced lack of resources, workers took to the streets from offi ces and factories, in all workplace, so they could be granted material to prevent contagion. Whilst capitalist accumulation continued, the State used the pandemic as a motive to disperse even the smallest manifestations of political malcontent. In these conditions the PCM believed that what was necessary was to maintain insubordination and give proof of this on the commemoration of May First, for which a Party concentration was summoned with all the safety measures in front of the National Palace of Mexico City, as well as mobilization in several cities. The mobilization of the Communist Party was followed by the protest of healthcare and transport workers who showed their bonds of solidarity.

In the month of May the number of infections had a bigger growth, for which the continuation of work activities implicated the inevitable exposure of workers towards the virus. This was used by monopolies as a motive to lay-off or send workers home “to rest”, reduce hours of the working day and salaries. Facing this situation the Party ordered its militants to reinforce the eff ort to organize workers in defense of their interests, mainly in the area of health and worker

rights, opposing unjustifi ed lay-off s, the advancement of non-paid vacations and the reduction of salaries. Connecting the economic struggle with the political struggle, the Party insisted in making the workers see that the wealth that monopolies have extracted from them is so bountiful that it allows workers to stop and receive their full salary, thus pointing out the extraction of added value as the base of capitalist exploitation. So the demand that the Party held was that workers should be sent home with their salaries paid in full by the monopolies.

When this started to become popular amongst workers in the center of the country, the social-democrat government, seeking to avoid being overtaken by the mobilization of the working class, highlighted that that Mexican legislation established a legal framework so that in case of “sanitary emergency”, the demand that Communists held high be fulfi lled for only a month. However, this was just demagogy, because if it were not for the working class’ mobilization the state would not have noted such measure, also, aft er announcing it, acted in an ambiguous manner, avoiding its application and even condoning Monopolies from applying it. Facing this, the PCM continued backing the demand of domiciliary protection of the workers with integral salaries and, to not restrict this to bourgeois legality, it was also demanded that it should be during the full health contingency.

The orientation to strengthen the intervention amongst workers was captured in the idea that Communists also must participate in mobilizations that happened since the month of April in front of the National Palace, from where the President works, by lone and precarious workers that do not have formal contracts, fi red and in general people without a job or any form of income. To fi ght in every condition was the directive that the Party gave to all its militants, and it was captured in the slogan “Wash your hands and raise your fi st, use a facemask but don’t be quiet!”, with which workers were invited to redouble the protest demanding that monopolies cease production and guarantee the continuation of payment of salaries and that the State cover the subsistence of the unemployed, precarious workers and lone workers without the possibility of obtaining income during the pandemic. Where workers achieved that production be stopped, it was due to the struggle, protest, strikes and by refusing to enter their workplaces.

The PCM warned the working class that in the context of the sanitary emergency and the economic crisis the bourgeoisie would seek to reinforce its repressive apparatus, and the fi rst of April the Politburo emitted the statement “Worrying measures of buro emitted the statement “Worrying measures of the government against the Working Class” in which it is explained that the “State of Sanitary Emergency” could be used to cover up repression against the growing protest and impose the restriction of democratic freedoms by way of the application of a state of emergency, the constant handing over of power and freedom of action to the armed forces. Correct in its analysis, more than one protest was intimidated by soldiers and the new repressive corps; The National Guard, however, the PCM maintained its campaigns of political agitation and began an active period of solidarity with medical personnel, recognizing their work for the health of the working class and denouncing the pauperization that they have been undergoing and the lack of consumables and material that put their health at risk. The second period of action was in solidarity with the service workers, workers of malls, salespeople, denouncing the bad working conditions in which they are, recognizing their eff ort, and calling them to unionized organization.

The discontent against these State measures gave way to the apparent withdrawal of the repressive forces and the promise that there would be no state of emergency. However, the essence of the warning of the PCM was realized by May 11th, when the bourgeois state issued a decree in which the participation of the armed forces became legal in “security tasks”, which implied permanently maintaining the army in the streets, as well as putting under their control ports

86 and airports. This measure was denounced by the

PCM immediately and the next day it published the statement “López Obrador outlines a military government. Army out of the streets!”. The PCM placed itself in the vanguard of the confrontation to militarization, which contrasted with the response of the great majority of the left ist political organizations that did not declare on the matter; and those of reformist inclination that defended such a measure, showing their true face, being an arm of capital. Towards the month of June, when it was evident that the prognosis given by the government had failed, and the health emergency would continue for more time, Obrador’s government decided to decree the “New Normal”, moved by the monopolies’ interests of not continuing to lose profi ts. The economic reactivation was decreed; the working class was thrown into the jaws of sickness and death; added to this in the areas where the most laggard layers of the working class live and unionization is weakest, workers didn’t stop working, monopolies forced them to accept the possibility of getting sick as just another risk they have to take to work and avoid going hungry. The state gave way to labor illegality, in favor of the monopolies, and they intend to impose this more each day onto the working class, in detriment not only to their working conditions but also the most fundamental right of the working class. And this “New

Normal”, fearless incursion in favor of the bourgeoisie and more unfavorable each day for workers and social sectors, was accompanied by an even more evident transfer of public funds towards the ruling class, and a fi rm and direct integration of the military elite in the administration of the State. In this manner, amongst other grievances and with the necessary implements to face possible contempt, workers that had fought for the suspension of their work but maintaining their salary, were forced to go back to the “New Normal”, that is the old exploitation.

In the face of this scenario, June 1, the PCM issued the document “Workers’ Life doesn’t matter to Capitalism. On the New Normal” where it was highlighted that the new normal was motive to extend workdays that had been shortened, the decrease of salaries, and to liberate businessmen of responsibilities of infected workers. The bottom line is that by mid-September Mexico placed amongst the ten countries with the most level of infections and deaths.

The economic and sanitary crisis impulsed again that in the months of June and July mobilizations happened of laid-off workers, unemployed and workers, that went out on strike to not get infected in their workplace, whilst new sectors of the working class rose to the struggle. To guide these spontaneous outbursts, in the fi rst days of August, the newspaper El Comunista, central organ of the PCM, highlighted in its headline “The future of the Working Class: the struggle against monopolies!”, noting that without the pandemic being over, we must face that a period of struggle has been opened that questions Capitalism directly, no matter the type of management (neoliberalism, social-democracy or any other), no matter the capacities of the individuals that are in government functions. The bourgeois state is incapable of facing the pandemic by its own limits and the sanitary crisis derives from the capitalist system itself.

Now that the working class and other social sectors have been forced to accept Covid-19 as just another work-related risk, the PCM has given the orientation to all its militancy to redouble the eff ort in any task pertaining to the class struggle, in the fronts where we are actively intervening, with due safety measures against the pandemic, but with even more decisiveness in confrontation, because we think the clash due to the eff ects of the economic crisis is imminent.

Thus, the Party answered each one of the bourgeois government’s actions. To face the conditions of the sanitary emergency serves as a lesson in the work that the Communist Party must do as the General Staff of the Working Class, and is the proof that militants are willing to fi ght under any conditions. The experience in defense of health and life of our class has qualifi ed the Party and has connected it with the masses of the working class and its allies, concatenating the economic struggle with the necessity for Socialism.

Lastly it is important to highlight that it is indispensable to maintain the function of our structures, that due to the complex conditions require a larger eff ort and tension of the leading organisms and from the regional and base organizations, cells. In this we received a strong boost looking at the history of the

PCM and the International Communist Movement, that in terrible conditions of clandestinity have maintained their regular life and advanced, and although regarding proportion, as those were undoubtedly more difficult and dramatic conditions, we could not admit the confinement of the Party, as the class struggle follows its course. Simultaneously, the PCM withholds its international duties, as no characteristic of the revolutionary Marxist-Leninist Party is dispensable, ever.

The struggle for socialism-communism proves its justness, urgency, and necessity, as the working class and the peoples have no other way out, other than to keep on suffering and dying in Capitalism that agonizes and needs to be toppled and buried.