The political debate has intensified with the economic crisis and social unrest -caused by the government´s austerity measures and the direct interference of the IMF- is on the rise and has become one of the main concerns of the government, the union bureaucracy and the opposition. In this context, all political sectors have began to implement movements and realignments towards the 2019 elections.
The triumph of fascist Bolsonaro in Brazil only fueled debates that had already been developing about the possible ways out of the crisis, the danger of ultra-right expressions surging and how to face them.
To defeat the right, we have to unite all of the left.
In this context, the MST (Socialist Workers Movement) has launched weeks ago, a strong national campaign under the slogan “To defeat the right, is necessary to unite the left.” In Córdoba, this campaign gained great repercussion with docens of wall paintings and tens of thousands of flyers distributed at work places, schools and universities. And it culminated with a rally at the ACV, where over 500 people -and the presence of the most important struggles of the moment, such as health, energy and Minetti workers and students prosecuted for occupying the university– convened to listen to Luciana Echevarría, Raúl Gómez and Celeste Fierro.
The political center of the event and the campaign was placed on the urgent need to create a great third pole of the left, which shows itself as a real alternative to Macrism, Kirchnerism and Pejotism. To achieve this, as Luciana Echeverría explained in her speech, it is indispensable for this alternative to be independent of the Church and the old parties. And it is essential for it to incorporate the FIT (Left Workers Front) and other parties of the left, the combative unions, the thousands of feminist and dissidence activists and the youth.
Rejecting the unity of the left favors the PJ
The role of the PJ (Justice Party) and the CGT as supporters of the government´s austerity measures, demonstrates that they are no alternative against this austerity, because they support if every time they can and, in the provinces they govern, they apply the same austerity. And they pose the shamefull proposal of asking people to wait until 2019, a proposal they share with Cristina Kirchner and Kirchnerism, with which we strongly disagree. Cristina seeks an alliance with these defenders of austerity for the 2019 elections, demonstrating that Kirchnerism is also not a real alternative against Macri. Unity against Macri is more necessary than ever, and it is necessary now in the streets, and also in great front of the left in next year´s election. Denying this unity, as the FIT dies, paves the road for the PJ to appear as the most visible alternative to Macism.
In times of war, any excuse is a trench
Córdoba Partido Obrero leader Eduardo Salas, who -like the rest of the FIT- has avoided answering the MST´s repeated calls of unity, this time decided to answer. But instead of considering our proposals, he took the interpretations of the media to ratify his sectarism. So we ask once more: ¿Is the FIT in favor or against uniting the left to confront Macri and the IMF? This is the debate that thousands of activists and voters of the left are expecting an demanding.
The objections expressed by the PO and the FIT reveal their sectarism, which, as we have said, helps the PJ. It is time to unite all the left parties in a great pole of reference that could atract the social and independent left, and the many honest voters of Kirchnerism that will break with Cristina and the Kirchnerist leaderchip´s course of uniting with the PJ in 2019. We hope the FIT rcognizes the broad sectors that demand this unity and accepts building it. If we advance in this direction, the left could take advance a long way towards becoming a real alternative for defeating Macri.
Marcelo Maceira