Madrid'.
But not all the comic relief comes from Madrid. A few days before last month's election the Catalon Left, the electoral slate by the forget of ahead of 900,00 the far people Mootjalch in Barcelona OUTSIT down again.
Not for not to demand clections to a sovereign Catalan assembly with powers to redraw the constituion, but to demand the return of the President of the Generalitat the Catalan Government-Ibpart in the central Government's attempt to resolve the Caraian problem SUCCESSES Even before the electoral resthat some sott autonomous governmenl could b Mocked Out, On the evening DE 15 June a spokesperson for the PSUC, the Caralan Communis noW was to re-establish among all Catalan forces; chose BE IC COALL ILLL. those of the centre and those of the right'.
When the extent of the workas cartes clectora: successes in had hoardings erected throughout Catalonia proclaiming '25 years of peace in Catalan. An old peasant saw the slogan, so. the story goes, and asked, 'Is this a film which is coming to Barcelona?* "No', came the reply, 'it's a comedy from Catalonia became known leventos, leader of the Catala Socialists, called for a meeting of all Catalan depoties (including and discuss autonomy Real secreary Cera Lope CHETHER CHOU SHULare in a strong negotiate, bur me don't want to LUND OLESCIES OIL ALL SUPCIEU and have to engage in an eventual test of strength on the streets."
Of course no-one wanted cat!
Reventos, Prime Minister Adolfo could never set foot oo Catalan soil until autonomy was restored Madrid," fixing thus WIT CORES MERCHAE TORTESCIE cive of the Republic of the 1930 after the largely unnoticed hara over THING CERA BOYCERICHE in-exile last month.
but the meeling had more than a unity: ecause of the unexpected ele toral reverse for the Caralar Democratic Pact, the main Cata lan bourgeois platform.
No doubt Suarez would have felt happier talking to the Pact's leader, Jordi Pujol, a banker so 'moderate" that he once moved even Fraga to declare: "1 am a convinced regiona st But Tarradellas" virtue lay in a political appeal which crossed parties had made the demand fo the reture of the a centrepicce of their coctora Joan campaign. Now, after the Caralan eloctorate's TE HOR DE BOREDALS BAUDIA ism, Tarradellas. was the man to talk The talks were followed by the arnouncement of a provisionai Catalan administration*, pending state lime made a ther JSAUS LOTEECHES position Tarradellas, now tactfully rel urned to bis French exile, cond BON TESE ujol, true to his philosophy c (there's a bandwagon 1'0 jum a recover boatso suppo the work of recovery of the institutions of the Generalitar".
Only the PSUC, which bad noe been consulted ar all, was a litcle put out. This provisional body'. commented one of is leaders will not return to Caralonia the autonomous freedoms naking contac central issue is not 'autonomy whether the fors of governmen is to be desermined in Madrid or Barceloita.
All the bourgeois nationalist parties the the merkis plane for the former. capitalises a degree of adminisra tive independence must be temp cred by the mintenance of the old right winger overwhelming paradoxically, marched up Montjuich LEUSIONI change.
parties weeks.
•POC domestic prices gods, sn authority of the Spanish For the workers" parties their Catalan cloctoral success was positively embarassing. On the mous government would be firmly under their control course with Madrid. That would hardiy fit in with their detente with Suarez on a national level Madrid will be pleased enough, for this is little more than a dress tencarsal for the stifler confroolation when the issue of Basque surerone 300,000 what would say that Catalonia's reletion to Barcelona, not Madrid. But, as long as their parties are content geriatric Grand Old Duke of York, things are unlikely la SPAIN'S spectacular twenty per cest peseta devaluation last week aroused greul enthusiusm simalation of tourist trade the ostensible object of their GEE CUTOr Iself through before next year.
The wrin point of the more b The other mujor aspect of the economic package was a more snintoni policy of direct taxalion. This is meant, at least in aren" of the working clane incentive to sccept. strict pay control in an austerity package expected within the next few But one of the effects of devaluation will be to stimulate of Imported marken will need even fartber pay rises to keep Communist Party uses intercrease its prestige in the eyes of the Chinese masses. Therefore, political line presently in com mand in China, or even to strike to be approving. is to render no service ar all to the Chinese for socialism in China 4 July 1977 sessions on gramsci speakers include ernest mondel quin tin hoare norman geras michael lowy danie Pursued by General de dence The Albanians have a long standing dispute with Yugoslavin DOLE DOTES SOU alongside China, fought vigorously agains the Mospaw rapprochement Now the Macises are making a sintilar rapprochementwith Belgrade, as evidenced by an official invitation to Tito to visit Peking.
THE EUROPEA EVOLUTIO spain poulantzas women s struggles estem europe revolutioncary Strategy at the LSE DONE DETAILS: RESTRATION 2209 Uper N Socialist Challenge
their acute political and organisational crisis. holly debated here as well, albeit in a different form.
lessons of the Italian experience for Britain.
AT THE close of a stormy congress, Adriano Sofri called on colnul way, ne was expressing the choice that the leadership of Lota Continua had made: not to the youth to the marshals — but the ground up.
and the risis IN THE DAILY press of the Italian left there is hardly an article on the far left groups that does not go into extensive detail about A series of events have confirmed both the existence and deepgoing nature of the crisis. These include the mass resignations of women members of Lotta Continua [the Struggle Continues] and the PdUP ( Party of Proletarian Unity], the Lotta Continua congress last September and the multiple splits recently suffered by the PdUP and Avanguardia Operaia | Workers Vanguard].
For the British left this has more than an academic interest. Many of the problems raised — work in the mass organisations of the working class, the question of the " left goversment" — are ANNA LIBERA begins a four week series on the strategies of the far left since the 20 June elections last year — ciections which gave the Communist Party its largest ever share of the vote and saw a drop in the far left's poll. A final article will discuss the Evokir the need for the leading group to get back in rouch with the masses, he said: *Of course. people will tell me that Beerhoven was deaf, and yet he managed to compose magnihoven was a genius!' well calculared, in view of Lotte The choice Today Loua Continua no longer exists as an organisation Last June in Turin, where it at one tibe had 1,000 members, the earthquake' LC comrades victory to get fifty persom to a meeting. Sofi, who had chosen to reintegrate himself into the hold of Turin, got kicked out a few months later by the 'workercities similar things have happen This is not to deny that man activists in the student, you identify themscives as members tsacoce, this has more to do with sentimental attachment to Th od the various movements' over the past eight years than political conviction.
Paradoxically: sales daily newspaper, drapped to a low of 6,000 copies at the beginning of the bo, ovo copies during the student upsurge of the last two months. However. as the voice of movement", its lifespan will be SUBICCI only as long as that movement, political endered to give any and the unions into appendages of the wate wench they had never considered it a dicting himself when sed, "external' never In still But.
not actually of which school workers jumned fantastically September.
of the to which it tents existed, an organisation.
WOMEN purely suicidal logic.
that i wAs movement against inpact;
CONTINUA
apparatus', en back to the rigat m of Lona Continua tionship departed from theoretically, of building a new workers movement Sofri came close to contraThe confes durInE one oi the lone sil-criticism sessions at the con The fact is that while myself have always been a stern CERN OF LOSES COCON OTHE vanguard, 1 have my life managed to be of anything" While Safri could afford to make jokes ahout it, ering sire the marting point for demoralisation What really happened in italy tomal correspond the least to the picture that the Lotta Continua leadership had mealed with a wait-and-see atti tude, there was no eruption of "working class autonomy when returned to work in And when labour opposition buberin to surface in soon istent way this spring, it did s above all and primarily withi the framework of its organisa tions — unions and councils, a Linging rebuff to Solri's tbeo ST PIG CHOOSE CONCI more than a few activists.
integration into the awwements' this was carried ou to the letter where these movethe point of dismembering Lotta Continun as councils at the The women who had refused tion's leadership bodies at the Rimini congress all weat off into tbe women's mowment. Wha the scodent movement erupted. members and former members of comrades LOHE ANUOUR LOOK CHL BLEW massive numbers, embracing its congress, apolitical characier and orientation with a the leading core of Lit tel ment; bu expresses its views in the news paper from time to time, farced to intervene and explain important not confuse the autonomy tion La prohibition TOLE DORISREMES problems: utting forward their own poin of view. Rur this appeal had lite!
Stu- be sure, dents who identified with LC The report presented to the las LC Ceniral Committee meetin tried to warn the student move current, about this danger. The movement has defended irs own HEROES stream, SOCIALIST CHALLENGE tempts to conceive of the relawith the workers as a relationship with the institutions of the workers movement, even when these institutions appear in Ten suise of the Federation) or the plant councils However, this does not mean that the movement should go seck relations with the automo mous vanguard of the working class. This i IOUS combat those theories, that ap pear to be the opposite side of the Pom or revisionst 1alk "ewo societies"", which, consid *socially conscious (i.e. the vanguard of the proletarias in the crisis, then tend to identify the TACO WONG BE TEC SOU representatives of the workers movement, and so corne SO TIL DISOR THAT TRE TAK er mass can only be won lo revohutionary struggle on an TEATE US ONSIS 'MOVEMENT-ITIS While correctly debunking the Ebeories about the integration al the reporter puts Forward Do other perspoctive than that of tie structures, siving the momber white manding the or of the ship absolutely means working class's attachment to ill mass organisations, and of u the assembly of opposition plan the Lirico theatre in Milan, the better to intervene in Apparently the 1C Jeaderst is tealised, somewhar belated suicidal consoquences for their organisation of the cholce The above mentioned report to the Central Committee ended h *I think that "movement-itis" in Loca 0003010031 Continu LET HIS HEIS tO LONG TE this correct standing tbat the nucleus of rebuilt from within the move reflects an unresolved dilemma over how re pose the problem of politica intervention of leadership. of oflen passive, Fatalistic expecta thar the movement is cap able of offering solutions to these ring of a cry in the wildernes. Ta this conclasion hat current will continue to exist, a longer tocre 15 no man pantin doweturn; bat in the presen political conjuncture, to be able ta envision the reconstitution of ine creamasation would meat having to swun against the 21 July 1977 San tiago Carrio, the general set retary of the Spanish Comma nis. Party, said last wock tha Alexoder Dubcek was a Euro conseusist without knowing it.
There is very little chance tha BusSiAn Tanks will ever Teac Spain to: quash a possible Spanish experiment of the same kind, and in any case, if the id the Spanish peopic woul rendy to fighr then DION MED IN LOEM Was Drift hetween Moscow West European Com munist Parties.
POLAND: The Polish Parts leader. Edward Gierek, last week stressed thie need improve the working of 1h representative organs gradua ly widen the powers of the loc govertumient."
CZECHOSLOVARIA: The Charter 77 human rights group has launched a protest against discrimination against intellec names lal writer: whose work is not publisted in Czechoslovaki for politica reasons and adds that there are many others in the same position, SOUTH AFRICA: France Last week concluded teo-year contract to buy 1,000 tons o natural uranium from South Africa Government officials are reluctant to comment on the West Cerman authorities which have just carried out a credits to South Africa, OCESS CIS liberation leader Sain Nujoma also has evidence German SOUTE AMERICA: The Labour Party National Execu tive Committee bas put out a tatement calling for the exte Tinancial gainst Chile and Argentin he Government is reported divided over whether after a Narional DEROELETS port on miners" conditions and repression in Bolivia.
• Government's austerity package. The which is to includes spending astronomical price rises unions have called a 24-hour general strike foe 19 July.
ETHIOPIA: A spolesperson for the Eritrean Popular Liberation Front in Paris claims that the current Ethiopian of spearbeaded by Israel-trained Commandos.
MALTA: Dom Mintaff' s Government is beading for an all out confrontation with the unions, after his attempts dustrial action by public sector workers.
EGYPT: The Government has produced a draft law which penalty for Muslims who re- WHILE introduce the dear nounce the Isianic faith and USA: Three men have been fighting San Quentin Jail after organise groups altacked Binc Muslim prisoners.
UNA/SOUTH KOREA: The etbics committee of che Hous UNCLENE 18s 100I that I15 Conress members have repeived lavour South Korea since 1970 The Whip, Democratic Speaker and and Morris Lidall, who ram for the party's presidential nomination last year,
SOCIALIST CHALLENGE 21 July 1977
----- pull-quotes -----
**Bizarre as it may seem, dep Tarradallas, was to play a major
Some years ago the Franco regime celebrated its silver Jubilee. The then Minister of Information, Manuel Frage,
by RICHARDCARVER the tas arom Free
MARXIST SYMPOSIUM
denise avenas robin blackbur
OL SE