Argentine workers defy the junta

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by Millions of Argentine workers showed their defiance of the ruling military junta and their opposition to its economic policies in a massive general strike on March 28.

The stoppage, called by both wings of the divided CGT trade union confederation, was in pursuit of wage increases to compensate for runaway 212% inflation. A last-minute offer by the junta of a 12% increase and a 29% rise in the minimum wage failed to defuse the strike movement - as did the official declaration that the stoppage was 'illegal' In the event the strikes were backed by at least 85% of CGT members, and paralysed industry, transport, catering, provincial newspapers, much of the banking system and administration. Even the state-run television and radio - which had been ordered not to report on the general strike - were interrupted by stoppages for five minutes every hour.

Under these conditions, Minister of Labour Hector Villaveiran admitted he had sought no warrants for the arrest of the leaders of the 'illegal' strike. This is in stark contrast to the arrest of those who led the first strike against the military regime in April 1979, and is a further symptom of the flagging confidence and credibility of the junta, which has promised to hold elections in October.

The 'Malvinas Day' ceremony staged by the Bignone junta as the official commemoration of the invasion of the islands proved to be an unmitigated flop. It was attended almost exclusively by uniformed officers and commanders, with little popular support.

Two days earlier an unofficial march led by war veterans had turned into an anti-government demonstration in the centre of the nation's capital.

It was the rising tide of workers' struggles and the looming threat of a general strike to protest at the shooting of demonstrators which a year ago pressurised then President Galtieri into his disastrous diversionary tactic of an invasion of the Malvinas islands.

The defeat of the Argentine armed forces dealt a major blow to the credibility of the junta and its ability to repress the workers' movement: and the tide of patriotism unleashed by the war soon ebbed as a basis for the military rulers. As Galtieri was replaced and other military leaders attempted to restore some semblance of unity, the various bourgeois political leaders have increasingly staked their claim to a decisive voice in the running of the country. • A key component in their bids for power and influence is their ability to control the trade union movement, which has traditionally been tea to bourgeois parties since the climb to power of the former Labour Minister and President General Peron.

While most workers who supported the March 28 strike -and the previous General Strike last December - plainly did so in pursuance of their demands for increased wages and in opposition to military rule, the unaccustomed intransigence of the bureaucratic CGT leaderships has far more to do with seeking a secure place for themselves in any future 'democratic' structure following the October It is crucial for the Argentine workers to break their link with the bourgeois politics of Peronism and to build a political leadership capable of championing their own independent interests against the Argentine ruling class.

An indication of the kind of political progress that can be made in this direction can be seen in the rapid emergence over recent years of the Workers Party in Brazil, on a platform of radical democratic and transitional demands, and standing clearly in opposition to the various parties of the capitalist class.

Argentine workers, who have shown their willingness to fight against imperialist exploitation and against their military rulers, must make the same kind of political break if they are to wage the necessary revolutionary struggle to defend their living standards and secure their democratic rights, which requires the overturn not only of the rule of the military junta but also of the self-proclaimed 'progressive' sections of the Argentine bourgeoisie.

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