By Ruth Werner

Translated by Zaza and Rachel

Thursday 12th July 2012

The political crisis between the governor of Buenos Aires and the National Government is escalating. And will continue if Scioli (the governor of Buenos Aires) doesn’t stop his intention of becoming president. During the race for succession, Cristina Kirchner is fighting against peronism and for peronism. “Against peronism” because she is against anyone who is against her, like Scioli and Moyano; ‘’for Peronism’’ so as not to break the PJ (Justice Party - Peron’s party) and to convince the governors and mayors that are thinking of joining the opposition to not do so.

Using the most important Argentinian province of Buenos Aires as his based Scioli is looking to gather the complaints of some PJ leaders against the dependency of the executive power and the meddling of the peronist youth group “La campora”. The governing coalition runs the danger of losing influence due to this war while reaffirming the danger, for the bourgeois republic, that an internal crisis within the peronist party could end up being a national crisis. With the right wing opposition being disorganised, Kirchnerism is playing the role of government while the other peronist sectors are preparing to replacement the current government.

In this war each group is fighting for popularity. The tension is transferred to the mayors who depend on national and provincial resources. The uneasiness reaches the governors who are worried for the threat of funding which comes from the state being taken away. In this “realpolitik” sauce, loyalties are decided on the basis of money. For these days, Dario Diaz Pers (Mayor of Lanus) has made his stand attacking the Buenos Aires governor (Scioli) and making it public that CFK (Cristina Fernanadez de Kirchner) wants Scioli to leave the province. In response, the rumours are growing that the governor seeks to incorporate Lavagna (explanation) as a mega economic adviser. Moyano (union’s bureaucrat) joined forces with Scioli unconditionally and denounced as “disgusting” the kirchnerist conspiracy against the governor, which Scioli is using to make himself appear the victim.

While they fight, the living conditions of 550.000 public workers and teachers are at risk; by the time this paper is published, they would have done a 48 hours strike against the payment of the extra month bonus in instalments. The action has stepped up with roadblocks and pickets in symbolic areas of the city. But the answer to their demands didn’t arrive.

The internal machinations of the peronist party, is playing with the salary of workers who earn on overage $ 3000 per month. It is another sign of the pro-bosses character of the different wings of the Peronist party and of the interests defended by the leaders of the CGT (Trade Union Confederation) , including Moyano (union bureaucrat) and the so-called independents who are also under Cristina Kirchner’s wing. In the province of Buenos Aires, an important decision is at stake for the rest of workers of the country. In order to succeed they need our support and demand a plan for a united fight.

Two Trade Union Confederations subordinated to the political state and the bosses

On Tuesday 10th the anti-Moyano sector met, which had appointed the metallurgic Antonio Calo as candidate to be General Secretary to be voted for by congress in October. For his part Moyano will be proclaimed this Thursday as leader of the CGT. The split is almost a fact and both sides will claim for themselves the status of the only recognised Central.

Behind the fight, in which the “union” politics of CFK (Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner) have decimated the allies of moyanism, looms the presidential objective to impose a new relationship with unions.

The “peronist” union model is based on the nationalisation of the labour organisation, by means of perks and corrupting the leaders, who ensure discipline and promote the idea of “harmony” between the classes. The subordination to the state of the trade union is also a common feature in the development, or more correctly in the degeneration of modern trade organizations. The large capitalist group decide the course of the economy and to do so they require the help of the state. From here arises the nationalisation of the labour organisations to make them docile collaborators of the capital. The bureaucracies are doing the impossible, in words and fact, to prove to the bosses, their politicians and their governments, that they are indispensable and trustworthy.

To the habitual subordination of the Argentine unions to the state - that includes the compulsory payment of union dues, the bureaucrats management of social security schemes, the power of the Ministry of Work of controlling the labour organisations and a law of the Professional Association which is a catalogue to perpetuate the leaders - in the ’90’s it happened that one part of the bureaucracy had come to share of the capitalist business. Meanwhile, workers were more flexible and number of casual workers and unemployment grew.

Since 2003, Nestor Kirchner (president before Cristina Kirchner) added more benefits for the leaders: a ’’solidarity’’ contribution was agreed and signed and more power in the management of social security. Moyano was the privileged son. The ex-president elevated him to a higher position to guarantee good governance. So Moyano engrossed his union of new members, he was re-elected as head of the CGT in 2007, extended his power to supermarkets, transportation of funds, tolls, grains and had expanded his presence in the branch of fuel. In every dispute about the framing of affiliates Carlos Tomada (Minister of Labour for the country) ruled in his favour. Today CFK is retracing his steps and removing power from him. Moyanism has already lost the support of several unions thanks to the threat of deducting funds from social security (obras sociales). But moreover, Cristina as she distrusts his allies in the new official (government line) CGT, the politics could point beyond. It’s spoken of an alarming setback of the Christinista’s union, a box now hands for the ultra K Beatriz Liliana Korenfeld from the superintendent of health services. Surely, the president will use these funds to threaten whoever dares to removes their feet from the plate. Kirchnerism will use the nationalisation of the unions organization, to act as an arbitrator ‘’bonapartist’’, continue governing and lower the thumbs or reward whoever will swear loyalty and guarantee a low conflict.

Class struggle and political struggle

For workers, activist and militant youth, the task is to put at the front of their militancy four fundamental areas of work. The first has an immediate practical impact and is pointing to the triumph of state workers and teachers who are fighting in the Buenos Aires province. We must demand first a unified plan for all public sector workers, we must demand this to the CGT of Moyano, the CTA (Argentinean Trade Union Confederation) led by Micheli and the CTA lead by Yasky to call such strike, to end with the adjustment plan of Scioli and CFK, against the economic emergency law, so that the crisis is paid for by the capitalists. The other three tasks of the entire period are: for trade unions without bureaucrats, for a national assembly of workers and for a worker’s party without bosses.

The prospects announce in the medium term more political crises and a sharpening of the economic crisis, a product of the worn out ‘K’ model and the impact of the global crisis. The relevant fact is that a workers sector is on the opposition as seen in the Plaza de Mayo rally called by Moyano. We are at the beginning of a political split with Kirchener’s peronism. The fight for a national assembly for workers, to form a national fighting pole with all the anti- bureaucratic unions includes the struggle to get rid off of the bureaucracy. That means to fight for worker’s organizations to become tools in the class struggle, against the government, the bosses and their state. All this to face the capitalist crisis and make the bosses pay for the crisis and not the workers.

The bureaucrats of all the trade unions play for the political employers: Cristina Kirchner, Scioli or the soybean Binner. For workers not to be used in the interests of their executioners, it is necessary to build their own party, of the exploited, so that their aspirations and objectives have weight in the life of national politics. These are the main challenges that we propose to ourselves, the thousands of workers on the 8th of July at the national workers conference of PTS (Partido de los Trabajadores Socialistas).