Article by Jorge Cadima, member of the International Department
In the last two years, many myths have fallen apart It became clear that, as in 1929, capitalism operating according to its rules generated a gigantic world crisis. And all is fair to save the great financial capital – the major-responsible for the crisis enormous proportions. While workers remained unemployed, the national states ( confirming to whom they serve ) kept damages, debts, “ toxic role” and risks. Not demanding nothing in return, nor changing “ the rules of the game”, nor confining power and the great capital profits. Now they announce the states financial situation is untenable. But this is the direct result of the great financial capital ransom. Both in Greece and Portugal that is the situation , and in numerous countries – starting by the USA and Great Britain.
Currently, many more myths fall apart . Obviously one is not “ overcoming the crisis”. Whoever believed that “Europe with the people” and the Euro were “a safe shelter”, in the name of which one should sacrifice national sovereignty, is confronted with the speculative markets ‘ reality. For those who believed in “ the European social model” or “our European partners’ solidarity”, is confronted with salary decrease, pension cuttings, thousand of civil servants’ redundancy, social services ‘onslaught. Not in order to “help” countries in difficulty in paying off their debts, but to help creditor banks, mainly French and German. For those who say the EU and the Euro are “inevitable” and “irreversible”, the El País quotes (10.05.14): according to Zapatero, Sarkozy threatened ( with a blow on the table) that France would abandon the Euro, if Germany were not to give permission for the most recent measure package. Or Angela Merkel’s statements on countries that could be excluded from the Euro. What throws down another myth, the “joint sovereignty”. Sovereignty, within the EU belongs to the great powers. What could be observed when the time came for Germany and France to be fined for exceeding the 3% limit of their budget deficit: they decided on suspending the rules. It is enough to say some PIGS are more likely than others
Naturally, the class struggle is nowadays, far from being something of the past, and it is the European Commission’s and its leaders’ watchword, within each of the countries. They are taking advantage of the crisis to accelerate class measures, previously decided and in order to achieve higher qualitative leaps, within a more and more titanic “European integration” at the service of the great powers’ great capital. Senile capitalism of our days, far from representing an “efficient”, “dynamic”, “producing wealth” and “ distributing from the top”, is a gigantic Hoover, which sucks up all the planet’s wealth and , therefore, just as a grasshopper plague, destroys all on passing: industries, regions, countries, continents. No people is safe from this plague – nor the periphery countries, nor the countries within the system’s core.
That nobody be deceived by “ all must make sacrifices to overcome the crisis” myth. The great capital will not undergo sacrifices. Nor the crisis will be overcome. The current measures will not satisfy the monster’s appetite. It is obvious that the EU and IMF 750 thousand million Euro, approved , in order” to pacify the markets”( which on the previous day were “speculators”) will not solve the problem (Martin Wolf, Financial Times, 10.05.12). If the problem were the debt surplus, an even higher debt, together with the economic activity contraction, will only increase the problem.
Whoever sold out the UE to the Portuguese, sold the illusion of it becoming a small Germany. But in reality, we will become a small Argentina. Instead of the national production, the debts remain. Instead of our sovereignty, the EU fiscals will replace the Parliament. It is time to refuse myths and face reality. Peoples have only but one path : resist, struggle, determined action.
