The Socialist Party of Mario Soares has become the banner under which all sorts of reactionares, many heavily compromised by their come together to try to confuse and divide the mass of exploited Portuguese people and regain their political influence. While the Socialist Party leaders are undoubtedly supported by many contused workers trom small towns and more back ward industries, as well. as poor peasants influenced by the Catholic Church, it would seem that the bulk of the forces rallying behind their banner have little to do with the workers movement. This is suggested by the following facts:
1 At no time in its reactionary campaign either over the newspaper Republica or its resignation from the Government - has the Socialist Party received support from a single important body of the workers movement. Not a single trade union, local assembly, or major group of workers has backed the SP. On the contrary, many of these groups have been the most determined opponents of the SP leaders (despite the fact that they include many rank-and-file SP members) and have gone well to the left of the Communist Party in their political demands.
2 Immediately after it left the Government the Socialist Party called a demonstraBLETARIO elections the SP received almost 600,000 votes in Lisbon, and another 250,000 in the surrounding region. Yet this demonstration gathered only 15,000 - a pathetic turnout by Portuguese standards (the demonstration called the previous day by the workers' organisations had been more than 100,000 strong). 3 The political complexion of ihis demonstration was so reactionary that it embarrassed the SP leaders. The first SP speaker was booed by the crowd because he was too 'moderate" When Soares mentioned the name of General Saraiva de Carvalho (commander of the security forces and leading figure of the "left' in the Armed Forces Movement) the crowd took up the chauvinist chant 'He is not Portuguese' (referring to the fact that Saraiva de Carvalho was born in Mozambique), and Soares felt obliged to interrupt his speech and defend Saraiva de Carvalho!
When a Socialist Party official appeared from the town of Rio Maior, where right wing demonstrators had burnt down the headquarters of the Communist Party the previous day, the crowd (obviously heavily infiltrated by provocateurs) shouted 'He knows what to do" and 'On to Republica'. The Socialist Party's stewards had to physically restrain their 'supporters' from marching on the Republica bullding and trying to repeat the Rio Maior sackLast weekend the Socialist Party and their allies the Popular Democrats were able to hold mass demonstrations in Lisbon and the northern city of Porto - but only by shipping in large numbers of people from the bastions of reaction in the northern rural areas.
Within days of the resignation of the Socialist Party ministers from the Government and the launching of their campaign to mobilise reactionary forces in the country, their political backers in the imperialist countries moved into action to back them up.
INTERVENTION
Two days after the Socialists left the Government the Common Market decided to reimpose customs duties on the import of Portuguese textiles to EEC countries. This was supposedly due to the severe competition British textile manufactures are tacing trom Portugal, but imports from Portugal account for only 10 per cent of Britain's total textile imports, and no other country is covered by this decision.
The Portuguese textile industry is dominated by American and European multi-nationals who chose to take advantage of the cheap labour available under fascism to produce for the world market. The Portuguese textile industry is thus very dependent on exports, and these new EEC measures are expected to have a devastating effect: they could lead to closure of 50 per cent of the country's textile factories.
Five davs after the denarture of the SP met to discuss aid to Portugal. For months they have been holding out tantalising promises of aid if the Portuguese Government would show respect for imperialist interests. But the departure of Soares gave cause for concern that the growing struggles of the Portuguese working class might actually drag the country out of the imperialist orbit. So no aid was forthcoming - and Harold Wilson and James Callaghan left the conference uttering ominous threats about 'a catastrophic course of economic isolation' facing Portugal if it didn't come to heel.
The effect of measures such as these will be to worsen the already serious economic crisis hitting the Portuguese economy as a result of sabotage by national and international capital. It will create just the right climate for Soares and the Socialist Party to push their 'solution' of dependence on imperialist aid and investment, and the granting of whatever assurances are necessary to get it.
But it will also create the perfect climate for far mede reactionary forces than Soares & Co. to crawl out of the woodwork and start mobilising large numbers of people and building up their support inside the army. Soares, Wilson and Callaghan are all working hard to prepare another "Chile' for the Portuguese people. It is the task of the international labour movement, through the preparation of a massive solidarity movement, to ensure that the only graves these people are allowed to
6 _ portugal dossier red weekl worl
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Portugal today is the scene of massive political mobilisations as hundreds of thousands of people come out onto the streets, either to demonstrate their deter- mination to push forward the socialist revolution, or to demand the preservation of capitalism under hypocritical and phony slogans about 'democracy.
BUILD SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT