The Portuguese Government headed by Prime Minister Goncalves continues to mark time, incapable of doing anything about the acute economic, social and political problems plaguing the country. It WEEKLY ution to Portugal's problems - the wiping out of all the gains won by lives only because no one can come up with anything to put in its place.
Of course capitalism has its 'solthe armed forces.
But anyone who stood up today pro-capitalist forces.
They have to try to sow dissenThe Socialist Party and the mod- and society.
in the country, but they do not have alist schemes alone. Thus we have the organisations responsible to this bizarre spectacle of the 'moderates" trying to cobble together some sort of compromise with the opportunist General Carvalho, associated with the most left-wing current inside This reflects one fact: the immensely strong position of the Portuguese working class, despite the divisions sown by the ONE SOLUTION Indeed, there is only one force in Portugal today that can solve the country's problems - the working class. Neither the Goncalves Government, nor a 'moderate' Government, nor a 'moderate-Carvalho' Government, can take the sort of action necessary to meet the crisis. Only a Workers' Government - composed of the mass workers' organisatons and based on independent organs of working class power -can develop and implement a plan ned economy and impose proletarian order in place of the anarchy and chaos that capitalism is sowing throughout the Portuguese economy This is why the fight for the crea tion of a National Popular Assembly, based on the grass-roots organs of working class struggle, and for a Government of the mass workers' Scenes of violence as right-wing reaction steps up its offensive, not only in northern Portugal but even in Lisbon (right) Assembly and implementing its decisions through it, is the key task in Portugal today.
The proposal for such an Assembly, first put forward by the Trotsky ists of the International Communist League in the recent elections, has captured the allegiance of the most advanced sections of the working class and the armed forces. It has been incorporated into a recent policy document drawn up by officers of the left-wing dominated COPCON security forces, and was recently supported by a 50,000 strong demonstration of workers and soldiers in Lisbon.
While the vanguard of the Portuguese working class works to rebuild the unity of the Portuguese mass movement and take its struggle forward on this basis, reaction and imperialism will be doing everything in their power to obstruct this. It is the task of the international workers' movement to start building the sort of international movement of solidarity that can tie the hands of imperialism and aid the victory of our class-brothers and sisters in Portugal. The 20 September demonstration in London can be an important first step in building such a campaign in Britain Pages 4&5: Portugal - central questions