1. 'Left Candidate is "Banned" " (29 May)
The Communist Party has been bitterly divided. As reported in last week's Socialist Worker, the leadership originally didn't want to put up a candidate because of the logic of their desire for a working coalition with the largest party, the pro-western Socialist Party ......
The effect of the Otelo campaign was to force the Communist Party last week to change their line and to put forward a candidate of their own, their most moderate leader, Pato.
But there are problems with the Left's campaign for Otelo. Perhaps Otelo is a man of the people, but his history is one of vacillating between the revolutionary Left and the moderate Right. There is a danger that the revolutionary Left, by emphasising his personality, will create illusions that will be dangerous at a later stage.
Otelo himself may have led the military coup that overthrew Fascism two years ago. He will never lead the workers' revolu2. 'Big Support for Otelo' (26 June) .... Otelo is not a revolutionary socialist, and has always wavered between the left and sections of the military establishment. His programme calls for the defence of the gains of the workers, but does not mention the need for democratisation of the armed forces and the election of officers.
But his campaign has served as a symbol for all those in Portugal who want to continue the revolution..... Failed society. worm their way into the state apparatus - the CP has now reaped a harvest largely of its own sowing.
In doing so it has played right into the hands of the bourgeoisie, who have been actively seeking to marginalise the CP as much as possible since 25 November.
In itself, the campaign of Otelo completely lanca to answer une reformism of the CP and in no way offered a revolutionary alternative to the Portuguese workers and peasants. However, it was able to satisfy demagogically the general aspirations of a large section of the Portuguese vanguard, and sertain sections of the masses, in their overwhelming desire to move forward to a socialist Otelo was able to appear as a revolutionary calling for the extension of the agrarian reform, the development of workers control, and appealing to the instinctive
Red Weekly 8 July 1976 which such a discussion should proceed