This Thursday, 20 December, ten Spanish workers-the 'Carabanchel 10'-were due to go on trial acoused of organising the illegal Workers Commissions movement. It is reported that the regime hopes to get the trial over quickly and has ordered that it must not last more than three days. It may also try to hold it behind closed doors on the grounds that one of the accused is a worker priest. The latter, Father Garcia Salve, is one of the six detained priests who have recently been on hunger strike. Below, we look at the context in which this trial is taking place. The Burgos trials of December 1970-when nine Hasques were sentenced to death and prison sentences totalling more than 1,000 years were handed down -are still fresh in the memories of many today. So great was the storm of protest which erupted, both in Spain and in the rest of the world, that the dictatorship was forced to commute the death penalties into prison sentences.
This mobilisation has since had considerable. consequences. It was the first mass-based direct action to have such an effect on the dictatorship. Also significant was the important role played by the extreme left. Never since then has the dictatorship dared to impose such sentences for fear of the reaction which they could provoke. But that does not mean that it has abandoned its policy of rapression -far from it.
TEN ARRESTED On 24 June 1972, Franco's police arrested ten wor kers in the suburbs of Madrid. Held since then, without any evidence being offered, and charged with we olence or poles asson, carache and his comrades have waited I8 months behind die bars of Carabanchel (the Madrid prison) to be tried. The date of their arrest was no accident the first monds of 1972 had seen a whole wave of strugeles, culminating in March in the general strike in El Fernol It is no accident either drat the dictatorship has made the most elementary right ne workers' organisation into an offence, Camacho and his comrades for whom the Public Prosecutor is demanding sentences of 12 to 20 years in prison, sentences which total 162 years for the ten of them-were at the head of the movement to hulld the workers Commissions In the 60% and for the most part are prominent Tigures in the workers movement ILLUSIONS In response to die growing radicatisation, amongs. the youth and in the workers" movement, the ruling class had at first bred illisions in the possibility of a re-establishment of parliamentary democracy. Many, even in the workers movement, hoped that indus trialisation in Spain would hring with it at least a certun adapton to bour coo democrunc noms This hope reached its highest point when Opus Del moved into the goremment in a big way in 1969. Onus Dei represented the Tiberal wing of capitalism; hut was quite prepared to sacrifice liberalists to Francoin if capitalism itself was ever threatened. And sure enough, in May 1973, Franco annouticed a governbent reshuttle which swept aside all the Opus Dei ministers and prosaged the implementation of a hard' line with the appointinent of Admiral Carrero Blanco as prime minister. Opus Dei went quietly without kicking up any fuss, PAMPLONA GENERAL STRIKE Hut the station in Soon tensins ust as ex picne today. One month after this reshuffle, in June 1973, • general strike took place in Pamplona fin tae Basque country), centring on the Motor Iberica factory. It arose from a wage demand which coukt not he settled through the 'normal channels of the State run trade unloos. The sacking of one militant after another led to the occupation of the factory, following a pattern which has now bocoone classical. In order to overcome the holation which threateniod them, the workers of Moter Iberica orpunised a general strike in Pamplena and the province as a whole ahich broucht al die tacrores in the region to a halt, and was also supported by the shopkeepers in the lown. The civil governor set off for Madrid to pet bis instructions at the same time as a group se workers were attempting to free 1,000 people arrested and unet guard I Land slate, but th auberal strike tampinea conte to age prove, and for this reason it gradually percrod out. The responsibility for this rests, among achers, with the Adership of the Workers Commissions, who worr not prepared to push forward the co artination and extension of the struggle on a national scale. both the lich degree of militancy and self-organisa tion of the Spanish working class, and the restraining intence of Die Sean omani Party, which has a majority in the leadership of the Workers Commissions The CP is in Tact more conarned to satcoud the posabihty of continues collahoration with the "progressive," "anti-tascist' section of the capitalist class, to arrive at a demo cratic stage betaven fascism and socialise, chan it is to push forward the mass movements which could and establic a workers' state.
For its part, the Franco dictatorship also understands this situation. It a no longer able to prevent the but organisation and pontinabon al a workers. mement lEknows very Well that 1i the moem ent is once structate and nationally coordinaled in Die strangle to wetthrow Francoum, an that day it will be in the overnent's power to overthrow the regime. That Is why Camacho and his commies are 1o prison even though the dietatorship has at the same time been trying tor sorbe vears to infoerate the problem of the Workers Commissions, byallowing tieu loaders to play & role in the official trade unions. But this tactic has Jailed, in the same way that the present attempt to prevent any national co-ordination of struggles by roprossion against the leaders of the Commissions will undoubtedly tuil Be that as it may, and despite the legalistic orientation at Camacho and the Spanish Communist Party in the Workers Commissians, cur comrades in Spuin (the LCk, sympatising section of the Foarth fiternational? consider that the struggle against the repreadon & the most important exis for the mobilisations in the period to come. In this aay, a certain unity af action can be achieved at a time when il Is most cosesury to confront the policy of repression, which the dictatephip has launched against the leaders of the Worken Comanissiens to prevent them from co-ordinating their activities in the struggle for the Rivela bonary General Strike. (La Gouche) Win print below a joint dedaration by Matzpen-Marxist and the Revolutionary Communist Group;