It wasn'l just the scale of tie evmis, but the way in which the struges were conducted. Unlike the Brish labour movement, there is no ong-standing tradition in Htaly of a hop stewards movement. But in (969, mass meetings of strikers elected "delegates" to strike committees. to ensuire the most democratic confuct of the struggle and involve the widest number of workers.
Since 1969, these delegates have beun the main organisers of strugples ind will be very important in the batYes to come, Last week, for instance, a conference ol delegates from the Trentino repon in the north put out the cull for a national conference of delepates to thrash out the way forward, TAX LAWS In otber arcas, the rank and file Ies orgmised opposition to the measures taken by the Government carlser Chis sumumer, Faced with an enormous cconomic crisis very simiar to that in Britain, The Government increased taxes and prices in the pubLie sector in an atlempt to cut down workers' spending power, and so cut down imports, Workers should hold back, they argued, to help solve Italy's problem.
Mcanwhüe, the "detlationary effects of the tax increases would stimute a reastve ren uncen pioyineat -Fiat king Agnelli said that it would only rise by half a million by the end of the year! The ruling class would then be in a position to push home their attacks.
ONLY BEGINNING But the attempts to solve Italy's cconomic crisis on the backs of the working ciass are meeting big resistance The strikes around the Fiat workers are only the beginning.
Now the Fiat delegates are discussing occupying the factory. With over 100,000 Fiat workers in Turin alone, such a struggle would pull behind it, and serve as an example to, all workers racing the threat of redundancy stock marker has fallen to an all-time low-but also the ruling elass has bo Ciovernment at its disposal war Gorernment fell, and President Leone is having a lough time putting together a thirty-seventh.
Gorernment will be very weak and elections can't be far off. The whote situation provides excelient opportunities for the workers movement Led.
for the bomb Rorist organisation.
Whatever formula is reached, the these slanders.
But the CP has totally rejected any ESEOI. On 13 September a bomb exploded in a Madrid har, Twelve people were killed in the blust and seventy wound.
Franco's regime has used the explosion to launch vicious repression in the Basque region of Spain, blaming the Basque liberation movestent At the same time the Spunish press tas launched a slander campaign against suffered at the lands of Franco's the Fourth International and its suppor- henchmen. ters in Spain, depicting them as a terrOur Spanish comrades have issued a statement refuting COVER-UP In denouncing the Franco regime as the 'sole and real incarnation of terrorisin in Spain for the pust forty years, they explain that the regime is exploiting the bombing for special reasons, The regime is involved in a cover-up operation lor its own ibereasing repression against the revolutionary left-subjected to assassinations and savage jail sentences, und a general strengthening of its repressive moastrike 'The attack of September 13 contributed to the unfolding of the campaign and constituted an absurd resort to violance not only farsign to the strugsles of the working cias and people in our country but also in contradiction with them.
Fram a revolutionary point of view, there is not the slightest justification, whether anemy, direct or indirect, for the attack at Correds ception of revolutionary wiolence street. Thar is why we befieve that no revolutionary orgemisation is responsible for 'In tha end, we consider this attack as an action contrary to the interests of the oniented struggle against the dietatorship and cap And, from the standpaint of thes strugyle, which is the standpoint of all who are axploited and oppressed by Francoim, ve condemn /t absoiurely.
"On the road to their economic and political liberstion the workers and peoples of the world heve always had to and will aiwnys have to confront the barbar ois resistance of thair exploiters. Those who may have forgetten this otwious chinery. Permanent police occupation of working class neightbourboo an increase in the size of the armed police unts and the secrer police immunity tor the police from pros ecution under the law, and the en couragement of fascist bands, are among the measures that the dictatorship has taken.
The statement goes on to deFend all organisations whith have Our comrades point out that our differences of opinion with these organisations in no way affects our determination to defend them because we think that the actions of these groups, no matter how erroneous we may believe thent to be are inspired by batred for the exploiters and devotion to the cause of the exploited. Agrinst bourgeois repression, every revolutionary is always in the right,?
Meanwhile the struggle of the Spouish workers mounts, and dozens of political prisoners in Spanish prisons-including militants of the L.CR/ETA VI are on hunger lesson of history nood only to loak at Chile. The Fourth International is fight ing so that there will be no more Chiles, so that the memses will be armed with the desire. to arm themeehres and will thus vesist and overthrow their ciass That is the communist coraround which the work of thousands of rasiranrs of dozens of organisations and seclioris of the Fourth International on ail the five continents of the worid is 'The Fourth International is not a Terrorist organisation. It is a com ist organisation in the full sense of the word, and the bourgeoisin, alang: uS toce wacheoi of this campaign, know it very TS DreCIsOy boUm teis thay lis, that they try to slander (The complete statement an pu Inprecor No. 9, available from Rad Red Weeily 17 Oeh
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The following are excerpts from the statement of the LCR-ETA VI Spanish sympathising organisation of the Fourth International: