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2020 Representat ve Democracy Masks

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Representat ve Democracy Masks

Bourgeo s D ctatorsh p
Marx st-Len n st Commun st Party of Ecuador

S nce the end of the 1980s Lat n Amer ca has been a showcase of representat ve democracy. The m l tary d ctatorsh ps, the
fasc st reg mes were overthrown as a result of mass struggles, but also because of a change n the approach of mper al sm.

Th s s tuat on co nc ded w th the collapse of "real soc al sm", w th the defeat of soc al sm n Alban a, w th ser ous reversals n
the armed revolut onary struggle — some of wh ch were negot ated away — and w th a general downward trend n the
revolut onary struggle of the workers and the peoples.

S nce 1979 m l tary d ctatorsh ps n Ecuador have been a th ng of the past, and representat ve democracy has been
re nstated, for more than twenty years already, the longest per od n the l fe of the Republ c.

Apparently, bourgeo s democracy enjoys complete val d ty n Lat n Amer ca and n Ecuador. From the po nt of v ew of the
ex stence of pres dent al governments, of hold ng elect ons, there s ndeed a new s tuat on n these countr es.

Th s s tuat on of "val d ty" of bourgeo s democracy s formal. In Ecuador th s real ty has well-def ned character st cs.

In no other prev ous per od, not even under m l tary rule, have the workers and the peoples exper enced such a drast c
curta lment of the r trade un on and pol t cal r ghts.

In the name of the modern sat on, the state obl gat on to take care of educat on, health and soc al secur ty has d sappeared.
In the case of educat on, there s not only the des re to pr vat se t, but w th all means, legal and others, they are try ng to end
lay educat on and mpose rel g ous educat on. Free health care has all but d sappeared, and the hosp tals and cl n cs are n
d re stra ts. The soc al secur ty system has been led to bankruptcy, and the f nal steps are undertaken to sell them to pr vate
enterpr ses.

In the name of progress and the expans on and mprovement of the serv ces, the telephone, electr c ty and petroleum are
be ng sold, at r d culously low pr ces; and the h ghways, ports and a rports are be ng leased. Th s means that these serv ces
and o l products acqu re nternat onal pr ces, mak ng them naccess ble for the great major ty of Ecuador ans.

In the name of the global sat on and the nterdependence of the States, n the search for compet t veness and for part c pat on
n the free market, labour flex b l sat on s pushed to the h lt. The r ghts to job stab l ty, organ sat on and str ke are almost
completely restr cted.

In the name of good governance, pol t cal reforms are undertaken, through the Const tut on and through react onary laws. An
ant democrat c elect on law has been establ shed. It a ms to nstall a b part san pol t cal system and to el m nate the poss b l ty
of represent ng m nor t es n parl ament and n the mun c pal t es. The m d-way parl amentary elect ons have been cancelled.
Congress has been depr ved of the poss b l ty to f x the wages and salar es, to present draft leg slat on w th an econom c
character, to censure and d sm ss m n sters. F nally, the Pres dent has rece ved extraord nary powers.

The pol ce apparatus has been strengthened and the armed forces are geared towards nternal secur ty tasks.

In the name of peace and progress, mper al sm has mposed the s gnature of a peace agreement w th Peru. They are try ng
to have the arm es of Peru and Ecuador ava lable for a poss ble m l tary ntervent on n Colomb a.

In the name of the struggle aga nst drugs traff ck ng, they have nstalled the m l tary bases of Manta on the Pac f c Coast and
of Baesa n the Amazon. In real ty, these are m l tary enclaves a med at quell ng the revolut onary struggle of the workers and
the peoples of Ecuador and they also const tute a part of the mper al st enc rclement of Colomb a.

In th s per od, and part cularly dur ng the last years (1998-2000), the organ sat on and the struggle of the workers and the
peoples, the organ sat on and the m l tancy of the commun sts and other revolut onar es have been the target of an

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26.05.2020 Representat ve Democracy Masks
deolog cal and pol t cal offens ve, a m ng to d smantle them and to dev ate them from the r revolut onary course and
object ves. They have been the v ct ms of persecut on, pr son, torture and murder.

The str kes and rall es of workers, the mportant days of struggle of the workers, the peasants and the teachers, the general
str kes; the act ons and upr s ngs of the nd genous peoples; the protests and mob l sat ons of the secondary and un vers ty
students, they have all suffered pol ce and m l tary repress on. Hundreds and n some cases thousands men and women
have been arrested and tr ed on the bas s of the Nat onal Secur ty Law. Tens have been njured n the battles and the str kes,
n the c ty and n the countrys de. Tens of f ghters have been k lled dur ng street f ghts, by spec al sed organs of repress on of
the pol ce and the army.

At the end of 1998 the Left st trade un on leader, comrade Saúl Cañar was k dnapped and murdered. In February 1999 they
assass nated Ja me Hurtado, a PCMLE m l tant and congressman for the MPD, together w th Pablo Tap a and Well ngton
Borja, n broad dayl ght and only a few meters away from the Supreme Court of Just ce.

These are State cr mes, meant to el m nate the leadersh p of the grow ng revolut onary movement, by end ng the l fe of one of
the best-loved popular leaders, and to sow terror and f nally d spers on n the ranks of the commun sts and other
revolut onar es.

It s clear that mper al sm and the bourgeo s e show on the one hand the sugar-coat ng of democracy, of plural sm, of soc al
peace, and exerc se on the other hand a brutal offens ve to curta l and restr ct the pol t cal r ghts, the c v l l bert es and the
human r ghts that the workers and the peoples of Ecuador had ga ned throughout the years, thanks to the r struggle and the r
blood.

W th the mask of democracy and "the end of deolog es", the soc al serv ces are be ng transformed nto bus ness w th h gh
prof ts for the bus nessmen. It s also a case of ncreas ng the prof ts of the nat ve ol garch es and of the mper al st
monopol es through pr vat sat ons.

In the name of freedom, the trade un on organ sat ons of the workers and the m l tancy and act v ty of the revolut onar es are
persecuted and threatened w th ann h lat on.

But the pol c es of pr vat zat on and the curta lment of c v l l bert es have fa led to br ng about a culture of s lence and
subm ss on among the to l ng masses.

Ne ther have the neol beral pol c es and the global zat on, w th all what th s means n the econom c and pol t cal f elds, been
able to avert the cr s s, as a result of wh ch cap tal sm and mper al sm are under d scuss on, and part cularly the economy
and the l fe of the country.

These years, Ecuador s exper enc ng the most mportant and s gn f cant struggles of the workers and other popular masses.
The nd genous peoples are f ght ng, they are the protagon sts of great days of struggle.

Mass struggles can be observed n the company str kes, the protests of the urban poor, the barr cades of the youth, the
teachers’ str kes, the people’s upr s ngs and the upr s ngs of the Ind ans. Start ng March 1999, the People’s Congress s be ng
bu lt, and n 2000 the popular nd genous Parl ament.

The struggles of the workers and of the peoples of Ecuador have the character st c of becom ng rap dly general sed, w th
hundreds of thousands or even m ll ons of part c pants. They rap dly acqu re h gh pol t cal connotat ons, they po nt at the
government and pose the ssue of ts overthrow — wh ch they caused on two occas ons.

In January 2000 such an upr s ng went beyond overthrow ng a bourgeo s government. The problem was put forward of
const tut ng an alternat ve government of "nat onal salvat on", wh ch t obta ned for some hours.

Independent of the results, of ts l m ts and weaknesses, the Marx st-Len n st commun sts of Ecuador, hav ng act vely
part c pated n these act ons, take stock of ts pos t ve elements, of ts perspect ves. We don’t forget about the problems, but
we work to push forward and mprove th s great revolut onary mass movement that s grow ng n our country. And we have
the ntent on to lead t to people’s power and soc al sm.

PCMLE

Contr but on to the Internat onal Commun st Sem nar "Imper al sm, Fasc sat on and Fasc sm" Brussels, 2-4 May 2000

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