People's Democracy

Greetings to 13th Congress, SACP

On July 10, 2012, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) sent the following message to the South African Communist Party (SACP) on the occasion of its 13th congress. The latter was scheduled to take place at Empangeni in Kwa Zulu, Natal from July 11 to 15, 2012.

THE Communist Party of India (Marxist) greets the South African Communist Party (SACP) on the occasion of its 13th party congress. We wish the congress all success and hope that the resolutions and decisions of the congress will further strengthen the party.

Comrades,

Your congress is taking place at a crucial time, with the world yet to come out of the grips of severe recession. The global economic crisis, one of the severest in the recent past and compared to the Great Depression of the 1930s, had its affects felt in almost all the countries of the world. What had started as corporate insolvency in 2008 had now bloomed into full-fledged sovereign insolvency. Economies of the countries like Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal are on the verge of collapse and the very future of European Union and the Euro itself is seriously debated. The US, which enjoyed unrivalled global dominance post-Soviet Union, is finding its economic supremacy threatened.

Closure of factories, rising unemployment, poverty, hunger, malnutrition are some of the most visible effects of the economic crisis. The ruling classes worldwide are trying to come out of the crisis by further burdening the common people. This is the real purpose of the so-called 'austerity' measures imposed in many of the European countries. The hard won rights of the working class are under attack, with rising retirement ages, cuts in pensions and other social welfare benefits.

Another important feature of this crisis is that the imperialist countries are trying to transfer their burdens onto the shoulders of the developing and underdeveloped countries. They are using multilateral agencies like the IMF, World Bank, WTO and also bilateral means to impose burdens on developing and under-developed countries. The Doha round of negotiations, climate change talks are used as guise to burden these countries. Imperialism is putting to use all the means at its disposal – military, economic and political – to retain its hegemony.

A heartening feature in this gloomy scenario is that these attempts of the ruling classes are not going unchallenged. People are coming out in large numbers protesting the 'austerity' measures and mounting attacks on their livelihoods. The huge protests witnessed in Greece, under the leadership of the KKE and the PAME, and the protests in other countries across the Europe are a result of this growing discontent among the people. The discontent brewing as a result of the economic crisis, along with the urge for democratic reforms, also played a huge role in mobilising people against the dictatorial regimes in West Asian/North African region. The Occupy Wall Street protests also captured popular imagination and received wide support across the world due to this growing resentment among the people.

Comrades,

India, which retained its growth rates during the early days of the crisis, too is now affected by the crisis. The country is witnessing falling growth rates. The Indian government, not learning from the lessons offered by other countries, is now seriously considering further liberalising its economy, particularly the finance sector. The Congress led UPA government is bowing down to the pressures of the international finance capital and the US and is initiating measures to open the economy for FDI in retail, insurance, aviation and other key sectors. These measures would sound death knell to the livelihoods of the millions of people. Many export oriented industries like textiles are facing the prospects of closure.

The country is already reeling under the effects of double-digit inflation, rising prices of food, fuel and other essential items. Agriculture is under severe duress. Manufacturing is slowing down. The government instead of addressing these pressing concerns by providing relief to the people, is subsidising the big bourgeoisie by providing them with tax concessions. There is a growing anger among the people against the government policies. The CPI(M) is taking up these issues and leading the fight against the neo-liberal onslaught of the government.

Comrades,

We are watching with interest the developments in South Africa because of our shared history and legacy of struggle against colonialism. Moreover, the SACP is part of the tripartite ruling coalition led by the ANC and is actively involved in the governance of the country, after liberating the people from apartheid. We have followed with interest the struggle waged by the SACP against the '1996 project' and for greater role of the state in the economy. Your experience will be extremely useful.

As fraternal parties working in two of the most important developing economies of the world, we have an important role to play. Through our struggles we should force the governments of our countries to emphasise on South-South cooperation and use BRICS as a tool to promote this endeavour and question the US hegemony.

Comrades,

Once again, we wish the 13th congress of the SACP all success and thank the leadership for inviting us to be part of this historic congress. Unfortunately, due to some pressing political developments in our country, we could not be present amongst you. Nevertheless, we assure you of our wholehearted solidarity with all your struggles for the cause of working class and other toiling sections of the society. We hope that your congress, guided by the correct principles of Marxism-Leninism, will become a milestone in the history of SACP and the country. We are confident that the decisions you arrive at – the resolutions of your congress – will lay out a correct path of struggle and guide in the success of National Democratic Revolution and in the establishment of socialism. Fully aware that this is not an easy task, we assure you of our complete solidarity in this long and arduous journey.