Catalan Communists regroup
The two main groups of Catalan Communists have joined with Trotskyists, anarchists, radicals and independents in a new organisation, expected to be a close, but sovereign partner of the all-state United Left, headed by Julio Anguita. Brian Anglo
The founding conference at the end of May defined Esquerra Unida i Alternativa (EUiA - United and Alternative Left) as a "Catalan, republican, federal, anti-capitalist, internationalist and pro-solidarity political and social movement". It is open to left political parties, organisations and individuals, although membership is always on an individual basis. The 800 delegates represented more than 4,000 members.
Catalonia, a country of six million inhabitants, forming the North-Eastern corner of the Spanish State, regained its autonomous government after the death of the dictator General Franco in 1975. But the Generalitat has always been headed by a bourgeois nationalist coalition. As everywhere else in the Spanish State over the last 20 years, working people in Catalonia have suffered defeat after defeat, retreat after retreat.
The backbone of EUiA is made up of two dissident groups with roots in the strong Communist tradition in Catalonia. The Catalan Communist Party (PCC) was formed in the early 80s in opposition to the "EuroCommunist" development of the PSUC, the "official" Communist Party.
The second ex-CP group, PSUC viu (Living PSUC) was created under a different name about a year ago, in protest at the rightward drift of the Communist-led coalition Iniciativa per Catalunya (IpC). Rafael Ribó and other PSUC leaders had "mothballed" the Communist component of the coalition, preventing left opposition to their increasingly social democratic policies.
The final split came when IU formally broke its links with IpC in protest at its consistently different political line, and open opposition to IU policy.
The Fourth Internationalist group Col.lectiu per una Esquerra Alternativa, (Collective for an Alternative Left) has earned widespread recognition for its commitment and contribution to the project well beyond its numerical strength. From the beginning, the Collectiu, which is based in the SEAT car plant and among public sector workers, saw this project as a chance to create a broad-based organisation capable of beginning to turn the tide. FI supporters won ten of the 90 National Committee seats elected at the conference. Because of the parity list system, half of these are women.
The conference confirmed a number of trends already visible on the Catalan left. Although there is broad programmatic agreement (at least on paper), the various components of the new coalition have different conceptions of the relationship the Catalan coalition should have with IU. This debate influenced the choice of name, with members of all groups (except PSUC viu) divided between supporters of "United and Alternative Left," and "Left Unity," (preferred by those who wanted a greater distance from the Madrid-based United Left.) With only 27 votes dividing the two names, the autonomy of the new organisation remains a prickly question.
There is also a (justified) groundswell of dissatisfaction, cutting across almost all groups, with behind the scenes dealing and a lack of transparency in the way negotiations with IU were handled.
Aware of potential difficulties, the Fl group has insisted on an internal regime based on democracy and participation, an approach to political differences that seeks consensus or compromise wherever possible, the presence of minority currents and independents on all leadership bodies.
Most importantly, the Collectiu has argued that the new coalition must set itself the task of re-weaving the social fabric of resistance and re-mobilising the workers, unemployed, marginalised, excluded and downtrodden, rather than confining itself to electoral politics. * 15
* Indonesia