An internationalist voice in the Philippines
May 22 2007 19:51
Hi,
Thought some of you may be interested in this:
An internationalist voice in the Philippines
http://en.internationalism.org/icconline/2007/may/internasyonalismo
B.
May 24 2007 14:09
#2
Interesting stuff. Been in contact with Filippino left unionists and some anarchists over the years. The Korean link is also interesting.
May 28 2007 23:51
#3
Syndicalist thanks for the comments. Could we ask what it is that you found interesting?
May 31 2007 04:19
#4
It was interesting to see a non-bolshevik or social democratic Fillipino socialist viewpoint. Pretty much all the stuff I've seen over the years have been KMU and authoritarian left stuff. So in the sense of their being a more radical and critical viewpoint is of interest.
Jun 9 2007 14:22
#5
I'm curious if there's been any follow-up between participants of this conference:
Report on the conference in Korea, October 2006 http://en.internationalism.org/node/2042
Jun 10 2007 06:18
#6
Crispin "Ka Bel" Beltran is the popular leader of the maoist Kilusang Mayo Uno (May Fisrt Movement), a left of capital labor center.
His arrest and dtention is one of clear manefestations that the conflicts within the Filipino bourgeois factions getting intensified and worse. Political killings perpetuated by the ruling faction of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo in cohorts with the "hawks" in the Armed Forces of the Philippines lead by Gen. Esperon and Palparan has intensified. Their conflicts is about Stalinist state capitalism against pro-globalization capitalism.
The big problem why the Filipinp working class cannot move forward because the mainstream left parties here help the capitalist class in mystifying the workers -- unionism. parliamentarism, democracy and nationalism.
Internasyonalismo is a very small group of communist left in the Philippines who started to undergo theretical clarifications mainly based on the Philippine experienced directlly connected to world-wide proletarian movement.
Jun 10 2007 06:24
#7
Here is one of the statement of Internasyonalismo of the just conluded Philippine national elections in the Philippines:
Massive Electoral Fraud in the Philippines: Nothing New But Getting Worst
“Scandals are an integral weapon in the internecine struggles within the ruling class, a central means for putting pressure on rival fractions or groups, to force policy changes or to drive certain individuals from positions of power or influence. According to one estimate the Bush administration has been battered by more the 34 scandals in the past six years. Understanding this political backdrop to media scandals is crucial, for otherwise it is impossible to understand where they come from and why they become the subject of such attention.
The targets of scandals often complain that those who have launched the scandalous allegations are politically motivated, that what they are accused of doing was longstanding common practice, and has been done by others before them without public outcry, and in this they are generally accurate. Corruption, nepotism, cronyism, and illegal behavior are central characteristics of the capitalist class’s mode of functioning. Many of the revelations that become the focal point of media attention in various scandals have actually been known about for a long time and only become worthy of media attention because of political circumstances external to the subject matter of the scandal itself.” (Jerry Grevin,
‘Media Scandals Are Key Weapon in Intra-Ruling Class Clashes’)
The above excerpts from Internationalism, an ICC publication in USA in one of its articles last April is very relevant in relation to the full-force media expose’ of the widespread electoral fraud and violence that happened in the Philippines last May 14 elections. This ‘heroic’ efforts of the Philippine media is not particular but a general, world-wide expression of its role in preserving the decomposing capitalist system by helping to create a public opinion against a certain faction of the ruling class or its policies so save the system to be finally destroyed by the revolutionary class.
Many observers, both local and foreign saw that the recently concluded elections as one of the worst or even the worst of all since the restoration of the so-called ’democratic’ order in 1986 after the fall of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The truthfulness of this fact could not be refuted (of course, except by the ruling faction of the capitalist class). Neither that this fact can only be attributed to the present regime. Both the administration and the opposition, including the many organizations of the Left have sullied hands of all kinds of electoral fraud.
Electoral fraud and violence, popularly known as ’guns, gold and goons’ have been the character of the Philippine elections since the country had it. As the crisis of the decadent system reached its decomposing stage, this character becomes worst every election time, that some bourgeois ‘political analysts’ even concluded that they become part of the ‘Filipino culture’.
However, probably this is the first time that the media with all its high-tech arsenals of coverage give much attention and expose’ of the already well-known rampant cheating in the elections. The media became one of the staunchest guardian of the sacredness of the ballots. Although “many of the revelations that become the focal point of media attention in various scandals have actually been known about for a long time”, these only become worthy for the media attention “because of political circumstances external to the subject matter of the scandal itself .”
And this political circumstances is the growing unhappiness of the ruling class the way the Arroyo faction managed the sate, the last fortress of defense for the decomposing capitalist order.
Gloria Arroyo failed to strengthened the state despite her efforts for a ‘strong republic’ and ‘war against terrorism.’ She created more enemies within the ruling class than friends. For the ruling class as a whole, the most important is ‘political stability.’
‘Political stability’ for the capitalists is: the strengthening of the state as regulator of the never-ending factional fights within the ruling class and controlling the anger of the exploited under the ‘democratic process’, effective impression of curbing the massive corruption in the government, and an ‘investor-friendly’ peace and order. Certainly the Arroyo faction failed them and neither the other factions could succeed. Because in capitalist decadence especially in the parts of the world where capital is weakest like the Philippines, worsening political instability is its main characteristic that any political reforms is impossible.
Furthermore, ‘political stability’ also mean that majority of the working masses should have faith (or fear) in the state and its ‘democratic’ processes. But with the rising discontentment of the masses of their pauperized living conditions and their growing disillusionment with the ‘democratic’ processes, the ruling class is frighten. They are afraid to death that sooner the exploited class will destroy their last bastion of defense and independently seize political power through the workers’ councils.
Thus, before its too late the exploiters must do something that can bring back the masses’ trust and faith to the democratic mystifications by making the latter fight for it. And the media is the best vehicle to ‘inspire’ the working people.
The widespread expose’ by the media and the anti-fraud mobilizations by the opposition and the Left are expected to put great pressures on the Arroyo faction to make up its mind and heed the line of the entire ruling class or be punished as what they did to Marcos and Estrada. These are also to ensure that the Senate will still be controlled by the opposition so as to establish a semblance of ‘check and balance’ within the rotten state.
In order to gain back the trust of the toiling masses, the ruling class want electoral reforms to reinforce the mystifications of election and democracy as what the bourgeoisie did in Latin America in order to strengthened the state. As expected, the Left of capital is wholeheartedly helping the enemy of communism in this endeavor under the banner of ‘national democracy’ or ‘socialist revolution‘. This means that before the 2010 presidential elections there should be laws enacted for electoral reforms and the COMELEC must be reorganized. Heads should roll within the Arroyo government.
Against these maneuvers of the ruling class and the mystifications created by the Left to support these, it is worth that the class-conscious workers in the Philippines should be reminded with the Theses on Bourgeois Democracy and the Proletarian Dictatorship presented by Lenin on 4th March 1919 to the First Congress of the Communist International: "the more pure democracy is, the more clearly does the oppression of capital and the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie come to light". This is what happening now in Venezuela under the ‘socialist’ Hugo Chavez.
INTERNASYONALISMO
June 2, 2007
Jun 10 2007 09:02
#8
Syndicalist: a delegation from the Korean group Socialist Political Alliance took part in the ICC's international congress recently, along with comrades from the Brazilian OPOP and EKS from Turkey. Comrades from the Internasyonalismo group in the Philippines were unable to participate physically but sent texts. We'll publish a report on this shortly. So the discussion continues with the Koreans. We are also in correspondence with other Korean groups who took part.
Jun 10 2007 10:52
#9
Philippine Independence : Myth or Reality?
On June 12, the Philippine government will celebrate the anniversary
of Philippine Independence. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo declared the
country's independence from Spanish colonial rule on June 12, 1898
paving the way for American imperialist colonial control since 1899
by buying the country from the former in the Treaty of Paris.
Since then, the Filipino bourgeoisie mobilized the people for the
struggle of national independence. After the American victory in WW
II (against Japan in the Philippines in particular) with the help of
the Filipino guerillas who were controlled directly by the American
imperialist, the USAFFE and the pro-Moscow Communist Party of the
Philippines, Hukbalahap , the latter gave the `independence' which
the Filipino bourgeoisie wanted so much.
From then on, Philippines became a battleground where tens of
thousands of lives had been sacrificed in the altar of `national
independence'. The pro-US Filipino bourgeoisie violently defended
and celebrated the date while the anti-American leftists formerly
led by the pro-Moscow Communist Party and since 1968 led by the pro-
Peking Communist Party are still struggling for it in the streets in
the urban centers or in the guerilla war in the countryside.
The Filipino workers who were dragoon by leftism in struggling to
defend national capital against American imperialism have been
thrown away in armed factional fighting between the imperialism of
former USSR and China before the collapse of the Cold War. The
maoist CPP-NPA in the 70s condemned the CPP (1930) as puppet
of `social-imperialist' USSR as if the former is not also a puppet
of imperialist Peking.
Today with the collapsed of the bipolar world, all various leftists
in the country still dream of real independence as what happened in
the 19th century. Surely, on June 12 they will launch mobilizations
shouting for "real independence from US imperialism" while the NPA
will issue statements swearing to continue the armed struggle to
attain `real independence' from American control.
The truth is, in capitalist decadence, Philippines or any country in
the world will certainly could not attain independence. The moment
American control in the country will weaken, other imperialist
powers would fill in, definitely with the help of the different
factions of the Filipino bourgeoisie and of course the leftists.
Besides, the Filipino bourgeoisie has its own imperialist ambitions
too.
In the present world capitalist crisis, Philippines is more
important in military and geographic location than economic for the
other powers as far as Southeast Asian region is concerned.
As the imperialist appetites of China or Japan will grow bigger
while the world domination of American imperialism will increasingly
weaken especially in its economic and military power, there is
strong possibility that the country could be plunged into more
barbaric chaos in the midst of imperialist war as what happened in
the Middle East and Africa.
Only the world-wide united proletarian resistance and ultimately
revolution could prevent all kinds of imperialist wars be it "wars
of aggression" or "wars for national liberation". Ending wars mean
totally destroying the capitalist social relations and nation-
states. As long as capitalism exists, as long as the world is
divided by national boundaries and authorities, wars will always be
a threat to humanity's survival.
The myth of `struggle for national liberation' has only disrupted
the proletarian combat in overthrowing the bourgeois state and
completely destroying the capitalist system world-wide.
------------------------
1 United States Armed Forces of the Far East
2 Hukbalahap - Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (People's Army Against
Japan)
3 July 4, 1946 - US imperialism gave the `nominal' independence of
the Philippines. But the Filipino bourgeoisie to avoid shame,
instead picked June 12 and recognized July 4 as Filipino-American
Friendship Day.
4 NPA - New People's Army, armed wing of the maoist Communist Party
of the Philippines
I went to a talk tonight by Dennis Maga, a unionist & spokesperson for the Free Ka Bel Movement (he's touring the country, paid for by a couple of local unions and a Phillipines solidarity group). Was quite interesting, the situation there is far more fucked up than I ever realised...