From May 27 to 29, the XXXII Congress of the PCU was held, called: “Centenary of the Communist Party”. Former senator and union leader Juan Castillo was re-elected as general secretary.
In this framework, a declaration was issued in which it is stated that capital seeks to make the costs of the crisis fall on the people. “This was brutally expressed when in the midst of the pandemic and its exit, the billionaires and the profits of transnationals multiplied, while millions of people fell into poverty and face hunger.”
“Imperialism, the concrete form of existence of capitalism, has shown its inability to solve the problems of humanity: the economic crisis is worsening, there are dangers of new financial crises, the environmental crisis, hunger, poverty and inequality are worsening”, sentenced the PCU.
At the same time, he stated that the US, “hegemonic imperialist power in decline, is increasing its aggressiveness and dangerousness.” In this sense, the PCU reaffirms its rejection of the war, it spoke out for peace, “which is valid for the war between Russia and Ukraine, but also for the almost 20 ongoing wars, which are not talked about, provoked in its vast majority due to the aggressive policy of the US and its NATO allies”.
“Latin America faces the impact of the offensive of North American imperialism and of the national oligarchies, to recover the spaces of political power that they had lost. This offensive caused democratic setbacks in several countries, but the struggle of the peoples has found ways to move forward. We ratify our historical anti-imperialist definition, solidarity with Cuba and its Revolution, besieged and attacked, and we demand the end of the criminal blockade that it has suffered for more than 60 years,” said the PCU.
At the same time, he welcomed the victory of the left in Chile, with Gabriel Boric at the helm and his support for the Historical Pact, the candidacy of Gustavo Petro in Colombia who will contest the government in the second round, and Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva, in Brazil, “elections that can influence the correlation of forces in the entire region”.
On the other hand, in the statement, the PCU stated that the electoral defeat with the loss of the national government by the Broad Front, “constituted a setback for the entire popular movement.”
He assured that the government assumed “the most conservative fraction of the power bloc, politically hegemonized by Herrerismo, with an important presence of agribusiness and financial capital, an unprecedented weight of the extreme right and with components of fascist features.”
“His conservative restoration policy has hit the big majorities. Part of the difficulties in our country are due to the impact of the pandemic, but another part is the consequence of the dogmatic application of a neoliberal adjustment in the midst of the pandemic. The result of these policies today Uruguay is less free and more unequal, therefore less democratic”, indicates the PCU.
It also states that the power bloc, and its political expression in the government, sought, taking advantage of the pandemic and the impact of the electoral defeat, “to impose its adjustment by forced marches, with salary cuts, budget cuts and a central instrument: the Law of Urgent Consideration”.
They highlighted the collection of signatures and the referendum, because “defeat would have been not fighting.”
The popular movement has emerged “strengthened from the signature campaign and the referendum, with greater organization of its main components, more unity and greater influence in the whole of our people.”
Oligarchy and people
The PCU assures that today the two projects of the country are clearer and clearer: “On the one hand, the one that expresses the historical, political and social, democratic and radical block of changes, that of the great national majorities; with productive development, social inclusion, distribution of wealth, defense of sovereignty and democratic deepening. On the other side, that of the ruling classes, that govern us, that of the gold mesh, with neoliberal adjustment, repression and cuts, concentration of power and wealth and more dependency. Today the contradiction remains between the oligarchy and the people”.
The declaration states that the challenges of responding to the problems of the people are raised. “Confront famine, poverty and hunger, with urgent solutions”, because the measures announced by the government are late and are absolutely insufficient.
“Demand responses to the demand for decent jobs and fair wages. Demand solutions for public insecurity, the one that they said they were going to solve in days and that later they said that the LUC had fixed. Organize the defense of public education and social security. Deploy the fight for public companies, ANCAP and ANTEL and against fraud in the Port of Montevideo. Promote and deepen the management of the departmental governments of the Broad Front in Montevideo, Canelones and Salto and of our municipalities. Fight in the Rendering of Accounts for resources for education, health, housing and social policies and in the Salary Councils to reverse the reduction in salaries, which also impacts retirement and pensions. These demands do not wait, they are for today”, assure the communists.
The PCU highlights the enormous challenge of projecting the level of unity and mobilization achieved in the signature campaign and in the referendum, the largest May 1 in recent years, and the gigantic town against impunity this May 20, which They show the willingness to fight of broad sectors of the people.
“We have to organize and support the struggles for immediate demands, but, at the same time, raise a common perspective that projects and strengthens them, that implies building new levels of unity and demands a programmatic expression. We are talking about all the components of the historical, political and social block of change, the organizations of workers, students, retirees and pensioners, cooperative members, feminist, environmental and cultural movements”, explains the PCU in its document.
defeat the ruling classes
It refers to the support for the PIT-CNT that has decided to hold a People’s Congress, a “valuable” initiative that they say should be supported.
“Uruguayan communists, with modesty, but with great conviction, intend to contribute with all our strength to resolve in favor of the people the contradictions that are posed to our country. An important moment in this direction are the national elections, but there is a lot of struggle to give and a lot to build to reach them and defeat the ruling classess”, is indicated in the declaration.
The PCU Congress made a call for unity, to promote the struggle, to organize the popular offensive that would make it possible to confront the conservative restoration, defeat it, reconquer the national government for the people with the Broad Front, with a political and social bloc of stronger changes, with more weight and incidence, to advance in democracy towards an advanced democracy.