We Are Not Only Fighting a Pandemic But for a New and Better Future

Statement of the European Marxist-Leninist Parties and Organizations of the ICMLPO

We are in the middle of serious health, political, social and economic crisis. The Covid 19 pandemic has exposed a capitalist society that has not been able to provide even the most basic medicine, health equipment and staff for workers and especially poor people. It has demonstrated a public health system on its knees from years of cutbacks and heavy privatization to the benefit of the big monopolies and the rich. A system on the verge of capacity collapse. The consequences of the neoliberal and austerity capitalist policy which has made the public health and care system into a product of profit are fatal.

This crisis shows also the tremendous capability of the people to develop their concrete solidarity: the bourgeoisie calls for “isolation”, the people respond with spontaneous expression of solidarity and support to the health workers and claim for concrete measures of protection

The public health systems must immediately receive get the necessary economic and human resources to secure public health. Free healthcare and protective devices for all. Private health resources must be requisitioned.

The Capital, the big monopolies have on the order hand with immediate greed demanded full access to public funds in a scale never seen before to secure their profit. The bourgeois class, their governments and state call for national unity and public spirit. But have in fact by using fear and shock therapy to start a massive offensive against the working class and popular masses to secure themselves through the rapidly growing underlying economic crises, that the Covid 19 has tricked. The bosses are given almost free hands to deepen the exploitation and make further cutbacks in the working and living conditions of the working class. And the top leaders in the reformist Trade Unions facilitates this in the name of unity with the insatiable capitalists.

The capital and their governments are not at war against an invisible enemy. They have intensified their class war, demanding of the workers, students and the people that they abandon all class struggle and struggle for their just needs at a time where unemployment, no income and social need is growing fast. Instead it is time to stand up for our rights and demands and continue the fight for social justice.

Adequate health and safety measures guaranteed for the all the workers. Stop every dismissal. Full pay, social benefits and guaranteed income for all. The governments must use the public budgets for social, health and economic needs of all the people.

In many countries the governments have declared a state of emergency, where democratic rights are put aside, the police and military are given unlimited power to secure the safety of the imperialist states and profits of the ruling class, not the safety of the population. Bourgeoisie uses the pandemic to limit worker’s freedom and silence critical voices, to spread chauvinism and fascism.

Taking advanced of this situation the European Union, its Central Bank and the EU Commission are centralizing their power. Their only answer is to cash out huge sums of billions of euro in order to defend the profits and maintain and strengthen the position of the European monopolies and EU in the global economic crises. And to close the borders between the countries and between EU and the rest of the world.

But we have not forgotten the last crises, where the banks and corporations were made gold plated on behalf of the people, and how their profit since where protected on behalf of the public health systems.

Hands off the right and freedom of the workers! It is time instead to raise the demand: stop for the free movement of capital from the public budgets and the exploitation of the working class into the already filled pockets of the stockholders and tax havens.

It’s time to demand repeal of the state of emergency laws. To demand not only the soldiers out of the streets, but all soldiers engaged in the imperialist wars to be drawn home and making useful civil work to stop the pandemic.

The epidemic is a tremendous threat for the people worldwide, especially where the health system is weak, because of the plundering of wealth by the imperialist states and monopolies, supported by anti-popular and corrupt governments. The imperialist cannot wash this responsibility off their hands. It’s time for a huge sanitary help.

The working class and the popular masses are facing a complex and dangerous period with the deepening of the general crisis of the imperialistic capitalistic society and sharpening of all the main contradictions. The working class against the bourgeois class. Imperialism against the oppressed people and nations. The contradictions within the imperialist powers and monopolies themselves for world domination and hegemony.

The moribund system cannot offer anything but more exploitation and social injustice, more pillage of the peoples and devastation of the planet. Even when million people suffer the consequences of the pandemic, the criminal financial oligarchy never ceases to speculate on the emergency. Hence, the need of the revolutionary struggle for a new socialist society, which can guarantee the complete well-being of all its members and develop a true international solidarity.

We, the independent and revolutionary Parties and Organizations of the proletariat,” call upon the workers, the trade union militants, the youth, the women and all the popular strata to organize themselves independently and be part of and build a united workers front and a popular front on its base. Let’s strengthen unity, solidarity and struggle to stand up, nor accepting the scenery of bourgeoisie attacks on our working and living condition, but defending resolutely our demands, our health, our interests! We are not only fighting a pandemic; we are fighting for a new and better future.

21.3.2020