Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Portugal’s Left Bloc (and the LIT) back the Greek austerity plan

The Portuguese parliament has just approved the European Union’s “bailout” plan for Greece, the same plan that calls for Draconian austerity against the Greek workers. The plan enjoyed the support of the governing Socialist Party and the parties of the Portuguese right wing. Up to this point, there would be no reason for surprise. What […]

Left Voice

May 27, 2010
Facebook Twitter Share

The Portuguese parliament has just approved the European Union’s “bailout” plan for Greece, the same plan that calls for Draconian austerity against the Greek workers. The plan enjoyed the support of the governing Socialist Party and the parties of the Portuguese right wing. Up to this point, there would be no reason for surprise. What is truly disgraceful is the vote in favor of this “bailout” by the so-called Bloco de Esquerda (“bloc of the left”). The Bloco de Esquerda (BE) is a coalition of different leftist organizations, including the Workers International League (LIT, from its initials in Spanish), through its Portuguese section, Ruptura-Fer. In view of the disaster of other “broad parties,” like Respect in Great Britain or the recent crisis of the PSOL in Brazil, the BE was being presented as a “victory” of this type of coalitions with reformist programs, because in the most recent Portuguese elections the BE managed to double the number of its deputies (currently having 16 seats).

The Bloco de Esquerda justified its vote in favor of the “bailout” with the excuse that “rejecting the loan in the current circumstances would mean imposing bankruptcy on Greece”, as its deputy Cecilia Honório said. This shameful justification, which puts them in the position of trailing the policy of the imperialists of the European Union and IMF and on the opposite path from the Greek working class and young people, only shows that these projects of “broad parties,” far from being an alternative so that the capitalists pay for the crisis, instead of workers, are bankrupt.

Facebook Twitter Share

Left Voice

Militant journalism, revolutionary politics.

Archive

The Unknown Paths of the Late Marx

An interview with Marcello Musto about the last decade of Marx's life.

Marcello Musto

February 27, 2022

The Critical Left in Cuba

Frank García Hernández discusses the political and economic situation in Cuba and the path out of the current crisis.

Frank García Hernández

February 27, 2022

Nancy Fraser and Counterhegemony

A presentation from the Fourth International Marxist Feminist Conference.

Josefina L. Martínez

February 27, 2022

Who is Anasse Kazib?

Meet the Trotskyist railway worker running for president of France.

Left Voice

February 27, 2022

MOST RECENT

Protesters gather during a demonstration on Place de la Concorde in Paris on March 17, 2023, the day after the French government pushed a pensions reform using the article 49.3 of the constitution. - French President's government on March 17, 2023 faced no-confidence motions in parliament and intensified protests after imposing a contentious pension reform without a vote in the lower house. Across France, fresh protests erupted in the latest show of popular opposition to the bill since mid-January.

Battle of the Pensions: Toward a Pre-Revolutionary Moment in France

President Macron's use of article 49.3 to push through an unpopular pension reform bill has opened up an enormous political crisis that has changed the character of the mobilizations against the French government. We are entering a "pre-revolutionary moment" that can change the balance of power between the classes in France.

Juan Chingo

March 21, 2023

20 Years Since the U.S. Invasion of Iraq: A Reflection from a Socialist in the Heart of Imperialism

A Left Voice member and anti-war activist reflects on the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and how he learned to hate U.S. imperialism.

Sam Carliner

March 20, 2023

It is Possible to Win: The Pension Reform Crisis in France

A French socialist reflects on the way forward after Macron invites Article 49.3 to pass pension reform.

Paul Morao

March 20, 2023

“We are your economy”: Trans Youth Walkout and Speak Out

The following is a speech by a young trans person as part of an action called for by NYC Youth for Trans Rights.

Tatiana Cozzarelli

March 20, 2023