Athens Meeting 18-20 November 2005, Contribution of
Portuguese CP
-------------------------------------------------
From: SolidNet, Tuesday, November 29, 2005
http://www.pcp.pt , mailto:internacional@pcp.pt
==================================================

International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties
"Current Trends In Capitalism: Economic, Social And
Political Impact. The Communists' Alternative"
Athens, 18-20 November, 2005

Contribution by the Portuguese Communist Party

Capitalism, as a world system, has long entered into its
historical decline. Despite the appearences and all the
attempts to portray it as an unsurmountable (although
perfectible) mode of production, it is undergoing a crisis
that is structural and which knows no solution within the
framework of the system. What is needed is its replacement
by a superior mode of production, that can harmonize the
productive forces and the relations of production; that can
liberate the enormous potential for social and human
progress contained in the scientific and technological
revolution; that can overcome the antagonistic
contradiction between capital and labour; that can put an
end to millenia of societies based on the exploitation of
man by man what is needed is the socialist society.

The requirement to overcome capitalism is not new.
Capitalism's entry into its imperialist stage which Lenin
characterized in his famous work "Imperialism, the highest
stage of capitalism" - opened a new epoch of social
revolutions. The 1905 Russian revolution, the centenary of
which we are celebrating, is already an expression of this
reality in the concrete conditions of Czarist Russia. But
it was the great October Socialist Revolution that
translated the necessary socialist alternative into a
concrete undertaking, inaugurating the epoch of the
transition from capitalism to socialism. It is in this
epoch that we live and struggle today.

The defeats of the USSR and of socialism in Europe have
given new wind to capitalism. In the class confrontation
within each country and on an international level the
revolutionary and anti-imperialist component has become
much weaker, phenomena of liquidationism and reformist
adaptation have grown, violent campaigns on "the demise of
communism" and "the irreversible decline of Communist
Parties" have been unleashed. It has not been, and it is
still not, easy to resist the tide of obscurantist
anti-communism, to defend the truth and the honour of the
working-class and communist movement vis a vis the
campaigns of historical falsification, to keep alive the
values and ideals of socialism and communism. But to resist
is to win. Although weakened and dispersed, the Communist
movement is a reality that asserts itself and that has
conditions to recover its place in the front rank of the
liberation struggle.

Life itself has shown that the defeats of socialism have
not made the world safer, more humane or just. On the
contrary. Capitalism's intrinsically exploitative and
aggressive nature has been revealed in an even more brutal
way. Social injustice and inequalities have become greater;
the drama of unemployment, of hunger, of disease, has taken
on an unprecedented scale; the offensive against the rights
and achievements won by the workers throughout many decades
of harsh struggles has become widespread; environmental
problems are becoming more acute; the number of tension
spots has been multiplied and interference in the internal
affairs of the peoples has become even more systematic and
brazen; militarism has grown and imperialism has taken war
to various corners of the world. At the same time, the
centralization and concentration of capital and of wealth,
as well as their power, have grown to unprecedented levels,
while the financialization of the economy and the growing
economic importance of arms and drug trafficking, as well
as of other criminal business, have further enhanced the
system's parasitic, decadent and criminal nature.

It is in this context, and inspired by an evident spirit of
revenge, that imperialism is seeking to impose a "new
order" which, enshrining a balance of forces that favours
it, may legitimize its offensive to recolonize the planet.
What is occurring is a strong-armed response to the crisis
of capitalism and to the acute contradictions that are
affecting the contemporary world. The goal is to violently
repress the inevitable explosions of social discontent and
protest. The goal is to smother the resistance and struggle
of the workers and the peoples, and if possible, to destroy
in the womb any process of progressive and revolutionary
transformation. That is the essence of the so-called "war
on terrorism", of the wars in the former Yugoslavia, in
Afghanistan and Iraq, of militarism (which, from Germany
and the European Union bloc to Japan is accelerating in a
disquieting way), of the growing attacks against
fundamental rights and freedoms (from the "Patriot Act" in
the USA to the European Union-led security measures), of
the criminalization of Resistance and the promotion of
obscurantist and reactionary forces all this seeking to
impose a brutal intensification of the rates of
exploitation.

This is where lies the alpha and the omega of capitalism's
crisis and of the need to overcome it. The dangerous
regressions that are becoming widespread in the
contemporary world result from the very dynamics of
reproduction of the capitalist system, which is based on
the logic of accumulation and on the realization of maximum
profits. Scientific and technological progress, with the
growing organic composition of capital and the tendential
decline in the rate of profit, enters into contradiction
with the interests of not just the working class, but of
the overwhelming majority of the population. War and the
trend towards commodifying all spheres of social life are
jeopardizing Humankind itself.

*
More than ever, the alternative is for the working class
and its allies to take power, undertake profound social and
economic transformations (attacking the very heart of
capital, socializing the large economic and financial
groups that control political power, setting up
anti-monopolistic property relations), to create a
socialist society where (drawing lessons from past and
present experience in building a new society) the bourgeois
State is replaced by a profoundly democratic State that can
stimulate and ensure the direct and creative activity of
the masses of the people in the process of building their
own destiny. This task, which experience has proved to be
extremely difficult to fulfill, is nonetheless the central
task. Without it, the irreversibility of the process cannot
be ensured. The well-known Marxist aphorism "the
emancipation of the workers can only be won by the workers
themselves" also means this, until the day when, in an as
of yet unpredictable fashion and time, the State finally
gives way to "the administration of things".

We speak, of course, of a global and universal alternative
to the "globalized" capitalism of our days. An alternative
which is not yet on the agenda, but which despite that, is
no less necessary and the prospect of which must, in the
PCP's opinion, be present in the current battles against
capital. An alternative which necessarily requires the
struggle on a national level, which is an unavoidable
context for the class struggle and the struggle for social
transformation. But which, simultaneously in times when
the mechanisms of capitalist domination are increasingly
implemented on an international level requires stronger
solidarity and the internationalist cooperation of the
Communists, of progressives, of the workers and peoples.
Which is aware of the fact that we are still living through
times of resistance and gathering strength, and that the
path towards alternatives of social progress and socialism
requires a persistant work of building the vanguard Party
and the many bonds that must attach it to the working class
and the masses. But which at the same time and this can be
considered "the thesis of all theses" of our 17th Congress
regarding the world view of the Portuguese Communists -
considers that in the current situation of instability and
uncertainty, imperialism's violent offensive and the
ensuing perils for Humankind coexist with a strong
resistance and enormous potential for progressive and
revolutionary developments. Advances and victories are
possible, as in Cuba and Venezuela, and on a different
level, as with the success of the French and Dutch "No"
votes to the so-called European Constitution. At the same
time, we are witnessing important processes of realignment
of forces, and realities such as China are asserting
themselves and playing a growing role in the international
arena and in containing the hegemonistic designs of the USA
and of imperialism as a whole.

From the point of view of the objective situation, never
before have capitalism's basic contradictions been so
acute, has its incapacity to solve the problems of the
contemporary world been so blatantly obvious, has its
social basis of support been so narrow. But capitalism will
never fall on its own, without the revolutionary,
conscienscious and determined intervention by the masses.
That is why it is necessary, in the current phase of
resistance and accumulation of strength, to give special
attention to the creation of the subjective conditions
ideological, political, organizational which are essential
for that intervention. This requires an extremely intense
struggle of ideas, both against reaction and imperialism
and within the democratic camp itself. This is particularly
true on the issue of the decisive importance of
Marxist-Leninist theory, on the need for a revolutionary
Party, on the role of the working class and class-based
trade unionism, on the issues of power and of property in
the process of transformation, as well as on the assessment
of the working-class and Communist movement's history. The
crisis affecting social-democracy as a result of its
surrender to the dogmas of neo-liberalism and its
transformation into a pillar of capitalism, opens up space
for the strengthening of Communists.

*

These are some of the fundamental theses of the PCP's 17th
Congress regarding the international situation,
capitalism's evolution and the Communists' alternative,
which we think deserve to be stressed in our Meeting.

They are theses which the Portuguese situation confirms in
broad terms.

On the economic and social level: an economic stagnation;
capital's parasitic and predatory nature, with the
scandalous privatization of the public sector and the
State's social functions; the destruction of the productive
apparatus and the transfer of key sectors of the economy to
foreign capital; an offensive against workers' rights,
increased unemployment and poverty, increasingly precarious
labour relations, lower wages and income, longer working
hours and higher retirement age; a brutal social
polarization with the banks and largest economic groups
reaping unprecedented profits; a deliberate activity to
divide and weaken the class-based trade unions.

On the political level: growing restrictions on democracy
and laws which, like the law on political parties, the
planned election laws and other measures, are shaping up,
in an increasingly disturbing way, to be a veritable
subversion of the democratic regime.

On the level of foreign relations: an acritical acceptance
of neo-liberal guidelines and the impositions of
international big business, a submission to the diktats of
NATO, of the USA and the EU, and Portugal's involvment in
imperialism's strategy of aggression and war.

This is the result of nearly thirty years of policies by
the right-wing and by social-democracy, policies which the
current Socialist Party government is carrying even
further, generating growing discontent and popular
protests, which were reflected in the results of last
October's local government elections, in which our Party
scored a significant victory and, above all, in numerous
struggles by the most diverse sectors of Portuguese society
and in the great day of action of November 10, organized by
CGTP, the Portuguese workers' unity and class-based trade
union central.

The alternative which the Portuguese Communists indicate
for Portugal is socialism. In Portuguese capitalism's
current phase, it is increasingly evident that only
socialism can liberate the productive forces, develop the
country and give answers to the problems and yearnings of
the workers and of the overwhelming majority of the
Portuguese people.

However, the analysis of the balance of forces on the
national, European and international level results in the
PCP's Programme not placing socialism as an immediate task,
but rather an "Advanced Democracy" which is simultaneously
economic, social, political and cultural and which,
incorporating the values and experiences of the liberating
revolution of April 25, 1974, places socialism on the
horizon. It is true that the Portuguese revolution - which
the Party's programme characterizes as an "unfinished
revolution" - was defeated, and that the monopolies'
economic power (as well as the submission to imperialism)
has been restored, with the real threat of subversion of
the political regime that emerged from the revolution. But
it is not possible to historically erase the depth of its
impact.

At present, the Portuguese Communists' struggle is geared
to breaking with the right-wing policies that have been
implemented for many years now, with shifting alliances and
convergences, by the PS, PSD and CDS, and for a left-wing
alternative. This requires the permanent defense of the
short-term interests of the workers and of other
anti-monopoly classes and strata; strengthening the
class-based trade union movement and other structures of
the people's movement; unfolding the mass struggle as a
priority for action, together with the activity within the
institutions of Local Government, in the Assembly of the
Republic [Parliament], and in the European Parliament.
Strengthening the Party and its links with the working
class and the masses of the people is, for us, a
requirement for success in the struggle and the key to an
alternative. To overcome delays, broaden our ranks, nurture
our roots in the companies and other workplaces, in a
context of speedy and profound social and economic
transformations, is of the greatest importance. On an
international level, it is of particular importance to
defend national sovereignty; to fight against the European
Union's impositions and for a different Europe, of peace
and cooperation among sovereign States that are equal in
rights; to fight against imperialism's quest for world
domination.

The fact that our first responsibility is towards the
Portuguese people and the priority given to the national
framework do not lead us to view our struggle in a
self-sufficient, narrow or "nationalistic" way. On the
contrary, we view the Portuguese people's struggle as an
integral part of the general process of emancipation of the
workers and the peoples, and we view stronger relations of
cooperation and internationalist solidarity, first and
foremost among the Communists, as not just a duty, but an
objective necessity of the struggle against capital.

Giving priority to the cooperation geared towards action
for concrete goals and to international initiatives against
neo-liberalism and war, the PCP whilst disagreeing with
supra-national forms of organization has long defended the
need for more stable forms of liaison between Communist and
other revolutionary parties. But the delays in this sphere
cannot be overcome by hasty solutions with a
federalist-style rationale, with "majorities" and
"minorities", ignoring the great diversity of situations
that exist. Contrarily to what happens with, for example,
the "European left party", in which the PCP does not
participate and in relation to which we have a very
critical stance, what is needed are solutions of unity,
that respect the sovereignty and identity of all, that
bring together and not that create additional difficulties
and fractures.

Hence, our positive assessment of the relevance and
usefulness of this Meeting, and our willingness to examine
new possibilities of joint or converging actions by the
Communists and other left-wing and anti-imperialist forces.
The struggle against the offensive of exploitation by big
business, and to defend workers' rights and social and
economic achievements; the struggle to defend democratic
rights and against fascistic and anti-Communist measures
and laws (as is the case of the provocative Report that is
being discussed in the Council of Europe); the struggle
against war and the active solidarity with the peoples that
are victims of imperialist aggression and interference; are
important directions of internationalist cooperation that
we should explore. The international Meeting that we will
host in Lisbon, in March of next year, on the occasion of
the PCP's 85th anniversary, addressing the topic "Europe
and the European Union: realities, experiences of struggle
and new opportunities of transformation", is a contribution
for the necessary strengthening of our internationalist
cooperation.

Athens Meeting 18-20 November 2005, Contribution of
Portuguese CP [Pt.]
-------------------------------------------------
From: SolidNet, Tuesday, November 29, 2005
http://www.pcp.pt , mailto:internacional@pcp.pt
==================================================

International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties
"Current Trends In Capitalism: Economic, Social And
Political Impact. The Communists' Alternative"
Athens, 18-20 November, 2005

Contribui��o do Partido Comunista Portugu�s

O capitalismo, considerado como sistema mundial, entrou h�
muito em decl�nio hist�rico e, apesar das apar�ncias e de
todas as tentativas para o apresentar como modo de produ��o
inultrapass�vel (embora aperfei�o�vel), vive uma crise que
� estrutural e n�o tem solu��o no quadro do sistema, antes
exige a sua substitui��o por um modo de produ��o superior,
capaz de p�r em sintonia for�as produtivas e rela��es de
produ��o, libertar o enorme potencial de progresso social e
humano da revolu��o cient�fica e t�cnica, superar a
contradi��o antag�nica entre o capital e o trabalho, p�r
termo a mil�nios de sociedades baseadas na explora��o do
homem pelo homem a sociedade socialista.

A exig�ncia de supera��o do capitalismo n�o � de hoje. A
entrada do capitalismo na fase do imperialismo que Lenine
caracterizou na sua obra c�lebre "O imperialismo est�dio
superior do capitalismo" abriu uma nova �poca de
revolu��es sociais. A revolu��o russa de 1905, cujo
centen�rio celebramos, � j� express�o desta realidade nas
condi��es concretas da R�ssia czarista, mas foi a grande
revolu��o socialista de Outubro que traduziu em
empreendimento concreto a alternativa socialista
necess�ria, inaugurando a �poca de passagem do capitalismo
ao socialismo. � nessa �poca que hoje vivemos e lutamos.

As derrotas da URSS e do socialismo na Europa vieram dar um
novo f�lego ao capitalismo. No confronto de classe no
plano de cada pa�s como no plano internacional
debilitou-se fortemente a componente revolucion�ria e
anti-imperialista, desenvolveram-se fen�menos de
liquidacionismo e de adapta��o reformista, desencadearam-se
violentas campanhas sobre a "morte do comunismo" e o
"decl�nio irrevers�vel dos partidos comunistas". N�o foi, e
continua a n�o ser f�cil resistir � onda de obscurantismo
anticomunista, defender a verdade e a honra do movimento
oper�rio e comunista frente �s campanhas de falsifica��o da
Hist�ria, manter vivos os valores e os ideais do socialismo
e do comunismo. Mas resistir � vencer. Embora ainda
enfraquecido e disperso, o movimento comunista � uma
realidade que se afirma e que tem condi��es para recuperar
a sua posi��o na primeira linha do combate libertador.

A pr�pria vida se encarregou de mostrar que as derrotas do
socialismo n�o tornaram o mundo mais seguro, mais humano,
mais justo. Pelo contr�rio. A natureza intrinsecamente
exploradora e agressiva do capitalismo revelou-se de modo
ainda mais brutal. Aprofundaram-se as injusti�as e as
desigualdades sociais; os dramas do desemprego, da fome, da
doen�a ganharam uma dimens�o in�dita; generalizou-se a
ofensiva contra direitos e conquistas alcan�ados pelos
trabalhadores ao longo de d�cadas de duras lutas;
agravaram-se os problemas ambientais; multiplicaram-se os
focos de tens�o e a inger�ncia nos assuntos internos dos
povos tornou-se mais sistem�tica e descarada;
desenvolveu-se o militarismo e o imperialismo levou a
guerra a v�rios pontos do mundo. Enquanto isso a
centraliza��o e concentra��o do capital e da riqueza e o
seu poder cresceram a n�veis nunca vistos, ao mesmo tempo
que a financeiriza��o da economia e o crescente peso
econ�mico do tr�fico de armas, da droga e de outros
neg�cios criminosos, acentuam o car�cter parasit�rio,
decadente e criminoso do sistema.

� neste quadro e animado por um evidente esp�rito de
revanche que o imperialismo procura impor ao mundo uma
"nova ordem" que, consagrando uma correla��o de for�as que
lhe � favor�vel, legitime a sua ofensiva de recoloniza��o
do planeta. O que est� em marcha � uma resposta de for�a �
crise do capitalismo e �s agudas contradi��es que percorrem
o mundo contempor�neo. O objectivo � a repress�o violenta
de inevit�veis explos�es de descontentamento e protesto
social, � sufocar a resist�ncia e a luta dos trabalhadores
e dos povos e se poss�vel matar no ovo processos de
transforma��o progressista e revolucion�ria. Essa � a
ess�ncia da chamada "guerra ao terrorismo", das guerras na
ex-Jugosl�via, no Afeganist�o ou no Iraque, do militarismo
(que, da Alemanha e do bloco Uni�o Europeia ao Jap�o
acelera de modo inquietante ), dos crescentes ataques a
direitos e liberdades fundamentais ( do "Patriot Act" dos
EUA �s medidas securit�rias impulsionadas pela U.E.), de
criminaliza��o da Resist�ncia e de promo��o de for�as
obscurantistas e reaccion�rias, tudo isto com o objectivo
de impor a brutal intensifica��o da taxa de explora��o.

� aqui que se situa o alfa e o omega da crise do
capitalismo e da exig�ncia da sua supera��o. As perigosas
regress�es que percorrem o mundo contempor�neo decorrem da
pr�pria din�mica de reprodu��o do sistema capitalista,
baseada na l�gica da acumula��o e da realiza��o do m�ximo
lucro. O progresso cient�fico e t�cnico, com o aumento da
composi��o org�nica do capital e a baixa tendencial da taxa
de lucro, entra em contradi��o com os interesses, n�o
apenas da classe oper�ria mas da esmagadora maioria da
popula��o. A guerra e a tend�ncia � mercantiliza��o de
todas as esferas da vida social p�em em perigo a pr�pria
Humanidade.

.
Mais do que nunca a alternativa � a conquista do poder
pela classe oper�ria e seus aliados, a realiza��o de
profundas transforma��es socioecon�micas (atacando o
cora��o do capital, socializando os grandes grupos
econ�micos e financeiros que comandam o poder pol�tico,
instaurando rela��es de propriedade anti-monopolistas), a
instaura��o de uma sociedade socialista em que (tirando
li��es das experi�ncias, passadas e presentes, de
constru��o da nova sociedade) o estado burgu�s seja
substitu�do por um estado profundamente democr�tico, que
estimule e assegure a interven��o directa e criadora das
massas populares no processo de edifica��o do seu pr�prio
destino. Esta tarefa, que a experi�ncia mostrou ser de
dific�lima realiza��o, � entretanto a tarefa central, j�
que sem ela n�o ficar� assegurada a irreversibilidade do
processo. O conhecido aforismo marxista de que "a
liberta��o dos trabalhadores s� pode ser obra dos pr�prios
trabalhadores" passa tamb�m por aqui, at� que, numa
perspectiva a uma dist�ncia e com contornos imprevis�veis,
o Estado ceda finalmente lugar � "administra��o das
coisas".

Falamos, claro, de uma alternativa global, universal ao
capitalismo "globalizado" que hoje temos. Que n�o est�
ainda na ordem do dia, mas que nem por isso � menos
necess�ria, e cuja perspectiva, do ponto de vista do PCP,
deve estar presente nas batalhas imediatas contra o
capital. Que passa necessariamente pela luta no plano
nacional, marco incontorn�vel da luta de classes e de
transforma��o social. Mas que, simultaneamente em tempos
em que os mecanismos de domina��o capitalista se articulam
cada vez mais fortemente no plano internacional exige o
refor�o da solidariedade e da coopera��o internacionalista
dos comunistas, dos progressistas, dos trabalhadores e dos
povos. Que est� consciente de que vivemos ainda tempos de
resist�ncia e de acumula��o de for�as e que o caminho de
alternativas de progresso social e socialista exigem um
persistente trabalho de constru��o do partido de vanguarda
e dos fios que o t�m de ligar � classe oper�ria e �s
massas. Mas que simultaneamente tem presente e esta pode
ser considerada a "tese das teses" do nosso XVII Congresso
em rela��o ao modo como os comunistas portugueses v�m o
mundo que na situa��o de instabilidade e incerteza actual,
a violenta ofensiva do imperialismo e os grandes perigos
que se colocam � Humanidade coexistem com uma forte
resist�ncia e grandes potencialidades de desenvolvimento
progressista e revolucion�rio. E que, como em Cuba e na
Venezuela ou, a um outro n�vel, vit�rias como a do "N�o"
franc�s e holand�s � chamada "constitui��o europeia", s�o
poss�veis avan�os e vit�rias. Isto ao mesmo tempo que se
verificam importantes processos de rearruma��o de for�as e
se afirmam realidades que, como a China, desempenham
crescente papel na arena internacional e na conten��o dos
projectos hegem�nicos dos EUA e do imperialismo no seu
conjunto.

Do ponto de vista da situa��o objectiva nunca foram t�o
agudas as contradi��es b�sicas do capitalismo, t�o
manifesta a sua incapacidade para resolver os problemas do
mundo contempor�neo, t�o estreita a sua base social de
apoio. Mas o capitalismo jamais cair� por si, sem a
interven��o revolucion�ria, consciente e decidida, das
massas. � por isso necess�rio, na actual fase de
resist�ncia e de acumula��o de for�as, dar particular
aten��o � cria��o das condi��es subjectivas ideol�gicas,
pol�ticas, organizativas indispens�veis a essa
interven��o. O que implica uma intens�ssima luta de ideias,
tanto contra a reac��o e o imperialismo, como dentro do
pr�prio campo democr�tico. Isso respeita muito
particularmente a decisiva import�ncia da teoria
marxista-leninista, a necessidade do partido
revolucion�rio, o papel da classe oper�ria e do
sindicalismo de classe, as quest�es do poder e da
propriedade no processo de transforma��o, al�m da avalia��o
da hist�ria do movimento oper�rio e comunista. A crise que
grassa na social-democracia em conseq��ncia da sua rendi��o
aos dogmas do neoliberalismo e sua transforma��o num pilar
do capitalismo, abre espa�o ao refor�o dos comunistas.

*

Estas s�o algumas das teses fundamentais do XVII Congresso
do PCP sobre a situa��o internacional, a evolu��o do
capitalismo e a alternativa dos comunistas que consideramos
oportuno sublinhar neste nosso Encontro.

S�o teses que a evolu��o da situa��o portuguesa confirma
nas suas linhas gerais.

No plano econ�mico e social: estagna��o econ�mica; natureza
parasit�ria e predadora do capital com a escandalosa
privatiza��o do sector p�blico e fun��es sociais do Estado;
destrui��o do tecido produtivo e da aliena��o ao capital
estrangeiro dos sectores chave da economia; ofensiva contra
direitos dos trabalhadores, aumento do desemprego e da
pobreza, precariza��o crescente das rela��es laborais,
abaixamento de sal�rios e rendimentos, aumento do hor�rio
de trabalho e da idade de reforma; brutal polariza��o
social com a banca e os maiores grupos econ�micos
encaixando lucros sem precedentes; ac��o deliberada no
sentido de dividir e enfraquecer os Sindicatos de classe.

No plano pol�tico: crescentes limita��es � democracia e
leis que, como a lei dos partidos, as projectadas leis
eleitorais e outras medidas configuram de modo cada vez
mais inquietante, uma autentica subvers�o do regime
democr�tico.

No plano do relacionamento externo: aceita��o acr�tica das
orienta��es neoliberais e imposi��es do grande capital
internacional, submiss�o aos ditames da NATO, dos EUA e da
U.E. e envolvimento de Portugal na estrat�gia de agress�o e
guerra do imperialismo.

Este � o resultado de quase trinta anos de pol�ticas da
direita e da social-democracia, pol�ticas que o actual
governo do Partido Socialista est� a levar ainda mais
longe, suscitando crescente descontentamento e protesto
popular traduzido nos resultados das elei��es aut�rquicas
de Outubro em que o nosso Partido alcan�ou uma
significativa vit�ria e, sobretudo, em numerosas lutas dos
mais diversos sectores da sociedade portuguesa, e na grande
jornada de 10 de Novembro convocada pela CGTP, a central
unit�ria de classe dos trabalhadores portugueses.

A alternativa que os comunistas apontam para Portugal � o
socialismo. Na fase actual do capitalismo portugu�s, � cada
vez mais evidente que s� com o socialismo ser� poss�vel
libertar as for�as produtivas, desenvolver o pa�s e dar
resposta aos problemas e aspira��es dos trabalhadores e da
esmagadora maioria dos portugueses.

Entretanto a an�lise da correla��o de for�as no plano
nacional, europeu e internacional conduz a que o Programa
do P.C.P. n�o coloque o socialismo como tarefa imediata,
mas sim uma "Democracia Avan�ada", simultaneamente
econ�mica, social, pol�tica e cultural que, incorporando os
valores e experi�ncias da revolu��o libertadora de 25 de
Abril de 1974, tenha no horizonte o socialismo. � verdade
que a revolu��o portuguesa, que o Programa do Partido
caracteriza como "revolu��o inacabada", foi derrotada e que
o poder econ�mico dos monop�lios (e a submiss�o ao
imperialismo) foi j� restaurado havendo agora o perigo de
subvers�o do regime pol�tico instaurado pela revolu��o. Mas
a profundidade dos seus sulcos n�o pode ser historicamente
anulada.

No momento presente a luta dos comunistas portugueses est�
orientadas para a ruptura com as pol�ticas de direita
praticadas ao longo de muitos anos pelo PS, PSD e CDS, em
converg�ncias e alian�as de geometria vari�vel, e por uma
alternativa de esquerda. O que exige: a defesa permanente
dos interesses imediatos dos trabalhadores e outras classes
e camadas anti-monopolistas; o fortalecimento do movimento
sindical de classe e demais estruturas do movimento
popular; o desenvolvimento da luta de massas, como frente
de ac��o priorit�ria, combinada com a interven��o no plano
institucional nas Autarquias, na Assembleia da Rep�blica,
no Parlamento Europeu. O refor�o do Partido e da sua
liga��o com a classe oper�ria e as massas populares � para
n�s condi��o para o sucesso da luta e a chave da
alternativa. Vencer atrasos, alargar fileiras, cuidar do
enraizamento nas empresas e outros locais de trabalho num
contexto de r�pidas e profundas altera��es socioecon�micas
� da maior import�ncia. No plano externo assume particular
import�ncia a defesa da soberania nacional, a luta contra
as imposi��es da Uni�o Europeia e por uma outra Europa de
paz e coopera��o entre Estados soberanos e iguais em
direitos, o combate contra os des�gnios imperialistas de
dom�nio planet�rio.

A nossa responsabilidade primeira perante o povo portugu�s
e a considera��o priorit�ria do marco nacional n�o nos leva
a conceber a nossa luta de modo autarcico, estreito,
"nacionalista". Pelo contr�rio, consideramos a luta do povo
portugu�s parte integrante do processo geral de emancipa��o
dos trabalhadores e dos povos e o refor�o da coopera��o e
da solidariedade internacionalista, e em primeiro lugar dos
comunistas, n�o apenas como um dever mas como uma
necessidade objectiva do combate contra o capital.

Dando prioridade � coopera��o voltada para a ac��o em torno
de objectivos concretos e a iniciativas internacionais
contra o neoliberalismo e contra a guerra, o PCP, ao mesmo
tempo que discorda de formas de organiza��o
supra-nacionais, defende h� muito a necessidade de caminhar
para formas mais est�veis de articula��o entre partidos
comunistas e outros partidos revolucion�rios. Mas os
atrasos neste dom�nio n�o se resolvem precipitando solu��es
e com l�gicas de tipo federalista, com "maiorias" e
"minorias", ignorando a grande diversidade de situa��es
existente. Ao contr�rio do que por exemplo acontece com o
"partido da esquerda europeia", em que o PCP n�o participa
e relativamente ao qual tem uma posi��o muito cr�tica, s�o
necess�rias solu��es unit�rias, respeitadoras da soberania
e identidade de todos, que unam e n�o que criem
dificuldades e fracturas suplementares.

Da� a nossa avalia��o positiva sobre a oportunidade e
utilidade deste nosso Encontro e a nossa disponibilidade
para examinar novas possibilidades de ac��o comum ou
convergente dos comunistas e de outras for�as de esquerda e
anti-imperialistas. A luta contra a ofensiva exploradora do
grande capital e em defesa das conquistas s�cio-econ�micas
e direitos dos trabalhadores, a luta em defesa dos direitos
democr�ticos e contra leis e medidas fascizantes e
anticomunistas (como o provocat�rio em discuss�o no
Conselho da Europa), a luta contra a guerra e a
solidariedade activa com os povos vitimas das agress�es e
inger�ncias do imperialismo, s�o importantes direc��es de
coopera��o internacional que deveremos explorar. O Encontro
internacional que promoveremos em Lisboa em Mar�o por
ocasi�o do 85� anivers�rio do PCP, subordinado ao tema "A
Europa e a Uni�o Europeia; realidades, experi�ncias de luta
e novas oportunidades de transforma��o", � uma contribui��o
para o necess�rio refor�o da nossa coopera��o
internacionalista.