Capitalist Crisis in Spain: Accelerated by the Pandemic and managed by Social Democracy

By the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain (PCTE)

 

Spain is living in 2020 the worst capitalist crisis of 121 its history. The economy is shrinking on double-digit figures; there are millions of unemployed workers, and dozens of thousands of victims dead because of the pandemic.

A superficial glance could determine that the causes of the current crisis are completely due to the effects of the pandemic and the paralysis of economy during confinement. However, the analysis we had made before the pandemic were already predicting the looming of a capitalist crisis, being the Coronavirus actually a catalyst, rather than the cause of it. One that affects the capitalist relationships worldwide and not only its national expressions.

Is the Covid vaccine a "triumph of capitalism"?

 By Nikos Mottas.

One of the many myths that have been spread by bourgeois media during this period is that the Covid-19 vaccine consists a “victory” or a “triumph” of capitalism. In fact, they are trying to convince us that the – without doubt significant - progress made by large biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in the fight against Coronavirus is an achievement of the capitalist system. 

This is simply not true. 

Capitalism is the virus, Socialism is the vaccine!

By Nikos Mottas.

The 2008 global capitalist economic crisis, the effects of which are still visible today, was a tremendous opportunity for the big capitalists to increase their wealth. During a period of ten years, from 2008 to 2018, the number of billionaires was doubled, like their profits. It has been proved that the crisis generates more capitalists.

The Coronavirus pandemic, which has plagued the world since the beginning of 2020, comes to confirm that capitalist barbarity “feeds” from the people's death, poverty, impoverishment and exploitation. The recent report by Forbes is revealing: 

Reaganomics Exposed: Keeping tax low for the rich doesn't boost economy, new research says

The so-called Reaganomics will be remembered by the people as a set of cruel, anti-worker economic policies in favor of the big capital, associated with supply-side theories and eliminating and restrictions on the free-market economy. 

The economic policy that U.S. President Ronald Reagan advocated for pushed for lower taxes for the wealthy and less business regulation by the government. The idea was that showering the rich with even more money would - supposedly - result in a greater supply of services and goods, at lower prices, and an increase in employment.

Questo è il capitalismo: Queues form outside Milan food banks as capitalist crisis deepens

The scenes you are going to see are from Milan, the industrial, commercial and financial center of Northern Italy and one of the Europe's wealthiest cities. Hosting a significant number of large multinational groups (e.g. Amazon, Apple, Coca Cola, HP, Huawei, IBM, Microsoft, Nestle, Samsung, Siemens, Vodafone, Whirpool, etc), Milan has in terms of GDP the second-largest economy in the EU after Paris.

But behind the impressive facade of capitalist growth, there is another Milan which reflects the deepening class inequalities and the results of long-time policies by the bourgeois Italian governments and the European Union. 

Who will pay for the crisis? Lufthansa receives $10 billion state bailout and cuts 30,000 jobs

On November 14th we were writing that at least 90,000 people will lose their job by the end of December as a result of mass layoffs by major U.S. airline companies. Aviation giants, such as United Airlines and American Airlines laid off 32,000 workers last October in an attempt to blackmail the U.S. government for higher subsidies.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a serious impact on the aviation industry due to travel restrictions and a significant slump in demand among travellers. No travellers means less profits for the big airliners. In order to reduce losses, the monopolies of aviation proceed to a series of anti-labor measures, including pay cuts, furloughs and, of course, layoffs. 

Youth in Survival Against Pandemic and Capitalism: SOCIALISM or BARBARISM

Twenty European Communist Youth Organizations have gathered on the 103rd anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution at the “Online Meeting of European Communist Youth Organizations to Share Experiences” and exchanged their experiences about the struggle of the youth during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, working people all around the world are envisaging numerous attacks against their rights. Their right to healthcare is getting vandalized by capitalist governments who are promoting private health industry instead of public healthcare. 

KKE MEP Nikolaou-Alavanos: "EU and bourgeois governments defend healthcare's commercialization against people's needs"

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) MEP Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos addressed the plenary session of the European Parliament in the debate on the "Programme for the Union’s action in the field of Health for the period 2021-2027 - EU4Health".

This program seeks to legitimize the inadequacy of public health systems that was proved painfully in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and is even more dramatically confirmed in the second. It lays down, among other, the air transportation of doctors from one country with a disintegrated public health system "of one disease" to another, perpetuating the patch of gaps, opening others, while in each case the private health groups are growing richer, destroying the people's income.

Solidarity with the workers and staff in U.S. airlines — No to layoffs, pay cuts and anti-labor measures!

Employment will drop by 90,000 full-time employees by December, according to Airlines for America trade group, which represents major U.S. airlines.

The 90,000 job losses will bring U.S. airlines employment to its lowest level since the mid-1980s by year's end as a result of more than 30,000 furloughs at airlines such as United and American and thousands of other workers from Southwest, Delta Airlines and other carriers accepting buyouts, CNBC reported.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics data that the trade group compiled show the drop from pre-COVID peak in March of 460,000 full-time jobs to 370,000 full-time jobs by year's end.

Hanna Gharib: The socialist ideology has succeeded in the battle against Covid-19, whereas capitalism failed

"The socialist ideology had succeeded in the battle against COVID-19, whereas capitalist-oriented countries had failed. This pandemic had explicitly showed the greedy side of the capitalist system", was the message conveyed by Hanna Gharib, General Secretary of the Lebanese Communist Party, during the online lecture “Socialism and Capitalism in post-COVID-19 era”, organized by the Chinese Communist Party, in partnership with Arab Leftist Parties. 

Hanna Gharib referred on how states like China, Cuba and Vietnam succeeded against the COVID-19 pandemic, in sharp contrast with the failure of most capitalist states to protect their people. (Read here his speech)

Lockdown capitalist policies! KKE slams Greek government's handling of the pandemic

Since November 7th Greece has entered a second nationwide lockdown, following a decision by the conservative New Democracy (ND) government. The lockdown is accompanied by tough penalties for violations of the quarantine and non-observance of social distancing. 

Alongside the lockdown, as the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) mentions, the government has committed crimes against the people's health and safety in order to serve the interests of the capital in a number of industry branches. 

U.S. Election 2020: Neither Trump nor Biden!

By Nikos Mottas.

On November 3rd, the people of the United States of America will vote for the new President and vice president of the country. The two major contestants, current President Donald Trump and the Democratic nominee Joe Biden, are the two sides of the same coin. It is an undeniable truth that they both express the general strategic interests of the U.S. monopoly capital.  

The differences in the political proposals between Trump and Biden reflect the sharpening of the competition between different sections of the U.S. capital. Indeed, a look at the top donors of the two presidential campaigns is indicative of the fierce rivalry that is taking place in the backstage between large monopoly groups.

European Communist Initiative: The pandemic reveals the criminal inadequacy of health systems in all capitalist states

Statement by the European Initiative of Communist and Workers' Parties on the new outbreak of the pandemic:

The new outbreak of the pandemic throughout Europe is a reality that did not come out of thin air. The claims of the bourgeois governments that they “took measures” and “shielded the public health systems” after the first wave of the pandemic, as well as that “in the course of the pandemic the EU wised up and stands in solidarity with the peoples”, are myths.

Following the new wave of the pandemic, all these claims are day by day revealed and bankrupt. The increase in deaths, cases, and intubated patients reveals the responsibility of the EU and the government directions over time, which left the public health systems destitute of staff, infrastructure, ICUs, reagents, and tests.

"Capitalism has led Russia into a 30-year depression", says Moscow City Duma deputy

Moscow City deputy for CPRF Nikolai Zubrilin.

The Lenin State Farm (Lenin Sovkhoz), a 2,000-hectare sprawl of fields growing fruits and vegetables on the outskirts of Moscow faces the danger of closing. 

In what seems to be a coordinated attack from multiple directions, Pavel Grudinin, the Farm’s director and the Communist Party’s presidential candidate in the 2018 elections, faces potential bankruptcy as the Moscow Region Arbitration Court has ordered him to pay a fine of over one million rubles ($15 million) for supposed “illegal transfer of lands”. 

From its side, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) has strongly denounced the “organized attack” against the Lenin State Farm, calling the accusations against Grudinin as arbitrary and lawless. 

Croatia's Socialist Workers' Party (SRP) ready to participate in July 5th parliamentary elections

Under the slogans “Consistent for Socialism” and “Capitalism is barbarism”, the Socialist Workers’ Party of Croatia (SRP) participates in the parliamentary election which will take place on July 5, 2020. 

The Socialist Worker’s Party is a member of the European Communist Initiative and a frequent participant in the International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties (IMCWP). 

USA Protests: Joint Declaration by Communist Parties in solidarity with the people of the U.S.

After an initiative by the Communist Party of Canada (CPC), the Communist Party of Mexico (PCM) and the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA) more than 40 Communist and Workers' Parties from all over the world have signed a joint declaration in solidarity with the workers and the people of the United States, against repression, capitalism and its barbarism. 

The Joint Declaration reads:

Dimitris Koutsoumbas on U.S. protests: "The myth of the American Dream is collapsing"

In an interview with CNN Greece, the General Secretary of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumbas commented, among other things, about the mass protests in the U.S. following the murder of George Floyd:

“The murder of African American Floyd by a white police officer was the trigger for the outburst of popular outrage that had been simmering. Alongside state violence, this outbreak is affected by other factors, such as the 100,000 deaths due to Coronavirus – with most victims belonging to the poor popular strata who had no access to health facilities – as well as the burgeoning of unemployment and poverty.

From Athens to Minneapolis: Greek Communist Youth protest George Floyd's murder

Under the slogan “Capitalism means I can’t breathe”, hundreds of members and supporters of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), the youth wing of the KKE, participated on Monday in protests against the murder of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis.

In Athens, the mobilization of KNE took place outside the U.S. embassy where the young communists shouted slogans against the barbarity and repression of the capitalist system. Some of the slogans were “War, poverty, racism, this is capitalism” and “Capitalists’ democracy means repression and violence for the people”. 

Not Populism, Not Socialism, but Communism Will Get It Done

By Charles Andrews.

The ruling classes of developed countries get a lot of pushback these days from the masses they hold in contempt. The voters whom U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton insulted as “deplorables” went and put Donald Trump in the Oval office in 2016, daring to elect someone who was not a vetted ruler of capitalism. Then his near opposite, self-identified socialist Bernie Sanders, came back stronger than ever for the 2020 presidential primaries. Socialism has become a recognized political stance that cannot be red-baited off the stage. 

George Floyd's Murder — Capitalism means I can't breathe...

In a statement issued on Friday, the youth wing of the KKE, the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE), condemns the heinous murder of 46 year-old African-American jobless man George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis, USA. 

More specifically, the statement of the Press Bureau of the Central Council of KNE points out: