Act Now because History is Happening Now!
A call to all revolutionary organizations and activists to join forces against the global counter-revolutionary offensive under the cover of COVID-19
Open Letter of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 26 March 2020, www.thecommunists.net
Comrades, brother and sisters!
The ruling classes around the world – from China to the U.S., from France to Argentina, from India to Nigeria – are currently waging a gigantic counterrevolutionary offensive against the working class and the poplar masses. As the capitalist world economy experiences a slump of 1929 dimensions, they viciously throw millions of workers on the streets, cut wages and attack labor rights. As they rightly fear a militant response of the workers and oppressed, they drastically increase state repression in order to suppress any revolutionary explosions.
In order to confuse and paralyze the masses, they utilize the COVID-19 crisis for their political goals. Spreading fear and panic, they put hundreds of millions of people under lockdown and suppress their rights to demonstrate and to assembly. In many countries we experience the most severe attack on democratic rights since decades if not since 1945. In other words, the COVID-19 crisis is a cover for a major global counterrevolutionary offensive.
Shamefully, large sectors of the official workers movement and the so-called “left” capitulate to this pressure and support those anti-democratic attacks, claiming that their main purpose would be to fight the Corona Virus. We call these supporters of authoritarian attacks the Lockdown Left.
The Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) has analyzed the COVID-19 crisis from the very beginning. We warned in a series of statements and articles about the political counter-revolutionary nature of these events and outlined a revolutionary response.
Comrades, we are experiencing a major historic situation. It is no less significant than situations like the collapse of Stalinism in 1989-91 or the 9-11 events and the consequential imperialist war against Afghanistan in 2001.
We consider it of utmost urgency that those revolutionary forces which refuse the capitulation of the Lockdown Left join forces. At the moment, large sectors of the workers vanguard are confused, paralyzed and lack a clear perspective. However, things will change. Sooner or later, the tremendous political and social contradictions which are currently accumulating will explode. For this we need to prepare. We must loose no time for this!
Comrades, we are convinced that it is of utmost urgency that all revolutionaries who have not capitulated to the reactionary offensive immediately start closer discussion and collaboration. We must unite our efforts in order to fight against the global bourgeois offensive and the consequences of COVID-19 and the Great Recession. If you have a similar assessment of the situation and agree that we need to jointly fight against the global counter-revolutionary offensive, we urge you to contact us as soon as possible. If you have relevant documents on this issue, please send them to us and we would be glad to publish them on our website.
Those interested in such discussion and collaboration should not waste time and start concrete joint work. We suggest to create a kind of international bloc which collaborates on a regular basis and which initiates wherever possible concrete international campaigns. We are willing to consider all ideas and proposals for such collaboration. We from our side suggest a platform like the following as a political basis for such a bloc.
1) Recognition of the reactionary nature of the current global counterrevolutionary offensive of the ruling classes under the cover of the COVID-19 crisis.
2) Down with the state of emergencies, the expansion of the police state and surveillance technologies! No to all mass lock downs and suppression of the right to demonstrate and to assembly!
3) Free mass testing and free hospitalization of those infected by the Corona Virus! For the radical expansion of the public health sector under workers and popular control! Expropriation of all large private health institutions! For international cooperation to quickly develop effective vaccines respectively a cure!
4) Fight against all austerity attacks! No sacking, no wage cuts, no attacks on labor rights!
5) International Aid for the people in the Global South! Cancel all public and household debts! Expropriate the multinational corporations under workers control!
6) Intransigent struggle against the Lockdown Left within the workers and popular mass organizations!
Comrades, brothers and sisters! This is a crucial historic turning point in world politics. The time has come to join forces on the basis of a program of struggle! Do not hesitate, act now because history is happening now!
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The RCIT has published numerous statements and articles on the COVID-19 crisis of which several have been translated into different languages. They are all collected at a special sub-page in our website: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-the-2019-corona-virus/
In particular we draw the attention of readers to our new Manifesto:
COVID-19: A Cover for a Major Global Counterrevolutionary Offensive
We are at a turning point in the world situation as the ruling classes provoke a war-like atmosphere in order to legitimize the build-up of chauvinist state-bonapartist regimes
Manifesto of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 21 March 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/covid-19-a-cover-for-a-major-global-counterrevolutionary-offensive/