After the Boycott, Organise to Defeat the Popular Front!

Robert Mugabe and Hu Jintao

The referendum on the new constitution was held on the 16th of March 2013 with only around 40% of eligible voters, after massive inflating of the figures , voting on the acceptability or otherwise of the draft written by the three parties in government together with their imperialist masters through UNDP. Over half of the eligible voters boycotted the referenda in a clear sign of protest to the GNU and the brutal policies of the three parties that have wrecked the lives of the ordinary poor and using the referendum to create the political basis for further attacks on the poor masses through brutal austerity measures demanded by imperialism.

Of those who voted about 94% were in support of the document with only about 5% rejecting it and the remainder filled by protest votes and/or spoiled votes. Even on this fraudulent basis the draft cannot be regarded as legitimate given the number of people who one way or the other saw through the tricks of the inclusive dictatorship and rejected the referendum farce. All the parties in the GNU have welcomed the results as historic and now calling for the entrenchment of constitutionalism i.e. acceptance of the culture of capitalist domination. Those calling for a No vote have rejected the outcome and vow to continue to oppose the constitution until a democratic and people driven one is in place.

For us the number of people who boycotted the process represents a latent social force in Zimbabwe of workers and the ordinary poor who are opposed to the policies of the current regime but with no clear solutions given the historical domination of reformism and centrism. The popular front regime has brought untold suffering to the people and this must end through smashing the regime and its social basis in order to conquer the interests of the ordinary poor. Workers, students, poor farmers, poor resident, unemployed and the informally employed must mobilise now for a UNITED FRONT to oppose the popular front regime that is now preparing to launch another round of attacks on the living conditions of the poor.

In our campaign for a boycott among workers, students, poor residents and the ordinary poor we reiterated the urgent need to launch a UNITED FRONT to spearhead the responses of the poor and exploited masses with the two meetings we convened endorsing the call. To that end the RWG (Zim) will be agitating and organising for the creation of local struggle committees in unions and struggle organisations to call for the convening of the UNITED FRONT of struggle organisations and individuals dedicated to the defeat of the policies being championed by the regime and those being proffered by those intending to replace the regime without replacing the capitalist basis. We congratulate the ordinary people of Zimbabwe for boycotting the referendum and now call upon them to organise to smash capitalism and its various local agents.

Revolutionary Workers Group-Zimbabwe

22 March 2013

Boycott the Referendum! Smash the Popular Front! Statement of the RWG (Z)

 
Zimbabwe is still reeling under the effects and impact of the more than a decade long socio- economic crisis that has impoverished the working people and the ordinary poor. Most workers were thrown out of employment with those few in employment facing starvation wages and increased attacks on their conditions. Students have witnessed the erosion of the right to education whilst the poor residents face the wrath of expensive and unavailable social services. Inspite of the so called land reform poor peasants continue to suffer with no meaningful provision of inputs. Those in the informal sector are being harassed on a regular basis by the police and authorities for exercising the right to earn an income.

With the global economic crisis showing no sign of abating, the hope that the GNU will provide respite to workers and the poor has been shattered as the civil servants and workers in the private sector are still earning way below the living wage and face intensification in the attacks on their working conditions and livelihood. Instead all the parties in the GNU have shown their true colours and intentions to intensify the attacks in order to stabilise the capitalist system and semi colonial dictatorship on behalf of their imperialist masters through putting the burden of paying for the crisis on the shoulders of workers and the ordinary poor. The draft constitution finally agreed upon by the three parties together with their imperialist masters as well as the coming elections will act as the political basis to further entrench exploitation and brutality on the masses.

The draft Constitution, a result of a long imperialist scheme, was finally agreed upon in January this year paving the way for a referendum on the 16th of March 2013. It is clear to everyone that the final document is a result of negotiations and compromises by the parties on secondary political aspects after having agreed on the basic capitalist nature of our society and their mission to manage the capitalist state through oppression of the masses and outright lies reflected by the initial July 2012 draft. Both parties are claiming that the constitution is a product of the people’s views but at the same time promise their supporters to change it once elected into office. So the three political parties in the GNU and an array of civic organisations in tow are calling for a Yes vote on the draft as the best way forward in terms of resolving the challenges facing the country.

This is not surprising, the civic groups aligned to ZANU (PF) who have benefitted from the patronage system and those aligned to the MDC receiving funds from the same imperialist donors are clamouring that the people accept the charter so that they protect their privileges and also continue to receive donor funds. That the imperialist masters have agreed to raise funds for the referendum and the elections testifies as to whom the draft seeks to protect and the capitalist nature of the political regime that is a popular front of the national bourgeoisie and petit bourgeoisie.

On the other hand the NCA,ISO,PTUZ,ZINASU,ZCTU and other civic organisations are calling for the rejection of the draft through a No vote at the referendum and they have formed a ‘United Front “ for the purpose. Their main contentions are that the draft is a result of an elitist driven process and besides this the draft itself is not a reflection of what the people said as well that the draft is not democratic and further does not protect the interests of the workers and the masses. Instead they are calling for the government to facilitate the convening of an independent commission to spearhead the drafting of a “people driven” constitution. On top of that the NCA is challenging the referendum date saying it does not offer the people enough time to look at the draft and make an informed decision.

As the Revolutionary Workers Group(RWG) we strongly reject both the call for a Yes or No vote meant to hoodwink the workers, poor peasants, students and youth, informal workers and the poor masses into believing that a good constitution can ,in a capitalist society , advance or even protect their interests. A No vote simply suggests that proposed draft is not good for the ordinary poor and therefore must be rejected so that pressure is put on the government to incorporate the wishes of the people or that a new so called people driven process is instituted. This is utterly wrong and misleading to the working people and the poor masses that have to be told that a constitution will not offer them a living wage or a decent life but only an independent struggle by the workers and the poor can conquer their interests.

Our position from the inception of the constitutional reform process has been to urge for a boycott of the whole process calling for the setting up of independent working class action organs to fight for jobs, land, free education and real democracy. The reform process has been used by both the national bourgeoisie and their imperialist backers to stabilise the capitalist regime using the popular front government supported by various civic groups and pseudo leftist groups who have been exposed by their participation in the process and now are calling for a Vote No and thereby seeking to protect the basis of the popular front and capitalist oppressions. We call on all struggle organisations to meet as soon as possible and constitute a United Front to spearhead the demand for an active Boycott of the referendum. 

The RWG calls for these demands:

1) Active BOYCOTT against this referendum!

2) Break with the MDC and ZANU (PF) popular front that serves in Zimbabwe the plans of the imperialist super exploiters!

3) Build an independent organisation of workers, students, poor peasants and urban poor based struggle committees coordinated nationally to prepare for a National Congress of Delegates of all organisations in struggle.

4) Forward to a national General Strike and Workers and Poor Farmers government based on struggle committees.

5) Forward to the expropriation without compensation and under workers control of all the assets of imperialism and the national bourgeoisie.

6) Forward to a Federation of Socialist Republics of all Africa.


REVOLUTIONARY WORKERS GROUP (RWG) Zimbabwe 25 February 2013

International campaign to free Zimbabwean activist, Lovemore Manjonjo

On 16th February 2010 cde Lovemore Manjonjo was travelling in Harare, Zimbabwe, when he was stopped by a policemen who manhandled him, and confiscated the few copies of the Africa Workers Organiser [AWO] (see www.workersinternational.org.za ) that he happened to have on his possession. After several hours he was released on a warning to appear at the same police station on Monday 22 February 2010, to face the ridiculous trumped-up charge of 'assaulting a policemen'.

The real aim of the state is to suppress the views of the working class who are critical of the current Constitutional process and who view it as a fraud. The arrest of cde Manjonjo confirms this. How can any single democratic right be gained through the unity-government-led process for a new Constitution, when dissenting voices are harrassed, arrested, silenced and have their literature confiscated.

The adoption of the US dollar as currency reflects the reality that US imperialism has turned Zimbabwe into its direct colony and that the dictator Mugabe is nothing but its local manager. The violence of the Zimbabwean state as being an extention of US and UK imperialism can also be seen in the fact that the US had direct military relations with Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2001, when its overt support changed. The main Zimbabwean companies, such as Zimplats, Fort concrete, LTA, Bell, Manica, African Distillers, Hunyani forests, Merchant bank of central africa, Delta corp, Stanbic, Barclays, Eagle Insurance, the Cotton company, 80% of the tobacco production, etc, are all controlled by imperialist companies and banks such as JP Morgan Chase etc. The starvation and crushing of the Zimbabwean working class are directly beneficial to imperialism. Many of the Zimbabwe branches of the imperialist companies have Zanu-PF members and their wives as board members.

The brutal exploitation and oppression of the Zimbabwean working class by US imperialism is part of the same policy which has seen a military invasion of Haiti while hundreds of thousands of bodies were trapped under rubble from the past massive earthquake. It is part of the same policy that has led to the Obama coup against the Zelaya regime in Honduras; While the Castrists alliance with US imperialism is seen by their opening their airspace to US troops to pre-empt other imperialist troops from arriving first, in Haiti, in SA, the SACP-ANC alliance with US imperialism is seen by their shielding of US puppet Aristide; it is also seen by the ANC-SACP chauvinist policy of 'proudly South African' when the commanding heights are in the hands of imperialism, in effect allowing the whole of Southern Africam including Zimbabwe, to be turned into a massive slave camp of cheap labour.

Manjonjo is part of the leadership of the ex-ISO Z which recently split from the International Socialist Tendency (IST) and who have decided to join the FLTI (International Leninist Trotskyist Fraction).

The state attack on Manjonjo is an attack on the FLTI and the attempts to build an independent revolutionary fraction in Zimbabwe and in Southern Africa.

We call for immediate mass protests at all US and UK embassies and government buildings against the imperialist policy of suppression of freedom of expression in their semi-colonies, such as Zimbabwe.

Down with the fraudulent Constitutional process in Zimbabwe!
 

Forward to a Congress of delegates of workers, poor peasants and rank and file soldiers to centralise the struggle for the demands of the working class and fellow poor in Zimbabwe!

Expropriate all imperialist assets in Southern Africa, under workers control and without any compensation to the capitalists! Share all the work among all those who can work, without loss of pay!

This is the way to conquer bread, work and shelter!

Forward to freedom of expression for the working class!

Free Manjonjo now!

Stop the supression of the Africa Workers Organiser and the FLTI!

send messages of support to

sociallabour@gmail.com and workersinternational@gmail.com and fltinternational@ymail.com

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Shaheed Mahomed
African Secretariat
International Leninist Trotskyist Fraction.
with the support of the International Co-ordination Secretariat
1st Floor, Community House, 41 Salt River rd. Salt River, South Africa  7925
ph [27] 822020617, fax 0865486048
workersinternational@gmail.com
web www.workersinternational.org.za

affiliated to the International Leninist Trotskyist Fraction integrated by
Liga Trotskista Internacionalista , (LTI) de Bolivia
Fraccion Trotskista , (FT) de Brasil
Partido Obrero Internactionaista- CI (POI-CI) , de Chile
Communist Workers Group (CWG) New Zealand
Liga Obrera Internacionalista- CI (LOI-CI) Argentina
Liga Trotskista Internacionalista- (LTI)Peru
Humanist Workers for Revolutionary Socialism (HWRS) USA
Workers International Vanguard League (WIVL) South Africa
Zimbabwe Revolutionary group (in process of joining the FLTI)