Thousands of youth march for socialism in the Basque Country

Image: Gedar

We have received this report from a comrade who participated in one of two demonstrations called in the Basque Country on 28 January. We think it is very significant that thousands of young people participated in these militant demonstrations under the banner of socialist revolution. This movement should be an inspiration for revolutionary Marxists around the world, and we congratulate the comrades of GKS on their success.

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On 28 January, a big demonstration called by Gazte Koordinadora Sozialista (GKS) [Socialist Youth Coordination] took place in Bilbao and Iruña [Pamplona] under the slogan “Enpresari eta agintarien erasoaldiaren aurreran, gazte langileok borrokara!” (“Faced with the offensive of the employers and rulers, working class youth struggle!”) A total of around 7,000 people joined the two mobilisations with a very clear aim: to denounce the living conditions of the working class, to organise independently, and to fight for socialism.

For the second year in a row, GKS has held another massive demonstration that shows the admirable capacity for mobilisation and organisation of the Basque communist youth. Beyond the superficial numerical analysis, this mobilisation demonstrates the consolidation of a communist movement that is increasingly broad and organised in a totally independent way. In other words, it is not the quantity but the quality of these mobilisations that should inspire the rest of the territories. We must bear in mind that most of the participants were very young and, therefore, it was demonstrated in deeds and not in mere words that a large part of the Basque youth is committed to the struggle for socialism.

This mobilisation is justified by several issues, which GKS has been denouncing and publicising in recent weeks. In the first place, the economic profits of the big capitalists condemn us to precariousness: unemployment, low wages, temporary jobs, etc. Secondly, casualisation leads to the worsening of workers' living conditions: price increases in the most basic means of life (electricity, transport, housing...), and cuts in public services (health, education...). Thirdly, in the face of this situation, they want us to be passive and obedient youth, that is to say, accustomed to casualisation and subjected to police violence. Finally, in recent years there have been increasing attacks on basic rights and authoritarianism: social control, police repression, toughening of the penal code, etc.

Due to these reasons, the atmosphere on Saturday was undoubtedly very militant, as seen by slogans such as: “let's face the bourgeois offensive", “the workers' revenge: socialist revolution", “struggle is the only way", and also about the need for “communist organisation” were heard. At the end of the march, the message was clear and direct: the mobilisation had not been called in order to put pressure on the professional politicians to make concessions (or to give us more crumbs), but to organise the working class in an effective way, one which is totally independent from the bourgeois institutions.

This is the revolutionary potential of the action: the possibility, or rather the need, to make possible a mobilisation along class lines and to consolidate a communist mass organisation which is politically independent from social democracy. If the aim is to “make the potential real", it is clear that the strength of the 28E demonstration cannot be denied: it is an indisputable fact that it has been the most powerful communist demonstration, mainly of young people, in recent times.

Of course, the Socialist Movement is aware of its current capacity and points out the need to continue to take steps forward in the development of this existing potential. Especially in these times of general frustration and impoverishment of the working class, communists must support and celebrate the impressive organisational capacity that materialised on Saturday's mobilisation, the fruit of all the effort and serious work of its activists, despite police harassment. Our actions must always be aimed at building a communist mass organisation with total political independence and extending the struggle to the rest of the territories, without losing sight of the internationalism that we defend. To “confront the bourgeois offensive", present and future, our most urgent task is to organise the working class on an international level!

SOURCES:

https://gedar.eus/es/aktualitatea/urtarrilaren-28a-bilbo-irunea-gks/ 

https://twitter.com/kolitza_/status/1619778537191542785 

https://twitter.com/PisanoKarla/status/1619678526931877892 

https://twitter.com/volodia1917/status/1619740938624188416

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