A-Infos (en) Greece, espivblogs AC: 10 years after the referendum fraud (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Republication of a text by the Partnership for the Diffusion of the 
Revolutionary Perspective ---- NOTE: 10 years after the fraudulent 
referendum, we are republishing the proclamation issued by the anarchist 
group "Partnership for the Diffusion of the Revolutionary Perspective" 
on July 5, 2015. The text in question propagated abstention by shedding 
light on the real contents of the pseudo-dilemma of the SYRIZANEL 
government, which, far from "exiting the EU" or breaking with the 
quartet of "institutions" of the international economic elite and the 
overthrow of the memoranda, was put at the center of attention.

The following proclamation warned of the implications of participating 
in the process and the trap of "NO". He argued that both the "YES" and 
the "NO" ratified the eurozone and the continuation of the memorandum. 
He even tackled the scenarios that were being circulated for a "return 
to the drachma", assessing that such a perspective not only should not 
constitute a "project", supposedly in favor of the class interests of 
the labor forces, but was also an impossible perspective that was only 
used as a bluff, especially by the German state and its then finance 
minister, Schäuble, to exert additional pressure for a faster agreement 
on a new loan agreement.

This proclamation propagated abstention, both from a position of 
ideological and value-based principle towards a bourgeois electoral 
process, as a group of anarchist fighters should have done, and 
politically substantiated. It comprehensively described the false 
dilemmas of July 5, making long-term predictions for the dark years that 
would follow, against the delirium of self-deception for the left-wing 
government, which in reality constituted the prelude to the sinking into 
the cinematic ebb, from which we are still struggling to escape. 
Undoubtedly, the proclamation was justified in its predictions, sending 
the cinematic "realists and pragmatists" propagandists of "NO" "to think 
with a clear head from Monday". The crucial stake, however, lies 
elsewhere. It is found to this day in the conclusion of the text. It 
lies "in the bet to apologize for any mistakes and move forward" with 
the ultimate goal of "preparing ourselves, organizing ourselves, 
planning the revolutionary counterattack."

The following is the text of the Partnership for the Diffusion of the 
Revolutionary Perspective

Positions on the political situation

Analyzing our position on the referendum of July 5, we must clarify that 
the stakes of its outcome for us do not concern the European perspective 
of the Greek state, since, in both the case of a "yes" and a "no" vote, 
remaining in the monetary core of the union is a given.

In addition, the holding of the referendum, apart from not raising the 
issue of exit from the EU, does not even constitute a field for social 
questioning of its existence. On the one hand, with the "yes" the 
neoliberal logic "this is the EU and whoever likes it" emerges, on the 
other hand with the "no" the rhetoric emerges, "there is a better Europe 
and we want it", that within the framework of the union there is the 
"democratic process of the different agenda", as long as the people 
support it, as long as the people negotiate it!

Regarding the 8 billion proposal of the coalition government, the 
initial intention of SYRIZA in particular, to promote a Keynesian 
approach to the crisis is clearly evident. The measures mainly ranged in 
tax restructuring, forming an impossible compromise with the demands of 
the creditors, which were of a collection nature. Ultimately, despite 
the chances of reaching an agreement with "negligible concessions", the 
government shifted its responsibilities to the social base, realizing 
the impasse of its proposals. Apparently, SYRIZA, from a position of 
power and having now "matured" enough, realizes that it is unlikely to 
implement policies of "state interventionism" in the era of globalized 
capital and systemic crisis, so it attempts to gain social consensus in 
the direction of "lesser evil neoliberalism". Consequently, since the 
neoliberal policy itself remains intact, the recipe and content are of 
little importance, so a confrontation between a Greek and a European 
memorandum based on numbers is meaningless, while the Euro-monorail is 
validated by the referendum itself and not by the result of the ballot 
box. How is it possible, then, that the ratification of this euro-single 
road could be a springboard for the maturation of resistance? How is it 
possible that participation in the process of recognizing not only the 
euro-single road but also the "other" Europe could be a driving force 
for the intensification of any resistance?

We must at this point make it clear that our position would be the same, 
even if the real question of the referendum were "euro" or "drachma". 
The return to the good old "drachma" would create conditions of economic 
suffocation, since due to the devaluation the upward transfer of wealth 
would be rapid and immediate. On the other hand, devaluation as a tool 
to boost exports, apart from the fact that it does not concern the 
social base but a part of the export (main) capital, is not enough, 
especially in a period like the current one when many countries 
simultaneously choose it as a monetary policy. Furthermore, the systemic 
crisis also brings back (partly) the tools of protectionism, tariffs and 
embargoes (Russia, Iran, etc.) and it is unlikely that a country like 
Greece will not repay its already unsustainable debt, the cancellation 
of which cannot be achieved through reforms. Those who nevertheless 
insist that beyond revolutionary slogans there are also the needs of the 
people in the here and now, will have the opportunity from Monday to 
think with a clear head, to apologize and reassess their position.

The clear attack that Syriza is receiving from large parts of the 
country's (neo)liberal elite is not so much due to the fact that the 
latter fear the country's exit from the euro (although this is true for 
some) but mainly because they consider a neoliberal party to be a more 
"mature" negotiator than the "extreme" and "stupid" social democrats of 
Syriza, whose persistence and whining about a "Europe of the people" is 
delaying the agreement and widening the insecurity in the market. 
Furthermore, the above attack on SYRIZA strengthens its intra-movement 
popularity and transforms it from informal to formal, a process that has 
been evolving for several years, the process of assimilation. 
Participation in the referendum and the "big no" is neither a harbinger 
nor an indication of radicalization, but a clear admission of the 
exhaustion of every available means to avoid it. Consequently, the 
upgrading of the government to a formal and legitimate front-runner of 
the so-called movement, not only has nothing to offer in terms of 
fueling the revolutionary perspective, but is a dangerous path towards 
returning to the couch for many years. A big no will simultaneously mean 
the castration of (any) radicalism. Despite our hostile stance towards 
SYRIZA, we must recognize its ability to assimilate a large part of 
radical movements. The great joy that is reflected in various texts is 
characteristic, with the most characteristic of all the logic "we have 
been confirmed for the positive influence of Syriza on the revolutionary 
perspective!!!".

Subsequently, we cannot have a one-eyed perspective on the referendum, 
focusing only on the internal issue, especially when it is being held in 
a period of broader economic turmoil and heightened -due to the systemic 
crisis-, intra-imperialist antagonisms. The logic that presents the no 
as a major step towards breaking with the imperialist core of the EU, as 
reflected in the clash of the "No" "movement" with the (neo)liberal 
scum, with the clash of "real patriots" and "traitorous German-scumbags" 
cannot be anything more than a microcosm of the intra-imperialist 
confrontations of our time.

A good example is the civil war in Ukraine, where the conflict between 
"Russian-society" and "American-society" has transformed the country 
into an arena of conflicts between imperialist centers of power, which 
mainly concern issues of energy influence in Europe. Really, what was 
the revolutionary perspective that the attempt to free itself from the 
Russian imperialist mantle brought to Ukraine? What is the perspective 
that the civil war gave to Syria, which also reflects intra-imperialist 
antagonisms? What will be the revolutionary perspective in Greece, if 
the movement is assimilated into an "anti-Merkel" pole, against 
"German-society"? And finally, can the mobilization of these interclass 
conditions broaden the scope of the movement, as some hope?

Another point that we need to clarify is that although we do not 
associate "no" with exiting the EU and the destabilization of the 
European economy, it does not mean that a Greek exit is manageable by 
the available mechanisms.

The institutional factors of the eurozone and its elite are well aware 
that the ECB's quantitative easing program does not constitute a serious 
shield for the currency zone against a possible Greek exit. In fact, it 
is even becoming apparent that the program's initial objectives (QE) 
will not be achieved, such as increasing inflation to 2% by 2016, 
reducing unemployment, and maintaining the yield on European bonds at 
low levels. Eurozone inflation, for example, fell to 0.2% in June from 
0.3% in May, while bond yields, including German ones, are volatile and 
fluctuating, even though the ECB has purchased 193 billion euros in 
bonds. Furthermore, it is becoming clear that any attempt to balance the 
yields on these bonds cannot be achieved while simultaneously 
maintaining the euro exchange rate. Either because of the capital 
outflow that the inflationary pressure will cause in a possible Greek 
exit, since the ECB will be forced to "print" huge quantities of foreign 
exchange, or because of the structural architecture of the euro as a 
currency, the redemption responsibilities of which do not burden any 
specific country. If we add to all this the possibility of the FED 
raising interest rates, a fact that in itself, and regardless of the 
outcome of the agreement with Greece, is enough to bring about absolute 
parity between the euro and the dollar, then it is very difficult to 
convince the markets of the complete outcome of the monetary union in 
the event of a Greek exit. We also estimate that in the long term, even 
the patching of the bubbles at the core of the European economy cannot 
be ensured, such as for example the exposure of Deutsche Bank to toxic 
derivatives leveraged by a hundred times the amount of its deposits, 
which, according to some calculations, exceed 54.7 trillion euros. Since 
all those involved have an elementary picture of the consequences of the 
nevertheless legitimate and unfortunately prepared Greek exit and 
despite any confrontations, they are forced to agree that it is not yet 
time for the big move. At least not before the union is upgraded from 
monetary to fiscal, either single or dual-speed, since sooner or later 
this choice will be a one-way street. The Prime Minister's statements 
are also in this context, that in the event of a "no" vote, he will 
bring a new agreement in the coming days, and he is even willing to back 
down.

It is worth noting at this point the stance of the International 
Monetary Fund and the US Treasury Secretary regarding the referendum, 
since their statements are not dominated by the aggression of the 
European institutions towards the government's decision. Throughout the 
week, statements have been coming from the other side of the Atlantic 
about the unsustainability of the Greek debt and the need for 
restructuring that must be put on the negotiating table. It seems that 
for a large part of American capital, the no vote can be turned into a 
"strong" bargaining chip in the hands of the Greek government and push 
for a haircut. It seems that for them, a situation that would not, on 
the one hand, break up the eurozone (causing incalculable consequences 
for the global economy) but would create tremors at its core, is a fixed 
position. The above is indeed proven by the statements made the day 
before yesterday by the government spokesman, Gabriel Sakellaridis, who 
stated that "the International Monetary Fund fully justifies the Greek 
government, both in terms of its view on the unsustainability of the 
Greek debt, and in terms of its insistence that any new agreement with 
the lenders definitely include a debt restructuring/haircut." Therefore, 
above all else, the people are called upon to participate in a conflict 
between imperialist centers regarding one of the key chapters of the 
systemic crisis, the monetary war.

In summary. As a group, we had also estimated in the past, in a written 
call to the anti-state/anti-capitalist march of February 26, that SYRIZA 
would attempt to shift the political responsibilities that accompany the 
new agreement from political personnel to the social base. We had also 
referred to the intra-imperialist antagonisms that are reflected in our 
time, with an enhanced intensity due to the intensification of the 
systemic crisis, saying that Greece is (also) an integral part of these 
conflicts.

In any case, the coming period will be difficult, unprecedented and 
possibly accompanied by embarrassment, guilt, retreat and delegation. 
The stakes will be whether this period will be used to apologize for any 
mistakes and move forward. The global contradictions of capitalism, its 
severe crisis and interstate imperialist antagonisms may bring 
instability, unrest and turn the planet into a boiling cauldron. This 
will be a great opportunity for us to prepare, to organize, to plan the 
revolutionary counterattack.

ABSTENTION from the referendum

KICKS to the MERCHANTS of HOPE

ON THE ROAD TO ORGANIZATION, WITH A STRATEGY AND AIMING FOR THE 
REVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE

LONG LIVE ANARCHY - LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION.

Partnership for the diffusion of the revolutionary perspective

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