SVSocialist Voice

The right to change

‘Monarchy would not have continued somany ages in the world had it not beenfor the abuses it protects. It is themaster fraud, which shelters all others.’Thomas PaineRights of Man (1791).

Socialist Voice 43 East Essex Street Dublin D02 XH96 (01) 6708707

THE RIGHT2WATER struggle, whichbegan in the communities and hasnow developed into a powerful

national force, has pushed thegovernment back, and still retains thepotential to defeat water charges andsecure a constitutional amendmentguaranteeing the public ownership ofwater. This demand must remain ourprimary focus, and it can be won,regardless of electoral outcomes.Right2Water has helped rebuild the

confidence of workers. It has shown thattogether we have the power to bringchange in favour of our class. It can onlybe a positive development and in the longrun will bear fruit for both community andindustrial struggles. It has begun to breakdown barriers and the isolation of

struggles that are the sharedresponsibility of us all.Working people and their trade unions

need a victory, a victory that willembolden them to go further and demanda better life. The struggle for water isbest placed at the present time to bringabout that victory.One of the central features of politicallife today is opportunism: activitiesengaged in for selfish party-political orsectional gain. This has bedevilled ourstruggles and has contributed to thedemoralising and marginalising ofworkers, causing them to spurn politicalaction over the decades, which hasbecome a more acute problem in recentyears.

continued overleaf

Communist Party of IrelandPáirtí Cumannach na hÉireann Partisan Patriotic InternationalistNumber 129 November 2015 €1.50

IN THIS ISSUEVulture funds Page 2Monopoly capitalism Page 3Vulture capitalism at work Page 4US unemployment Page 5Irish economy structure Page 6Aggainst fascism Page 8Inequality Page 9Letter from Havana Page 10UN vote on US blockade Page 11Water struggles Page 11Catalunya vote Page 12

Wiki Com

mons

politics

continued from page 1

While we fully support the value andthe thrust of Right2Change, we feel itneeds to go further. The challengesfacing our people require a much moreradical response in such areas as thedebt, the EU, and the euro: analternative economic, social andpolitical strategy, a radicaltransformative strategy, centred on amobilised, politically conscious andorganised workers’ movement; aradical strategy that must have at itscore the organised labour movement.Our view is that we need a twin-

track strategy—not only an electoralstrategy but, most importantly, onethat continues to mobilise andpoliticise the working class, both in thecommunity and in the unions.It is essential to maintain the original

campaign against the installation ofwater meters and the commodificationand privatisation of water until we arevictorious in defeating this or any othergovernment’s plans. The only way to besure of this is to amend theConstitution of Ireland and have thepeople’s ownership of water enshrinedin it.The three “pillars” of the

movement—the communities, theunions, and the political groups—needto work more closely and make use oftheir strengths to be of maximumbenefit to the movement. Each pillarshould complement the others ratherthan being antagonistic to each other.Solidarity, unity and discipline are

needed if we are to build and developa movement of resistance and change.All groups within each pillar should beopen to criticism in a comradelyfashion and should be critical ofevents and tactics that affect themovement as a whole. Individuals,groups, unions or parties that, foropportunist reasons, damage orundermine the movement should beheld accountable.The trade union pillar has done most

of the financing up to now. A centralfund needs to be set up to raise theessential funds for helping with theexpense of co-ordinating a nationalprogressive movement, not leaving itto just one pillar. Some will havegreater ability to contribute thanothers, but all should contribute. Allfund-raising and funds should remainpublic and accountable.There is a great need for an expanded

scheme of schools and workshops in thecommunities, which could cover suchtopics as politics, economics, trade unionwork, PR expertise etc. from a working-class

standpoint. All resources and expertiseshould be offered to help implement thisfundamental aspect of the movement.United action and mobilisations can

be expensive and difficult to co-ordinate, so there should be a limit tothe number of demonstrations stagedeach year, based on the level ofdevelopment of the movement; andthey should not be the main focus ofthe movement but should be used asa solidifying tactic.No formal structures need be

adopted, as with such an ad hocgroup it would be premature and atthis stage would do more harm thangood. There may be grounds, however,for forming a more structural basis forthe three pillar groups to meet and co-ordinate national plans. Thecontributions of all groups, unions andparties that agree to the policydocument should be recorded andmade accessible.An equality of footing needs to be

further established between the threepillars as the movement grows. Thedomination of one pillar over the otherswill inevitably lead to tension anddivision, whereas the integration of thethree pillars can be beneficial to all.We need the people of Ireland to

endorse the movement. Withouthaving the backing of the mainstreammedia, we have to create and becreative in how we distribute ourmessage of equality, democracy andsocial justice to reach the widest rangeof people throughout the country.The change we seek will be realised

only by a mobilised and confidentworking people with a principledleadership, rooted in the popularstruggle. Only in that way can we claimthe legacy bequeathed to us by theheroes of our movement, such asJames Connolly, Jim Larkin, WinifredCarney, and Rosie Hackett.The CPI will continue to support the

Right2Water and Right2Changeinitiative and to encourage others todo so. The Irish working class haswaited too long to come into its own.We have always been forced to wait inline to take what is given as charityrather than demanding as a right whatwe, our children and our grandchildrenneed for a decent and dignified life.We have all seen our people grow in

enthusiasm and political understandingin the course of this great struggle. Itshows what is possible when ourmovement has a clear understandingof itself and has its own goals anddemands. Only such an understandinghas the potential to bring real change;it is the only guarantor of real change.

Socialist Voice page 2

UN photo Multi-headed

dogs of the dead!BIG BUSINESS

Nicola Lawlor

WE HAVE heard a lot about Cerberus inrecent times in relation to NAMA andIBRC and the purchase of “distressed

assets” and housing and commercialdevelopments, particular to do with Project Eaglein the North of Ireland.Cerberus describes itself as a private investment firm

that has “excelled at distressed investing since ourinception and have built a highly regarded reputation forour focus on deep value.” It manages about $25 billion inassets and yet employs only about 150 people. This isthe type of “investor” the Irish government tries to court,protect, and promote.One of the reasons that Cerberus is such a big player is

its political weight. A former vice-president of the UnitedStates, Dan Quayle, is chairman of Cerberus GlobalInvestments; he was vice-president with George Bushsenior in the late 1980s and early 90s. And a formersecretary of the US Treasury, John Snow, is the firm’schairman.The Cerberus we knew before recent revelations was a

figure in Greek myth, a multi-headed dog that guardedthe underworld, Hades. Cerberus was a hellish creature,with several heads, sometimes depicted with a serpent’stails and sometimes with a venomous tongue. Theseclever private investors must have been trying to tell ussomething when they chose their name.Cerberus has about ten companies in Ireland, which

have bought more than €19 billion worth of loans inEurope, the bulk of which have been in Ireland, fromUlster Bank, IBRC, and NAMA. Only in October thechairman of NAMA, Frank Daly, announced that Cerberuswas the preferred bidder for €6¼ billion worth of smallnon-performing loans known as Project Arrow.Almost half these small loans are residential. It is not

clear yet whether these are rental or owner-occupiedhomes; but we do know that Cerberus are and will bevicious in their treatment of residents if it means addingvalue to their acquisition. In the middle of a housing andhomelessness crisis, to allow the world’s largest propertycompany, NAMA, to continue to sell homes is shocking.Mick Wallace TD is right to call this a scandal, and right

to point the finger directly at the Taoiseach, who isultimately responsible for NAMA.Vulture funds are private equity funds or securities

funds that specialise in buying what are known as“distressed assets” cheaply when a market is depressedand sucking as much profits out of them as they can.Sometimes they sell them, sometimes they strip them,sometimes they withhold them from the market to allowinflation to provide them with their return; but restassured that the decision they make will be based purelyon maximising their return.While Cerberus may be a hell dog, it also fits the bill of

a vulture fund.

Socialist Voice page 3

CAPITALISM

Nicola Lawlor

INTRODUCTORY ORTHODOXeconomics is dominated bythe concept of what is called

“perfect competition.” This is based on four assumptions.

(1) The industry or sector has a largenumber of small firms that cannotaffect the price of the goods if theyincrease or decrease production. (2)All firms produce the exact sameproduct. (3) It is easy to enter or leave

the industry. (4) There is fullknowledge of the prices and profits ofall firms. The reality is different.The modern economy is dominated

by large firms—monopolies and near-monopolies; and they set the pricesfor their products.All goods in a modern economy are

different in the eyes of the consumer,because of advertising andpromotion.In nearly all industries nowadays

there are barriers to entry, so it isdifficult for new firms to enter.In some instances it is difficult to

find out the price being charged: forexample the tariffs of gas andelectricity companies are socomplicated that there are evencomparison sites on the internet. Thesame applies to insurance and tomobile phones. And supermarketschange some of their prices by theday.Most students study economics for

one year and come away with theidea that the consumer has some sayin the economy. We get consumersbeing urged to “shop around,” eventhough under a monopoly there isonly one firm, and with oligopoly (asmall number of firms dominating asector) firms do not compete onprice: they either collude (setting anagreed profit-maximising price) orfollow the price set by the leadingfirm. Computers have made thesetting of price to maximise profitseasier. Firms (shareholders, throughthe profits they make) are the mainbeneficiaries of the economic system.Students are taught that price is

determined by supply and demand.But only demand exists while price isset by the monopolists and the firmsin oligopoly to maximise profit. Sosupply is not relevant.“Perfect competition” is Alice in

Wonderland economics, used to hidethe real structure of the economy. Itis merely pro-capitalism ideology.

Nicola Lawlor

ADEFINITION of a “mega-merger” is “the joining oftwo large corporations,

typically involving billions ofdollars in value.” The mega-merger creates one corporationthat may maintain control over alarge proportion of the marketwithin its industry. Mega-mergers occur through the

acquisition, merger, consolidation orcombination of two existingcorporations. They differ from traditionalmergers because of their scale.

Socialist Voice has on manyoccasions commented on mergers andthe increased monopolisation withinfinance, pharmaceuticals and thetechnology sector and has in generaldrawn attention to the defining featureof monopoly within the system.Concentration, centralisation, stagnationand crisis all drive the ever-increasingmonopolisation of production and also

the “wasted” capital investment, suchas sales and advertising.In October we saw two significant

mega-mergers, the first being Dell andEMC and the second being AB Inbev(Budweiser) and SAB Miller (Miller).The money amounts are staggering.

Dell is to purchase EMC for €67 billion,making it the largest purchase ormerger ever in the technology sector.Dell is the world’s third-largestcomputer manufacturer; EMC is a datastorage and software giant, the biggestcompany in the external storagemarket, with a market share of about30 per cent. Both are Americantransnational corporations. Togetherthey employ about five thousandworkers in Ireland. This merger willmake the giant the biggest privatelyowned technology company in theworld.In the food and drinks industry,

Budweiser and Miller are already thebiggest brewers in the world, and sothis will make them significantly bigger

than any rivals. The $68 billion deal willcreate a company with an annualturnover of close to $250 billion, whichwill profit from the sale of three out ofevery ten beers sold globally.Both these deals make a mockery of

the claims of “experts” and politiciansabout the “competitive” capitalistsystem and how competition providesquality products at reduced prices forcustomers. They shatter conventionaleconomic models that rely onassumptions of competition and thefree market.The ever-increasing monopolisation of

goods and services allows transnationalcompanies to profit from cheap labourall over the world while determiningtheir desired price. It also facilitates thewaste of billions in pointless advertisingand market research.More of these deals will no doubt be

on the way as profitable investmentopportunities shrink and capitalcontinues to concentrate in fewer andfewer corporations.

Mega-mergers and monopoly capitalism

Monopoly capitalism and the Irish economy

capitalism

Socialist Voice page 4

Alan Hanlon

EARLIER THIS year, on 12June 2015, Clery’sdepartment store was

closed down and the lockschanged, with the loss of 130jobs and about 300 operators offranchises.Clery’s was an iconic store, known

throughout the country, the main shopin the main street of the capital city.Its sudden closure came as a shock tothe political establishment, who hadbeen trumpeting a message about“recovery.”Natrium had bought Clery’s at 2:30

a.m. on the 12th of June. It then soldthe operating company, OCSOperations, to Jim Brydie, a Britishinsolvency specialist, who thenpetitioned the High Court to appointKPMG as liquidator to OCS Operations.The shop was closed by 6 p.m.The workers at Clery’s, some with up

to forty years’ service, helped createthe store’s reputation. But thelikelihood of the workers gettinganything from the liquidation is nil. Infact it is more than likely that the statewill have to pick up the tab for thestatutory redundancy.The major attraction for the

predators, however, was probably the

floor space and extracting profit.Gordon Brothers originally bought thestore in 2012, when it had €20million in bank debt. They got a write-down on the debt to €12 million. Theythen restructured the company intoPropco (the property-owning company)and Opco (the operating company),controlled by an investment company.When Natrium bought the storeGordon Brothers are reckoned to havemade a profit of about €6½ millionbefore costs. By separating the Opcoend of the store and selling this on,Natrium hoped to crystallise the lossesin the entity while at the same timeretaining the actual asset (the storeitself and all that goes with it).One franchise-holder, LS Catering

Ltd, believes the whole process isflawed and has taken legal actionagainst parties involved in the sale andliquidation. The company is seeking tohave all assets brought back into thepot so that creditors will have apossibility of getting something. Theworkers who created the value getnothing.Another example of vulture

capitalism at work is that of WaterfordGlass. Its demise is blamed on TonyO’Reilly, the prince of Irish business. Abiography of O’Reilly was written byIvan Fallon when O’Reilly was headingtowards the pinnacle of his career;

there was a television programme onRTE this year; and more recentlyanother biography, by the journalistMatt Cooper, charts O’Reilly’s rise andfall. Waterford Glass figuresprominently in the “fall” bit.According to the Great Men of

History theory, O’Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris put anestimated €400 million into WaterfordGlass, and this broke him. If only lifewas so simple!It should come as a relief to

bourgeois journalists that in early Maythis year KPS sold WaterfordWedgwood Royal Doulton to Fiskars,one of Finland’s oldest companies, for€410 million. KPS had bought it for€107.5 million in 2009 and also tooka dividend for €50 million; profit:€350 million.Where was our hero? What

happened to the Midas touch? KPSCapital Partners basically buys failingindustrial firms, turns them around,and sells them on. Its purpose is tomake profit; it has no interest inemployees.KPS bought Waterford Glass from

the liquidators in 2009. Shareholders,banks and bondholders had lost anestimated €1 billion (the losses canbe used against future profits and sohave a value). KPS restructured thebusiness, and sold the Waterford site.At one time Waterford Glass waslargely a wedding-gift brand; this hasnow been broadened into a gift at anytime. By 2013 sales had grown to€394 million, and it was making €50million a year.Once Waterford Glass was put into

liquidation this gave any vultures theopportunity to move in and extractvalue. The liquidated company nolonger has liabilities, such as pensionpayments, and bank debt can bewritten down.KPS recognised when they bought

the company that they were getting aglobal brand. The accumulated surplusvalue of the workers in WaterfordGlass, Wedgwood and Royal Doultonwas incorporated in those brands. Thevultures were able to buy that value ata knock-down price and eventually, byrestructuring, turn the company toprofit, sell it, and extract the value inthe brand. The deferred pay thatshould have been in the pension fundwas written off and socialised as adebt on the state after a protractedlegal battle by the workers’ union,Unite. Only now will those workers whoare still alive get their pensions, whilemillions have been extracted by thevultures.

Vulture capitalism at work

capitalism

The message for all of us: neo-liberalcapitalism creates jobs and so benefitsthe bulk of the population of the UnitedStates. By extension, it shows how oureconomy can ascend from thedoldrums and our youth can haveaccess again to the prospect of havingdecent jobs.Forget about the calibre of this

employment, and the fact that aninordinate number of those inemployment subsist below the povertyline. Or that they may need tosimultaneously hold two or three jobsjust to survive. Just concentrate on thatmagical 5 per cent unemploymentfigure!How real is it? A brief look at how

wool is pulled over the eyes of theunwary shows us that the saidemployment figure is completelybogus—that the real figure is morethan four times that. So how was the 5per cent arrived at?The US Bureau of Labour Statistics

has six official unemployment criteria:U1: The proportion of the active

population that has been unemployedfor fifteen weeks or more. Last Augustthis stood at 2¼ per cent (down from3 per cent in 2014).U2: The proportion of the active

population that has lost itsemployment or had finished itstemporary employment in August2015: 2.6 per cent (3.1 per cent inAugust 2014).U3: The proportion of the active

population without work that activelysought employment in the previous

four weeks. (This is the only officialcriterion normally used.) In August2015 this figure stood at 5.1 per cent(6.1 per cent in August 2014).U4: Add to U3 the “demoralised

workers”—those who stoppedsearching for work in the previoustwelve months because economicconditions make them believe thatsuch a search would be futile. LastAugust this figure stood at 5½ per cent(6½ per cent in August 2014).U5: Add to U4 those persons linked

only marginally to the labour marketwho are neither working at present norsearching for work but claim theywould like to work, are available forwork, and have looked for work sometime over the previous twelve months.Last August this figure stood at 6.2 percent (7.4 per cent in August 2014).U6: Add to U5 those workers in

temporary employment who wish to befully employed but cannot be becauseof the prevailing economiccircumstances. Last August this figurestood at 10.3 per cent (12 per cent inAugust 2014).All this data must be taken into

account, therefore, rather than the U3criterion alone, if we are to know whatproportion of the American populationis unemployed. Doing this we see thatthe unemployment figure in the UnitedStates is more than four times what is

proclaimed. How did this obvious fudgecome to be?The U6 criterion was modified in

1994 by the Clinton regime to put amore favourable spin on theunemployment data. Until that time itincluded not only “demoralisedworkers” who had stopped searchingfor work in the previous twelve monthsbut also those who had looked for workat any time earlier than the previousyear.In his web page Shadow Government

Statistics (www.shadowstats.com) theinvestigative economist John Williamscalculates the U6 criterion as it iswithout this Clinton massage, which isto say much more realistically. Thus hedemonstrates clearly that the real rateof unemployment in the United Statesin August 2015 was a whopping 23per cent—nearly a quarter of thecountry’s work force.In the graph we can see the

evolution of American unemploymentfrom 1995 to the present as reflectedin the official U3 rate and in the U6rate, both before and after the Clintonmassage. So that bogusunemployment figures designed to hidethe extent of the deepeningunemployment crisis, as reflected inthe Shadowstats graph, are worthless,being based on patently distorted data.

Socialist Voice page 5

Bernard Murphy

THE US economy is the model of what neo-liberal pundits in Ireland and elsewherebelieve a progressive modern economy

should be. Hence, the international corporate media circus

has been trumpeting the glad tidings: the Americanend-of-summer unemployment figures are down to5 per cent, from 6 per cent this time last year.

US unemployment: bogus and real

s Ohio workersremind SpeakerBoehner torenewunemploymentinsuranceAFL CIO picture

Supermarkets This sector isdominated by five firms: Supervalu,Dunne’s, Tesco, Aldi, and Lidl. Theygive the impression of competing onprice by taking full-pageadvertisements citing low prices for asmall range of products. With theseenticements they encourage people todo a full shopping in their stores,leading to increased sales and profits.Aldi and Lidl (two German

companies) have expanded rapidly andhave put pressure on the existingfirms. Tesco has responded by openingsmaller and more expensive “express”branches. Dunne’s has reacted byintroducing zero-hour contracts.There is informal evidence that

Tesco charges higher prices in Irelandthan they do in Britain, and that Aldiand Lidl charge higher prices than theydo in Germany. They all try tomaximise profits and so maximiseshare prices for their shareholders.

Banks Banking in Ireland isdominated by Allied Irish Bank, Bank ofIreland, Irish Permanent, Ulster Bank,and KBC.Now, they do not compete on price

for deposits or when they are lending.They try to confuse the public by

offering a large number of differentrates of interest on deposits. They alsoreduce rates without informing thedepositor. They put smalladvertisements in the daily papers. Formortgages, Irish banks charge about 4per cent, while their Europeancounterparts charge 2 per cent. This isbecause they want to build up theircapital so that they can be sold backto the private sector. In the case ofBank of Ireland it is to increase profitsand share price for its shareholders.So if you pay 4 per cent you will get

a mortgage. It’s a “take it or leave it”proposition. The Central Bank does notregulate the interest rates in theinterest of consumers.

Insurance companies Insurance(motor and home) is dominated by sixcompanies: FBD, Axa, Aviva, Liberty,Royal Sun Alliance (123.ie), and AIG.They have raised their prices onaverage by 20 per cent in the pastyear, but there is no way thatcustomers can tell whether the priceincrease is justified.As these are mainly subsidiaries of

foreign companies, they may be takingadvantage of Irish customers so thatthey can send back more profits to

their parent companies. They arelicensed by the Central Bank, but itdoes not regulate their prices. Onewould expect a regulation of priceswith an oligopoly, where a smallnumber of firms dominate, if theCentral Bank were interested inconsumers.

Mobile phones There is only a smallnumber of mobile phonemanufacturers in the world. Apple,Samsung and Nokia dominate themarket. They update their modelsregularly so that their older modelsbecome obsolete. They advertiseheavily. They charge high prices fortheir products to maximise their profits.There are three mobile network

providers in Ireland: Meteor, Vodafone,and 3. Each provides a range ofpayment methods, and it is verydifficult for customers to work outwhich is the best option for them. Byconfusing customers they aim to getthe largest number of customers andmaximise profits. They minimise costsby having a small number of retailoutlets and a small head office staff.Once the network of masts is installed,maintenance costs are minimal.

Alcohol The beer and cider sector isdominated by three companies: Diageo(Guinness), Bulmers, and Heineken.They set prices to maximise profits.They advertise heavily, and theysponsor sports and music events toattract young people into the drinkinghabit. They portray drink as a beneficialproduct, when all the medical evidenceshows that in fact it is harmful.The medical profession asked the

government to introduce legislationthat would ban drinks companies fromsponsoring sports events. But thegovernment of Fine Gael and theLabour Party put the profits of thedrinks companies before the health ofthe population and decided not tointroduce a ban.The whiskey industry is dominated

by two firms: Irish Distillers (PernodRicard) and Diageo. They are free fromgovernment regulation to set theirprices to maximise profits.

Television satellite and cablecompanies Satellite sports televisionis dominated by three companies: Sky,BT Sport, and Setanta. Thesecompanies offer billions for the right toscreen live English premiershipmatches. They charge high monthlyrentals to recoup their costs, and theymake large profits.Rupert Murdoch, the owner of Sky,

was able to buy Fox News in the

Socialist Voice page 6

The real structure of the Irish economyKieran Crilly analyses different branches of the Irish economy according to the dominance of one firm or a small number of firms.

monopoly

Socialist Voice page 7

United States with the large profits hemade in Britain and Ireland afterMargaret Thatcher allowed him to setup Sky in the late 1980s.The cable companies, UPC and now

Eircom, are offering packages ofphone, broadband and television; Skyis doing the same. You have to take allthree services (a “bundle”) at a setprice. The three companies are settinga similar price for the bundles. Theseoffers are heavily advertised and areset at a low initial price to get newcustomers, who enable these firms tomaximise profits.

Terrestrial stations RTE (includingRTE1, RTE2, and TG4) is the statechannel; its main rivals are TV3, BBC,UTV, and Channel 4. But it also has tocompete with Sky.The terrestrial channels are losing

out to Sky, because they are buying upthe rights to sports events which wereavailable free. Sky has bought up therights to some international soccer andrugby friendlies and GAA matches; ifyou haven’t got Sky you have noaccess to the matches.Profit is the driving force for Sky in

all of this. They gain extra income fromnew subscribers and from the extraadvertising generated by the matches.Rupert Murdoch only wants Sky togrow and expand his empire.

Radio National radio is dominated byRTE (Radio 1, Radio 2, Lyric, andRaidió na Gaeltachta). It is financedthrough the licence fee andadvertising, and it competes foradvertising with stations in the privatesector. Getting funds from the licencefee imposes an obligation on thetelevision and radio stations to providehigh-quality programming.The private sector is dominated by

two groups: Communicorp (Newstalk,Today FM, Dublin 98, Spin 1038, SpinSouthwest, and TXFM), in which DenisO’Brien is a major shareholder, andUTV Radio Solutions (Dublin FM 104,Dublin Q102, Cork 96 FM, LimerickLive 95 FM, LMFM, U105, WLRFM,and Galway Bay FM).The private stations aim to maximise

profits, which they do by having wall-to-wall pop music. They have nocommitment to high-qualityprogramming. Because they are ownedby businessmen it is probable thatthey have a pro-business and pro-conservative (Fine Gael and FiannaFáil) bias in their news and theireconomic and political coverage.

National newspapers Irish Newsand Media Group, with six titles, is the

largest media group in the country. Itcomprises the Irish Independent,Herald, Irish Daily Mail, Irish Mail onSunday, Sunday Independent, SundayWorld, and 50 per cent of the DailyStar.The Irish Times (owned by a trust),

the Irish Examiner (owned by theCrosby family of Cork) and the SundayBusiness Post (owned by Key Capitaland Paul Cooke, Irish businessmen)are the other Irish-owned papers. TheIrish Daily Mirror and Irish SundayMirror are owned by the Britishcompany Trinity Mirror. The Irish Sun,Irish Sun on Sunday and SundayTimes are owned by Murdochcompanies.There are only six owners of

newspapers in Ireland, despite thenumber of titles. Each of thesecompanies tries to maximise its profits.They have a lot of power, as they setthe agenda of politics here. The samecomment applies to them as wasapplied to radio stations.

Cement and building materialsCement Roadstone (CRH Holdings) isthe largest company quoted on theIrish Stock Exchange, and the only Irishcompany to appear among the top160 companies in Europe by income in2012. It had a 100 per cent monopolyin the production of cement untilrecent years, when the Quinn factorywas set up in Co. Fermanagh.There is a significant barrier to entry

when cement is produced in an islandcountry. The shipping and deliverycosts for cement are high, because itsratio of value to weight is low. A tonneof cement is cheap, but the cost oftransporting it from England to Irelandis high. So cement prices were kepthigh, and large profits flowed in. Usingthese profits, CRH was able to expandabroad. The company is also dominantin the building materials sector.

Non-alcoholic carbonated drinks(fizzy drinks) This sector isdominated by the Coca-Cola Groupand the Pepsi-Cola Group and to alesser extent by the Cantrell andCochrane Group. In recent years Coca-Cola has introduced a smaller bottle(200 ml) instead of the previous largerbottle (330 ml); but hotels, pubs andrestaurants are charging the sameprice as previously, which has thesame effect as a whopping 65 per centincrease in price.These companies are good at

fighting their corner when it comes togovernments “interfering” in theirmarket. Obesity has become a growingproblem, especially among young

people, and health experts have calledfor a sugar tax. Carbonated drinkscontribute to obesity because theycontain large amounts of sugar. Ourpro-business government ignored thepleas of the medical profession andthe health needs of our young peopleand dropped the idea of a sugar tax.The needs of business are moreimportant than the health of thenation.

Motor vehicles In 2014 a total of93,361 new cars were sold. Of these,23,825 (26 per cent) were supplied bythe Volkswagen Group, 9,658 (10½per cent) were Toyota, 9,040 (10 percent) were Ford, 7,410 (8 per cent)were Hyundai, 6,691 (7 per cent) wereNissan, and 6,156 (6½ per cent) wereOpel. Between them these sixcompanies supplied a total of 62,776cars, or 68 per cent of all cars boughtin Ireland. There is competition amongthe few, but the last thing they want todo is to compete on price.It is interesting that the Central

Statistics Office does not collectinformation on car prices.

Petrol and diesel Four companies—BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and RoyalDutch Shell—dominate the petrol,diesel and heating-oil sectors. Thesewere originally seven companies thatmerged to form three. From the late1920s these companies sharedproduction zones and transport costsand agreed sales prices. As a cartel,they colluded—and still collude—onprice, and smaller operators follow suit.No government would dare take on

these companies, as they haveoverthrown governments and havepauperised countries, such as Nigeria.

Department stores (Dublin) Threedepartment stores—Arnott’s,Debenham’s, and Marks andSpenser—serve mainly middle-incomepeople, with Dunne’s and Penney’smainly serving ordinary people whileBrown Thomas caters for thebourgeoisie.

Summary There is nothing free aboutthe “free market,” except that it is freefrom government regulation. Butbecause nearly all branches of theeconomy, including those not listedabove, are dominated by one or asmall number of firms, the state shouldregulate these sectors much more inthe interest of the majority of thepopulation, who are being exploited bya relatively small number of firms.

solidarity

Socialist Voice page 8

Dublin’s oldest radical bookshop is named after James Connolly, Ireland’s socialist pioneer and martyr

The place for�H Irish history�H politics�H philosophy�H Marxist classics�H feminism�H trade union affairs�H environmental issues H progressive literature H radical periodicals43 East Essex Street, Dublin, between Temple Bar and Parliament Street (01) 6708707 connollybooks@eircon.net

CONNOLLYHBOOKS

Bill O’Brien

ACONFERENCE on the riseof fascism in Ukraine tookplace on 10 and 11

October in Athens.Representatives from manycountries took part in this largeevent: Estonia, Germany, Greece,Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain, andSweden. Also among the invited participants

were the representatives of theDonetsk People’s Republic and non-governmental movements and otherorganisations from Bulgaria, Russia,Serbia, and Turkey. The conferencewas called by the International Anti-Fascist Committee.The foreign minister of the Donetsk

People’s Republic, SvetlanaKochetova, gave a detailed report tothe conference, pointing out that theywere not trying to break from Ukrainebut trying to maintain their nationalintegrity after the fascist coup thattook place in Kiev.She gave graphic details of the

deaths and destruction taking place inthe Donbass province. Since thebeginning of the conflict 5,061 peoplehave been killed, among them 72children, and 306 more werewounded. Damage to infrastructure

has been enormous, with 4,472houses destroyed as well as fiftyhealth service buildings, schools, busstations, and the airport.Kochetova pointed out that

misinformation given in the Westernmedia is the biggest obstacle to truth.This conflict is portrayed as a clashbetween two rival powers: NATO andthe EU on the one hand and Russia onthe other. She accepted that theyreceived support from Russia butpointed out that they are anindependent people’s republic. Sheinformed us that volunteers from otherEuropean countries, including Italy andSpain, as well as countries to the eastof them, are fighting alongside themas volunteers. There is an internationalbrigade operating there at themoment.Donbass has stopped fascism from

spreading to the rest of Ukraine and toother countries in eastern Europe. Ithas allowed a breathing-space forproper analysis of what exactly ishappening in this region. Kochetovapointed out that they are more awareabout fascism than most Europeans,as the region took a lead in thestruggle against fascism and sufferedgreatly during the Second World War.Ireland was represented at the

conference by four delegates, some of

whom are involved with solidarity workand others in collecting humanitarianaid that is sent to Donbass. All theIrish delegates gave detailed individualreports of their work, which was greatlyappreciated by the conference.It was agreed to set up committees

in our respective countries to publicisethe position of the anti-fascists inDonbass and the danger of fascismspreading to the rest of Europe. Ademonstration will be held at the USAir Force base on the Greek island ofCrete on the 9th of May next year, andit is hoped to have another one inShannon and one in Germany. Theemphasis of these demonstrations willbe on anti-fascism and the danger thatis imminent.It was agreed that unity among anti-

fascist forces was essential and thatother ideological differences should beset aside in this struggle.The People’s Republic of Donetsk is

a socialist republic, established bycoalminers and lorry-drivers, with thehelp of other workers, and is verymuch under workers’ control. Thesepeople are putting up a tremendousfight, a fight that may spread to othercountries before long.Solidarity must be absolute, and the

need for a support group in Ireland isurgent.

Join the struggle for socialism!Join the Communist Party of IrelandPlease send me information about Communist Party membership

Name

Address

Post Code

Phone e mail

send to CPI 43 East Essex Street, Dublin D02 XH96CPI PO Box 85 Belfast BT1 1SR

Socialist Voice & Unity Take out a subscription to Socialist Voice by sending €15 (£10) to SocialistVoice, 43 East Essex Street, Dublin D02 XH96, for one year (10–12 issues). This rate includes postage within Ireland; rates for other countries on request.Free subscription to the email edition of Socialist Voice by sending us an e-mail. Take out a subscription to Unity by sending £20 for 6 months or £40 for12 months to Unity, PO Box 85, Belfast BT1 1SR.

Anti-fascist conference in Athens

inequality

Socialist Voice page 9

THE WORLD is grossly unequal,and is becoming more and moreso.

Inequality is not an unfortunate by-product of the system, or the result ofpoor policy choices, or even individualgreed: inequality is a direct result ofthe capitalist mode of production andis fundamental to the process of re-creation of capital, which sees greatwealth created by working people butheld as the private property ofcapitalists and speculators.The Central Bank has recently

acknowledged that households havesuffered a significant loss of incomeand wealth but that this has not beenspread evenly. Some have been hitharder than others—not news to anyof us who have been living through thiscrisis daily for the last seven years.During the boom years too workerscould see the growing inequality ofthose driving BMWs and going onskiing holidays and those hoping forthe next building contract or seeing ifthey could afford to study in theevenings while working.This is a continuing tale of two cities

and two classes in Ireland, not a newstory.During the “Celtic Tiger” years we

had, as one writer described it, a risingtide that failed to lift all boats. Forexample, the number of those at riskof poverty grew between 1994 and2005 from 15½ to 18½ per cent,hitting almost 22 per cent of thepopulation in 2001.The Central Bank report shows a

clear link between income and thetype of assets owned. The highestincome group is likely to own non-residential property and other types offinancial assets, such as shares. And

the higher the income group thehigher the value of all types of assetsheld.Essentially, those with the highest

income also hold most assets and themost valuable assets, making themnot only the highest earners but alsothe wealthiest more generally.For working people in the lowest four

quantiles of income, the homeaccounts for about 75 per cent of theirassets, but for the highest earnerstheir home accounts for only about 30per cent of their total assets.The highest-income quantiles are

also more likely to have significantdebts (from other propertyinvestments) compared with the lowestquantile, putting to bed the myth thatwe all partied during the “Celtic Tiger”era.The top 20 per cent of households

in terms of wealth account for 50 percent of gross income and more than70 per cent of assets. The TASC reportconfirms this inequality when it showsthat the top 10 per cent in incomereceived 34 per cent of total income,up 27 per cent from the 1970s.As we approach the hundredth

anniversary of the Proclamation of theIrish Republic and the beginning of theIrish Revolution, Ireland is becomingan even more unequal society.The TASC report is invaluable for the

information it gives. It looks atinequality in a number of areas,including income, wealth, tax, andpublic services, and concludes thatIreland is not immune from thephenomenon of growing inequality. Wehave a highly unequal distribution ofincome from the market (e.g. wages,salaries, and profits), which is maskedby social transfers and taxation. Netincome inequality in Ireland is at aboutthe average for EU countries, but grossmarket income inequality is the worstof all members of the OECD, which ishardly where we want to be.Finally, with regard to income, TASC

identifies two-thirds of householdssurviving on less than €35,000 peryear, while 200,000 households havemore than €75,000.Ireland is unequal. It was

unequal during the boom, it wasunequal during the crisis, and itis unequal during this so-calledrecovery. This is not merely amatter of bad policies orcorruption: it is a direct result ofa class system and a class state.A change of government without a

fundamental challenging of capitalismand the state will do little to redressthis inequality.

Sources: “The FinancialPosition of IrishHouseholds”(Central Bank ofIreland),“Cherishing AllEqually” (TASC).

A tale of twocities

Debt: a weapon against the people €3.50/£3

The Bloody Trail of Imperialismby Eddie Glackin €8/£6

The Marxism of James Connollyby Thomas Metscher €3.50/£2.50

Books from theCommunist Partyconnollybooks@eircom.net

The 85 richest individuals in theworld have as much wealth asthe poorest 3½ billion.

solidarity

Socialist Voice page 10

Seán Joseph Clancy

As I write here on the 27th of October anoverwhelming majority of 193 member-states of the United Nations, at theirGeneral Assembly in New York, for thetwenty-fourth consecutive yearcategorically called for the lifting of the55-year-old illegal US blockade of Cuba.

In the vote of 191 to 2 in support ofthe Cuban proposal, only the UnitedStates and Israel opposed the motion.There were no abstentions this year,revealing not only the insidious, bloodyand vile nature of the diabolical US-Israelalliance generally but also the growingrejection of their joint and individualpolitical and military aggressions and therapidly diminishing capacity of theUnited States to forcibly dictate foreignpolicy or to intimidate even the mosteconomically vulnerable, mostdependent and smallest countries.

The vote is another diplomatic,political and moral victory for Cuba andanother well-deserved bloody nose forthe United States.

The irony of their nonsensical andsad rhetoric, chanted morbidly as anapologetic explanation of the twistedlogic of their position, did not seem loston even the weary diplomat charged withdelivering it to the assembly. In what was

always a doomed idea, the United Stateshad even suggested a willingness toabstain on condition that it would dictatethe wording of the Cuban delegation’smotion.

The American vote is whollyinconsistent with—and makes a mockeryof—the stated position of PresidentObama and his “new” Cuba policy. Itpoints to his personal and politicaldishonesty, a profound ethical deficit anda cowardly unwillingness to confront aRepublican-controlled legislature, in partperhaps at the behest of his formersecretary of state, Hilary Clinton, anxiousto tread as smooth a path as possible tonext year’s presidential election.

The myth that Obama is essentially agood president paralysed by thelimitations of executive power and ahostile Congress is exposed as much bythe vote today as by his increased extra-judicial drone executions and higherPentagon spending than that of hispredecessor, George W. Bush.

The Cuban public health system,recognised internationally as exceptionaland frequently cited by high-rankingWHO officials as an exemplary model ofa health service, is one of the areas mostadversely affected by the blockade.Access to modern drug treatments,equipment and technology, or the rawmaterials necessary for manufacturinggeneric alternatives, is prohibited,resulting in unnecessary suffering anddeaths, often for reasons linked more tothe protection of exorbitant profits thanto any real ideological conflict. Innocentinfants suffer the consequences.

The health system here suffers fromthe same lack of infrastructuralinvestment and other social malaise thataffect every area of Cuban life, but itremains free, universally accessible, andremarkably comprehensive and holistic.“Green” medicine, considered“alternative” elsewhere, is an integral andcomplementary component of manystandard treatments.

There is a doctor here for every 170citizens and a family clinic in every ruraland urban district, where eachspeciality—urologist, paediatrician,psychiatrist, cardiologist, etc.—isroutinely in attendance to ensure thatuniversal access is no mere catchphrase.

Where I live, in Trinidad, a town ofabout 50,000 inhabitants, you could notwalk five minutes from any starting-pointor in any direction without encounteringat least one such clinic. Doctors knowtheir patients.

There are also two polyclinics—health centres that provide extensiveemergency and outpatient services—anda hospital in town. There are dental

clinics, old people’s day-care centres andhomes, a children’s hospital, a specialistinpatient unit providing pre-natal care toexpectant mothers, a special school, and,among many other facilities, inpatientand outpatient psychiatric services.There is no such thing as a waiting-list.If a therapeutic intervention or a

particular pharmaceutical treatment isnot available, the root cause is mostprobably related to the blockade—possibly because it cannot be importeddirectly or because some element of thesupply chain (such as spare parts fortransport, factory equipment,infrastructure, or raw material) isaffected.

The availability of medicines can alsosometimes—although less so recently—be interrupted by acts of pettycorruption. Medicines out of stock in thelocal pharmacy can sometimes be foundat inflated prices on the street.

One of the things I began to noticequite soon after I came to live here wasthe far superior medical, interpersonaland treatment experience within a healthsystem uncorrupted by the culture oflitigation, private health and medicalmalpractice insurance or by drugcompanies and other commercialinterests, one in which professionals—specialist and general—are notexclusively from an elite social class orconsider themselves to be eligible now tojoin that class on the strength of theirqualification.

It is a system that also ensures thattruly equal access to all levels ofeducation—from creche to postgraduateand beyond—and career opportunity isan essential element in this regard.

The general experience of patientsand the integrity of the doctor-patientrelationship is more respectful, equal,dignified and honest as a result.

Ten of the eleven most recent cancertreatments available in the world costmore than $90,000 per patient and,because of patents now protectedinternationally by abominable free-tradepacts, cannot be reproduced for betweenseven and eleven years. Access is anoption for the rich and the very wellinsured. National governments can besued for corporate losses and finedmulti-million sums should they considerproviding, or allowing any other entitywithin their borders to provide,affordable life-saving genericalternatives.

The equally effective—or in somecases even more effective—generic orparallel equivalents available in Cuba,despite prohibitions derived from theblockade, are all provided free of chargeor at a nominal or symbolic charge.

Letter from Havana

politics

Socialist Voice page 11

Access is thus an option for all.This is true of all treatments—

including, for example, costly retroviralHIV/AIDS drugs—and for all diseasesand conditions. More than eight hundreddrugs are available through thepharmacy system.

Health care is a guaranteed righthere, not a favour bestowed by the stateor a consumer product dispensed with aMcDonald’s mentality, according to thepatient’s ability to pay. Drug election andprescription is on the grounds of needand best practice and not subject tosales-rep incentivised whims.

As a result, life expectancy for bothmen and women is now above seventy-seven years, and the infant mortality rateis lower than that of our neighbour to thenorth.

Perhaps even more scandalous andinhumane, and indicative of the truenature of the 1 per cent American rulingclass, than the effects on the young,elderly and infirm of their blockade herein Cuba is the sad fact that so manyeffective and affordable Cubantreatments and medicines that couldrelieve suffering and prevent deaths aredenied to deserving and needy Americancitizens by the obsolete and cruel policiesof their own government.

One obvious example is the highlysuccessful therapeutic treatmentdeveloped and manufactured here forthe treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.Around the globe, tens of thousands ofamputations have been prevented as adirect result of its administration, whileonly 90 miles across the Florida Strait itmight as well not exist.

Imagine the accumulated sufferingand hardship in this instance alone as aresult of such politics.

There are tens of thousands of Cubanmedical professionals serving in morethan sixty countries around the world.Their solidarity, ability, courage andstoicism in the face of recent Ebola andcholera epidemics and natural disastershave been extensively lauded.

The ideological values on which theCuban public health system isestablished, and their very tangibleexpression in services provided undercomplex and challenging conditions,represents—in addition to being one ofthe very real conquests of theRevolution—absolute proof thatanything less than global, free,universally accessible andcomprehensive health and educationsystems constitute organised blue-collar(or blue-scrub) crimes against humanity,warranting prosecution and sanction byall right-minded men and women ofconscience.

UN echoesuniversaldemandCUBA BLOCKADE

WITH THE support of 191of the 193 member-states of the United

Nations, the General Assemblyvoted in a new resolution on the27th of October for an end tothe US blockade against Cuba.The initiative—which appeals for an

end to the economic, commercial andfinancial blockade on the grounds ofrespect for the principles of the UNCharter and international law and thesovereign equality of all states andnon-interference in their internalaffairs—was rejected only by theUnited States and Israel.For the twenty-fourth year in a row

the main deliberative forum of theUnited Nations called categorically foreliminating the blockade, which hascaused economic damage to Cubaestimated at $833,755 million(taking into account the depreciationof the US currency against the valueof gold); but its full impact on theCuban people is incalculable.The motion reiterates the call to not

enact or implement actions contraryto the Charter and international lawand recalls concerns about theextraterritorial nature of the USblockade, which is manifested in theapplication of laws such as the so-called Cuban Liberty and DemocraticSolidarity Act (1996), commonlyknown as the Helms–Burton Act.The text also recalls the world’s

clear rejection of the sanctionsimposed by the president of theUnited States, expressed in variousforums and resolutions, includingthose adopted by the GeneralAssembly since 1992.The vote took place in a different

atmosphere form that of previousyears, following the resumption ofdiplomatic ties between Havana andWashington in July and therecognition by President BarackObama of the need to remove theblockade. In this sense the initiativewelcomes the restoration of tiesbetween Cuba and the United Statesand the willingness expressed byObama to work towards lifting theblockade, although it is still fullyimplemented.

For the people, notfor corporate profits!WATER

Paul Doran

ALL ACROSS the globe, facilitated by theWorld Bank, country after country has hadits water privatised. Many large corporations

use the vast resources of the African continent topillage water and then sell if off in their Europeansubsidiaries, and make huge profits. Nestlé is oneof these companies. There are many more.This all has to do with the increase in private ownership

of human resources that are essential to our everydayliving. In Paris the water services were privatised, and thecapitalist vultures made obscene amounts of profit, whileservices greatly depreciated because of massive under-investment. Then the Parisians took back their waterservices. Paris is not the only city that has renationalised itswater. We are all aware how the struggle over theownership of water can change governments in arevolutionary manner. Bolivia is a classic example, wherethe Cochabamba Water War in 2002, led by Eva Morales,was a public uprising against the privatisation of waterservices. Eventually Morales became president of thecountry, and he has since taken further initiatives in therenationalising of vital human resources.Since 2007, 170 municipalities in Germany have

brought vital human resources back into public hands.Globally, at least a hundred cities have done the same withprivatised water services over the past fifteen years,including dozens of municipalities in France—once seen asa growing focus for the privatisation of water.Some countries have used their laws to ensure that

water is not privatised, the Netherlands being one example.If we can mobilise the people we can ensure that our

public water services are kept in public ownership byenshrining in the Constitution a clause that prohibits privateownership. The Right2Water campaign has taken theinitiative in giving people throughout this failed state aglimmer of hope that our voices will be heard. Ascommunists we must lead by our example and assist inthis uprising and show the gombeen-men and women inDáil Éireann that we will not be broken.

On entering into this coalitionEsquerre Republicana gaveprecedence to its secessionist stance,leaving its socialist principles outsidethe door as it buttressedConvergencia’s programme of savagecuts in social expenditure.To ensure an “independista” majority

Junts will have to depend on the tenseats of the other overtly independistaparty, the CUP (Party of Popular Unity),a party of Marxist, anti-capitalistorientation. CUP stands forwithdrawing from both the Spanishstate and the EU and renouncingCatalunya’s national debt.Negotiations between these three

groups to form a secessionist Catalangovernment is continuing at the timeof writing. They have just one month toarrive at an agreement.CUP will come on board—but only

with well-publicised stringentconditions. Apart from ending theausterity regime of Junts—the mostsevere in Spain—and the generalretrogressive drift of its social policies,and securing crucial cabinet posts, italso demands the resignation of ArturMas from the Catalan presidency. AsMas has just been indicted by theSupreme Court of Catalunya (aSpanish institution) for havingorganised an “illegal” referendum lastyear, his presidency may no longer besuch an obstacle.Also, unlike either of the Junts

partners, CUP maintains that unilateraldeclarations of independence are thecompetence of the whole people,expressed through referendum, and

not solely of their parliamentaryrepresentatives. This conflicts with thestated position of Junts, which is thatthe recent election also constituted ade facto independence plebiscite andtherefore empowers the regionalCatalan parliament to declare theindependence of Catalunya.If Junts cannot agree to all the

CUP’s demands it could still rule as aminority government, supported byCUP, depending on the willingness ofthe latter to act in this capacity.Another election at this point could befatal to Junts, as this is the secondtime that Mas has proclaimedindependence to a wearied andincreasingly cynical electorate.The group with the second-highest

vote after Junts, with 25 seats, is theright-wing anti-secessionistCiudadanos (Citizens), now organisingall over Spain. Its performance incoming from a previous 9-seat positionto 25, far ahead of the PartidoPopular, the Spanish government party(reduced to 11 seats from a previous19), is ringing alarm bells for thelatter. With national elections loomingin December, the threat of seriouscompetition for the conservative votefrom the yuppified pro-EU Ciudadanos,preaching transparency and the virtuesof the free market, to the now weary,decrepit and irremediably corrupt PP, isincreasingly evident.The Podemos front, Catalunya Sí

Que Es Pot (“Catalunya really can”),paid for that formation’s perceivedfuzziness on economic issues, theresult of its intention to extend its

appeal beyond the traditional working-class constituency, as well as its anti-independence stance. In spite of theactive involvement of Podemos’s bigguns in the campaign, and its hope ofreplacing the Catalan Socialist Party,the latter came in with 16 seats, 4down from a previous 20 but wellahead of Catalunya Sí Que Es Pot,which, on its first time out, limped inwith 11 seats. This is seen as a severeblow to Podemos, which still has highhopes of being in Spain’s newgovernment after next December’snational elections.The present PP Spanish government,

taking refuge in the country’sconstitution, will refuse to negotiatethe issue of independence withwhatever Catalan government emergesfrom present talks. The latter, mostprobably, will likewise await the resultof the forthcoming national electionsbefore wanting to enter into suchnegotiations. The possibility exists thata new left government in Madrid willbe disposed to try to solve the Catalanquestion for once and for all in thecontext of restructuring Spain as afederal state, in place of the presenthighly centralised regime.However, the joker in the pack could

well be the growing doctrinaire neo-liberal Ciudadanos, a party verycapable of helping a stricken PP getback into government—or, equally, ofsupporting the equally neo-liberal“socialist” party (PSOE), on conditionthat no deal be done with the Catalansecessionists.

Socialist Voice page 12

analyisis

What happened in the Catalan elections?Tomás Mac Síomóin

IN THE parliamentary election in Catalunya on 27 September theindependista Junts (“Together”) won 62 of the 68 seats requiredto have an absolute majority. This is an uneasy coalition of

Convergencia (hardcore neo-liberals, beset by corruption scandals),headed by Artur Mas, and Left Republicans (Esquerre Republicana),headed by Oriol Junqueras, united in the struggle to liberateCatalunya from what they see as Madrid’s centralist rule.

The presentPP Spanishgovernment,taking refugein thecountry’sconstitution,will refuse tonegotiate theissue ofindependencewith whateverCatalangovernmentemerges frompresent talks.