Junto Podemos Francia Speech

kirjoittanut: Hector Espinola

Speech of Hector Espinola (Junto Podemos Francia) at the reunion of the european HP in Paris.

Dear Friends and Comrades

In the name of Juntos Podemos Mas – France, I would firstly like to thank the Humanist Party – all the Humanist Parties of Europe – for this activity in support of Tomas Hirsch, candidate in the Presidential elections in Chile on the coming 11th December.
Juntos Podemos is an alliance composed of the Communist Party, the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), the Christian Left, the Humanist Party, the Proletarian Action Communist Party, the Patriotic Movement Manuel Rodriguez, the Socialist Left and dozens of NGOs from the Copper Defence Committee to the Magpies of Emaus (Urracas de Emaus).

Juntos Podemos is considered to be the heir of the first attempts at liberation made by: the Popular Front of the People in 1952, FRAP in 1958, the UP in 1970, the MDP during the years of the dictatorship and the Allende Democratic Left Movement (MIDA) at the start of the 90s.

Our alliance was constituted after a long period of dispersion of popular forces.
The anti-system parties and associations met to develop a platform.  Under the banner of Juntos Podemos we contested the last municipal elections in November of 2004, under the sights of the right and the government.  The “specialists” and pollsters of all sorts, accredited our candidates with 3% of the vote, rapidly they became disenchanted though, because in spite of the existing institutional discrimination, due to the binominal electoral law, an iniquitous law left by Pinochet and maintained by successive Concertation governments (DC-PS), Juntos Podemos obtained nearly 10% of the votes with a hundred municipal councillors elected across the country.

The government leaders started the mermaid songs to start to channel or neutralise the discontent and the clear electoral advance of Juntos Podemos.  Certain leaders publicly recognised: “the economic growth of Chile, reduction of inequality, and the return of democracy has not been translated into a broadening of democracy… the divide between rich and poor is dramatically increasing”.  They proposed a reform to the Constitution of Pinochet, and they admitted that Pinochet “left an electoral system destined to guarantee a parliamentary over-representation of the right”.
How strange!  After taking advantage of the anti-democratic institutions during 15 years, that gave privilege to the two blocks of the system (right and Concertacion) today they denounce it.  This is a manoeuvre to fish for the popular votes of the left.  We know that the Concertacion and the right agreed to reform the Pinochet Constitution (imposed by the dictator in 1980) but essentially it will not change, above all the excluding and anti-democratic binominal electoral system.  The Pinochet Constitution is replaced by the Pinochet-Lagos Constitution; the enactment of the latter gave rise to a celebration, bringing together in the Moneda Palace ex-coup starters and present government leaders.  Tomas Hirsch rejected with dignity to take part in this celebration, stigmatising this Constitution calling it “the Pinochet-Lagos Constitution” and symbolically throwing it into the rubbish bin.

It is from this institutional straight-jacket that we must be liberated.  For this the first measure proposed in the Juntos Podemos programme is its abrogation (a measure that was promised by the first Concertacion President Aylwin in 1990).
It is necessary to call for a Constitutional review, where all sectors are represented, to develop a new constitution that must be debated and submitted to popular approval.  A Constitution that puts and end to protection of the military and the legacy of the dictatorship.

Accordingly, we propose to replace the binominal system, with a democratic system capable of guaranteeing political representation of our people.
We propose to introduce in this new democratic Constitution the concept of “multiethnic nation, taking into consideration the demands for autonomy of the Mapuche people – one of the components of our nationality – and assume the recognition and development of their culture, customs, language and traditions”.
Juntos Podemos makes proposals in the fields of Human Rights, economy, recovery of our natural resources, social rights – housing, health, social security and education.
We propose to put an end to sexist discrimination, to draft a non-restrictive divorce law and grow the participation of women in politics.  We propose to democratise the system of social communication – the media – and guarantee access to the diverse social and political sectors, growing alternative communication media.
In the International field, Juntos Podemos considers that humanity in its entirety must take advantage of scientific and technical development; we condemn the present process of “globalisation” that tends to concentrate wealth and generate poverty that exploits non-renewable natural resources.  We define ourselves as anti-imperialists and we believe that north-American imperialism represents the principal danger for global peace.  We are growing a just and democratic integration with other peoples in Latin America, we have solidarity with all people of the world who struggle for sovereignty, independence and self-determination, particularly Cuba, Venezuela, Iraq and Palestine.
We are resolved defenders of the environment, of the preservation of bio-diversity.
Therefore we oppose the predatory multinationals that want to appropriate the wealth of our country.  In this case the struggle against the mining company Barrick and its Pascua Lama gold extracting project is emblematic

Our alliance is not an electoral alliance; As Tomas Hirsch has said, we will continue beyond the 11th December.  Juntos Podemos Mas has a vocation in the future; if this night is for us a night of hope and future, I invite you to follow it until the appearance of the dawn.

Thank you very much