teachings of Marxism the capitalist state machine and its agents always serve the ruling class. The working class cannot "use" this state machine in its own interests, rather it must smash the capitalist state and create new state institutions based on the armed working masses and the organisations born out of their struggles. Allende's electoral victory three years ago took place in the context of an increasing social and economic crisis.
revolutionary left continually called on the Popular Unity Government to create a militia and arm the workers and peasants in order to defend the mass movement and the Government against fascist attacks. But Allende and his partners in the Government, the Chilean Communist Party, refused to do this Instead of equipping the mass of the people for the struggle against coun ter-revolutionary nounced the revolutionary left, accu- forces, they OCFaced with this challenge the Government chose to ally itself not with the popular movement, but Army! In a futile attempt to buy support of the capitalist military, several Generals were brought into the Cabinet.
Allende repeatedly claimed that the would respect the constitution! The General Secretary of the Chilean Communist Party, Luis Corvalan (in an article published in the iatest issue of the British Communist Party journal Marzism Today) talks of the loyalty of the armed forces and the police and of the possibility that Chile can '..march forward to Socialism without civil war...' Rarelv has the bankruptcy of a political strategy been exposed so quickly by Allende is reported, before his death, to. have called for the arming of the workers and peasants. This was a lesson he learned far too late. But it is a lesson which must be understood now if the workers movement in Chile and around the world is to avoid further needless trage dies.
The task of the Chilean revolutionary and workers movement today, a task in which the international working class movement must share, is to defeat the military offensive.
But that can only be done by abandoning the false road on which Popular Unity set the Chilean workers and peasants the road of class collaboration and faith in the capitalist state.
There is only one way to deteat the IMG contingent on last Wednesday's demonstration outside the Chilean embassy GROUP PUBLIC LESSONS AND TASKS FOR THE Saturday — 15 September - 7:30 pm. — Conway Hall (Red Lion Square, HolDorn SPEAKERS: TARIQ ALI, ROBIN BLACKBURN forces of reaction-by mobilising and arming the mass of Chilean workers and peasants. This is the road which must be taken by all those who are dedicated to the defeat of counterrevolution. Revolutionaries will fight alongside Popular Unity in this. Recent news reports suggest that there is continuing armed resistance coming from the workers" sections of Chile's capital city, Santiago. The struggle may well be far from over. The broadest international solidarity must be built with the struggle of the Chilean people against counterrevolution. A popular victory against the reactionary armed forces would set in motion a mass revolutionary movement that would place Chile on the only road to socialism - the armed road.
MEETING:
BRITISH LEFT