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The demand of the people now has a goal: the resignation of the government

Thursday 4 October 2012, by Left Bloc

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Here we publish a Resolution of the National Board of the Left Bloc, 22 September 2012 passed unanimously.

1. The gigantic demonstration on 15 September, which cannot be compared to any other mobilization in recent decades, turns the page of Portuguese politics. This was the response of the social majority to the government offensive, adopting a clear position against the Troika and demanding a break with the policy of impoverishment, austerity and destruction. The demonstration by the people in the streets did not demand time to slow down austerity, or the protection of the Troika: it demanded the end of the Troika in Portugal.

This was a signal sent to all the oppositions, to the financial markets, to Merkel and the IMF, to the ECB and the European Commission.

The Left Bloc salutes the organizations that took the initiative of this popular demonstration and expresses its esteem for the million citizens who saved democracy against the Troika.

2 .The mass struggle is the path to confront the government and the Troika. One year after the beginning of the protectorate, with the government of the PSD - CDS, record levels of unemployment, debt and poverty give the picture of the country. The people responded to the provocations of theft of wages through an increase in the TSU paid for by workers, and its transfer to the employers, as to all the forms of reduction of wages and pensions or new increases in taxes, with democracy in action.

3. Before the announcement of this measure by Passos Coelho, seconded at once by the Minister of Social Security, a CDS member, the Bloc presented on September 8 its agenda, around three proposals: first, support for urgent popular mobilization; secondly, support for a general strike which would unite the whole trade-union movement and broaden out socially; and thirdly, recourse to the Constitutional Court, to a motion of censure and a fight in Parliament to present clear alternatives.

Neither the internal contradictions of the government and of a coalition that is fragmenting nor the help of the President of the Republic will answer the single essential question in Portugal: to refuse the theft of wages and pensions, to refuse financial manipulations, it is necessary to refuse the Troika and to dismiss the government and open the way to general elections. Only the people can defend labour and social justice.

4. Social mobilizations will intensify, from the forthcoming trade-union demonstrations to other forms of popular action, as has been seen in the gathering of thousands of people before the Council of State. The Left Bloc will work fully for the success of these mobilizations, supporting the general and unitary struggle of trade unions and social movements.

5. To respond to the emergency situation that the country is going through, the Left Bloc participates in convergences in Parliament against the assault on salaries and pensions through the TSU or against the confiscation of the income of those who work.

In this sense, the Left Bloc expresses its full readiness for the junction and the confluence of the opposition, expressed in a motion of censure.

This new signal in Portuguese politics shows that the rout of the government and of the recessive spiral is the path to the recovery of the economy, to accountability and to respect for workers and taxpayers.

6. The Left Bloc is engaged in the regional elections in the Azores, presenting the result of its intense parliamentary and social work and mobilizing a socialist alternative, based on the defense of workers, reforms and young people, promoting regional autonomy while refusing all solutions of austerity or poverty. The National Board welcomes and supports this campaign and sends its wishes for electoral success to the regional organization of the Azores.