03) HISTORIC EVENTS IN THE ARAB WORLD
From remarks by Communist Party of Canada leader Miguel Figueroa, at a People's Voice forum in Toronto on the uprising in Egypt, Feb. 17, 2011
What we have been witnessing over the past weeks, first in Tunisia with the uprising against the Ben‑Ali regime, and even more so in the mass popular mobilizations which succeeded in toppling the Hosni Mubarak regime, are truly historic and unprecedented. It would be profoundly wrong to underestimate not only its immediate and short‑term effects throughout the Arab world ‑ as we are already seeing in Bahrain, Yemen and elsewhere ‑ but also its long‑term impact. The `genie' of mass democratic and revolutionary action is out of the bottle, and it will not be easily or quickly stuffed back, despite the feverish efforts of imperialism and its local ruling circles.
U.S. Imperialism, the Zionist state of Israel, and the constellation of client Arab despotic regimes have all been caught flatfooted by these rapidly unfolding events. Clearly, the CIA, Mossad, and the local intelligence services in Egypt and elsewhere failed to anticipate these mass upheavals, as some like James Petras have recently observed.
But it is more than that alone; it is a failure of the bourgeois worldview in general in an important sense ‑ its static, metaphysical conception of social reality which views change as an anomaly rather than a constant; which overconfidently relies on the 'stability' of the oppressive state (and its courts, police and army), and which discounts the power of the masses when aroused.
I want to say a few words about the character of these developments, particularly as they pertain to Egypt.
It has been a genuinely mass revolt, with remarkably little manipulation form abroad, despite such claims form Mubarak and co. Some initially were suspicious about who was behind this mass movement, because of reports that organizers were using Facebook, Twitter and other social networking services to communicate and mobilize actions. This was not a colour revolution organized by imperialist agents like what was witnessed in Georgia, the Ukraine and elsewhere in Eastern Europe in recent years.
It was primarily a secular uprising, and while followers of the Islamic faith and Coptic Christians were prominent in the street and in the strike movement, their demands were almost universally around democratic and class‑based issues, not religious themes. In fact, the Islamic and Coptic Christian establishments, both of which have been closely ties to the Mubarak regime are among the big losers in the uprising. This of course also applies to religious‑political organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood.
Clearly, the uprising across Egypt has been cross‑class in nature ‑ workers, professionals, small shop owners and business people, all were drawn into the streets in mass revolt, and while their respective class interests differ, they were united in their opposition to the repressive, corrupt and dictatorial Mubarak regime. Particularly significant was the fact that the front lines of the struggle were taken by the country's youth and students, and also by women. What we need to underline here has been the increasing role of the working class of Egypt, particularly after the first week of the mass protests. While the media cameras continued to be focussed on the crowds in Tahrir square, strikes began breaking out all over the country ‑ in the chemical industry, in telecommunications offices, in textile plants, among canal workers, etc. There is a long story and historical background here, but the corrupt and collaborationist labour body ‑ the General Trade Union Federation "ETUF" ‑ has been unceremoniously pushed aside by the workers, and a new independent labour central, Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions, has just been created.
So are we witnessing a revolution in the making, or just a popular revolt? I would argue that the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt share many features of a classic revolutionary process ‑ the masses are no longer prepared to live in the old way; the ruling class can no longer rule in the old way.
What is missing is the presence of the third ingredient in any revolutionary situation which best guarantees its success ‑ that of an organized and politically advanced revolutionary vanguard. The relatively spontaneous nature of the uprising and the relative absence of a vanguard organization, especially one based on Marxism‑Leninism ‑ is without a doubt an `Achilles heel', if you will, of the process.
But we are in only the opening acts of this unfolding process ‑ an unfinished revolution. It is true that while the regime has been pulled down, the state, while wobbly, is still in place. And the U.S.‑sponsored generals and army brass which controls the interim Military Council want nothing less than to snuff out the embers of revolution and restore `stability'. But it is an open question whether or not they will succeed.
No one has a crystal ball here, but my personal view is that the confidence and maturity of the masses of the Egyptian people has grown tremendously over these past three weeks ‑ more so than during the previous 30 years at least. They have shed their fear, and felt the strength of their united action. The revolutionary genie is out of the bottle, and with the people's vigilance and perseverance, and with our solidarity, it will continue to grow and develop into (The above article is from the March 1-15, 2011, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)