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Portugal

Just Say 'Não': Portugal’s Unions Ready To Challenge Austerity Measures

So far, people in debt-laden Portugal seem to grudgingly accept austerity measures imposed by the government. That could change. Two of the country’s leading labor groups have joined forces and called for a Nov. 24 general strike. Is Portugal ready to go

Young people lead the charge (pedrosimoes7)
Young people lead the charge (pedrosimoes7)
Claire Gatinois

LISBON Manuel Carvalho da Silva has spent the past two weeks trying to teach the people of Portugal how to say "no." The message is suddenly everywhere, plastered all over the city on posters printed up by the CGTP-In, the country's largest labor union.

"Nâo," is what Da Silva, the CGTP-In's general secretary, is hoping a majority of Portuguese will say to the increasingly severe austerity measures being imposed by both the right and left under pressure from the so-called "troika" – formed by the Central European Bank, the European Commission and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The troika demands the spending cuts in exchange for a 78 billion-euro aid package promised earlier this year.

In an effort to mobilize what until now has been a relatively docile population, Da Silva, an electrician who went on to earn a doctorate in sociology, has formed a historic alliance with the left's other main union, the UGT. The two labor groups have called for a general strike to take place Nov. 24. Between now and then, demonstrations are expected to take place throughout the country. According to the CGTP-In, "things are starting to progress."

Maybe that's because in presenting its 2012 budget last week, the center-right government of Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho went even farther then the country's major donors demanded. The country's notoriously free market-minded finance minister, Vitor Gaspar, announced that the value added tax would be upped to 23% for commonly consumed products. He also announced a 30-minute extension of the working day – which according to the CGTP-In, amounts to a 7% salary drop – and the cancellation of 13th and 14th month bonuses for current and retired state employees with gross salaries of more than 1,000 euros per month.

"The measures weigh heaviest on workers, who aren't at all to blame for the crisis," says Da Silva. Even worse, he insists, is that the austerity strategy could end up being counterproductive.

What's the alternative?

The son of farmers, Da Silva has been fighting on behalf of organized labor since 1974, the year of the Revolução dos Cravos, or Carnation Revolution. The CGTP-In leader's goal isn't to rouse the masses into violent demonstrations, like the ones that have been occurring in Greece. Instead, Da Silva says he wants to mobilize citizens to "save the economy" and give Portugal's disenchanted youth a reason to be hopeful.

"If there's someone here who is willing to defend the economy, it's us," he insists. Da Silva is convinced that if no one in Portugal reacts to the stiff austerity measures, Portugal will destroy its system of production, its social welfare system and end up where it was 25 years ago, before it really joined the rest of Europe. The austerity measures, he says, will send Portugal hurtling off a cliff.

What Da Silva fails to explain is what alternatives Portugal really has. Isn't Greece, which is also deeply in debt, sinking deeper and deeper into recession as a result of its inability to balance the budget? It's also worth noting that in Portugal, the left – under the leadership of José Socrates – was in power until this past June. Didn't it too implement austerity measures?

Is Portugal really ready for a third, independent movement to take shape? Da Silva is convinced it is. What's not clear is if he'll be able to convince the rest of the country. For most Portuguese the country's inclusion 12 years ago in the euro zone is a major source of pride. And so not being "up to the task" is a hard pill to swallow. In Lisbon, one hears over and over again how Portugal ought to be a "model student."

Read more from Le Monde in French

Photo – (pedrosimoes7)

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

After Belgorod: Does The Russian Opposition Have A Path To Push Out Putin?

The month of May has seen a brazen drone attack on the Kremlin and a major incursion by Russian rebels across the border war into the Russian region of Belgorod. Could this lead to Russians pushing Vladimir Putin out of power? Or all-out civil war?

After Belgorod: Does The Russian Opposition Have A Path To Push Out Putin?

Ilya Ponomarev speaking at a Moscow opposition rally in 2013.

-Analysis-

We may soon mark May 22 as the day the Ukrainian war added a Russian front to the military battle maps. Two far-right Russian units fighting on the side of Ukraine entered the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation, riding on tanks and quickly crossing the border to seize Russian military equipment and take over checkpoints.

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This was not the first raid, but it was by far the longest and most successful, before the units were eventually forced to pass back into Ukrainian territory. The Russian Defense Ministry’s delay in reacting and repelling the incursion demonstrated its inability to seal the border and protect its citizens.

The broader Russian opposition — both inside the country and in exile — are actively discussing the Belgorod events and trying to gauge how it will affect the situation in the country. Will such raids become a regular occurrence? Will they grow more ambitious, lasting longer and striking deeper inside Russian territory? Or are these the first flare-ups at the outset of a coming civil war? And, of course, what fate awaits Vladimir Putin?

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