This week, on 30 May, most trade unions have called on the workers, pensioners and general citizens of Hego Euskal Herria to join a general strike against economic and social cuts. These are the cutbacks imposed by Madrid and Brussels, and by the docile governments of Gasteiz and Pamplona/Iruña. The answer will be defined by two factors: on the one hand, the citizens’ boredom at this type of measure, sometimes the feeling of discouragement (“nothing can be done”, “there is no alternative”…) and, on the other hand, the lack of unity for union action, as the statesmanship unions have not supported the strike.
However, tens of thousands of people will join the strike, as it is clear that it will only mobilise permanent and general mobilizations to the political leaders and managers of capitalism. This general strike will be worth it. We will again hear the managers of capitalism and their lackeys say that the strike has served no purpose, that it only makes the situation worse. You have to tell them. But they fear a bigger social explosion and they know that this strike is going to be one more step towards attacking the heart of the capitalist system. One more step in the confluence of social, trade union and political forces, one more step in the awareness of society. And it's that citizens are increasingly seeing the current class struggle and realizing that it's not a 19th-century issue, it's a tough fight of capital against workers and the working class sectors. On the other hand, this strike represents a step towards national sovereignty and, consequently, towards the creation of a Basque socio-economic framework. It will be a further, dignified step of Basque society that does not fall into the face of capitalism and its managers and teaches their teeth.