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The following text is the editorial of the first issue of the Mexican Marxist magazine Clave, published in October 1938. The original manuscript, written by Trotsky, was found around 1977 in the Trotsky Archive in Harvard. Translated from the French and Greek translations, for the Trotsky Internet Archive in 1998. A translation directly from the Spanish can be found on p.417 of Writings of Leon Trotsky, 1937-38 A campaign against the reactionary press is developing in Mexico. The campaign is directed by the CTM (Confederation of Mexican Workers) leaders or, more precisely, by Mr. Lombardo Toledano personally. The object is to “curb” reactionary press, either by submitting it to censorship, or by banning it completely. The trade unions have entered the path of war. Decidedly incurable democrats, corrupted by their experiences with a completely Stalinised Moscow, headed by “friends” of the GPU, have greeted this campaign, which can only be described as suicidal. In fact it is not difficult to see that, even if this campaign would triumph and bring concrete results to the liking of Lombardo Toledano, the ultimate consequences will fall back on the working class. Theory, as well as historic experience, testify that any restriction to democracy in bourgeois society, is eventually directed against the proletariat, just as taxes eventually fall on the shoulders of the proletariat. Bourgeois democracy is usable by the proletariat only insofar as it opens the way for the development of the class struggle. Consequently, any workers “leader” who arms the bourgeois state with special means to control public opinion in general, and the press in particular, is a traitor. In the last analysis, the accentuation of class struggle will force bourgeois of all shades, to conclude a pact: to accept special legislation, and every kind of restrictive measures, and measures of “democratic” censorship against the working class. Those who have not yet realised this, should leave the ranks of the working class. “But sometimes” – will object certain “friends” of the Soviet Union – “the dictatorship of the proletariat is obliged to resort to exceptional measures, especially against the reactionary press” To this we reply: First, this objection equates a workers’ state with a bourgeois state. Although Mexico is a semi-colonial country, it is at the same time a bourgeois state, definitely not a workers’ state. But even from the point of view of the interests of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the interdiction or censorship of bourgeois papers is not at all a matter of “program” or “principle", nor an ideal situation. Once victorious, the proletariat may find itself forced, for a period of time, to take special measures against the bourgeoisie, if the bourgeoisie adopts an attitude of open revolt against the workers’ state. In this case, restrictions to the freedom of the press go hand in hand with all other measures used in preparation for a civil war. When forced to use artillery and aviation against the enemy we will obviously not tolerate this same enemy maintaining his own centers of information and propaganda inside the camp of the armed proletariat. Nevertheless, even in this case, if exceptional measures are prolonged long enough to create a permanent situation, then they carry the danger of going out of control and, giving a political monopoly to the workers’ bureaucracy, becoming a source of its degeneration. We have before us a living example of such a dynamic, with the hated suppression of the freedom of expression and of the press in the Soviet Union. And this has nothing to do with the interests of the dictatorship of the proletariat. On the contrary, it helps protect the interests of the new caste in power against the attacks of the workers’ and peasants’ opposition. This highly bonapartist Moscow bureaucracy is currently aped by Messrs. Lombardo Toledano and co. who confuse their personal careers with the interests of socialism. The real tasks of the workers’ state do not consist in policing public opinion, but in freeing it from the yoke of capital. This can only be done by placing the means of production – which includes the production of information – in the hands of society in its entirety. Once this essential step towards socialism has been taken, all currents of opinion which have not taken arms against the dictatorship of the proletariat must be able to express themselves freely. It is the duty of the workers’ state to put in their hands, to all according to their numeric importance, the technical means necessary for this, printing presses, paper, means of transportation. One of the principal causes of the degeneration of the state machine is the monopolisation of the press by the Stalinist bureaucracy which risks to transform all the gains of the October revolution to a pile of ruins. If we had to search for examples of the nefarious influence of the Comintern on workers’ movements of various countries, the actual campaign led by Lombardo Toledano would furnish one of the worst. Essentially, Toledano and his doctrinary companions try to introduce into a bourgeois democratic system methods and means which, under certain circumstances, might be inevitable under the dictatorship of the proletariat. Moreover, they don’t in fact borrow these methods from the dictatorship of the proletariat, but from its bonapartist usurpers. In other words, they infect an already sick bourgeois democracy with the virus of the decadent bureaucracy. The anemic democracy of Mexico is facing a constant, mortal, daily danger from two directions: First from the foreign imperialism and, second, from the agents of reaction in the interior of the country, who control the high volume publications. But only those blind or simpleminded could think that the workers and peasants could be freed from reactionary ideas by the banning of reactionary press. In fact, it is only the greatest freedom of expression that can create favorable conditions for the advance of the revolutionary movement in the working class. It is essential to wage an unrelenting battle against the reactionary press. But the workers cannot leave a task they have to fulfill themselves through their own organisations and their own press, to the repressive fist of the bourgeois state. Today the government may seem well disposed towards workers’ organisations. Tomorrow it may fall, and it inevitably will, into the hands of the most reactionary elements of the bourgeoisie. In this case the existing repressive laws will be used against the workers. Only adventurists who think of nothing but the moment’s needs can fail to guard themselves against such a danger. The most efficient way to fight the bourgeois press is for the workers’ press to develop. Of course, yellow papers like El Popular, are unable to undertake such a task. Such papers have no place among the workers’ press, the revolutionary press, or even the bourgeois press of good reputation. El Popular serves the personal ambitions of Mr. Toledano, who himself is in fact in the service of the Stalinist bureaucracy. Its methods: lies, calumnies, witch hunts, are methods à la Toledano. His paper has neither program nor ideas. It is evident that such a sheet can never strike a resonant chord in the working class, nor win them over from the bourgeois press. So we arrive at the inevitable conclusion that the struggle between the bourgeois press starts with the eviction of the degenerate leaders from workers’ organisations and in particular from the liberation of the workers’ press from the tutelage of Toledano and other bourgeois careerists. The Mexican proletariat needs a honest press to express its needs, defend its interests, broaden its horizon and pave the way for the socialist revolution in Mexico. This is what CLAVE intends to do. So, we start by declaring an unrelenting war against the bonapartist pretensions of Toledano. In this effort, we hope for the support of all advanced workers, as well as Marxists and authentic democrats. Last updated on: 20.4.2007
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Napisano: 21. avgust 1938. Izvor: Prvi put izdato: Clave, oktobar 1938. Online verzija: Pobunjeni um 2003. / Marksistička internet arhiva (marxists.org) 2003. Transkripcija / HTML: Pobunjeni um 2003. / Marksistička internet arhiva (marxists.org) 2003. Copyleft: Marksistička internet arhiva (marxists.org) 2003. Kopiranje i/ili distribuiranje ovog dokumenta je dozvoljeno pod uslovima navedenim u GNU Free Documentation License Ovaj tekst je editorijal prvog izdanja meksičkog marksističkog magazina Clave, štampanog u oktobru 1938. Originalni rukopis, napisan od strane Trockog je pronađen 1977. u Arhivi Lava Trockog na Harvardu. Kampanja protiv reakcionarnog tiska razvija se u Meksiku. Predvodnici te kampanje su vode CTM-a (Confederation of Mexican Workers); tocnije rečno gospodin Lombardo Toledano osobno. Cilj kampanje je potiskivanje reakcionarnog tiska, bilo putem cenzuriranja, bilo putem potpune zabrane. Sindikati su krenuli ratnom stazom. Svi, "neizlječivi demokrati", poučeni iskustvima potpuno staljinizirane Moskve, na celu s "prijateljima" iz GPU-a, pozdravili su tu kampanju, koja se jedino može opisati kao samoubilačka. Zapavo nije teško vidjeti da bi, čak kad bi i donijela konkretne rezultate koje želi Lombardo Toledano, njezine konačne posljedice pale na leda radničke klase. Teorija, isto kao i povijesno iskustvo, dokazuje da je svako suzbijanje demokracije u buržoaskom društvu usmjereno prije svega protiv proletarijata, isto kao što i takse inače padaju na proleterska leda. Buržoaska demokracija je korisna proletarijatu do onog trenutka do kojeg mu služi za olakšanje klasne borbe. Prema tome možemo reci da je svaki radnicki "vođa", koji naoružava buržoasku državu specijalnim sredstvima kontrole javnog mišljenja uopće, i tiska pogotovo, obični izdajica. Po krajnjoj analizi, isticanje klasne borbe će svakako natjerati buržoaziju svih vrsta da usvoji specijalne legalizacije, sve vrste restriktivnih mjera, i mjere "demokratskog" cenzuriranja radničke klase. Oni koji to još ne shvaćaju nemaju što tražiti u revolucionarnim redovima. "Ali katkad je - reći ce određeni "prijatelji" Sovjetskog Saveza - diktatura proletarijata obvezna posegnuti za izvanrednim mjerama; pogotovo protiv reakcionarnog tiska" Na takve iskaze mi odgovaramo: "Takav stav izjednačava radničku državu s buržoaskom državom." Iako je Meksiko polu-kolonijalna država, on je u isto vrijeme buržoaska država, i svakako nije radnička država. Ali čak i iz pogleda interesa diktature proletarijata, zabrana ili cenzuriranje buržoaskog tiska uopće nije pitanje "programa" ili "principa". Nakon pobjede može se dogoditi da proletarijat na određeno vremensko razdoblje mora poduzeti specijalne mjere protiv buržoazije, ukoliko buržoazija iskaže otovoreni otpor protiv radničke države. U tom slucaju ogranicenja slobode tiska idu ruku pod ruku sa drugim mjerama koje se koriste u građanskom ratu. Kada smo prisliljeni koristiti artiljeriju i avijaciju protiv neprijatelja besmisleno bi bilo tolerirati propagandu i tiskovine tog istog neprijatelja u proleterskom taboru. No čak i u tom slucaju treba paziti da izvanredne mjere ne bi postale stalne, da ne bi izmakle kontroli i tako dale politički monopol birokraciji koja bi postala izvor sveopće degeneracije. Iza nas imamo živi primjer takvog razvoja stvari, vidljiv na strašnom suzbijanju slobode izražavanja u sovjetskom tisku. To na nikakav način ne može biti u interesu diktature proletarijata. Potpuno suprotno, takve stvari omogućuju zaštitu interesa nove vladajuče kaste u odnosu na interese radničke i seljacke opozicije. Gospodin Lombardo Toledano samo je puki imitator bonapartističke moskovske birokracije koji poistovjećuju svoje osobne interese sa interesima socijalizma. Primarni zadaci radničke države nemaju nikakve veze sa sadržajem javnog mnijenja, vec je njihov cilj oslobođenje od stiska kapitala. To se može ostvariti jedino stavljanjem sredstava za proizvodnju - u što su uključena i sredstva potrebna za informiranje - u ruke društva kao cjeline. Kada je taj kljucni korak prema socijalizmu napravljen, sve oporbene strane koje nisu u oružanoj pobuni protiv diktature proletariajata moraju se moći izražavati potpuno slobodno. Dužnost je radnicke države da u njihove ruke stavi sva sredstva koja su im potrebna za rad; opremu, papir i sredstva transporta. Jedan od prvih pokazatelja degenreracije državnog stroja je monopolizacije tiska od strane staljinističke birokracije koja nastoji sva dostignuća Oktobarske revolucije pretvara u gomilu ruševina. Ako pogledamo primjere pogubnog utjecaja Kominterne na radničke pokrete u raznim zemljama, lako možemo zaključiti da je trenutna kampanja Lombarda Toledana jedna od najpogubnijih. Toledano i njegovi kompanjoni žele u buržoaski sistem uvesti metode i sredstva koje se, pod nekim specijalnim okolnostima, eventualno mogu upotrijebiti u diktaturi proletarijata. Štoviše - oni te metode uopće ne posuđuju od diktature proletarijata vec od njenog bonapartistickog uzurpatora. Drugim rijecima oni zaražuju vec bolesnu buržoasku demokraciju sa virusom raspadajuće birokratske diktature. Slabokrvna meksička demokracija neprestalno je suočena sa dvijema stalnim opasnostima koje dolaze iz dva različita pravca: prvi iz pravca stranog imperijalizma, i drugi od strane reakcionarnih agenata koji se nalaze u samoj zemlji i kontroliraju tiskovine. No samo bi oni sljepi i naivni mogli vjerovati da se radnici reakcionarnih ideja mogu osloboditi zabranjivanjem reakcionarnog tiska. Zapravo je samo najveca sloboda izražavanja ono što može stvoriti povoljne uvjete za napredak revolucionarnog pokreta radničke klase. Neophodno je voditi neumoljivu borbu protiv reakcionarnog tiska. Ali radnici nikako ne smiju ostvarivanje te zadaće prebaciti sa svojih vlastitih organizacija i svog vlastitog tiska, na represivnu šaku buržoaske države. Trenutna vlada može biti sklona radnicima, no ona može sutra pasti i tada će se svi represivni elementi naci u rukama najreakcionarnije buržoazije. Tada će ti isti represivni zakoni biti iskorišteni protiv radnika. Samo se avanturisti koji misle samo na svoje interese mogu upustiti u takve opasnosti. Najbolji način borbe protiv buržoaskog tiska je trenutni razvoj radnickog. Naravno da žuti tisak poput onog El Populara nije dorastao takvoj zadaći. Takvim novinama nema mjesta među radničkim tiskom, revolucionarnim tiskom, pa čak ni među buržoaskim tiskom dobrog ugleda. El Popular služi osobnim ambicijama gospodina Toledana, koji se sam nalazi u službi staljinističke birokracije. Njihove metode: laži, klevete, "lovovi na vještice", su metode gospodina Toledana. Njegove novine nemaju ni programa, ni ideja. Sasvim je jasno da takav lažni pokrov nikako ne može udarati rezonantne akorde unutar radničke klase, isto kao što nikako ne može pobjediti buržoaski tisak. Stoga smo došli do neupitnog zakljucka da borba sa buržoaskim tiskom može početi jedino izbacivanjem degeneriranih vođa iz radnickih organizacija i oslobođenjem radničkog tiska od skribništva Toledana i ostalih karijerista. Meksički proletarijat treba pošten tisak da bi izrazio svoje potrebe, branio svoje interese, proširio svoje horizonte i otvorio put socijalističkoj revoluciji u Meksiku. To je naša obaveza. Stoga odmah počinjemo sa objavom rata protiv bonapartističkih Toledanovih pretenzija. Nadamo se da će nas u toj borbi podržati svi napredni radnici; kako marksisti tako i istinski demokrati.