Rural workers' union leader speaks: 'Production councils strive to function by consensus'

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Commander Jaime Wheelock (left), minister of agrarian reform, talks to workers at state-run dairy farm 30 miles north of Managua. Wheelock, who visits state farms and cooperatives The following is an interview conducted on May 8 Socialist Action with Jose Adan Rivera, the head the pro-Sandinista Rural Workers Associati (Asociación de Trabajadores del Cam DOlATC) in Matagalpa.

Socialist Action: Who does the ATC represent in this region and how is it organized?

Jose Adan Rivera: We represent agricultural workers in the state and large private sectors.

Since the triumph of the revolution new laws have been progressively introduced at the national level in the interests of the workers. Wage scales and labor laws are established by the government at the national level and must be abided by in the state and private sectors.

In each state unit, there are production councils made up of representatives of the administration and of the union. Here the interests of the state and those of the workers are combined.

In the private sector, the relations of production are those of bosses vs. workers. But these relations are regulated by a series of national labor laws. The workers in this sector know that what they produce is being controlled by the revolutionary state.

S.A.: Do the workers have actual control over production or are they just simply consulted in these production councils? If there is a dispute between the administration and the union, how is it resolved?

Rivera: In the state sector, the administrator is often nominated by the workers. The state will provide the basic guidelines for production to the administrator, who will then meet with the union in the production council.

After the council reaches a consensus, it will take the proposals to the general assembly of the workers. The workers will then decide if they agree with the proposals of the council.

Let me give you an example. In Region VI [Matagalpa and Jinotega], the government will tell the administrator that the production goal is "x" tons of coffee. The council will discuss if the plant has the capacity to produce such an amount. If resources are lacking to meet the quota, the council might ask the National Planning Council for more help. If no additional aid is forthcoming, the quota is lowered.

This month a number of state coffee farms are discussing the government's budget cuts for the next growing season. We are having to scale down our investment plans and goals. These meetings are therefore aimed at making the necessary adjustments to meet our goals and needs.

Now, as workers, we are able to understand the need to make sacrifices to meet our production goals because we have representatives in the plant and at all levels of government.

Even the president of the country, Daniel Ortega, meets every one or two months with the workers in Face the People meetings.

Now if a worker feels that there is a problem that has not been resolved and could be resolved—despite all the difficulties caused by the imperialist aggression—he or she will take the problem to a higher body. In many cases problems of this sort arise out of bureaucratic negligence by some administrator. But if the problem is still unresolved, the grievance can be taken as high as the National Planning Council and the president himself.

•. Managua May Day (continued from page political conditions for the elaboration of a constitution do not exist in Nicaragua.

The leader of the PLI, Vigilio Godoy Reyes, opposed the idea of a public discussion of the constitution altogether. "There can be no freedom of expression regarding the constitution while a state of emergency is in effect," he said.

"Freedom of expression exists in Nicaragua," said Jose Luis Villavicencio, the FSLN's National Assembly fraction coordinator, in an interview with Socialist Action. "But freedom of information is regulated. La Prensa would like to do to our revolution what El Mercurio did to Allende in Chile-confuse the masses and undermine the government. We cannot permit that." La Prensa has been censored by the government because it continues to publish stories aimed at sabotaging Nicaragua's defense efforts.

But in spite of this opposition, the elaboration of the constitution continues. The main points of a draft prepared by the National Assembly and approved by the 10 SOCIALIST ACTION JUNE The administrator in a plant must give a performance report to the workers every three months. If the administrator fails to give a report or if the report contains incorrect information, the workers can request that the state appoint a new administrator.

This is how things should work in theory. In practice, however, these guidelines are unevenly implemented. In the private sector, or in those state farms where the workers' level of consciousness and organization is lower, actual workers' participation is more difficult.

S.A.: What happens, though, if the workers and the administration cannot reach a consensus? What if there are differences on work conditions or levels of investment? Who decides-particularly in the case of the private sector?

Rivera: In the case of the private sector, we sit down with the bosses and draw up a collective agreement. In it we agree on wages and work conditions as established by the Ministry of Labor. In addition, we demand that a certain percentage of land be made available to the workers for their individual production. And we say they must repair the dining hall or fix the child-care center.

As can be expected, the bosses usually tell us they don't have the money to do all this. What they are interested in, of course, is their profits.

But we know what their profits are. And so we draw up an agreement that takes into account the needs of the workers and the bosses' need to turn a reasonable profit. This agreement is drawn up in the presence of the Ministry of Labor.

every Saturday, is being informed of problems on this farm.

FSLN on May 8 will be discussed in 84 meetings" scheduled to begin this month.

Character of the new constitution The draft of the constitution, according to Villavicencio, is modeled on the Swedish parliamentary system. The future government would be based on an elected president, assembly, and municipal councils.

The drafters of the constitution specifically rejected creating a national governing structure based on the mass organizations, unions, and Sandinista Defense Com -mittees (CDS)—i.e., a national council of organs of people's power.

Asked why the drafters chose not to even represent the mass organizations directly in the new form of gov -ernment, Villavicencio responded that it was "merely a juridical question." He said the unions and mass organizations would be represented indirectly through the elected legislators of the FSLN.

The capitalist parties have nonetheless opposed the draft. They claim it leaves the main structures of Sandinista power intact—despite its recognition of the principles of political pluralism and the mixed economy. Many conservative leaders, for example, have called for fundamental changes in the nature of the Popular Now if the bosses fail to carry out the agreement, then the Ministry of Labor can intervene to settle the dispute. It is the ultimate arbiter. The need for state mediation with the private sector is, in fact, very common.

So, if the Ministry rules in favor of the workers, the bosses are fined. And if the bosses refuse to invest part of the total profits, or if they continue to refuse to play by the new rules, this is considered economic sabotage and their land can be confiscated.

S.A.: But what happens if the workers don't agree with the decision of the Ministry of Labor?

Rivera: They can take their grievances to the presidency. It is important to understand that the methods of struggle of the workers depend on who is in power. In Nicaragua, the workers are in power. We are not struggling for simple economic demands. We are struggling to preserve and defend our revolutionary power.

The right to strike, for example, is included in the statutes of the ATC. But this method of struggle is only valid when the workers don't have power. They are striking against the capitalists. But because in Nicaragua the capitalists aren't in control, the workers would be striking against themselves.

S.A.: But don't the large capitalists still control a significant percentage of the economy? Isn't the mixed economy still regulated by the capitalist laws of production?

Rivera: In Nicaragua, we have a state that defends the interests of the workers. The capitalists who are willing to produce patriotically for the revolution are producing in the interests of the workers.

In Nicaragua there was a very weak, backward, and thwarted national capitalist class. A normal capitalist class never developed here. Our mixed economy is therefore very peculiar.

The capitalists in this region produce 3 million to 4 million pounds of coffee as individual producers. Many of those who stayed are willing to work with us. This is essential to increase production to defend the revolution. We will combine the efforts of all sectors of society to meet our goals.

Sandinista Army, which they say functions as the armed branch of the FSLN rather than as a national army.

It seems highly unlikely, however, that the FSLN will permit any fundamental changes in the structure of the armed forces while the country is in a state of war. Moreover, the creation of a mass popular army is currently at the heart of the Sandinista's conception of revolutionary democracy.

In a speech to a congress of Brazilian sociologists last March, FSLN Commander Tomas Borge pointed out that in Nicaragua "There is no more radical or consistent way to be democratic than the Sandinista slogan: All arms to the people."

Indeed, since the beginning of the U.S. war on Nicaragua, over 300,000 rifles have been given to the workers and peasants. These arms can be seen carried everywhere by members of the Sandinista Army, the Reserve Military Police, and the People's Militias. Workers and peasants guarding their factories and farms also carry guns and are allowed to take them home.

"If our government didn't have the support of the people, if it weren't a democratic government, don't you think these guns would be turned against the government?" asked Villavicencio. The question did not require an answer.