CPM SAYS THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE TO CAPITALISM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KOLKATA 000021 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EINV EIND EAGR IN SUBJECT: CPM SAYS THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE TO CAPITALISM REF: 2007 KOLKATA 68, 2007 KOLKATA 372 KOLKATA 00000021 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a series of recent statements, senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) leaders appeared to endorse, or grudgingly accept, capitalism as a means for economic development and industrialization. Although they qualified their views as "the only way forward" given the "neo-liberal policies" of the GOI, their seeming acceptance of the capitalist model is a shift that puts the CPM somewhat at odds with its far-Left allies. Also notable was the general absence of concurrent anti-US rhetoric, which usually accompanies or follows statements that stray from the typical Marxist line. With almost every political party in India calling for greater economic development in some form or another, the CPM now has the task of convincing its loyalists and friends that the party still stands for something unique. This was easy to do at the state-level. Its recent aspirations to a more prominent role in national (and international) politics may tilt it a bit more toward the mainstream. The fact that party leaders are debating their decades-long dogma with one another and with their allies is encouraging. The CPM can focus now, particularly in West Bengal, on development and getting back on track after the disaster of Nandigram. Simultaneously, they will be looking to forge alliances with other regional parties and players to form a bloc capable of challenging Congress and the BJP as a third alternative at the Center. End Summary. -------------- Capital Gains -------------- ¶2. (U) On January 3 during a CPM program celebrating the 41st anniversary of the CPM's newspaper, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told the audience that capitalism was the only way to industrialize West Bengal, although socialism could have been a better alternative. He explained that, "reality has forced us to accept capitalism as the only way to get funds for industries." Bhattacharjee bluntly noted that it was "simply impossible" for the state to mobilize funds for industries and it had to depend on capitalism if the economy was to make progress. ¶3. (U) Admitting that his government had no model before it to emulate and that it had to pave its own way forward, Bhattacharjee asked his supporters to understand the CPM's position in the state in relation to the "bourgeois setup" at the Center. He also reiterated his theme of greater industrial development while consolidating the successes achieved in the agricultural sector and focusing on the improvement of economically weaker sectors of society. The Chief Minister acknowledged the need for determining alternative rehabilitation packages for people whose lands are being acquired for new industry and infrastructure. ¶4. (U) A day later, CPM veteran Jyoti Basu endorsed Bhattacharjee's stance, saying that socialism was not achievable while working within the capitalist system and that private capital had to be used while social welfare programs by the state government would continue. Basu elaborated that socialism was the CPM's political agenda -- it is mentioned in the party document -- but that capitalism would continue to be the "compulsion for the future." -------------- Pro-People Capitalism -------------- ¶5. (U) On the eve of the West Bengal CPM's January 13-17 state conference in Kolkata, Left Front Chairman and CPM State Secretary Biman Bose told Poloff that the media has consistently SIPDIS campaigned against the CPM stance on industrialization in West Bengal. Bose also blamed the media for fueling a "capitalism vs. socialism" debate unnecessarily. He said the CPM does not head a sovereign government and cannot formulate policies opposing those of the GOI, implying that the CPM had no choice but to operate with a capitalist model in India. Bose recognized the "fact" of economic liberalization that began in 1991 and claimed the CPM had been successful in creating a "neo-rich" population in parts of rural W. Bengal because of the party's agricultural policies. This group's purchasing power had now increased, he noted, and like Bhattacharjee, he saw development of agro-based industry as the logical next step forward. KOLKATA 00000021 002.2 OF 003 -------------- Karat and Stick in National Politics -------------- ¶6. (U) On January 7, CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat reaffirmed working within the "capitalist system" to undertake industrialization, supporting Bhattacharjee and Basu's comments but not going as far. Karat indicated that in situations where the Central Government imposes "neo-liberal policies," Left State governments have to pursue industrialization and economic development in a manner that protects the interests of the workers and the poorer sections. ¶7. (U) When challenged by his Left Front partners, Karat responded by asking them why they chose to work within the capitalist system all these years. Karat said that in a situation where the Center imposes neo-liberal policies, the Left governments have to undertake industrialization and economic development in a manner that protects the interests of the workers and the poorer sections. Karat dismissed talk of a retreat from socialism, saying that only those ignorant of the CPM's program could talk of the party saying "goodbye" to socialism and "welcome" to capitalism. ¶8. (U) Importantly, Karat called for unity among the Left parties and for a "third alternative" at the Center sans the Congress and the BJP. Such a stance continues the CPM's push to distance itself from the Congress Party ahead of the elections and yet maintain its national relevance. The theoretical justification the CPM offers for this opportunism is that it wants to set up a "people's democracy" as a step towards the eventual goal of a socialist India. Since that this can't be done by the three Left state governments alone, a third alternative that is a national political force would be the means for achieving this "people's democracy." -------------- Rally for Unity -------------- ¶9. (U) At the January 13 CPM rally in Kolkata, U.S. bashing was conspicuous by its absence, although at the end of the conference, the CPM adopted a statement that criticized the UPA government for becoming a "junior partner" of the U.S. by entering into a strategic alliance and cooperating in Indo-US joint military exercises. Senior CPM leaders addressed a large gathering of grass-roots CPM workers in downtown Kolkata, many of whom arrived in (and on top of) buses from rural West Bengal. Karat made his "third alternative" pitch and emphasized that the CPM would continue to oppose foreign investment in the banking, insurance, agriculture and retail sectors. Chief Minister Bhattacharjee said that West Bengal could not develop on agriculture alone and that farmers would be recompensated and rehabilitated if their land was acquired for industry. Jyoti Basu admitted that it was not possible to achieve socialism being in power in only three states, and that the party's ultimate goal was to sit in New Delhi. All harped on Left Front unity instead of attacking "imperialist forces" - a usual practice at such gatherings. ¶10. (U) Reflecting the striking shift toward acceptance of capitalist approaches to economic growth, the CPM invited Deloitte Touche Toumatsu India's Managing Director Roopen Roy to speak at a January 14 discussion on industrialization. The following day, Roy told ConGen that he lectured the senior state CPM leadership and thousands of supporters about the need for greater economic reforms and that he encouraged policies for fostering private sector investment. Roy also highlighted the benefits of civil nuclear power for West Bengal and India. -------------- David versus Goliath -------------- ¶11. (U) The CPM's partners in the Left Front, however, have not been swayed by the rhetoric. During recent Left Front meetings, they maintained that they would not toe the line of unabashed capitalism advocated by Bhattacharjee. Bhattacharjee's industrial roadmap for West Bengal has come under fire from the CPM's allies in the ruling Left Front - particularly the Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). RSP Central Committee member Manoj Bhattacharjee said that the CPM was mimicking the language of PM Singh and adopting a political position that betrayed the ideals of the Left Front. RSP leader KOLKATA 00000021 003.2 OF 003 and state Minister Kshiti Goswami said it was becoming difficult for the Left Front to stay together as the ideological differences were becoming fundamental ones. Goswami said it was time to think of an alternative Left Front. ¶12. (SBU) Comment: Though the communist symbolism remains strong -- announcements for the state conference in Kolkata showed the traditional hammer and sickle joined by an industrial wheel -- the CPM appears to be finally coming to grips with the realization, albeit reluctantly, that its policies and prescriptions of state-control and central planning may after all be outdated and irrelevant for contemporary India. The fact that party leaders are debating their decades-long dogma with one another and with their allies is encouraging. At some point it will fully sink in to the CPM leaders and their cadre that the Soviet and the Chinese communists have moved on, leaving the Indian communists rooted in their 1917 view of the world. ¶13. (SBU) Comment Continued: On the more practical side, with BJP's thumping wins over the Congress Party in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections, the CPM does not foresee snap Parliamentary elections in the near future. It can focus now, particularly in West Bengal, on development and getting West Bengal back on track after the disaster of Nandigram. To accomplish this, they will have to deliver on promised economic development for their constituents, get their Left Front partners in line behind them on ideology, and find a message that differentiates them from the old guard leftists in the Congress Party. This is no easy task, and the question is whether there remains sufficient popular support for Marxists who begin to sound more and more like Social Democrats rather than revolutionaries for the proletariat. ¶14. (SBU) Comment Continued: Another challenge for the CPM is at the national level: how it will continue to be the player it has been in New Delhi since the UPA government came to power. After finding that the Left Front has the muscle to put up roadblocks to the U.S.-India nuclear deal, CPM leaders like Karat will be looking to forge alliances with other regional parties and players to form a bloc capable of challenging Congress and the BJP as a third alternative at the Center. This is a tall order, however, because many of the other parties the CPM is flirting with for the third alternative are mostly one-state regional players. For most of them, opportunism always trumps ideology and they would align themselves with whichever party - the Congress, the BJP or the Left - gives them the best deal. ¶15. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Delhi. JARDINE