Saturday, February 19, 2011

About The Egyptian Revolution

By Samir Amin.
Translated for Axis of Logic by Siv O'Neall
Monday, Feb 14, 2011
Courtesy Of "Axis Of Logic"


Samir Amin is a Franco-Egyptian economist, a member of the International Council of the World Social Forum and chairman of theWorld Forum for Alternatives. Samir Amin analyzes the political and economic crisis in Egypt

This interview was conducted for the World Social Forum in Dakar byRosa Moussaouispecial journalist / correspondent for 'L'Humanité'.

Question - Are the events that shook Tunisia and Egypt merely"popular uprisings" or are they a sign of the entry of these countriesinto the revolutionary process?

Samir Amin – These are social revolts which can potentially lead to acrystallization of alternativeswhich in the long run may become part ofa socialist perspectiveThat is why the capitalist systemcapitalmonopolies on a global scale, can not tolerate the development of these movementsIt will mobilize all possible means of destabilization,economic and finance pressure, going as far as to military threatsItwill supportas it finds appropriateeither bogus fascist or fascisticalternatives, or the establishment of military dictatorshipsDo notbelieve a word of what Obama saidObama is Bush, but with a differentlanguageThere is a constant duplicityIn factin the case of Egypt,the United States supported the regimeThey may eventually find it more useful to sacrifice the person of MubarakBut they will not giveup on the essentials: the military and the policeThey may considerstrengthening the military and police systems through an alliance with the Muslim BrotherhoodIn fact, what the leaders of the United Stateshave in mind is the Pakistani modelwhich is not a democratic model, but a combination of a power which can be called Islamic and a military dictatorship. Howeverin the case of Egypta large part of the popular forces that have mobilized are well aware of these designsTheEgyptian people are very politically awareThe history of Egypt is that of a country trying to emerge from darkness since the early nineteenthcenturythat was defeated by its own shortcomingsbut mainly by repeated external aggression.

Question - These upheavals are predominantly the result of unemployed young people and college graduates who have not been able to find jobsHow do you explain this?

Samir Amin – Nasser’s Egypt had an economic and social systemwhich could be criticizedbut it was consistentNasser bet onindustrialization to get the country out of the international colonial specialization which confined the country to the export of cottonThissystem succeeded in maintaining a good income distribution in favor of the middle classesand without a lowering of  living standards for the poorer classes. However, this all changed in response to the military aggressions of 1956 and 1967 that mobilized IsraelSadat and Mubarakworked more on the dismantling of the productive system of Egypt, forwhich they substituted a completely inconsistent systembased entirely on the search for profitability. The supposedly high Egyptiangrowth rates, proclaimed and lauded over the last thirty years by the World Bank, have no meaningIt is smoke and mirrors. Growth in Egypt is highly vulnerable, dependent on the external market and on the flow of oil capital from the rich Gulf countriesWith the crisis in the global economy, this vulnerability was manifested by a sudden running out of steam. This slowdown was accompanied by an incredible rise ininequality and unemploymentwhich has affected a majority of young peopleThe situation was explosive and there was an explosion

Whatis now beginning, beyond the original demands for the end of the ruling regime and the establishment of democratic freedoms, is a political battle.

Question  Why is the Muslim Brotherhood now trying to present themselves as "moderates"?

Samir Amin - Because they are asked to play this game. The Muslim Brotherhood have never been moderatesIt is not a religious movementbut a political movement that uses religionSince its founding in 1920by the British and the monarchy, the movement has played an active role as an anticommunistanti-liberal, undemocratic agentThis is theraison d’être for the Muslim Brotherhood and they make that claim clearlyThey say openlyif they win an electionit will be the last,because the electoral system would be an imported Western form that would be against the nature of IslamIn this respect they have definitely not changed at all. In factpolitical Islam has always beensupported by the United StatesThey presented the Taliban in the waragainst the Soviet Union as the heroes of freedomWhen the Talibanclosed girls' schools which had been established by the Communists,there were feminist movements in the United States who saw fit toexplain the need to respect the "traditions" of AfghanistanThe United States is playing a double game. On the one hand, support. On the otherusing the natural fundamentalist excesses in order to feed racism, the rejection of immigrants and thus to justify military aggression. In accordance with this strategy, the Mubarak regime hasnever fought against political IslamInsteadit has been incorporated into the system.

Question  Has Mubarak subcontracted the Egyptian society to the Muslim Brotherhood?

Samir Amin - AbsolutelyHe has given them three basic institutions:justiceeducation and televisionBut the military regime wants to keepthe management for themselves, the management that is claimed by the Muslim BrotherhoodThe United States uses this minor disputewithin the alliance between the military and the Islamists to ensure thedocility of both. The essential point is that everyone accepts capitalismas it isThe Muslim Brotherhood has never considered seriously changing thingsFor that matter, at the big workers' strikes of 2007-2008their MPs voted with the government against the strikersFacedwith the struggles of peasants evicted from their land by largelandowners, the Muslim Brotherhood took the side against the peasant movementFor them private property, free enterprise and profit aresacred.

Question - What are their long-time plans for the entire Middle East?

Samir Amin - All are very docileThe military as well as the Muslim Brotherhood accept the hegemony of the United States in the regionand peace with Israel as it isThey all continue to show the kind ofcomplacency that allows Israel to continue the colonization of whatremains of Palestine.



Translated for Axis of Logic by Siv O'Neall



Siv O'Neall is an Axis of Logic columnist, based in France. Her insightful essays are republished and read worldwide. She can be reached at siv@axisoflogic.com.
© Copyright 2010 by AxisofLogic.com

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