A group of students at Dar es Salaam University in Tanzania have won a victory by standing up to the government and fighting for repairs to dangerous conditions in their dormitory. The struggle of these students to fight back even while coming under extreme attacks from the fascist Tanzanian ruling class is an inspiring example of how our class can gain confidence and overcome fear to unite.
The working class in Tanzania faces worsening fascist conditions. The victory of the students was in their ability to keep fighting for our class interest as much as it was about getting the building fixed. These small struggles are very important as the international working class fights to rebuild class consciousness and a revolutionary communist movement.
Divided ruling class
The Tanzanian ruling class is more divided then at any time since its independence in 1961. Driven by a fight to control the profits from Tanzania’s vast natural resources, the ruling clique, under new President John Magufuli, has been using their power to go after the businesses, media outlets and patronage jobs that support the base of the opposition capitalists. These opposition capitalists are led by many people who came out of the current governing party Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), and had been terrorizing the working class for decades. Changing capitalist parties or leaders will never stop the bosses from using their power to prop themselves up. Building a revolutionary communist movement for workers power is the only way forward for our class.
Magufuli, a fascist ruler
Magufuli rode to power in 2015 campaigning as an honest leader fighting corruption. His nickname is “The Bulldozer” and under the guise of stopping corruption he has tightened his grip on power. He has changed taxation laws to attack small businesses, outlawed exportation of food leading to a crisis among farmers, left districts without funds to provide food for school children, and forced the closure of community banks.
Magufuli has cracked down on dissent and banned opposition rallies and meetings. He uses a death squad, to abduct, jail or shoot politicians, journalists and others who dare to speak out. Although there was a brief period of mass mobilization against his fascist rule, the working class has mostly been mired in fear. But even in this environment, some students at Dar es Salaam University had the courage to stand up to the bosses.
The Magufuli wing is trying to the increase their share of the profits from Tanzania’s natural resources by renegotiating contracts with the multi-national corporations that had long been getting the bulk of the profit. At the same time the ruling class is increasing attacks on the working class by cutting jobs and public services to increase investment geared toward their mines and developing natural gas industry.
Deadly dormitory
Using cheap construction methods and materials, Magufuli built a new dormitory to house 3/4 of the 9,000 students at Dar es Salaam University. The students moved into the dormitory last Fall. Shortly after, massive cracks began to appear in the walls. The images of recent deaths from the collapse of similar buildings was causing intense fear and anxiety among students. The media reported that the University Administration dismissed the students concerns by referring to the cracks as “normal expansion joints.” A group of student leaders raised their concerns with the government, but they were ordered to keep silent. In defiance, they posted pictures of the walls on social media.
Government agents retaliated. They hunted down the student whose computer was used, abducted him to a secret location, and tortured him. Students responded with mass meetings and strikes. The student was released and continued to defy the authorities. Due to the mass unrest, the state was forced to repair the walls, and students were emboldened by the courage of their leaders.
Tanzania is a glaring example of how capitalism is in a spiral of crisis that the rulers try to manage with fascism and war. The bosses constantly try to bail themselves out by attacking the working class and forcing us to fight each other around the globe. The battle to gain confidence in ourselves as a class capable of running society without the bosses will only be won through building a communist movement in the midst of struggles like the students at Dar es Salaam University have been fighting.