As the ruling class manoeuvres at the top elements of dual power develop from below¶
Core Argument¶
This chapter, written by Jorge Martín on 20 January 2011, provides a Marxist analysis of the Tunisian revolution in its immediate aftermath, arguing that genuine dual power is emerging from below even as the ruling class attempts to contain the uprising through cosmetic political manoeuvres at the top. The core narrative thrust is that the revolution is far from complete: the “national unity government” formed after Ben Ali’s flight is a continuation of the old regime, with seven key ministries still held by the same figures. Mass demonstrations under the slogan “RCD degagé” (Out with the RCD) identify this government as a fraud, and the people are taking direct action to dismantle the structures of the dictatorship.
The chapter’s key claim is that elements of dual power—embryonic soviets or workers’ councils—are developing spontaneously from below. The most advanced example cited is the town of Sidi Bou Ali (population 10,000), where on 16 January a mass meeting in the town square rejected the national unity government, elected a provisional local council, and assigned it functions including neighbourhood defence, restoring economic life, protecting public property, and liaising with the national army. The chapter reproduces the full text of this resolution, treating it as extraordinary evidence of a genuine revolutionary process. Similar occupations of RCD headquarters in over thirty towns are noted, with the UGTT trade union often taking the initiative.
The chapter draws on classical Marxist theory of dual power and the experience of past revolutions, particularly the Russian Revolution of 1917, to frame these committees as the necessary institutional form for completing the revolution. It warns against illusions in the army: while rank-and-file soldiers and lower officers have fraternised with demonstrators, the army as an institution remains part of the capitalist state apparatus. Incidents are reported where the army fired warning shots or enforced curfews, indicating that it will side with the ruling class if the revolution presents a decisive challenge. The solution proposed is the formation of soldiers’ committees linked to revolutionary councils.
The polemical thrust is directed against several targets. First, the “national unity government” and its RCD ministers, whose resignations from the party are dismissed as transparently fraudulent—compared to archbishops resigning from the Catholic Church while the Pope is expelled. Second, the imperialist powers, especially France and the US, who backed Ben Ali until the end and now pose as friends of democracy. Third, the UGTT national leadership, which initially joined the government but was forced by pressure from below to withdraw; the chapter calls on it to organise a general strike. Fourth, the chapter argues against any purely political conception of the revolution, insisting that democracy without expropriation of the Trabelsi clan’s vast holdings—which controlled banking, construction, telecommunications, tourism, oil, and virtually every sector—would change nothing. The revolution must become social, directed against capitalism itself.