Power struggle in Ukraine: what do Yushchenko and Yanukovich stand for?

[dummy-du1]

WSWS: Power struggle in Ukraine: what do Yushchenko and Yanukovich stand for?

By Patrick Richter and Andy Niklaus

Neither of the two official factions fighting for power in Ukraine—the group led by opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko and that led by the current prime minister, Viktor Yanukovich—represents the interests of the broad masses of the population.

Both appeal partly to legitimate interests and needs—Yushchenko to the demand for democracy and hostility to a regime characterised by authoritarian methods, the suppression of media freedom and the manipulation of elections, and Yanukovich to fear of the devastating social consequences that would result from the complete opening of the country to Western capital and the weakening of the traditionally close relations between Russia and the industrial areas of eastern Ukraine.

But these appeals are deceitful. They serve to mask the interests of a narrow elite whose wealth and power stand in glaring contradiction to the poverty and political exclusion of the broad masses. These appeals find a resonance because many decades of Stalinist rule have left an inheritance of confusion and political disorientation in the working class.

One can get a good idea of the kind of “democracy” sought by the Yushchenko camp by looking at Hungary, Poland and other Eastern European countries where right-wing and ultra-right parties compete to offer international corporations the best conditions for the exploitation of the domestic working class. It speaks volumes about the character of this “democratic” opposition that it is supported by organizations such as the US-based National Endowment for Democracy, which was heavily involved in attempts to overthrow Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

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More:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/dec2004/ukra-d01.shtml

[robbedvoter]

1. Thanks. The fact remains though, they get a new election.

And for this