Rezistans ek Alternativ

MOTHER COURAGE CENTRE

BOIS CHERI ROAD
MOKA
Email: rezistans@freeitmauritius.org

Pass the word Inn ariv ler

Rezistans ek Alternativ wishes you all the best for the coming New Year. 2017 denotes the third year
since the last general election held in 2014, yet we are clearly back to square one. That square before
the end of 2014 where the citizens of Mauritius were exasperated by a political system imbued of
arrogance, nepotism, privileges and high odour of corruption. This popular exasperation was expressed
through a massive rejection towards PTR and its allies, the political parties in power at that time.

MMM which forged alliance with PTR for the general election of 2014, though they were heading
towards a crushing victory, but the Vox Populi had proven them totally wrong. The result of 2014
election is a landmark in the post-independence history of Mauritius. It marks the collapse of PTR and
MMM, the two historical political parties, founded by the working class, which have shaped the
politico-socio-economic landscape of Mauritius since independence. For the first time since 1968,
neither PTR nor MMM has won the election. The electoral result has not only been a major blow to the
arrogance of PTR and MMM, but has also reaffirmed the sovereignty of Mauritius that our Republic is a
heritage of none. The electoral outcome has undeniably surpassed almost all predictions.

It is important to highlight that the general election of 2014 has not been a plebiscite for lAlliance
Lepep; rather it was a rejection of PTR and MMMs political project for a Second Republic and the
above mentioned exasperations. Had any better-placed alliance or party in place of Alliance Lepep at
that time, it would have reaped the votes of the Mauritians experiencing cumulated political frustration
and certainly win the election.

This being said, after more than 24 months in power, lAlliance Lepep is precising two constants:

1) People of Mauritius are not looking for another politic but for a different politic, a real
alternative. Since 1968, all possible alliances of mainstream political parties have existed among
a permutation of PTr/PMSD/MSM/MMM. New comers like Muvman Liberater, Mouvement

Patriotique and so on are in fact not new; only their packaging differ. This state of affair only
translates that nothing new can come out of the actual parliamentary parties. This leads us to
the second constant.
2) None of all those parliamentary political parties can come with a necessary political alternative
to respond to todays challenges. They have no ideology. Their only agenda is power at any
cost. Aneerood Jugnauth, himself averred, after PMSD desertion, that the MSM has nothing in
common with the PMSD and that the reason for an alliance was purely strategic. This resumes
well what all those parties have become, pure strategists to conquer power. This quest for
power serves only their own dynastic/despotic interest or those of their capitalist and elite
gang. None of the actual parliamentary parties have a plan for bettering the Mauritian society,
might it be from a social/cultural/economical/environmental perspective, they are all failing.
They are all for status quo and will only follow dictated plans of financial lobbyists for widening
more and more the gap between rich and poor and facilitating plundering of nature. Might it be
in forms of important tax evasion, grabbing of common patrimony or undermined workers
rights. All those parties in parliament right now have in a way or another their hand dunked in
the selling out of Mauritius interest to local and foreign bourgeoisie and they can in no way
change their brokers role. They are all heavily financed by big corporates and once in
parliament can only work for the one they are indebted to. This is the paradigm they are
trapped in.

The two laws that was amended in Parliament in December 2016, Non-citizens Property Restriction Act
and Sugar Industry Efficiency Act form part of latest legal tools that are unlocking massive invasion of
foreign capital in Mauritius and tax evasion respectively. Might it be for property acquisition to the
detriment of the Mauritian People and for important agricultural land conversion and speculation,
again to the detriment of the Mauritian people. Today, the local and international capitalists are highly
equipped, in Mauritius, to grab land, beaches and ocean to do whatever they want to. Their only legal
constraint can be the government But what should we expect from governments that are highly
subsidized by those capitalists to do?

This is why 2017 will be a turning point for the Mauritian politics. The political turmoil of end 2016
leaves room for all sorts of possibilities for this year and Rezistans ek Alternativ through our different
forum, discussion, position is laying founding stones for new politics. Political propositions and ideas
that do not cater for fundamentals of our changing epoch are failing present generation and will fail our
children and grandchildren. This is why the ecological crisis is an essential element for any new

socio/economic politics and is at the heart of Rezistans ek Alternativ proposals. Those new challenges
are pushing us to revise our relation, as human society, with the ecosystem. This paradigm shift needs
the advent of a new Homo Mauritianus capable of being fully citizen of the Republic of Mauritius and
recognized and valued as such. This is what Rezistans ek Alternativ is pushing by frontally challenging
the communal representation in our electoral system. The advent of a new Mauritius can only be done
once the communal clientelism has been obliterated and that political and societal issues are openly
discussed based on nationwide and natures interest.
Since its existence in 2005 Rezistans ek Alternativ has been at the heart of every major questionings
that are paving the way for the future; our struggle for citizen representation vs institutionalized
communalism; our struggle against beach grabbing with the AKNL coalition (Aret Kokin Nou Laplaz) and
proposals for an alternative tourism; our daily struggle with working class for better working/life
conditions; our struggle against use of fossil fuel for energy production and concrete proposal for a
collectively owned clean energy production; our proposal for ecological alternative transport system;
our proposed fiscal policies that will allow better repartition of wealth produced and social welfare; our
proposal for better use of land and sea for the welfare of the Mauritian people in respect of our
ecosystem for future generation; our proposal for a more collaborative and participatory democratic
system All those proposals are the result of engaged conversations with concerned citizens on
respective issues. In 2017 we want to be more conversant with people of Mauritius and this is what the
new elected National Committee of Rezistans ek Alternativ will be committed in doing, so as to build
the only alliance that can bring the real alternative needed. The alliance with the people is the only one
that can overcome despotic and dynastic alliances. 2017 will be for Rezistans ek Alternativ the
consolidation of the work started in 2016 in ensuring a maximum field presence and allowing more
participation in elaborating a new vision for a real alternative for a new Mauritius. As eco-socialists we
believe that only when peoples sovereignty is restored that the society could function in respect with
nature to bring in social and ecological justice.
Our wish for Mauritius for 2017 will be a call for a conscience awakening and for the people to take
back power that has been hijacked by few politicians and their capitalist clique, more concerned about
their privileges than the real fate of Mauritius, to halt their accelerating train that is leading us all
towards a deadly ravine. Rezistans ek Alternativ will certainly be calling, stay tuned, join and pass the
word Inn ariv ler
Yours sincerely
Stephan Gua
57826197
On behalf of Rezistans ek Alternativ