Sisi Will Fall and the People Will Remain

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

This is not the first time an authoritarian ruler has changed the constitution to secure his position as the perpetual ruler of the country or to gain complete control over all aspects of life. The scenes of security forces in 2007 still haunt those who protested against the constitutional amendment that would enable Mubarak to transfer the presidency to his son Gamal, a memory ingrained in the minds of those living today under the burden of the counter-revolution.

Mubarak’s constitutional amendment did not save him, just as it did not save Sadat before him. The ongoing uprising in Sudan also followed Bashir’s initial steps to amend the constitution to extend his stay in power.

Today’s events are strikingly similar to those of the past. The Speaker of the House announced that several MPs had submitted requests to amend the constitution to extend General Sisi’s control over the country for as long as possible “until 2034.” These are the same faces that once touted the constitution and the articles that protect the presidential term and freedoms from tampering, but that was merely to navigate around the revolutionary fervor in its final days during the drafting of this constitution.
History shows that constitutions and laws do not safeguard despots or prevent uprisings.
Sisi and his regime are not genuinely concerned with implementing laws or constitutions, even those they created. Like any despotic regime in history, the counter-revolutionary power always seeks to legitimize its actions and turn exceptions into rules to use them in deceptive populist rhetoric.
Hitler in Germany, Franco in Spain, and Videla in Argentina all did this. They are now part of their countries’ histories, but the people who fought for their freedom remain.

It is a mistake to assume that the upcoming constitutional referendum is a foregone conclusion, that there is no hope for resistance, and that we have no stake in this battle. In the 1980s, the ruling military junta in Uruguay attempted to enact legal and constitutional amendments to maintain its grip on power. However, the people rejected these amendments, forcing the junta to implement reforms to appease public anger and secure a safe exit.

We, the Revolutionary Socialists, call on all activists from the political forces opposing these amendments to discuss how to reject these changes and communicate with the angry masses suffering under the counter-revolutionary regime. The regime that amends the constitution today is the same one whose economic policies have impoverished and oppressed more than half of Egyptians, pushing them below the poverty line and driving any potential opposition into prisons. The only ones who will face the constitutional amendments are the masses suffering under the political tyranny of the General’s rule and the economic hardship imposed by IMF policies.

Amending the constitution is a new phase for the counter-revolution and an opportunity to reconnect with the masses and solidify their demands. Rejecting these amendments means rejecting the entire regime and all its economic and political policies.