Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Letter to the XXIII Congress of the Partido Obrero

In the lead-up to the Congress of the Partido Obrero (PO – Workers’ Party) being held this weekend, the leadership of the Partido de los Trabajadores Socialistas (PTS – Socialist Workers’ Party) sent the following proposals to their comrades in the Frente de Izquierda y Trabajadores (FIT – Left and Workers’ Front).

Left Voice

March 29, 2016
Facebook Twitter Share

Compañeros and compañeras of Partido Obrero:

We send you fraternal greetings and best wishes for the development of the debate, deliberations and conclusions of your Twenty-Third Congress.

In a recently published statement, Jorge Altamira declared, “Throughout Latin America, the transition from governments that have contained the masses, to governments whose purpose is to develop directly against them, has become apparent.” This is expressed in Argentina by the conservative Macri government, and by the “impeachment” and the coup-like maneuvers of the “judicial party” in Brazil (“judicial party” refers to the legal system, which has assumed the role of an independent political actor in the current political crisis). Both developments have been equally denounced by the PO and the PTS, in the setting of the bankruptcy of center-left popular frontism and bourgeois nationalism across the continent. It is undeniable that we are heading towards an intense period of struggle and mobilization.

In this context, we can only agree with you when you say the key for revolutionaries is to “transform the working class and the Left into the political opposition to ‘Macrismo.’ This means exploiting the tendencies to be found in the masses to struggle against austerity on the basis of political independence. The differentiation from both Kirchnerism and the centre-left should be founded on the basis of a growing political initiative.

The ground conquered by the Left & Workers’ Front (FIT) should be developed systematically through means of agitation, propaganda and organization” (quoted from an article -> http://www.po.org.ar/prensaObrera/1403/politicas/en-visperas-del-xxiii-congreso-del-partido-obrero] by M. Ramal and G. Solano in Prensa Obrera No. 1403, March 17, 2016).

With this aim in mind, we address the Congress of the Partido Obrero with a series of proposals – which we also extend to the comrades of Izquierda Socialista (IS – Socialist Left) – some of which are a reiteration of initiatives that we previously raised in late 2015.

1. For a Conference or National Meeting of the Left & Workers’ Front

As is affirmed in the aforementioned statement, “the vote for the ‘Pacto Buitre’ (Vulture Pact – the agreement by the Macri government to start paying back part of the country’s foreign debt) has exposed the political poverty of Kirchnerism, which nevertheless tries to place itself at the head of popular opposition to the government.” In this period, the potential role for the FIT, with its program of working-class political independence, is extraordinary. It would be criminal for us not to unite with the aim of strengthening the FIT because of the political differences between our organizations. This unity would allow us to take a leap forward in the national reality, both at the superstructural level through our interventions in various legislatures, and in the context of class struggle and the strategic fight to reclaim the trade unions from the hands of the bureaucracy. A Conference or National Meeting of the members and supporters of the parties of the FIT should be convened on the basis of the program and agreements that unite us, and not just a place to argue about the disagreements among us (without diminishing the importance of debate).

In the same way, we should remember the impetus of common action in class struggle, through our parliamentary interventions, and through campaigns of mass agitation against the Macri government policies and its counterparts with the Frente para Victoria (FpV – Victory Front, Peronist electoral alliance) in the provinces.

The class-struggle left has an historical opportunity that we cannot squander.

We propose that this gathering take place this April or May with an organization agreed upon by all three forces that make up the FIT.

2. A Latin American Conference of the Revolutionary Left

As Altamira affirms in the statement above, we cannot remain without initiatives in the face of the events we are living through in our own subcontinent (the move from bourgeois governments of containment, to governments that directly attack the standard of living of the workers and popular masses). The twilight of the “process” of nationalist or center-left governments and the scenario of fights and open clashes between the classes in the next period in countries such as Brazil and Argentina requires the revolutionary left to take a position and common intervention. The Fracción Trotskista (FT – Trotskyist Fraction, the international current to which we belong) has important groups in Brazil, Chile and Mexico, as well as organizations in Bolivia, Uruguay and Venezuela, with which we can work out the concretization of this Conference in order to hold it in the middle of this year.

3. Other Immediate Proposals

a. A workers’ and internationalist rally of the Left & Workers’ Front (FIT) this coming May Day at Luna Park Stadium in Buenos Aires or a similar venue, to which we invite comrades from Brazil to speak – in light of the process that is developing there – along with important figures in the workers’ movement and the FIT.

b. Aside from our public differences over how to carry out our parliamentary work in common in the National Congress (blocks or interblocks), the legislatures (CABA, PBA, Córdoba, Mendoza, Neuquén, Santiago del Estero), and the city council of Mendoza, we insist on the proposal for national coordination and for local coordinators to meet weekly so that we can act in common.

We hope that these contributions may enrich your Congress, to which we send fraternal greetings.

23/03/16, Central Committee of the PTS

Translation: Sean Robertson

Facebook Twitter Share

Left Voice

Militant journalism, revolutionary politics.

Ideas & Debates

The Convulsive Interregnum of the International Situation

The capitalist world is in a "permacrisis" — a prolonged period of instability which may lead to catastrophic events. The ongoing struggles for hegemony could lead to open military conflicts.

Claudia Cinatti

March 22, 2024

“Poor Things” Floats Like a Butterfly and Stings Like a Butterfly

Poor Things is a fantastical comedy with beautiful set design and costumes and an Oscar-winning performance from Emma Stone. So why did it leave me feeling so empty? Despite juggling feminist and socialist ideas, the film is ideologically muddled and often self-contradictory.

Basil Rozlaban

March 16, 2024
Cillian Murphy as Robert Oppenheimer stares into the camera with a hat pulled over his eyes and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth

“Oppenheimer” Shows the Betrayals of Stalinism and the Dangers of Lesser Evilism

Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is a striking tale of a man who leaves the Left because of the betrayals of Stalinism. The film is also a warning about where lesser evilism in the face of the Far Right can lead us.

Sybil Davis

March 10, 2024
Black UAW workers, a black-and-white image, holding signs that say "UAW ON STRIKE."

To Achieve Black Liberation, Class Independence Is Key

A united, working-class party fighting oppression is our only hope for Black liberation.

Tristan Taylor

February 29, 2024

MOST RECENT

A square in Argentina is full of protesters holding red banners

48 Years After the Military Coup, Tens of Thousands in Argentina Take to the Streets Against Denialism and the Far Right

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Argentina on March 24 to demand justice for the victims of the state and the military dictatorship of 1976. This year, the annual march had renewed significance, defying the far-right government’s denialism and attacks against the working class and poor.

Madeleine Freeman

March 25, 2024

Berlin’s Mayor Loves Antisemites

Kai Wegner denounces the “antisemitism” of left-wing Jews — while he embraces the most high-profile antisemitic conspiracy theorist in the world.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 22, 2024

What “The Daily” Gets Right and Wrong about Oregon’s Move to Recriminalize Drugs

A doctor at an overdose-prevention center responds to The Daily, a podcast produced by the New York Times, on the recriminalization of drugs in Oregon. What are the true causes of the addiction crisis, and how can we solve it?

Mike Pappas

March 22, 2024

Lord Balfour Was an Imperialist Warmonger 

We should give our full solidarity to the Palestine Action comrade who defaced a portrait of Arthur Balfour at Cambridge University. But the problem for everyone who opposes the genocide against Gaza is how to massify and politically equip the movement.

Daniel Nath

March 21, 2024