Argentina: The left, the FIT-U forum and a historic challenge. What prospects, what match, what strategy?
By Sergio Garcia
We have been going through several months where notable political progress on the left is increasingly evident.. The same is identified in all media, opinion study or survey. And above all it is reflected below in workplaces., of study and in popular neighborhoods. It is no longer about just debating what is happening, It is also necessary to delve deeper into what to do to take advantage of this open political situation in order to try to take much more qualitative and strategic steps.. Therein lies the underlying debate that all the parties of the Left Unity Front, together with intellectuals, social references and thousands of militants and sympathizers we have to develop. The beginning of the FIT-U Forums and their development in the coming days is an important instance to socialize and make public the entire debate. The first instance of it on Monday 29 June showed agreements, disagreements and in our opinion a certain lack of understanding of the opportunity presented and what is necessary to take advantage of it, as well as inaccuracies and some misinterpretations, around what we propose from the MST. Hence, in this article we want to delve into several elements that we consider decisive and strategic for the development of a bold and revolutionary policy for the coming time..
New situation, new tasks and proposals
A first question, essential, It is based on correctly sizing the changes that are occurring in the country and their possible scope in the medium and long term perspective.. Because it may happen that there are organizations, companions or companions, who tend to see what is happening as a little more of the same, or just as an electoral problem or successive good polls. We need to see if we can agree that this is not the case., that we are experiencing something much more important and unusual and highly positive, thrilling. Going deeper into this analysis of reality is an essential primary element.
We are facing an unprecedented process, a turn to the left that finds the revolutionary left, to the figure of comrade Myriam Bregman in particular and to the Frente de Izquierda Unidad in general, capitalizing on that advance and being recipients of that developing sympathy that has not yet reached its ceiling, which is possibly very far from a point that limits us. And all this places us before a historic challenge: that in the perspective the certain possibility can be opened that - by combining a profound leap in the class struggle, a sharp turn in the situation and the development of this turn to the left—the levels of social support for the left will grow much more and bring into reality the unprecedented possibility of contesting for the political power of the country.
If this is so, implies understanding that no proposal for a situation as extraordinary as the one we are experiencing and experiencing can be correct if it starts from being, in general terms, the same or very similar to what was had before these changes in reality. No one can get the necessary tasks right by repeating as if nothing had happened the same political recipes from before these magnitude changes occurred.. The changes in the situation and the prospects for changing even more do not coincide with a political conservatism that tends not to want to modify thethe state previous within the left or our front. If reality changes we have to open our minds and change everything that is necessary., without routine, without formalism.
Change reality, let the Left Front change
The situation of the Frente de Izquierda Unidad serves as a clear and palpable example.. The front we build, we value and defend, and of which we have to verify its current stage, without falling into the superficiality of making it an abstract and immobile defense. Conversely, We must encourage ourselves to develop a dynamic proposal so that our front evolves and rises to the situation we are experiencing.. Starting from understanding that, just as it is today, not enough to contain, channel and organize all open political possibility. Much more is needed, something new and superior, to respond to the present reality and above all to what may come in the future.
This is very obvious and necessary, since there is an indivisible relationship between the positive left turn situation, the need for bold changes and policies, and the location of the FITU, recognizing its limits to fight for its transformation from there. In this sense, the 1st panel of the Forum that the Unity Left Front held on Monday 29 June showed that—in the cases of PO and Izquierda Socialista—there is no real understanding, an assimilation of the exceptional situation we are experiencing and the new tasks that this poses to us. Which manifests itself in a political problem, which leads them to mechanically just propose more of the same, without considering modifying in any way the most backward and criticizable aspects of our front. And if it is always necessary to be self-critical, It is even more so when there are changes of magnitude that force new political and organizational responses..
In their interventions, the colleagues remain within the logic that the current FIT-U, if it convenes joint committees—or a national assembly, adds PO—it would be nice and would solve the problems raised. Nevertheless, unfortunately that is not the case. It is the fact of being only an electoral front, not having a real daily life, no permanent political debates, nor a substantive functioning as a joint political tool, which does not allow us to intervene in common or truly debate everything, including the topic of committees, matches, assemblies, ongoing struggles or any other initiative.
In this sense, we continue to believe that if previously everything positive that the Left Unity Front has, it also made it navigate in common with its limitations that did not allow it to advance further., That reality seen from the current situation is even more evident. And the debate of this 1st Forum made it clear that the IS and PO colleagues do not fully see the real magnitude of the changes underway, and therefore they do not see the need to revolutionize our front and put it up to the situation. That's why in general their proposals tend to be more of the same., starting from a Left Front model that does not question, despite its obvious limitations.
Equally, For our part, we are also in favor of promoting common committees everywhere., This was even resolved by a vote of our Congress, Therefore we consider it a mistake not to try to make them so.. Both, so that this can be done, We see it as important that there is an agreement on the strategy and objectives of these committees., so that they do not break out into unnecessary disputes. And in this sense, For us, the debate and strategy of moving towards a great common party is a central issue for its formation and unitary drive..
Strategy, party and the true proposal of the MST
With a full understanding of the magnitude of the changes we are going through and the historic opportunity and challenge that lies ahead of us., From the MST we propose to move towards the construction of a great revolutionary party in common, unified left, or whatever we want to call it. On this path, a concrete possibility would be to advance to a unified party of the entire FIT-U, based on its correct anti-capitalist and socialist program, prioritizing the important agreements reached and maintaining the existence of trends to reflect the reality of coming from different organizations and experiences, and calmly process differences and nuances without anyone losing their identity or pre-existing opinions.. This proposal, Logically, it can be carried out if all the front parties had the political will to advance this or any other proposal in the same sense.. As we say, We assume that at least two of the forces that make up the front do not consider the need to address these issues as current and necessary.. In the case of PO, she stated in the Forum that she is willing to debate the construction of a party., but until now it is nothing more than just an occasional phrase, that has no relation nor is consistent with any of the proposals raised in the forum, that in no case did they refer to this topic, while he privileged, just like IS, put the focus on centrally marking the differences that exist, something that was not a positive contribution.
However, at the same time, The comrades of the PTS have been considering promoting a movement for a party of the new working class. It is a general definition, not finished that would have to be specified and lowered to land. In fact, In the first FIT-U Forum they made very little reference to the topic, choosing to prioritize a narrative on the data of his own political development and other general themes. In our case, We start from agreeing with our PTS colleagues that it is necessary to move forward in the debate towards the construction of something new, be it a movement towards a party or some variant that leads to raising a great political tool of the working class, taking steps to incorporate thousands of new militants.
On this topic, and although we have already written articles, made videos and oral explanations with all our proposal, PTS colleagues continue to express their critical opinion, but starting from an error of interpretation, since they debate with a proposal that we do not make. The companionChristian Castillo He mentioned in his speech that the party of tendencies of which the MST speaks had bad results in other countries.. And in the Forum chronicle note published on 30 June in La Izquierda Diario, write the following: “Meanwhile, el MST, within the framework of the political opportunities posed by the situation, He started from agreeing that the FITU was no longer enough and proposed building a new type of organization, a broad party, although proposing a “trend party” operation, problematic to think of a democratically centralized party for the class struggle if the debates are not settled, as demonstrated by different international experiences of the recent past”.1
It would be important, to develop a better debate, that it should start from giving an opinion on what the MST proposes and not on things that we do not propose. Since at no time in this open debate on the left of our country did we propose a broad party of tendencies. It's more, To be exact, we have been essentially proposing the opposite., Furthermore, we explained that our proposal had nothing to do with other international experiences., to which colleagues refer.
In the Forum, our companionAlejandro Bodart said about this topic: “We are not talking about a broad party like those that have emerged since the 2001, from the new century to here. Because these parties have been organized essentially around reformist forces, they have not had an insurrectionary program to solve the problem of power, They have all been electoral variants, that when they entered an electoral crisis they ended up retreating. We are talking about something new, because it is new in the country that it is the revolutionary left that is advancing, therefore it has the possibility of organizing a large force with a revolutionary program, with a revolutionary method, with an insurrectional strategy, with the workers' government strategy, something that is unprecedented worldwide, and it could be a tremendous blow for the Argentine ruling classes and a light of hope for other processes worldwide., If we could do it”. 2 As can be seen, This proposal has nothing to do with broad experiences, neither electoral nor other analogous.
In the same way and in an article that we published days ago in Periodismo de Izquierda, we said about the topic: “Regarding the possibility of advancing a movement towards a common party, Logically, there are debates about how to do it in the best way.. The first thing, in our opinion, is to agree on what we want to build. In this sense, We consider and propose taking steps towards the formation of a new and great revolutionary party, that unites for political dispute and class struggle, to thousands of new activists and to the militancy of the parties that we are willing to take that step together. We are not talking about a tactical front, nor from a broad party, nor of an electoral organization. We talk about building a revolutionary party, with a revolutionary and socialist program, with the strategy of taking power by the working class and for its government and with the method of democratic centralism to function”.3
I expressed something in a similar sense this Monday 29/6 in my speech at the Left Front Forum, when I exemplified that even the Bolshevik Party (that is, a revolutionary party, nor wide, is electoral) had a common strategy, a fundamental program for a workers' government and in that framework there were permanent debates, agreements and differences that were processed internally. And we put this example precisely because we are debating how best to build a revolutionary party, not of any other kind. And we want to point out that there is no contradiction between building a great revolutionary party of thousands and knowing how to live with agreements, nuances and differences. Actually, The utopian thing is to believe that a great party with mass influence will always have total agreements on everything..
Party, internal trends and currents: What is up for debate?
But she set the current agenda for the Ukrainian labor movement, We insist to our PTS colleagues that it is important to debate the real proposals that we raise from the MST and leave aside proposals that are not ours., so as not to distort the debate and draw wrong conclusions that can only serve to justify an alleged lack of agreements. We once again ratify it: When we talk about moving towards a great party we are referring to a revolutionary party, with a fundamental program for a workers' government and socialism. We are not even talking about an electoral type organizational variant, nor from a broad party, nor a copy of other experiences such as the NPA of France or something similar to that of another country. We are talking about a party that serves to intervene in a privileged way in the political and class struggle., and in that framework that is also useful for the electoral political struggle, without this being its strategic priority.
A match like that, From now on it has to operate under the premise of democratic centralism, with a preponderance of the democratic pole to facilitate the inclusion of those who join and the development of opinions and collective debate. Both, If we are going to make it up from different organizations that in a sense we unify together with thousands of new militants, must also be allowed, at least temporarily, the existence of internal trends that reflect the previous stage with its positions, militant experiences and work throughout the country. Without this denying the functioning of a democratic centralist party that debates internally and collectively, vote and decide a specific political line in the face of each fact of reality, by majority and with minorities that respect that reality.
With the PTS colleagues, who have been promoting a proposal for a party and committees to debate its formation, We want to continue debating fraternally on all these issues, making every effort to really listen to each other, as a necessary method if we want to explore the hypothesis of achieving strategic agreements between our organizations. As part of these debates and exchanges, In our opinion, our colleagues can take a necessary step further.; promoting towards this objective the opening of the committees that are being carried out to all the workers and young people who share the political task of participating and contributing to building a new and great political organization, which would enhance the entire process of militant organization that is underway and prepare better conditions to continue advancing. Or at least carry out common committee experiences in some places, and then draw conclusions about them. At the same time, It seems good to us to jointly promote zonal coordination to promote the class struggle and support the ongoing processes in each region.. A task that is very important and that at the same time does not contradict, although it does not replace, the need to advance the debate and substantive political agreements, What is the main thing we have to try to achieve?.
The importance of party debate and moving forward in unity
The debate on these necessary steps is based on the agreements that exist to be able to carry them out and also on a background vision that we believe is very important in the face of the possible perspective of a combination of a significant shift to the left with an increase in class struggle and a crisis of magnitude.. In that dynamic combination that will raise social tensions, political confrontations with our class enemies and opportunities for advancement for the revolutionary left, We consider that a party of those of us who today make up the Left Unity Front alone will not be able to respond correctly and in all its magnitude to such a challenge.. The main political mistake that could be made is if any of the existing forces believe otherwise., and through facts he develops a political orientation believing that, evolutionarily and on their own, will achieve leaps of enormous magnitude towards organic mass influence.
In our opinion, for that perspective of a great revolutionary party that disputes mass influence, political and strategic unity of directions will be needed, cadres and militants willing to work together and thoroughly, knowing how to prioritize all the important agreements we have and also coexist with differences or nuances that remain. Because throughout our country there are inequalities of construction and experiences, and not a specific hegemony of a single organization over the others. This is why the wisdom of risking putting the best we have on the left within the same organization and strategy must prevail.. At least among the organizations that are willing to take on this complex challenge that at the same time is very essential in the face of everything that is coming. On this topic, we cannot help but turn our eyes to our history and that of the entire revolutionary movement. nothing would happen as the government had imagined, remember how he got stronger, according to the historian and Marxist activist Pierre Broue, Lenin's party in the months before the October revolution: “the Bolshevik Party 1917 It arose from the confluence within the Bolshevik current of the independent revolutionary currents constituted by both the Interdistrict organization and the numerous internationalist social democratic organizations., who had until then remained on the margins of Lenin's party... the strength of the unified party comes from the total fusion of the different currents, at least to as great a extent as the diversity of itineraries that have taken them, through a series of years of ideological struggle, to the common struggle for the proletarian revolution”.4
Up to this point, this entire debate around the construction of a great party is developing and will surely continue to be carried out.. It may also be that there are colleagues who wonder or have doubts about why they debate so much about the possibility of building a great party., or prefer to focus only on the debate of the committees and their usefulness, or to the promotion of other types of organizations where they participate and activate. On our part we are in favor of promoting all areas of struggle, of organization and self-organization and of political exchange and militant protagonism. Only at the same time we are convinced, and in our opinion historical experience confirms it, that the most essential and strategic political task is to build a revolutionary party and leadership.
A party that disputes the leadership in real organizations of workers and youth, that promotes genuine processes of self-organization and tries to develop dual-power organisms. Organizations that are essential for any revolutionary process and at the same time do not replace the need to have a strong and solid revolutionary party, among other things to act within these organizations against the wrong policies of other reformist leaderships, bureaucratic, hesitant or possibilistic, that in general act to end up liquidating these very necessary genuine organizations.
Let's do this and all the dialogues in depth in the next four forums of the Left Unity Front, whose development and continuity is very important to continue and deepen all these debates and those of international construction, of types of unity of action and united front, construction of revolutionary parties and the necessary program. Also promoting other common instances that may arise, in meetings, militancy assemblies and in every democratic and collective environment that exists and where the political leadership of the front participates, the paintings, militancy, supporters, intellectuals, worker and social references and anyone who wants to contribute their ideas to this decisive moment for the anti-capitalist and socialist left.
UPCOMING LEFT FRONT FORUM PANELS
“The ways, “the method and program to build a political tool for the working class in Argentina and the role of the left”
- Revolutionary internationalism today. Construction program and model.
- Single front, unity of action and self-organization. Relationship between political and union organizations, the piquetero movement and the fighting movements.
- Match and operation method: democratic centralism, trends and class struggle.
- Proposals and program towards a worker and socialist exit in Argentina.
With date and place to be confirmed that we will inform later, We invite you to participate in person, or to follow them live virtually through the Left Journalism Youtube.
- First forum of the Left Front. With a packed auditorium: great debate on the challenges of the left and the working class (Published in LID). ↩︎
- Forum del FIT. Opening by Alejandro Bodart in the first talk (Published in PDI). ↩︎
- Sergio Garcia: Left, committees, party and strategy We can advance much more (Published in PDI). ↩︎
- The Bolshevik Party, Pierre Broue. ↩︎
