The Argentine revolutionary left facing a historic challenge. Interview with Alejandro Bodart, MST leader
Below we reproduce a report by Alejandro Bodart, MST-Argentina – International Socialist League (LIS), carried out by the comrades of Izquierda Revolucionaria and published on their website based on a meeting held between the directorates of both organizations.
At the end of June we held a meeting between the leaderships of the Socialist Workers Movement (MST) of Argentina and the Revolutionary Left in the Spanish State. In it, the companions Alejandro Bodart, Cele Fierro and Mariano Rosa were able to explain to us the political situation that the country is going through under the far-right Milei Government and the growing support that polls and opinion polls give to the FIT-U and Myriam Bregman.
The MST is one of the main organizations of the Argentine revolutionary left and its analysis and political contributions have great value at such a transcendental moment of the class struggle..
We have interviewed Alejandro Bodart, general secretary of the MST at the FIT-U, and member of the International Executive Committee of the International Socialist League (LIS) so that the activists of the combative left of the Spanish State know first-hand their opinions.
Revolutionary Left.- Milei's far-right government is implementing an agenda of cuts, privatizations and savage attacks against the working class and the vast majority of the population, which has been responded to with large mobilizations including four general strikes.
At this time, the rejection of Milei breaks records and extends to all the capitalist parties that support their repressive and anti-worker agenda., including Peronism, which is mired in a very serious crisis of legitimacy..
All this has created a historic opportunity for the Argentine revolutionary left.. Recently, different surveys showed one of the best-known leaders of the FIT-U, Myriam Bregman, as the best-rated politician in the country. The electoral polls speak of an intention to vote for Bregman and the FIT-U among the 10% and the 14%.
From the MST you have defined the situation that Argentina is experiencing and the leap in influence of the left as an unprecedented fact, unprecedented. An important aspect that you point out is that millions of workers (many of whom consider themselves or have voted for Peronist for years) They look for the first time at the FIT-U as a power alternative. What factors drive this historic change and what challenges does it pose to the parties that make up the FIT-U and especially yours??
Alejandro Bodart.-Obviously there is a dialectical combination of several elements.
On the one hand, We are already going through the third year of Milei's government, and therefore, the argument of “the heavy inheritance” to explain the very serious social situation with an economy reset in favor of a handful of corporations that “does not spill” as the libertarian narrative had promised, It is a first factor. further, cases of corruption in Milei's own court circle, have caused a state of additional irritation and disappointment among swathes of the masses that accompanied it. Today the social opposition to the extreme right oscillates between 65 Y 70 %. Polarization worsens.
Then, perhaps an additional factor that is one of the keys: the crisis of Peronism that has historically acted as a containment for workers and young people to prevent movement to the left (in the manner of social democracy, Stalinism or Laborism in other countries and traditions). This crisis is due to the representation of enormous contingents of the working class, the youth and popular sectors, that not only did they have an in-depth experience with the government before this one and the disillusionment was very deep, but also right now, a faltering journey is added against the Milei Government, without fighting in the streets during these more than two and a half years, braking with the mostly Peronist union bureaucracy, it is included, In Congress, making everything easier for the libertarian government. And now also, It is debated between old corruption scandals that re-emerge with former Kirchnerist officials of Governor Kicillof and an internal apparatus, far from popular needs.
On that ground, We must add the attributes of the revolutionary left of the FIT-U that beyond limitations that we can analyze, its components, their matches, their figures, Their militancy stood out as the front line in the very tough confrontations with the far-right offensive.. So: Milei declining (although not dead, Of course), Peronism with a disappointing past, without measuring up during the current government and without perspective of offering a future, gives the FIT-U the opportunity to potentially be a channel of expression for millions who truly show their sympathy and positive appreciation towards the main leaders (starting with Myriam Bregman), adherence to their identity values (the figures reach 24 % in some surveys, Let's say 6 millions of people) and predisposition to vote to govern the country, in the order of 10 Y 14 % (three million or a little more people).
Milei declining (although not dead, Of course), Peronism with a disappointing past, without measuring up during the current government and without perspective of offering a future, gives FIT-U the opportunity to potentially be a channel of expression for millions.
This is the big picture, briefly. And we try to define policies and initiatives thinking that if this process is combined with more class struggle it can take an even greater leap and truly open at some point., the dispute for political power. That is why we need to define basic and common strategies in the revolutionary left and within the Left Front..
AND.- A central debate at the moment is whether a situation that opens up so many possibilities for contesting power can be addressed with the tool that the FIT-U represents., a political agreement to participate in the elections, Or is it about taking a bolder step and going towards the constitution of a unified party of the revolutionary left?. What are your positions and proposals regarding this debate??
AB.-In fact, since the FIT-Unidad was formed with our incorporation back in 2019 We were raising in different ways the need for the positive electoral coalition that we formed to propose a qualitative evolution, overcome that electoral stage that limits it and become a unified party (where current parties become internal trends or currents), to dispute politically in all political and class struggle areas.
We always start from the understanding that being revolutionary forces, that we demand a common program proposed by the workers' government, expropriation tasks, the impulse to mass self-organization and even internationalism as a perspective of a clear line of class independence, bueno, then we were able to go for more. Because also, it is very important to understand, that there is no hegemonic party among us, that we have a certain parity of organic and even complementary forces, and that therefore, intelligence and common unity were essential.
We made written proposals, public letters, repeated campaigns and was even the axis of our political profile within the Left Front in electoral situations, where we put this challenge on the agenda before the hundreds of thousands who vote and continue to lead. We never had an echo in the rest of the forces. Undoubtedly, now the changes that we analyzed before, confirm the validity of that strategic approach and put it on the agenda: how to take steps towards the organic unification of the FIT-U and an openness to incorporating tens of thousands orbiting around the coalition. Because we clarify: It is not the arithmetic sum of the organic forces that the FIT-U parties currently count separately. (that would be an advance), it's about that, but multiplied qualitatively as this force opens up to convene tens of thousands more to share the program and with democratic mechanisms of internal debate to enable the interaction of the currents that come together., along with the application of a healthy democratic centralism to decide everything by majority and minority when intervening in the political process and class struggle, national and international.
Even more: to provide guarantees of unity of purpose and democratic coexistence, that allows all the differences and nuances to be processed in practice and debate, we proposed at the international level, enable free affiliation for a period so as not to hinder the process and move forward urgently.
About all this, Unfortunately, until now, parties like the PO or the Socialist Left that make up the FITU don't even consider it., They do not see the need for the Left Front to change its electoral format and that is a big mistake. For its part, the PTS says that it does want to do something new. But it also doesn't finish saying how or who we could be part of.. We are in that debate today with them, to see if we can deepen agreements or not.
Since our incorporation into the FIT-Unidad in 2019 We raised the need for the electoral coalition to go beyond the electoral stage and become a unified party to contest politically in all political and class struggle areas..
AND.- Another issue linked to the previous point and that is causing quite a bit of controversy in the ranks of the FIT-U are the committees to promote the possible presidential candidacy of Myriam Bregman.. What has been your position and how do you approach supporting Miryam as a leader who is also a member of the Socialist Workers Party? (PTS)?
AB.- Since the PTS made public the launch of these Committees, in a public appeal signed by intellectuals from his party and independents, we don't doubt it: at our National Congress at the end of May of this year, We unanimously resolved to join the call, adhere to the call and jointly promote these Committees in the terms proposed by Myriam Bregman and her party. We made it public, was taken in the press, We anticipated it to the PTS leadership in a meeting prior to our Congress that we were going to propose it as a motion at our event., and so it was.
Regrettably, In a few days, the PTS changed the tenor of the call that was initially public to organizations and activists, with the slogan of “starting a movement towards a party of the new working class”. We, beyond doubts or nuances, we said: count on the MST and all its forces to contribute to this orientation. But the PTS decided to launch the Committees only from its party with independent people individually., without allowing other front parties to participate, as well as contest the use of the figure of Bregman (candidate for president of the entire FIT-U) in materials from the rest of the parties.
That determination, in our understanding wrong with those of us who adhered to the call and proposed to collaborate prioritizing the agreements, initially weakened the initiative and is slowing down the joint use of the opportunity, collective and collaborative so that it gains weight and gravitation.
We publicly insist on Myriam Bregman's party to review the decision, We proposed a series of questions from management to management, among them facing a cycle of public debates, something that the PTS took and in fact a few days ago we began to develop an open Forum of the four parties of the FIT-U that we are going to discuss in five meetings the most varied topics that are on the table. But, it is still insufficient: It would be important for these committees to begin to open and to truly agree to jointly promote a movement to set up a revolutionary force that regroups and summons tens of thousands of militants..
We do not lose the expectation that progress can be made, because we are convinced that a single party will not be able to respond to such an opportunity and challenge. If the PTS comrades believe that they can advance alone, Unfortunately they are going to make mistakes and a huge opportunity could be lost.. We believe that a common strategy and party is needed among those of us who are willing to build it., taking advantage of and uniting all the strength, capacity and experience of different leaderships and cadres formed in decades of militancy. This can be done because there are many agreements, Of course there are also nuances and differences., that's logical. But we say that if we want to have a great game we have to assume that there will be debates, sometimes different opinions on some topics, and you have to know how to live with that. Do not use differences to stop any unity process.
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So we hope that our colleagues do not make that mistake and open themselves to a true substantive debate and a common construction.. Until now they have not taken that step, We will see from now on how they act and if it changes on this very important issue..
AND.- The prospect that the left of the FIT-U could experience an electoral growth of millions of votes is an unprecedented fact and is concentrating the attention of thousands of activists and militants around the world.. Nor can it be ruled out that a social outbreak could occur before the next presidential elections., or that the elections of 2027 trigger an explosive situation.
Taking into account possible scenarios, How do you prepare from the MST to address them and what are your programmatic and strategic proposals??
What measures should a hypothetical Government made up of the forces that today form the FIT-U apply to respond to the aspirations of the masses and carry out the socialist transformation of society?? How to defeat the attempts of the ruling class and the imperialists to sabotage and overthrow that Government?
AB.- To start, we are currently developing dozens of public events, meetings, forums, conversations to open this debate for thousands who fortunately attend these meetings in theaters, clubs, unions, universities and from the north to the deep south of the country. This is an MST initiative that we developed to intervene in the phenomenon and organize everything we can with our approaches., through open assemblies that are the result as continuity for now, of these events we are doing.
Then there is undoubtedly a base program that we have as FIT-U and that the MST shares in all its terms that proposes a set of immediate and transitory measures, just to name a few:
*Immediately suspend payment of all foreign debt, and use that mass of resources to reactivate the economy on another matrix and property regime: finance a huge public works plan (housing, schools, hospitals, routes) to generate work on a large scale.
*In a complementary way, against any attempt at boycott andlock-out, or financial run, We propose nationalizing all foreign trade and private banking, to have these economic levers at the beginning of the process.
*Tax reform and tax on the rich, to use that money to increase salaries, retirements, social programs and health budgets, education, science, technology, culture, etc.
*Also to ensure full employment and with rights, reduce working hours to 6 hours, 5 days, with a salary equivalent to the cost of the basket by law and resume a retirement regime that ensures that right with mobility and proportionality of the 82 % of the active worker. Recover the concept of retirement as deferred salary, no meager old age benefit.
*We propose nationalizing any company that closes, suspend or fire workers under worker control. further, opening of accounting books of any factory or private company.
*Renationalization of all privatized public service companies, under social control of workers and user committees.
*We propose to advance in the dismantling of the entire polluting and neocolonial extractivist matrix: ban agribusiness, megamining, hefracking or gentrification for speculative purposes, to replace all that, by another way of producing and relating social creative activity with non-human nature. And an agrarian reform to eliminate the concentration of land in a few hands.
*At the level of political and judicial reforms, we propose a comprehensive reform: revocability of mandate of all elective positions by direct popular vote, salaries equivalent to those of an average skilled worker and permanent social control mechanisms.
*Apply a comprehensive program of socialization of care tasks against all existing patriarchal burdens.
*Dismantle the apparatus of repression and espionage, and move towards a different concept of preventive security, with social control, election of commissioners, geographic rotation, periodic and prohibition of repressing or intervening in protests. And advance in the organization of self-defense against any coup attempt or destabilization of the new workers' government..
Of course, from minute zero, a workers' government like the one we are trying to establish, It will involve promoting all expressions of self-organization in the labor movement, youth and popular sectors. Develop, amplify, and contributing to consolidating and nationally coordinating the formation of workers' councils will be a central task, since at the end of the day, From this process a new transitional statehood must emerge that replaces the entire structure of the capitalist state that we propose to dismantle.. And that's key, to advance the comprehensive democratic planning of the entire economy and move to a new regime of social ownership of the means of production of social wealth.
And of course, the internationalization of this process will be key, in the region and on a global scale to defeat all imperialist hostility. in that, the LIS as an international tool and everything we can do to strengthen the international regrouping of revolutionaries is decisive from now on.
A nice: many challenges, an exciting opportunity and all the militant optimism to take advantage of it. We are acting along those lines and of course, The exchange with internationalist organizations is fundamental for us, and with you in the Spanish State mainly.
