By Miguel Sorans, Leader of Izquierda Socialista [Socialist Left] and the IWU-FI
Between July 6 and 9, the Sixth Congress of the International Workers Unity – Fourth International was held in Buenos Aires. A pole of reorganisation of the revolutionaries continues to grow on the basis of the building of parties fighting for a socialist outcome.
The highest organisational and deliberative body of the IWU-FI brought together delegates from Brazil, Venezuela, Turkey, the Spanish State, Bolivia, France, Peru, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and Argentina. In addition, it received greetings from militants and organisations from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, the United States and Australia.
The honorary chair of the congress was dedicated to the Russian Revolution, in its centenary year, to the founder of our current, Nahuel Moreno, and the Venezuelan working people that fight against repression and austerity measures. It also paid homage to the Syrian people who heroically rose against the genocidal dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad.
Current international issues were discussed such as the rise to power in the United States of the reactionary, racist and misogynist tycoon Donald Trump, and his intention to lead a new counteroffensive of imperialism against the peoples of the world; The resistance of the peoples to the austerity plans and counter-reforms that governments use to increase the rates of exploitation of wage labour. Also discussed was the significant growth of the struggles of the women’s movement in the world, in which it is necessary to take part to build a strong current of feminism with a class perspective. There was a discussion on the environmental unsustainability of capitalist depredation and the need to move towards a democratically planned socialist economy to prevent climate disaster.
Within the frame of the Congress, on July 8, a public event was held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, in the auditorium of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires. This anniversary, together with the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Argentine revolutionist Ernesto “Che†Guevara, presents us with the opportunity to participate in current debates on the need to further develop revolutionary internationalism.
To respond to the enormous challenge of building organisations capable of decisively intervening in the global process of struggle, it is important to articulate the efforts of uniting the revolutionaries in each country and the world. We believe that the construction of the IWU-FI is part of this fundamental effort, of international unity in the struggle for socialism. It is the pending task in the path of the reconstruction of the Fourth International.
In the face of the decadence of self-styled progressive governments in Latin America, it reaffirmed the need to build revolutionary socialist organizations to overcome from the left the reformist limitations of Lula, Evo, Kirchner, Ortega and Chavez-Maduro, who in their early years generated great expectations, but ended up applying brutal austerity measures to their peoples. Facing at the same time the false bosses alternatives represented by Macri, Temer or Capriles. The persistence of popular struggles in North Africa, as in Morocco and Tunisia, general strikes in Brazil or Greece; The great mobilizations against Erdogan in Turkey, the outbreak of the G20 in Hamburg, and mobilizations against femicides around the world, show that there is a huge force in movement, the force of youth, workers and women, which urgently requires a strategic perspective to achieve successes and changes of substance.
In this context, the 6th Sixth Congress of the IWU-FI resolved several campaigns. Prominent among them are the mobilizations against Trump and imperialism, against the repayment of foreign debts, against austerity plans and social cuts, in solidarity with the Palestinian people against Zionist colonialism and support for refugees, the fight against racism, against the criminalization of protest and the repression of the regimes of Erdogan and Maduro, to promote and participate in the World Day of September 28 for the right to abortion and support for the struggles against the destruction of the environment by imperialism and the capitalist governments.
Internationalist Rally at 100 years of the Russian Revolution: We continue the struggle for socialism around the world
On behalf of the IWU-FI, Izquierda Socialista (Socialist Left) convened on Saturday 8 July an internationalist rally in honour of the historic revolutionary victory of October 1917 and the closing of the Sixth Congress of the international organisation.
In a climate of struggle not devoid of emotion, militants and leaders of Izquierda Socialista, together with representatives of their sister parties of the International Workers Unity – Fourth International (IWU-FI), trade union delegations and friends of the party, we gathered on Saturday in the auditorium of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires to commemorate the centenary of the Russian Revolution, vindicating the validity of the theoretical and political legacy of Lenin and Trotsky, and the founder of our current, Nahuel Moreno. The event also marked the closing of the Sixth Congress of the IWU-FI, in which leaders of the various sections debated the world political situation and defined the revolutionary policy for the next three years.
The following delegations were present at the event: Corrente Socialista dos Trabalhadores [Socialist Current of the Workers] (CST-PSOL) of Brazil; Partido Socialismo y Libertad (Socialism and Liberty Party – PSL) of Venezuela; ARPT and Fuersa of Bolivia, in process of unification; Movimiento Socialista de los Trabajadores (Socialist Movement of the Workers – MST) of Chile; UnÃos (Together) from Peru; Propuesta Socialista (Socialist Proposal – PS) of Panama; Movimiento Al Socialismo (Movement for Socialism – MAS, formerly POS) of Mexico; Lucha Internacionalista (Internationalist Struggle – LI) of the Spanish State; Groupe Socialiste Internationaliste (Socialist Internationalist Group – GSI) of France; İşçi Demokrasisi Partisi (Workers’ Democracy Party – IDP) of Turkey, as well as comrades from the sympathising organizations Luta Socialista (Socialist Fight – LS) of Brazil and KRD of Germany, and comrades from Norway. Their representatives took the stage in the middle of a warm welcome together with Izquierda Socialista MPs Juan Carlos Giordano and Laura Marrone, and comrade Miguel Sorans, leader of Izquierda Socialista and of the International Secretariat of IWU-FI. Also present were important leaders of Izquierda Socialista who lead the slates to legislators and MPs of the FIT, among them Buenos Aires Province deputy Monica Schlotthauer, Rubén “Pollo” Sobrero, Angelica Lagunas — accompanied by an important delegation of teachers from Neuquén and by Elizabeth Hernández (Mother of Brian, an emblematic case of “easy trigger” in Neuquén)— and Jorge Adaro. Comrade Liliana Olivero, a candidate for national deputy, sent her greetings from Córdoba. Also in the rally, there were workers from PepsiCo and Argensun, fighting against layoffs. A delegate of PepsiCo spoke and important collections were made for the fighting funds. Also attending were Andrea D’Atri, leader of the PTS; Oscar Schaller, plaintiff against the genocidal Milani in the mega-cause of La Rioja; and Juan Carlos Coral, presidential candidate in 1973 of the “glorious PST”.
After the speeches of several international leaders, “Gringo Giordano†closed the emotional rally, and everyone present sang The Internationale.
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