Revolutionary Left (Spain)

Revolutionary Left (Spanish: Izquierda Revolucionaria, Catalan: Esquerra Revolucionària, Basque: Ezker Iraultzailea, Galician: Esquerda Revolucionaria) is a Trotskyist political party in Spain formerly affiliated with the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI). Revolutionary left publishes El Militante in Spanish, Militant in Catalan and Euskal Herria Sozialista.[2] They contain a socialist perspective on news and current issues. It campaigns for a party of the working class to express the political needs of those not benefiting from the capitalist system. They believe a strong and organized movement of workers and young people can overthrow capitalism and establish a new society. This can be achieved by taking banks and big businesses into public ownership and administering them through democratic control and management.[3]

Revolutionary left
Izquierda Revolucionaria
LeaderCollective leadership
NewspaperEl Militante (Spanish), Militant (Catalan), Euskal Herria Sozialista (Basque)
IdeologyMarxism
Socialism
Trotskyism
Political positionFar-left
International affiliationInternational Revolutionary Left[1]
ColoursRed
Website
http://www.izquierdarevolucionaria.net/

History

Origins

The group originated around a newspaper called Nuevo Claridad or New Clarity which was the paper of the youth section of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in Alava in June 1976. By 1979 the leadership of PSOE had decided to move the party away from its Marxist roots and expel the Marxists around Nuevo Claridad.[4] There were further expulsions from PSOE in 1980.[5] In 1989 the name of the newspaper was changed to El Militante.[6][7]

Split from CWI

The CWI split in early 1992 over many issues, primarily whether to continue working within social democratic parties. The majority in the UK, rejecting entryism, formed Militant Labour, which subsequently became the Socialist Party of England and Wales. Grant together with Alan Woods formed Socialist Appeal in Britain.[8][9][10] The faction fight within Militant played itself out within the CWI with supporters of the Grant faction leaving to form the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) in several countries, particularly Spain.

Split from IMT

In late 2009 a dispute developed between the IMT leadership and the leadership of its sections in Spain (El Militante), Venezuela (Corriente Marxista Revolucionaria) and Mexico. In January 2010, these organisations, together with the group in Colombia and part of the section in Mexico, broke with the IMT and established a new international body, the Izquierda Revolucionaria (Revolutionary Left).[11][12]

Reunification with the CWI

After a series of discussions and exchanges of documents a merger was agreed upon by the Revolutionary left along with their co thinkers in Venezuela and Mexico with the Committee for a Worker's International .[13] This was agreed at a conference in Madrid on 13 April 2017 and confirmed at a conference of the CWI in Barcelona on 22 July 2017.[14] This included merging with Revolutionary Socialism (Spain), the merged groups will use the name Izquierda Revolucionaria in Spain.

Second split from CWI

In early April 2019, IR split from CWI after differences emerged relating to the analysis of the CWI regarding the lowering of socialist consciousness following the collapse of the Stalinist regimes and the consequences this had for the international workers' movement at the time along with the extent to which these effects are still present today.[15]

School student union

In 1986 the group were the main impulse behind the creation of the Spanish school students' union.[6] The current general secretary of the Spanish School students union is Ana Garcia who is also a member of Revolutionary Left[16] She was interviewed on the situation in Catalonia [17] at 9:10 The two organisations have been linked and criticised by the People's Party (Spain)[18]

Political views
For general information about Revolutionary Left's politics, see Committee for a Workers' International and Trotskyism.

Catalan independence

They are in favour of the right to self-determination including independence but fight for a socialist Catalan state as part of voluntary Iberian federation.[19][20] They are against alliances with pro capitalist parties for independence as it would suppress the voice of the working class who hold the real power for change through mass movements.[21]

References
  1. "Izquierda Revolucionaria - Founding Congress of the International Revolutionary Left". 29 July 2019.
  2. "Home". euskalherriasozialista.net.
  3. "SREVquedefenamos". Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  4. "Tribuna – La dirección del PSOE hace tiempo que abandonó el marxismo". El País. 17 May 1979 – via elpais.com.
  5. "Expulsados cinco miembros del PSOE de Navarra". El País. 3 February 1980 – via elpais.com.
  6. Manresa, Rafael Iniesta de (12 February 2018). La premsa trotskista (1939–2000): catàleg de les publicacions periòdiques trotskistes a les biblioteques catalanes. Servei de Publicacions de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. ISBN 9788449023057 – via Google Books.
  7. Rafael Iniesta de Manresa (2003): La premsa trotskista, (1939–2000) : catàleg de les publicacions periòdiques trotskistes a les biblioteques catalanes, Publisher: Bellaterra : Univ. Autònoma de Barcelona, language Catalan P.30.
  8. Sewell, Rob (10 October 2004). "How the Militant was Built – and How it was Destroyed". In Defence of Marxism.
  9. Wade, Bob (27 July 2006). "Obituary: Ted Grant". The Guardian.
  10. "Ted Grant: Trotskyist who gave the Labour Party a scare through his leadership of Militant Tendency". The Times. 26 July 2006. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  11. "Oil-slick divisions". Weekly Worker. No. 804. CPGB PCC. 11 February 2010. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  12. "Oil-slick divisions – Weekly Worker". weeklyworker.co.uk.
  13. reporters, Izquierda Revolucionaria. "Committee for a workers' International – Spain: Historic congress of Izquierda Revolucionaria". www.socialistworld.net. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  14. socialistworld.net. "Committee for a workers' International – CWI/IR unification: An historic strengthening of the forces of Marxism". www.socialistworld.net. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  15. "Spanish section of the CWI walks out". www.tele.graph. 5 April 2019.
  16. socialistworld.net. "Committee for a workers' International – Spain: Student strike gives first mass response on the streets to new PP government". www.socialistworld.net.
  17. Socialist Party (27 October 2017). "What do Socialists say about Catalonia?". Archived from the original on 14 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  18. Administrador. "Sindicato de Estudiantes – Más de mil personas apoyan al Sindicato de Estudiantes y El Militante contra las represalias políticas del Partido Popular en Málaga ¡y esto no ha hecho nada más que empezar!". www.sindicatodeestudiantes.net.
  19. "Socialismo Revolucionario: 9N: MILLONES DE PERSONAS VUELVEN A MOVILIZARSE". Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  20. "Spain/Catalonia: Capitalist crisis, the struggle for self-determination and workers' unity – socialistworld.net". 10 March 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  21. "Catalonia: 9 November "consultation" on independence". socialistworld.net. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
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