Translation of the "O Militante" article by Angelo Alves, Member of the Political Committee and of the International Department, published on 05.03.2010
For the first time on the Asian continent, the 11th International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties was held in November 2009
In New Delhi, capital of India, 57 communist and workers' parties representing 48 countries on all continents debated for three days about “The international capitalist crisis, the workers’ and peoples’ struggle, the alternatives and the role of the communist and working class movement”.
Hosted and co-organised by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India, the Delhi Meeting confirmed the importance that the International Meetings of Communist and Workers' Parties have been acquiring, as an annual forum of the international communist and revolutionary movement and as a valuable contribution to enhance cooperation and solidarity among communists internationally.
The capitalist crisis at the heart of the debate
The Meeting's topic, the time and place where it was held – one of the world's most populous countries, severely hit by the capitalist system's unsolvable contradictions and their consequences – placed the debate on the crisis at the centre of the debate: the dangers it bears for workers, peoples and the least developed countries; the complex challenges that communist and workers' parties face in the crisis context; the core issue of the alternative, and the way, the pace, the conditions and strategy to implement it.
From the debate there emerged a significant convergence of thinking concerning the dangers posed by the system's «stepping up the offensive» tactic to confront the crisis, but also concerning the potential that the current situation – with its speedy and complex worldwide realignment of forces, and its contradictory dynamics - has opened up in terms of furthering the struggle.
The discussion highlighted how multifaceted, dangerous and speedy the imperialist offensive has been within the crisis context, and how important it is to take into account the fact that capitalism – in spite of the deep crisis that is corroding it – continues to have a great capacity to adapt, confronting its obvious historical limitations by enhancing its own contradictions and its most criminal and obscure facets.
The crisis, challenges for communists and the alternative
The Meeting's final documents – the “Delhi Declaration” and the Meeting's Press Statement, both adopted unanimously – mirror very vividly the communists' thinking about the great challenges that they will have to continue confronting, and about the road to the alternative.
But the “Delhi Declaration” doesn't just identify the alternative, it also shows the road ahead and identifies stages, stating that “This [establishment of the real alternative, socialism] requires the strengthening of anti-imperialist and anti-monopoly struggles” while alerting that “these working class actions need to be further strengthened by mobilising the vast mass of suffering people, not just for immediate alleviation but for a long-term solution to their plight”.
The “Delhi Declaration” reflects the depth of the debate, and highlights the tasks that stand before the international communist and revolutionary movement. As the document says “Though the capitalist system is inherently crisis ridden, it does not collapse automatically. The absence of a communist-led counterattack, engenders the danger of rise of reactionary forces. The ruling classes launch an all out attack to prevent the growth of the communists and the workers' parties (...). Social democracy continues to spread illusions about the real character of capitalism, advancing slogans such as 'humanisation of capitalism', 'regulation', 'global governance' etc. These in fact support the strategy of capital by denying class struggle and buttressing the pursuit of anti-popular policies.”.
It was clearly highlighted in the Delhi Meeting that the international situation is characterised by a fierce and growing ideological clash – an expression of the quick acutization of the class struggle – demands that communists think deeply about their own work, organisation, and ability to mobilise, as well as about core issues such as their policy on social and political alliances – that is, the issue of how to broaden and strengthen the anti-imperialist front – the prevalent conditions – both objective and subjective – to attain higher levels in the struggle for the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism.
Reality, the struggle, and the importance of the subjective factor
As was amply argued, there is a huge and growing percentage of the world population daily suffering the direct effects of capitalism's crisis and of the stepped-up imperialist offensive that comes with it.
But it would be a serious mistake to not recognise that the rapid development of the objective factors for the struggle's development is not yet matched by the necessary development in the subjective factor. The crisis is unfolding within a balance of forces that is still broadly unfavourable to the forces of progress. In this situation, capital and the political powers that serve it continue to have available very many resources and tools to condition the acquisition of political awareness by the masses subjected to capitalist exploitation and oppression.
Together, these tools and factors attempt to instill in people's minds concepts such as individualism, fear, racism and xenophobia, conformism or despair, or attempt to crush resistance, or still promote “escape valves” for latent social revolt, through the institutionalisation of charitable-type assistance, the promotion of forces and “causes” that are presented as being “revolt” or “left-wing” but are devoid of any class meaning, or even by rehabilitating openly reactionary and fascist forces while at the same time fostering a proliferation of anti-communist campaigns. These realities are serious obstacles to the development of the struggle's subjective factor, and they are a consequence of the balance of forces itself.
And herein lies one of the core issues that was present in the New Delhi debate. The requirement and need to enhance the political and ideological struggle, so as to enable – as soon as possible – the transition from a situation of resistance and gathering strength, to one of going on the offensive, advancing and gaining positions. But, as history teaches us, we must not take needs and wishes for actual conditions, just as we must not think that difficult things are impossible.
New factors have arisen that instill confidence into the anti-imperialist struggle, and there are real and very important developments in terms of not just resistance but also advancement. Latin America is the most glaring case, flanked by the development of numerous important struggles in various parts of the world (examples of this are the struggles that have been unfolding in some countries of Europe), by some Communist Parties' recovery, by the integration and cooperation processes between States that are increasingly challenging imperialism's hegemony, and also, on a different level, by the consolidation of the International Meetings of Communist and Workers' Parties process. And these are just a few examples, among others.
However, the demands posed by the situation and the pace at which it is unfolding mean that those positive steps do not yet live up to the requirements. Still weighing on the balance are the international revolutionary and communist movement's weaknesses arising out of socialism's defeats in the 20th century and of the processes whereby several communist parties and revolutionary and progressive forces fell apart, became denatured, surrendered or lost their ability to struggle, their ties to the masses, their links to reality, their ability to mobilize and organize.
Internationalism, solidarity and cooperation
The need – one that was most vividly felt at the Delhi International Meeting – to find political, theoretical, tactical and strategic answers to the problem of overcoming weaknesses and developing the subjective factor for the struggle, is one that is most clearly on the agenda. It is an important debate, one that goes beyond the communist and revolutionary movement's borders. It is a complex “equation” with no easy solution, and much less any fast solution. It is an equation with many “variables” and whose “calculation” implies overcoming tendencies to give up or to adapt through reformism, but also toward voluntarism or “leaps forward” disregarding actual conditions and balance of forces and ignoring the need for patient and persistent revolutionary party-building work.
As in other times, communists will have to find ways of dialectically articulating an offensive in the struggle of ideas, asserting socialism, with the day-to-day struggle to solve the most pressing problems for workers and peoples, to uphold national sovereignty, for peace and for peoples' right to development.
These are huge challenges requiring that communist parties gain strength, organizationally, ideologically and politically; that they gain real roots in the masses, identifying with their interests and aspirations; that they achieve good fighting spirit and assertiveness in the struggle of ideas; that they conduct accurate analyses based on concrete reality; that they respect differences and the conditions under which each one operates, constantly and carefully reassessing goals, stages, levels, pace and forms of struggle – both nationally and internationally.
Events are showing that the PCP was correct when, not so many years ago, at the height of the escapes into the ethereal world of “globalism”, it alerted to the fact that the national arena still was (and is) the unavoidable and decisive arena of class struggle, an essential battlefield for consistent struggle to defend and gain rights and to contribute decisively to change the balance of forces, both nationally and internationally.
Events in Latin America, imperialism's defeats in the Middle East, the current situation in Europe and, for example, the slow agony of the “movement of movements” - an expression so dear to (Portugal's) Left Bloc which went so far as to call itself a “movement party”- eloquently demonstrate the correctness of our position. This position does not imply any isolationist or nationalist view - on the contrary – but it did alert in good time to the dangers arising out of projects to “dilute” communists into predominantly social-democratic-leaning supra-national movements. These projects insisted, and in some cases continue to insist, on confusing internationalism with supra-nationalism, unity in action with ideological and programmatic uniformity, cooperation with centralized structure. Such is the case, in Europe, of the European Left Party that continues to constitute a hindrance to the needed stronger cooperation and solidarity among communists, and between communists and other progressive forces genuinely involved in anti-capitalist struggle - thus leaving the field open to social-democracy.
But the PCP, interpreting the challenges of the current historical time, has not given up trying to make its contribution to strengthen international solidarity and cooperation among communists and between communists and other progressive forces, often having to overcome obstacles, hindrances and prejudices, in particular through its contribution toward the adoption of a Common Appeal of Left Parties for the 2009 European Election, through its work inside the (European Parliament's) GUE/NGL group, and through its strong engagement in the International Meetings process and in strengthening bilateral ties with many Parties.
Portuguese Communists are aware of the important challenges confronting stronger cooperation and internationalist solidarity, both within the Communist and Revolutionary Movement and in the anti-imperialist front – two levels and scopes of work that are different but closely intertwined, and that should mutually reinforce each other.
International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties
A rising process
International Meetings of Communist and Workers' Parties have today, more than a decade since the first event, become an important, regular, broadly representative and encompassing process. Its main foundation and treasure continues to be its collective mode of operation; its democratic decisions taken by consensus; its collective effort to bring to the fore all that unites the many dozens of participating parties; its respect for each party's identity, specificities, history, background and thinking; its will to take steps, sometimes small but firm ones, toward better joint work, action, thinking, and even development of theory; and lastly, its correct and responsible view on the strategic importance of solidarity and cohesion within the communist and workers' movement.
The year 2009 saw yet more important steps toward the consolidation of this process. Firstly because following the great success of the 2008 Meeting in Sao Paulo, the New Delhi Meeting benefitted from truly collective preparation, involving not only the two Indian Communist Parties that hosted it, but also the Working Group1 on International Meetings. Secondly because for the first time, and by decision of the Working Group, in 2009 a topic-based Meeting was held in addition to the Delhi International Meeting. The Extraordinary Meeting in Damascus established an ambitious common program of solidarity work with the peoples of the region, with particular attention to the Palestinian people. Thirdly, because the International Meeting continues to “internationalize” more, with the decision taken in Delhi of holding the next Meeting in South Africa, the first time one is held on the African continent, hosted by the South African Communist Party.
The International Meetings process is contributing toward real advancement in cooperation and solidarity among communists, and toward their ability to jointly think, work and act – thus contributing to strengthen, extend and solidify the anti-imperialist front.
Join forces, step up the struggle
As the Portuguese Communist Party said in its contribution to the New Delhi Meeting, quoting Lenin, that today more than ever we must “muster the forces which create great events”. These forces must be able to truly cause great changes, to assert themselves in both theory and political practice, as truly anti-capitalist organizations that stand for change. It is against this backdrop, and based on these starting points that the PCP reasserts the responsibility of communists and of their cooperative work to build bridges of solidarity and mutual help with other progressive forces and even with other cooperating groups. This is a responsibility and a task of communists. It is in no way incompatible with the assertion of their identity or of the International Meetings' communist identity, in fact it is their natural follow-up.
Varied proposals, thoughts and discussions have come forward in the common will to move forward in terms of cooperation, solidarity and even coordination among anti-imperialist forces. These proposals and thinking reflect above all the current highly demanding situation, and the awareness of the need to unite peoples in the struggle against capitalism, and that is in itself already a positive thing.
We do in fact need to move forward. But we must move forward by adding and not by subtracting. Move forward together with the working masses and the masses of the people, always with the ability to interpret their yearnings, defend their rights, and ensure that the working class, the working people and the peoples stand at the core of the struggle against capitalism's exploitation and oppression and to build socialism in the 21st century.
It is based on these fundamental principles that we say that any intentions, proposals and steps that may be taken to strengthen anti-imperialist unity must respect history and the existing diversity of experiences. They will have to overcome and reject prejudices, and not skip stages or forego principles. As we have been saying, unity is not created by decree, it is built - and tested - in the struggle.
We must take steps, but without “tripping” or falling into the “trap” of simplifications, of dogmatism or of “easy” solutions that adopt “universal” models. Move forward yes, but without falling into the temptation of homogenization for ideological reasons or due to dirigisme. We must take steps, but establish clearly that the central goal is to overcome capitalism, providing space and time for open, direct and democratic discussion, assigning priority to concrete joint action that addresses the most heartfelt yearnings and aspirations of the world's workers and peoples.
In a situation where the ideological clash is intensifying very fast and where there is still significant confusion in many circles, it is essential to not lose sight of the fundamentals of History. And these teach us that that the class struggle is the driving force in the process of social change, that revolutions are made with the people and for the people, and that they are by definition highly complex and creative processes, and that the workers' and peoples' liberation struggle did not begin now, it has a heroic past that must be respected and kept in mind – in both their positive and their negative aspects – from which there is much to learn.
And with our eyes always set on the future.
(1) Whose members are: South African CP; CP of Brazil; CP of Bohemia and Moravia; CP of Cuba; CP of Spain; CP of Greece; CP of India (Marxist); CP of India; Lebanese CP; Portuguese CP; CP of the Russian Federaton.
