First Published: Obreros En Marcha, Vol. 2, No. 4, April 1977.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
Copyright: This work is in the Public Domain under the Creative Commons Common Deed. You can freely copy, distribute and display this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit the Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line as your source, include the url to this work, and note any of the transcribers, editors & proofreaders above.
As reflected in the following article, the column Puerto Rico Informa, by comrade JSM, originates on this occasion in New York.
* * *
Recently, during a ten day period (March 24th-April 3rd) leading members of our fraternal organization in Puerto Rico, The Popular Socialist Movement (M.S.P.) and the Union of Socialist Youth (U.J.S.), visited the United States. The purpose of their visit was to discuss with our leadership questions of importance for the liberation movement and to interchange perspectives on present political situation in Puerto Rico and the United States. In addition, the Comrades also participated in a series of meetings and activities in the Northeastern part of the country in conjunction with El Comite-M.I.N.P. and other progressive sectors in this country. O.E.M., in view of the opportunity afforded us by the visit of the Comrades from M.S.P. and the U.J.S., made the following interview. In this interview the Comrades expound upon aspects of their political conception in relation to Latin America, the question of unity in Puerto Rico, the Cuban Revolution, the recent events at the U.P.R., the left in the U.S., and in particular regarding the Puerto Rican Solidarity Committee (P.R.S.C.). These discussions will be published in two parts, in this and the following issue of O.E.M.–Ed.
* * *
O.E.M.– Companeros, why does the MSP pose that the struggle of Puerto Rico must be placed within the context of the continental struggle in Latin America?
MSP-UJS – As it is clearly expressed in our General Declaration, the strategic conception of the MSP is placed within the context of the international revolutionary struggle. This is so because of the very character of our struggle. That is to say, that our objective is to guide the working class toward the seizure of political power in order to bring about socialism in Puerto Rico, in this respect we are guided by the Principles of Proletarian Internationalism which are fundamental pillars of socialist ideology. The principles of Proletarian Internationalism at present find their expressions in the support of the socialist countries, on the one hand, and on the other, stemming from the perspective of the revolutionary war being waged by the oppressed peoples of Asia, Africa, and Latin America against imperialism. However to leave the question here is to fall prey to the same error we have criticized on other occasions: not to transcend the theoretical plane of principle and to remain at the level of merely expressing solidarity. In this context then, we will elaborate on the response to your question more concretely as regards what is, in essence, our conception of continental strategy.
When we say that our struggle forms an integral part of the continental strategy we do so taking into consideration the following aspects. First, the phenomenon of imperialism, second, the revolutionary experiences at the international level and third, the characteristics of the revolutionary process in the countries which form part of Latin America.
As you well know, present day imperialism has become a system of economic exploitation, political oppression and military aggression that by its very nature does not recognize any boundaries and affects hundreds of millions of workers and peasants the world over. From India to the most southern part of Chile and obviously including Puerto Rico, imperialism has a thousand and one ways for making its presence felt. Where there is cheap labor, raw materials, markets for the sale of its products, favorable conditions for the establishment of military bases and the investment of capital, there is where you will find present the interests of imperialism. From this it follows that the peoples who struggle for their national independence and/or socialism must necessarily confront the interests of imperialism. Cuba, Vietnam, Angola, Mozambique, etc. are living examples of what we are posing here. In the particular case of Latin America the presence of imperialism is clearer still.
Following the famous thesis of “Europe for the Europeans and America for the Americans” (North Americans, of course) to date, the imperialist bourgeoisie of the United States has been able to maintain our respective countries as isolated provinces in order to be able to pillage and exploit them, thus bringing to light who essentially is our principal common enemy. In our case the blockade which exists between Puerto Rico and Latin America is enormous, but at the same time, we are conscious of the fact that imperialist policies toward Latin America will fail, faced with the revolutionary struggle that is being waged in our countries.
Now then, taking as a point of departure what has been expressed thus far about the phenomenon of imperialism, we could conclude that the countries in Latin America have before them the same common enemy: Yanqui imperialism and that against it we must direct our strength of arms because, on the other hand, the so-called national bourgeoisies in Latin America have lost, or to put it more clearly, they no longer have any revolutionary potential. As I mentioned earlier, the second aspect that contributes toward the definition of our conception of strategy on a continental scale is the revolutionary experiences internationally. These have demonstrated to us that the peoples who struggle for independence and [error in original – EROL] and aid. The history of the Cuban Revolution might well have been something else, if at the most crucial moment, have been something else, if at the most crucial moment, following the victory of the July 26th Movement, they could not have counted with the support of the socialist countries. The enormous bombardments of Hanoi in 1972 by the Yanqui armed forces would not have been as intense if, paraphrasing Che, the United States would have had to face “two, three, many Vietnams.” We need not even look too far. The revolutionary experiences and guerrilla actions in Latin America have shown us that each country cannot struggle alone against imperialism. That against imperialist strategy, we the peoples of Latin America must confront it with the most resolute unity through the waging of revolutionary war. From this perspective, is that we view the revolutionary struggle in Puerto Rico as an integral part of the struggle being waged by the peoples of Latin America. In this way and to the extent that it is posed in the program of the Revolutionary Coordinating Council a synthesis we are making “we are united by the understanding that there is no other viable strategy in Latin America than that of the strategy of the revolutionary war.” Revolutionary war that in its content and form will acquire continental dimensions. Being that for many years, as we have seen and the events in Latin America prove, imperialism has internationalized its war against struggling peoples then and it is only through war, as is pointed out in our declaration, that we will be able to bring an end to its dominance and that we will be able to obtain national liberation and socialism. Finally, it is important to point out that in conjunction with the support and solidarity that we express towards the comrades of El Comite-M.I.N.P., as well as, towards the Revolutionary Coordinating Council of the Southern Cone (Composed of the MIR of Chile, the PRT-ERP of Argentina, the MLN Tupamaros and the ELN of Bolivia), we understand, that the best expression of solidarity which we could render to peoples in struggle is. to intensity the development among our people of the revolutionary war against imperialism.
OEM – Along similar lines, what steps has the MSP taken to bring consciousness about the development of the struggle in Latin America and how do you visualize the link between the various organizations that agree on this conception?
MSP-UJS – To be brief, in the first place, our organization has stressed the importance that our members study and analyze the complex and changing reality in Latin America. This, in addition to emphasizing their political grasp of the science of marxism and in the context of the dialectical method of analyzing the economic, political and social reality in Puerto Rico. In this regard, and in spite of our existent limitations, we have progressed much in terms of the knowledge which must be acquired regarding Latin America. We have been able to do this through discussions, forums, lectures, etc. Recently, for example, in depth discussions were held in some of our study groups around the origins and development of the Cuban Revolution. This is the case in terms of what we could call the study of the revolutionary experiences of Latin America. Themes such as, the study of the works of Che Guevara, the Chilean experience, Argentina: its present situation, the guerrilla experience of the Tupamaros of Uruguay among others, etc. These have been studied and’ discussed within and outside of our organization. The above mentioned, is what we regard as the first part of the study of the Latin American reality through the development of discussions at forums, conferences, solidarity activities, etc. In addition, we have, from the beginning, published articles in Bandera Roja, El Militante, or Lecturas Proletarias. These have been articles which have appeared in the Chile Resistance Courier in the exterior, from the Combatiente or Estrella Roja of the ERP, or the magazine Che Guevara of the Revolutionary Coordinating Council. The dissemination of such literature has been limited in comparison to the amount of existing materials around Latin America, and which we have little access to. This being the case, we have begun slowly to establish contacts with other organizations that have opened their doors in order to follow more closely the events occurring throughout Latin America and other parts of the world.
In terms of the second part of the question we could say, that for our organization it is a matter of principle that we express our solidarity with the peoples and organizations that struggle against the presence of imperialism in their respective countries and for their national independence and or socialism. In this sense, and in the particular case of Latin America we recognize the necessity of coordinating the struggle against imperialism with other organizations. This is not to say, however, that we would support any and all organizations that exist. On the contrary, for us the relations on an international level and the coordination we speak of is given based on recognition and development and we place the emphasis on development, of the armed struggle on a continental level. This is why, as I referred to previously, we support without any reservations the Revolutionary Coordinating Council of the southern cone. Clearly, the other pillars which guide our international politics are the principle of critical unity and by this we mean that we reserve the right to support or criticize those actions and ideological positions that at the national or international level move forward or impedes the development of the revolutionary struggle. As regards the other, although we are disposed to receiving and would be grateful for all aid that is given toward the better development of our struggle at the same time, we would move to guarantee our independence to determine the correct course and direction of our struggle as dictated by the reality we confront. From this it follows that we are not willing to negotiate or enter into agreements that come into contradiction with our political and organizational integrity or with the development of the struggle in our homeland.
OEM – As regards the question of revolutionary unity, how do you view the question of unity within the Puerto Rican left and in particular with the PSP?
MSP-UJS – At this time, there exist good possibilities to take concrete steps toward the development of unity. Specifically, there are two points that reflect the consensus of the majority of the Puerto Rican Left. These are, first the defense of the natural resources and secondly, the development of a campaign of socialist education that would combat the annexationist propaganda that the government will be putting forth during the next four years.
In terms of the natural resources, the existence of copper, nickel and other minerals in our soil together with 85% possibility of the existence of oil in the northern coast are sufficient reason for the big multi-national corporations to pose for themselves the exploitation of this wealth. For revolutionaries, it is unacceptable that such resources would be exploited under capitalism and colonialism. The copper, nickel and petroleum are a national reserve of wealth that should contribute to the economic development of socialist society and should only be exploited when the working class has political power and can guarantee their class interests. This being the case, it is necessary that the most resolute level unity be achieved by the left as a whole in order to, respecting the integrity of each organization, be able to confront adequately any plans to pillage these. The second aspect increasingly gains more importance. The annexationists are developing an intense campaign that presents statehood as the alternative to the economic, social and political problems that affect us. Revolutionaries must take that propaganda into account and we must not limit our arguments to the cultural aspect. We must emphasize that the problems of Puerto Rico are rooted in its dependent capitalist structures and that only socialism can be the true alternative for the working class.
These two fundamental points form part of the work plan of the FRAI–Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Front– which is composed of MSP, The Puerto Rican Socialist League and Independentistas who are not affiliated. The FRAI must move to broaden itself in order to be able to be more effective and it is necessary that other left organizations, such as the PSP, contribute adequately to the work of an Anti-Imperialist Front.
With the PIP, the situation is different. This party has developed as one of its basic pillars anti-communism and its political conception repudiates any type of unity with the revolutionary organizations.
To the contrary, to the PSP we will pose the need for an Anti-Imperialist Front. Although we believe there are possibilities that the companeros will participate in the same, we also understand that it is practice that will determine the character of that participation and its disposition to build a solid unitary block that will combat the plans for exploitation and annexationist propaganda.
To Be Continued