Arnoldo Martínez Verdugo
Encyclopedia
Arnoldo Martínez Verdugo (born 12 January 1925) is a Mexican
socialist
politician and democracy activist. A long-standing leader of the Mexican Communist Party
and the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico
(PSUM), Martínez promoted political self-criticism, refused to support regional guerrilla movements, condemned the Soviet
invasion to Czechoslovakia
and promoted the unification of the political left.
to take up a job at the San Rafael Paper Co. and undertake some studies in painting at National School of Painting and Sculpture (1944–46).
In 1946 he joined Mexican Communist Party
and soon started directing its Communist Youth's organizing committee (1948–50). After some years rising through its hierarchy, spending some time in the Soviet Union
studying Communism, and joining a faction that succeeded in overthrowing the long-lasting leadership of Stalinist Dionisio Encina (1940–60), he was chosen as Secretary-General of its Central Committee (1963) and was ratified successively in the post until 1981.
He was one of the protagonists of the political negotiations that in 1978 they flowed into in the first electoral reform of the state that permitted that the PCM obtained registration conditioned, could participate in the 1979 election, where obtained 18 deputies of which was performed as Parliamentary Coordinator.
In 1981, he directed the dissolution of the Mexican Communist Party and its fusion with other leftist forces that constituted the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico
, which advanced it to the presidency in the 1982 elections; before this, he was abducted and freed after the payment of a rescue.
He served twice in the Chamber of Deputies as a plurinominal
legislator; first representing the Communist Party of Mexico (1979–82) and later representing the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico (1985–88). Subsequently, he joined with the forces of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano to the Presidency in the 1988 elections
.
Martínez is presently a member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution
(PRD); a political institution he helped to found and finance in its early years. He was elected its emeritus advisor but his distinction was recalled on 29 November 2009 on strategic grounds, as political forces inside the party were struggling for control. The maneuver was called "an act of moral amnesia, of disloyalty to its origins, of shabbiness" by Mexico's National Journalism Prize laureate Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa
.cfr. Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa
in , Reforma
, p. 19 (1 December 2008). Quoted in Unzueta, 2008.
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
politician and democracy activist. A long-standing leader of the Mexican Communist Party
Mexican Communist Party
The Mexican Communist Party was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1911 as the Socialist Workers' Party by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian intellectual. The PSO changed its name to the Mexican Communist Party in November 1919 following the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia...
and the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico
Unified Socialist Party of Mexico
The Unified Socialist Party of Mexico was a far-left political party in Mexico. It later became the Mexican Socialist Party in 1988...
(PSUM), Martínez promoted political self-criticism, refused to support regional guerrilla movements, condemned the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
invasion to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
and promoted the unification of the political left.
Biography
Martínez was born in Pericos, a small town in Mocorito, Sinaloa, into a family of farmers composed by Yssac Martínez Ortega and Silvina Verdugo Verdugo. He started working in his teens and in 1943 he decided to move to Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
to take up a job at the San Rafael Paper Co. and undertake some studies in painting at National School of Painting and Sculpture (1944–46).
In 1946 he joined Mexican Communist Party
Mexican Communist Party
The Mexican Communist Party was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1911 as the Socialist Workers' Party by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian intellectual. The PSO changed its name to the Mexican Communist Party in November 1919 following the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia...
and soon started directing its Communist Youth's organizing committee (1948–50). After some years rising through its hierarchy, spending some time in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
studying Communism, and joining a faction that succeeded in overthrowing the long-lasting leadership of Stalinist Dionisio Encina (1940–60), he was chosen as Secretary-General of its Central Committee (1963) and was ratified successively in the post until 1981.
He was one of the protagonists of the political negotiations that in 1978 they flowed into in the first electoral reform of the state that permitted that the PCM obtained registration conditioned, could participate in the 1979 election, where obtained 18 deputies of which was performed as Parliamentary Coordinator.
In 1981, he directed the dissolution of the Mexican Communist Party and its fusion with other leftist forces that constituted the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico
Unified Socialist Party of Mexico
The Unified Socialist Party of Mexico was a far-left political party in Mexico. It later became the Mexican Socialist Party in 1988...
, which advanced it to the presidency in the 1982 elections; before this, he was abducted and freed after the payment of a rescue.
He served twice in the Chamber of Deputies as a plurinominal
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
legislator; first representing the Communist Party of Mexico (1979–82) and later representing the Unified Socialist Party of Mexico (1985–88). Subsequently, he joined with the forces of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano to the Presidency in the 1988 elections
Mexican general election, 1988
General elections were held in Mexico on July 6, 1988. The presidential elections were won by Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who received 50.7% of the vote, the lowest for a winning candidate since direct elections were introduced for the presidency in 1917...
.
Martínez is presently a member of the Party of the Democratic Revolution
Party of the Democratic Revolution
The Party of the Democratic Revolution is a democratic socialist party in Mexico and one of 2 Mexican affiliates of the Socialist International...
(PRD); a political institution he helped to found and finance in its early years. He was elected its emeritus advisor but his distinction was recalled on 29 November 2009 on strategic grounds, as political forces inside the party were struggling for control. The maneuver was called "an act of moral amnesia, of disloyalty to its origins, of shabbiness" by Mexico's National Journalism Prize laureate Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa
Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa
Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa , was a Mexican journalist writing for the Reforma newspaper. He was the recipient of the Premio Nacional de Periodismo in 2004 for his career, and again in 2006 for his column...
.cfr. Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa
Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa
Miguel Ángel Granados Chapa , was a Mexican journalist writing for the Reforma newspaper. He was the recipient of the Premio Nacional de Periodismo in 2004 for his career, and again in 2006 for his column...
in , Reforma
Reforma
Reforma is a Mexican newspaper based in Mexico City. It has 276,700 readers in Mexico City. The paper shares content with other papers in parent newsgroup Grupo Reforma. The cumulative readership of the newsgroup is above 400,000...
, p. 19 (1 December 2008). Quoted in Unzueta, 2008.