Martinican Communist Party
Encyclopedia
The Martinican Communist Party is a political party
in the French
département d'outre-mer
of Martinique
. Georges Erichot is the general secretary of the party.
The party was founded in September 1957 at the first conference of the Martinique federation of the French Communist Party
. Amongst its founders was the communist MP Léopold Bissol
. In the early 1960s PCM became the largest party in Martinique. In 1971 the party governed 4 municipalities. The strength of PCM was based on upon its mass organizations; the General Confederation of Labour of Martinique, the Martinican Communist Youth Union and the Union of Martinican Women. PCM conducted extensive work amongst the peasant population. At the time the policy of PCM stressed the specific conditions of the historical development of Martinique, the immediate need of a broad front to fight for autonomy for establishing 'democratic power, under control the masses, while maintaining economic and cultural ties with France'. In 1971 the general secretary of the party was Armand Nicolas.
PCM participated in the 1960 and 1969 International Meetings of Communist and Workers Parties held in Moscow
. The party was represented by the politburo member Walter Guitteaud in the latter event. The Central Committee
of PCM approved the documents adopted by these meetings.
In 1992 Emile Capgras, a Central Committee member of PCM since 1968, was elected regional president of Martinique.
In the 1994 European Parliament election
, the PCM general secretary Georges Erichot was the nr. 12 candidate on the French Communist Party list.
In the 1998 Martinique regional assembly election PCM got 7.4% of the votes and four assembly seats.
, with the party congress as the highest organ of decision-making. The party congress elects a Central Committee and General Secretary. Plenum of the Central Committee elects a Politburo
and the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PCM, which directs the activities of the party in between party congresses. The party publishes Justice and a theoretical organ, Action.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
département d'outre-mer
Département d'outre-mer
An overseas department is a department of France that is outside metropolitan France. They have the same political status as metropolitan departments. As integral parts of France and the European Union, overseas departments are represented in the National Assembly, Senate, and Economic and Social...
of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
. Georges Erichot is the general secretary of the party.
The party was founded in September 1957 at the first conference of the Martinique federation of the French Communist Party
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
. Amongst its founders was the communist MP Léopold Bissol
Leopold Bissol
Leopold Bissol was a politician from Martinique who served in the French National Assembly from 1945-1958 .- references :*...
. In the early 1960s PCM became the largest party in Martinique. In 1971 the party governed 4 municipalities. The strength of PCM was based on upon its mass organizations; the General Confederation of Labour of Martinique, the Martinican Communist Youth Union and the Union of Martinican Women. PCM conducted extensive work amongst the peasant population. At the time the policy of PCM stressed the specific conditions of the historical development of Martinique, the immediate need of a broad front to fight for autonomy for establishing 'democratic power, under control the masses, while maintaining economic and cultural ties with France'. In 1971 the general secretary of the party was Armand Nicolas.
PCM participated in the 1960 and 1969 International Meetings of Communist and Workers Parties held in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. The party was represented by the politburo member Walter Guitteaud in the latter event. The Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of PCM approved the documents adopted by these meetings.
In 1992 Emile Capgras, a Central Committee member of PCM since 1968, was elected regional president of Martinique.
In the 1994 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 1994
The 1994 European Parliamentary Election was a European election held across the 12 European Union member states in June 1994.This election saw the merge of the European People's Party and European Democrats, an increase in the overall number of seats and a fall in overall turnout to...
, the PCM general secretary Georges Erichot was the nr. 12 candidate on the French Communist Party list.
In the 1998 Martinique regional assembly election PCM got 7.4% of the votes and four assembly seats.
Organization
Organizationally, PCM was built along the principles of democratic centralismDemocratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
, with the party congress as the highest organ of decision-making. The party congress elects a Central Committee and General Secretary. Plenum of the Central Committee elects a Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
and the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PCM, which directs the activities of the party in between party congresses. The party publishes Justice and a theoretical organ, Action.