Revolutionary Workers' Party (Bolivia)
Encyclopedia
The Revolutionary Workers' Party is a Trotskyist
political party
in Bolivia
. At its height in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the POR was one of the few Trotskyist parties in history to gain a mass working-class
following.
, called by Gustavo Navarro and other Bolivian radicals who were in exile because of the Chaco War
. The congress formally merged three Bolivian exile groups based in Argentina, Chile
, and Peru
respectively. Under the advice of José Aguirre Gainsborg, the leaders of the new POR affiliated with Leon Trotsky's
International Left Opposition. When the Chaco War ended in 1935, the POR leaders returned to Bolivia. The leaders disagreed over whether to maintain a strict Trotskyist party or form a broad socialist movement.
As Bolivia passed through a series of short-lived military dictatorship
s, the POR began to enter the emerging labor movement. In 1947 the party's activists formed the Mining Parliamentary Bloc
caucus in the newly formed miners' union (the FSTMB
), which was to become the most active and militant union in Bolivia. Along with the populist Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
(MNR) it became one of the two most influential parties in the mineworkers' movement. FSTMB president Juan Lechín
, an MNR member, maintained good relations with the POR. In November 1946, the FSTMB adopted a program known as the "Pulacayo Thesis" that was heavily influenced by the POR's ideology. The Pulacayo thesis was essentially an application of Trotsky's Transitional Program
to Bolivian conditions.
nullified the results of the 1951 elections (which gave the MNR a plurality), the MNR, POR and FSTMB led workers' militias that stormed army barracks and forced the military junta
to surrender on April 12, 1952. Following the "Bolivian National Revolution," the MNR took over the government, but the populist party failed to enact major social reforms because of pressure from international agencies.
Pablo, the leader of the IS, characterised the MNR as petty-bourgeois. Others have criticised this arguing that the POR was bourgeois.
The POR played a supportive role in the creation of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), a new federation of labor unions, in 1952. However, when members of the POR began to criticize the moderation of the MNR-led government in October 1952, the MNR removed key POR leaders from the COB and FSTMB. As the MNR's power grew at the cost of the POR, in-fighting increased among the Trotskyists.
In 1954, the POR split into two factions. One of these factions (led by Guillermo Lora
) was opposed to continued work with the MNR. The other faction (led by Hugo González Moscoso) was less critical of the MNR and sought to work with the left wing of the MNR.
In 1956, Lora founded a separate party (also named POR) that drew supporters of his newspaper, Masas.
(PRIN).
The faction of the POR led by Guillermo Lora continued its activity in the COB and FSTMB during the 1960s and 1970s, when the country was ruled by a series of short-lived military juntas. Lora's POR worked closely with FSTMB president Juan Lechín during these years, when the labor movement largely operated clandestinely. Between 1970 and 1971, when General Juan José Torres
allowed a Popular Assembly (Asamblea Popular) to operate, which included unions and was led by Lechín. The POR led forces that sought to keep the assembly independent of Torres. After Torres' overthrow, Lora and other POR leaders went into exile.
In 1988 Lora's POR founded the Liaison Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International
together with other Latin American trotskyists.
The wing of the POR led by González Moscoso, which remained the official affiliate of the Trotskyist Fourth International
, turned to the idea of armed insurrection against the government. Inspired by Che Guevara
's guerrilla
tactics, they sought to engage in rural combat against the government. The González wing of the POR faced harsh government repression and eventually disappeared.
Lora's POR continues to exist to the present day, though it has been eclipsed by other radical parties such as Evo Morales
' Movement toward Socialism
(MAS). It continues to publish Masas.
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
political party
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 Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. At its height in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the POR was one of the few Trotskyist parties in history to gain a mass working-class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
following.
Beginnings
The POR was founded in December 1935 at a congress in Córdoba, ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, called by Gustavo Navarro and other Bolivian radicals who were in exile because of the Chaco War
Chaco War
The Chaco War was fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of the northern part of the Gran Chaco region of South America, which was incorrectly thought to be rich in oil. It is also referred to as La Guerra de la Sed in literary circles for being fought in the semi-arid Chaco...
. The congress formally merged three Bolivian exile groups based in Argentina, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
respectively. Under the advice of José Aguirre Gainsborg, the leaders of the new POR affiliated with Leon Trotsky's
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
International Left Opposition. When the Chaco War ended in 1935, the POR leaders returned to Bolivia. The leaders disagreed over whether to maintain a strict Trotskyist party or form a broad socialist movement.
As Bolivia passed through a series of short-lived military dictatorship
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
s, the POR began to enter the emerging labor movement. In 1947 the party's activists formed the Mining Parliamentary Bloc
Mining Parliamentary Bloc
The Mining Parliamentary Bloc was an electoral political alliance of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement and Revolutionary Workers' Party in Bolivia....
caucus in the newly formed miners' union (the FSTMB
Federación Sindical de Trabajadores Mineros de Bolivia
The Union Federation of Bolivian Mine Workers is a labor union in Bolivia that represents miners. Bolivia's miners are commonly regarded as the country's most class-conscious workers. The FSTMB has played an important role in Bolivia's recent history....
), which was to become the most active and militant union in Bolivia. Along with the populist Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
Revolutionary Nationalist Movement
The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement is a Bolivian political party, perhaps the most important in the country during the 20th century. At the legislative elections in 2002, the party won, in an alliance with the Free Bolivia Movement, 26.9% of the popular vote and 36 out of 130 seats in the...
(MNR) it became one of the two most influential parties in the mineworkers' movement. FSTMB president Juan Lechín
Juan Lechín Oquendo
Juan Lechín Oquendo was a labor-union leader and head of the Federation of Bolivian Mine Workers from 1944 to 1987 and the Bolivian Workers' Union from 1952 to 1987...
, an MNR member, maintained good relations with the POR. In November 1946, the FSTMB adopted a program known as the "Pulacayo Thesis" that was heavily influenced by the POR's ideology. The Pulacayo thesis was essentially an application of Trotsky's Transitional Program
Transitional demand
In Marxist theory, a transitional demand either is a partial realisation of a maximum demand after revolution or an agitational demand made by a socialist organisation with the aim of linking the current situation to progress towards their goal of a socialist society.-Development of transitional...
to Bolivian conditions.
Bolivian National Revolution
After a military coupCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
nullified the results of the 1951 elections (which gave the MNR a plurality), the MNR, POR and FSTMB led workers' militias that stormed army barracks and forced the military junta
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
to surrender on April 12, 1952. Following the "Bolivian National Revolution," the MNR took over the government, but the populist party failed to enact major social reforms because of pressure from international agencies.
Pablo, the leader of the IS, characterised the MNR as petty-bourgeois. Others have criticised this arguing that the POR was bourgeois.
The POR played a supportive role in the creation of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB), a new federation of labor unions, in 1952. However, when members of the POR began to criticize the moderation of the MNR-led government in October 1952, the MNR removed key POR leaders from the COB and FSTMB. As the MNR's power grew at the cost of the POR, in-fighting increased among the Trotskyists.
In 1954, the POR split into two factions. One of these factions (led by Guillermo Lora
Guillermo Lora
Guillermo Lora was a Trotskyist leader in Bolivia. Lora was active in the Revolutionary Workers' Party from the early 1940s and was its best known leader....
) was opposed to continued work with the MNR. The other faction (led by Hugo González Moscoso) was less critical of the MNR and sought to work with the left wing of the MNR.
In 1956, Lora founded a separate party (also named POR) that drew supporters of his newspaper, Masas.
1960s to the present
In 1963, a large number of POR members left the party to join Juan Lechín's new Revolutionary Party of the Nationalist LeftRevolutionary Party of the Nationalist Left
The Revolutionary Party of the Nationalist Left was a left-wing political party in Bolivia. It was founded in 1963 by the labor leader Juan Lechín Oquendo and by Mario Torres Calleja and Edwin Moller in lesser roles...
(PRIN).
The faction of the POR led by Guillermo Lora continued its activity in the COB and FSTMB during the 1960s and 1970s, when the country was ruled by a series of short-lived military juntas. Lora's POR worked closely with FSTMB president Juan Lechín during these years, when the labor movement largely operated clandestinely. Between 1970 and 1971, when General Juan José Torres
Juan José Torres
Juan José Torres González was a Bolivian socialist politician and military leader. He served as President of Bolivia from October 7, 1970 to August 21, 1971. He was popularly known as "J.J."...
allowed a Popular Assembly (Asamblea Popular) to operate, which included unions and was led by Lechín. The POR led forces that sought to keep the assembly independent of Torres. After Torres' overthrow, Lora and other POR leaders went into exile.
In 1988 Lora's POR founded the Liaison Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International
Liaison Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International
The Liaison Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International is a Trotskyist international organization, based in Latin America. It was generally known by its Spanish acronym CERCI. CERCI was founded in 1988...
together with other Latin American trotskyists.
The wing of the POR led by González Moscoso, which remained the official affiliate of the Trotskyist Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
, turned to the idea of armed insurrection against the government. Inspired by Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
's guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
tactics, they sought to engage in rural combat against the government. The González wing of the POR faced harsh government repression and eventually disappeared.
Lora's POR continues to exist to the present day, though it has been eclipsed by other radical parties such as Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
' Movement toward Socialism
Movement for Socialism (Bolivia)
The Movement for Socialism-Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples , alternately referred to as "Movement Toward Socialism" or "Movement to Socialism", is a left-wing, socialist, Bolivian political organization led by Evo Morales, founded in 1995...
(MAS). It continues to publish Masas.
Further reading
- Robert J. Alexander, International Trotskyism, 1929-1985: A Documented Analysis of the Movement (Durham: Duke University Press, 1991). ISBN 0-8223-0975-0