Unified Socialist Party of Mexico
Encyclopedia
The Unified Socialist Party of Mexico was a far-left political party
in Mexico
. It later became the Mexican Socialist Party
(Partido Mexicano Socialista) in 1988. The PSUM was founded in November 1981 by the merger of four socialist parties:
Before merging to form the PSUM, these four parties had formed an electoral alliance
called the Coalition of the Left (Coalición de Izquierda) in 1977.
Though the PSUM was a multi-tendency organization, it generally followed the ideology of Eurocommunism
. In 1988, the PSUM changed its name to the Mexican Socialist Party (Partido Mexicano Socialista, PMS) after the merging with Mexican Workers' Party
. In 1989, following the presidential campaign of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
, the PMS joined Cárdenas and other dissidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party
to form the Party of the Democratic Revolution
(PRD).
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 Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It later became the Mexican Socialist Party
Mexican Socialist Party
The Socialist Mexican Party was the former left-wing Mexican political party immediate antecedent of the present Party of the Democratic Revolution, it was the last effort of unification of the different Mexican parties of left and the last political party that the socialist word in its name was...
(Partido Mexicano Socialista) in 1988. The PSUM was founded in November 1981 by the merger of four socialist parties:
- The Mexican Communist PartyMexican Communist PartyThe 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...
(Partido Comunista Mexicano, PCM) - the Mexican affiliate of the Communist International, formed in 1919; - The Movement of Socialist Action and Unity (Movimiento de Acción y Unidad Socialista, MAUS) - a split from the PCM that was active in the Mexican Labour movementLabour movementThe term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
; - The Party of the Mexican People (Partido del Pueblo Mexicano, PPM) - a split from the Popular Socialist PartyPopular Socialist Party (Mexico)The Popular Socialist Party is a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1948 as the Popular Party by Vicente Lombardo Toledano....
(PPS); - The Movement of Popular Action (Movimiento de Acción Popular, MAP) - a party involved in campaigns for trade-union democracy and reform in the 1970s.
Before merging to form the PSUM, these four parties had formed an electoral alliance
Electoral alliance
An electoral alliance may take the form of a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc. It is an association of political parties or individuals which exists solely to stand in elections...
called the Coalition of the Left (Coalición de Izquierda) in 1977.
Though the PSUM was a multi-tendency organization, it generally followed the ideology of Eurocommunism
Eurocommunism
Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy and less aligned to the influence or control of the Communist Party of the Soviet...
. In 1988, the PSUM changed its name to the Mexican Socialist Party (Partido Mexicano Socialista, PMS) after the merging with Mexican Workers' Party
Mexican Workers' Party
The Mexican Workers' Party was an old Mexican political party of left, that had legal registration in the 1980s, its main political figures were Heberto Castillo and Demetrio Vallejo....
. In 1989, following the presidential campaign of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas Solórzano is a prominent Mexican politician. He was a former Head of Government of the Federal District and a founder of the Party of the Democratic Revolution .-Biography:...
, the PMS joined Cárdenas and other dissidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party
Institutional Revolutionary Party
The Institutional Revolutionary Party is a Mexican political party that held power in the country—under a succession of names—for more than 70 years. The PRI is a member of the Socialist International, as is the rival Party of the Democratic Revolution , making Mexico one of the few...
to form 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).
Further reading
- Barry Carr, "Mexican Communism 1968-1981: Eurocommunism in the Americas?" Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1 (May 1985), 201-228.
- Dan La BotzDan La BotzDaniel H. La Botz is a prominent American labor union activist, academic, journalist, and author. He was a co-founder of Teamsters for a Democratic Union and has written extensively on worker rights in the United States and Mexico...
, "Mexico’s Labor Movement in Transition," Monthly Review, Vol. 52, No. 2 (June 2005).