For Revolutionary Unity
* This article translated in Greek is available on issue 225 of Anasintaxi.
We, the Dominican Workers Party, PTD ML, and Communist Party of Labour, PCT, after several discussions and a long period of relationship in the popular and political struggles, have reached a political accord that we hope will contribute to widening the trench for popular and revolutionary struggle in our country. The content of the accord is as follows:
Political Accord
1. We, the Communist Party of Labour (PCT) and the Dominican Workers Party (PTD ML), after several rounds of political exchanges, have reached fundamental agreement on their views of the historic situation of the Dominican revolution and the evaluation of the changes that have occurred in Dominican society and the world in the last 25 years.
2. The social-economic, political and cultural changes that have taken place in the last decades, which have reinforced the capitalist model of exploitation in the Dominican Republic, though they have guaranteed the limited representative democracy seen in the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections every four years, have not prevented more than 80% of the Dominican population from being mired in poverty and nearly two million from suffering from illiteracy due to the exclusionary and exploitative character of the prevailing social and economic regime.
3. Thus the weakness and failure of the political-juridical institutions is clear; a minority of families and their business associates have the green light to do what they want and monopolise the decision-making.
4. National sovereignty has declined with the open intervention of the U.S. embassy and of the international financial agencies and other imperialist agencies in the internal affairs, the increase in the foreign debt, privatisation of the majority of state businesses and imposition of a socio-economic model based on profit and the predominance of the service sectors, financial and speculative activities, the informal economy and imports, to the detriment of the national productive sectors.
5. This reality places us in the field of programmatic struggles and slogans, the winning of participatory democracy, defence of national sovereignty and progress included as priority tasks in the Dominican revolutionary process in the present phase, without our organisations renouncing the strategic objectives of building socialism and communism, under the revolutionary leadership of the working class and its Marxist-Leninist proletarian party.
6. Understanding that the predominant tendency of the national political situation is toward the maintenance of the weak bourgeois institutionality, we take up as necessary the struggle for progressive reforms and changes, basing ourselves in the mobilisation of the masses, the civic resistance and parliamentary struggle, without ruling out any method of struggle that the changing circumstances call for, based on our ethical principles and our Marxist-Leninist conceptions.
7. Restating the revolutionary principle that the popular masses are the leading force of the revolution, the political organisation, education and mobilisation for the demands of the masses is a permanent task and fundamental axis of our strategy for the accumulation of forces, the struggle for power and national liberation.
8. The PTD ML and the PCT share a political unity of criticism and struggle against the top layers of the three traditional parties (PLD, PRD, PRSC [Party of Dominican Liberation, Democratic Revolutionary Party, Social-Christian Reformist Party – translator’s note]), which we consider as the political representatives of the big local and imperialist bourgeoisie, the social classes that monopolise the riches that our people have created, that control the political power; they are the historic allies of the foreign power and main obstacle to economic development, welfare and democracy.
9. Considering that the PCT and PTD ML maintain relations of respect and brotherhood forged in the daily struggle of our members and the class battles; that they are struggling for national liberation and socialism, with a long history of fighting against opportunism, with a common understanding of the political period that the local and international revolutionary process is experiencing and the tasks that we should take up in this phase, we promise to draw from all the positive things that we have accumulated in our relationship, to develop new levels of brotherhood, understanding and strategic commitments to develop greater stages of unity between our two parties and the progressive and revolutionary sectors of the Dominican people, for which we have agreed to the following Political Accord:
9.1. General Aspects:
a) We commit ourselves to guide our political relations based on mutual respect, reciprocal collaboration and revolutionary solidarity.
b) We will promote the fraternal daily struggle and comradely understanding between the membership of the two organisations in the spirit of forging a unitary culture that is directed toward the whole movement, without restricting the right to dissent and to criticism and self-criticism that should govern the relations of principle among revolutionaries.
c) This Political Accord does not limit the bilateral relations, nor the signing of agreements by our two organisations with other organisations, provided that these do not contravene the nature of this agreement.
9.2. Unitary Politics:
b) This unitary effort is inspired in the short and medium term, in the decision to build up a close coordination at all levels between the two organisations and to make significant contributions to building a unitary revolutionary leadership in the Dominican Republic, whose characteristics would be determined in the course of the process.
b) The PCT and the PTD ML commit their limited resources and experiences to strengthening and projecting the Unity of the People as the embryo of a unitary strategy and to lead in developing a broad political and social alternative that brings together the progressive and left-wing reserves of the Dominican people; to take power and build a sovereign and democratic nation.
9.3 Mass Work:
a) We will work together with other revolutionary organisations and progressive sectors for the restructuring and recomposition of the mass organisations; for a popular coordination based on the principle of representation and legitimacy that the groups at the base agree to. For a practice that opposes manipulation and bureaucracy; that practices democracy in making decisions; that diversifies the forms of organization, the methods of struggle and combine the processes of mobilisation with the strengths of organisation and formation of critical and revolutionary social consciousness.
b) To promote a unitary culture in the social movement and towards the other revolutionary organizations, with which we will try to work out common positions by means of bilateral and multilateral discussions.
c) To coordinate with and/or support each other in the main events and activities of the masses (educational days of struggle, cultural events, processes of organising and struggles) that promote both organisations, mainly in the youth-student, neighbourhood, teachers, trade union and peasant movements.
d) We commit ourselves to discuss supporting each other and other progressive sectors (with the participation of the comrades in their respective areas), in the mass movements of the two organisations, always in a spirit of solidarity, brotherhood, respect and openness.
e) To establish a programme of activities that guarantees the drawing together, fraternity and exchange of experience of the comrades of our parties specialised in the mass work and to promote a type of platform that allows our currents to express themselves and to act together in the mass movement, without subordinating ourselves to anybody.
f) In immediate terms we will take the necessary measures to advance toward the coordination and subsequent unification of a part or all the work that we are carrying out in the youth and teachers’ front.
9.4. Tasks of Construction:
a) Understanding the importance of the processes involved in the building of the revolutionary organisation and the revolutionary struggle of the working class and the oppressed peoples, we have decided the following in this area:
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To carry out day-to-day meetings to discuss themes of political interest.
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To organise activities of debate and construction in the mass movement.
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To exchange delegations in the activities of our respective political schools.
b) Taking as the point of departure the activities discussed above we commit ourselves in a reasonable time to begin the first phase of the common political school.
9.5. International Relations and Solidarity:
a) To support each other in the international work by which:
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We will do whatever possible to establish common positions relating to the important events that are taking place and in the events in which we decide to participate.
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To try to send joint delegations to international events.
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To support each other in international forums putting the resources of each organisation at the service of the other whenever necessary.
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To work for the greatest possible solidarity in which the largest possible number of progressive and revolutionary sectors can converge.
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To establish a Joint Commission to discuss international matters and to make proposals that can be carried out together.
In the National District, Capital of the Dominican Republic, on September 27, 2005
Signed:
Central Committee of the PCT,
Manuel Salazar
Secretary General
Central Committee PTD ML
Ivan Rodriguez
Chair
Lucha No. 95, November 2005
Organ of the Communist Party of Labour – PCT.
Translated from the Spanish by George Gruenthal
Opinions on the Political Accord between the PCT and the PTD
* This article translated in Greek is available on issue 234 of Anasintaxi.
By Francisco Caraballo*
The Accord signed recently seems to me to be very positive, because it presents an interesting perspective in the sense of broadening activities in the direction of common objectives. In this respect, the following comments are made:
1. This important political achievement shows the success in the combination of some objective conditions present in the reality of the country, with the determined will of joining forces and efforts toward common purposes.
2. One can see that on the international level unitary actions and plans are being carried out that have to be assessed and closely followed, to sum up experiences that can be useful for the fulfilment of tasks oriented to producing changes in the situation, in favour of the majorities that traditionally have been excluded. There are recent examples in Spain, France, Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia that, although different in their content and projection, show an interesting tendency.
3. It is evident that developments in the reality of these countries show a greater subordination to the designs of the power of the United States, the strengthening of the groups that determine the course of these countries and that benefit from the super-exploitation of broad sectors of the population, while denying solutions to serious social problems. The powerful economic groups linked to the multinationals are satisfied with their positive bottom lines, while those who produce the riches are becoming increasingly impoverished.
4. It is important – as part of the ideological struggle – to subject to severe criticism the falsehood of bourgeois democracy, not only for its own nature, but because those elements that have a positive meaning for the struggle of the peoples have been distorted. The denial or major restriction of freedoms and rights inherent in liberal democracy serve as an example.
5. In the Accord signed one can see the agreement on basic objectives, such as sovereignty, participatory democracy and the solution of the problems of the broad masses of the population. It is clear that these points show clearly the alternatives that stimulate the social struggle to win them; but having achieved a basic accord is very significant because it marks points of departure and roads to follow.
6. In the unitary processes it is clear that different levels exist that should be made specific, in order to avoid confusions that can become negative in the course of carrying out the joint tasks. This is especially important when there is the possibility of reaching out to other forces for unitary tasks.
7. Experience teaches that the strengthening of unity is achieved in the practice of the social and political struggle, that is, in the application of the common program, which becomes the unifying factor. Therefore it is necessary to pay very special attention to fulfilling the commitments and exercising organized control of the plans and tasks.
8. It would be helpful if the unitary agreements and commitments would be as widespread as possible among the different sectors of society. But above all it is necessary that the results of unitary politics should be visible in the social movement, which in many cases requires flexibility in the service of the most important purposes.
* Francisco Caraballo is a well-known Colombian revolutionary and communist leader. He is serving a long prison sentence as a political prisoner; on all continents a permanent campaign for his freedom is developing. Before being arrested, he served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Colombia, Marxist-Leninist and General Commander of the People’s Liberation Army, EPL.
Translated from the Spanish by George Gruenthal
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