Mexican socialists note growing social movements

by Jaime Gonzalez

The Liga de Unidad Socialista (LUS, Socialist Unity League), Socialist Action’s sister organization in Mexico, held its 2004 convention here on Sept. 17 and 18.

To be sincere with our readers, this year’s event was rather small: LUS ranks were represented by 17 delegates and members of the outgoing Coordinating Committee, which were accompanied by 18 LUS members, and sympathizers and guests from other left organizations, all amounting to a total of 35 people. In contrast, previous conventions had achieved an attendance of around 50 people.

Nonetheless, the number of people attending the convention would scarcely give an idea of the advances that the organization had achieved during the previous year. In the month of April, for instance, LUS had the largest following and attendance at the founding meeting of the Alianza Socialista (Socialist Alliance), which represents a still tentative—but increasingly consolidated—grouping of left organizations that are looking forward toward building a political alternative, independent of the political parties dominated by Mexican capitalists.

The April meeting of the Alianza Socialista was a success, with almost 200 people at the event, and its spirit was quite enthusiastic. One of the causes of the shortfall of attendance at the September Convention was probably the economic difficulties faced by LUS members, many of whom have been severely hit by unemployment or underemployment, which is characteristic of the economic stagnation that has been the hallmark of Vicente Fox’s presidency. For instance, LUS members in Ciudad Juarez, on the U.S.-Mexican border, could not meet their goals of traveling to Mexico City because of economic considerations; and the delegate from Chihuahua City was able to just barely gather the necessary resources and was fortunately present at the event.

The most important delegations came from the state of Guanajuato and Mexico City, with the former counting more members than the latter. And delegates or Coordinating Committee members were also present from Guadalajara (Mexico’s second largest city), the state of Veracruz, as well as Chihuahua City.

But probably the most significant aspect of the convention was the representation of the diversity of social and labor movements in which LUS’ members actively participate: the united front to stop the privatization of Mexico’s nationalized electrical and power companies; the wide coalition known as the Promotora Nacional Contra el Neliberalismo (National Coalition Against Neoliberalismo); the fight to defend the Social Security workers’ union (take into account that Social Security in Mexico involves a huge network of hospital and health facilities for affiliated salaried workers); diverse struggles for union independence and democracy; movements for the autonomy and self-determination of indigenous peoples—and, of course, the Alianza Socialista.

The main points in the convention’s agenda were the international situation, the draft political resolution (which had circulated among members for some months before the convention), and a draft organizational resolution.

Ismael Contreras, a recognized militant and opposition leader in the teachers’ union in the state of Mexico, presented the report on the international situation, with emphasis on the lessons to be learned from Lula’s election in Brazil, and the Workers Party’s government trajectory. A lively discussion followed, with time allowed to many of the guests to take the floor and express their opinions.

Guests and sympathizers, many of whom were not familiar with LUS traditions and organization, were impressed by the open, frank, and democratic discussion, and by the variety of ideas expressed by delegates and outgoing Coordinating Committee members.

In his summary, Contreras stressed the importance of the strategy towards an independent worker, peasant, women, youth, and indigenous people’s movement. The forces in this movement should be the transforming power in society and politics, in contrast to the sort of illusions on some form of “change” that is supposedly going to be carried out by a charismatic or prominent political figure—such as Lula in Brazil, or leaders of capitalist parties in Mexico.

The election of such figures is supposed to somehow favor the poor and the oppressed, but it has been all too obvious that Lula is really bound, hands and feet, by the power of U.S. imperialism and the local super-rich.

The other convention highlights were the draft Political Resolution (excerpts appear below), and the draft organizational resolution. The latter mainly defends the principles of a democratic and centralized revolutionary organization, in contrast to the organizational chaos characteristic of capitalist parties in Mexico (at the expense of public finances, which provide by far the main income of these parties) and of other left organizations that claimed to have found “new organizational models”.

While socialists remain largely isolated from the great majority of the population, it has also become increasingly obvious that our participation in the movements of workers, peasants, and indigenous peoples has been welcome. Opportunities are opening up, and the growth of our movement depends on our tenacity and also our abilities to explain our ideas to the audiences that have become increasingly disenchanted from the political parties of the capitalist class.

The article above first appeared in the October 2004 issue of Socialist Action newspaper.