[OPEN LETTER FROM THE TPR TO PARTIDO OBRERO’S XXII CONGRESS] ALTAMIRA PROPOSES PO’S DISSOLUTION IN MORENOISM USING FIT AS AN EXCUSE

OPEN LETTER FROM THE TPR TO PARTIDO OBRERO’S XXII CONGRESS

We reject the opening rally of the XXII Congress

ALTAMIRA PROPOSES PO’S DISSOLUTION IN MORENOISM USING FIT AS AN EXCUSE

FIT closed Congress to dissolve PO and adapt to the union bureaucracy? Or FIT open Congress to fight against Cristina and Kicillof’s Rodrigazo?

Two days before the beginning of discussions in Partido Obrero’s XXII Congress, Altamira [PO’s main leader, TN] proposed that the Congress should resolve the call from the FIT [Left Front, TN] to a “political, socialist congress, of the working class and the left (...) with the slogan of uniting the left and the working movement” (Prensa Obrera, “A policy for the working class”, April 17th).

Announced that way, the task seems to be a progressive and consistent step forward: as Left Front gathered 1.5 million votes, becoming a reference for the working class, it makes sense to organize a congress to homogenize itself and give an orientation to workers. This task is urgent facing Rodrigazo [right-wing turn from the government facing the collapse of it’s emergency regime with mega-devaluation, inflation, repression and salaries’ increases below inflation, TN] catastrophe and the need of setting an organized expression of the trend towards the general strike within the working class. The left has been talking, in many ways, about “a bases congress to vote a struggle plan” since months ago. Who could be better to develop this task than Left Front? Actually, it’s exactly what we have been striving for as Coordinating Committee in Defense of Left Front, and one of the 10 motions we pose as Tendencia Piquetera Revolucionaria to Partido Obrero’s XXII Congress.

However, the proposal of a “Socialist Congress” stated by Altamira, has nothing to do with this. It is not about an open congress of Left Front to organize all the fighters in a struggle plan against Rodrigazo, but a closed FIT congress to dissolve PO in Morenoism, let Rodrigazo pass and drag behind Moyanist trade union bureaucracy [Moyano is the leader of one of the main unions from Argentina, TN]. To say it short, as the current and concrete discussion that divides Left Front today is between Combative Sindical Summit (ESC) and SUTNA Summit, finally it’s a congress to dissolve SUTNA Summit in ESC and allow Pollo Sobrero [main IS/Socialist Left tradeunionist, TN] impose to Partido Obrero his political adaptation to trade union bureaucracy. This is the price that Altamira assumes to achieve “the union of the left and the working class”.

From the TPR, we call Partido Obrero’s XXII Congress to reject the dissolution in Morenoism and call for a FIT congress open to all the fighters in order to vote a struggle plan against Cristina and Kicillof’s Rodrigazo.

WHERE DOES THE “SOCIALIST CONGRESS” THAT ALTAMIRA IS PROPOSING COME FROM AND HOW SHOULD IT BE?

It is important to point out that Altamira is posing this when it was not discussed neither by UJS [PO’s Youth, TN] camp nor the public reports spread by PO during the pre-congress period. In two months, this was not proposed or explained by any Central Committee member. This is even more serious when, as the CC itself posed, this PO’s Congress would be an “open congress” because “we want everyone know what we discuss”. Thus, it is consciously concealment or a strong improvisation.

So PO’s XXII Congress has already had five main slogans: “from the electoral triumph to the organization of thousands of workers and young people” (Altamira, Picnic 2013), “down with the adjustment of Capitanich and Kicillof. General Strike” (Solano, 1st pre-congress plenary), “for a bases congress [of the working class]” (Pitrola, 3rd pre-congress plenary), “the working class facing Rodrigazo K” (Altamira, meeting in Tigre), and now “the union of the left and the working class” (PO’s XXII Congress’ poster). Nevertheless, now Altamira is surprising the comrades with the new way to face the Rodrigazo… dissolving PO in Morenoism in order to adapt FIT to Moyano, Barrionuevo and Micheli trade union bureaucracy. It’s obvious that for Altamira it was not important that PO comrades could discuss his proposal and thus he was not interested in a “closed coterie to self-called political cadres” (Altamira words in the meeting in Tigre). This way, he was rude against PO militancy and didn’t assume his own responsibility in its formation. 

In order to understand such a turn it should be placed in the political struggle between classes and parties. We, the TPR, understand that it is an improvisation facing the crisis of the Left Front about the national strike of April 10th, the perspective of strategic confrontation towards 1st May and facing the paralysis that trade union bureaucracy is willing to impose. The degree of such a turn is related with the depth of FIT’s crisis.

Which are the concrete proposals of Altamira? In his speech he issues 2 proposals:

1. “In the sindical commission resolutions for the Congress, I modified important aspects of the work among trade unions, in order to be aligned, strongly aligned with the path we opened as Partido Obrero and Left Front”.

2. “Thus one of the proposal we are going to discuss is the call from the Left Front to a socialist, political congress of the working class and the left, on the basis of a programme and an organizational method, with the slogan of uniting the left and the workers’ movement. Is through the political development of this social basis, that we will deepen the challenge towards traditional parties” (the two are quoted from Altamira’s speech).

In few words, sindical and political unification of the Left Front. That’s why in the explanation he says: “we shouldn’t weaken this trend but develop it as far as we can. The other issues don’t exist politically. Or the trade union bureaucracy and boss peronism or Left Front and classism; there is nothing in the middle”.

The argument would be like this: IS (Socialist Left, UIT-CI) and PTS (FT-CI) break the FIT when they develop the ESC. It’s based on the adaptations to trade union bureaucracy. So, we (PO) answer: break the ESC and “return” to develop FIT. Thus, “unification” would be the way in order to make Morenoism “break” with trade union bureaucracy and, therefore, avoid FIT’s rupture under the pressure of this bureaucracy.

But the question is: is it really possible to “reform” Morenoism through a congress? Is it possible to make PTS and IS abandon their adapted policy due to a formal majority [that PO would have in that congress, TN]? This is a key discussion because the main argument FIT’s militant told us was that “to call a congress is either to break or to allow an apparatus impose the others its orientation”. So they assumed that antagonism was irreconcilable. Thus, the solution was to leave Left Front die… and make everybody become member of Partido Obrero. That was the meaning of the speech of Lipcovich [PO’s Youth leader, TN] in the UJS camp. The same was stated several times by Altamira when he said: “enlarging the political action area is the way to finish with sectarianism”.

What he is saying now is different: Altamira poses the call to a closed congress, i.e., it wouldn’t be a popular deliberation of everyone who voted the FIT but a competition, apparatus against apparatus, about who brings more delegates. Overall, he is not stating it as a congress where majorities and minorities could be established but an agreed congress as he doesn’t call the congress to solve a debate (the intervention facing the Rodrigazo and towards the trade union bureaucracy) on the basis of concrete agreements (FIT development and 2015 elections) but in his speech he hides this issues under the carpet.

His real claim is: it doesn’t matter what Left Front makes or does, while it is within the framework of itself. Conclusion: we do prefer a Left Front adapted to Moyano rather than one broken under Moyano’s pressure.

ON APRIL 10TH PO’S MAKE SUTNA SUMMIT AND CSC [PO’s trade unions tendency, TN] GO BEHIND THOSE WHO ARE ADAPTED TO MOYANO 

Is this a TPR’s idea based on something Altamira said or a real political trend? It’s enough to see FIT’s crisis about April 10th [the day of the last general strike, TN] to understand it.

Has Altamira’s proposal of the “socialist and workers congress” the aim of setting a overcoming unity than Combative Sindical Summit? This could be, if Altamira issued the proposal orientated on how to overcome the limits of the Summit: include all the fighters and the left against trade union bureaucracy (both the one that stands with and the one that is against), support Left Front draft laws and to vote a struggle plan against Cristina and Kicillof’s Rodrigazo. This is the main axis of the political document of SUTNA Summit.

This is not what Altamira is stating. Altamira poses the call for a FIT Congress without critics to the Sobrero’s policy of adaptation to Moyano. He is doing this after rivers of ink flowed in Prensa Obrera against Combative Sindical Summit. This is a shameful capitulation. It’s the following step in the dissolution of the political gathering that SUTNA San Fernando started to build towards April 10th: after the SUTNA Summit, PO manipulated the resolutions erasing TPR sign of the statement and dissolving the political rally strategically differentiated of trade union bureaucracy, in order to join the activities called by the Sindical Combative Summit. SUTNA San Fernando Summit should be defended against this dissolving orientation.

Where does this policy lead PO’s militants? Altamira’s orientation is a dissolving attempt, we predict, is going to fail. The other parties of FIT quite probably will reject PO’s proposal, as they are committed to Combative Sindical Summit development and adaptation to Moyano. In Pollo Sobrero’s interview published in La Nación [main bourgeois newspaper, TN] on April 16th, the final part are attacks against PO and he says “in Sarmiento [the railway trade union he leads, TN] we are a democratic leadership, not a classist one” and that “currently Moyano has a policy that concur with ours, thus the need of reinforcing the Combative Sindical Summit” (quoted). This cannot be ignored, because this is the real political struggle about uniting the left and workers movement. When Sobrero vindicates Moyano and attacks PO and classism, he is against this unity. It doesn’t make sense to think that someone that denounce PO in La Nación saying “they think we are in the 70’s” is willing to unite with PO. Not to point this makes PO’s militancy blind and lowers its guard. Mainly, it doesn’t point out that the struggle to unite the left and workers movement requires overcoming Morenoism’s policy instead of hiding or vindicating it.

What is even more serious is that, while Altamira is trying to dissolve PO, Rodrigazo is developing: government arranges main wage agreements in parts and lower than inflation (steel, construction, trade, banks, teachers); government is raising the fares, in some parts of the inner country reaching 700% increase; Kicillof is developing the talks to agree with Paris Club and the holdouts after the modification of inflation and PIB index following IMF orders, government promotes an anti-demonstrations law. Meanwhile, trade union bureaucracy that called the strike on April 10th (Moyano, Barrionuevo and Micheli) openly rejects another strike. The left that organized the pickets on April 10th, has the responsibility to call for a struggle plan to defeat the Rodrigazo, with FIT leading it. 1st May should be part of this. The chance of the real existence of FIT Congress is related with how much PO is willing to capitulate and adapt to Morenoism.

ALTAMIRA PROPOSES A CONGRESS TO VINDICATE, EMBELLISH AND DEVELOP MORENOISM

Over which political basis and with which objectives is Altamira willing to call such Congress? Is he proposing this as a way out of FIT’s crisis? The latter expression of the crisis was seen in the appropriation of the national MP by PTS and now in the adaptation of IS and PTS to Moyano through the Combative SIndical Summit. Is this a congress to make FIT adopt PO’s policy (main party of the FIT) or a congress to make PO and FIT itself vindicate Pollo Sobrero’s policy? Altamira’s call to a congress and the slogan of uniting the left with workers’ movement is based in an open vindication of Morenoism as a historical trend.

Altamira in his speech refers to IS and PTS as “organizations that have gone through several years of political struggle, we as Partido Obrero, that in this year are celebrating 50 years, but the other political trends come from political origins that also played a role in country’s history; so they are not an improvisation. Through victories, defeats, splits, struggles, they have accumulated a historical experience that must be given to working class”. So, according to Altamira, it is about giving workers the historical experience of adaptation to peronism, trade union bureaucracy, and pro-imperialist democracy. According to Altamira, Morenoism should be given to working class.

One of the targets of PO wouldn’t be to overcome Morenoism through a political struggle (strategical political base of PO’s constitution) but to develop it. This is a strategical political turn. They are throwing to the garbage PO’s position that stated that “political destruction of democratism and revisionism is the way to rebuild the IVth International” (La cuestión del programa [About the Program, TN], Luis Oviedo, EDM N° 16, Buenos Aires, March 1997). This is Partido Obrero’s method that we as TPR vindicate. Altamira’s speech to PO’s XXII Congress aims to erase this strategic perspective.

IF ALTAMIRA VINDICATES MAS [Movement For Socialism, the party created by Moreno in 1982 and that exploded in 1992, TN] AND ITS POLICY IN ATSA [Health Workers Trade Union, TN], WHY WOULDN’T PO VINDICATE POLLO SOBRERO AND THE COMBATIVE SINDICAL SUMMIT?

Such is the beautification of Morenoism that Altamira does, that he says: “this tendency to the unity of the left and workers movement, isn’t new, it has half a century, it comes from Cordobazo, Sitrac-Sitram, Smata in Córdoba, UOM in Villa Constitución, the big triumph that ousted the bureaucracy of ATSA, for at least some time; the different tentatives of independent structuration after dictatorship. We are bearers and we concretize a tendency inscribed in the history of our country”. 

Every comrade from PO must know the sense of the vindication that Altamira does of ATSA experience “for at least some time”. What happened was that while leading one of main trade unions lead by the left in the 80’s (ATSA), Nahuel Moreno’s MAS didn’t even call for an assembly or struggle measure in 5 years and finally accepted bureaucracy intervention which gained the trade union by fraud. The final assessment was that the MAS… denied giving any struggle to defeat the fraud. This CAPITULATIONIST experience that ended up FRUSTRATING THE EFFORT OF CLASSISM was systematically denounced by PO as the example of what shouldn’t be done in workers movement. This was exactly what Pitrola and Altamira explained before the conformation of FIT some years ago.

For example, during the Casino strike, Prensa Obrera (PO's newspaper) said about ATSA: “The intervention arrived after the systematic effort of the leadership (MAS) to demobilize the trade union. For five years they never convened a general assembly and only made a two-hour strike. Through this, the MAS and its allies aimed to preserve their trade union seats, at the expense of workers demands, of the struggle against layoffs and of a classist program” (Prensa Obrera, “1990: When Ripoll support the intervention on Health by bureaucracy”, 10/04/2008). 

The same is mentioned by Altamira himself in the book that describes the founding conference of what then would be the Classist Sindical Coordinating Committee (CSC): “Firstly, to the recently deceased comrade, Ana, who has fought strongly for her life, who has had an outstanding participation in trade unionist movement: her militancy within textile workers, in publicity trade union, in the neighbourhood movement and, principally, in the most important development of trade unionist movement of the 80’s which was the experience of Health Workers Trade Union of Buenos Aires City, under Alfonsin government. A massive eruption as few times was seen and that ended with a complete and miserable capitulation of Luis Zamora and Vilma Ripoll facing bureaucracy intervention of ATSA. A capitulation without struggle that destroyed an experience that posed the chance to overcome trade union directions” (Closing speech of Jorge Altamira, “A new beginning”, Sindical Conference of PO, 2009).

Lets be clear: what Altamira is doing isn’t vindicating that “the left” gained a trade union to the bureaucracy, but he is vindicating the capitulation of the left at the direction of ATSA (for at least some time). This is a totally facelift of Morenoism.

So, from TPR we ask to the delegates to the XXII Congress of PO: is it the same ATSA than Casino of Buenos Aires? Is it the same “a shameful capitulation to preserve trade union charges” than “fighting to the end for classism historical perspective”? Are the Combative Sindical Summit and the SUTNA Summit the same? In short, are PO and Morenoism the same? That is the line that Altamira wants to erase, which means to liquidate PO in a centrist monster. 

FOR ALTAMIRA “THE FUSION OF LEFT WITH WORKERS MOVEMENT” IS THE FUSION OF PO WITH MORENOISM… IN MORENOISM'S TERMS

Altamira should clarify what does he mean with “the different tentatives of structuration after dictatorship”. He is referring to foundation of PO and whom else? Why does he speaks in plural? As he’s referring to Frente de Izquierdas’ parties the conclusion is concrete: PTS and, as he’s talking about ATSA, inevitably this is a political claim of the MAS. Is Altamira talking about the PST of “dictablanda” [Moreno said that Videla’s dictatorship from 1976 to 1983 was “soft”, TN] and which supported the counter-revolutionary, anti-working class and pro-imperialist institutionalization in ‘73, membered the Group of 8 and the Multipartidaria? Is Altamira talking about the MAS, Argentine expression of the PSOE of Felipe González, which was characterized by PO as democratizing and pro-imperialist? Is he talking about the same MAS that signed the democratic proceedings, that supported the massacres against guerrillas in Tablada and denied to mobilize with Mothers of Plaza de Mayo for the return alive and the freedom of all the political prisoners?

As TPR we ask: since when Morenoism was a “tentative of independent structuration” and not AN OBSTACLE for the construction of a mass independent workers party, of an anti-imperialist front of all the left, of a revolutionary left front and, moreover, for the construction of a revolutionary party in Argentina? In all variants and in every historical periods, Morenoists always were “obsequious capitulators and a hurdle for the construction of the revolutionary party” (Julio N. Magri, Revisionism in Trostskism, PO, 1972). If PO was always wrong and, indeed we notice now that it was sectarian and Moreno was right, why doesn’t Altamira say it openly and contributes to the clarity of all militants of PO?

What Altamira does is a facelift and an explicit vindication of Morenoism as historical current, postulating it as a factor that promotes political independency of working class when, opposite to this, it was always characterized by the rejection of the development of a revolutionary party based on its adaptation to sindical bureaucracy and the pro-imperialist plan of democratic openness. Altamiras’ answer to the boycott to the FIT and the adaptation to bureaucracy of Morenoists is to advance to a line even more dissolvent.

It is important to remark that this is not even about if it’s viable or not to construct a front or even a common party based on antagonic strategic perspectives: Altamiras’ speech is directly an ideological operative where he smuggles principles and the programmatic-theoretical wealth of PO in order to dissolve better into Morenoism. Nice way of celebrating the 50th anniversary of Política Obrera [Workers Policy, the group formed in 1964 which gave birth, later on, to PO, TN].

50 YEARS… “TO BREAK THE FRAME OF PARTIDO OBRERO” AND NEGOTIATE WITH MORENOISM

Finally, as TPR we want to bring an strategic reflection to the XXII Congress of PO. It is about the principal conclusion of the course we’ve done for the 50th anniversary of Workers Policy. As far as improvised this liquidationist proposal from Altamira is, it doesn’t appear from nowhere. Political crisis never invent an orientation, they uncover what you really are. The crisis is the moment of truth.

So, it is important to bear in mind Altamiras’ words in the celebration of new year in La Plata. There, Altamira anticipated this orientation to the XXII Congress: this verifies that in the hesitance of PO on the subject there is not only improvisation but also an aware calculation. 

Textual words or Altamira were: “the left, generally, has the illness of sectarianism because it has never been listened by millions of people and it inhabits the microclimate of its own existence. For us, as PO it (the sectarianism) doesn’t affect ourselves, because we have been always conscious that, while nobody listened to us, our real existence was provisional. We always have been conscious that we had to break that frame” (minute 30.30 to 31.30).

This means that, for Altamira, the last 50 years weren’t years of political struggle to gain positions to the revolutionary party, but they were 50 “provisional” years… towards the Left Front with Morenoism. This is fundamental, because in the turning between tactic and strategy relies the ABC of political liquidationism under direct State pressure.

Up to we had already listened, the FIT was a temporary instrument to develop Partido Obrero. This was what Partido Obrero’s militants said one and a thousand times. On the other side, we, the militants of TPR, warned from the first moment that the Left Front, even though the progressive steps it can walk, strategically was “a pact against Partido Obrero”. Today, 3 years after the foundation of FIT, Altamira concretes at the congress what he has already said a long time ago for those who wanted to hear it: “the Left Front opens a path for the refoundation of IVth International” (April 2011).

This way, the Partido Obrero would be a frustrated experience (what we could achieve up to this moment) comparing with the real strategic tool: the Left Front. So, the construction of Partido Obrero would have been a transitory instrument… to negociate the fusion with Morenoism. We warn strongly about the catastrophic consequences of this orientation. 

Morenoism, as such, expresses in the ranks of Trotskyism and workers class the pressure of pro-imperialist democratism and of bourgeois nationalism. So we have in Venezuela the PSL (FADESS) and Marea Socialista (chavist). In Argentina this debate is present by MST (who supported soya producers) and Izquierda Socialista and the PTS (tailism to moyanismo). The guiding thread in all variants is to be bureaucracy’s shadow, whatever its political colour is. By contrast, revolutionary policy is about the strategic construction of a revolutionary party which seeks to overcome the barriers of centrism by anti-imperialist frentism.

This was the foundational orientation of Partido Obrero in 1983: independent working class party and anti-imperialist front of all the left against the “centrist party of legal left” and the “social democratic, democratizing and bourgeois frentism”. This ideological and strategical fight, the construction of the revolutionary party faced with democratizing left barrier. Today that barrier isn’t crossed over, instead it is the cause of the crisis of the FIT. What Altamira proposes today is to surrender in the name of unity, without bearing that, today, unity with Morenoism is, necessarily, the unity with Moyano.

“TO UNIFY THE LEFT WITH WORKERS MOVEMENT” AND “TO DEFEND THE FIT” IS TO POSE THE FIT AS AN ALTERNATIVE AGAINST BUREAUCRACY ENCOURAGING A STRUGGLE PLAN AGAINST THE RODRIGAZO

As a conclusion, the way to merge left with workers movement, is to pose left as a factor of unrestricted defence of working class movement, contrasting it with sindical bureaucracy. Today, the working class movement that went to the strike on the April 10th needs an alternative direction to bureaucracy, to pose a struggle way to face the Rodrigazo.

As tendency expelled from PO that defends its historical and programmatic tradition, we call on all the delegates who are deliberating at the XXII Congress of PO, and to all the party militancy, to vote against the solving course posed by Altamira, and to vote in favor of the call to a Congress of the FIT open to all popular fighters in order to vote a struggle plan against the Rodrigazo of Cristina-Kicillof.

Juan Marino

by the Central Committee of Tendencia Piquetera Revolucionaria (TPR)

18.04.2014