The fact that Thermidor rather than Robespierre is a short-hand for revolutionary betrayal is the ultimate example that it doesn't matter what you say (or do), its how you deliver it applies just as much to politics as it does to rhetoric.
Thermidor explicitly rolled the revolution backwards, set loose armed thugs to terrorise the poor and took the revolutionary democracy out back and shot it.
They are short-hand for revolutionary betrayal because they committed the single largest revolutionary betrayal.
Like, there's no mystery here. Thermidor gets the shit end of the stick WRT revolutionary betrayal because they were vile reactionary cowards who deliberately reversed the gains of the revolution. Robespierre putting the handbrake on the revolution's accelerating radicalism isn't even in the same ballpark.
Hey sorry for bugging you, but What is the status of religions in this world anyway ? What does eventually happen to Islam, Christianity, Judaism as well as Eastern religions like Hinduism and Chinese religions ? Are they all mostly a memory and a form of cultural practice at best or do they actually still have any power left ?
Hey sorry for bugging you, but What is the status of religions in this world anyway ? What does eventually happen to Islam, Christianity, Judaism as well as Eastern religions like Hinduism and Chinese religions ? Are they all mostly a memory and a form of cultural practice at best or do they actually still have any power left ?
If the specific question is regarding influence of established religions within the political culture, it varies per country and is certainly far more negligible in the TCI than in the AFS.
Because Europe totally wasn't already being washed in blood by the monarchies around France because Lord Farthingbottom of the Barony of Assfuck, Austria wanted to expand his territory by 2 centimetres northeast.
The genesis of the derail was someone commenting that OTL is a Dystopia because "reactionary elites", which is basically the left wing mirror of right wing deep state nonsense.
Not on anywhere near the scale of the Napoleonic Wars? Not since the 30 years war anyway.
The genesis of the derail was someone commenting that OTL is a Dystopia because "reactionary elites", which is basically the left wing mirror of right wing deep state nonsense.
....I'm not sure that recognizing that people with power and privilege want to keep that power and privilege (and will therefore attempt to sabotage movements dedicated to reducing said power and privilege) can be compared to saying that there is a shadowy conspiracy of bureaucrats dedicated to sabotaging (INSERT RIGHT-WING LEADER HERE).
....I'm not sure that recognizing that people with power and privilege want to keep that power and privilege (and will therefore attempt to sabotage movements dedicated to reducing said power and privilege) can be compared to saying that there is a shadowy conspiracy of bureaucrats dedicated to sabotaging (INSERT RIGHT-WING LEADER HERE).
It's individuals vs a movement. Generally the priority of the elites if you actually look into the history is peer competition, rather than class unity to oppress the poors. Many also ended up as some flavor of reformist or progressive.
I'm specifically objecting to the idea that seems to come up on the left of "global capitalism" or "Reactionaries" as some sort of elite hivemind dedicated to stopping the self evident good of progress out of pure unfettered selfishness.
It's individuals vs a movement. Generally the priority of the elites if you actually look into the history is peer competition, rather than class unity to oppress the poors. Many also ended up as some flavor of reformist or progressive.
I'm specifically objecting to the idea that seems to come up on the left of "global capitalism" or "Reactionaries" as some sort of elite hivemind dedicated to stopping the self evident good of progress out of pure unfettered selfishness.
The bourgeoisie compete amongst themselves but absolutely are conscious of their shared interests as a class and act accordingly. Just listen to them speak about economic issues or striking workers for a few minutes. Why else do they gladhand at summits and organizations worldwide like Davos or the G20 than to annually discuss their shared interests and the issues of the day? What do you think they do at these pageants otherwise?
Marxists do not believe the ruling class is a hive mind or a single-minded sinister conspiracy. If you believe that about Marxists, you are simply wrong and are going to find this thread a very unwelcome place if you continue to insinuate it. As one of the authors has stated far back in this thread: this timeline is written primarily by unapologetic Marxists with the underlying premise that the Marxist historical worldview is correct. You can disagree with that, but I would *suggest* you avoid implying that said worldview is conspiratorial thinking.
How many do you want? There was always a liberal noble/elite faction involved in the early stages of pretty much every 19th centruy revolution, because those are the people who had education and experience with administration.
I'm not shitposting here. There's a similar trend with much of the Marxist leadership historically being mostly bourgeoise/petty bourgeoise, not actually working class, because those are the people with the education and free time to read about revolutionary theory.
The bourgeoisie compete amongst themselves but absolutely are conscious of their shared interests as a class and act accordingly. Just listen to them speak about economic issues or striking workers for a few minutes. Why else do they gladhand at summits and organizations worldwide like Davos or the G20 than to annually discuss their shared interests and the issues of the day? What do you think they do at these pageants otherwise?
Marxists do not believe the ruling class is a hive mind or a single-minded sinister conspiracy. If you believe that about Marxists, you are simply wrong and are going to find this thread a very unwelcome place if you continue to insinuate it. As one of the authors has stated far back in this thread: this timeline is written primarily by unapologetic Marxists with the underlying premise that the Marxist historical worldview is correct. You can disagree with that, but I would *suggest* you avoid implying that said worldview is conspiratorial thinking.
I don't believe that about Marx, because even though it's been a decade since I read Das Capital, the man had some sense of nuance. I think a lot of people become Marxists without any epistemological humility and find something to believe in uncritically, and in particular ignore the historical context Marx was speaking in.
For Davos? It's a bunch of self important nepo babies who couldn't coordinate if their lives depended on it. It's soft intellectual masturbation. Do I think they're mostly scum? Sure. Do I think they represent a coherent interest group that coordinates anything meaningful? Hell no.
G20 is a different beast, with an actual geopolitcal focus. One that is far less concerned with domestic issues than international ones.
You have a bit of a point, but is it significantly hindered by the fact that many of these revolutions either failed, or has an incredibly significant burgois element to them.
You have a bit of a point, but is it significantly hindered by the fact that many of these revolutions either failed, or has an incredibly significant burgois element to them.
Fair! But I'd say that's true of many revolutions in general. Especially in the 19th century, I can't think of any revolutions without a substantial bourgeoisie element in leadership. Also I would differentiate between bourgeoisie and nobility. Nobility have a surprising amount of presence in the early revolutions, but they drop off towards the end of the 19th century. Bourgeoisie become increasingly dominant later on, especially when it comes to professional revolutionaries along the lines of What is to be Done.
The point I mean to make is that insofar as there is a "ruling class" per se, disaffected members of which are where you get the majority of early left wing thought. People are products of their material circumstances, but basic empathy and pattern recognition can show up anywhere.
As I write for R&R&R, I will note that one of my favourite things about the Cold War in this timeline is the near complete lack of any regard for normalisation with the FBU's bloc for long stretches of time to the point of Nixon openly stating "we should have kept going past Hamburg" at the UN after the Indian government orders intervention into Vietnam to prevent the collapse of the Vietnamese Empire after the FBU's withdrawal, and the Soviet sovnarkom holding a commemoration celebrating the execution of King Charles in retaliation for Western European countries withholding recognition from the Congolese Soviet Republic. Meanwhile more than a few FBU Prime Ministers vocalise the opinion that the existence of America in and of itself was a mistake and that George III was far too kind to the revolutionaries. The extremely, nakedly hostile nature of the TTL cold war where "detente" is generally about as hostile as the more heated periods of the OTL cold war and the "warm periods" are where the Allied State Peacekeeper Corps and RIVA are actively shooting at each other in the global south in proxy wars as international paramilitaries usable without the political weight of national militaries due to reporting solely to the Alliance or the International is one of the more unique things.
As I write for R&R&R, I will note that one of my favourite things about the Cold War in this timeline is the near complete lack of any regard for normalisation with the FBU's bloc for long stretches of time to the point of Nixon openly stating "we should have kept going past Hamburg" at the UN after the Indian government orders intervention into Vietnam to prevent the collapse of the Vietnamese Empire after the FBU's withdrawal, and the Soviet sovnarkom holding a commemoration celebrating the execution of King Charles in retaliation for Western European countries withholding recognition from the Congolese Soviet Republic. Meanwhile more than a few FBU Prime Ministers vocalise the opinion that the existence of America in and of itself was a mistake and that George III was far too kind to the revolutionaries. The extremely, nakedly hostile nature of the TTL cold war where "detente" is generally about as hostile as the more heated periods of the OTL cold war and the "warm periods" are where the Allied State Peacekeeper Corps and RIVA are actively shooting at each other in the global south in proxy wars as international paramilitaries usable without the political weight of national militaries due to reporting solely to the Alliance or the International is one of the more unique things.
I mean, as much as that kind of talks have occurred, alongside actual firefights breaking out in Reds!. Most of the actual decision makers don't want to end the world. (Read: it would be boring to end this timeline in a nuclear war).
You don't blow up people you want to live under your system.
The APKC and the RIVA are also intentionally meant to be exceptions for much of the general legislature around acts of war and a means for powers to get boots on the ground without the escalation inherent to sending the national army. The understanding that if one bloc gets to use them this way, the other does too and fair's fair also maintains their viability as a means of military intervention without outright formal war between nations. Neither bloc sees British Troops in the Peacekeepers or American ones in the Volunteer Army as legally speaking, the FBU or American militaries even if it's a whole ass tank division or naval surface combat group because this convenient legal fiction gives freedom of action if they both play along with these rules. And as both the APKC and the RIVA are volunteer organisations they're also politically much less messy to use than conscript armies. They are in essence, a post-westphalian approach to military force to get around all the complications the westphalian system put in the way of sending soldiers to one place or the other without the burden of outright declared war. Plus their nature as armies that report to no nation nor state but the Alliance or the International as global organisations and those organisations alone looks really nice for internationalist projects.
Excerpts from "Brief history of the Socialist Workers' Party of Mexico", 1979.
The birth of the Party
The vanguard of the Mexican working class, the Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Obrero Socialista) [1], took time to develop properly. Each of the parties that later integrated the Mexican revolutionary family [2] had different ideas about how to bring progress, prosperity and growth to the country. However, none of them had the capacity to be able to properly impose themselves on the others without unleashing a conflict that the country certainly could not afford, especially with the reactionary remnants actively fighting against the revolutionary forces.
Some leaders like Vicente Lombardo Toledano advocated the fusion of the different revolutionary forces into a single great party, modeled into revolutionary principles. Still, although he was fascinated with Marxism-Leninism, was considered a reformist, so his approach to the organization of the party was close to a nationalist than Leninist (democratic centralist) model. Student leaders like José Revueltas supported it [3], either conditionally or unconditionally. The nationalists of the PNR called for the fusion of the revolutionary forces in the PNR, in order to guarantee the continuity of the revolutionary project initiated in 1910.
However, neither communists nor anarchists were in agreement with the measure; the former arguing that the vanguard party already existed, that is, they grouped in the Communist Party; and the latter since they rejected an explicit alliance with nationalists and reformists of all kinds, and even maintaining a more or less respectful but conflicting relationship with the communists.
Since the main leaders of the armed peasant movement, Zapata and Villa, had become familiar with Marxism, their decision was close to those of the Communist Party, although they had a bias when it came to the peasant question. Similarly, members of the National Peasant League (Liga Nacional Campesina), de jure the agrarian wing of the PCM, of which Úrsulo Galván was its most important member [4] maintained a stance in rejection of the Mexican nationalists, proclaiming their distrust of members of the left wing of the PNR. Remnants of the now extinct "House of the World Worker" (Casa del Obrero Mundial), an anarcho-syndicalist organization existing in the 1910s, also showed their rejection, since they suffered in the flesh the state repression of members who were even among the ranks of the PNR.
The situation was resolved not by consensus, but by the risk of a Cristero takeover of the Mexican Bajío. The collapse of the Callista regime did not mean the end of the counterrevolution, but its intensification, since the fascist hordes threatened to carry out an offensive to the main cities in the center of the country, given the practical inexistence of a unified Mexican Army. With negotiations between Vasconcelistas, Cristeros, members of the bourgeois intelligentsia and other reactionary elements in the country underway [5], there was a growing fear of the real possibility of continued fascist resistance, which meant that, to counterattack, a united Party-State was necessary.
The vanguard party that today leads the Nation, founded as the Workers' Party of National Liberation, was born unofficially on January 12, 1934, when the revolutionary forces in what is now the City-Commune of Mexico jointly announced their willingness to unite, not for friendship or fraternity among them, but only for the joint welfare of Mexico and its inhabitants, in pursuit of a better tomorrow. Formally speaking, the POLN, now POSM, was born on February 5, after the I Extraordinary Congress of the Party, which in turn defined the primitive but functional Provisional Statutes and Program, to be modified once the country was pacified [...]
Symbols of the Workers' Party of National Liberation/Socialist Workers' Party of Mexico
The national symbol of the POLN, a compromise between the PNR logo and revolutionary communist symbology.
Top: POLN pin, worn by Party members. Below: Unofficial/informal pins, worn among members of a fraction within the Party. From left to right: Anarchists (Mexican Anarchist Federation/FAM), Communists, Nationalists (Patriots).
National logo of the Party once the POLN re-structures itself during the 1950's, becoming the POSM.
Information extracted from the POLN-POSM Basic Documents, collected from the General Archive of the Nation, 2018. You are reading the English version. Click here to check other versions:[Español] [Pусский] [Ŝhin Esperanto] [Nawatlahtolli] [Mayaʼ tʼàan] [Diidxazá] [Tu'un savi][Others] [6]
CONSTITUTIVE PACT (Original version, 1934)
The popular classes of Mexico, integrated in the Soviets of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers of the whole country, whose representatives sign at the bottom, having met in the I Extraordinary Congress convened in Mexico City, solemnly constitute, on this day, February 5, 1934, the Workers' Party of National Liberation, by means of the Pact of Union which is set forth in the following clauses:
The Workers' Party will welcome into its fold the members of the now integrated [7] revolutionary parties and organizations that have contributed to the cause of the Popular and Socialist Revolution, including: the Communist Party of Mexico - Mexican Section of the Communist International; the Federation of Young Communists; the National Revolutionary Party; the Confederation of Workers of Mexico; the National Peasant League, the Revolutionary and Popular Militias; the Mexican Anarchist Federation, etcetera.
Additionally, other parties, organizations and unions that wish to become part of the Workers' Party in the future will be welcomed.
All members of political parties, union, agrarian, military and other organizations that as of today make up the Workers' Party agree not to participate in political acts of any kind except through the Party and its dependent organizations, and in strict compliance with any statute, order, regulation or program emanating from these bodies and the Party in general.
The National Peasant League and any other organization of agrarian character that actively contribute to the struggle against capitalism and subordinate to the government of the Soviets of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers, shall have autonomy and shall be governed by their respective statutes and orders, provided that these do not contradict the Political Constitution and the laws emanating therefrom.
The Confederation of Workers of Mexico and any union organization that as of today enter or wish to enter the Party as union sections of the same, shall enjoy autonomy of decision and for the carrying out of its statute and orders, as well as the direction and discipline of its affiliated members. Any other union organization not connected to the Party shall have its legality guaranteed, provided it declares loyalty to the government of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers. [8] [8.1]
The members of the Revolutionary Militias and of the future Armed Forces to be organized in the country, will be organized by the Party and can become militant combatants according to their desires/wishes. In the same way, the Armed Forces will be subordinated to the government of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers of the country, and of which the Party forms part as a national vanguard party.
All female members of the organizations now forming and forming part of the Party shall have full political and legal equality. At no time may such equality be removed or violated in any way.
The criteria and functions of the party shall be governed by the Declaration of Principles, the Program, and the Statutes to be formed in the future.
STATUTES (Approved at the II Party Congress, 1936)
Chapter I. About the Party
The Workers' Party of National Liberation is constituted as the vanguard party of the Mexican working classes, particularly speaking, the proletarian and peasant class, the working people of all Mexico. These classes have united in solidarity and friendly and fraternal union through the different organizations existing during the Socialist and Popular Revolution in the Workers' Party, in order to fight side by side and protect the Revolution from any threat, external or internal. The Party guides its action through the revolutionary principle of Marxism and is organized under the principles of democratic centralism. The Party is integrated by the most conscious and developed elements of the Mexican working people, without distinction of gender, ethnicity, religion, health, or of any other.
The objectives of the Workers' Party are:
To maintain permanently and through the unification of the revolutionary elements of the country, a discipline to support the legal order created by the triumph of the Socialist and Popular Revolution;
Define, consolidate and protect the achievements and conquests of the Revolution, which is but a constituent part of the World Proletarian Revolution;
To guarantee, in the first instance, the unfinished tasks of the bourgeois-democratic Revolution in the country, eliminating the feudal residues through a revolution of national liberation; and consequently, to fulfill the future tasks for the transition to socialism, the prelude to communism.
The objectives of the Workers' Party are interconnected with the global workers' and peasants' struggle, the World Revolution, which jointly seeks the communist organization of world society, hitherto subjugated by the repressive capitalist apparatus. The goal of the Party, jointly with our brothers and sisters around the world, is the search for a society where the principle prevails: of each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.
Chapter II. About the members of the Party
To be a member of the Party, it is required:
To be a Mexican citizen in full exercise of their rights;
Not to be a minister of any religious corporation;
Not possessing any vice;
Not to belong to any other political party or association that is opposed to the interests of the Workers' Party at the time of affiliation;
Pledge allegiance to the All-Mexican Workers, Peasants and Soldiers government;
Finally, all applicants must pass a political literature course, as well as pass a probationary period.
In the same way, any person who is working in any of the organizations dependent or linked to the Party shall be considered a militant of the same, as long as they comply with the aforementioned requirements. Persons belonging to other political parties who have resigned from them may belong to the Workers' Party after an additional trial period, not exceeding three years, to prove their attitude, commitment and discipline.
Each applicant shall be monitored by a local Party committee which shall give the final word on the approval or denial of their entry into the Party. In extraordinary cases, the National Committee of the Party shall have the final say. Members of the Socialist Youth Federation shall be guaranteed access to the Party upon recommendation of the local committees of the Federation, provided they are over 20 years of age.
All members shall be subject to review of their conduct by the local section to which they belong, which shall vary in proportion to the environment in which they are located, i.e., whether it is urban or rural. The recommendation and approval or denial of the expulsion of each member shall be made by each local committee, unless there are extraordinary circumstances that merit the intervention of higher Party bodies.
All Party members are required to:
To observe the strictest discipline inside and outside the Party sessions, as well as to actively participate in the politics of the country and the Party, to carry out the Party policy established at each National Congress, and to comply with the decisions taken by the organs of the Party;
Work hard for their ideological enrichment around the ideological principles that guide the Party, of a Marxist character, openly recognizing the existence of the class struggle, and seeking to develop into an individual committed to the expansion of the Revolution at a global level. Likewise, each member is obliged to work side by side with the working people, and educate them in the same ideological principles of the Party;
To perform with honesty and discipline any public office assigned to them in a popular election, or in a job assigned by the Party or its dependent bodies;
Contribute to the public expenses required by the Party;
Any other obligations that may be considered in the future.
For its part, every member has the right to:
To have a voice and vote in any type of meeting on behalf of the Party and its constituent and dependent bodies;
To present critiques to other members of the Party under the correct circumstances and in the appropriate places, under the consideration that every member of the Party has equal rights to each other;
To present individual or collective proposals at the ordinary or extraordinary meetings of its local committees, or at the national level;
To form collectively platforms/fractions during the National Congress as long as no platform/fraction disturbs the principles of democratic centralism or tries to subvert the Basic Documents in favor of a counterrevolutionary program [9];
To be elected to any internal office of the Party;
To be elected as a candidate of the Party for any public office;
Obtain support from the Party to carry out resolutions made in accordance with Party documents.
Party members who have not contributed to the expenses of the Party through individual dues for a period of not less than three months shall be considered as disqualified members of the Party and shall be expelled. Likewise, each expulsion shall be notified in the local press of the Party, with the reasons for the expulsion. Any member at risk of expulsion has the right to appeal in order to defend themselves, but the final decision shall be made by the Party committee.
Any recommendation for expulsion of a member shall be given if the following violations are committed, either individually or in the aggregate:
Deception against the Party, hiding the true intentions and, at the same time, damaging the Party's image;
Direct or covert violations of the Party's laws and regulations on a consecutive basis;
Direct or apparent hostility to the supremacy of the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers government;
Members considered allies of an enemy group of the government of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers (traitors to the State);
Existence of conduct considered immoral, inappropriate or degenerate that damages the reputation and dignity of the Party [10];
Treason in times of war;
Any other transgression to be considered in the future.
Chapter III. About the Organs of the Party
The Party is organized under the principles of democratic centralism, which means that all leading organs of the Party are elected up-down. Likewise, all members are expected to exercise the strictest discipline and commitment to the decisions taken by the Party and its leading organs. The golden rule of democratic centralism is: freedom of discussion, unity of action. In this way, the supremacy of the majority over the minority is guaranteed.
All the organizations belonging to a certain region shall be subordinated to a superior organ that administers the totality of said region, in order to guarantee the fulfillment of democratic centralism at the territorial-administrative level. In the same way, all the dependent organizations, subordinated or aligned to the Party will have autonomy of decision to carry out their activities, which can be of regional or local character, but they will have to comply with the decisions of the Party.
In order to comply with the principles of democratic centralism, the approval or rejection of any proposal or modification to the strategies, programs and other activities of the Party at any of its administrative levels shall only be accepted if a minimum of 50% of the members of each committee, congress or meeting in general attend.
The organization of the Party shall be divided as follows:
The National Congress of the Party, which shall ordinarily meet every two years, unless an extraordinary situation warrants the meeting of the Congress. This Congress shall be responsible for electing the National Executive Committee [11];
The National Executive Committee of the Party, the highest governing body in the absence of the National Congress;
The respective Congresses and Committees of each of the Republics that make up the country;
Municipal Committees and Conferences;
Local committees and conferences, including cities, rural settlements or villages;
Cells, the base of the party, located in different places, whether in regiments of the Revolutionary and People's Armed Forces, industries of any kind, general institutions, etc.
In addition, the Party shall determine the existence of different special departments on matters concerning the Party in each Committee, whether national, republican, municipal or local. These departments shall be subordinate and accountable to their respective Committee. Each local Committee shall be subject to final confirmation by the municipal Committee to which it is subordinate. Likewise, each municipal committee shall be subject to final confirmation by the Republican Committee to which it is subordinate.
The Revolutionary and Popular Armed Forces shall be co-managed by a Central Military Council, which shall be accountable to the National Executive Committee of the Party, jointly with the All-Union Central Executive Committee, through the dependent bodies it deems appropriate, in order to ensure both party and federal-national control of the Armed Forces.
Chapter IV. About the National Congress
The supreme organ of the Party during its meeting is the National Congress. This body is in charge of electing members deemed suitable for the National Executive Committee, based on their individual work, merit [12], popularity and virtues. Each session shall be biannual, unless there are extraordinary circumstances deemed by the National Committee as suitable for the holding of an Extraordinary Congress. Each resolution made by the Congress shall be considered valid if at least 50% of its members attend the Congress.
The representation of the members who shall constitute the ordinary National Congress shall be determined by the National Executive Committee at least four months prior to the holding of the Congress, on the basis of proportional representation around the membership of each Republic of the Union. In cases where there is an Extraordinary Congress, the representation of the last ordinary Congress shall be used.
The Congress has the following powers:
To deliberate, modify and approve any proposal coming from the National Executive Committee and other institutions of the Party;
Modify or replace the Basic Documents of the Party if it deems it convenient;
Determine the Party's tactics on specific issues both nationally and internationally;
To elect the National Executive Committee under the above requirements, as well as to determine the size of the Committee.
Chapter V. About the National Executive Committee
The National Executive Committee acts as the supreme organ of the Party during periods when the National Congress is not in session. The Committee represents the Party in both national and international affairs, establishes relations with other Parties and organizations, organizes Party institutions and delimits their actions at the national level, organizes and directs enterprises of importance to the Party and the State (without undermining the organizational rights of the workers in soviets), distributes the forces and funds of the Party, and manages the Party Treasury.
The Committee shall meet at least every three months. The members of the Committee may meet extraordinarily if they deem it necessary, without the need to request permission from the National Congress. However, as far as its routine existence is concerned, the Committee is accountable to the Congress, having to provide a balance sheet of its activities every six months. The members of the Committee may be reelected only once consecutively, but only if so deemed by the National Congress.
The National Executive Committee, for its proper functioning, shall be composed of the following bodies:
The Political Bureau of the Committee, in charge of the political work of the Committee;
The Secretariat of the Committee, in charge of the day-to-day administrative aspects of the Party;
The Organizational Bureau of the Committee, in charge of organizational work in the Party;
The Departments of the Committee, in charge of specific aspects of importance for the administration of the State in domestic and foreign affairs;
The Central Military Council, with the aforementioned powers;
The Central Auditing Commission, in charge of the inspection of the Secretariat of the Committee, the operations carried out in the Party itself, and the functioning of the Party Treasury;
The Party Control Commission, in charge of supervising the decisions taken by the Committee in general, and the procedures to reinforce Party discipline.
The National Congress shall determine the specific number of members that each organ of the National Executive Committee shall have, but in no case shall it be less than five individuals per organ. All members of each organ are an integral part of the Committee as a whole, and therefore, have voice and vote. In addition, the National Congress may determine the existence of members on the Committee who are not part of any particular organ, but still belong to the Committee as a whole.
The Committee, in turn, shall designate an individual belonging to either the Political Bureau, the Secretariat, or the Organizational Bureau, to serve as General Secretary. The Secretary shall be considered a representative of the Committee at the international level if the situation warrants, as well as exercise and supervise administrative and organizational functions in the Committee, in particular, and in the Party in general. To assist in this task, two Assistant Secretaries shall be appointed to serve in conjunction with the General Secretary. Their functions shall be the same as those of the General Secretary, acting jointly as Chairmen of the Party. The three individuals shall conduct the sessions concerning the Committee, being the ones who declare the beginning and closing of them. Likewise, the three Secretaries collectively exercise the regulation and supervision of the Departments that are created by the Committee. The three individuals together are responsible to the Committee, and shall be accountable to it during each meeting, whether ordinary or extraordinary, that the body holds.
[...]
[...]
Chapter VIII. About the Cells
The basis of the organization are the cells, to which every member of the Party belongs at some point in their life. Every cell is under strict supervision and regulation by its respective local Committee, and in no case can the cells be less than five people in urban areas, and three in rural areas. Each cell has the mission of connecting the masses of workers and peasants of the country with the Party, so it functions as an intermediary body between the masses and the Party itself.
Specifically, the regular tasks that a cell has are:
Conduct propaganda campaigns as far as possible for the Party;
Attract new members;
To assist the local Committees at the level of organizational work and agitation;
To participate actively in the economic and political life of the country through the Soviets of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers;
To defend the country in case of war, forming part of militia corps;
Any other that the Party may decide.
Each cell shall be directed by a Bureau composed of a determined number of members, in proportion to the total number of members in said cell, but in no case shall they be less than two persons, and no more than ten.
Chapter IX. About Party Organizations in the Armed Forces
The administration of the Party towards the Revolutionary and Popular Armed Forces is exercised in the Central Military Council jointly with the federal governmental apparatus, through the All-Union Central Executive Committee. The members of the Armed Forces shall be part of the Party if they so desire, possessing equal rights to those of a civilian affiliated to the Party. The leading bodies of the three constituent branches of the Armed Forces (Army, Air Force and Navy) shall be subject to a Political Administration, headed by the Central Military Council. The Party shall determine at any time the formation of Political Commissars and other positions at the head of a regiment or military division.
All military cells and collectives affiliated to the Party, in addition to the regularly assigned tasks, may be assigned other special tasks, in accordance with their military character, at the request of the National Executive Committee, and properly implemented by the Departments that are formed for the supervision of these special cells. Each leader of a military Department shall hold office for a period of five years, while each Commissary shall hold office for a period of three years.
Each military cell shall be in continuous contact with its respective local and/or municipal Committee, depending on the specific location of the military camp, brigade, division or regiment. In cases where direct communication is not possible, each cell shall be responsible to the Political Commissar in charge. No member of the military is exempt from complying with the Basic Documents of the Party, for which reason they are obliged to comply with the strictest discipline, and may be accused like any other militant, and judged for it, without taking into account the punishments at the military level.
Chapter X. About Party Discipline
All Party members, regardless of their position, length of membership, powers, organization into fractions/platforms or age, are obliged to serve the Party with the strictest discipline, which must be effective, prompt and uncompromising for all. The decisions of the Party must be taken to the letter, once the discussion among Party members on such a decision has been discussed, approved and confirmed.
Failure to comply with the Party's decisions will be reflected in:
At the individual level: reprimand, censure of some kind, temporary or permanent removal from a particular job done in the Party, expulsion from the Party, and expulsion from the Party including judicial-criminal/military proceedings, for the most extreme cases;
At the collective level, i.e. at the organizational level: censure, formation of a temporary committee, or the dissolution of such a body/cell.
Any disciplinary action shall be taken into account or approved and carried out under the confirmation of the Commissions belonging to the National Executive Committee, as well as its lower sub-bodies at the republican, municipal and local levels.
Chapter XI. About Platforms or Fractions
The Workers' Party recognizes the existence of fractions or platforms among its members. However, under the principles of democratic centralism, it also recognizes the dangers that could exist because of the discordance or open opposition of one or several fractions or platforms within the Party to the Basic Documents of the Party. It is for this reason that the existence of fractions/platforms will only be fundamentally legal as long as the National Congress of the Party takes place, each member of the Party being able to position himself in favor or against a fraction/platform. After the Congress and the ratification of any strategy, tactic, or modification to the Basic Documents, all without exception must accept what has been agreed, and not carry out any proselytism in favor of any fraction or platform.
Each fraction/platform has the right to formulate a particular Program during the sessions of the National Congress, in order to collectively propose some reform or replacement of the Basic Documents or the tactics to be followed by the Party. However, such Programs cannot under any circumstances be opposed to the government of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers or to the revolutionary character of the State. Any fraction/platform advocating these principles shall be banned, and its members shall be appropriately prosecuted. Likewise, any fraction advocating the dissolution of the Workers' Party, i.e., constituting a danger to the Constituent Pact of the Party, is forbidden.
The equality of conditions of each fraction/platform shall be ensured at all times, in order to guarantee the Constitutive Pact of the Party [13]. For this reason, the National Executive Committee shall not intervene in favor of any fraction/platform, regardless of the personal preference of each of its members. The resolutions of each fraction/platform shall be approved or denied during the sessions of the National Congress, but each fraction/platform may appeal in case of denial, for the realization of a second confirmatory vote. Mixed resolutions are allowed, that is, those negotiated between two or more fractions.
In times of war or extraordinary crisis, any kind of proliferation of fractions or platforms is prohibited under all circumstances, including during sessions of the National Congress.
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES and PROGRAM (Modified version using the Provisional Program and DoP from 1934, approved at the II Party Congress, 1936)
The Workers' Party of National Liberation accepts without reservation the supremacy of the All-Mexican Government of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers, formally established by the Political Constitution of the Union of Socialist Republics of Mexico. It recognizes the supremacy of the Soviets, and commits itself to defend the achievements of the popular classes throughout the country, as well as to respect the existence of other parties and organizations emanating from the working and peasant class, as long as they do not threaten the Workers' Party, the vanguard party of the Mexican popular classes;
The Party recognizes class struggle as the motor of history and maintains that the workers and peasants have the right to take political and economic power for their own benefit, against the capitalist and landlord-feudal classes, enemies of the workers worldwide, as a result, the Party will use all necessary measures to guarantee the government of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers, whatever the cost;
The Party recognizes Mexico's condition as a nation of nations, committing itself to integrate the indigenous peoples to the national political and economic life, without this meriting their assimilation or elimination, for which it will seek the existence of policies linked to the autonomy of such peoples, in order to guarantee their existence as a whole, as well as the maintenance of their culture, language and customs;
The Party recognizes the historical existence of inequality between men and women, which is nothing but a reactionary element of human society that must be eliminated as a matter of urgency, and will therefore endeavor to take all necessary measures, both within and outside the Party, to ensure not only equality before the law between men and women, but the full existence of de facto equality, not only at the political level, but also at the cultural, social and economic levels;
The Party assumes as its priority objective the completion of the objectives of the bourgeois-democratic Revolution that took place in 1910, to ensure the existence of the necessary material conditions for the future construction of socialism, that is, the lower stage of communism, for which it commits itself to seek above all the industrialization and mechanization of the country, as well as the most absolute repression against all semi-feudal elements still existing in the country;
The Party declares its support for the maintenance of the national sovereignty of the workers' homeland, for which it will defend the nation from any type of foreign interference, in the same way that it will defend the struggles of the workers and peasants of other countries worldwide in general, and of our Latin American brothers and sisters in particular, in favor of the construction of a united Americas under socialism;
The Party declares its full support for the national reconstruction of the country after the heroic efforts of the workers and peasants, which, however, have weakened the newborn country of the soviets, so there will be no hesitation as regards the general improvement of the living conditions of the workers and the stimulation of all productive activity in the Union;
The Party declares its support for equality between workers and peasants, for which it will seek the elevation of the economic, intellectual and moral level of the peasant class to be equal to that of the members of the working class, in the transition towards the inevitable unification of all proletarians as a class; pointing out as an urgency the construction and consolidation of a fully collective agricultural economy, sufficient for the satisfaction of the basic needs of all agricultural workers, and in support of national industrialization.
It is for all the aforementioned reasons that the Party discloses the following measures to be carried out [14]:
Raising the cultural, economic and social level of all Mexicans without distinction;
Creation of laws, regulations and other documents promoting equality before the law and de facto equality between men and women, as well as the formation of clauses in such documents prohibiting their repeal or weakening, as well as the formation of penalties for those persons who attack women and their integrity;
Similarly, creation of laws, regulations and other documents that promote and enforce the development of a culture free of discrimination of any kind, with penalties for those individuals who seek to contravene these principles;
Defense of the right of self-determination of the indigenous peoples that make up Mexico, either through policies aimed at protecting their culture, language and customs, or through the formation of autonomous republics that guarantee both the unity of the state and emphasize its federal character;
Permanent free education at all levels without distinction, as well as a structural and total reform of the entire national education system, which must allow, on the one hand, the free and full development of all Mexicans from childhood, and on the other hand, to impart the new patriotic and revolutionary values, morals and ethics to all Mexicans without distinction;
Total fight against all forms of illiteracy, for which the state shall form brigades of volunteers to teach reading and writing at the national level, without discrimination against any person;
Formation of popular libraries and organization of cultural missions to ensure free cultural development;
Reactivation of Mexican industry in all its sectors, whether primary, secondary or tertiary, through economic policies between the State, the soviets, and the national unions, to guarantee both the improvement in the general quality of life and the strengthening of union democracy;
Promote the transition of union organization: recent historical experience has demonstrated the obsolete character of the trade union, as well as the advantages of industrial unionism, for which reason the Party is committed, together with the Confederation of Workers of Mexico, to reorganize every union in the country under the principles of industrial unionism [15];
Use of private capital on a temporary basis for the necessary development of the productive forces. The Party will determine which strategic areas require such capital and to what degree, with a view to its eventual disappearance;
Collectivization of the Mexican countryside and abolition of all types of feudal remnants in the countryside, including the latifundia, the hacienda, and other obsolete instruments of domination;
Material support for the peasant class, either through subsidies for the maintenance of the agricultural industry while the country recovers, or through the importation and national production of machines, instruments, vehicles, and in general, all means of work for the maximization and automation of the agricultural industry;
Formation of laws, regulations, and other legislative documents that guarantee labor rights for all workers both in law and in fact, without at any time such documents being repealed or weakened;
Protection of the arts, literature and theater, guaranteeing freedom of intellectual creation, as well as state subsidies for the protection and dissemination of all literary, artistic, theatrical or cinematographic works, with the exception of all those that constitute part of the counterrevolution;
Protection, dissemination and promotion of any historical, scientific or research work, guaranteeing the right to information, which includes the use of grants for the development of science and scientific research of all kinds in the country, as well as copy and distribute the different archives of the General Archive of the Nation to other General Archives that will be located in different parts of the country;
Reconstruction, expansion, restructuring and modernization of all hospitals, infirmaries, health centers and in general, any establishment dedicated to ensure the right to health, which will be free and must be guaranteed by the State;
Development and expansion of Social Security, which will be universal for all workers, and will be variable according to the jobs performed by each worker;
Promotion and development of national campaigns for hygiene, clean spaces, sports, respect for the environment, and in general, any activity/medium/place that seeks the full development of the physical and mental health of all Mexicans;
Subsidizing and promoting reforestation campaigns throughout the country, as well as the formation of laws, regulations and other documents that regulate and protect the national fauna and flora, as well as the rationalization of the exploitation of natural resources to avoid their overexploitation;
Architectural development plans and/or planned infrastructure, in order to guarantee the formation of new housing for all workers, on the one hand, and on the other, to initiate preparations for the reconstruction of the main national cities under criteria of health, mobility, communality and rational expansion;
Construction of new roads, streets, squares, and other types of infrastructure for civil, economic and military use, as well as the reconstruction and expansion of pre-existing means of land transportation, prioritizing those of a collective nature over those of an individual nature [16];
Reconstruction, construction and expansion of all air and maritime infrastructure, such as ports, cargo warehouses, airports, etc., as well as pre-existing means of transportation, for civil, economic and military use, for the reactivation of the naval and air industry;
Expansion of telegraph, telephone, mail, radio, and any other means of communication, both military and civilian, to guarantee freedom of expression, as a way to ensure collective communication among all inhabitants, at all times, with no restrictions other than those of the technology itself;
Reform of the penitentiary system through: on the one hand, the reconstruction, remodeling and restructuring of prisons and other penal facilities to ensure that they meet the most modern standards of hygiene and health for inmates, and on the other hand, the formation of rehabilitation programs for inmates, which will vary depending on the crime committed, including community service, hard labor, political rehabilitation, etc;
Modernization and expansion of the national military industry, in order to guarantee the adequate protection of the country by the Armed Forces, as well as to guarantee a continuous supply of arms, ammunition and military equipment to the workers' and peasants' militias, in the event of an international conflict;
The creation of measures, in conjunction with Mexico's allied countries, for the protection of the dictatorship of the proletariat, of the active struggle of the proletariat and the peasantry, including military and technical cooperation, free and unrestricted border access, the active participation of Mexico in the national liberation struggles of other countries, etc;
The Workers' Party will fight for this Program and will fulfill it, since the consolidation of the bourgeois-democratic Revolution and the transition to socialism depend on it.
Long live Mexico! Long live the Workers' Party! Long live the workers of the world!
Excerpts from "The Workers' Party: a new perspective", 2010
The factional struggle: Divergent programs
Although the Mexican government has to a greater or lesser extent guaranteed free access to information since the Second Revolution, one issue that was always kept hidden was that of factional struggles in the Workers' Party. During the years of the Party's existence, internal documents were kept in a situation of semi-openness, since they were published to, theoretically, guarantee access to information, but at the same time, there were procedures to censor or hide documents that were considered intimate, that is, those that derived from the higher decisions of the Party, especially those that demonstrated that the so-called revolutionary family was more a myth than a reality.
It is well known beforehand that the Party, since it functioned more as a compromise between the factions, parties and organizations that overthrew the Callista State in 1934, was relatively unstable. It is no surprise to anyone to admit that on many occasions consensus had to be reached between the communist and nationalist fractions for the formation of laws or constitutional reforms. The anarchists, for their part, although they did not agree with the Party leadership, sought to work within the Party to have some kind of representation in the Party-dominated State, while organizing their own unions, associations, and working groups in the national soviets, in order to have an extra-partisan material base from which to serve as an extra-parliamentary counterweight to the Party.
Even with all this, the declassification of the Party's archives in recent years after its collapse suggests that factionalism in the POLN was even worse than expected. While each fraction officially abided by the provisions of the Party Program, in reality all of them had a different idea of what the Program should be. During the National Congresses, these proposals came to light, but outside the chamber each fraction was guided more by its own platform than by the General Program. That is to say, each fraction interpreted the Party Program in its own way, using its particular modifications for collective convenience.
The members of the Communist fraction considered themselves to be members of the Communist Party of Mexico, and although they generally accepted the General Program, had certain internal conflicts regarding the American influence in Mexico, or the idea of cooperating eternally with the Nationalists. The most important points that could be broken down from internal conversations between different members of the existing PCM are:
The issue of sexual minorities, as a result of the sexual revolution coming from America, which for some was a source of pride, and for others, a source of anger;
The question of the balance between the unions and the soviets, as a result of the obvious differences between the American experience, of DeLeonist cut, and the Soviet, Marxist-Leninist;
The organizational structure of the POLN itself;
The question of the fractions, that is, whether or not it was viable to outlaw factionalism and "take total control" of the Party.
Members of the so-called Ultra-left, who would later leave the POLN after the Spanish communist migration to the country (and thus forming the so-called Mexican communist left), opposed the anti-Marxist perception of Mexico's characterization as a semi-feudal country, accusing both Marxist-Leninists and Bolshevik-Leninists of not adequately understanding the development of capitalism in Latin America. Moreover, they rejected any form of cooperation with the nationalists. Some of them were close to councilism, and others to the Italian left communists, but it is honest to admit that they had no possibility to oppose the Party.
The members of the Mexican Anarchist Federation, heirs of the extinct PLM, on the contrary, were the most dissenting with the General Program. Secretly, their fraction possessed a Revolutionary Program which in general, while recognizing the necessity of some sort of cooperation with other political forces, and of the supremacy of the soviets, advocated [17]:
The most relentless struggle possible against the so-called three evils: Capital, Clergy and Authority;
The abolition of nationalist remnants in national symbols (i.e., the eagle and serpent and the green-white-red tricolor);
The abolition of all private capital in the country, as well as the disregard of individual property rights;
The purge of those elements in the Armed Forces who participated against the anarchists during the First Revolution;
The collectivization and socialization of each and every one of the national industries, as well as of the fields, denying any ejido or cooperative reform;
The abolition of compulsory military service;
The transformation of the Armed Forces into workers' militia corps, as a gradual body until the abolition of all army or militia;
The gradual abolition of all institutions and authority, in favor of the full freedom of the workers, free from the "yoke of the State", including the abolition of the Constitution and of all law;
The destruction of all patriotism in Mexican society, including the expulsion of nationalist members of the POLN, their prosecution, and execution;
The unification of all the unions into a single large Union based on the principles of direct action and industrial unionism, which was to establish relations with Solidarity and other unions of the same nature;
Cooperation with the most revolutionary elements within the communist fraction under certain nuances, including the rejection of the idea of a vanguard;
The elimination of all other existing political parties in the country;
A massive reform towards the POLN at the organizational-structural level, including the abolition of the figure of the Secretary General;
Cooperation with other anarchists on a global level for the fulfillment of the Program on a global scale, thus guaranteeing anarchist communism, as opposed to bourgeois tyranny or reformist socialism.
As was to be expected, many of these proposals were more of an illusory dream, but they served as a "maximum program" in case they could have some political power inside and outside the POLN. Likewise, fearing retaliation from the Party leadership, the FAM sought not to reveal this Revolutionary Program to anyone outside its ranks, until "the time was right for its Manifesto at the national level."
Extras
Logo of the Mexican Laborist Party, the only real opposition to the POLN supremacy in the first years of post-revolutionary Mexico, and the political wing of the CROM. Even if they use the red-black flag as a banner, they are social democrats.
Logo of the National Peasant League, or LNC (Liga Nacional Campesina). It functions de jure as the agrarian wing of the POLN, but de facto it's still loyal to the integrated Communist Party, and works with a relatively good autonomy. Their motto is "Peasants of the world, unite!".
[1] The POLN will change its name to the denomination shown here in the future, once it is considered that the tasks of the Bourgeois Democratic Revolution have been accomplished. [2] An expression used to refer to the members of the Party. OTL, is used to speak of PRI members, since the Party was founded to unite the revolutionary family of Mexico, that is, the participants of the Mexican Revolution and their successors, until then divided into cliques or factions. [3] Revueltas during the 1930s was a Lombardist, a faithful follower of Lombardo Toledano's ideas. OTL, it would take decades, and the repression of the PRI, for him to turn to the left and break with Toledano, as well as with most of Mexican communism in general. [4] The National Peasant League was founded OTL in 1926, with Ursulo Galván being its de facto leader. OTL the LNC broke from the PCM after the so-called Escobarista rebellion, but since Callista repression towards independent agrarianism and communism is greater in Reds! the breakup does not occur. [5] In detail in the 2° part of Mexico's lore. [6] Spanish, Russian, Shin Esperanto, Nahuatl, Mayan, [Isthmus] Zapotec, Mixtec, etc. [7] Integrated, not fully dissolved. [8] There are other important National Unions, at least by the time this Pact is made, that are not particularly subordinated to the POLN. The first is the Confederación Regional Obrera Mexicana/CROM (Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers), which is affiliated to the Laborist Party. The second is the Confederación General de Trabajadores/CGT (General Confederation of Workers), which is an anarcho-communist dominated union. [8.1] The fact that the CGT is still alive and maintains an anarchist dominance is a minor retcon on my part. I originally mentioned in some comments post Part 1 of Mexico's lore that the CGT was gonna disappear as OTL, after being co-opted by the PNR. But I feel this should not be the case anymore, especially with a stronger anarchist movement both in Mexico and the United States/the UASR, and the survival of Ricardo Flores Magón. [9] This is a compromise that de iure only allows factionalism during the sessions of the National Congress, to avoid factionalism to disturb the Party. De facto tho, considering how factionalized the POLN is, the compromise will be ignored most of the time. [10] This has a good and a bad side. Thanks to the influence of the WCPA and the Red May Revolution, the influence of women's rights has increased, which also increases the regulations related to sexism, which in turn guarantees a better treatment between women and men. On the other hand, since Mexico is more conservative than America, the degenerate part can be used in a discriminatory way towards LGBT people, especially male homosexuals, even with the absence of legal barriers that impede sexual equality. [11] It's just a name modification for the Central Committee, to please the Nationalists. Their functions are essentially the same. [12] Meritocracy. This is based on some information related to organic centralism I read sometime ago. [13] This is made at least to guarantee some sort of equality between the majoritarian Communist fraction, and the marginal Anarchist one, with the Nationalists in a middle ground. [14] The Party Programs, as it is to be expected, are made under a temporary perspective of short and medium term, and that in each Congress its update or replacement by a modern Program is postulated. In this case, this first Program is designed for a period of at least 5-10 years. [15] This is based on two aspects: First, that America is officially DeLeonist and the Solidarity union is based on industrial unionism, which clearly can influence Mexico's unionist policy, and second, because the National Socialist Party, the direct predecessor of the Communist Party of Mexico, had among its Program of Action the proposal to organize the unions in Mexico as an Industrial Union, as opposed to the trade unions, and this is OTL. Also, this is a way to appease the anarchists a bit. [16] Trains>>Cars. [17] This is based on the Manifest of 1911 that the PLM published, declaring its main intentions, and also in the own political opinions of Ricardo Flores Magón using information from Regeneración, the newspaper of the PLM. Have in mind that some proposals are changed as a result of the differences between Reds! and OTL, especially the ones related to cooperating with marxists and using unions as a means to gain power (Ricardo despised socialists, including Victor Serger and Eugene Debs; and considered unionism as useless and an obstacle to anarchy).
As I write for R&R&R, I will note that one of my favourite things about the Cold War in this timeline is the near complete lack of any regard for normalisation with the FBU's bloc for long stretches of time to the point of Nixon openly stating "we should have kept going past Hamburg" at the UN after the Indian government orders intervention into Vietnam to prevent the collapse of the Vietnamese Empire after the FBU's withdrawal, and the Soviet sovnarkom holding a commemoration celebrating the execution of King Charles in retaliation for Western European countries withholding recognition from the Congolese Soviet Republic. Meanwhile more than a few FBU Prime Ministers vocalise the opinion that the existence of America in and of itself was a mistake and that George III was far too kind to the revolutionaries. The extremely, nakedly hostile nature of the TTL cold war where "detente" is generally about as hostile as the more heated periods of the OTL cold war and the "warm periods" are where the Allied State Peacekeeper Corps and RIVA are actively shooting at each other in the global south in proxy wars as international paramilitaries usable without the political weight of national militaries due to reporting solely to the Alliance or the International is one of the more unique things.
I currently live in Edinburgh, Scotland but my country is occupied by FBU regime. Everyday I have go praise the monarchy and eat British food. Please send a Comintern Carrier to strike England so that we can liberate ourselves and so that my people can be free!
