Call to Sovintern: Reviving the Spirit of Socialist Internationalism

Original article: Convocatoria a la Sovintern: El renacimiento del internacionalismo socialista

By Patricio A. Brodsky

From April 25 to 29, an international meeting of leftist political forces is set to take place in Moscow under the name Sovintern, clearly referencing a call for a «Soviet International,» akin to the historical Communist International (Komintern).

We celebrate this essential gathering as a historical necessity that cannot wait. Those of us who draw from Marxism understand that the struggle against capitalism and the pursuit of socialism is fundamentally a class struggle, interconnecting the national expression of this fight with the international quest for socialism.

A quick analysis of capitalism shows that it has always been a global market (as described by Marx in Chapter XXIV of «Capital»), with its origins reliant on colonization and the slave trade in England, a trend that has significantly intensified in this era of financial globalization.

This same trend can be observed in the political framework of Imperialism and the complicity of major powers in criminal actions executed by the U.S.-Zionist axis, as evidenced by their support for the Zionist entity and the genocide being committed in Palestine, as well as a series of imperialist crimes against the nations of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, and now Iran.

We also notice that our class enemies are organizing in various forums, as seen in the recent meeting of the philo-fascist governments of Our America in Florida, dubbed the «Shield of the Americas,» or the gatherings in several countries of the far-right «International» aimed at coordinating actions (which has yielded results given their advances in our continent).

Thus, it is crucial to rebuild a space for theoretical and political articulation to regain the initiative in the class struggle, seeking reflection as well as the development of common tactics to confront our class enemies at local, regional, and international levels.

It is vital to reclaim the initiative and common ground to place the class-based left movement at the forefront of the international struggle for socialism.

We are approaching a perilous abyss in history. The imperialist forces, desperate over their loss of hegemony, are becoming increasingly dangerous and violent.

Several indicators reflect this trend, not only the unleashed violence by Zionism against Palestine but also the terrorist actions perpetrated by imperialism against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela—including the murder of civilians and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Congresswoman Cilia Flores—or the unjustifiable military aggression by the U.S.-Zionist axis against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Thus, it is crucial to reclaim an essential attribute of the socialist and revolutionary movement rooted in the DNA of our parties: an international of anti-capitalist forces. This need was recognized as early as 1864, the year of the founding of the First International (seven years before the first workers’ government in history: the Paris Commune!).

Class enemies, when faced with threats to their interests, set aside tactical differences to unite behind a strategic hegemony; we must learn this lesson: the strategic interests of the proletariat must take precedence over tactical differences. We should first resolve the primary, antagonistic contradictions and then turn our attention to the secondary issues.

Therefore, the meeting convened in Moscow should enable us to emerge stronger, with a common strategic program and tighter fraternal bonds among revolutionary organizations.

It is imperative to set aside minor tactical differences to advance the establishment of a shared strategy. We must strengthen our commonalities to move beyond our tactical differences and recognize that there is something greater than our egos: the historical necessity for unity to dismantle capitalism, particularly its aggressive current manifestations, like neo-fascism, imperialism, and Zionism, which once again place us on the brink of extinction as a species (as Marx stated: Capital destroys its two sources of wealth: mankind and nature).

Today, more than ever, Rosa Luxemburg’s desperate call in 1915 during World War I, amid the devastation wrought by Imperialism, is being reiterated: Socialism or Barbarism.

Patricio A. Brodsky