Young Workers Lead ICWP International Conference here ♦ Successful Conference Reflects Growing Work here ♦ Building Communist Relationships Across Capitalist Borders here ♦ O One International Communist Workers Party here ♦
Young Workers Lead ICWP International Conference
EL SALVADOR, December 30— “What does it mean to be a member of the International Communist Workers’ Party (ICWP)? What are the functions? I am not going to say I am a member of the Party and stand idly by,” asked a worker during the International Communist Conference.
“You have to participate in the discussions in the collectives, organize and be part of the political activities,” a comrade responded. “This leads to a growth of knowledge of the communist line, creating the conditions for building a mass party.”
Creating a base in each factory is essential to establish communist relations among the men and women workers.
“We are not born communists, we become communists,” said another comrade worker. “We are all part of a process. We are developing. This conference is an opportunity for that. The young people who are here must continue this struggle. We are going to win. We cannot give up! Political work awaits us, to continue strengthening ICWP.”
This conference was a success in many ways. We improved the attendance on previous years, with eighty comrades participating. Many young workers from four factories in El Salvador actively participated in the discussions. So did comrades from the US, India, Mexico, South Africa, Honduras, Spain, and Costa Rica.
We began by stating that we find ourselves in a deep crisis of capitalism, growing fascism, and wars between the imperialists for resources, territories, and markets. The genocide in Gaza shows the horror of capitalism. All this makes the unity of the international working class to fight for a communist world necessary and urgent.
We saw a video of the mobilizations of ICWP in several parts of the world. This encouraged greater participation in the future.
The comrades in South Africa, ten young leaders, described their political work at the factories. They asked how to develop collectives within the factories.
A comrade who organizes collectives in the maquilas of El Salvador responded. “You have to start with two or three and develop relationships with them through Red Flag.” Comrades in South Africa raised fists in agreement.
Next, a comrade reported emotionally on his experiences organizing in the US Army. “The military report really captured my attention and that of the group in general,” a worker commented. “I could observe it, making very clear what we have discussed in the collectives, about the need to organize in the military.”
“I am talking with three comrades from the factory where I work,” reported a young man. “I want to create a link with them and then I plan to pass Red Flag to them.” This is an advance because he had previously seen passing the newspaper in the maquila as impossible.
Another comrade said, “We in the factory collectives continue meeting, discussing Red Flag articles and making plans to increase distribution and organize more comrades.”
A young worker spoke of the importance of the family nucleus knowing about ICWP. “It is a strong support, as in my case, and so is organizing neighbors and workers.”
Internal Contradictions Are Primary
We discussed materialism and idealism. A comrade explained the importance of communist philosophy. Dialectical materialism sees internal contradiction as the primary thing for the changes we need.
During this discussion it came out that a major internal contradiction is fear (of repression, of rejection of our ideas). Everyone feels this. We concluded that we can overcome fear with patience and consistency, collectively learning and using communist practices.
Comrades reported on the Movement of Workers and Farmworkers of Costa Rica (MTC). One concluded: “I am a communist and I need to commit myself more in practice. And I reaffirm it, especially because you had confidence to invite us, respecting our differences, without any kind of conditions on our thinking and practice. My fraternal and militant affection, my respect from my heart, and my fist raised together with you. Thank you, friends in the struggle!”
Finally, in workshops, we discussed three questions about Red Flag. One of the good results was the expansion of a group with men and women workers to read and discuss Red Flag. There, they will share questions and answers to advance in the organization of a mass ICWP.
We emphasized the importance of Red Flag as a revolutionary weapon of struggle, organization, and information. We saw the need to develop more writers, and to increase the distribution of the paper.
As the conference closed, a comrade ICWP leader asked, “Who is going to take the step of becoming part of the Party today?” Four comrades stepped forward to join ICWP’s communist ranks: two maquila workers and a health worker from El Salvador, and a teacher from Costa Rica.
Our future, a communist world, is in the hands of comrades like those who participated in this conference.
Successful ICWP Conference in El Salvador Reflects Growing Work
Greetings to all ICWP comrades!
We attended the recent annual ICWP conference with my family, accompanying the comrades in communist solidarity.
It was full of participation and inspiration, reflecting the communist struggles. Reports like the one from our comrades in South Africa gave especially important contributions about their work.
Comrades from Costa Rica and an ex-military comrade gave their reports on how they live day by day in struggle against the capitalists. We maquila workers also reported about the internal and collective struggles that we have, inside and outside the factory.
It was a very dynamic and active conference. I invite all the comrades of the world to keep moving forward and not give up in the struggle. This year we had a good number of new participants at the conference and in the party.
This reflects the work that we’re carrying out in all the collectives. We have not been silent. We have raised our voices. The boss trembles; the capitalist trembles.
It is time that we rise up more and more. Let’s continue forward so that no one can take away our strength and achievements. Comrades, with struggle, we will achieve our goal.
—Comrade Maquila Worker, El Salvador
Building Communist Relationships Across the Capitalists’ Borders
I send you my cordial greetings, comrades. As a new member of this group of comrades, I want to say that I felt very good and supported by your ideas at the conference. I learned to share with different comrades from El Salvador and other places. I met other comrades via zoom.
It was a very beautiful and pleasant experience in which you learn to interact with comrades from other countries, and present ideas with a single purpose. Our purpose is to destroy capitalism and raise the “Red Flag” high and say, “Yes we can do it, comrades, with this revolutionary struggle from day to day.”
Personally, I say, “Up with Red Flag, up with communism!” Let’s keep fighting, comrades, for a world where there are no borders, united by the same ideology with knowledge to defeat capitalism. We men and women workers will overcome fear and, united massively, we will be strong.
Thank you for this new experience and the opportunity to share with comrades from different countries.
—Comrade Charlie in El Salvador
One International Communist Workers’ Party
I feel very happy to be here at the conference for the third time. Here I can feel the solidarity of communist camaraderie, sharing with international comrades. We see that for our party there are no borders. We are all united by the same struggle.
By sharing ideas and experiences, we see that we all face the same struggles against sexism, against social injustice, which is full of discrimination and exploitation of our class.
I have grown and learned a lot in this conference. I see that we must put communist relations into social practice by working collectively to understand the struggle and how to achieve a communist revolution that will defeat this capitalist system. We will only achieve this by being members of the ICWP, and with a constant struggle.
—Comrade in El Salvador
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