Marxist–Leninist Party (Communist Reconstruction)
Partido Marxista–Leninista (Reconstrucción Comunista)
Secretary-GeneralRoberto Vaquero Arribas
Founded6 October 2014
Ideology
Political positionFar-left
National affiliationWorkers' Front
Party flag
Website
reconstruccioncomunista.es

Marxist–Leninist Party (Communist Reconstruction) (Spanish: Partido Marxista-Leninista (Reconstrucción Comunista), originally Spanish: Reconstrucción Comunista, RC) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Spain, officially registered since 2014.

History

The party's history began in 2009 under the name of Communist Reconstruction (Spanish: Reconstrucción Comunista). It was formed by communists who were active in other organisations and decided to form their own independent organisation.

The party's main activity at that time was limited to the province of Madrid, and was based mainly on student unionism in the universities, communist training, support for the Kurdish community and activism against the Turkish government of Erdogan. On April 14 of that same year, they broke into the traditional demonstration for the Third Republic in the city of Madrid, carrying out a parade of combative aesthetics in honor of the fallen anti-fascists of the Civil War.[1] Since then, every year the PML(RC) organizes a parade, in which more than a thousand people participated in 2019.[2]

Consolidation (2012–2015)

Between the years 2012–2014, the party increased its work in the international arena, supporting some anti-repressive causes in Iran and Ecuador, as well as the Naxalite Insurgency in India, although over time they broke relations with the Maoist organizations that supported this movement. The PML(RC) would also participate in the general strikes that characterized the 2010–2012 period, and supported the creation of platforms against repression after the considerable increase in police charges and arrests during the peak of the mobilizations.

In 2013 they would hold their Second Congress, in which they would formalize their criticism of Maoism as an anti-Marxist current, as well as their anti-imperialist position regarding the US and China-Russia as 'two reactionary political-economic blocs' and 'contrary to progress' of the peoples'.[3]

On March 8, 2013 they would make public the creation of their youth as a party, the Young Guard (Bolshevik). On March 22 of this same year they would participate in the Marches of Dignity,[4] but forming a 'Combative and class' bloc denouncing the supposed "inter-class" and "reformist" tint that the mobilizations had acquired, a block in which other leftist organizations participated.[5]

During the years 2013 and 2014, the PML(RC) managed to spread to new regions such as Valencia, Castellón, the Basque Country, Cuenca or Jaén, among others.

On April 10, 2015, the III Congress took place, in which they would be refounded as PML(RC), thus formalizing the qualitative change experienced in the organization and its extension to new areas in the rest of Spain, such as Barcelona or Tarragona.

Temporary party ban

In December 2014, two PML(RC) militants volunteered for the International Liberation Battalion to fight Daesh in the Syrian civil war. After their return to Spain in July 2015 they were arrested[6] and accused of being part of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), considered a terrorist organization by the European Union. Both they and their party denied these accusations. In their statements they stated that they worked together with the YPG and that the decision was totally individual and voluntary. On January 27, 2016, due to the police collaboration of one of the brigade members, Operation Valle was carried out, ordered by the Investigating Court No. 6 of the National High Court, instructed by Judge Eloy Velasco. Eight PML(RC) militants and a citizen of Kurdish origin were arrested, accused of criminal organization and collaboration with a terrorist group.[7]

In addition to the arrests, the National Court estimated the suspension of PML(RC) activity as a precautionary measure for one year, the closure of all its offices and imprisonment of a citizen of Kurdish origin and two militants of the party, among them the secretary general, Roberto Vaquero Arribas,[8] who was imprisoned in solitary confinement for nearly two months until, due to lack of evidence, he was released. Currently all the defendants are at liberty, pending the resolution of the appeal to the Supreme Court that seeks the acquittal of the defendants.[9]

Post-illegalization activity: The Worker's Front

After a year the precautionary measure was not extented by the National High Court and the PML(RC) was acquitted of all the charges against it. The party resumed its public activity by carrying out a parade in support of a new republic on 8 April 2017.[10][11]

In 2018, the PML(RC) created the so-called Frente Obrero (FO, Workers' Front) as a front and electoral vehicle.[12] The FO gained media attention due to confronting prominent politicians, such as Íñigo Errejón,[13] Pablo Iglesias[14] and Irene Montero.[15] The FO also gained attention thanks to the Esperanza Obrera (Workers' Hope) initiative in the city of Valencia where, after occupying a building, they gave food to several hundred individuals as well as accommodation and labor advice.[16]

The FO also competes in elections, and gained one seat in the municipality of Mandayona in the 2023 local elections. The FO is contesting the 2023 general election, fielding candidates in almost all constituencies. The party gained 46,274 votes (0.19%) and no seats.

References

  1. ↑ Desfile en honor a los combatientes Madrid 14 de Abril 2011, retrieved 2022-09-19
  2. ↑ Desfile PML (RC) – Abril 2019, retrieved 2022-09-19
  3. ↑ "Revista de Acero nº15 – PML(RC)". Partido Marxista-Leninista (Reconstrucción comunista) (in Spanish). 2020-02-25. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  4. ↑ "Marchas de la Dignidad 22-M en EL PAÍS". El País (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  5. ↑ EFE (2017-05-27). "Las Marchas de la Dignidad vuelven a sacar a las calles a miles de personas". cadena SER (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  6. ↑ Águeda, Pedro (2015-07-06). "Interior acusa de terrorismo a los dos comunistas que fueron a combatir al ISIS". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  7. ↑ "Los nueve detenidos por ayudar al PKK turco integraban el grupo Reconstrucción Comunista". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  8. ↑ "Sobre mí". Roberto Vaquero (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  9. ↑ EFE (2016-01-29). "Prisión para el líder de Reconstrucción Comunista por colaborar con el PKK kurdo". elDiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  10. ↑ "DESFILE POR LA REPÚBLICA SOCIALISTA ABRIL 2017 – PML(RC)". Partido Marxista-Leninista (Reconstrucción comunista) (in Spanish). 2017-04-10. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  11. ↑ "Sobre la Operación Valle contra el PML (RC) – PML(RC)". Partido Marxista-Leninista (Reconstrucción comunista) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  12. ↑ "Podemos: Así es el Frente Obrero que desmonta a Podemos con el "chalet de 600.000 €" de Iglesias". okdiario.com (in Spanish). 2019-02-22. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  13. ↑ "Frente Obrero: ¿Qué hay detrás del grupo que ha realizado un escrache a Pablo Iglesias?". El Plural (in Spanish). 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  14. ↑ "Frente Obrero: ¿Qué hay detrás del grupo que ha realizado un escrache a Pablo Iglesias?". El Plural (in Spanish). 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  15. ↑ "Carmen, la joven de Frente Obrero que escrachea a Irene Montero: "Se llena la boca con el feminismo"". El Español (in Spanish). 2021-05-17. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  16. ↑ "Los okupas toman un edificio en Valencia destinado a discapacitados". Las Provincias (in Spanish). 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
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