Argentina - September 19th, 2018
The PTS proposal of the Constituent Assembly and the distorsion of "An Action Program for France" by Trotsky
A falsification of the use of minimum and democratic demands
in the revolutionary action program
The PTS wants to show that its democratic program of Constituent Assembly for Argentina is the one that Trotsky raises in "A program of action for France". This is not like this. There, Trotsky raises the slogan of "Single Assembly" subordinated to develop the armament of the people. The PTS does the opposite: it raises the Constituent as a slogan of power and articulates all its program of action around that slogan. "An action program for France" is from the year 1934. Hitler had come to power in Germany in 1933. In 1934 the fascists came to power in Austria. French fascism got on theier feet with a huge armed demonstration that led to the resignation of Daladier's government and the assumption of the Bonapartist government of Doumergue.
In this situation, the workers of the French Socialist Party turned to the left and sought to arm themselves so as not to be crushed like in Germany and Austria. How did Trotsky talk to these socialist workers, against a bonapartist regime and the advancing fascism? "Meanwhile and as long as the majority of the working class continues to rely on the foundations of bourgeois democracy, we are ready to defend it with all our strength from the violent attacks of the bonapartist and fascist bourgeoisie. However, we ask our class brothers to adhere to 'democratic' socialism, to be faithful to their ideas: not to be inspired by the ideas and methods of the Third Republic (1870-1940) but those of the Convention of 1793”. That Convention was that of the Jacobins, who had the program of "the nation in arms", "a man, a rifle".
Trotsky ends that point by saying: "We can only defend the sad remnants of democracy that we have left and especially, expand the democratic arena for the activity of the masses by annihilating the fascist armed forces." The axis of the "democratic" program for France in 1934 was not the "single assembly" but the workers'militia to crush fascism, disarm the police and set up soviets, soldiers' committees, etc.
All the content of "An action program for France" is arranged around programmatic pointsas "The alliance between workers and peasants", "Dissolution of the police, political rights for soldiers", "Against the war, for the Socialist United States of Europe!", "For the defense of the Soviet Union", "Down with the bourgeois 'strong state'! For the workers’ and peasants’ power! "," The bourgeoisie will never surrender voluntarily", etc.
The slogans that Trotsky raises at the end of the article are "For workers’ and peasant control! For the workers' alliance! For the armament of the proletariat! For the anti-fascist popular militia! Forward for the workers’ and peasant commune!"
The "Single Assembly"? Only a tactic for the working class to dispute the direction of the masses to the liberal bourgeoisie and legitimize the struggle for armament. The one that asked for "more democracy" against fascism and Bonapartism was the direction of the French social democracy.
The PTS speaks of "generous democracy" without saying this. It is a treacherous falsification of Trotsky. The PTS uses the worst methods of falsification of Stalinism to pass the politics of social democracy. The honest Socialist militants of the PTS cannot allow for one more minute that their leadership continues to falsify Trotsky as Stalin falsified Lenin.
How can there be a "free and sovereign" Constituent Assembly in Argentina if the entire regime of the Constitution of 1853 is not overthrown? A "generous democracy" without disarming the genocidal officer caste of the Armed Forces? Only in the dreams of the PTS theorists.
If the leadership of the PTS were minimally democratic, it would present the guillotine like the Jacobins! But no. The FIT does not want to cut the throat of Marie Antoinette. They just want to democratize the parliament.
IVAN LEÓN