“A World in Revolt” really rocks!

by Barry Weisleder

I asked Cuban scientist, writer, and educator Celia Hart what she thought of the international conference “A World in Revolt – Prospects for Socialism in the 21st Century” held in Toronto, May 22-25.

“It was a wonderful, dynamic and rich experience, with a logical progression,” said Celia, hardly ably to contain her enthusiasm.

The logical progression to which she referred was the route traced through the agenda by Permanent Revolution, the revolutionary political strategy articulated by Leon Trotsky in the early years of the 20th century. Celia ably employed this concept to explain the triumph of the Cuban Revolution nearly 50 years ago, the convergence of Che Guevara’s theory and practice with that strategy, and the challenges now facing the revolutionary process in Venezuela and across Latin America as the limits of elections, referenda and economic reforms come up against the stern resistance of foreign and domestic elites.

According to Permanent Revolution, only by radical independent political action of the working class and its allies can genuine sovereignty, agricultural and industrial transformation, and popular democracy be achieved by the nations oppressed by imperialism. That was the common thread that linked the conference sessions, from Palestine and the global boycott of Israeli Apartheid, through discussions on Feminism, Anti-Racism, Immigrants’ Rights, Eco-socialism, the political situation in English Canada and Quebec, the prospects for socialism in Venezuela and across Latin America, the failing U.S. war in Iraq and the deepening crisis at home, the state of the labour movement across North America, and the inspiring revolutionary tradition of James P. Cannon, the founder of American communism and opposition to the Stalinist degeneration of the Comintern on this continent.

Participation at “A World in Revolt” exceeded all expectations. Nearly one hundred and fifty people from four countries attended all or part of the four-day gathering at the University of Toronto. At the peak, over 115 were present for the Friday evening panel and discussion on Venezuela and Latin America. There were ten sessions in all, including a special luncheon with Celia Hart, and Esteban Volkov Bronstein, the 82 year old grandson of Leon Trotsky. He told the harrowing tale of his injury and survival of the first assassination attempt on the life of his grandfather in 1940 at the Trotsky family compound in Coyoacan, a southern suburb of Mexico City.

A delightful bonus was the screening, during the Saturday supper break, of a new film from Mexico titled “Trotsky and Mexico: Two Revolutions of the 20th Century”, which Esteban kindly delivered. The 90 minute documentary (in Spanish, with English sub-titles) presents highlights of 50 years of war and revolution, tracking the career of Leon Trotsky through the Russian Revolution, the rise of Stalinism and fascism, and the anti-imperialist upsurge in Mexico in the 1930s. It introduces viewers to the scene of Trotsky’s last exile and assassination, and to the permanent Trotsky Museum in Coyoacan which is visited by thousands annually.

“A World in Revolt” was co-sponsored by Socialist Action / Ligue pour l’Action socialiste (Canadian state), Socialist Action (United States) and the Socialist Unity League (LUS) of Mexico.

Companeros Ismael Contreras and Francisco Valledares, leaders of the Mexican LUS, significantly enriched the discussions on Latin America, migrant workers’ rights, ecology, feminism, war, the food crisis, and the current economic recession. Celia Hart amplified the continuity of revolutionary Marxism in Cuba. Representatives of the governments of Cuba and Venezuela honoured us with their presence and warm greetings. Paul Loulou Chery, President of the Haitian Workers’ Federation (CHT) was a surprise visitor who addressed the gathering during the very informative session on “Eco-socialism or Barbarism”, led by Ian Angus.

Socialists in the unions described incipient signs of rebellion against labour concessions that they forecast will grow into a fight against the corporate agenda. And a great debt of thanks is owed to the dozens of Youth for Socialist Action and other members of SA-US who streamed into Toronto from Connecticut, New York, Minnesota, Missouri, and California, and who contributed so much to the discourse, as well as to the organization of the gathering.

Following the conference, SA/LUS met briefly in a federal convention to discuss and adopt plans for the coming year, and to elect its Pan-Canadian leadership. The convention voted to accept applications for provisional membership from five persons, welcomed a new dues-paying supporter, and noted that another five persons are actively considering membership in SA/LUS. Three contacts of SA-US who travelled to Toronto also asked to join the American party.

Clearly, “A World in Revolt” inspired many to take up the challenge posed by decaying world capitalism – a system hurtling mindlessly towards human and environmental destruction. The conference is a militant and passionate appeal to build a socialist alternative based on workers’ power, the liberation of women, gays/lesbians and oppressed nations, and the construction of a global cooperative commonwealth.

Let’s see what progress we can make, and let’s pledge to meet again in 2009.

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