The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) leadership’s trial in 1938.

This article is devoted to one of the most tragic topics in the history of this party and the history of the Spanish Republic as a whole, namely, the trial of the leaders of the Workers’ Party of Marxist Unification. The following unpublished documents stored in the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History were used for the analysis (F. 495. Op. 183): letters, personal files, protocols of interrogations after May Days, lists and reports on the “connection” between Trotskyi and the POUM, reports on the preparation and course of the trial of the POUM. Members of the POUM were accused of participating in a “rebellion”, moving to change the social order of the Republic. The accusation of the POUM connections with Franco did not seem convincing, either in Spain or abroad. The international public’s attention was focused on the trial of the POUM. Despite the fact that Spain failed to organize a show trial in the style of the “Moscow trials” and the “conspiracy between Trotskyi and Fascists” was not confirmed, the verdict had a negative impact on the POUM reputation. Thus, the trial of the POUM remained in history as one of the “black spots” in the interaction between the Spanish Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. However, the prisoners of the POUM resisted pressure, they were supported morally by participants of the campaign of solidarity in Spain and abroad. The struggle for a kind of rehabilitation of the party continued in emigration.

The cycle of the new left in the recent history of Argentina

This paper aims at outlining the main processes that, in Argentina’s recent past, may enable us to understand the emergence, development and eventual defeat of the social protest movement and the political radicalization of the period 1960-70s.Here, as in previous papers, we resort to the concept of new left toname the movement that, though heterogeneous and lacking a unified direction, became a major unit in deeds, for multiple actors coming the most diverse angles coincided in opposing the vicious political regime and the social order it supported. Consequently, we shall try to reinstate the presence of such wide range of actors: their projects, objectives and speeches. Some critical circumstances shall be detailed and processes through which protests gradually amalgamated will be shown. Such extended politicization provided the frame for quite radical moves ranging from contracultural initiatives and the classism in the workers’ movement to the actual action of guerrilla groups. Through the dynamics of the events themselves we shall locate the peak moments as well as those which paved the way for their closure and eventual defeat in 1976.

On the way to the Soviet Mexico: the Comintern and the Communist Party of Mexico at the period of its illegal activities, 1929-1934

This article deals with the evolution and peculiarities of the policy of Mexican communists who were forced to operate underground after the beginning of the "left turn" in the late 1920s. During this period, the CPM actually abandoned its own interpretation of the problems of the revolution in its country, being satisfied with the policies and assessments of the Comintern apparatus. The author's attention is paid to both the party's course towards attempts to penetrate the army structures, as also to new forms of activity (after the collapse of the policy of broad alliances) in the labor movement, among the unemployed and peasant organizations; they were all aimed at achieving the goal of the seizure of power by the workers and peasants; in 1929-1934 the Communist Party of Mexico virtually excluded the anti-imperialist component from its sphere of activity. The crisis in the reformist sector of the labor movement contributed to the intensive development of an independent labor movement, the path to which the Mexican Communists tried to find, however, this activity was complicated by the presence of a number of serious competitors. During this period, the communists concentrated their efforts on working in the nation-wide branch trade unions, which created the groundwork for new growth. At the same time, the CPM did not understand neither the significance of the figure of the progressive politician Lazaro Cardenas, nor the consequences of the regrouping within the ruling elites, and with great difficulty renounced sectarian politics.

Social-reformist Experiments in Latin America during the Cold War

The article is devoted to the consideration and analysis of the practical policy of Latin American national reformism and social reformism during the Cold War. The author shows that the political and ideological gamut of the non-communist left movement in Latin America in the bipolar period was very wide. Specifically in this scientific article, the author refers to examples of the exercise of power by different directions of the socialist movement in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Peru, Chile. The author shows the existing connections between Latin American national reformism and the Socialist International and at that time comes to the conclusion that the ideology and practice of Latin American social democracy during the Cold War had a special, specific character. The common features characteristics of both the ideological project and the practical policy of the social reformist forces in the period under review were a commitment to political transformations, the expansion of social and political rights of citizens, the strengthening of the state and public sector in the economy, the priority of social policy, an anti-oligarchic strategy, a focus on a fair agrarian reform, anti-imperialism and the desire to defend national independence in foreign policy. In some cases (Nicaragua, Panama, Chile), the nature of social-economic transformations went beyond the framework of classical social reformism and had a revolutionary democratic content. The results of the center-left experiments in Latin American countries during the Cold War have varied, but by the 1990s most of them had failed. This is largely due to the fact that in the specific historical conditions of Latin American countries, national reformism in power led to the development of authoritarian and personalist tendencies, an increase in corruption and bureaucracy, attempts to merge the party and state apparatus.

International processes in Latin America: the legacy of the Comintern and new challenges

The activities of the Third (Communist) International left a noticeable mark on the political history of Latin America. His ideological, organizational legacy remains a factor in shaping the theory and practice of contemporary leftist governments in the region. This article examines the impact of the legacy of the Comintern on international processes in Latin America, the development of integration projects, foreign policy projects of the left forces of the region. On the basis of archival documents, media materials, documents of parties and governments, the authors show which of the foreign policy guidelines of the Comintern are relevant for the region in the 21st century.

Intellectuals and commitment to global anti-fascism: The Second Spanish Republic according to Aníbal Ponce and Carlo Rosselli, 1935-1937

Aníbal Ponce, the highest figure of Argentine Marxism in the 1930s, was in Paris participating in the Antifascist Intellectuals Vigilance Committee, and was sent to Spain as a member of an international evaluation commission of the repressive events in the Asturias Insurrection. When he returns to Argentina after presenting a report and making an initiatory visit to Moscow, he speaks on the Spanish situation, on the political limits of the Second Republic and on the recent triumph of the Popular Front and its challenges. There he posits the idea of the events in Asturias as victorious defeat, as a prelude to the coming revolution. Since his Parisian exile, Carlo Rosselli, the leader of the Italian anti-fascist movement Giustizia e Libertà, reflected critically on the Spanish experience, eventually leading an Italian legion on the Aragon war front. Ideologically closer to the anarchists than to the communists, Rosselli warns of the limits of revolutionary action in Spain, but anticipates a similar opinion to Ponce on the momentary defeat of the working class. In both cases, the Spanish experience leads them to consider the transition from speculation to action as the greatest possible destination for the intellectual class.

Left-wing Regimes in Contemporary Latin America: Theoretical Concepts and Political Practice

The article examines contemporary approaches to the interpretation of left-wing political regimes and offers his own typology. Particular attention is paid to the fluctuations of the political pendulum in the region in the first decades of this century, the reasons for the successes and failures of the left forces. The author analyzes the ideology and practical activity of the center-left and radical left governments and comes to the conclusion that the persisting and even deepening disagreements between them are associated not only with the interpretation of the socialist ideas, the recognition of various forms of property, the role of the state in the economy, its social functions and foreign policy orientation, but also with the peculiarities of electoral legislation, ensuring political pluralism, forms of political participation and respect for human rights and civil liberties.

Argentina Reformer Mariano Fragueiro

This article examines the ideas and activity of the Argentina thinker and political figure Mariano Fragueiro (1795–1872), his plan of modernization of Argentina and the reaction to his reforms from the liberal elite. According to him liberal model was not sufficient to the progressive development of the country. Нe proclaimed that the chief cause of the social instability was that the workers did not have access to the property. The remedy proposed was the nationalization of the circulating capital credit and banks for rapid development of the national market, the rose of investments and liquidation of the conflict between capital and labor.

Mexican Revolution 1910-1917 and British interests

Mexico experienced relative political stability during the period of President Porfirio Diaz. This process was accompanied by accelerated capitalist development with dependence on foreign capital and the preservation of precapitalist features. The President of the country Diaz created favorable conditions for the penetration of foreign capital into the country's economy. Great Britain has shown an interest in establishing strong economic relations with the Mexican state, seeking to consolidate its economic dominance in the Latin American market. With the backing of the Diaz government in Mexico, major British entrepreneurs such as Whitman Pearson received favorable conditions to grow their businesses. At the same time, the country experienced a serious confrontation between Britain and the United States of America for influence on the Mexican economy and politics. The focus of the article is on the relationship between Great Britain and Mexico during the revolution of 1910-1917. The study reveals the position of London in relation to the Mexican governments replacing each other during the revolutionary events, headed by General Victoriano Huerta and the leader of the constitutionalists Venustiano Carranza.

State terror in Argentina (1975-1983) as a part of a twentieth century’s history

This article explores the history of state terrorism in Argentina during the years 1975-1983, integrating it into a process that covers the entire 20th century. By way of an essay and based on our previous research, as well as on the specific bibliography, the proposal is to explain the conditions of possibility of a paradigmatic case of mass violence including three temporal variables. In the first place, long-term processes are exposed, studying the first decades of the 20th century; then those of the medium term, working on the decades of 1950, 1960 and 1970 and, finally, those of the short term address the conjuncture 1973-1976. Each section deals with a set of analytical elements that we consider essential to understand and explain the process of repressive accumulation that is connected with the massacre of political opponents in the 1970s. In general, we have targeted a series of key actors: the Armed Forces, the Security Forces, constitutional governments, de facto governments, and civil actors linked to the repression. At the same time, we include a set of elements, also decisive: the frameworks of exception, the military doctrine, the dehumanization of the enemy, the legal and illegal methods, and the repressive practices and experiences. We hope to insert state terrorism into a diverse and multi-determined history, in order to better understand and explain a phenomenon of extreme complexity.