First Published: Revolutionary Worker, July 18, 1980.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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In October 1979, an important meeting was held between Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Central Committee of the RCP, USA, and Jorge Palacios, a founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Chile and a member of the Secretariat of its Central Committee. These discussions on a wide range of subjects marked the beginning of formal relations between our two Parties.
Since that time, and in accordance with the agreements reached during that meeting, representatives of the Central Committees of the PCRCh and the RCP, USA have continued to hold discussions on many topics, including especially the crisis in the international movement and the struggle for unity on the basis of Marxist-Leninist principle. Through the course of this process a unity of views has been achieved on many questions, including:
1) Opposition to the counterrevolutionary coup in China which overthrew the dictatorship of the proletariat and replaced it with the rule of a new bureaucratic bourgeoisie. The new revisionist rulers are, with breakneck speed, dismantling socialism and undoing the accomplishments of the Chinese revolution under the leadership of Mao Tsetung and subjugating the masses once again to exploitation and all the misery typical of capitalist society. Internationally the new ruling Chinese bourgeoisie is capitulating to imperialism, which at this time is taking the form of integrating China into the sphere of Western imperialist exploitation and hitching China onto the U.S.-led war bloc. The revisionist usurpers have concocted the “strategic theory of the three worlds” and tried to pass off these tarnished revisionist theses as the work of Mao Tsetung. They have even repudiated the polemics against Khrushchevite revisionism. They are trying to spread capitulation and betrayal around the world.
2) The need to wage a vigorous defense of the great contributions of Mao Tsetung to the science and practice of Marxism-Leninism and the revolution in the face of the attacks on his line from all quarters. Mao Tsetung developed and enriched Marxism-Leninism in the fields of making revolution in the colonial and semi-colonial countries; the theory of people’s war and military affairs; political economy and socialist construction; literature and art; Marxist philosophy; and, most important, the theory of continuing the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat. Mao Tsetung led the struggle in the international communist movement against modern revisionism and developed a thorough critique of the latter. Mao Tsetung, at the head of the Chinese Marxist-Leninists, unleashed and led the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution which, for ten years, prevented the restoration of capitalism in China, further revolutionized the socialist society, trained revolutionary successors who today are fighting for the revolutionary overthrow of the new capitalist ruling class in China, and left precious and vital lessons for the world proletariat. For all these reasons the attacks on Mao Tsetung are, in fact, attacks on Marxism-Leninism and must be treated as such.
3) The Soviet revisionists remain mortal enemies of the revolutionary proletariat. Under no circumstances can Marxist-Leninists abandon the struggle against them or the revisionist parties with whom they collaborate and generally lead. All forms of opportunism, including Trotskyism, Castroism, “focoism,” and social democracy must continue to be fought.
4) The recognition of the growing danger of a third world war. The deepening crisis of the Western imperialist countries and that of the Soviet bloc states is forcing all the imperialist powers to seek a new, more favorable (for themselves) division of the world. The two imperialist superpowers, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, are heading up rival imperialist blocs to prepare for a new imperialist war that looms more menacing every passing day.
Our Parties condemn recent acts of aggression by the imperialists and those linked to them including the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the U.S. interference in Iran. In this light, the Chinese invasion of Vietnam and the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia must also be opposed.
An inter-imperialist world war could break out soon and there is a very great likelihood that it will break out in the next ten years unless it is prevented by revolution. In the face of this the proletariat must step up its revolutionary struggle, fight against imperialist war preparations, and prepare so that if revolution is not able to prevent a war it will be in a position to turn an inter-imperialist war into a war against the imperialists and their collaborators.
5)Not only is the development of the objective situation creating more fertile ground for revolutionary struggle in various countries, but there are actually growing revolutionary movements in many countries at the present time, and already within the last few years reactionary regimes in such places as Iran, Nicaragua and elsewhere have been overthrown or powerfully shaken by mass revolutionary struggle. While, as yet, none of these struggles have advanced to the stage of actually achieving the dictatorship of the proletariat, they clearly indicate the potential for this, in both the colonial (or neo-colonial) and dependent countries and in the imperialist countries themselves.
6) The need to carry out a thorough discussion and summation of the experience of the international communist movement, the proletarian revolution and the proletarian dictatorship. This is necessary, in particular, to achieve a deeper understanding of revisionism so as to better combat its pernicious influence and to continue and deepen the struggle against it even in our own ranks.
7) The urgent need for the ideological, political and organizational unity of the genuine Marxist-Leninists throughout the world. Such unity will only come about through bitter ideological and political struggle against opportunism; no good will come from trying to hide or obscure differences, still less by treating major questions of demarcation as irrelevant or mere topics for sterile academic debate.
8) Proletarian internationalism requires the active struggle to overthrow one’s “own” reactionary ruling class; the full support for the struggle of the proletariat, oppressed masses and oppressed nations throughout the world; and support for socialist countries where they exist or may be established – all toward the goal of achieving the historic mission of the international proletariat.
On the basis of these common views the PCRCh and the RCP, USA have jointly undertaken bold and serious steps to further the process of unity of the genuine Marxist-Leninists on a world scale. It is the view of both Parties that while the crisis of the international movement is deep and the dangers are menacing, the possibilities for revolution, in each respective country and in the world as a whole, are greater still. With this perspective both of our Parties pledge to fight to their full capacity for the defense of Marxism-Leninism and the contributions of Mao Tsetung, for the victory of the revolution and the advance to communism throughout the world.
July, 1980
Signed,
Central Committee, Revolutionary Communist Party of Chile
Central Committee, Revolutionary Communist Party, USA