First Published: Daily World, May 15, 1971.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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A most important historical development in the revolutionary left and pro-independence front in Puerto Rico was discussed on May Day, when Juan Mari Bras, general secretary of the Movement for Puerto Rican Independence (MPI), addressed five thousand persons at the Barcelo Plaza in Barrio Obrero (Workers’ Barrio). Bras called for the transformation of the Movement for Puerto Rican Independence into a political party of the working class.
A translation of excerpts from the address, which appeared in the May 9 issue of CLARIDAD, organ of the Movement for Puerto Rican Independence, follows.
“We have announced the purpose of the Movement for Puerto Rican Independence (MPI) is to accelerate its ideological and organizational development in order to transform it into a revolutionary party of the working class. It is important to clarify this idea now, so that it will not lend itself to misconceptions. Firstly, let’s make it clear that we are not talking about converting ourselves into a party like the traditional ones we have here today. A revolutionary party has no reason to be like or have the structure of, the conventional parties existing within the capitalist systems, even less to the parties of the colonial countries.
“In Puerto Rico the problems become more complex because of our colonial condition. We have had parties here that tried to emulate the reformist collectives of Europe or Latin America, and they have not even been able to do that. The straightjacket of colonialism makes it impossible even to achieve the reforms possible in the capitalist system. Historical examples of this assertion are the Socialist and Popular parties.
“That is why groups with reformist ideologies are forced to convert themselves into revolutionary collectives if they want to continue to live up to their patriotic slogans.
“Now, we are dealing with a highly ambitious objective. We are aiming at joining together in the fundamental concept of our party, the patriotic objective of independence with the revolutionary goal of building socialism in Puerto Rico. And we are talking about socialism in its proper scientific meaning, that is, the complete elimination of private property over the means of production, the collectivization and centralization of the economy.
“It is the efficient way to solve what our Eugenio Maria de Hostos prophesied as the most anxious cry of the 20th century world: “Property for everybody, work for everybody; production and consumption for everybody.””
“Such a challenge could not be met with a conventional party or a mere movement.
“Now, what we are after is to perfect and complete the MPI’s functioning as a revolutionary party. We are aiming at organizing a party with such discipline among its cadres and militants that it is capable of resisting all the sudden attacks of the enemy, with such political, all-around preparation of its members that they are assured of full understanding of the changing reality at every instant; with such a sense of struggle, firmness, and audacity in its campaigns, that it will serve as an example to the rest of the people and bring into involvement larger sectors of the masses. Such a party will push diverse massive movements, making it possible to multiply geometrically from the broad base that we accumulated with the arithmetic summation of members during the first steps of the MPI.”