Socialist Front (Puerto Rico)

Last updated
Socialist Front
Frente Socialista
Founded1990
Ideology Marxism
Revolutionary socialism
Socialism
Multi-tendency
Puerto Rico Independence
Political position Left-wing to far-left
Regional affiliation São Paulo Forum

The Socialist Front (Spanish : Frente Socialista, FS) is a coalition of far-left and pro-independence political organizations in Puerto Rico. The Socialist Front also includes non-partisan activists.

Contents

The FS was launched on November 4, 1990, as an initiative of the Socialist Workers' Movement (MST) joining with the Political Formation Workshop and the Puerto Rican Workers Party-Macheteros. [1] [2] In 2005 the MST officially disaffiliated with the Frente Socialista, and Puerto Rican Workers' Revolutionary Party, and the Political Education Workshop did the same in 2008, but the Frente has continued on. The Frente's principal spokespersons were Rafael Bernabe Riefkohl and Jorge Farinacci.

Affiliated group:

The FS participates in the São Paulo Forum and the World Social Forum. Its supporters in New York City are organized in the Working Group on Puerto Rico.

In 2006, the leader Jorge Farinacci García died of cancer, [3] prompting a message of condolences from the Party for Socialism and Liberation. [4]

Ideology

As a coalition of multiple tendencies, opinions often vary internally, however, amongst its stated public positions; it has supported general strikes, [1] supports the presidency of Nicolás Maduro,[ citation needed ] and has previously condemned acts of terrorism, saying:

Motivated by the esteem and respect for human life that inspires our socialist ideals, we reject all attacks that irresponsibly or indiscriminately attempts against the life of any human being. Conscientious of the difference between the governments and the peoples, we repudiate all actions that, to strike governments, or to protest against some measures, however unjust they may be, strike in its place defenseless people. [5]

Endorsements

In the 2000 Puerto Rican elections, the FS endorsed the Puerto Rican Independence Party . In the 2004 elections, the Socialist Front promoted a voting boycott but condemned the MINH's support for the pro-Commonwealth Popular Democratic Party (PPD). Furthermore, the Socialist Front sustained and nurtured its decades-long alliance with the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Rican Independence Party</span> Political party

The Puerto Rican Independence Party is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerto Rican Socialist Party</span> Political party

The Puerto Rican Socialist Party was a Marxist and pro-independence political party in Puerto Rico seeking the end of United States of America control on the Hispanic and Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. It proposed a "democratic workers' republic".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independence movement in Puerto Rico</span> Initiatives by inhabitants throughout the history of Puerto Rico

Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to gain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire between 1493 and 1898 and since then from the United States. Today, the movement is most commonly represented by the flag of the Grito de Lares(Cry of Lares) revolt of 1868.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Rafael Barceló</span> Puerto Rican politician (1868–1938)

Antonio Rafael Barceló y Martínez was a Puerto Rican lawyer, businessman and the patriarch of what was to become one of Puerto Rico's most prominent political families. Barceló, who in 1917 became the first President of the Senate of Puerto Rico, played an instrumental role in the introduction and passage of legislation which permitted the realization of the School of Tropical Medicine and the construction of a Capitol building in Puerto Rico.

The Hostosian National Independence Movement is a political organization in Puerto Rico. In 2015, Julio Muriente was its leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Socialist Party (Puerto Rico)</span> Puerto Rican political party (1899–1956)

The Socialist Party, also known as Socialista Obrero, was a pro-statehood political party in Puerto Rico, that also contemplated independence in the case that entry into the American Union was denied by Congress. The party was concerned with improving the social welfare of Puerto Ricans.

The Popular Socialist Movement was a Marxist and pro-independence organization in Puerto Rico.

Jorge Aurelio Farinacci García was a Puerto Rican politician and socialist. He held a strong pro-independence stance of Puerto Rico from the U.S. Farinacci died in the morning of August 26, 2006 from complications due to a brain tumor. Farinacci, spokesman of the Socialist Front, suffered from a lymphoma in the brain that had previously affected his kidneys and heart, but was unable to survive this third stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political party strength in Puerto Rico</span> Political parties in the U.S. territory

The political party strength in Puerto Rico has been held by different political parties in the history of Puerto Rico. Today, that strength is primarily held by two parties, namely:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Puerto Rico</span>

The history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the Ortoiroid people before 430 BC. At the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1493, the dominant indigenous culture was that of the Taíno. The Taíno people's numbers went dangerously low during the latter half of the 16th century because of new infectious diseases carried by Europeans, exploitation by Spanish settlers, and warfare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labor Party (Puerto Rico)</span> Political party in Puerto Rico

The Labor Party, also known as the Socialist Worker's Party, was a political party in Puerto Rico from 1899 to 1915.

The Workers' Socialist Movement, known for many years as the Workers' Socialist Party, is a Trotskyist political party in Bolivia. PST/MST was affiliated to LIT-CI for a long period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workers' Socialist Movement (Puerto Rico)</span> Puerto Rican political organization

The Workers' Socialist Movement is a Puerto Rican democratic socialist revolutionary organization, formed in 1982 and dedicated to the self-organization and self-emancipation of the working-class in Puerto Rico, as well as international solidarity with the workers struggles worldwide. It is usually known as the "MST", and its youth section is the Unión de Juventudes Socialistas, also known as the "UJS-MST" or simply "UJS". The MST supports a socialist and independent Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Workers' Left Front</span> Trotskyist political coalition in Argentina

The Workers' Left Front – Unity is an electoral alliance of four revolutionary Trotskyist communist parties in Argentina: the Workers' Party (PO), the Socialist Workers' Party (PTS), Socialist Left (IS), and the Workers' Socialist Movement (MST). Initially founded in 2011, the alliance added MST in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Carlos Giordano</span>

Juan Carlos Giordano is an Argentine activist and politician of the Socialist Left. He is currently a member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, representing Buenos Aires Province as part of the Socialist Left - Socialist Workers' Party bloc. He was elected in 2013.

Anarchism as a social movement is one of the manifestations of the political left within the working classes of Puerto Rico, having its peak during the late 19th and early 20th century. Anarchism was predominantly present within, but not exclusive to, the working classes that emerged as the sociopolitical environment changed. The municipalities of Caguas and Bayamón were the epicenters of the movement. It was also recorded in other industrial centers, such as Ponce, San Juan, Arecibo, Cayey, Cidra, Juncos, Vega Baja, Utuado, Lares, Yauco and Mayagüez. Despite sharing some core values, Puerto Rican anarchism was heterogeneous in nature. In general, Puerto Rican anarchism was distinctly anti-organized religion, in particular against the Catholic Church that had retained considerable influence since the beginning of Spanish colonialism. Following the Treaty of Paris, it also grew to oppose American sovereignty, as it perceived that the island was being forced into servitude with an Americanization initiative, leading to distinct antiauthoritarian stances against both foreign and local politicians, the wealthy higher classes and American labor unions. However, on principle the anarchists opposed joining the independence movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana</span> Puerto Rican political party

Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana is a Puerto Rican political party founded in 2019. It ran in the 2020 general elections on an anti-colonial platform, proposing a constitutional assembly to determine a final decision regarding the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Puerto Rican general election</span>

General elections were held in Puerto Rico on November 3, 2020, to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government who will serve from January 2021 to January 2025, most notably the position of Governor and Resident Commissioner. In addition, there was a non-binding status referendum to ask voters if Puerto Rico should become the 51st state of the Union.

References

  1. 1 2 Somocurcio, Monica. "Socialist Front conference honors strike leaders". www.workers.org. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. "Puerto Rico: For Mass Action Against U.S. Imperialism". www.marxists.org. Summer 2000. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  3. Soto, Tom (12 September 2006). "Socialist and working class leader is remembered". www.workers.org. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  4. "PSL message to the Socialist Front of Puerto Rico on the death of Jorge Farinacci". 27 August 2006. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  5. "The Socialist Front condemns the acts of terrorism that caused the deaths of innocent people". www.latinamericanstudies.org. 12 September 2001. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.