Successful 9^th International Conference
of the ICL

In July, over 200 communists, delegates of the International Communist League (ICL) and invited guests, gathered in Mexico City to debate the tasks for the left amid the current reactionary imperialist offensive. Attendees came from every continent and included representatives from other communist organizations, including the Partido Obrero Revolucionario (POR-CERCI), the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), the International Bolshevik Tendency (IBT), International Socialist Alternative (Revolutionary) (ISA-R), the U.S.-based Labor Militant (LM), as well as a delegation from the Australian-based Communist Unity (CU). The defining political question of the conference was how to rebuild the revolutionary left in the current world context and overcome its fragmentation across unclear political lines.

On the eve of the official proceedings, we held two international gatherings, one of worker communists and the other of revolutionary youth. Both gatherings were geared towards discussing our interventions in these important areas of work and how to build a revolutionary trend within the youth and workers’ movements.

The conference itself began with fraternal greetings followed by a discussion on the world situation. Our international conference document “Workers of the World, Unite Against the U.S. Empire!” was voted unanimously by all ICL delegates, except the sole delegate from an internal minority. It was also endorsed by several delegates from the other organizations. It argues that the primary contradiction at the heart of the world system is reduced to the following dynamic: U.S. hegemony is being undermined by the rise of China, but the Communist Party (CPC) is not trying to upend the U.S. order. The absence of any force capable of decisively defeating the U.S. empire, including the world proletariat, cedes the initiative to the imperialists. This basic dynamic is behind the reactionary offensive against the masses and oppressed nations. This point led to a rich and productive debate on imperialism, the class character of China, the future of Europe, a panel on the regions of the world, a balance sheet of recent international struggles, and how to overcome the polarizations within the left and the masses on an independent proletarian basis.

From this, we proceeded to a historical discussion on the collapse of the Fourth International (FI) and why none of the 66-odd “true descendants” of Trotskyism, including ourselves, have been able to draw the correct lessons from the history of our movement. Disoriented by an incorrect prognosis for the immediate post-war period, the different trends in the FI adapted their programmatic outlook to fit a preconceived template rather than re-evaluate a changed world situation, specifically the dominance of U.S. imperialism and the reinforced authority of Stalinism. This disorientation was further exacerbated by the 1949 Chinese Revolution and the tidal wave of anti-colonial struggles that followed, because the FI was unable to chart an independent revolutionary course in opposition to the forces leading these struggles. This resulted in the FI being sealed off from the decisive struggles of the new epoch, with a few notable exceptions. This historical discussion broadened our understanding of the crisis of the Trotskyist movement today, which is facing many of the same problems.

The last main session of the conference focused on forging a revolutionary trend. This session capped off the public part of the conference and addressed the role that a small organization like the ICL can play in rebuilding the revolutionary left. It included a debate on the source of the crisis of the Marxist left, how to overcome the false polarizations within it, and a perspective for building the ICL and pursuing revolutionary regroupment. The main report outlined a clear strategic perspective around which to organize the work of our international.

A small step in this direction was achieved by the ICL and the ISA-R agreeing on a “Memorandum of Understanding” towards a fusion of our two organizations. The ICL’s conference document constituted the political basis for this agreement. This will be a real test of our ability to combine the best aspects of our respective political traditions and present a positive example for the rest of the left. We will seek to advance this process through common work and by mutually opening aspects of the internal life of our two organizations. This was approved unanimously by majority ICL delegates and the ISA-R delegates.

We also held important educational sessions on two strategic countries: Venezuela and Türkiye. On the former, delegates discussed the lessons of Chavismo and corrected our previous line, which essentially equated Chavismo with neoliberalism, thereby denying the legitimate aspirations behind the groundswell of support for Hugo Chávez. The educational session on Türkiye gave a Marxist explanation for the formation of the modern Turkish state and the emergence of Kemalism, to this day the main ideological obstacle to cohering a revolutionary left.

The conference adopted a motion critical of the first leaflet we issued following the Al-Aqsa Flood, which led with the kicker “Only Death and Defeat with Hamas” (October 10, 2023). This approach put us in direct opposition to the sentiments of the Palestinian and pro-Palestine masses following October 7. ICL majority delegates voted to publish this correction in the upcoming Spartacist.

Also noteworthy was the voluntary departure of a two-member minority in the Mexican section of ICL towards the end of the conference. For over a year, they were given full democratic rights and freedom to argue their views throughout the party. They were also granted a 15-minute counter-posed report on the world situation at this conference. Having failed to convince anyone of their views, they decided to leave our ranks.

The ICL made a historic breakthrough at this conference by launching a new Chinese-language publication named Permanent Revolution. Its aim is to cohere a revolutionary current within the Chinese left on a Trotskyist basis, i.e., unconditional defense of the Chinese workers’ state, but in opposition to the policies of the CPC bureaucracy that squanders the revolutionary energy of the hundreds of millions of Chinese workers and peasants.

Finally, one of the central purposes of the conference was to elect a new international leadership. These elections were notable because the incoming leadership did not present a slate as has long been our practice. The result was a much richer discussion and a competitive election, both important in ensuring that we have the leadership we need for the upcoming challenges we face.

Over the coming weeks, we will publish select content from our 9^th international conference in the pages of multilingual Spartacist, on our podcast SpartTalk and on social media. The conference was a tremendous success, preparing the Sparts to raise a revolutionary banner on the international left in the current turbulent period.

• Join us in Building the ICL!
• Workers of the World, Unite Against the U.S. Empire!