By MST in Left Unity Front
The far-right Argentine president and associate of Trump, after more than two years in government, leads an offensive of reactionary and anti-worker projects, along with measures to boost financial and extractivist profits. He leads the plan to bring about structural changes that have been historical objectives of the big bourgeoisie and makes progress in that direction. He has not achieved everything he wanted, he had moments of greater polarization and social resistance that partly prevented his plans. He intends to go much farther; to consolidate a highly authoritarian political regime and more democratic restrictions, combined in the economic-social plane with a profound changes in n favor of the extraordinary profits of a minority, laws that guarantee the business of capitalist and imperialist corporations, repressorization of the economy and extraction of more surplus value with the exploitative labor reform voted in Congress.
After months of uncertainty in mid 2025, Milei finally won an electoral victory in October, with strong economic and political support from Trump. From then on his government launched a strong offensive, aware that this is the moment and it will not be eternal. In politics the calculation of times is decisive, Milei believes that this is his moment, that’s why he accelerates. He showed that a large part of the “opposition” in Parliament, including a sector of Peronista deputies and senators, is willing to give Milei quorum and vote for his regressive laws. Thus he aims for new reactionary reforms.
However, in parallel, a political crisis arose due to two cases of corruption. One of Milei’s main officials is involved in undeclared trips and wealth. And Milei himself in implicated in the $LIBRA case with audios and documents that incriminate him as part of a scam, something that is even taken advantage of by the mass media that reflect a bourgeois sector at odds with the government because it has lost business. We will see how far this crisis reaches, in March combining with a rise in inflation and social unrest that reflects new social demands in different provinces. And there will be a massive mobilization on March 24th, 50 years after the coup, which will strengthen the social struggles to come.
Peronism is experiencing a debacle of historical levels, it does not appear as an alternative because it continues to be identified as responsible for the economic-social disaster carried out prior to the arrival of Milei. Nor does it appear at the head of the confrontation with the far-right government; it’s trade union leaders play no role on the streets. And in Congress, more than one of its representatives have actively collaborated with the government, allowing its projects to advance.
In this context there will be new attacks on social and democratic rights, repression, new authoritarian attempts and also greater social resistance, discontent and polarization. Will they be able to stop the government and change the general dynamic? For that perspective, not certain but possible, we prepare ourselves.
The Left Front and the dispute in the struggles
The emergence of a far-right government reopened debates in the anti-capitalist and socialist left on how to position itself to confront and defeat the far-right. This is particularly important. The brutality of the government attacks make it necessary to deploy a bold and consistent politics from the workers’ movement and the youth aligned with the political strategy of the left. The need for broad unity of action on the streets, that is the united front wherever possible to promote class struggle, combined with the political and ideological struggle, is all part of the same fight: to defeat the government and make FIT-U take a significant leap in the eyes of millions.
Unfortunately, one sector of the FIT-U, particularly PO, heads in the opposite direction. Everything is subordinated to trying to gain some prominence through the small union it leads. It’s intervention is based on that interest. It tries to hide other struggles of utmost importance, such as that of Garrahan Hospital, refusing the Left Front from playing an active role in the emerging articulations. In addition to a regressive politics of separating trade union struggle from the political struggle, which is expressed through an apolitical and apparatus centered syndicalism, hostile to the political strategy of the left. In those places in which PO has influence, it is unable to properly push the struggles forward. For example, SUTNA, which has been going backwards for a long time. Not building a method of General assembly and collective decision-making, has negatively affected FATE’s fight against its shutdown, which needs the greatest democratic debate at the grassroots and a clear course of action to demand the government of Buenos Aires to provincialize the company under workers’ control.
MST develops an opposite politics. Wherever we lead a conflict, such as Garrahan Hospital, the most emblematic conflict by now, we promote the greatest coordination with other sectors, we carry out unified, broad actions and work with multiple political, social, trade union, human rights and cultural figures in defense of the hospital. We made a united front with several organizations and set up the Cabildo Abierto, a democratic space of coordination for the struggle of the hospital and others. This is how we defeated the government twice during its strongest moment; we won a 61% salary increase first, and so far we have defeated the attempts to fire the main leaders of the conflict. All of this was also achieved with the collaboration of MST political figures and calling FIT-U to be part of this articulation. So that millions may draw the conclusion if there is a thorough fight, it is organized from below, everything is decided in assemblies and coordinated widely, led by the revolutionary left. We need the example of how Garrahan became a reference pole, to be be widely shared to strengthen the workers’ struggles and the position of the left.
Debate on the electoral model of the Left Front Unity
At the political level, there are strong debates and the promotion of different political positions. It is a setback that the FIT-U does not have a common politics to intervene in significant processes, which prevents its progress in a qualitative way. For example, March 24, where PTS and PO have refused to a common rally of all Human Rights Organizations turning their backs on a historical and decisive struggle 50 years after the coup. Milei’s acceleration takes advantage of the discrediting of traditional parties. FIT-U has the possibility of making a leap in influence and position, provided that it gets out of a limited model of electoral front, which does not allow it to act jointly on almost any class struggle event or political struggle.
Our proposal is clear: to transform the Left Front into a unified party with of freedom of tendency, so that no one loses their identity. With a weekly national coordination to debate to strive to promote common politics and, where there are differences, to clarify them, allowing different opinions to be expressed publicly. This may open spaces within the front for the prominence of intellectuals, social referents, anti-bureaucratic workers’ leaders and other members of our lists who support our program. PTS, PO and IS reject this possibility, under the argument that “it can’t happen because we have differences”. A justification with no way out, since important significant differences will continue continue to exist either way. If we comply with that, no one could ever move forward. It is a mistaken position, FIT-U has a program and political base that we all defend. And it is precisely on these agreements that a common non-electoral organization can be shaped, and at the same time allow the differences that will continue to exist to be debated and channeled. Taking the debates to the grassroots, to collective exchange, without fear. Accepting that there may be circumstantial majorities or minorities on different issues, which is not a problem. Unless one wants to cover up the integral correlation of forces and the different ideas, through en electoralist framework that defines everything, when it can never be the determining element among anti-capitalist and socialist currents.
PTS proposes to make a Workers’ Party (PT). We think that idea is open to debate. For a huge Pt to exist would be a positive thing. Thing is, that’s not what is taking place, there are no independent workers’ current outside the FIT-U that propose it, so PTS falls into abstraction without concrete steps. It remains internal propaganda about something that will not happen. That is why we insist on opening the debate in depth. For any further step forward, it is necessary to start from the existence of the Left Front. Because if those of us who are part of it take serious steps, which can be done now towards a common political construction, that would attract thousands of workers and fighters. Really paving the way for a great party of thousands of workers. In short, different options can be discussed, but the starting point is to change the current FIT-U model. To ignore that is to pretend to put reality aside and change it for propaganda phrases, so that nothing changes.
Strategies at play
Argentina will, sooner or later, face a change of situation and enormous challenges. That is why we are not dealing with tactical debates, they are debates on revolutionary strategy. If the Left Front continues as it is, it will not be able to use its full potential in the service of advancing in its political and social influence. We are at a crossroads. When the relationship of the old parties with society collapses and when the weakening of Milei may be not that far away, a new moment of greater possibilities will emerge. It depends on how the left is positioned to know how much it will be able to capitalize. We believe that based on the conquered ground, we play for much more if we get sectarian, conformist and electoral visions out of the way, to encourage us to turn everything around, including the current model that limits us. At the same time we strengthen the building of a revolutionary party that fights for this strategy, towards a workers’ government. Doing everything from an internationalist perspective together with the ISL, from which we promote campaigns such as the one carried out in support of Palestine, in repudiation of the attacks of the United States and Israel against the people of Iran, and now participating in a solidarity campaign with the Cuban people.
