By Guillermo Pacagnini

The Court’s ruling regarding Cristina Kirchner sparked a significant debate on the left and, in particular, within the Left Front Unity (FITU). Based on the agreement to reject the Court’s proscriptive ruling outright, different policies were expressed from the very beginning, which were made more explicitly clear around the Justice Party’s (PJ) march that was held on Wednesday the June 18th. Our party’s position, starting from repudiating the ruling in all its terms, promoted an independent policy tied to a revolutionary strategy. That of the PO and the PTS, beyond initial vacilations, coincide in an opportunist position that caves in to the politics of Peronism. The culminating point of their policy was marching to a rally that, as we had alerted and correctly did not participate in, was a classic PJ action that had nothing progressive about it.

Unfortunately, they have made a serious mistake by deploying a policy and orientation that was geared towards the recomposition of Peronism. Preventing, once again, the FITU from having a correct position and putting itself forward in the face of the open crisis.

Electoralism in the PTS, pirouettes in the PO

Since the day the Court ruled, the PTS has been developing a position and orientation through an electoral lens. Placing all its policy and intervention only in relation to questioning the ruling. From the beginning and almost without mentioning the capitalist structural corruption in all the governments, it positioned itself as defense attorney of CFK. And at all times without promoting a comprehensive transitional program, which is not limited to rejecting the proscription and that articulates with the demands and needs of workers and popular, while proposing a way out for the issue of corruption, strongly installed in the masses and for class justice. They propagandize the need for a general strike, but focused only on the problem of prohibition.

They were at the meeting in the PJ preparatory to the march of the 18th, criticized that it was convened in support of Cristina but proposed only “a united and consistent struggle against the proscription.”

The backdrop of their positions is tinged with electoral gestures and efforts to endear themselves to sectors related to Kirchnerism.  For this reason, they give an important centrality to the fact that their position “has generated a great impact on the left’s social networks with new records of reach, interactions and followers.”… Therefore, once we communicated the rejection of the ruling with a joint delegation of FITU referents at the PJ headquarters, they decided to go to meet alone with CFK without mediating any other exchange about it on our front. And they emphasize that they were “cheered by the majority of the protesters and the subsequent statements to the press had a huge impact.” With the illusion of winning votes in their electoral base, they end up giving air to this political sector that uses this situation to rearm itself from the serious crisis it is going through having defrauded and objectively weakens the construction of the FITU as an alternative.

For some time the PTS has been deepening a course of yielding to pressures from the parliamentary institutions, revolving around the needs of the seats they occupy. It is a delicate problem, since there are plenty of examples in the history of the left currents that began with pressures for parliamentarism and ended up adapting to the bourgeois regime.

Specifically, their location in front of this process led them to promote and participate in the PJ act, one of the pillars of the regime.

From the initial silence and criticizing the PTS for its “political solidarity with Peronism” and concentrating the claim “only against the proscription”, the Workers’ Party took one of its usual turns and turned to a similar opportunist position. (1)

First, its leader Gabriel Solano expressed in a tweet: “I prefer the LESSER EVIL of a person who committed acts of corruption to run for election to the GREATER EVIL of advancing in a regime of persecution and proscription in the hands of political forces that committed such or more serious acts of corruption.”

Then, they decided to attend the PJ march against “…the proscriptive ruling, demanding the freedom of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the right to stand for elections.” Supporting an action of the PJ that, in addition, did not lift a finger to support the serious attack suffered by the Workers’ Pole as part of the government’s criminalizing strategy on the independent neighborhood organization and the left.

An aid to the recomposition of the PJ

Undoubtedly we have long-standing debates with these currents about the tactics of unity of action and united front, which have oscillated between sectarianism and opportunism, two sides of the same coin, in the face of different actions called by Peronism and/or the trade union bureaucracy.

They leave aside Trotsky’s three basic recommendations: that the program be correct, strengthen the mass movement and guarantee the political and organizational independence of the revolutionary party. (2)

From the vamos we consider it incorrect to pay for this march with a clear program of support for the leader of the PJ. Its only slogan was “Argentina with Cristina”. They did not even claim their freedom, since their strategy was limited to negotiating the conditions of detention. And, although the march changed to Plaza de Mayo, its character of political support for the former president and the PJ did not change. In all the dissemination tools both the PJ, as well as its collaterals and related trade union and social leaders, openly called in support of CFK.

And the facts were blunt. A classic act of the PJ, in its liturgy and its content. Far from the “new October 17th” propagandized by its organizers, there was an absolute predominance of the apparatus and a “Peronist” box where a gallery of old exponents of the PJ like Aníbal Fernández, Berni, Massa, Kicillof, intendants and other leaders paraded. Without CGT or unemployment and little component of the union leadership. And with a unique and recorded speech by CFK, vindicating their governments and Peronism, which did not mention a single ongoing struggle, he did not call to resist even the Court’s ruling, but to “nonviolence.” A square without overflow where the “let’s go back” chimed exclusively. The reality is that this act implied that, at the juncture and beyond its historical and structural crisis, Peronism comes out strengthened, taking an important step in its recovery, positioning itself as an alternative to Milei and returning the centrality of the political scene to CFK. And unfortunately a sector of the left collaborated and was functional by convening and participating in it, placing flags of the left, giving input to journalism and Peronism itself to sow confusion. Weakening the possibility that the Left Front will run with an independent policy. The decision of the Peronist space militancy that was part of the act is understandable. What is unacceptable is that a part of the left has been functional to the recovery of the PJ.

Changing its content?

The signs of the event to which he was leaving being so obvious, beyond their somersaults and confusing analyses, both forces ended up agreeing to promote that march and that wrong policy on all fronts where they act. They did it by appealing to the old trick of being part of the action in support of CFK, but pretending to “change the content” with a few doses of makeup. The PO did it by smuggling the program. The PTS, added the call to an “independent” column in which they ended up agreeing.

The Workers’ Party justified its support for the march by saying that it was marching “for a plan of struggle until the general strike to defeat Milei and the capitalist offensive against the workers, for the defense of wages, jobs, pensions, health and public education. With these proposals we will be present…”. But none of these points were present in the program of convocation to this march. And the PO itself ended up marching led by a large flag that criticized only the proscription. And in its balance of the march, the PO ratifies its error stating that ”defeating the ban now is fundamental to face the adjustment as a whole.” This policy is not new. The PO has a long history of adapting to wrong actions, with the utopian idea of changing the content by participating “with their own flags”. (3)

The PTS acknowledged that: “Unfortunately, the call defined by the PJ, “Argentina with Cristina”, implies a political adherence to the former president … a serious plan of struggle is also not announced.”

But, immediately afterwards, he called to march: “The XXTH Congress of the PTS unanimously resolved to explore the possibility of making an independent column against the proscription.” (4)

Finally PO and PTS agreed to march to the Plaza de Mayo to the PJ act, with the format of “independent column”. The Socialist Left, which had been criticizing the nature of the march, also did a somersault and joined at the last moment. Unusually, despite saying that he was not marching as a party, he joined the other forces to promote this call in Ademys, Buenos Aires teachers and other areas where he acts.

They said that “it should be the beginning of a great struggle,” but it wasn’t. There was no content to dispute or change in a closely pejotist act, and the “independent” column, besides being very small and without representative delegations, ended up being diluted. Of course, they unfortunately brought their flags so that it is spread in various media that the left was part of the pejotista movement. A disservice to the need to strengthen an alternative of political independence.

We consider that it was a serious mistake and contrary to the needs of the working people, to support a march in political support of an action of the PJ. That does not even pose a serious struggle to defeat the ruling itself. Pedro’s own Wado, from the Camporista kidney, clarified that only for “the coming government, the first condition (will be): free Cristina.” Or Bianco, Kicillof’s right-hand man, who is asking for a pardon from the “next government.” The Maximum himself, in a flag called on the 20th, called for the electoral exit for… 2027!

There is plenty of evidence, but the PTS and the PO, unfortunately, instead of strengthening the FIT Unidad so that it can run in the face of such a crisis with an independent policy, have chosen to weaken this possibility, contributing to the confusion of the fighters and subscribed to a march called, directed and functional to the PJ.

Apart from that, he deserves the “New MAS”, which took one more step in its political decomposition and was completely integrated into the act, stating that when it turned into “a march to Plaza de Mayo … it changed its character”.  Without the slightest scruple “Manuela Castañeira, went to the sector behind the fences in the Square where the referents of Peronism were …”. And he walked around smiling with the Peronist box, while the “let’s go back” was sung. (5)

Sectarianism and opportunism: two sides of the same coin

Once again it is shown that sectarianism and opportunism go hand in hand. Both forces of the FIT Unidad come from having turned their backs on the historic march of unity of human rights organizations on March 24, one of the most important mass actions against Milei, his adjustment and his authoritarian regime, with a divisive policy. With the argument, totally at odds with reality, that one could not leave in common because that “was to go behind Peronism,” they not only turned their back on that historical, independent mobilization, with a correct and clearly anti-Milei and Pejotist policy program. (6) But, on the contrary, they renounced contesting for the left in the PJ crisis and for the FIT Unidad to run as an alternative. Starting from sectarianism, they ended up in opportunism.

Now, unfortunately, they repeat the same misconception, jumping to opportunism. They responded unilaterally, focusing only on the issue of prohibition and not on proposing a plan of struggle and strikes that start for the set of workers’, popular and youth needs that exist to fight and mobilize. And they participated in a march this time called by the PJ, in support of its main reference and functional to its electoral strategy. A major political mistake on his part. Because those of us who repudiate the Court’s ruling and demand the freedom of CFK, can do so without any need to be functional to actions at the service of the mistaken political objectives of the PJ, which are clearly different from those of the anti-capitalist and socialist left. 

A principled policy

From the beginning, the MST has proposed a system of transitional slogans, to respond integrally from a revolutionary left position to the needs and concerns of the mass movement, to the proscription but also to the evident phenomenon of corruption present in all governments, to a justice and the old parties of which it is increasingly questioned.An outlet to dispute their conscience to the reactionary campaigns of the LLA government and all the positions of the bourgeois parties, including the PJ itself.

• We start by repudiating the ruling, for not recognizing any moral or political authority of this Court and of all this double-standard justice at the service of the bourgeoisie and the governments of the day. That is why we question all its consequences: the banning of Cristina K. in particular.
• We also respond to the obvious corruption that is a structural phenomenon, which has been expressed in all the governments including those of Cristina, Macri and Milei, by proposing an investigation that cannot be left in the hands of this justice, but has to be independent. In that sense, we propose an Independent Investigative Commission, similar to a CONADEP, to respond to the right that the people have to know the whole truth about all the facts of corruption. With broad powers to investigate all governments, without jurisdiction or impunity, and with the power to seize assets and imprison the corrupt. A commission made up of representatives of human rights, workers’ and social organizations, democratically elected and not by compromises between the parties of the system.
• We propose that this measure is part of a qualitative attack on the social rights of working people and an authoritarian regime at the service of imposing these measures, unlike the PJ who considers that only now with the ruling against CFK, Milei is advancing against democratic rights. And that a general strike and a serious plan of struggle are needed to defeat Milei and his plan of adjustment and repression, backed by justice and left running by both the PJ and the CGT.
• We propose as part of a fundamental political reform, the election of judges and prosecutors by popular vote, limited and revocable mandates and salaries equivalent to that of a state worker.

Why don’t they propose an Independent Commission of Inquiry?

Unfortunately, neither the PO nor the PTS are lifting this transitional program. They do not respond to the fundamental concerns of the workers and the people as a whole, fed up with all the old parties, including the PJ, because they starved and defrauded. That they see that there is corruption from the state throughout the different governments up to the current one and about which it is necessary to respond with a way out from the left. It is wrong to leave the exit to the right in this field. But they have explicitly refused to lift the proposal for an Independent Investigative Commission. The PTS by the way of absolutely minimizing structural corruption and the PO by denying any transitional policy, which responds from the left to that serious emerging of the capitalist system and present in all governments. They refused to place it when we discussed the presentation of a parliamentary bill, which both parties limited exclusively to repudiating the ban and did the same in the other areas of intervention when we raised the issue.

For us, this controversy is very important, because in the face of this change of scenario, it is important that the left applies and does not place itself in the wrong place, so that the PJ does not re-emerge as a false option to the ultra-right.

From the MST, together with other political and social organizations, we were – at the same time of the Peronist act – where we had to be: with the Garrahan, whose health team embraced the hospital as part of its struggle plan and with the retirees in Plaza Congreso who are standing up and are a reference for those who struggle.

We call on the comrades to reflect and correct the course, so that the Unity Left Front, which until now due to these differences has not been able to do so, promotes an independent proposal to dispute in the face of such a crisis. And let’s postulate the left as the only way out to the capitalist model in all its variants, to corruption, repression and endless austerity.

1. Trotsky, The Tactics of the United Front. (1922)
2. https://prensaobrera.com/politicas/de-que-lado-esta-el-pts
3. This behavior of the PO has been historical since its Altamirist times. He was famous for attending the march of the Pope in 1982, who had traveled to negotiate the peace of surrender in the Malvinas Islands. Also his participation in the reactionary march calling for a hard hand convened by Juan Carlos Blumberg in 2004. The last makeup of the “change of content” was the march with a pro-employer program of the CGT in 2024, contrasting it with a concentration of the left and militant trade unionism in the Plaza de Mayo.
4. https://www.laizquierdadiario.com/Congreso-del-PTS-Resolucion-sobre-la-proscripcion-de-CFK-y-la-marcha-del-miercoles-18
5. https://izquierdaweb.com/la-situacion-politica-tras-la-gran-movilizacion-a-plaza-de-mayo-contra-la-proscripcion/
6. The convening program of 3/24, stated that Milei and Bullrich have to leave; demanded the opening of archives since 1974; demanded for Julio López, Maldonado, Ferreyra and others; denounced the IMF and the debt; rejected the DNU, the RIGI and extractivism; demanded from the power plants strike and plan of struggle; supported the Palestinian people. The ghost they waved from the PJ, never showed up. It contrasts with this march of the 19th called by the PJ and with a program of support for Cristina and to “get to the right” and take advantage of the situation for an electoral launch.