Trotskyism in Latin America

Description

Trotskyism has been a small but persistent force in Latin American left- wing politics for over forty years, and Latin Americans have helped make Trotsky's Fourth International the most long-lived dissident group within international Communism. And yet very little serious history has been written about Trotskyism in any part of the world, and none about its place in the Latin American republics. In a quarter of a century of wandering through Latin America I have met and talked with many believers in international Trotskyism; for an even longer period, I have known some of their counterparts in this country. Although I have often disagreed with these persons, I believe that Trotskyism is a seri- ous political movement, worth careful study, and that the information they have given me, as well as the written material I have collected over several years, may qualify me to write a short history of the movement in Latin America. One problem I faced in collecting data for this study was that much of the relevant written material was of an ephemeral nature-throwaways, mimeographed bulletins, or newspapers published in only a few copies-which most people would not think of collecting. Another obstacle was posed by the Fourth International's concern for secrecy. For one thing, the use of "party names" by Fourth Internationalists has been common. CONTENTS Preface 1. Rise and Development of International Trotskyism 2 Fourth Internationalism in Latin America 3 Trotskyism, Peronismo, and the National Revolution in Argentina 4 Brazilian Trotskyism 5 Chilean Trotskyism 6 Beginnings of Bolivian Trotskism 7 Trotskyism and the Bolivian National Revolution 8 Peruvian Trotskyism 9 Trotsky, Rivera, and Mexican Trotskyism 10 Mexican Trotskyism After Trotsky 11 Cuban Trotskyism, the Fourth International, and the Castro Revolution 12 Trotskyism in Other Latin American Countries Postscript Notes Bibliography Index