Central American Revolutionary Workers' Party
Encyclopedia
The Revolutionary Party of Central American Workers was a political party
in Central America
.
The PRTC was founded in 1975, by a sector that had left the ERP-RN after the 1972 elections. Clandestine pre-congress meetings for the founding of PRTC were held in Costa Rica
, Honduras
and El Salvador
in 1975. Provisional 'Zonal Leaderships' were formed in these countries. The party also formed cells in Mexico
and the United States
. Contacts were established with activists in Belize
, Guatemala
, Nicaragua
and Panama
. In April 1975 the Liberation League was founded as a multisectoral mass front, which was to become a front organization for the party. In December 1975 the plenary session of the party congress was opened with delegates from around Central America. The PRTC was formally founded in San José
on January 25, 1976. Fabio Castillo Figueroa became the General Secretary of the party. The party adopted a democratic centralism
as its organizational principle.
Ideologically, the group that founded the PRTC was inspired by Marxism-Leninism
, Che Guevara
and the experiences of the Vietnam
ese national liberation struggle. The party was accused of Trotskyism
by other revolutionary groups, an accusation that the party rejected.
During the period of 1976-1978, the party built up organizational structures throughout Central America with the exception of Nicaragua. The leadership was based in Costa Rica. In Guatemala, several of the leaders of the party would later join ORPA. In El Salvador, the Zonal Leadership was made up of Mario López (a.k.a. Comandante Venancio, Zonal Secretary), Manuel Federico Castillo, Luis Díaz, Humberto Mendoza, Nidia Díaz and Joaquín Morales Chávez.
The second party congress of PRTC was held in Tegucigalpa
in April 1979. The congress elected Dr. José María Reyes Mata as the new General Secretary of the party. The congress also formed a Central American Political Commission as a new party leadership. The Commission had one member from each Central American country.
In 1979, the party set up a series of new mass organizations in El Salvador. The peasant sector of the Liberation League was converted into a separate organization, Brigadas de Trabajadores del Campo (BTC). Other new mass organizations were Brigadas Revolucionarias de Estudiantes de Secundaria and Comités de Base Obrera. The People’s Liberation Movement
(MLP) was formed as an umbrella body of the mass organizations of the party. In January 1980 MLP was one of the organizations that founded the Coordinadora Revolucionaria de Masas
, an alliance which would later found the Revolutionary Democratic Front
in April 1980. In 1979, the party also launched an armed wing, Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Popular.
In August 1980 the main leader of PRTC in El Salvador, Luis Díaz, 'disappeared'.
In October 1980 a PRTC Central Committee meeting was held in Managua
. The meeting dissolved the Central American structures of the party, converting the national party branches into separate parties. As a continuation of the unified PRTC, the meeting set up a Conference of Revolutionary Parties in Central America as a coordinating body of the individual PRTC. This shift was necessary for the Salvadoran branch of PRTC to be able to join the FMLN. The Salvadoran PRTC became one of the members of the FMLN guerrilla movement on December 5, 1980. The Honduran PRTC continued armed struggle of its own.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
.
The PRTC was founded in 1975, by a sector that had left the ERP-RN after the 1972 elections. Clandestine pre-congress meetings for the founding of PRTC were held in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
and El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
in 1975. Provisional 'Zonal Leaderships' were formed in these countries. The party also formed cells in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Contacts were established with activists in Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. In April 1975 the Liberation League was founded as a multisectoral mass front, which was to become a front organization for the party. In December 1975 the plenary session of the party congress was opened with delegates from around Central America. The PRTC was formally founded in San José
San José, Costa Rica
San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...
on January 25, 1976. Fabio Castillo Figueroa became the General Secretary of the party. The party adopted a democratic centralism
Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
as its organizational principle.
Ideologically, the group that founded the PRTC was inspired by Marxism-Leninism
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
, Che Guevara
Che Guevara
Ernesto "Che" Guevara , commonly known as el Che or simply Che, was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, intellectual, guerrilla leader, diplomat and military theorist...
and the experiences of the Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese national liberation struggle. The party was accused of Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
by other revolutionary groups, an accusation that the party rejected.
During the period of 1976-1978, the party built up organizational structures throughout Central America with the exception of Nicaragua. The leadership was based in Costa Rica. In Guatemala, several of the leaders of the party would later join ORPA. In El Salvador, the Zonal Leadership was made up of Mario López (a.k.a. Comandante Venancio, Zonal Secretary), Manuel Federico Castillo, Luis Díaz, Humberto Mendoza, Nidia Díaz and Joaquín Morales Chávez.
The second party congress of PRTC was held in Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
in April 1979. The congress elected Dr. José María Reyes Mata as the new General Secretary of the party. The congress also formed a Central American Political Commission as a new party leadership. The Commission had one member from each Central American country.
In 1979, the party set up a series of new mass organizations in El Salvador. The peasant sector of the Liberation League was converted into a separate organization, Brigadas de Trabajadores del Campo (BTC). Other new mass organizations were Brigadas Revolucionarias de Estudiantes de Secundaria and Comités de Base Obrera. The People’s Liberation Movement
People's Liberation Movement (El Salvador)
The People's Liberation Movement was a revolutionary multisectoral mass organisation, politically tied to the Revolutionary Party of Central American Workers in El Salvador. The organisation was formed after a split from Unified Popular Action Front in May 1975 as League for Liberation...
(MLP) was formed as an umbrella body of the mass organizations of the party. In January 1980 MLP was one of the organizations that founded the Coordinadora Revolucionaria de Masas
Coordinadora Revolucionaria de Masas
Coordinadora Revolucionaria de Masas , a coordination of revolutionary mass organizations in El Salvador formed on January 11, 1980....
, an alliance which would later found the Revolutionary Democratic Front
Revolutionary Democratic Front
The Revolutionary Democratic Front is a populist political party in El Salvador. It was founded in 2006 as a rightwing split from the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. The party received 0.95% of the vote in the 18 January 2009 legislative election....
in April 1980. In 1979, the party also launched an armed wing, Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Popular.
In August 1980 the main leader of PRTC in El Salvador, Luis Díaz, 'disappeared'.
In October 1980 a PRTC Central Committee meeting was held in Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
. The meeting dissolved the Central American structures of the party, converting the national party branches into separate parties. As a continuation of the unified PRTC, the meeting set up a Conference of Revolutionary Parties in Central America as a coordinating body of the individual PRTC. This shift was necessary for the Salvadoran branch of PRTC to be able to join the FMLN. The Salvadoran PRTC became one of the members of the FMLN guerrilla movement on December 5, 1980. The Honduran PRTC continued armed struggle of its own.