Lenin emphasizes his understanding of the necessity for international socialism, by his considering it vital, independent of the pace, the driving forces and the specific form of the workers for socialism, which it takes in a specific country.

To establish such a form of internationalism, the solidarity of the proletarian and national independence movements, is another great merit of Lenin. "Wir handeln jetzt wirklich nicht nur als Vertreter der Proletarier aller Länder, sondern auch als Vertreter der unterdrückten Völker", the great master declared in the year of 1920.

In other words, he made clear, that countries exist, in which not simply the exploitation of the workers through the local capitalists is taking place, but also colonial and neocolonial dependency-relations.

From this springs the constant necessity to strengthen the unity of all peoples of the world and their organizations, in order to build a great international alliance, capable of successfully countering the capitalists, fascists and Zionists, who are responsible for the human catastrophes like hunger, environmental destruction, racism, discrimination of all kinds and wars, which grip the world.

And in this spirit the development of the International Coordination of Revolutionary Organizations (ICOR), the Anti-Imperialist Front and other important steps are undertaken, which coordinate the efforts to defend and always more energetically act against their common enemy, capitalism and imperialism.

Leninism expresses itself in the solidarity of communists with the peoples of Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. In view of the Israeli genocide in Palestine, international solidarity was never put on such a central stage as today, in support of a people, which does nothing more, than defending its right to self-determination.

The defense of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua against the US-blockade, the promotion of growth in all countries with progressive and socialist governments is a Leninist task of this century.

Lenin calls on us to continue the denunciation of the capitalist and imperialist maneuvers, who disguise themselves in double-standards as gentle sheep and presume to defend human rights and some national minorities, but which is nothing but masks to hide their idiosyncrasies as invaders and thieves.

Lenin is always then alive, when someone commits to defend the struggle of the world proletariat and the sovereignty of people. We thus find him in China in the form of comrade Mao, in India with Mahatma Gandhi or in Vietnam with Ho Chi Minh, who, armed with the mighty weapon of Marxist-Leninism, tore the colonial hell of out their respective nations.

Also Fidel Castro, Ernesto Guevara, Nelson Mandela and Hugo Chávez have accepted Lenin’s glorious staff in this career of revolutionary greatness, in order to show the way for the Cuban revolution, the stubborn fight against apartheid in Africa, or the sowing of freedom and socialist hope in Venezuela.

The thought of Lenin as a continuation of Marx and Engels will continue to be a guiding star for revolutionary action; an inexhaustible fountain of resources, which must be used correctly in every phase of the revolutionary process; a light, to guide the way forward in the darkest moments of people’s struggle.

Lenin and the socialist revolutionary

On the solid foundation, which Marx and Engels build, Lenin developed to become the master and architect of the first socialist revolution, which mankind brought forth, the Russian Revolution, the October Revolution.

His theoretical mastery, drawn from the source of Marxism and enriched through the living experience of the heat of struggle, enabled him to create an absolute trust in the construction of a new society, the socialist society.

His conviction, that the destruction of the capitalist system not only is a possibility, but a necessity, never allowed him to doubt that the real power lies with the people, with the great masses of those exploited, who, armed and led by a correct revolutionary theory, will continue to struggle until the ruling class, the bourgeoisie, has collapsed once and for all.

As an instrument of struggle, as a conductor of the revolutionary process and as responsible person for raising the spontaneous struggle of workers to an ever deeper conscious level, he considered the presence of a unified party consisting of professional cadres and deeply rooted in the broad masses.

Lenin was always very conscious of the fact, that the abolition of the bourgeois system is no easy feat, and that the revolutionary process undergoes different phases over the course of its development, including periods of progress and impediment. And that there are specific tasks set out for each of these phases.

The social revolution is linked to many sacrifices differening in range and extent; it is a tough war between two fundamental classes, that fight each other with tooth and nail:

one, to uphold the status quo of inequality, of privilege and exploitation, the other, to destroy this status quo and forge a society in service of the workers.

The revolution is incredibly complex, because it encompasses a variety of factors, that need to compound in a certain way, to ensure its victory. The will of the party, a great front of parties or even of an entire stratum of society does not suffice, to bring about the revolution; other elements have to play their part at the right point in time.

And even though Marxism characterizes a range of conditions, with which we’re able to evaluate a period as revolutionary, there is no predetermined blueprint, because each period depends on the concrete reality of every country.

There may be an excellent moment for the breaking out of a revolution in a particular nation, and let’s suppose it unfolds, there happens to arise an uncontrollable circumstance or phenomenon, the result of contingency, obstructing its success, as it was the case for some of the guerrilla movements, which eventually laid down their arms after so many years of war. In this chain of events it can take a long time for a new revolutionary situation to come about.

In light of this, Lenin characterizes the features of a revolutionary situation as follows:

1. The inability of the ruling classes to unwaveringly uphold their domination. It’s not merely sufficient for a given revolution, that “those at the bottom refuse”, it’s further necessary, that “those at the top can’t put up” with continuing live under the old status quo. In other words: a revolution is impossible without a general national crisis (that affects the exploiters as well as the exploited).

2. A worsening of the poverty and distress of the oppressed, at higher and faster rate than common.

3. The significant intensification of activity of the masses, that, in peaceful times, let themselves get plundered, but in times of upheaval, are drawn to historical self-action, by the general state of crisis as well as by “those above”. For the triumph of the social revolution, the premise of a revolutionary situation is not enough on its own. Joining the objective factors must be subjective factors, i.e. the ability of the revolutionary class to put up a brave and self-sacrificing fight, the existence of an experienced revolutionary party, capable of taking the tactical and strategical lead.

Cheers for international solidarity, cheers for the socialist evolution!

Long live Lenin, forever !

Jovina Núñez

Coordination of ICOR America