The Centenary of the Komintern: rethinking its past role in Latin American politics and its modern day legacies

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

The birth of the Communist International (Komintern) back in 1919 is often considered as the foundation stone of the attempts to export the Soviet revolution to the other countries around the world. While there is no doubt that the key activities of “professional revolutionaries” -supported by Moscow- aimed at the eventual change of the existing political regimes, the incidence of the Komintern in the evolution of political institutions in diverse geographical, socio-economic and cultural settings is not limited to the support of subversive struggle. As the authors of the papers included in this panel will show, it is possible to identify various dimensions of the long-lasting impact of the Komintern’s engagement with Latin American left, ranging from the introduction of novel ways of organizing the political movements in the region to the links with the transformation of judicial systems in the continent. A proper understanding of the nature of the enduring impact of Komintern is particularly important today. On the one hand, this is because a number of the present-day political movements own their existence to the legacy of the Komintern, which is manifested by ideologial similiarities and organziational structures. On the other hand, following the end of the Latin American left turn and in the context of growing uncertainty with regard to the future political scenarios in the region, the search for the answers to the modern-day challenges often passes through rethinking the lessons of the past.

Sub Track

• Political Institutions and Processes

Session Organizer

• Viktor Kheifets, Saint-Petersburg State University

Chair

• Viktor Kheifets, Saint-Petersburg State University

Discussant

• Viktor Kheifets, Saint-Petersburg State University

Individual Presentations

• La herencia de la Comintern en las tradiciones políticas contemporáneas latinoamericanas: casos nacionales y continentales - Manuel Loyola, Universidad Finis Terrae

• La lucha jurídica contra el “comunismo internacional” en Colombia, 1926-1957, y su legado - Mario Alberto A Cajas Sarria, Universidad Icesi

• Rediscovering the Relations between Latin American, European and Chinese Communists in the 1950s and its contemporary legacy - Marc Becker, Truman State University

• El espectro político-ideológico de las izquierdas contemporáneas en México - Irving Reynoso, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos

• El comunismo uruguayo: entre las tradiciones de la Comintern y los desafíos contemporáneos - Anton Andreev, Saint Petersburg State University