Fourth International Posadist

The Fourth International Posadist is a Trotskyist political international. It was founded in 1962 by J. Posadas, who had been the leader of the Latin America Bureau of the Fourth International in the 1950s, and of the Fourth International's section in Argentina.

Posadism as an ideology, supports the potential for Third World revolution, is enthusiastic about nuclear war and space exploration by the former USSR and the People's Republic of China, has an esoteric concern for "harmonisation" and "man's relationship to the earth, to nature and to the cosmos", based upon an original methodology of analysis of working class culture developed by J. Posadas.

Some detractors have made allegations that the Posadists believe in a new age doctrine based upon a millenarian belief in UFOs coming from a socialist future or alien socialist planet. and that fringe science experiments involving dolphins and water birth are also popular themes among Posadas' followers. Yet, the Colombian section of the Posadist International denies this as an "attempt by the Colombian media to smear us".

When the FI split in 1953 Posadas and his followers sided with Michel Pablo and the International Secretariat of the Fourth International. The Posadists began quarrelling with the majority of the ISFI in 1959 over the question of nuclear war with Posadas being a proponent as, he claimed, it would destroy capitalism and clear the way for socialism. The Posadists finally split with the ISFI in 1962 to form the Fourth International (Posadist). The group initially had a following in several countries, particularly among railway workers in Cuba, tin workers in Bolivia and farm workers in Brazil. At its peak in the late 1960s the Posadists had approximately 1,000 members worldwide.

There was a significant Posadist group in Cuba. Posadist guerrillas fought alongside Castro and Che Guevara in the 1959 revolution. When the Posadists split from the Fourth International in 1962 they took the Cuban section with them leaving meaning no other Trotskyist group was represented in Cuba in the 1960s.

The Posadist group was accused by Soviet-friendly forces in Cuba of arguing that the Cuban government should forcibly expel the American military base at Guantanamo Bay and of trying to organise workers in the town of Guantánamo to march on the nearby military base. That was taken as a justificiation by the government for imposing a ban on them, Castro denonuncing their influence as "pestilential" at the Tricontinental Congress held in January 1966. Cuban Posadists went on to claim that Castro had Guevara killed when, it turned out, he was actually in Bolivia fighting with the guerrilla movement there. Conversely, after Guevara was executed by Bolivian authorities, Posadas claimed in 1967 that Che Guevara wasn't actually dead but was being kept in prison by Castro's government.

In the late 1960s the Posadists became increasingly interested in UFOs claiming they were evidence of socialism on other planets. The movement became increasingly esoteric and New Age. The Posadist movement declined until Posadas' death in 1981 after which the movement largely collapsed.

The Fourth International Posadist claims the following parties as members. It is unknown how many of these organisations still exist or how many members they have. However it is unlikely there are more than a hundred members of the Posadist movement throughout the world.

• Argentina - Revolutionary Workers' Party - Posadist (Partido Obrero Revolucionario - Posadista)
• Belgium - Revolutionary Worker's Party - Trotskyist (Parti Ouvrier Rйvolutionnaire - Trotskiste)
• Bolivia - Revolutionary Workers' Party (Trotskyist Posadist) (Partido Obrero Revolucionario (Trotskista Posadista))
• Brazil - Brazilian Section of the Trotskyist-Posadist IVth International (Seзгo Brasileira da IV Internacional Trotskista-Posadista)
• Britain - Revolutionary Workers' Party (Trotskyist)
• Chile - Revolutionary Workers' Party (Posadist) (Partido Obrero Revolucionario (Posadista))
• Colombia - Posadist Trotskyist Workers Party (Partido Obrero Trotskista Posadista)
• France - Revolutionary Communist Party (Trotskyist) (Parti Communiste Rйvolutionnaire (Trotskyiste))
• Greece - Revolutionary Communist Party-Posadists (Epanastatiko Kommounistiko Komma-Posadistes)
• Italy - Revolutionary Communist Party (Trotskyist-Posadist) (Partito Comunista Rivoluzionario (Trotzkista-Posadista))
• Spain - Revolutionary Worker's Party (Trotskyist-Posadist) (Partido Obrero Revolucionario (Trotskista-Posadista))
• Uruguay - Revolutionary Workers Party Trotskyist-Posadist (Partido Obrero Revolucionario (Trotskista-Posadista))
• USA - Revolutionary Workers Party (Trotskyist-Posadist)