Yu Haiqing: Exploring and Moving Forward Through Strenuous Struggles
In 2021, foreign Communist Parties forged ahead with courage and resolve in a world fraught with variables and uncertainty, holding high the banner of communism and exploring the correct path for the progress of human civilization. Over the past year, Communist Parties in many countries celebrated the centenary of their founding, further strengthening their great conviction to struggle unceasingly for the communist ideal. They convened new party congresses to determine the direction and goals for future development. They participated in national and local elections, which presented both numerous highlights and multiple dilemmas and challenges. Foreign Communist Parties engaged in earnest reflection, summarizing the lessons learned from the rise and fall of world socialism and thinking deeply about effective ways to strengthen mutual ties and cooperation under the Great Pandemic. Adhering to a praxis-oriented approach, foreign Communist Parties remained steadfast in carrying out struggles against imperialism, hegemony, and exploitation, serving as vital forces defending justice and peace on both national and international stages.
Looking Back at a Century of Wind and Rain; Setting Out Again to Continue the Struggle
In 2021, Communist Parties in many countries reached the momentous occasion of their founding centenaries. These parties held grand celebrations in various forms to comprehensively review and summarize their developmental history, reflect on current praxis and struggle, and look forward to a bright future. Through relevant activities and occasions, they expressed their concepts and propositions, demonstrated their social influence, and expanded their space in public discourse.
To welcome its centenary, the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) put forward the slogan "Freedom, Democracy, Socialism—The Party for the Future," distributing leaflets to declare its permanent commitment as a workers' party. It published a special commemorative poster edition of the party newspaper Avante! and launched the "Tribute to the Heroes Who Died in Struggle" campaign. The PCP displayed party flags and commemorative banners and painted murals throughout Portugal. Linking the centenary to Portugal’s severe economic, social, and public health issues under the COVID-19 pandemic, the party turned the commemoration into a moment of struggle, engaging in hundreds of interactions with workers and the public to discuss the problems facing workers, the people, and the nation, while mobilizing and demanding solutions. On the anniversary itself, March 6, 2021, the PCP launched the "Centenary, One Hundred Actions" initiative, holding marches across the country to demand that the government formulate policies responsive to the people’s problems and aspirations. During the march in Lisbon, PCP General Secretary Jerónimo de Sousa delivered an important speech, paying tribute to generations of Communists, praising them as models of selfless dedication to the cause of justice, and reaffirming the party’s steadfast belief in continuing the struggle for democracy and the building of a communist society.
As early as late 2020, the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) promoted the party's history in a special section of its website, Mundo Obrero (Workers' World). Since 2021, it has successively published commemorative works such as A Century of Communist Struggle in Spain and One Hundred Years Building the Future, One Hundred Years Building Socialism, and organized seminars to review the party’s century of struggle and explore the challenges and responses for the Left. In his speech at the party’s centenary assembly, PCE Secretary General Enrique Santiago pointed out that for a hundred years, the PCE has stood at the forefront of the struggle for democracy and freedom, and its existence is now more necessary than ever because the current world can no longer tolerate the capitalist mode of production. The PCE aims to build the broadest social consensus around the concepts of openness, pluralism, and equality, striving for maximum unity with the Left and progressives to struggle unceasingly for a bright future for the people, democracy, and the world.
On August 1, 2021, the South African Communist Party (SACP) held a grand celebration for its founding centenary, broadcast live via Facebook and YouTube. SACP General Secretary Blade Nzimande delivered a centenary statement titled "Put People Before Profit: Socialism is the Future—Build it Now," reviewing the SACP’s century of development and its contribution to the South African liberation cause. He pointed out the party's future direction, calling for the continued pursuit of a National Democratic Revolution [1] oriented toward socialism, and proposed that the National Democratic Revolution can only sustain its vitality if its nature and actions continuously deepen their socialist orientation. The SACP will commit to launching a broad people’s movement to eliminate the legacy of racial oppression and will always put the people before profit.
Additionally, the Communist Parties of Luxembourg, Italy, Belgium, and Canada organized various forms of centenary celebrations. Other parties held anniversary activities, such as the Communist Party of Venezuela celebrating its 90th anniversary, the Tudeh Party of Iran its 80th, and the Russian Communist Workers’ Party its 30th. Communist youth peripheral organizations, such as the Communist Youth Union (KSM) in the Czech Republic and the Young Communist League (YCL) in Britain, likewise held various activities to commemorate their one hundredth anniversaries.
Summarizing Past Lessons; Planning Future Directions
The year 2021 could be called the "Year of Congresses" for world Communist Parties, as parties in many countries held their national congresses. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many parties overcame difficulties to convene congresses in various formats, summarizing their work over the past few years and exploring the challenges facing the party as well as development goals and tasks of struggle under the pandemic.
The ruling Communist Parties of four socialist countries—North Korea, Laos, Vietnam, and Cuba—held their congresses in succession throughout 2021. The Workers' Party of Korea held its 8th Congress at the beginning of the year, proposing to further consolidate and strengthen party leadership and continue adhering to the "people-first" line, the "people are God" [2] political philosophy, and the principle of self-reliance. At the Fourth Plenary Session of its 8th Central Committee held at year-end, the Workers' Party paid special attention to rural construction, issuing a call to "usher in a great new era of socialist rural development" and emphasizing that 2022 would begin a great march for the whole people toward the comprehensive development of socialist construction. The 11th National Congress of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party fully affirmed Laos's political stability, security, and order under the pandemic, especially the substantive progress in poverty reduction, sketching out six major development goals for the next five years, including maintaining economic growth, improving infrastructure, and bettering people's living conditions. The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam evaluated the achievements and challenges of the past five years, speaking highly of the experience gained during 35 years of Doi Moi [3] (Renovation), emphasizing the continued path of renovation, integration, and development, and setting the goal of building a strong and prosperous Vietnam by 2045. The 8th National Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba summarized achievements in "model updating" [4] and pandemic control since the 7th Congress, particularly emphasizing that public ownership of the means of production is the foundation of workers' power, resolutely opposing privatization; during this meeting, the party achieved a smooth and stable transition of the top leadership of the party and government.
In developed capitalist regions, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the Communist Party of Britain, the Communist Party of Sweden, the Party of Communists USA, the Communist Party of the Workers of Spain, the Communist Party of Australia, and the Communist Party (Switzerland), among others, held party congresses. In June 2021, the KKE held its 21st National Congress, conducting in-depth discussions on several major issues, such as how to further clarify the KKE's role as an organized vanguard under current conditions; how to advance the struggle of all social strata and strengthen unity; and how to carry out the struggle in an anti-capitalist and anti-monopoly direction. The meeting elected a new Central Committee, with Dimitris Koutsoumbas re-elected as General Secretary.
In the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF), the Russian Communist Workers’ Party, the Communist Party of Tajikistan, the Unified Communist Party of Georgia, and the Communist Party of Albania held congresses. In April 2021, the KPRF held its 18th National Congress. Gennady Zyuganov, Chairman of the KPRF Central Committee, summarized the party's achievements during the period between the two congresses in his general report and proposed the party's work principles and goals for the next stage. He emphasized increasing the party's prestige and strengthening ideological discipline; prioritized information, propaganda, and ideological work; and advocated for party building, especially the cultivation of young members and the strengthening of the party's class core. He also called for defending the legacy of the Soviet era, promoting socialist values, and safeguarding the democratic and civil rights of citizens. The congress adopted a resolution titled "For Socialism, Against Poverty and Lawlessness" and elected a new central leadership headed by Zyuganov.
In developing regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the Communist Party of Brazil, the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) in Cyprus, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), the Paraguayan Communist Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), the Communist Party of Swaziland, and the Iraqi Communist Party held congresses. In October 2021, the Communist Party of Brazil held its 15th National Congress. Due to the pandemic, the meeting was held online for the first time. At the closing ceremony, attended by over 600 people online, Party President Luciana Santos delivered a speech analyzing the profound crisis of the capitalist system in Brazil under the pandemic and the intensification of class struggle. She emphasized that the party would commit to updating its mass line and party-building route, deepening its links with the life and struggle of the working class and the people, and achieving a revitalization of the party to overcome its great difficulties and challenges.
Parliamentary Elections Show Continuity; Progress and Decline Trend Toward Coexistence
In 2021, foreign Communist Parties in national and local elections continued the developmental trends of recent years—with ups and downs, gains and losses. Highlights and difficulties existed side-by-side, and the divergence between progress and decline became more prominent and distinct.
Communist Parties in several countries achieved varying degrees of electoral progress. In the Russian Duma elections, supporters of the KPRF increased by 3.64 million, with the support rate reaching 18%, securing 57 seats—an increase of 15 seats over the previous election. In the local elections in Kerala, India, the Left Democratic Front, composed of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India, secured power once again following their 2016 victory. In 2021, Yolanda Díaz of the Communist Party of Spain was appointed Minister of Labor and Social Economy, representing a rare and significant highlight amid the difficulties faced by the Spanish party in recent years.
Among the foreign Communist Parties that achieved electoral progress, several are noteworthy. First is the Party of Communists of the Republic of Moldova (PCRM). This party was once the only Communist Party in the former Soviet region to take power after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the upheavals in Eastern Europe. Under unfavorable domestic and international political environments, the PCRM has encountered great difficulties in recent years, winning no seats in the 2019 general election. In the national parliamentary elections held in July 2021, the PCRM formed an alliance with the Socialist Party of Moldova, led by PCRM leader Vladimir Voronin, winning 27% of the vote and 10 seats. Second is the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh). The PCCh is a highly influential party in Latin America, currently boasting 80,000 members (50,000 public and 30,000 non-public). In the 2021 Chilean presidential election, PCCh candidate Daniel Jadue led in the polls for a time. In the Chamber of Deputies elections, the PCCh achieved its best result in recent years with a record 7% support rate and 12 seats; in the Senate elections, the PCCh likewise received over 7% and 2 seats, breaking its long-standing absence from the Senate. Third is the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ). At the national level, the KPÖ is a marginal party, with long-term support below 1%. However, in Graz, Austria's second-largest city, the KPÖ is one of the major parties, maintaining a support rate over 20% since the beginning of the 21st century. In the 2021 Graz municipal elections, the KPÖ achieved an unprecedented 28.8% support rate, and KPÖ councilor Elke Kahr became mayor. Additionally, the KPÖ has seen new development throughout Austria in recent years, such as participating in governing coalitions in the capitals of Salzburg, Upper Austria, and Tyrol, and winning 23 seats in 15 districts of Vienna in cooperation with the "Left" party.
In contrast to these successful examples, many foreign Communist Parties faced dilemmas or even setbacks and failures in parliamentary politics. The electoral support for some parties declined slightly from a relatively stable base. For example, in the Japanese general election, the Japanese Communist Party won 10 seats (one fewer than before); in the Cyprus parliamentary elections, AKEL won 15 seats but remained the second-largest party in parliament. Other parties continued to wander on the fringes of the political stage, finding it difficult to achieve a reversal of fortune. In the Italian local elections, the Communist Refoundation Party and the Communist Party (the "New" PCI), running through the "Power to the People" alliance, remained sluggish with support rates below 2%, while the Communist Party (Italy), running independently, had a peak support rate of nearly 1%.
In 2021, the party most severely impacted by electoral shocks was undoubtedly the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM). In the Czech general election held in October, the KSČM received only 3.6% of the vote (down from 7.8% and 15 seats in 2017), failing to meet the 5% parliamentary threshold and losing all its seats. This marked the first time since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the "Drastic Changes in Eastern Europe" [5] that the KSČM failed to secure any legislative representation. This electoral defeat led directly to the resignation of Party Chairman Vojtěch Filip. Kateřina Konečná, a current Member of the European Parliament, was elected as the new chair, becoming the first female top leader in the history of the KSČM. Regarding the future development of the KSČM, the primary issues it faces will be how to coordinate the relationship between maintaining its core constituency of voters over age 65 and attracting younger voters, while resolving internal factional disputes and struggles.
Over the past year, the developmental shift of the Communist People's Party of Kazakhstan (CPPK) has also drawn attention. At its 15th Congress in late 2020, the CPPK changed its name to the People's Party of Kazakhstan. At the same time, it implemented significant adjustments to its Party Constitution and Program. Although it still describes itself as a left-wing party with socialist leanings dedicated to defending the interests of ordinary people, it removed identity markers such as "communism" and "class struggle" [6], greatly weakening its characteristic identity as a communist party. In the 2021 national elections, the People's Party of Kazakhstan, appearing in its new guise, saw an increase in support, rising from 7.1% of the vote and 7 seats in 2016 to 9.1% and 10 seats in 2021.
Reflecting on Socialist History and Exploring Programs for Unity and Struggle
The year 2021 marked the anniversaries of several important events in the history of the world socialist movement, providing an opportunity for foreign communist parties to conduct deep examinations of history and reflect on the present. Communist parties in many countries focused on the 150th anniversary of the Paris Commune. The Guardian, the newspaper of the Communist Party of Australia, published articles reviewing the Commune’s glorious history of struggle, emphasizing that although the Paris Commune failed, its revolutionary legacy remains vital, providing a model and a vision of development for future generations of communists. As one of the most significant historical events of the 20th century, the 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union triggered a wave of reflection among many foreign communists. Communists from various countries generally praised the great achievements of the Soviet socialist period, arguing that while Soviet socialism had shortcomings and mistakes, it was undoubtedly the primary force countering capitalism, and its practice provided a living example for the oppressed peoples of the world to escape capitalist exploitation. Thirty years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, socialist countries represented by China demonstrate immense developmental potential. Socialism exists in the past and the present; people can draw lessons from its failures to construct a future world worth anticipating. Furthermore, 2021 marked the 20th anniversary of the Genoa protests—the starting point of the anti-globalization movement—and the 10th anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Communist parties in many countries profoundly summarized the lessons of the Western Left’s anti-capitalist struggles, emphasizing that in the face of crises, war, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the new upheavals in production and digital lifestyles, capitalism once again stands at a crossroads. Left-wing forces need to undergo profound reflection and alternative practices, develop new international cooperation, and launch new struggles for global social and democratic rights.
Looking back at history is for the sake of walking the current path well and steadying the path to the future. Under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign communist parties actively utilized the internet to organize regional and global forums to discuss the current state, problems, and prospects of the world socialist movement in depth. For example, in early December 2021, the 5th European Left Forum was held in Brussels through a combination of online and offline formats. Communist parties from many European countries participated to jointly explore major challenges facing Europe, economic and social issues in the wake of the pandemic, and the possibility of "building another Europe." On December 10–11, 2021, after the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP) was interrupted for a year due to the pandemic, 73 communist and workers' parties from 57 countries participated in a special teleconference organized by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP). Numerous communist and workers' parties discussed labor movements and people's struggles under the pandemic, the intensification of contradictions between labor and capital, the increased degree of exploitation in the capitalist mode of production, and its destructive impact on the environment. They emphasized that under new conditions, communist and workers' parties need to strengthen internationalist solidarity, actively organize the working people, and struggle for the construction of a new socialist-communist society.
Persisting in Defending Justice and Peace to Promote Human Development and Progress
Foreign communist parties have been firm and undaunted in their practical struggles to maintain world peace and development and to defend social equity and justice. In 2021, the following themes of struggle were particularly prominent.
First, they took various actions to counter hegemonism and power politics led by the United States. For instance, communists from Australia, the United States, and Britain issued statements opposing the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact, condemning the agreement as the foundation of an anti-China military alliance. Facing the increasing threat of the proliferation and use of biological weapons, 18 communist parties from 16 countries issued a joint statement demanding the dismantling of U.S. biological laboratories. Many communist parties opposed the U.S. blockade, interference, and coup attempts against Cuba, supporting Cuba's just cause through marches, demonstrations, and statements, emphasizing that "the problems Cuba faces are caused by the criminal blockade the U.S. has imposed on Cuba for over 60 years."
Second, they organized and carried out struggles against the ruling powers in their own countries. A representative case was the participation and organization by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and others in the Indian farmers' protests against the government's anti-farmer legislation starting in 2020. The protest lasted 14 months, becoming one of the largest and longest-lasting mass mobilizations in the world. Ultimately, the government decided to repeal the three agricultural reform acts affecting farmers' interests, and the protest achieved a historic victory.
Third, they provided mutual support to denounce all forms of anti-communism. In response to the unjust treatment encountered by several communist parties in their political activities—such as the German Communist Party (DKP) being initially barred from the federal election due to a delay in filing paperwork, or leaders of the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) facing political attacks during elections—communist parties from many countries spoke out immediately. They countered the slander and vilification of communists and resolutely supported the legitimate rights and just struggles of communists in all nations.
Conclusion
The development of foreign communist parties in 2021 continued the primary characteristics of recent years. The stage-specific features of striving for progress during a low ebb, seeking survival in the cracks, and seeking development amidst adversity remain prominent. The continued spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has, to a certain extent, changed the modes of struggle for foreign communist parties; the frequency of street actions and offline activities has decreased relatively, while diverse virtual online platforms have provided new spaces for struggle and action for parties in all countries. Looking forward to 2022, foreign communist parties will continue to march on the great journey of exploring the path of socialist development in the 21st century. Against the backdrop that the pandemic shows no sign of ending in the short term, it is a practical and urgent task for foreign communist parties to proceed from actual conditions, formulate effective action plans, and accumulate the strength to move forward continuously.