Li Donghua and Ding Bowen: An Exploration and Evaluation of the Communist Party of Argentina's Path to Socialism
The Communist Party of Argentina (hereafter, the "PCA") was the first communist organization in the Latin American region. Over the past century, the PCA has continuously explored the path to socialism and devoted itself to promoting the Sinicization of Marxism [1], yet a harsh external environment has limited the thoroughness and effectiveness of its struggle. In its early period, the PCA actively carried out a series of revolutionary struggles against imperialism and domestic reactionary classes, exerting a certain influence on Argentine political life, though not enough to establish a socialist regime. After World War II, the PCA began to explore the realization of socialism under peaceful conditions and conducted a series of struggles against autocracy and dependency [2], but none achieved the expected results. Since the end of the Cold War, the PCA has focused on expanding its influence through parliamentary elections, aiming to promote the growth of socialist elements within the country by participating in state power; however, the results remain relatively limited. Generally speaking, the PCA’s exploration of socialism has not achieved success. This is a common phenomenon faced by non-ruling Communist Parties in developing countries, the fundamental reason being that the objective and subjective conditions for realizing socialism in these countries have not yet matured.
I. The Century-Long Developmental Process of the Communist Party of Argentina
Throughout its hundred-year developmental process, the PCA's exploration of socialism has exhibited distinct periodic characteristics, which can be broadly divided into the following three stages.
(1) The Period of Revolutionary Struggle (1918–1945)
During its early years, the PCA advocated for the overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of a socialist society through intense class struggle—specifically, the method of violent revolution.
Similar to the situation of Communist Parties in several other Latin American countries, the PCA emerged from its domestic Social Democratic Party. At the turn of the 20th century, Argentina had a dense left-wing political atmosphere. Various socialist trends brought by European immigrants, especially scientific socialism, spread rapidly and profoundly influenced the domestic labor movement. Against this background, several progressive social organizations were established. In 1888, the International Socialist Group was formed in Buenos Aires; in 1892, the Socialist Federation of Buenos Aires was established; and in 1895, the Socialist Workers' Party of Argentina was founded, renaming itself the "Socialist Party of Argentina" in 1896. Amidst the rising labor movement and the drastic changes in domestic and international situations caused by World War I, a split occurred within the Socialist Party of Argentina: the party leadership and a group of elites took an opportunist path, denying class struggle and causing serious dissatisfaction among the party's left wing. Consequently, in January 1918, hundreds of members from 22 local organizations, led by figures such as Rodolfo Ghioldi and Victorio Codovilla, founded the International Socialist Party; in December 1920, the party changed its name to the Communist Party of Argentina.
The PCA was the first communist party in Latin America, opening a new chapter in the Argentine socialist revolution and driving the birth of communist parties in other countries in the region. At its inception, the PCA was a working-class party that adhered to Marxism and class struggle. Its revolutionary goal was to liberate the working class and the masses from capitalist enslavement and establish a socialist society, believing this could only be achieved through revolutionary means. This simple aspiration persisted throughout the early revolutionary period of the PCA. The early PCA also believed that trade unions were powerful weapons for the liberation of the working class and actively sought to carry out socialist revolution through them. The PCA attached great importance to the role of trade union organizations in the labor movement and facilitated the establishment of the United Trade Union Federation, a unified union organization in Argentina. Under the PCA's organizational leadership and active participation, the Federation organized a series of struggle movements for workers, dealing blows to capitalism and pushing Argentina toward a socialist direction. For example, the January 1919 general strike organized and led by the PCA eventually evolved into barricade fighting against government troops, resulting in over 2,000 deaths and 4,000 injuries—known in the history of the Argentine labor movement as "Tragic Week" [3]; in 1920, the PCA organized the May Day parade in Buenos Aires, demanding the release of political prisoners and the repeal of anti-worker legislation, which was ultimately suppressed by the reactionary regime. For the next ten years, the Argentine labor movement remained at a low ebb, and the PCA was declared an "illegal organization." In the 1930s and 40s, the PCA began leading the labor movement again. Larger actions included the October 1935 strike of 70,000 construction workers launched alongside other left-wing forces, and the January 1936 national strike movement involving 68 unions in support of construction workers. As fascist forces spread and the danger of war approached, the PCA and other progressive forces carried out a series of anti-fascist and anti-imperialist struggles, establishing People's Committees in several large cities and promoting the creation of an anti-fascist and anti-imperialist People's Front. Following the outbreak of World War II, the PCA passed the Program for the Establishment of an Anti-Fascist Democratic Front and, together with other progressive forces, promoted the establishment of a National Anti-Fascist Democratic Front, actively participating in the revolutionary struggle against fascism and domestic reactionary forces. In the latter part of this stage, with the rise of Juan Perón—a representative of the emerging bourgeoisie—and the Argentine Justicialist Party [4], combined with the influence of Browderism [5], the PCA lost its leadership over the trade unions. It came to believe that it could move toward socialism through reformist methods of cooperation and compromise, which led to a major setback for its socialist movement.
During this period, the PCA was in an illegal status for most of the time. Due to the harsh environment, the party's ranks grew slowly, increasing from 766 members at its founding to just over 10,000 by the end of World War II, and its socialist goals remained far from realized.
(2) The Stage of Peaceful Struggle (1945–1990)
After World War II, the PCA began participating in domestic political activities as a legal party, dedicating itself to exploring a peaceful path to socialism through parliamentary struggle. During this period, several military coups occurred in Argentina, forcing the PCA to move underground. The focus of its struggle shifted to striving for its own legal status, while hoping to propose socialist ideas whenever conditions permitted. In 1945, the PCA formed the Democratic Union with the Radical Civic Union and the Socialist Party, participating in the early 1946 general election where it won 100,000 votes but no seats. That same year, the PCA also joined the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) controlled by the ruling party, proposing to support the Perón government's maintenance of national independence. After the Perón government was overthrown by a military coup in 1955, the PCA immediately moved underground and proposed the following year a path toward peace, democracy, national independence, and socialism, advocating for an anti-imperialist agrarian revolution. Despite its illegal status, the PCA dared to struggle, even issuing a statement in 1958 specifically attacking the government's state of siege and persecution, emphasizing that "Communists will spare no effort in the struggle." In 1973, the 14th National Congress of the PCA proposed that the current stage of revolution was a "democratic, agrarian, and anti-imperialist revolution with the goal of achieving socialism," though it did not specifically clarify the content or form of this socialism.
Although the PCA faced adversity during this period, it still worked hard to organize and participate in the labor movement, achieving some results. In 1956, the PCA organized a strike of workers in Buenos Aires; in 1969, it organized a metalworkers' strike and supported the Cordobazo uprising [6]; in 1982, it led trade unions in a 24-hour national general strike involving 6 million workers. Additionally, the PCA during this period emphasized expanding its influence in rural areas, leading or co-leading over 250 agricultural workers' unions. In 1964, it established the "Movement for the Recovery and Strengthening of the United Federation of Agricultural and Loading Workers of Argentina" to promote rural land reform and defend peasants' interests, injecting socialist elements into specific struggle actions.
During this period, the PCA passed a series of important documents regarding the peaceful transition to socialism, democratic reform, agrarian revolution, and the united front, which constituted the main contents of its exploration of the socialist path. Of great significance was the 16th National Congress of the PCA in 1986, which called for a shift in politics and tactics, stating that "turning toward social democracy was a deviation" and that the party must "break politically with dogmatism and sectarianism." It decided to restore the line of revolutionary struggle and accumulate strength to ultimately seize power and establish socialism. In 1990, the 17th National Congress was held against a backdrop of serious ideological and strategic divergence within the party. Some members of the Political Bureau even proposed dissolving the PCA and establishing a broader organization, but the Congress rejected this proposal and reaffirmed the line of the 16th Congress.
For nearly half a century after World War II, the size of the PCA's membership fluctuated violently, swinging between a minimum of 30,000 and a maximum of 150,000. Both the class base and the mass base of the PCA and socialism were weakening, and the PCA itself remained in a long-term developmental predicament.
(3) The Period of Transformation and Adjustment (1990 to present)
The drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe had a serious impact on many Communist Parties in Latin America, including the PCA, and its efforts to explore socialism were significantly hit. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the PCA continued to differentiate and split: the social democratic forces advocating for the establishment of a "Front for a Country in Solidarity" (FrePaSo) suffered defeat, and their main representative Carlos "Chacho" Alvarez, along with some "reformists," announced their withdrawal from the party. The mainstream forces in the party emphasized continuing to adhere to tradition and Marxism-Leninism, with the goals of establishing an "independent democratic state" and a "people's government," and ultimately "achieving national liberation and socialism." In 1994, the General Secretary of the PCA, Alejandro Mosquera, having lost confidence in the party's development, led a group of members to leave the party and co-founded a new center-left party—the Front for a Country in Solidarity.
During this period, the PCA emphasized summarizing and reflecting on the changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, believing it necessary to update the concept of socialism. It stressed that socialism should implement the "most effective democracy" in political, economic, and social aspects, and that revolution and democracy must be reunited, otherwise the socialist project would be impossible to realize. Since the mid-1990s, the PCA has devoted itself to pushing for the realization of socialism indirectly through the legal parliamentary path and has actively formed electoral alliances with center-left parties. It finally won a seat in the 1997 parliamentary elections but lost it again in 2003. The 23rd National Congress of the PCA in 2004 reflected on this, emphasizing the need to continue the line of the 16th Congress, promote national independence and social liberation, and gradually advance socialist transformation. Since then, the PCA has generally executed this line, embedding the struggle for socialism within specific activities to strive for political and economic independence and protect people's livelihoods, making winning elections the center of gravity for the socialist revolution. In 2011, the PCA participated in the "Front for Victory" (Frente para la Victoria), an electoral alliance led by the Justicialist Party, and became a participant in the governing coalition after the victory. It continued to support the Justicialist Party in the 2015 general election but became an opposition party after suffering defeat. In 2019, it once again participated in the "Frente de Todos" led by the Justicialist Party, becoming part of the governing coalition again after the victory, though it did not obtain a cabinet position. In early 2023, while celebrating the 105th anniversary of the PCA’s founding, the party reaffirmed its commitment to the cause of national independence and social liberation, announcing it would achieve new unity through struggle and establish a programmatic political front to confront the right wing, neoliberalism, and imperialism, thereby promoting the realization of socialism.
II. Characteristics of the Communist Party of Argentina’s Exploration of the Socialist Path
As a non-ruling Communist Party in a developing country, the PCA’s strategies, methods, and paths for realizing socialism display many commonalities with other Latin American Communist Parties while also exhibiting several distinct individual characteristics.
(1) Peaceful Transition to Socialism through Parliamentary Struggle
After WWII, the PCA devoted the vast majority of its energy to exploring a path of peaceful transition to socialism. Integrating into national political life by conducting legal struggle was an important innovation in the "localized" [7] application of Marxism promoted by Latin American Communist Parties, including the PCA. The 6th Congress of the PCA, held in 1950, emphasized the possibility of achieving state power without civil war, based on potential agreements and political cooperation with various parties and social organizations. In its 1959 Party Program, the PCA explicitly stated the Party’s goal: to lead the working class and the people of the country to struggle for the seizure of power into the hands of themselves and their allies through peaceful means, including parliamentary elections, unless the peaceful democratic path were blocked. In 1961, the PCA reaffirmed: "At present, war is not an inevitable destiny but can be prevented," and it is possible to "achieve state power without civil war, thereby ensuring the transfer of the basic means of production into the hands of the people." The PCA believed that a people's democratic government could be established and the transition from capitalism to socialism realized through peaceful methods of struggle such as parliamentary elections and legal mass actions. After the failure of the "Chilean Path" in 1973, the PCA still insisted on the path of peaceful transition to socialism, stating that this strategy must never be changed because of the failure in Chile. By the 1980s, the 16th Congress of the PCA still maintained that "a world war is not inevitable," and that the domestic struggle for power still required the accumulation of strength among the people and the conduct of extensive and open mass activities: "We hope to achieve the revolutionary transformation of society without a brutal civil war." Since the end of the Cold War, the PCA has become even more committed to the path of peaceful transition, reiterating the gradual progression toward socialism through democratic transformation, though it has made no new theoretical breakthroughs. Victor Kot, General Secretary of the PCA, attended the international symposium commemorating the 200th anniversary of Marx's birth in Shenzhen in 2018, stating: "Although capitalism has its crises, it will not disappear naturally by itself; rather, we need to strike it down through long-term struggle" and "promote the (peaceful) transition from capitalism to socialism." After becoming a party involved in government, the PCA grew firmer in this understanding, believing that the electoral victories of left-wing forces opened a path toward democracy, progress, and peace for Argentina.
On the peaceful parliamentary path, the PCA won only two seats in 1973 and one seat in 1997, remaining in an extremely marginal position and finding it difficult to promote relevant political reforms.
(2) Actively seeking democracy and constitutionalism, and conducting political struggles against dependency
When commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the Party's founding in 2020, the PCA stated: "The mission of revolution, in the fullest Marxist sense, is to smash the state machinery of rule." This position has run through the century-long political struggle of the PCA. For most of the 20th century, the PCA faced a dire domestic situation; autocracy, military coups, and external oppression long cast a shadow over Argentina, which failed to establish a genuine democratic foundation. Therefore, the PCA emphasized that it must struggle to establish a new type of people's democratic regime. As early as the 1920s and 30s, the PCA led, organized, and participated in anti-dictatorship and anti-repression actions, struggling for democratic and liberal rights. In the 1950s, the PCA launched struggles demanding the cancellation of national martial law, the release of political prisoners, the abolition of all reactionary decrees, and the protection of the people’s democratic freedoms and national autonomy; it called on the public to purge the enemies of the people from state institutions. In the 1960s, the PCA committed itself to revolutionary struggles against imperialism, oligarchy, and dictatorship, and conducted specific critiques of erroneous ideas within the Party that strictly separated the democratic revolution from the socialist revolution. A 1975 plenary session of the PCA Central Committee concluded that the domestic situation had entered a new stage of active resistance against counter-revolutionary coups and the promotion of a nationwide anti-imperialist front, requiring the mobilization of the masses in large-scale actions to deter coup plotters. In the early 1980s, the PCA promoted the struggle to restore the constitution, achieve the rule of law, and strive for liberal democracy, calling on all patriotic and democratic forces to unite to "establish a joint military-civilian democratic government." The program adopted by the 16th Congress of the PCA further emphasized: "The Communist Party must unswervingly strive for and defend democracy, struggling for its continuous development, because the struggle for socialism is inseparable from the struggle for democracy; democracy and socialism should be components of the same historical process." In the mid-to-late 1980s, the PCA emphasized that what it was conducting was "a people's, anti-imperialist, and anti-oligarchic revolution," a "revolution moving toward socialism and integrated with the cause of Latin American liberation." Since the 1990s, with the basic stability of democratic elections and civilian government in Argentina, the PCA’s goals for the previous stage of political democracy were largely achieved, and it began to struggle for the establishment of people's power and against external dependency [8]. In the early 21st century, Argentina's state of external dependency worsened daily. The PCA held that the Argentine people suffered deeply from exploitation by neoliberalism, imperialism, and domestic right-wing forces, and that Argentine society had fallen into a comprehensive crisis across political, economic, and social fields. This was a crisis of the capitalist system, and the fundamental way out lay in mobilizing the masses to conduct a struggle to defend national sovereignty, committing to the establishment of an "independent democratic state" and a "people's government" to achieve "national liberation and socialism." In 2016, at its 26th Congress, the PCA proposed that opposing imperialism and breaking free from dependency on major capitalist powers remained a revolution the Party needed to continue. In early 2023, PCA President Mario Micheli once again emphasized: "The struggle of the Argentine people must be linked to this general struggle for national and social liberation; we must defeat US imperialism and its local partners in Argentina and the Latin American region."
(3) Promoting the establishment of various forms of united fronts
To promote social change, the PCA never advocated for fighting alone; it consistently adhered to the strategy of the united front, emphasizing the need to unite all forces that can be united to confront the enemy together. Long before WWII, the PCA joined with left-wing forces such as the Socialist Party of Argentina and the Justicialist Party [9] to form people's fronts and democratic fronts against imperialism and fascism. After WWII, moving with different needs, the PCA proposed or participated in various forms of united fronts. In 1956, to break the reactionary forces' suppression and isolation of the Communist Party, the PCA initiated the formation of a National Democratic Front. To promote people's unity, the PCA actively advocated for the formation of a broad Patriotic Democratic Front, and in 1975 proposed the establishment of a "Coalition Cabinet," forming a "Broad Democratic Coalition Cabinet" composed of the military, civilians, trade unions, employers, and various political parties. However, this was merely wishful thinking on the PCA’s part. In the 1980s and 90s, the PCA advocated for the establishment of a Front for Social and National Liberation, striving to form a coalition government led by the working class. Since the 21st century, the PCA has called for the establishment of a progressive, broad united front composed of the broad masses of workers, peasants, intellectuals, and the petty and middle bourgeoisie to counter the powerful influence of the right wing in the country's political, economic, and social life, striving to establish a people's regime guided by socialism. The PCA lacks sufficient strength and qualifications to realize this aspiration, which is clearly difficult to achieve.
In practical political life, the PCA's very limited political influence makes it difficult for it to form or lead a united front or related political coalition; more often, it acts as a participant. In the two most recent general elections, the PCA merely joined the electoral alliance formed by the Justicialist Party as a follower, hoping to share in the fruits of the Justicialist Party's victory.
(4) Focusing on economic struggle to protect the basic rights and interests of laborers
Before WWII, the PCA focused on using trade unions to conduct revolutionary struggle to protect the economic rights of workers and laborers, such as raising wages and shortening working hours. After the war, the PCA's goals, framework, and path regarding economic struggle were continuously refined. A draft program adopted by the PCA in December 1956 proposed a detailed economic struggle program: the confiscation without compensation of large imperialist enterprises and factories in Argentina and their nationalization; the confiscation without compensation of lands belonging to large estate owners and foreign joint-stock companies and their distribution to peasants; the protection of the legal property of the national bourgeoisie and the promotion of the development of national industry and commerce; and combining the economic struggle of the working class with the democratic struggle of all the people to stimulate the militancy of workers, peasants, and other strata of the masses. Subsequently, basic demands were raised to protect laborers' interests: implementing an eight-hour workday, increasing wages by 60%, providing relief for unemployed workers, developing industrial and agricultural production, lowering the prices of daily necessities, implementing land reform, stopping the exploitation of tenant farmers, and imposing a special tax of 25% on the rents and profits of large landowners, big capitalists, and foreign enterprises. From the 1960s to the 80s, the strike struggles carried out by the PCA were greatly reduced under the suppression of the military government; it more frequently expressed its economic positions through relevant statements. Since the 1990s, the PCA's activities in leading trade unions have been relatively active, but due to constraints in funding and mobilization capacity, the number of activities has been low and their influence relatively limited.
Through these long-term but limited economic struggles, the PCA has shaped its image as a working-class party that defends the interests of ordinary laborers.
(5) Emphasizing alliance with left-wing forces within the region
Communist parties in the Latin American region have possessed a strong characteristic of regional linkage since their inception, jointly advancing the socialist movement through regional dialogue, consultation, and collaboration. As early as 1929, the PCA took the lead in convening the First Representative Conference of Latin American Communist Parties, attended by parties from 15 countries, to discuss macro issues such as the international situation in Latin American, anti-imperialist struggle, and Communist Party tactics. Thereafter until the early 1980s, the PCA was in an illegal status for most of the time, making it difficult for it to act as a leading force in convening regional or sub-regional meetings of Latin American Communist Parties; sometimes it was even unable to attend regional meetings hosted by fraternal parties. Only after restoring open activities did the PCA host several multilateral meetings. For example, in 1984, it convened a meeting of Communist Parties from 12 Latin American countries to discuss US imperialism's arms race and strategic threats, its interference in Latin American affairs, and the issue of democratization in the region. In 1988, it hosted an international symposium commemorating the 60th anniversary of Che Guevara's birth, with a total of 24 foreign Communist Parties attending; the PCA called on the people to hold high the banner of Che Guevara and struggle for the construction of a new life and the realization of social democracy. In 2020, it held a multilateral event themed "Resisting the Right and Imperialism through People's Solidarity: Communists Believe the Time is Right for Struggle and Profound Change," attended by representatives from fraternal parties in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Spain, and elsewhere.
This series of activities demonstrates the PCA’s internationalist convictions and pursuits, as well as its willingness to struggle in alliance with other Communist Parties. Through this, the PCA hopes to draw experiences and lessons, unify ideology and action, expand the Party's influence, overcome tendencies toward dogmatism and sectarianism within the Party, and independently explore a path for socialist revolution suited to the country's own conditions.
III. Evaluations and Outlook
Looking at the PCA’s century-long journey of exploring socialism, it has been filled with difficulties and upheavals. The line of revolutionary struggle helped the PCA gain a foothold in the domestic political arena, but its insistence on the path of peaceful transition to socialism after WWII led to a continuous decline. Since the 21st century, the PCA has remained committed to the path of parliamentary struggle, improving its survival environment to some extent through left-wing alliances and even participating in government. However, it also faces common problems shared by Communist Parties in most developing countries.
First, the quality of the survival environment significantly affects the effectiveness of the socialist revolution. Since its founding, the PCA's fate could be described as ill-starred, having long been suppressed by reactionary forces. Shortly after its establishment, it was suppressed by the authorities, and for much of the time between the 1930s and 80s, it was in an illegal status, unable to conduct open activities. Its leaders and core members were persecuted, which seriously affected the PCA’s long-term development. Even during legal periods, the PCA was prohibited from nominating candidates in general elections. The harsh survival environment is an important external reason constraining the PCA’s long-term stable development and leading to its continuous decline.
Secondly, in its exploration of the road to socialism, the Communist Party of Argentina (PCA) has exhibited a significant degree of dependence on the Argentine Justicialist Party [10]. Some scholars argue that compared to Peronism, the PCA’s political discourse is at a distinct disadvantage, as it has failed to explore a theory that could unite broader social strata without deviating from its own political identity. Certain theoretical points of convergence exist between the Justicialism practiced by the Justicialist Party and the socialism of the PCA; for instance, both hold similar positions regarding social progress and foreign relations. As a marginalized minor party in Argentine political life, the PCA has on several occasions withdrawn from presidential contests to throw its full support behind the Justicialist candidates, praising Perón as the "undisputed leader" and claiming that Argentina under Perón’s rule would be a "people's democratic state." They even hoped to establish a "socialist fatherland" through the Peronist Left. In the PCA’s view, once the Justicialist Party took power, it implemented nationalization policies and land reforms, which allowed the "working class in cities and rural areas to gain political status" and ensured that the "organized labor movement became a pivotal element in Argentina's power structure." Since these were precisely the goals the PCA pursued in its exploration of the socialist path, it believed it could rely on the Justicialist Party to achieve the growth of socialist elements in Argentina. However, for most of the time, the PCA was not the Justicialist Party’s first choice or even a significant alliance partner; the Justicialist Party merely co-opted and utilized the PCA to counter right-wing coalitions, with no intention of working alongside the Party to advance the realization of socialism. The PCA was unable to seize the initiative in managing the relationship between the two parties. Consequently, despite shared tactical similarities, their exploration of socialism could not achieve the expected results, and the Justicialist Party could not possibly help the PCA realize socialism.
Thirdly, the Argentine socialist movement has been deeply influenced by the international socialist movement. From its inception, the socialist movement in Argentina received attention from revolutionary mentors such as Marx and the First International; Marx even provided direct guidance, and the Argentine section of the First International was established under his personal care and direction. The Argentine Socialist Workers' Party was a member of the Second International, and the victory of the Russian October Revolution directly catalyzed the founding of the PCA. Historically, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party of the USA, the Communist Party of Cuba, and revolutions in other Latin American countries have all exerted a significant influence on the PCA. Under the influence of "Browderism" [11] revisionism from the CPUSA, the PCA abandoned its leadership over trade unions; it regarded the Cuban Revolution as a "shining example" for all Communist parties in the Latin American region; it believed the Chilean revolution opened the possibility of a peaceful transition to socialism in Latin America; it viewed the Peruvian revolution as the trend of the entire Latin American communist movement and a realistic path to achieving Latin American liberation; and it held that the Nicaraguan Revolution provided "great lessons" to revolutionaries in the region. Generally speaking, whether in terms of socialist theory or the choice of strategies, methods, and paths for realizing socialism, the PCA was profoundly influenced by the international socialist movement or Latin American regional revolutions during different periods, leading to certain fluctuations and reversals in the PCA’s exploration of the socialist road.
Finally, while unfavorable external factors and the objective environment limited the success of the Argentine socialist revolution, the PCA's own development and choices also offer much for reflection. For a long time, internal ideological unity could not be achieved. Constant disputes centered on major issues such as the line of struggle, the relationship with the Justicialist Party, and the future direction of development. Intense struggles between different internal factions caused the PCA to split several times. In the second half of the 20th century alone, the PCA experienced four major splits, resulting in immense losses for the Party. The ranks of the party members have fluctuated violently, and organizational stability has been poor. From its founding until the early 1980s, the total number of PCA members showed an upward trend, growing from 766 to nearly 200,000; since then, it has continuously decreased, with only 17,000 members in 2021. It has long since ceased to be the largest Communist party in Latin America and has declined into a marginalized minor party domestically. Furthermore, the influence of its peripheral organizations, such as trade unions and youth leagues, continues to decline, further weakening the PCA’s mobilization capacity. As the fundamental strength of the Party, the continuous drop in membership means the Party’s mass base is being eroded, and its political appeal and influence are increasingly waning—all of which inevitably lower the confidence of members and their supporters in socialism.
The PCA is a long-standing political force on the Argentine political stage. Given the relatively strong progressive political atmosphere formed by the Party’s persistence in revolutionary struggle throughout history, it is foreseeable that the PCA will continue to play a role in Argentine party politics for a long time to come and will remain an important member of the Latin American leftist family. However, the PCA will remain a minor party for a considerable period in the future.
In summary, the centennial PCA has undergone a quite rocky developmental process. For the PCA, the exploration of the road to socialist revolution is still underway, and the journey ahead remains long and difficult [12].