Zhou Songfeng & Zhou Miao: The Communist Party of Argentina's Exploration of the Socialist Road
The Communist Party of Argentina (PCA) was founded on January 6, 1918, originally as the International Socialist Party of Argentina, before renaming itself the Communist Party of Argentina and joining the Communist International (Comintern) in 1920. The birth of the PCA represented not only the process of the Sinicization [1] (indigenization) of socialist thought within Argentina but also served as a powerful symbol of the Argentine working class’s struggle for its own rights and interests. Throughout its development over more than a century, the PCA has remained committed to defending the rights of the grassroots working masses and promoting social justice and progress. In the context of Argentina's political and social transformation, the PCA has not only exerted a profound influence on the working class and intellectuals but has also played a major role in the left-wing movements of Latin America. As a vanguard force in the region, the PCA has actively supported regional socialist cooperation and revolutionary causes, promoted the dissemination of socialist thought in Latin America, and provided precious experience and support for the growth and development of the Latin American Left.
I. Background of Emergence: From the Early Dissemination of Socialist Thought to the Development of the Labor Movement
The rise of the PCA was deeply influenced by a specific social background. On one hand, the early dissemination of socialist thought in Argentina laid the theoretical foundation for the rise of the socialist movement represented by the PCA; on the other hand, the rise of the working class provided solid class support for the PCA's political activities.
(1) The Early Dissemination of Socialist Thought in Argentina
Argentina has long been a region of active socialist thought. As early as the 1870s, European socialists—represented by exiled members of the Paris Commune—began migrating there due to political persecution. In 1872, to promote the development of the newly established Argentine branch of the International Workingmen's Association (AIT), Karl Marx himself directly dispatched Raymond Wilmart as a special envoy to Buenos Aires to guide the Association's work and undertake the task of spreading socialist ideas. At that time, due to the Argentine government's relaxed immigration policies and a cultural background similar to Europe's, a large number of socialist scholars from countries such as France, Spain, Germany, and Italy followed Wilmart in immigrating. Through publishing newspapers and organizing rallies, they actively propagated socialist thought, introducing concepts of equality, justice, and labor rights into Argentine society. As socialist thought spread deeply, the concept of social justice gradually became a key value for the Argentine middle class in their opposition to oligarchy, constituting "political correctness" in Argentina for a considerable period. The ideas advocating fairness and social justice progressively took root, laying a solid ideological foundation for the early rise of Argentine socialism and left-wing movements. This also provided the necessary cultural conditions for the subsequent establishment of left-wing and socialist organizations, including the PCA, ensuring that left-wing organizations could always occupy a place on the Argentine political map.
(2) The Growth of the Argentine Working Class
Marx and Engels pointed out in the Communist Manifesto that "of all the classes that stand face to face with the bourgeoisie today, the proletariat alone is a really revolutionary class." This assertion profoundly reveals the core position of the working class in the socialist revolution.
For Argentina, the growth of its working class was the result of the interaction of multiple factors: early economic prosperity, structural social transformation, and immigration policies. At the beginning of the 20th century, the global economy entered an export boom. Leveraging its unique natural resources and policy advantages, Argentina rose rapidly to become a major global economic player. During this period, Argentina possessed fertile land and abundant agricultural and livestock resources, with extremely high productivity in these sectors. Concurrently, open trade policies facilitated the export of Argentine agricultural and livestock products, allowing it to occupy an important position in the international market. This stage of the export-oriented economic model not only enhanced the country's international competitiveness but also drove comprehensive domestic economic development. The boom in primary product exports spurred the development of related industrial chains, particularly labor-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, the food industry, and infrastructure construction. The rapid expansion of these industries directly increased the demand for labor, attracting a large rural population to migrate to cities in search of work. Meanwhile, Argentina's relatively superior economic environment and labor demand also attracted a vast number of foreign immigrants. Industrial cities became centers of population growth, and the domestic working class expanded rapidly. This emerging stratum not only provided the necessary human resources for industrial development but also became a major driving force for social change.
As the size of the urban working class continued to grow, their consciousness of their rights and their pursuit of social status intensified. Socialism’s advocacy for labor rights, social equality, and economic redistribution resonated precisely with the interests and demands of the working class, thereby winning broad support among labor groups. The political awakening of the working class began here; through participation in labor movements, they actively expressed their urgent needs for improved working conditions, wage guarantees, and the perfection of social security. In this context, socialist political parties—due to their commitment to defending working-class interests—became an important platform for the working class to express its demands. These parties took social equality, economic redistribution, and the protection of labor rights as their core tenets, highly aligning with the social contradictions faced by the working class at the time, which laid the foundation for the strengthening of Argentine socialist political forces.
II. Current State of Development: From the Critique of Capitalism to Active Participation in Domestic and International Social Movements
In its political practice, despite its limited electoral influence, the PCA actively participates in social movements, dedicating itself to promoting labor rights, opposing the widening gap between rich and poor, and critiquing neoliberal policies. Simultaneously, the PCA emphasizes cooperation with domestic and international left-wing forces, seeking to expand its influence through alliances, particularly playing a role in the labor movement, environmental protection, and social reform issues. The Communist Party of Argentina constantly adjusts the relationship between theory and practice, striving to maintain its political mission and historical value within a complex domestic and international environment.
(1) Theoretical Propositions
1. Advocating for state intervention in the economy and resolutely resisting economic imperialism led by developed nations. The Communist Party of Argentina has consistently maintained a position of economic nationalism, actively defending national sovereignty and resisting the influence of economic imperialism—especially the erosion of the Argentine economic system by Euro-American multinational corporations and international financial institutions represented by the IMF. Dependency theory generally holds that "center" nations, by utilizing the resources, labor, and markets of "periphery" nations, consolidate their own position in the global market while restricting the autonomous development of the periphery. Consequently, the economic development of periphery nations remains perpetually dependent on the capital, technology, and markets of the center, leading to problems such as resource outflow, stagnation of industrial structures, and the widening of the wealth gap.
Economic imperialism has not only made Argentina economically dependent on external markets but has also left it constantly subject to others in international policy, particularly economic and financial policy. The most typical example of this is the 2001 Argentine economic crisis. In the 1980s, to resolve its severe debt crisis, the Menem government accepted economic reform recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, implementing a series of neoliberal reforms domestically. These policies included cutting social welfare, reducing public spending, and accelerating privatization. However, these measures failed to effectively solve Argentina's debt problem; instead, they significantly weakened the state's ability to regulate the economy, leaving the nation unable to make policy adjustments in response to the economic situation, which ultimately led to the full breakout of the 2001 crisis.
Against this background, the PCA calls for stricter control measures on foreign investment and emphasizes state protection and intervention in key industries to safeguard Argentina's economic sovereignty. Meanwhile, the PCA advocates for the state to take powerful measures for structural economic adjustment, reducing dependence on single-resource exports and promoting the sustainable development of domestic manufacturing, the technology industry, and agriculture to enhance the independence and risk-resistance of the Argentine economy. Furthermore, in the PCA's political program, state control over the economy is paramount. Only through external intervention and the equitable distribution of resources by a state composed of workers and the proletariat can it be ensured that resources and wealth primarily serve the nation’s people rather than being seized by foreign capital. Only by strengthening the government’s leading role in resource distribution, infrastructure construction, and key industries can dependence on foreign capital be reduced and the dependent economic form be transformed.
2. Critiquing the capitalist system, arguing that it has led to the insufficient political representation of the Argentine proletariat and dependent economic development. In the view of the PCA, the capitalist system not only exacerbates wealth polarization and social inequality but also strips the proletariat of genuine representation at the political level. Generally speaking, the capitalist system tends to defend the interests of a small number of oligarchs. These oligarchs, by controlling economic resources and political power, form a prominent privileged stratum, while the proletariat is systematically marginalized within such a system, thereby losing the discourse power they should possess in policy-making and political participation.
Additionally, the PCA critiques the Argentine capitalist system's dependence on transnational capital, arguing that such dependence not only endangers Argentina's economic autonomy but also causes national economic policies to inevitably lean toward the interests of foreign capital. Judging from various past practices, domestic Argentine capitalism has often made concessions under pressure from transnational financial institutions and foreign capital groups, ignoring the economic interests of ordinary people. Transnational capital, by controlling core industries and the financial sector, further weakens national economic sovereignty, making the path of independent development increasingly narrow and the degree of dependency continuously deep. A typical case is the penetration of the Argentine soybean industry by the American company Monsanto. In 1996, to attract foreign capital, the Menem government specifically approved Monsanto to promote the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) soybeans domestically. Although this policy led to a significant increase in export earnings in the short term, it brought extremely serious developmental problems to Argentine agriculture. Because Monsanto held the patents for the GM soybean seeds, farmers were forced to pay high patent fees and chemical product costs every year. Furthermore, because the GM crops had restrictions on self-reproduction, farmers could not save seeds for the following year's planting, forcing them to depend on the seeds provided by Monsanto year after year. This economic dependency gave Monsanto a dominant position in Argentine agriculture, significantly weakening the autonomy of Argentine agricultural development and making it difficult to break free from the control of multinational corporations.
Based on this, the PCA advocates exploring an alternative development model to achieve social economic justice and political fairness. The socialist economic model is the only effective way to realize the interests of society as a whole; it can not only break the monopolistic resource distribution of capitalism but also realize the interests of the laboring classes through collective ownership and state-led economic management. To this end, the PCA advocates for the establishment of an economic structure centered on collective welfare, truly guaranteeing social fairness and justice through state control of important economic sectors, the implementation of wealth redistribution policies, and the strengthening of working-class participation in the production process.
3. Focusing on defending the interests of worker and student groups and striving for equal social rights. Defending the rights and interests of the working class has always been the core program of the Communist Party of Argentina. As a socialist party, the PCA firmly believes that the working class is the primary force driving social progress; therefore, it advocates that the fruits of national economic development should fairly benefit all laborers rather than being concentrated in the hands of a few capital owners.
The PCA also actively advocates for the development of labor unions, believing they are an important platform for the working class to express demands and fight for rights. Unions provide effective support for workers in wage negotiations and the improvement of working conditions, while also serving as a political voice for the working class. The PCA believes that strong labor unions not only enhance the solidarity of workers but also play a major role in national policy-making. Through unions, workers can participate in social change in a more organized manner. In practice, while strengthening the power of unions, the PCA also promotes the participation of the working class in political decision-making, expanding the political influence of the working class to ensure that policy-making truly reflects the interests of the worker groups.
As the most dynamic and high-potential group in society, Argentine students not only represent the backbone of future society but also play a critical role in numerous social movements. The Communist Party of Argentina (PCA) maintains that education is not only the cornerstone of social development but a fundamental human right that every young person should enjoy; consequently, they reject the trend toward the commodification of public education. They advocate that the state must shoulder the responsibility of providing free and universal services to ensure that all young citizens, especially those from impoverished strata, can obtain high-quality public educational resources on an equal basis. In the PCA’s view, only in this way can society truly achieve social mobility and break the intergenerational cycle of poverty. To guarantee educational equity and universality, the PCA advocates for increasing government investment in public education funding—specifically by improving educational infrastructure, teacher salaries, and educational quality—as the only way to ensure all students receive a high-quality education under equal conditions.
(II) Political Practice
1. Actively carrying out organizational building and successfully convening the 28th National Congress
Throughout its development, the PCA has attached great importance to organizational building, using the mechanism of the National Congress to consolidate the Party’s program and strategic direction. In its nearly century-long history, the PCA has successfully convened over 20 National Congresses. These meetings have not only provided an important platform for unifying thought and clarifying the line [2] within the Party but also laid the foundation for adapting to social transformations and responding to challenges. In 1920, after the PCA changed its name and joined the Communist International, its first Congress clearly defined the basic principles of taking Marxism as a guide and promoting the struggle of the working class. In subsequent Congresses, the PCA continuously adjusted its tactics to adapt to changes in the international and domestic situations—such as the Great Depression in the 1930s and the rise of Peronism [3] in the 1940s—pushing the Party organization to integrate more deeply into the working class. Over decades of development, the PCA has consistently adhered to the importance of programmatic construction. For example, at its 15th National Congress, the PCA explicitly proposed a path for advancing socialism by integrating it with indigenous realities and strengthened cooperation with trade unions, peasant organizations, and other leftist forces. Several subsequent Congresses further emphasized the integration of theory and practice, clarified the Party’s political tasks, and continuously advanced internal organizational democratization to attract more participation from grassroots members.
From September 20th to 23rd, 2024, the PCA organized and convened its 28th National Congress in the capital, Buenos Aires. More than 200 delegates from provinces and cities across Argentina, as well as representatives from Communist organizations in Brazil, Peru, and other countries, attended as observers or sent congratulatory letters.
The 28th Congress of the PCA elected a new leadership team, in which Jorge Kreiness was elected as the new General Secretary of the PCA, succeeding Victor Kot. Simultaneously, the 28th Congress clarified the core strategic vision for the PCA’s future development: promoting the formation of a united front of the people. To achieve this goal, the PCA's basic future policy is to proceed from the grassroots and build people's power from the bottom up. Specifically, this policy requires that every trade union, university faculty, and grassroots community organization under the PCA’s leadership become a primary agent for promoting the construction of people's power. By strengthening people's autonomous organizations, they aim to equip them with the capacity to contest political power with systemic forces at the local level. On this basis, the PCA stated it will dedicate itself to defending Argentine national sovereignty, opposing political forces that threaten the stability of the lives of the working class and the broad masses, and explicitly expressed its support for student social movements fighting for their rights. The 28th Congress also clearly articulated an oppositional stance toward the Milei government, arguing that Milei and the political alliance he leads are implementing ultra-liberal and neo-fascist policies that will pose a profound threat to Argentina’s national economic sovereignty, democracy, and social solidarity.
2. Fully participating in domestic political processes and deeply integrating into Argentine social movements
As a socialist party, the PCA has worked hard in recent years to advance its socialist propositions through extensive participation in various political activities. This involves not only formulating clear strategic guidelines at National Congresses but also utilizing organizational structures at all levels to drive policy propositions deep into the grassroots, mobilizing broad support from the working class, youth, and students.
After taking office in December 2023, the Milei government began implementing "shock therapy"—actively promoting extreme free-market reforms, drastically cutting public spending, pushing for the privatization of state-owned enterprises, and abruptly canceling Argentina’s original basic price subsidies. This led to intensified inflation, the continuous devaluation of the national currency (the peso), and a spike in domestic poverty rates, directly threatening the rights and living standards of the ordinary working class. In response, the PCA clearly expressed its opposition and called on the working class and progressive forces to unite in resisting the impact of extreme capitalist policies on social equity. At the same time, the PCA has continuously mobilized the grassroots masses to launch social movements, strengthening a social consensus against neoliberalism. For instance, the PCA actively organized and participated in the nationwide strike of a million workers that broke out in January 2024.
Milei's "shock therapy" also extended into the field of public education. The University of Buenos Aires (UBA), as Argentina's largest and most prestigious public institution of higher learning, has long served as a window for demonstrating Argentina’s achievements in higher education. However, after Milei took office, against a backdrop of domestic inflation and massive currency devaluation, he not only failed to increase the UBA budget but implemented cuts of a certain scale. Consequently, the real wages of faculty and staff have been repeatedly lowered, leaving 85% of university teachers living below the poverty line, and even the basic facilities of the school cannot be sufficiently maintained. To guarantee the normal operation of UBA, the Argentine Congress passed the "University Financing Law" on September 12, 2024, but the Milei government exercised presidential veto power the following day, calling the bill an "irresponsible act by Congress to increase public spending." Using this as a fuse, on October 12, the second large-scale student protest of the year erupted in Argentina, demanding the government face the plight of public universities and ensure stable investment in educational resources. The PCA also intervened deeply in this protest, expressing its support for the student movement. In addition to organizing and participating in person, shortly after the protest broke out, the PCA published a statement on the homepage of its official website, voicing support for the students’ legitimate demands and calling on the youth to unite and fight to maintain the survival and development of public universities.
3. Focusing on online public opinion and propaganda work and actively building theoretical research fronts
The PCA's online propaganda construction has now become relatively sophisticated, forming a multi-functional and efficient comprehensive matrix of websites. This system is primarily composed of two core propaganda websites: first, the official website of the Communist Party of Argentina (PAGINA OFICIAL DEL PCA), which is mainly used for disseminating the PCA’s programmatic documents and publishing political statements on important social events; second, the "Our Proposal" (Nuestra Propuesta) website. The PCA primarily utilizes this site to provide real-time updates on political activities and international communist movements, as well as to publish editorials on the current Milei government's social policies, particularly its neoliberal reform policies. Through high-frequency information updates and in-depth policy analysis, this website has gradually become the PCA's main front for public opinion and propaganda, attracting significant attention and discussion.
In addition to its propaganda websites, the PCA has established a specialized theoretical research site, the Hector Agosti Center for Marxist Study and Training (CEFMA). As an important academic support platform within the Party, this research front provides continuous theoretical momentum for deepening Marxist theory, promoting socialist ideas, and driving social change in Argentina. Through this theoretical research front, the PCA is able to systematically organize various forms of academic activities, including Marxist theory seminars, policy forums, and ideological workshops, providing a venue for scholars, Party members, and the public both inside and outside the Party to exchange ideas and share experiences.
Relying on this research center, the PCA has established the theoretical academic journal Marxist Notebooks (CUADERNOS MARXISTAS). This journal covers fields including the basic principles of Marxism, the history of the development and dissemination of Marxism, and new changes in contemporary capitalism. It focuses particularly on the understanding and analysis of practical issues such as neo-imperialism, regularly publishing research results such as academic papers, policy analyses, and research reports, thereby providing rich content for the PCA’s theoretical exploration and innovation. These research results not only promote the deepening of theory within the Party but also make the website an important window for disseminating socialist thought, gradually becoming a significant academic resource center for the Argentine leftist intellectual community.
4. Promoting the unification of domestic and foreign leftist organizations and extensively carrying out domestic and international collaboration
The PCA has always advocated for the unity of all types of leftist and progressive forces, believing that only through joint action can social change against capitalism be effectively promoted and a fairer, more equal social system be realized. In the struggle to support the housing rights of low-income groups, the PCA cooperated with the "Federation of Land, Housing, and Habitat" (FTV), focusing on improving living conditions in slums. To this end, PCA members and Federation members organized large-scale protest marches, calling on the government to increase investment in social housing projects. Furthermore, during the protests against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) debt agreement in early 2022, the PCA actively participated and united with multiple social movement organizations and student groups in the "Campaign Against Foreign Debt," forming a cross-generational wave of opposition.
In addition to domestic joint actions, the PCA places great emphasis on establishing international alliances with leftist parties and progressive forces in Latin America and the rest of the world to jointly resist intervention by external capitalist forces. The PCA is currently a member of the São Paulo Forum, an important Latin American leftist alliance, and proactively participates in the forum’s various political and social activities. In recent years, the PCA has strengthened communication and cooperation with other leftist parties through the São Paulo Forum, particularly in addressing regional challenges. For example, in responding to U.S. economic sanctions and the diplomatic isolation of leftist countries such as Venezuela and Cuba, the PCA and other forum members have actively coordinated their positions, speaking with one voice to condemn external interference and defend the independence and sovereignty of sovereign states.
It is worth emphasizing that, as a socialist party with a long history, the PCA attaches great importance to drawing lessons from the struggles and construction experiences of Communist parties in other countries, paying particular attention to emulating successful cases in the current complex international environment. The valuable experience accumulated by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in the process of socialist construction—especially in economic development, poverty alleviation, and the Party's own self-construction—has become an important object of study for the PCA. In recent years, the PCA has sent delegations to China many times to participate in academic conferences and conduct in-depth investigations into how the CPC integrates socialist principles with modernized development to promote rapid economic growth and social stability. China's achievements in the policy of Reform and Opening-up and the battle against poverty [4] have provided a practical reference for the PCA, causing them to realize the importance of adapting to their own national conditions. In the PCA's view, China's practice proves that socialist construction can develop in flexible and innovative ways while adhering to the leadership of a proletarian party, rather than remaining stagnant.
III. Challenges Faced: From Internal and External Socio-Political Environmental Challenges to Bottlenecks in Internal Party Building
Currently, the PCA is facing multiple severe challenges. Domestically, the rise of far-right forces represented by Milei and the suppression of socialist forces by mainstream political factions have led to a decline in the overall identification with socialist ideas in Argentine society, while simultaneously causing the PCA’s political space to further shrink. Meanwhile, the PCA's internal development has hit a bottleneck: the growth of Party membership is slow, the cultivation of young leaders is lagging, and the capacity for organizational expansion and mobilization is limited, which constrains the Party's vitality and influence.
(I) Challenges of the overall domestic political environment
1. The compression of the PCA's space for activity by the ascent of far-right forces
In the Argentine presidential election on November 19, 2023, Javier Milei, the candidate for the far-right "Liberty Advances" (La Libertad Avanza) coalition, defeated his opponent Sergio Massa with 55.95% of the vote, successfully winning the election. As a far-right politician, Milei fully exploited Argentina's current economic predicament during the election, blaming it on the expansionary fiscal policies of previous leftist governments. He claimed such policies had led to hyperinflation and high debt, plunging the Argentine economy into an unprecedented recession and crisis. Therefore, Milei’s election is seen not only as a questioning of leftist policies by the voters but also as an important sign of Argentina's political turn toward the far right.
Milei’s political philosophy and policy leanings exhibit a distinct anti-leftist character. Milei contends that past leftist governments, through expansive social welfare policies and public spending during their tenures, not only increased the state’s fiscal burden but also fostered large social groups dependent on government assistance, thereby obstructing the free development of the market economy. For instance, in September 2024, Milei reposted a video on the social media platform Twitter (X) mocking former leftist government officials as "rats harming the national interest" and describing them as the primary culprits behind Argentina's current economic predicament. These aforementioned policy concepts and practices by Milei have caused a rapid shift in the Argentine political environment. The rise of far-right forces has led to the severe marginalization of the once-active leftist forces; the pressure is particularly evident for the Communist Party of Argentina (PCA) as a socialist force. As the Milei government progressively introduces a series of anti-leftist and anti-socialist policies, the PCA’s space for survival has been further compressed, and the execution of its political activities faces numerous obstacles. These measures undoubtedly constitute a direct threat to the development of the PCA and other leftist organizations, making the possibility of them advancing a socialist agenda or facilitating the entry of socialist thought into the mainstream increasingly remote.
Additionally, it is noteworthy that the new round of U.S. elections will also bring significant external pressure to the development of Argentine socialist forces. Donald Trump maintains a close relationship with President Milei; the two are not only highly aligned ideologically but also particularly biased toward economic liberalization reforms in their policy directions. This consistency has led Milei to be frequently called the "Argentine Trump." In this context, the pace at which Milei implements far-right neoliberal reforms is bound to accelerate further, involving larger-scale privatization, cuts to government welfare spending, and the deregulation of financial markets. Support from a Trump administration would not only provide a veneer of policy legitimacy for Milei but could also offer substantive assistance for his reform measures by strengthening U.S.-Argentine bilateral cooperation. This would clear obstacles for Milei to consolidate power domestically, thereby posing new challenges and repressive influences on the socialist movement within Argentina.
2. The PCA’s Marginal Status Within Mainstream Domestic Leftist Parties
At its founding, the PCA established itself with a distinct independence and its own political propositions. However, in contemporary political practice, its influence and presence often depend on other, more powerful leftist parties. Currently, the PCA’s political activities and policy implementations are often closely tied to major parties such as the Justicialist Party [5].
Since the democratization of the 1980s, the PCA has established a mode of political participation through peaceful campaigning and other methods carrying distinct colors of democratic socialism. Recognizing its own insufficient influence, the PCA has frequently chosen to form alliances with larger leftist parties like the Justicialist Party during general elections to secure parliamentary seats, rather than competing independently. While this dependency provides the PCA with a degree of electoral support and political resources, it also greatly restricts its political independence. Within the PCA’s current coalition, the Union for the Homeland (Unión por la Patria), the party exists merely as a minor member. This situation places the PCA under significant political pressure, forcing it to make frequent political compromises.
The PCA’s reliance on leftist party alliances is also reflected in compromises over political concepts and values. As a party guided by Marxism-Leninism, the PCA has long advocated for profound social reform, economic restructuring, and a fundamental critique of the capitalist system. However, when cooperating with mainstream leftist forces such as the Justicialist Party or the Workers' Party (Partido Obrero), the PCA often needs to compromise its policy positions. This is frequently manifested in the PCA having to adjust its radical policy propositions to suit the needs of the alliance. Especially regarding economic policy, fiscal policy, and labor rights, the PCA often needs to adopt a concessional stance to seek consensus within the broader political environment.
The ultimate result of this compromise is that the PCA has missed opportunities to develop its own strength and has failed to establish a solid support base among social groups. Due to a lack of formidable political power and appeal within the party, the PCA can only attach itself to other parties on many important policy issues, unable to truly represent its own political philosophy. Judging by current political practice, this development strategy has not brought the PCA its expected results. At present, the PCA has still failed to obtain any seats in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, or relevant state-level institutions.
(II) Waning Organizational Scale and Insufficient Reserve Forces
1. Continuous Decline in Membership
One of the most direct and severe problems currently facing the PCA is the continuous decline in membership and the shrinking scale of the party organization. In recent years, the number of PCA members has dropped significantly. According to data from the Argentine National Electoral website, the PCA had only 130,000 members in 2022, and this number continues to decline annually. This trend not only reflects the increasingly weak foundation within the party but also means that the party organization’s capacity for social mobilization and political influence is undergoing a severe test.
Behind this phenomenon is the PCA’s failure to effectively synchronize with social changes, particularly its failure to establish a distinct and attractive political identity in the political competition of the New Era. Compared to other mainstream Argentine parties, the PCA appears relatively conservative and has failed to adapt quickly to changes in the social and political environment. Especially in attracting young voters and emerging social strata, the PCA’s political appeal is clearly insufficient, leading to a sustained decline in party vitality. The class struggle and socialist theories that the PCA has long adhered to appear somewhat outdated in modern Argentine society, making it difficult to resonate with the broad masses.
2. Lack of a Robust Mechanism for Cultivating Reserves
In addition to the slow growth in membership, the PCA’s mechanisms for cultivating young leaders and successors are imperfect. Currently, the PCA’s leadership remains relatively fixed; there is a lack of an effective leadership turnover mechanism within the party, and the cultivation of young cadres has not received sufficient attention. The phenomenon of aging within the party is prominent; both the current General Secretary, Victor Kot, and his predecessor (Mauricio Lebedinsky) were already over seventy years old when they took office. This situation not only affects the vitality of the party leadership but also exacerbates the lack of successor forces, resulting in the PCA lacking sufficient youthful strength when facing future political changes.
More seriously, the PCA has failed to establish a systematized mechanism for cadre selection and cultivation. As a result, the number of young members within the PCA is small, their political participation is low, and many young people lack opportunities to enter the party leadership or receive necessary tempering through practice. This state of affairs prevents the PCA’s cadre corps from effectively responding to diverse social demands and the challenges of the modern political environment.
Furthermore, peripheral PCA agencies and organizations, such as the Communist Youth Federation (FJC), have failed to form effective cultivation mechanisms in the training and mobilization of young talent, leading to a serious shortage of young forces within the party. Consequently, the challenge facing the PCA is not merely the aging of the party leadership but also the overall lag in the development of party cadres and a lack of sufficient political vitality and innovative capacity.
(III) Declining Social Identification with Leftist Thought in Contemporary Argentina
For a long time, Argentine politics was dominated by Peronism and leftist forces, forming a deep social foundation for the left. Milei’s victory not only broke this pattern but also signaled a reshaping of the right and a profound shift in the political mindset of the Argentine populace.
Since the rise of Peronism in the 1940s, Argentina's leftist forces have been rooted in broad popular support. Peronism is not only a political movement but also a symbol of social emotion and national identity. The "justice, equality, and rights of the working people" advocated by Peronism are deeply embedded in the Argentine social structure, becoming a massive political resource for attracting voters. Although the socialist thought advocated by the PCA is fundamentally different from Peronism, the two still share many similarities in advocating for changes to social inequality and promoting the welfare of the general public; socialism thus had a certain market among the Argentine people.
In stark contrast to the left, right-wing forces were long unpopular in Argentine society. This situation stems in part from Argentina’s history of military juntas, particularly the period of military dictatorship from the 1970s to the 1980s. Right-wing regimes during this period implemented high-pressure policies; extensive political persecution and social control left an indelible psychological trauma on the people. In this context, the "right wing" became synonymous with "military dictatorship" and "repression." The public’s fear and rejection of the right were deep-seated, and Argentine society generally held a higher tolerance for and trust in the left.
The lack of governing capacity among right-wing forces further deepened this mistrust. For example, in the early 21st century, during the administration of the center-right Radical Civic Union (Unión Cívica Radical), President Fernando de la Rúa’s economic policies and management failures led to a severe financial crisis. Argentina fell into a sustained debt crisis, unemployment soared, the banking system nearly collapsed, and the lives of the people were greatly impacted. This event made the Argentine public even more skeptical of the right’s ability to govern, associating the right with negative images such as economic chaos and government incompetence. Because of this, most right-wing parties in Argentina over the past few decades avoided explicitly labeling themselves as "right-wing," instead calling themselves "democrats" or "reformists" in an attempt to dilute their right-wing attributes to cater to the voters' psychology.
Milei’s high-profile campaign and final victory as a "far-right candidate" clearly indicate that the Argentine public’s psychological prejudice against right-wing parties has significantly diminished, while disillusionment with leftist parties has greatly increased. Against the backdrop of a continuously sluggish Argentine economy, the political attitudes of voters have become more pragmatic. They no longer equate the right with military dictatorship or economic failure; instead, they see the potential of the right as a "changer." They believe that compared to continuing to endure the various hardships brought by the Justicialist Party's failed economic reforms, trying a new political direction might bring a turning point for the Argentine economy.
IV. Future Outlook: Internal and External Socio-Political Changes Will Provide New Development Opportunities for the PCA
Although the PCA currently faces many development bottlenecks, if it can seize the opportunity provided by the general intensification of social contradictions caused by the Milei government’s reforms, flexibly adjust its development strategy, and actively respond to the people’s demands, it may still win a new space for development in the future.
(I) Opportunities Amidst Domestic Turmoil in Argentina
The neoliberal reforms currently pushed by the Milei government have indeed eased Argentine inflationary pressures to some extent, but they have not benefited ordinary people in the short term. On the contrary, fiscal austerity has led to severe cuts in public services, causing the general cost of living for the public to rise sharply. A typical example is the increase in electricity prices: in February 2024, Argentina's two power companies, Edenor and Edesur, announced the cancellation of electricity price subsidies, causing the electricity bills for N2 users (middle-income stratum) in Buenos Aires Province to soar from 3,500 pesos per 150 kWh to 10,500 pesos—a nearly threefold increase.
Furthermore, the general rise in the cost of living has driven a significant increase in the poverty rate. Based on the price of Argentina's "Basic Food Basket" (CBA), the poverty rate in Argentina reached 52.9% in the first half of 2024, a sharp increase of 11.2 percentage points from 41.7% in the second half of 2023. Large numbers of the former middle class have fallen into poverty, unemployment is climbing, and the purchasing power of wages continues to slide, making the daily expenses of ordinary families increasingly strained. Public service resources in education, healthcare, and housing have been significantly reduced due to fiscal austerity, leaving poor families facing great difficulties in securing the basic requirements for life and development. This economic crisis and policy reform have not only impacted low-income strata but have also put survival pressure on the middle class. More and more people are questioning the Milei government’s reform measures and the capitalist system behind them. The polling agency CB Consultora also stated that Milei’s support rate in September 2024 fell by 4.2% from August, down to 46.4%.
Against the backdrop of intensifying social crises, Argentina's socialist forces are facing unprecedented opportunities for growth. For a long time, socialist organizations such as the Communist Party of Argentina (PCA) [6] have centered their core values on "social equality," "economic fairness," and "collective welfare," opposing capitalism and monopoly [7] economies while advocating for equitable distribution and rational state management of resources. Currently, the general populace is disillusioned with economic reforms centered on extreme liberalism due to the hardships of daily life; consequently, the propositions of socialist forces are gaining increasing recognition among them. If the PCA can effectively capitalize on the current situation by proposing more feasible policies to win public support, they may occupy a more favorable position in future political struggles, attracting support from both the middle class and the impoverished strata, thereby providing strong support for subsequent development.
(2) Support from the Working Class
Since the country’s industrialization, the Argentine working class has been the backbone of economic development, possessing mature trade union organizations and extensive experience in struggle. Within the national economic structure, the working class is not only the main force of production but also plays an indispensable role in striving for social equality and labor rights.
As previously mentioned, the PCA has always been a staunch advocate for the concepts of "social equality" and "economic fairness," and its fundamental policy propositions naturally align with the demands of the Argentine working class. Unlike the neoliberal and market-oriented policies widely adopted by current mainstream parties, the Communist Party of Argentina explicitly opposes the capitalist economic model, firmly believing that state intervention is the only path [8] to protecting the interests of the working class and upholding labor rights. This consistency in policy concepts has created the prerequisite conditions for the Communist Party of Argentina to accumulate working-class support.
Since Milei [9] took office, the rights and interests of the Argentine working class have faced unprecedented challenges due to his radical marketization and neoliberal reform policies. Reduced wages, weakened job security, and the retrenchment of social welfare have provoked fierce resistance from the working class, with trade unions and labor organizations launching wave after wave of protests. In this context, the connection between the Communist Party of Argentina and the working class continues to deepen, providing an opportunity to further expand its political influence. Through coordination and cooperation with trade unions and grassroots labor organizations, the PCA can more directly communicate its political propositions to the broad masses of workers, transforming working-class anger and dissatisfaction into political support and providing a clear direction of struggle for the working class. With the support of the working class, the Communist Party of Argentina is expected to gain greater influence and mobilizing power during protest activities, laying a solid mass base [10] for advancing the socialist agenda and consolidating its core support groups.
(3) The Impact of the Regional Leftist Resurgence
In recent years, a wave of resurgence of leftist regimes has emerged across several Latin American countries. Leftist forces in major regional powers, including Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, have achieved electoral success, leading to significant changes in the Latin American political ecosystem. With the relative decline of right-party forces and the return of leftist parties to power in recent years, the "Left-advance, Right-retreat" [11] has begun to become the mainstream of Latin American politics. According to New York Times statistics, since 2018, six of the seven largest countries in the region have elected leftist leaders, and regional leftist forces have been greatly strengthened.
Specifically, in July 2021, after two rounds of voting, Pedro Castillo, the candidate of the leftist Free Peru Party (Partido Político Nacional Perú Libre), defeated Keiko Fujimori, the candidate of the Popular Force Party (Fuerza Popular), to be successfully elected President of Peru. On December 19 of the same year, Gabriel Boric, the candidate for the Chilean leftist coalition "Approve Dignity" (Apruebo Dignity), defeated his opponent José Antonio Kast, the presidential candidate for the right-wing coalition "Christian Social Front" (Frente Social Cristiano), with 55.86% of the vote to be elected President of Chile; Boric was also the president to win with the highest number of votes in the history of Chilean presidential elections.
In 2022, the Colombian and Brazilian left also made a strong return in general elections. On May 29, 2022, Colombia held a presidential election, and Gustavo Petro, the candidate for the leftist electoral coalition "Historic Pact for Colombia" (Pacto Histórico por Colombia), defeated independent candidate Rodolfo Hernández in the second round to become the first leftist president in Colombian history. On October 30, in the second round of the Brazilian general election, the leftist former president Lula defeated the far-right incumbent president Bolsonaro to be successfully elected President of Brazil; in January 2023, Lula was sworn in, marking the formal return of Brazilian leftist forces. Furthermore, leftist leaders in Honduras, Nicaragua, Saint Lucia, the Bahamas, and Barbados have all taken office in the new wave of "Left-advance, Right-retreat." In the 12 general elections held in 12 Latin American countries in 2021 and 2022, leftist candidates won a total of 10 elections.
This trend will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the future development of the Communist Party of Argentina. The alliance and exchange between leftist regimes in the Latin American region will help the PCA construct an extensive international support network, further enhancing the external support for its development and helping to boost confidence in the party's future growth.
Conclusion
As a socialist party with a long history in Latin America, the Communist Party of Argentina has consistently insisted on playing a unique role among domestic and international leftist forces. Under the dual pressure of the current far-right wave and internal structural challenges, although the PCA's influence is somewhat limited, it still possesses potential in promoting social justice and the alliance of regional progressive forces. Facing the new situation of intensifying social contradictions in Argentina and the Latin American leftist resurgence, the Communist Party of Argentina will continue to explore new paths for its own development. In the process of defending workers' rights, promoting fair distribution, and advancing anti-capitalist transformation, it strives to consolidate its position within the socialist camps of Argentina and Latin America as a whole, gradually exploring a socialist model that truly conforms to the realities of the country and the region.