Marxism versus Sectarianism reply to Luis Oviedo

Marxist Theory · 2026-05-13

Core Argument

The article argues that the Partido Obrero (PO) of Argentina, despite its genuine achievements in building the piquetero movement, has adopted a fundamentally sectarian method that is alien to Bolshevism. Alan Woods contends that the PO's approach — characterised by ultimatism, blanket denunciations of existing workers' leaders, and the mechanical application of slogans torn from their historical context — renders it incapable of winning the mass of workers away from reformist organisations. The central thesis is that the PO's slogan of the Constituent Assembly, far from being revolutionary, plays an objectively counterrevolutionary role in Bolivia and Argentina because it diverts the working class from the question of power and offers the bourgeoisie a democratic route to contain the revolution.

Theoretical Grounding

The analysis is firmly rooted in the Leninist-Trotskyist tradition, drawing on several key theoretical foundations:

The dialectical relationship between class, party, and leadership. Woods invokes Trotsky's History of the Russian Revolution to argue that every mass movement throws up "natural leaders" from the ranks of the class — militant workers who enjoy the confidence of their fellows. The task of the revolutionary party is not to denounce these leaders from outside but to win them through patient explanation and shared struggle.

The method of transitional demands. The article contrasts the Bolsheviks' use of "All Power to the Soviets" — a slogan directed at reformist-led organisations in 1917 — with the PO's mechanical repetition of the Constituent Assembly demand. Woods insists that a slogan's revolutionary or counterrevolutionary character depends entirely on the concrete conjuncture, not on its intrinsic form.

Lenin's Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder. This text is deployed as the key theoretical weapon against the PO's refusal to work within the existing mass organisations. Woods quotes Lenin's insistence that revolutionaries must work "wherever the masses are to be found," even in the most reactionary unions.

Trotsky's writings on sectarianism (1935-36). The article draws heavily on Trotsky's characterisation of the sectarian as one who "looks upon the life of society as a great school, with himself as a teacher there," and on his advice to the ILP and French Trotskyists about the need for patience, a friendly tone, and work inside reformist organisations.

Conjunctural Relevance

The article is a direct intervention into the aftermath of the October 2003 Bolivian insurrection that overthrew President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada ("Goni"). Woods identifies a missed revolutionary opportunity: the Bolivian working class, led by the COB (Central Obrera Boliviana), had the power to take the state but lacked the revolutionary leadership and perspective to do so.

The conjuncture is defined by three specific features:

The character of the COB leadership. Unlike the PO's caricature, Woods argues that COB leader Jaime Solares and peasant leader Felipe Quispe had been pushed by mass pressure to adopt radical positions — calling for general strikes, workers' militias, and even a worker-peasant government. The task was not to denounce them as traitors but to demand they match their words with deeds.

The Mesa government as a bourgeois trap. The new President Carlos Mesa represented a tactical retreat by the Bolivian bourgeoisie, who could not use violence after the October uprising. The Constituent Assembly slogan, Woods argues, played directly into this strategy by offering the masses a constitutional diversion while the bourgeoisie regrouped.

The crisis of the Argentine left. The article situates the PO's errors within the broader failure of the Argentine left to unite in the 2003 presidential elections, where sectarianism and failure to agree on a common candidate led to defeat and demoralisation.

Where the Argument Continues

This article is part of a sustained polemic that runs through several IDOM texts and broader Marxist debates:

The Constituent Assembly slogan. Woods's critique of this demand is developed at greater length in earlier IDOM articles on Argentina, particularly those analysing the 2001-2002 Argentine crisis. The argument that the slogan is a bourgeois-democratic demand inappropriate where parliamentary institutions already exist is a recurring theme.

The Bolivian revolution. The article references "Bolivia — The Key to the Andean Revolution" (also by Woods and Jorge Martín), which provides the fuller analysis of the October 2003 events that Oviedo had attacked. Readers should consult that text for the positive programme — workers' committees, action committees, and the perspective of workers' power — that this reply defends.

The broader polemic with the PO. This article is one exchange in a longer debate between the tendency associated with Ted Grant and Alan Woods (now the RCI) and the Argentine PO. The PO's own theoretical journal, Prensa Obrera, and the writings of Jorge Altamira are the other side of this conversation.

Trotsky's writings on Britain and the Labour Party. The article's defence of work inside the Labour Party and the trade unions draws on Trotsky's 1930s advice to British Marxists, particularly his polemics with the ILP. These are collected in Writings 1935-36 and The First Five Years of the Comintern.

Connections

• Trotsky, The History of the Russian Revolution. The theoretical foundation for the concept of "natural leaders" and the dialectic of spontaneity and consciousness.
• Lenin, Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder. The key text on work in reformist organisations, directly quoted against the PO's ultimatism.
• Trotsky, "Sectarianism, Centrism and the Fourth International" (1935). The characterisation of sectarianism as the negation of dialectical materialism.
• Trotsky, "Open Letter for the Fourth International" (1935). The statement on flexible tactics and the combination of principled defence of ideas with tactical adaptability.
• Marx and Engels, The Communist Manifesto. The passage on Communists as the most advanced section of the working-class parties, not a separate sect.
• The Pulacayo Theses (1946). The Bolivian miners' document, described by Woods as Trotsky's Transitional Programme applied to Bolivia, which forms the ideological backdrop to the COB's radicalisation.

Key Quotes

1. "The sectarian looks upon the life of society as a great school, with himself as a teacher there. In his opinion, the working class should put aside its less important matters, and assemble in solid rank around his rostrum. Then the task would be solved."

2. "The slogan of the CA is not a socialist but a bourgeois democratic demand. It would be appropriate for a semi-feudal regime where bourgeois democracy was absent, like tsarist Russia or China in the 1930s. But in a country where the institutions of bourgeois democracy already exist, and have existed for some time, it has no sense at all."

3. "We set out from the really existing organizations of the workers and peasants — not from abstractions. The organizations that actually exist in Bolivia, that have led the struggle, and to which millions of workers and peasants are looking, are the ones named above."

4. "The masses only learn through experience, and they must pass through a series of painful experiences before they finally turn to the revolutionary tendency. That was the case in 1917, and it will be the case in Bolivia."

5. "If the masses are strong enough to overthrow the government and their organizations are capable of taking power into their hands, why should they then use this power to convene a constituent assembly, which is a bourgeois parliament?"

6. "The inability to answer criticisms and differences in a democratic and comradely way will undermine the party and prevent it developing beyond a certain limit. All internal differences and criticisms will be stifled and silenced. This means that all the good work done by the members will be undone sooner or later."