Communist Party of Switzerland/Marxist–Leninists

The Communist Party of Switzerland / Marxist-Leninist (KPS / ML), French Parti Communiste Suisse / Marxistes - Léninistes ( PCS / ML), Italian Partito Comunista della Svizzera / Marxista - Leninista, was one of the policies of the Communist Party of China (CPC ) oriented party in Switzerland, which was founded in 1969 and existed until 1987.

Organisation and membership

A first Maoist party, the name of the old Communist Party of Switzerland ( French acronym PCS, German KPS) supposed, originated in Switzerland in 1963 but later fell apart after several changes of course. Former from this PCS founded in 1964 in Lausanne, the Centre Lénine, from the 1967 / developed the organization of Switzerland Communist Marxist-Leninists. In 1972 it became the KPS / ML.

The number of members of the cadre party KPS / ML was low and never exceeded 80 members, organized into cells. Sympathizers were recorded in mass organizations ( women, students, third world solidarity, etc. ). Both of cadres and sympathizers who came from the Swiss '68 and student movement from the early seventies, a high temporal ( selling newspapers in front of factory gates, ideological training ) and financial expenses for the party work was expected.

The worker share was compared to many other organizations Spätachtundsechziger relatively high; as the proportion of women. The Politburo was over years of two non-academics, a married couple; in the Central Committee of the proportion of women was stable over a third, among the cells responsible have there been since the constitution as a KPS / ML non-academic - industrial workers and employees. Thanks to the funds of the " Workers Union " was able to form groups, especially in the Zurich machinery industry, in construction, in hospitals and in the Ticino industry. In German-speaking Switzerland presented beginning students of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale a solid floor of members, mainly from agronomy and architecture.

Politics and international orientation

The Communist Party of Switzerland / Marxist-Leninists enjoyed as the only Maoist group in Switzerland, the official recognition of the CCP, and to the mid-seventies and the Party of Labour of Albania. Article from the monthly party organ October, as well as greetings of the party chairman occasionally cited Rundschau in Beijing and invited party delegations to China.

Stir, opposition and anger aroused the KPS / ML in the seventies within the left with domestic political parties, which it derived from the Chinese theory of the three worlds. Because as the main enemy were the two superpowers, with a clear emphasis on the Russian social-imperialism, represented the KPS / ML positions that can be consistently characterized as a bourgeois- democratic: unit with its own bourgeoisie in defense of the national independence of the country, including military defense. Support of the unions in the struggle for economic betterment positions and basic democratic rights. Advocacy of nuclear energy as a factor of independence and as a technological progress. Continuous criticism of the Party of Labour as an agency of Soviet interests. All this formally in survival of the programmatic goal to want to realize the "Red Switzerland " and to strive for the "dictatorship of the proletariat ".

From the mid- seventies, the KPS / ML, the CCP's policy, the Soviet Union considered the following as the main enemy. Like many other K- groups supported them since the beginning of the attacks against Vietnam Cambodia is the " Democratic Kampuchea " with Pol Pot, which was still recognized by the UN as the legitimate government of Cambodia. In 1987, the party broke up in the liberally - Socialist Party ( FSP), which existed until 1989.

The Swiss Social Archive has received in recent years material by former members of KPS / ML, including by Willi Wottreng, which is now available for further research.

Mass organizations

  • "October" groups, one usually per cell
  • Communist, Marxist-Leninist women
  • Communist, Marxist-Leninist youth of Switzerland
  • Marxist-Leninist students (late founding, regional level)
  • Workers' Union, with the eponymous publication
  • Swiss association for friendship with China, China Bulletin / la Chine / la Cina, 1979-1992
  • Medic ' Angola, from 1976 Fighting Africa, with eponymous magazine, 1971-1988
  • Workers and soldiers organization Offensively, the political soldiers newspaper appeared offensively 1971-1987
  • Friendship Association Switzerland - Democratic Kampuchea, with magazine, 1979-1983
Maoism Student activism Three Worlds Theory Hua Guofeng
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