The Spanish Revolution. Vol. 2, no. 3

              Vol.II  N.o 3   Barcelona, February 17, 1937   Please reprint
THE SPANISH REVOLUTION
BULLETIN OF THE WORKERS' PARTY OF MARXIST UNIFICATION OF SPAIN
P.O.U.M.
AGENTS FOR ENGLAND:
The I.L.P. 
The Marxist League. 
PRICE IN ENGLAND: 2d.
AGENTS FOR U.S.A. :
The Labor Book Shop
PRICE IN U.S.A.  .05
EDITORIAL OFFICE: "THE SPANISH REVOLUTION"
10, Rambla de los Estudios 
BARCELONA
CONTENTS
1: The International Working Class Rallies Around the P.O.U.M.    2: The Workers' Patrols Must Stay     3:  The Armed Forces and the State.    4: Old Peoples' Home.    5: For the Revolutionary Army of the Workers.    6:  The Campaign Against Our Party.    7: Why No Offensive on the Aragon Front?
The International Working Class Rallies Around the P.O.U.M.
With every day that passes we receive new evidence of the interest of revolutionary groups and parties everywhere in the Spanish revolution. Their interest is not confined to the armed struggle. It is primarily concerned with the scope of the revolution itself and the position taken by the various parties that claim to represent the working class.
This is the first revolution to succeed since the Russian revolution. It is natural that our experience should command attention and that its development should be carefully watched as a model for the revolution in other contries and for the building of the new society. The campaigns being waged against our party both in Spain and elsewhere have served to quicken more than ever the feeling of solidarity with our party as the only one standing for the true interests of the revolution. The events surrounding the recent change of government in Catalonia have brought us the collaboration of all independent revolutionary Marxist parties and groups.
Everyone is aware that there are a great many separate and independent Marxist organizations in the workers movement. Until the present time their unity has been impossible due to their different interpretations of certain problems. Due to their sectarian outlook, it has been difficult for them even to work together in united fronts for specific purposes. The P.O.U.M. represents the only independent Marxist party playing an important role in this revolution. Our party, in fact, reflects the aspirations of all those sections of the international workers' movement desiring a revolution and a new socialist society, without however repeating the mistakes of social democracy or Stalinism.
The attack on our party awakened from their stupor many sectarians and monopolists of Bolshevik truth. It has made them see that in spite of the errors they claim to find in the general line of our party, the leadership and influence of the P.O.U.M. is the only effective guarantee for the future of the international working class movement. The fact remains that the Workers' Party of Marxist Unity represents the hopes of independent revolutionary Marxism which is reacting against the errors of the traditional workers' parties and which desires to raise again the revolutionary morale and to lead it effectively to the building of the new society.
Just as this commenced to be understood, a world wide campaign was launched against the P.O.U.M. with the object of strangling the activity of our independent Marxist party. This has resulted in drawing together all the independent parties, groups and individuals in defence of our party. This is, to us, a most encouraging sign for the future of the working class.
Since the very first we have pointed out the importance of the Spanish revolution to the world movement. This is true in many ways and one of the most important is the role of our party, as a general representative of minority tendencies in the workers' movement, in renovating the deformed concepts and methodes of Marxism. In spite of the resistence it meets in some of the independent groups, with their air-tight sectarianism and even spiteful tendencies — born of former fratricidal strife — our party is becoming the center of inspiration for a revival in the revolutionary movement of the world.
The fact that we have called an International Conference at Barcelona shows that we are aware of our duty to the revolutionary Marxist movement. This conference has as its object unity of activity of all forces in view of the dangers which the policies of the social democrats and Stalinists represent to the interest of the working class.