Viva its Foundation Programme!

The Posadists Today value the Anti-Fascist International (AFI) and wish to contribute to its UK Chapter with Marxist ideas and militancy.

Below the presentation, the reader will find extracts from the Foundation Document of the Anti-Fascist International (AFI) created in 2024 in Caracas. Then the reader will find the Foundation Document of the British Chapter of the AFI. Its programme responds to today’s need for “a real, anti-imperialist anti-war movement that mobilises workers to refuse to participate in the imperialist war machine, which they have the power and duty to obstruct”.

Presentation:

In April 2007, the Posadists heard Hugo Chavez’ speech on Alo Presidente, in praise of Trotsky. He named The Transitional Programme and The Permanent Revolution, and advised the public to read Trotsky ([1]). The Trotskyist Posadists felt duty bound to support this revolutionary leadership, as well as to contribute the relevant programmatic ideas to help it build a Workers State.  Back in Nov 2009, Hugo Chavez had called for the construction of ‘The Fifth International’.  An international meeting was initially called and then cancelled.

Caracas 2022:  A militia prepares to fight a guarimba.
The participants are ordinary people who drill for the militia regularly after work.

In November 2022, the Trotskyist-Posadists attended the Caracas FILVEN (Bookfair) with a recently published Spanish Edition of J Posadas’ book: “Sobre la Necesidad de una Nueva Internacional”. (On the Necessity for a New International). The book sold out and was placed in Venezuelan libraries.

With the formation of the First Anti-Fascist International (AFI) in 2024 in Caracas, the Posadists Today decided to support it. Their aim is to learn from the AFI’s experience, to help with the building the UK Chapter, and to contribute Posadas’ ideas on how to pass from the Revolutionary State to the Workers State.

In the UK, and in the wake of the continuing Labour debacle in the UK, the mass anti-capitalist Party of the future is already staring world war in the face. The Starmer government aligns with that of the European Nato countries, in defence of Nazi-fascist Urkaine and for “war on Russia”. This situation demands immediate anti-Nazi and anti-war organisation, internationalism and proletarian co-ordination.

The Civic Military Union for power created in Venezuela does not mechanically translate into a direct example for Britain. This said, the Anti-Fascist International (AFI) and its British Chapter are key resources of knowledge and of experience for the British workers to learn from as well as the whole of humanity.

Extracts from the Caracas Foundation Document:

The AFI (Caracas) announces its Action Plan on 11 Jan 2025.

Here are the extracts from the Caracas Foundation Document:

“The Anti-Fascist International (AFI) of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was founded in Caracas late 2024 with the participation of 76 countries. The International Anti-Fascist Promotion Committee which it created on 27-28 November 2024 helped set up the International Anti-Fascist World Festival for a New World in January 2025 with 2,000 delegates from 125 countries in attendance.

“The Promotion Committee is creating world structures of anti-fascist coordination. The AFI is a global initiative aiming to combat fascism, neo-fascism, Zionism and the world imperialist aggression spearheaded by the USA.

“The AFI commits to founding work teams in the 76 countries that took part in its World Meeting in November 2024. It views itself as an organic platform “to guarantee victory in the definitive battle against fascism, neo-fascism, Zionism and similar expressions”.

“The AFI considers that the resurgence of these historical aberrations constitutes the greatest threat that the world faces today. We need to coordinate binding and supportive actions that penalize the practices of instigation to hatred, extremist fanaticism, xenophobia, misogyny, aporophobia (hatred of the poor), revenge, violence, death and all the forms of annihilation of differences that are pursued by fascism.”
End.

Foundation Document of the AFI’s British Chapter:

The British Chapter demonstrates against war on Iran at US embassy, 8 March 2026

TOWARDS THE CONSTRUCTION OF A BROAD ANTI-FASCIST,
ANTI-IMPERIALIST AND ANTI-WAR FRONT IN BRITAIN

« The British Chapter of the Anti-Fascist International is a coalition of groups and individuals standing against fascism, imperialism and the barbarity of war. With the resurgence of fascist forces internationally and the lurch towards another world war, our tasks are urgent! We are committed to working in a democratic manner, with open platforms to build maximum participation and unity. We call on all individuals and organisations active against war, fascism and imperialism to join with us. The future of humanity needs you!

The Organising Committee of the British Chapter of the Antifascist International, following the Antifascist Declaration of Caracas, recognises the situation in Britain and the world today:

1. Imperialism, the subjugation and exploitation of oppressed nations by oppressor monopoly-capitalist states, is the dominant force in the world today.

2. Imperialism is opposed both byoppressed nations that want to use their resources and labour for their own interests and the working classes who want to exercise their own economic and political demands in a popular, participatory and proactive democracy.

3. Economic crises of imperialism lead to political and military crises, during which imperialist powers seek to retain control over oppressed nations, gain access to the resources, cheaplabour-power, and new markets in independent nations, and strengthen their grip over the working class at home.

4. The imperialist nations (led by Britain, the USA, Germany, France and others organised in Nato) and their junior partners use the most brutal and inhumane methods to oppress people around the world. They use sanctions, unjust trade relations, and debt burdens to keep oppressed nations underdeveloped and impoverished. If their domination is threatened they resort to invasion, coups, and occupation, and all manner of terrorist methods to suppress resistance, including concentration camps, torture, assassinations, and the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

5. As the economic crisis deepens, the imperialists are increasingly resorting to fascistic methods to safeguard their interests. InBritain they use political policing to suppress speech, are trying to remove jury trials for significant court cases, and criminalising any real opposition by legally branding it as ‘terrorist’. These repressive measures, intended to maintain control over a decaying economic and political system, are stepping stones to outright fascism.

6. In Britain, just 50 billionaires have more wealth than the poorest half of the population. To continue increasing their wealth they have undertaken a massive programme of privatisation, exported entire industries, and transferred wealth via the national treasuries from the public to private corporations.

7. The world’s 12 richest billionaires have more wealth than the poorest half of humanity. To amassthis, they have engaged in constant war and covert operations to maintain exploitative control over the world, and kept the majority of oppressed nations impoverished and underdeveloped to better exploit their people and resources.

8. This ruling classdivides the working class along lines of race, sex, religion, and any other non-class differences it can find. Islamophobia and antisemitism are both used by the ruling class to mislead workers into becoming foot soldiers for their own oppressors. The workers of Britain have more in common with their fellow workers around the world than with the ruling class of capitalists.

9. It is not immigrants who are the source of the problems faced byworkers in Britain, but the rulers of the economy who close down industries, privatise social property, and profit from the rise in the cost of living that makes life unbearable for many workers. Those who arrive as migrant workers are often escaping the devastation caused by the economic and military actions of the imperialist nations. Migration controls are another way of dividing the working class.

10. The British state is a principal supporter ofZionism, a racist, fascist, genocidal ideology. Israel is a colonial outpost and talk of a ‘two-state solution’ in Palestine has proven to be nothing more than a stalling tactic for continued land theft and ethnic cleansing.

11. Britain, as one of the earliest and biggest imperialist powers, played a central role in many of the worst atrocities of human history. Britain occupied and committed genocide on every inhabited continent of the world during the period ofcolonisation, from using concentration camps and starvation to gunning down and bombing civilians. Today, Britain remains an imperialist power through foreign direct investment, and maintains control using a vast network of spies and proxy armies.   It has sponsored terrorists to fight against Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya and Bashar al-Assad’s Syria Is currently arming and training neo-Nazis in Ukraine, stages colour revolutions to overthrow independent nations, and supports some of the most brutal and backwards regimes in the world.

12. The British ruling class funds a vast and constant flow of war propaganda aimed atdemonising nationsand movements which are in opposition to the interests of Western imperialism such as Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua in Latin America; the Alliance of Sahel States in Africa; the Palestinian, Yemeni, Lebanese, Iraqi resistance movements and the Islamic Republic Iran in the middle east; and the DPR Korea in east Asia, etc; with major targets being Russia and China.

« Understanding this situation, we call upon all progressive people and organisations to join with us and:

1. Demand the withdrawal of Britain from the imperialist warmongering Nato alliance, the withdrawal of British forces from all overseas bases and territories, the removal of US bases from Britain, an end to all support for proxy military forces around the world, the return of all British soldiers and military contractors to Britain, and an immediate end to all US military operations on British soil.

2. Demand that the British state withdraw all support for the genocidalzionist project, especially the export of arms to Israel, and should immediately recognise Palestinian sovereignty over the entire territory of historic Palestine and the right of Palestinians to return to their home.

3. Share the historical experiences of struggle by peoples all over the world against fascism and imperialism.In particular, we uphold the sacrifice and heroism of the peoples of eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in the victory over Nazi-fascism, who defended the freedom and culture of humanity against German imperialist barbarism.

4. Demand an end to unilateral sanctions and all forms of economic coercion, sabotage and covert intervention waged by imperialist powers todestabilise and subjugate the peoples of the world.

5. Organise a real, anti-imperialist antiwar movement that mobilises workers to refuse to participate in the imperialist war machine, which they have the power and duty to obstruct.

6. Oppose the development of fascism in Britain by demanding the repeal of the Terrorism Act 2000, which has been used to detain, harass, and search journalists andactivists, and to spuriously designate anti-imperialist, anti-zionist and anti-fascist movements as ‘terrorist’.

7. Demand the repeal of legislation that restricts the right to protest, the repeal of anti-trade-union laws which restrict the rights of workers to withdraw theirlabour, the scrapping of the illegal IHRA definition as policy in the NHS and other institutions as a means of suppressing the political expression of workers, and the restoration of the right to a trial by jury.

JOIN US!

 [1] Wikipedia: [In April 2007] “Chávez openly aligned himself with Trotskyist ideas, even stating « What is the problem? I am also a Trotskyist! » while discussing the « permanent revolution » theory.”