A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #362 - Politics - 3rd UCL Congress: Holding the Line (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

In early June, the Libertarian Communist Union (UCL) met for a Congress 
in Grenoble, a key moment in the organization's history. The 
organization emerged from these discussions with new directions to face 
a turbulent political period. From June 7 to 9, the UCL held its 3rd 
Congress in Grenoble, welcoming 80% of the federation's local groups, 
represented by approximately 80 congress participants. The meeting went 
smoothly, thanks to well-organized logistics orchestrated by the city's 
local group. It was marked by experimentation in the development of the 
texts discussed there.

While the texts of previous Congresses were based on free proposals from 
local groups and the organization's committees, this year it was decided 
that the motions would prioritize five themes democratically decided by 
activists during a Federal Coordination meeting. The motions were then 
developed in dedicated working groups bringing together comrades from 
across the organization.

In the face of fascism, strengthening our anti-imperialism
The Congress opened with a consensus on a topical motion on 
Islamophobia. Islamophobia was analyzed as the "cornerstone of fascism 
and imperialism," the title of the motion drafted during the Congress, 
and unanimously adopted at its close. A second topical motion was 
proposed and adopted subsequently, affirming our support for the Freedom 
Flotilla, which had just been boarded by the Israeli army while 
attempting to reach the Palestinian coast.

The UCL, meeting in Congress, affirmed its support for the Freedom 
Flotilla, in its objective of breaking the blockade of Gaza imposed by 
the genocidal Israeli state. UCL Propaganda Commission
The beginning of the Congress also provided an opportunity to discuss a 
general orientation motion, taking stock of UCL's activities in recent 
years and proposing perspectives for its future work and structure. The 
text also emphasizes the idea that the fight against imperialism must be 
central to this period, a concept that was the subject of a specific motion.

Indeed, one of the central themes addressed during this Congress was to 
be "the analysis of fascism and its connection with imperialism and 
colonialism." This theme would be the subject of lively debates, 
centered around three texts defending different, sometimes opposing, 
lines of thought. Ultimately, the motion "Defeating Fascism Everywhere" 
was adopted, proposing a theoretical and historical analysis of the 
relationship between fascism and imperialism, as well as a large section 
devoted to "strategic perspectives," aimed at providing UCL with an 
action plan in a period of rising far-right and imperialism.

Emphasizing the need to demonstrate our support for "popular 
anti-imperialist resistance in Palestine, Ukraine, Kanaky, and the rest 
of the French colonies," the text also affirms our desire to avoid the 
pitfalls of campist analyses that would deny the autonomy of peoples, or 
of "neither-ist" positions that would refuse to take a position out of 
excessive idealism.

Regarding the tensions that can arise within social movement 
organizations around these issues, the text affirms that "we must 
succeed, not in dismissing these debates, but in maintaining them within 
a dynamic of unifying our social camp and not accentuating the 
fragmentation of struggles," recalling that division is not an option in 
the face of "determined and mortal enemies." The text also makes it a 
priority to act against French imperialism, over which we have the most 
direct influence.

Coordination and Structuring
Another major focus of this Congress was a motion revisiting our 
"coordination in building countervailing powers." This provided an 
opportunity for theoretical clarification around the notion of 
countervailing powers, which occupies an important place in our 
Manifesto and our revolutionary strategy.

But far from being content with this clarification, the motion aimed to 
better structure the involvement of UCL activists in order to enable the 
establishment of a "strategic unity," which is sometimes lacking in our 
federal organization. At the same time, this structural strengthening 
was also marked by the creation of a Propaganda Committee, dedicated to 
the design of our activist communication materials, and an Organized 
Serenity Committee, aimed at ensuring the security of the organization 
and its members. Two responsibilities that had until now been handled in 
a less structured and structured manner.

UCL Propaganda Committee
However, not all debates resulted in the adoption of texts. Thus, a 
motion on "Prostitution and Sex Work" failed to reach the 60% approval 
threshold required for the adoption of a Congress motion. This reflects 
a subject that remains divided within the organization, where sometimes 
divergent political views and legacies coexist. This time, however, 
allowed this topic to be addressed for the first time since the UCL's 
creation six years ago.

Several local groups felt that the issue was not yet mature enough 
within the organization and required further discussion and training to 
arrive at a position that would command sufficient consensus to be 
widely supported by activists: the results of the votes seem to confirm 
this analysis.

Libertarian Alternative: A Consolidated Tool
Significant time was also devoted to a motion aimed at restructuring the 
organization's finances, resolving various issues relating to budget and 
treasury management, enacting changes to membership fee amounts and our 
democratic times, as well as implementing various tools aimed at making 
the organization's administrative operations clearer and more 
transparent for its members. This time was also an opportunity to 
discuss several points concerning Libertarian Alternative (AL)!

The votes on this subject reaffirmed UCL's strong commitment to keeping 
the newspaper on newsstands, seen as a political choice with a financial 
commitment. While a slowdown in publication was discussed, it was 
ultimately rejected: AL will therefore continue to appear monthly - with 
the usual exception of this summer issue! The discussions helped 
identify ways to better embrace the journal among activists and to 
recruit new volunteers to participate in its development.

This Congress has truly strengthened UCL's ability to collectively 
develop and address its internal debates in an open and constructive 
manner. It also provides a clear roadmap to guide its work in the years 
to come: a demanding program, worthy of our revolutionary ideals!

The UCL Federal Secretariat

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?IIIe-Congres-de-l-UCL-Tenir-la-ligne
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