The Red Flag Party () is a
communist party in
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. Formed in 1970 by
anti-revisionist members of the
Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), the party initially supported the
ideology
An ideology is a set of beliefs or values attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely about belief in certain knowledge, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones". Form ...
of
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...
and the
Party of Labour of Albania
The Party of Labour of Albania (PLA), also referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded on 8 November 1941 as the Communist Party of ...
following the
Sino-Albanian split
The Sino-Albanian split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Socialist Republic of Albania and the People's Republic of China in the period 1972–1978.
Both countries had supported each other in the Albanian–Soviet and ...
, though in later years it gravitated back towards
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. In the 1970s up until the 1990s, it was engaged in
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
against the government. A young
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...
's first assignment in the
Venezuelan Army
The Bolivarian Army of Venezuela (), is the land arm of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Also known as Bolivarian Army (''Ejército Bolivariano'', EB), its role is to be responsible for land-based operations against external o ...
was as commander of a communications
platoon
A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...
attached to a
counter-insurgency
Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...
force—the Manuel Cedeño Mountain Infantry Battalion, headquartered in Barinas and Cumaná. In 1976, under the presidency of
Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (27 October 1922 – 25 December 2010) also known as CAP and often referred to as ''Venezuelan Spanish#Some examples of Spanish words common in Venezuela.2C including some native Venezuelanisms .28slang.29, El ...
it was tasked with suppressing the guerrilla insurgency staged by the party.
The Red Flag Party is currently led by Gabriel Rafael Puerta Aponte. After the
electoral victory of Chávez in 1998, the party started aligning itself with the
liberal and
social democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
opponents of Chávez, labeling him as a
social fascist. This has led to desertions from the party as many cadres instead joined the Chávez camp. The party was suspended from the
International Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organizations (Unity & Struggle) in 2005. It was succeeded within the organization by the
Marxist–Leninist Communist Party of Venezuela.
In the
2006 presidential election, the Red Flag Party supported the candidature of
Manuel Rosales
Manuel Antonio Rosales Guerrero (born 12 December 1952, in Santa Bárbara del Zulia) is a Venezuelan educator and politician, current governor of Zulia. He was the most prominent Venezuelan opposition candidate in the 2006 Venezuelan presiden ...
. The party got 18,468 votes (0.16% of the nationwide vote) in that election as one of several parties backing Rosales. As of 2009, its popularity has rapidly diminished from its prior years and is reported to have less than 100
militant
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Lat ...
members. In 2014, the party left the
Democratic Unity Table due to disagreements over objectives and not considering the coalition capable of placing itself on the forefront of people's struggles.
Youth wing
The youth wing of the party is the Revolutionary Youth Union (UJR).
See also
*
List of political parties in Venezuela
*
Interventions of political parties in Venezuela
Several interventions of political parties in Venezuela have occurred during Nicolás Maduro's government. The interventions are mandated by the pro-government Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ by its initials in Spanish). During these ...
External links
Official websiteOfficial blog
References
1970 establishments in Venezuela
Anti-revisionist organizations
Communist parties in Venezuela
Hoxhaist parties
Political parties established in 1970
Political parties in Venezuela
Intervened political parties in Venezuela
{{Venezuela-party-stub