Role of Working Class in the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR)

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Role of Working Class in the Movement of the Revolutionary Left (MIR): A Critical Review
The Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR was a historical event in the political history of Chile that triggered widespread social and economic changes. Formed by the confluence of several small leftist parties that opposed the ruling Chilean Communist Party and parliamentarianism, this party initiated an armed struggle to implement the Marxist socialist system (Gaudichaud). This group was a staunch champion of the rights of the working class, and their ideology is rooted in using concrete, practical, and aggressive measures to gain power and provide the working class with their rights. The Cuban revolution and anti-imperialism movements also inspired Chilean revolutionists, and they had intensified their social and political struggle in the 1950s well before the formation of MIR. The increasing political activism of Chilean revolutionists brought them together on one platform and in 1965 in the form of MIR (Toro). The core feature of this movement was the struggle for the rights of the working class, including peasants and urban pobladores, and intense confrontation with the "bourgeois class." However, they could not kindle the revolutionary spirit in the urban working class to the degree they would have wanted (Judge 415). Nevertheless, the history of this movement explicitly indicates that the role of class difference was crucial in the establishment and success of this movement, and the following paragraphs substantiate this fact.
The historical profile of MIR provides essential details of its establishment's political and social background, making the role of class difference in its success more prominent. The formation of this armed revolutionary movement traces its roots in decades of political strife that marked Chilean history. In the 1940s, the leftists and communists formed a reformist collation under the Popular Front; this was the type of coalition in which socialists and communists were involved in government with the same class they struggled against(Toro). However, their contribution to the second and the third Popular Front was devastating for the cause and the working class they represented. Gabriel González Videl was the president of this coalition who betrayed all communists and leftist ideals by torturing leftist militants (Toro). Thus, these coalition governments failed to fulfill the demands of leftists and communists in Chilean society.
In the 1950s and early 60s, there was an upsurge in the political and social struggle of leftist radicals in Chile. This renewed enthusiasm was due to the growing influence of Imperialism and the successful Cuban revolution; furthermore, the growing intensity of anticolonial struggle in various parts of the world also spurred these social movements. As a result of these socialist tendencies in Chilean society, the Christian Democratic Party capitalized on this revolutionary fervor and came into power under the presidency of Eduardo Frei Montalva (Toro). This party used the slogan "Revolution in Liberty" to gather mass support from the rural class, and after coming into power, they did make some land and social reforms. However, this party was not a genuine socialist party but an alternative alliance formed by the U.S government to counter the Cuban revolutionary narrative (Toro). Thus, Christian Democratic Party's government also failed to fulfill the demands of the leftists and did little to mitigate the class difference in society.
Since the growing political and social conflict in Chile greatly perturbed leftists, several political currents of left-wing parties decided to make a collaborative effort to force the government to accept their demand. After that, various socialist groups, including Trotskyists, Guevarist, radical Christians, ex-Socialists, and communists, came forward on a single platform, and thus, in August 2015, the MIR came into being (Gaudichaud). The most prominent feature of this coalition was the armed struggle that it undertook to get its demands approved by the government. Years of bitter political experience, betrayal by political parties, and growing hostility toward the working class became the sole factor behind the choice of use of guerilla war. The manifesto of their guerilla war was the armed struggle against the bourgeois state, and this manifesto explains the critical role of class difference in the formation and working of this group (Judge 415).
Various aspects of the history of this movement verify the fact that this movement was initiated to support and protect the rights of the lowly factions of Chilean society. According to one scholar, the core demand of the MIR leaders was that an ongoing and uninterrupted process of revolution and reforms be made involving the incorporation of poor people of the city and the country into a working-class alliance. They believed this form of revolution was mandatory to destroy the bourgeois class and establish an anti-imperialist society (Gaudichaud). This demand also manifests that MIR's core charter and demands were based on the growing class difference in Chilean society and their practical struggle to remove it. The adherent of MIR philosophy sought democratic centralism and believed in long-lasting armed struggle as lawful and proper ways of fulfilling people's rights (Gaudichaud). These facts also verify that the struggle to mitigate class differences was the central concern of the MIR movement.
Between the 1940s and the 1970s, Chilean society saw exponential and sustained growth in urban areas; resultantly, the urban society faced an unprecedented influx of rural migrants from all directions. As a result of these mass migrations, the urban demography, socio-economic fabric, and cultural streaks underwent a remarkable change. These events also led to a growing social, cultural, and political divide between the migrants and urban dwellers, leading to inequality in the distribution of social resources (Donoso and Evandro 333). Since urban areas were the center of industrial activities, and after the First World War, industrialization became more prominent, there was a more significant wealth accumulation in a few hands. Consequently, the bourgeois class gained significant social, cultural, and economic prominence outshining the working-class migrated from rural settings (Donoso and Evandro 334). These historical facts not justify the formation of a radical and aggressive coalition (MIR) by leftists and Marxists but also provide significant insight into the role of growing class differences in the emergence of this militant group.
Another significant factor that led to the formation of this coalition was the unavailability of necessary infrastructure and materials required to manage the growing influx of rural migrants. The uneven and biased housing policies made the lives of poor working migrants difficult as they had to settle in slums and work in squalid and unhygienic conditions (Donoso and Evandro). Thus, there was growing anger amongst the working class regarding their poor, unhygienic lifestyle and working conditions and growing wealth accumulation in few hands. Despite repeated attempts by the communists and radical leftists, things did not turn in favor of the working class. Consequently, these radical factions of Chilean society resorted to initiating an armed struggle against the upper class through guerilla warfare. Therefore, this historical aspect of the MIR also concludes that class difference and social and cultural marginalization of the rural working class were critical factors that formed, informed, and maintained this revolutionary movement.
Several renowned political figures became part of MIR, and these personalities and their groups believed in removing class differences via armed struggle. For instance, 117 compañeros attended the founding meeting of MIR in 1965; this group of revolutionists had political and ideological affiliations with Cloratorio Blest. This person was the founding father of a party w...