The Red Flag Party ( es, Partido Bandera Roja) is a
communist party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
in
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. Formed in 1970 by
anti-revisionist members of the
Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), the party initially supported the
ideology of
Enver Hoxha and the
Party of Labour of Albania
The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes 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 o ...
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 Soviet–Albanian and S ...
, though in later years it gravitated back towards
China. In the 1970s up until the 1990s, it was engaged in
guerrilla warfare against the government. A young
Hugo Chávez's first assignment in the
Venezuelan Army was as commander of a communications
platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...
attached to a
counter-insurgency force—the Manuel Cedeño Mountain Infantry Battalion, headquartered in Barinas and Cumaná. In 1976, under the presidency of
Carlos Andrés Pérez 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
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
and
social democratic 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
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 December 12, 1952, in Santa Bárbara del Zulia) is a Venezuelan educator and politician, current governor of Zulia, Venezuela's most populated state. He was the most prominent opposition candidate in the ...
. 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 members.
In 2014 party left
Democratic Unity Table due to not disagreeing 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).
Website
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
Stalinist parties
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