The Socialist Party of Azania (SOPA) was a scientific socialist political party in South Africa adhering to

Black Consciousness The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-Apartheid Activism, activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the power vacuum, political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African Nationa ...

theory. In the 2004 general elections, it received 0.1% of the vote and no legislatorial seats at either the national or provincial levels.

History

The party was formed on 21 March 1998. It was branched from the

Azanian People's Organisation The Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) is a South African liberation movement and political party. The organisation's two student wings are the Azanian Students' Movement (AZASM) for high school learners and the other being for university leve ...

. The forefathers of the party were also founding members of the 1970s

Black Consciousness Movement The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan Afri ...

which was led by

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known ...

. Among noted members of SOPA are Asha Moodley, Steven Peter, Rose Ngwenya, Dr. Gomoleo Mokae, Tiyani Lybon Mabasa, Musa Kunta Mohamed, Phineas Malapela, Patrick Mkhize, Console Tleane, Ashraf Jooma and the late

Strini Moodley Strinivasa Rajoo "Strini" Moodley (22 December 1945 – 27 April 2006) was a founding member of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa. In 1976, he was convicted of terrorism in a trial involving members of the South African Student ...

Ideology

SOPA's ideological framework was a blend of Bikoist Black Consciousness and Marxism-Leninism. Following from this framework, SOPA argues that the end of apartheid in the 1990s did not truly liberate Black people in South Africa (which the party refers to as

Azania Azania ( grc, Ἀζανία) is a name that has been applied to various parts of southeastern tropical Africa. In the Roman period and perhaps earlier, the toponym referred to a portion of the Southeast Africa coast extending from northern Keny ...

), but that instead the post-apartheid South African state – led by the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

ANC
– has allowed the continuing cultural, social and economic dominance of white South Africans. This, the party argued, was due to the ANC having sold out to white capital. In the Bikoist terminology used by the party, those in power through the ANC can be said to be "non-whites" as, in Biko's words their "aspiration is whiteness" and only their "pigmentation makes attainment of this impossible", as opposed to Blacks who "are those who can manage to hold their heads high in defiance rather than willingly surrender their souls to the white man". The party therefore calls for Black political leadership which stands in solidarity with the Black population of the country. It was SOPA's perspective that to liberate the poorest of the black majority of population from despair, the working class must lead a

proletarian revolution A proletarian revolution or proletariat revolution is a social revolution in which the working class attempts to overthrow the bourgeoisie and change the previous political system. Proletarian revolutions are generally advocated by socialists ...

which will abolish the system based upon the private ownership of fundamental means of production, and result in the redistribution of land and nationalisation of basic industries. This plan would, according to theory, reverse the detrimental economic legacy of ''

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

'' and

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

, which SOPA claims has left black South Africans inherently disadvantaged. In 1998, leading SOPA figures participated in an international Tribunal on Africa, "to judge those responsible for the murderous course imposed on the workers and peoples of Africa." The Tribunal held that economic policies affecting Africa – as formulated by such international institutions as the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

, and

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

, and the co-operation of what SOPA sees as

neocolonial Neocolonialism is the continuation or reimposition of imperialist rule by a state (usually, a former colonial power) over another nominally independent state (usually, a former colony). Neocolonialism takes the form of economic imperialism, gl ...

governments like that of the

– have led to disastrous living conditions for the majority of Africans. SOPA regards such policies and practices as

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

on behalf of

multinational corporations A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...

Negotiations with other parties

The party had regular negotiations with

AZAPO The Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO) is a South African liberation movement and political party. The organisation's two student wings are the Azanian Students' Movement (AZASM) for high school learners and the other being for university leve ...

aimed at merging the two parties but these broke down in 2004, 2007 and again in 2013. In the lead-up to the 2014 election, the party announced that it had agreed working relations with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and that its members would form part of the EFF's candidate list.

Election results

National elections

Provincial elections

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Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

! colspan=2 , Free State ! colspan=2 ,

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

! colspan=2 ,

Kwazulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

! colspan=2 ,

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

! colspan=2 ,

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

! colspan=2 ,

North-West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...

! colspan=2 ,

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

! colspan=2 ,

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

, - ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats , - ! 1999 , - , , 0/63 , 0.11% , , 0/30 , 0.05% , , 0/73 , 0.12% , , 0/80 , - , , 0/49 , - , , 0/30 , - , , 0/33 , - , , 0/30 , - , , 0/42 , - ! 2004 , 0.15% , , 0/63 , - , , 0/30 , 0.09% , , 0/73 , 0.18% , , 0/80 , - , , 0/49 , 0.13% , , 0/30 , - , , 0/33 , - , , 0/30 , - , , 0/42 , -

Electoral performance and political affiliation

In the 2004 elections, SOPA received 0.1% of the vote. The party was affiliated with the International Liaison Committee for a Workers' International. Although party members include socialists of different stripes, some of its most influential members were

Trotskyists Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a re ...

, and they comprised the Azanian Section of the reproclaimed Fourth International.

External links

Official site"Cosatu must back land demands", South African Press Association (SAPA), 17 Sept.2006"Death of Steve Biko remembered 29 years on", ''Pretoria News'', 13 Sept. 2006"Awards should reflect myriad contributions to the struggle", ''The Sowetan'', 15 June 2006"Govt 'working for white bosses'", SAPA, 29 Jan. 2006Interview with Lybon Mabasa, 10 Nov. 2004, KPFA-FM (Berkeley, California)
* ttp://www.dispatch.co.za/1998/04/06/southafrica/SOPA.HTM "Azanian Socialist Party plans to register", SAPA, 6 Apr. 1998

References

{{Authority control 1998 establishments in South Africa African and Black nationalism in South Africa African socialist political parties Communist parties in South Africa Organisations based in Johannesburg Political parties established in 1998 Political parties in South Africa Trotskyism in South Africa

History

Ideology

Negotiations with other parties

Election results

National elections

Provincial elections

Electoral performance and political affiliation

External links

See also

References