The Workers' Revolutionary Party (, PRT) was a

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, mainly active in the 1960s and 1970s. Currently there are different groups that claim to be a continuation of the historical PRT. The PRT was founded in 1965 by

Mario Roberto Santucho Mario Roberto Santucho (12 August 1936 – 19 July 1976) was an Argentine political militant, founder of the Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores (Workers' Revolutionary Party (Argentina), Workers' Revolutionary Party, PRT) and leader of Ar ...

(FRIP) and Leandro Fote by merging two existing far-left political parties.

History

The origins of the PRT lay in the merger of two leftist organizations in 1965, the Revolutionary and Popular Indoamericano Front ''(Frente Revolucionario Indoamericano Popular (FRIP))'' and Worker's Word ''(Palabra Obrera (PO)''. The FRIP had been founded by Francisco René Santucho and his brother Mario Roberto in 1961 at

Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a sur ...

, Argentina. It was a

ruralist Agrarianism is a social and political philosophy that advocates for rural development, a rural agricultural lifestyle, family farming, widespread property ownership, and political decentralization. Those who adhere to agrarianism tend to value t ...

indigenist Indigenism can refer to several different ideologies that seek to promote the interests of indigenous peoples. The term is used differently by various scholars and activists, and can be used purely descriptively or carry political connotations. Th ...

(pro-

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

) and revolutionary movement that extended its influence throughout the provinces of Tucumán, Chaco and

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

. ''Palabra Obrera'', on the other hand was a

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

party founded by

Nahuel Moreno Nahuel Moreno (real name Hugo Miguel Bressano Capacete; 24 April 1924 – 25 January 1987) was a Trotskyist leader from Argentina. Moreno was active in the Trotskyist movement from 1942 until his death. Biography 1950s–1960s During the 1953– ...

, active in the trade unions. Its main strategy had been infiltrating sectors of the

Peronist Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, Pe ...

movement in order to win them over to

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. In 1968 the PRT adhered to the

Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) was a political international established in France in 1938 by Leon Trotsky and his supporters, having been expelled from the Soviet Union and the Communist International (also known as Comintern or the Third Inte ...

, based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. That same year a related organisation was founded in Argentina, the ERP ( People's Revolutionary Army) that became the strongest rural guerrilla movement in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

during the 1970s. The PRT left the Fourth International in 1973.POR QUÉ NOS SEPARAMOS DE LA IV INTERNACIONAL, PRT Argentina. Junta de Coordinación Revolucionaria (JCR) Agosto de 1973.
/ref> Both the PRT and the ERP were suppressed by the Argentine military regime during the

Dirty War The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...

. ERP commander

Roberto Santucho Mario Roberto Santucho (12 August 1936 – 19 July 1976) was an Argentine political militant, founder of the Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores ( Workers' Revolutionary Party, PRT) and leader of Argentina's largest Marxist guerrilla group ...

was killed in July 1976. Owing to the ruthless repression PRT showed no signs of activity after 1977.

Leaders

Benito Urteaga Benito Urteaga was a Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla from Argentina. He was born in 1946 and was killed on 19 July 1976. After Mario Roberto Santucho Mario Roberto Santucho (12 August 1936 – 19 July 1976) was an Argentine political mili ...

Enrique Gorriarán Merlo Enrique Haroldo Gorriarán Merlo (18 October 1941 – 22 September 2006) was an Argentine guerrilla leader, born in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Buenos Aires Province. His family was affiliated with the Radical Civic Union, but at the age of 27 G ...

References

{{Former political parties in Argentina 1965 establishments in Argentina 1980 disestablishments in Argentina Communist parties in Argentina Dirty War Fourth International (post-reunification) Political parties established in 1965 Political parties disestablished in 1980 Trotskyist organisations in Argentina

History

Leaders

See also

References