The Labour Gathering Party ( es, Partido Concentración Obrera) was a

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

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, led by José Penelon. It emerged from a dissident wing of the

Communist Party of Argentina The Communist Party of Argentina ( es, Partido Comunista de la Argentina, also simply known as "PC") is a communist party in Argentina. The party now forms part of the Frente de Todos, the ruling coalition supporting President Alberto Fern� ...

in the late 1920s. The party would exist for decades, mainly based in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, but its influence waned over the years.

The split

The party was formed as Communist Party of the Argentine Region (''Partido Comunista de la Región Argentina''), founded after a split in the

.Gilbert, Isidoro.
La Fede: alistándose para la revolución : la Federación Juvenil Comunista, 1921–2005
'. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 2009. p. 1923 Penelon and his followers were expelled from the Communist Party in 1927. The Penelon group began publishing ''Adelante'' ('Forward') in that year. The Communist Party of the Argentine Region was founded in January 1928. Most of the cadres of the Communist Youth Federation sided with Penelon in the split. Penelon also won over a large chunk of the Workers Sport Federation.Alabarces, Pablo, Roberto di Di Giano, and Julio David Frydenberg.
Deporte y sociedad: selección de los trabajos presentados ante las 1 jornadas nacionales "Deporte y Ciencias Sociales" ; entre el 21 y el 23 de agosto 1997, Buenos Aires
'. Buenos Aires: Inst. de Investigaciones Gino Germani, Fac. de Ciencias Sociales, UBA, 1998. p. 80 Penelon's followers labelled people the Communist Party as 'radishes' (red on the outside, white on the inside) and those from the Workers Communist Party as 'police agents'.Biagini, Hugo E., Arturo Andrés Roig, and Carlos Alemián.
El pensamiento alternativo en la Argentina del siglo XX
'. Buenos Aires: Editorial Biblos, 2004. pp. 282–283

Appeals for a United Front

Penelon argued for unification of the trade union movement, a line the Communist Party denounced as 'capitulation' to reformists. He opposed the policy of 'dual unionism' put forth by the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

.Alexander, Robert Jackson.
The Right Opposition: The Lovestoneites and the International Communist Opposition of the 1930s
'. Westport: Conn, 1981. p. 274 At the time of the 1928 elections, ''Adelante'' argued for a

united front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...

with the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

and the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

centres. Likewise the party also appealed to the Socialist Party, the Independent Socialist Party, the Argentine Anti-Imperialist Alliance, the Red Argentine Anti-Imperialist Alliance and the autonomous trade union centres for a unified

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

celebration.

Communist Party of the Argentine Republic

The party soon changed its name to the Communist Party of the Argentine Republic (''Partido Comunista de la República Argentina'').Puiggrós, Rodolfo.
Historia crìtica de los partidos políticos argentinos
'. Buenos Aires: J. Alvarez, 1965. p. 94 The change of the name was caused by a decision of the Central Electoral Junta.

Uriburu period

In 1930 general

José Félix Uriburu Lieutenant General José Félix Benito Uriburu y Uriburu (20 July 186829 April 1932) was the President of the Provisional Government of Argentina, ousting the successor to President Hipólito Yrigoyen by means of a military coup and declaring ...

came to power in Argentina and the party lost its legal status. The party changed its name to Partido Concentración Obrera, and was thus able to regain legal status in a period of repression.Paso, Leonardo.
Historia de los partidos políticos en la Argentina, 1900–1930
'. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Ediciones Directa, 1983. p. 539 The party would cease to be a communist party as such.Silveyra, Carlos M., Adolf Hitler, and Carlos M. Silveyra.
El comunismo en la Argentina: origen, desarrollo, organización actual
'. Buenos Aires: ditorial "Patria" 1936. p. 41

In the City Council

Penelon was re-elected to the

City Council in 1932 (he had previously been the sole Communist Party member in the council).Redding, Forest William.
Latin American Political Parties: Agents of Modernization
'. Thesis (A.M.)--Indiana University, 1967. p. 396 The party maintained some influence in the suburbs of Buenos Aires until the 1940s. Penelon remained in the City Council until 1954.Munck, Ronaldo, Ricardo Falcón, and Bernardo Galitelli.
Argentina From Anarchism to Peronism : Workers, Unions and Politics, 1855–1985
'. London: Zed Books, 1987. p. 104

Later period

Penelon ran for

Vice President of Argentina The vice president of Argentina ( es, Vicepresidente de Argentina), officially known as the vice president of the Argentine Nation ( es, Vicepresidente de la Nación Argentina), is the second highest political position in Argentina, and first in ...

in the 1951 election. He obtained merely 3,183 votes. Ahead of the election the Trotskyist Revolutionary Workers Party had begun '

entryism Entryism (also called entrism, enterism, or infiltration) is a political strategy in which an organisation or state encourages its members or supporters to join another, usually larger, organization in an attempt to expand influence and expand the ...

' into Concentración Obrera, but pulled out after the meager election result. After the fall of Perón in 1955, the party was closely linked to the Democratic Socialist Party (the right-wing tendency in the socialist movement). The party merged into the Democratic Socialist Party in the early 1970s.Alexander, Robert J.
Political Parties of the Americas: Canada, Latin America, and the West Indies
'. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1982. p. 67

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Partido Concentracion Obrera Defunct political parties in Argentina Labour parties Defunct communist parties Communist parties in Argentina Political parties established in the 1920s 1920s establishments in Argentina Political parties disestablished in the 1970s 1970s disestablishments in Argentina