THE TWELFTH World Congress of the Fourth International took place in January 1985. It brought together some 200 delegates, fraternal delegates, observers and invited guests.
Six reports were on the agenda: • On the world political situation, taking up the development and effects of the crisis in the different sectors of the world revolution, the struggle against austerity measures and the war-drive, and the activities and central campaigns of the International and its sections. • On the lessons and perspectives of the Central American revolution, which set out to draw out the strategic lessons of the Nicaraguan revolution and give the present framework for the campaign against imperialist intervention and in solidarity with the people of Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The discussion centred particularly on the nature of the Sandinista regime, on its economic policy, and the present situation of the Salvadorean • On the political revolution and counter-revolution in Poland, the most important experience of a mass upsurge against the bureaucracy, taking up the gains made by Solidarnosc and the tasks of the resistance to the Jaruzelski
Aside from these three discussions, concerning the principal questions in the international situation today, two others took up more general programmatic questions: • The first, on the present relevance of the theory of permanent revolution and the notion of the workers and farmers government, reaffirmed the validity of the general programmatic framework of the Fourth International, in the light of the main events of the class struggle. • The second, entitled "Dictatorship of the proletariat and socialist democracy", continued and closed a discussion initiated by the previous World Congress. It brought together in a systematic way the lessons of the bureaucratic degeneration of the first workers states and the anti-bureaucratic struggles, the relationship between revolutionary power and democracy (relations between parties, trade unions and states after the revolution, guarantees of democratic rights, pluralism, the functional character of democracy from the point of view of economic planning, and other questions).
Finally, a written and oral report on the present stage of building the Fourth International laid out our tasks and perspectives for the years ahead, taking up in particular the relations that the International and its sections have with other revolutionary currents, the social transformation of the sections and their implantation in the key industrial sectors and popular movements, and the functioning of the leadership bodies of the International as such.
There were counter-reports on all these points either from the declared international tendencies (of which there were two, or by delegates representing the majority of their respective sections. The documents presented by the outgoing United Secretariat were all approved by a large majority, from 66 to 80 per cent of the votes, on the different points.
The Congress also received written reports from the outgoing leadership on its activity as a whole, and on its policy of cadre formation. A substantial part of the work of the Congress was devoted to meetings and reports of commissions studying the situation of certain sections. After the report of the Mandates Commission, five new sections of the International were recognised by the Congress (Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Senegal, Iceland), as well as new sympathising groups in several countries. In total, the International exists today in some fifty countries.
At the end of its work, the Congress elected the new International Executive Committee (IEC), reduced in size from previously in order to improve its functioning and regularity. The IEC itself elected the new United Secretariat. The IEC, composed of members from 27 sections, and the United Secretariat (composed of members from 12 sections at present, it is up for re-election at each IEC meeting) are charged with leading the International until the next World Congress. Opening with a tribute to comrades who have died since the last World Congress, the Twelfth Congress of the Fourth International closed with a declaration of solidarity with all militants and fighters of the anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist and anti-bureaucratic struggles throughout the world. In addition to the general resolutions, it adopted a series of solidarity declarations with the struggle of the Kanak people of New Caledonia, the British miners' strike, the anti-war mobilisations around 20 April in the United States, the freedom struggle of the Irish people, political prisoners in Syria, and our imprisoned comrades in Japan (for these declarations see International Viewpoint Nos 70/71/72, 25 February, 11/25 March 1985).
We publish below the resolutions adopted by the World Congress.