Dear Comrades,

The Workers’ Party of Ireland sends its congratulations to the Portuguese Communist Party on the 100th anniversary of its founding. It has been one hundred years of class struggle which has seen the Communist Party working with and leading the working class in the fight for democracy and economic justice.

Emerging in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, at an extremely turbulent time in modern history the Party has been through the fire of capitalist crises, fascist dictatorship, and now, in our period, a prolonged era of liberal plutocratic hegemony.

In the aftermath of the fall of the USSR, Communist Parties across the world have faced a difficult period, not least those in the capitalist heartlands of western Europe where many parties have not yet recovered.

In this context, the survival of the PCP as a mass organisation provides a beacon of hope and an example for our own organisation, and we offer the Party every good wish in the struggles to come.

The success and growth of the PCP is therefore not just in the interests of the Portuguese working class but will form a vital part of the revival of the international communist movement.

We anticipate the PCP shall continue to serve as an example to the workers’ movement internationally and we pledge to reciprocate the solidarity necessary to rebuild the international communist movement to its rightful place as the legitimate challenger and historically destined successor to the capitalist system.

In solidarity,
Gavin Mendel-Gleason
Director of International Department
The Workers’ Party of Ireland.