I Assembly of EU Exterior

The first IU Exterior Federation Assembly took place on the 29th and 30th of April 2017. In this assembly, full of debates and spaces for comradeship, we provided ourselves with a board, organizational documents and sectional work plans, which we will briefly describe in this text. But let us first set ourselves in context.

Some of us militants of IU Exterior arrived first to our current host cities in a time when affiliating with the Spanish Communist Party was illegal, and members were bound to secrecy. Those were times of summary proceedings and death sentences, of guest workers and day labourers, but also of struggle and hope. Others among us left Spain more recently, at a time in which the global recession has shattered our life projects, doomed us to unemployment, job insecurity, or exile. We all have kept our membership throughout the years and under difficult circumstances. Counting on the life and fight experience of different generations of migrants is a treasure, but placing a value to it requires that we get organized in the best way possible.

Traditionally, IU Exterior members were organized in federations by countries, such as those of Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Sweden. This structure was suitable for a migration context in which most people who emigrated to a country would stay there for a long period. However, today's context is characterized by flexibility, job insecurity, frequent moves, and job mobility, with many members being also geographically isolated. This new reality requires a different organisational model. This is why the Federation of IU Exterior was created, fulfilling the mandate of the XI Federal Assembly.

The Federation of IU Exterior aims to organise the political work of members living and working abroad under a unique structure, in close contact with full members and grassroot assemblies. The federation is represented within the party’s Federal Coordinating Committee and the Political and Social Congress, so that the voice of migrants is always heard.

The board, as appointed at the I Assembly, is made up of of eight party members directly elected by the vote of the militants, and with shared, equal responsibilities in the following areas: Spokesperson representation (Marta Mosquera and Eduardo Velázquez), Organization and Finance (Alicia de Medina and Miguel Sánchez), Political action (Teresa Laguna and Alejo Beltrán), and Political communication (María Martínez and Gonzalo Montoro). It was decided to focus our political activity on social movements and trade unions working on labour and social disputes affecting migrants of Spanish nationality, and also on the construction of safe spaces for our shared fights. It was resolved that this is the best way to contribute to the building of the new world we dream of. It was also considered important to expand our organization to new cities and territories, and to help those party members who are geographically isolated get involved in political action. It is equally important to build up a new discourse on the latest emigration wave, making it clear that the official figures are underrated, and that it is not made up of just young, qualified people.

Please find below all documents related to the I Assembly of United Left Abroad (in Spanish), including the organisational documents and the minutes of the meeting: