The International Executive Committee of the Fourth International met at the end of December in its first plenary gathering since it was elected last April at a world congress of the Trotskyist organization.
The meeting, which was attended by twenty-one members and a number of observers from various parts of the world, discussed a report by Ernest Germain on the unfavorable economic situation now facing capitalism on an international scale, the perspectives of the Vietnamese revolution and the antiwar struggle, particularly in the United States, the strike wave in capitalist Europe, and the latest developments in the international crisis of Stalinism.
In the light of the report, the IEC considered the current activities of the Fourth International and the possibilities of expanding them in the coming period.
Livio Maitan reported on the working-class uprisings in Argentina, the permanent crisis of the military dictatorship in Bolivia, the repression and witch-hunt unleashed against the revolutionary movement in that country, and other recent developments in the Latin-American revolution.
He outlined proposals for a broad international campaign calling for immediate release of the revolutionists imprisoned in Bolivia and Peru.
Pierre Frank reported on a conference held by the European sections of the Fourth International where it was decided to end the "entryist" orientation which has been followed by these sections for some years.
Fernand Charlier reported on a resolution drawing a balance sheet on the Algerian revolution from 1962 to 1969 which includes a section of self-criticism of the work of the Fourth International during the years when it was mobilizing material and political aid of the greatest importance to the development of the revolution.
The plenum was marked by a lively discussion and the free presentation of varying viewpoints on some of the subjects.