Dr. William A. Booth

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José Revueltas and the Temporalities of the Mexican 1956 William A. Booth Abstract: Taking the thought and action of José Revueltas as a heuristic thread and the ‘Global 1956’ as a centre of gravity, this article examines the significant changes which occurred in the configuration of the Mexican Marxist left between the crisis over Trotsky’s exile and assassination (1939-40) and the collapse of the National Liberation Movement in the early 1960s. Between these dates, José Revueltas had (in)famously described a ‘proletariat without a head’, seeing both class and party structures in Mexico as inimical to the feasible achievement of socialism. The reaction of the Mexican Communist Party to the wider upheaval of 1956 supports Revueltas’ claim; the party, already much diminished through external oppression, internal factionalism and strategic ignorance, seemed to put its institutional head in the sand. However, there were signs of change, particularly at grassroots level, where renewed labour militancy encouraged cooperation among militants from across the left. Moreover, a period of self-reflection in the late 1950s set the stage for the emergence of the National Liberation Movement (MLN) in 1961. The Cuban Revolution radically altered the mood too, though did not immediately undermine the faith of left luminaries in the as-yet unfulfilled potential of the Mexican Revolution. It was not until the MLN was managed out of existence by the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) that the Marxist left gave up on the illusion of a Popular Front, a fundamental tenet of faith which defined its strategy for almost thirty years. Keywords: Mexican Communist Party (PCM), José Revueltas, National Liberation Movement (MLN), Mexican Workers Confederation (CTM), Mexican left

3. 'José Revueltas and the temporalities of the Mexican 1956' by @williamabooth.bsky.social

journals.lwbooks.co.uk/tcc/vol-2025...

Reminder: this is TONIGHT!

Delighted to welcome @yararf.bsky.social to @uclhistory.bsky.social on 20/6 for a public reading and Q&A. Full info and free registration here: bit.ly/3HyYCTx - please share.

Are you interested in Mexico and its politics?
Don’t miss this panel at UCL on 7th March 2025 at 6:30 pm.
Book your tickets following the link below:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mexico-in-...

Quality not quantity 😂

Revising an article on Mexico and the ‘Global 1956’ and it’s turned into an extended essay on why José Revueltas was (often) weird and (almost always) brilliant

Kohei Saito to packed audience at Japan Institute in Cologne: „it‘s great the room is so full, but you should hire some Marxist professors in German academia!“

Omg this thread has answered a lot of questions I didn’t know I had about the New Bod. I did find a call slip from my UG times being used as a bookmark. Showed it to some bemused moderns.

MAGA 2.0 w/ Quinn Slobodian & Wendy Brown Featuring Quinn Slobodian and Wendy Brown on Trump’s triumphant return to power and the freakish, obscene, billionaire-dominated, capitalist reactionary, Christian nationalist, contradiction-ridden MA...

My 2.5 hrs w @quinnslobodian.com and Wendy Brown discussing Trump’s triumphant return and the freakish, obscene, billionaire-dominated, capitalist reactionary, Christian nationalist, contradiction-ridden MAGA movement that surrounds him on @thedigradio.bsky.social www.thedigradio.com/podcast/maga...

Or when a first edition lands on your head

What’s the price in use-value though? 🤔

This was a superb event

😱 🧙

Booth & Son, purveyors of wonky little Tudor houses

Fascinating this need to externalise the authoritarian turn in Western countries

History has shown that the west doesn't need an other to act in the most brutal and authoritarian manner

Ignoring this is deeply counterproductive

Either/or tbh

“America the Beautiful and the Damned”

Absurd creature

When the edibles finally kick in.

Done multi week reading groups on Black Jacobins which always works well. Fifth Sun too recently. Making of the English Working Class one I want to do soon.

It’s freezing so we’re sharing the furry blanket

How exciting!

I don’t know what that means but I like it

Bluesky follows seem to have gone wild

Feliz navidad, pendejxs. May all oppression cease. Black lives matter, trans joy is real, and free fckn Palestine!

I just said ‘Tabby McTat is a racist tw…’ but my sister cut me off. Not even based in fact, I was just jaded.

@amnightingale.bsky.social that is a somewhat terrifying profile pic!

Digital humanities impact case study