International Socialist Organization (Zimbabwe)

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The International Socialist Organization is a Trotskyist organisation in Zimbabwe. It is part of the International Socialist Tendency led by the British Socialist Workers Party.

It produces a newspaper called Socialist Worker.

It opposes both ZANU-PF and the MDC and claims to be under state harassment.

'On the whole it is not safe for us to do street sales with our paper any more, though we can still hold public meetings if we are careful about security. The new press laws pushed through by Mugabe are going to make a lot of what we say very difficult to publish, because of course it is critical of the government.' (ISO statement) [1]

[edit] Relationship with MDC

The ISO joined the MDC from its inception in 1999. This move was based upon the tactic of Entryism. The ISO viewed the MDC as a United front, with the aim 'Firstly to facilitate maximum unity between revolutionaries and reformists' and 'Secondly ... as a platform to increase the influence of revolutionary politics and to build a revolutionary organisation'. The union was described as 'Kuchaya mapoto, husahwira hwe mubhawa', that is like the temporary marriages of migrant workers enter in to in rural areas in the absences of their wives. Munyaradzi Gwisai became an MDC member of parliament for Highfield constituency (where many politicians live). The relationship between the ISO and the MDC leadership was acrimonious, for example MDC leaders made a series of personal attacks on Gwisai following a publication of an ISO paper blaming the party's declining fortunes on 'the highjacking of the party by the bourgeoisie' and failure to deal with the question of land reform.

The ISO was finally expelled from the MDC in April 2002, they stood for reelection in the Highfield constituency against the MDC but failed to get re-elected and got a disappointing vote.

The ISO blames the failure of the MDC to over throw Mugabe's regime on their lack of radicalism and their shift rightwards and the fact that this has allowed ZANU-PF to gain by left posturing.