The Communist Party of Lauchenoiria has splintered into two factions after leader Élia Agramunt condemned the actions and “style of governance” of the 1952-1993 Communist regime in Lauchenoiria, committing herself and her party to advocating for solely “democratic communism” going forwards in a speech to press on Wednesday. Former party leader Javier Flynn quit the party shortly afterwards, and was followed by around 40% of Communist representatives and a sizeable chunk of the general membership, calling Agramunt a “sell-out” to “foreign interests”.
Agramunt became leader of the Communists in 2019 after it was revealed that her predecessor Flynn had been engaged in an extramarital affair with Charissa Clarke, former civil war Prime Minister and convicted Kerlian sleeper agent, prior to the civil war. She rose to prominence by advocating for peaceful cooperation with their opponents and to break from the actions of the Chaher-Clarke regime which had destroyed their electoral prospects after the civil war. However, she has always faced opposition from hardliners within the party, who consider electoral democracy to be “inherently bourgeois”.
The speech took place at a New Year’s event for the Yervian Provincial Association of the Communist Party; an area which saw heavy fighting during the civil war and has thus been wary of the Chaherist factions of the Communist Party. It was broadcast live via the social media of the Provincial Association; the stream of which was shared widely after the contents of Agramunt’s speech became known. The response was very mixed, with moderate Communists and other left-wing individuals praising Agramunt for making a clear break from Chaherism; while hardliners accused her of being a “capitalist plant”.
Javier Flynn led the condemnations, telling the Lauchenoirian Guardian that he feels that Agramunt is “a stooge for foreign capitalist interests who think they can get away with anything after they won the war.” He continued: “people say the war ended in peace but it was won by capitalist foreigners who want us all under their boot. ‘Democracy’ is a code-word for bourgeois capitalism; true Communists know that to achieve our goals we must have a dictatorship of the proletariat. Agramunt and her lackeys are too cowardly to fight for the future Lauchenoiria needs.”
Flynn and those who quit the Communist Party have now founded a new party that they are calling the True Communist Movement. They have also announced an intention to challenge Agramunt’s party’s right to call themselves the Communist Party in court, where they will argue that the name is “misleading” as the party “no longer adheres to the ideology of communism”. The True Communist Movement intends to contest the 2024 parliamentary and presidential elections due to happen in April.
