For three days, students from various universities and higher institutes in Kinshasa were immersed in a summer school organized by the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), whose leader is former Prime Minister Bruno Tshibala.
This scientific event, which closed this Thursday, February 15, 2024, was part of the celebration of the 42nd anniversary of the UDPS.
On this occasion, Tshibala, following briefly tracing the history of the creation of this political formation, taught students on the fundamentals of socialism and reformism. Highlighting the importance of reformism in relation to revolution, he illustrated his point by evoking the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. According to him, the UDPS, guided by 13 parliamentarians and their collaborators including himself, opted for reformism as the preferred path to combat the Mobutu dictatorship and work for the advent of democracy in the DRC.
« When we created the UDPS, we actually found ourselves faced with this choice: should we take up arms, launch a revolutionary struggle once morest the regime to overthrow it and establish a new power, or should we opt for reformism, that is to say a struggle within the country, within the established order with a view to obtaining change, improvement and, ultimately, social progress from within? The UDPS felt that choosing the revolutionary path left no chance of success because our country, the Congo, was considered the springboard for the struggle led by the West once morest communist expansionism. The Kinshasa regime was mainly supported by the CIA. Who says CIA, says the United States of America, the leader of the liberal Western world”underlined the former Prime Minister.
Evoking the crucial choices that the UDPS had to face during its creation, Tshibala underlined the relevance of reformism as opposed to the revolutionary path. He highlighted the strategic reasons which motivated this choice, in particular the geopolitical situation of the time and the historical precedents of aborted revolutions, such as that led by Pierre Mulele.
For the former Prime Minister, reformism proved its value by allowing the UDPS to defeat the dictatorship and establish democracy, thanks in particular to its ability to promote dialogue in times of dissension. He stressed that reformism is part of an African tradition of palaver, where disagreements are resolved peacefully through discussion and compromise.
« This is how between 1980 and 1990, despite the savage repression, by remaining faithful and loyal to the principles of reformism and the ideology of social democracy, the UDPS managed to defeat the dictatorship and establish democracy. . Reformism was preferred to revolution because, as some of you know, we had our own form of democracy in pre-colonial Africa. This is what we call the African palaver. When there were disagreements, tensions, we met under the tree to debate, excluding violence and intolerance, thus leading to compromises. Reformism is therefore akin to this African tradition of palaver “, he added.
The general secretary of the UDPS, Théo Fele, highlighted the essential values of socialism such as social justice, freedom and solidarity. He encouraged Congolese youth to join the UDPS to contribute to the consolidation of democracy in the DRC, by adhering to values full of meaning and ideals.
This summer university, which constituted a key moment of reflection and transmission of the fundamental values defended by the UDPS, offered the students present an opportunity to deepen their understanding of socialism, reformism and their role in the construction of a democratic and united society.
This event concluded with a question-and-answer session between these students and the speakers, thus offering an interactive and participatory dimension to this meeting.
/7sur7.cd
2024-02-16 07:30:21
#years #UDPS #Bruno #Tshibala #raises #students #awareness #fundamentals #socialism #reformism
