Drugs consumption debate in the Argentinian left: the Partido Obrero (1996-2009)

Abstract

This article addresses the debate on drugs use in the Partido Obrero during 1996-2009. In light of an international turn on the subject, we wonder about its impact on this trotskyist organization and worker’s intervention in the discussion. To achieve this, we will analyze internal documents and the party’s newspaper, in addition to recovering testimonies from former militants. Our approach will be from a marxist point of view, taking up the contributions on the subject of its first organizations, which problematized its impact on the working class. We registered the existence of three slogans: legalization, decriminalization, and the creation of alternative therapeutic communities. These are combined with a series of valuations on consumption, which strain the Argentinian left’s traditional conceptions. We conclude that the labor sectors had little participation in the discussion, which has not been altered by the changes in world drug policy.