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Algerian Communist Party

Algerian Communist Party
French nameParti Communiste Algérien
Arabic nameالحزب الشيوعي الجزائري
AbbreviationPCA
General SecretaryBen Ali Boukort
Founded1920 (1920) as an extension of the French Communist Party
1936 as an independent party
Dissolved1965 (1965)
Split fromPCF
HeadquartersAlgiers
Ideology
Political positionFar-left
International affiliationComintern (1919-1943)
Slogan"Bread, Peace, Liberty"
("Pain, Paix, Liberté")

The Algerian Communist Party (French: Parti Communiste Algérien; Arabic: الحزب الشيوعي الجزائري) was a communist party in Algeria. The PCA emerged in 1920 as an extension of the French Communist Party (PCF) and eventually became a separate entity in 1936.[1] Despite this, it was recognized by the Comintern in 1935. Its first congress was in Algiers in July 1936, also the site of the PCA's headquarters.

In the post-war period, it gained substantially in influence, increasing from around 3000 members in 1939 to between 12,000-15,000 members in 1948.[2]

In September 1955 the PCA was banned by the French administration due to the ongoing violence of the Algerian War, but remained an active part within the independence movement and many of its members participated as part of the National Liberation Army (ALN).[3]

By the end of the Algerian War, the PCA had been severely organizationally damaged; many of its leadership had been killed or arrested and its decision to subsume large parts of its membership within the ALN reduced its influence significantly. The PCA re-obtained legal status following independence in 1962, but was banned and dissolved later that year by the FLN.[4] The Algerian communists later regrouped in groups such as the Socialist Vanguard Party (PAGS).[5]

The general secretaries of PCA were Ben Ali Boukort from 1936 to 1939, Amar Ouzegane during the period of the underground central committee, Larbi Bouhali from 1947 to 1949, and Bachir Hadj Ali from 1949.

  1. ^ Gilberg, Trond, ed. (1988). Coalition Strategies of Marxist Parties. Duke University Press. p. 242. ISBN 0-8223-0849-5.
  2. ^ Drew, Allison (2014). We are no longer in France : communists in colonial Algeria. Manchester. pp. 133, 152, 163. ISBN 978-1-84779-921-0. OCLC 913570235.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Drew, Allison (2014). We are no longer in France : communists in colonial Algeria. Manchester. pp. 200, 204–207. ISBN 978-1-84779-921-0. OCLC 913570235.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Drew, Allison (2014). We are no longer in France : communists in colonial Algeria. Manchester. pp. 272–273. ISBN 978-1-84779-921-0. OCLC 913570235.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Drew, Allison (2014). We are no longer in France : communists in colonial Algeria. Manchester. p. 278. ISBN 978-1-84779-921-0. OCLC 913570235.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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