Origins The group originated around a newspaper called
Nuevo Claridad (New Clarity) which was the paper of the youth section of the
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in Alava in June 1976. By 1979 the leadership of PSOE had decided to move the party away from its Marxist roots and expel the Marxists around
Nuevo Claridad. There were further expulsions from PSOE in 1980. In 1989 the name of the newspaper was changed to
El Militante.
Split from CWI The CWI split in early 1992 over many issues, primarily whether to continue working within social democratic parties. The majority in the UK, rejecting entryism, formed Militant Labour, which subsequently became the
Socialist Party of England and Wales. Grant together with
Alan Woods formed
Socialist Appeal in Britain. The faction fight within Militant played itself out within the CWI with supporters of the Grant faction leaving to form the
International Marxist Tendency (IMT) in several countries, particularly Spain.
Split from IMT In late 2009, a dispute developed between the IMT leadership and the leadership of its sections in Spain (
El Militante), Venezuela (
Corriente Marxista Revolucionaria) and Mexico. In January 2010, these organisations, together with the group in Colombia and part of the section in Mexico, the broke with the IMT and established a new international body, the
Revolucionaria Internacional (International Revolutionary Left).
Reunification with the CWI After a series of discussions and exchanges of documents, a merger was agreed upon by the Revolutionary left along with their co thinkers in Venezuela and Mexico with the
Committee for a Workers' International.
Second split from CWI In early April 2019, IR split from CWI after differences emerged relating to the analysis of the CWI regarding the lowering of socialist consciousness following the collapse of the Stalinist regimes and the consequences this had for the international workers' movement at the time along with the extent to which these effects are still present today. Revolutionary Left in Spain together with other groups that left the CWI: Revolutionary Socialism in Portugal, and Revolutionary Left groups in Mexico and Venezuela and
Offensiv in Germany, formed
Izquierda Revolucionaria Internacional (International Revolutionary Left) as a Trotksyist international. == School student union ==