TKP leader Okuyan’s book Revolution meets readers in Madrid

A book presentation event attended by readers was held at Ateneo La Maliciosa in Madrid. During the event, Kemal Okuyan answered questions from Tinta Roja editors and members of the audience. The gathering, which also featured discussions on the book Revolution and current issues of revolutionary struggle, was attended by PCTE General Secretary Astor García and several members of the party’s Central Committee.

In its presentation of the book, Tinta Roja emphasizes that the work aims to intervene in political struggle rather than serve as an academic study or a propaganda text. Covering the revolutions of 1848 and 1871 in Paris, the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917, the German Revolution, and the experiences of Cuba and Chile, the book examines the conditions under which revolutionary situations emerge, the theory of the weakest link, and the role of wars and political alliances in revolutionary processes.

A point particularly emphasized by the publishing house in its presentation is Okuyan’s distinction between reformist and revolutionary parties within the working-class movement. The book contrasts reformist parties, which fear the crises of capitalism and seek to preserve the stability of the system, with the revolutionary party, which regards crises as an integral part of capitalism and prepares to intervene at moments when the existing order is shaken. It seeks to answer the question of under what conditions revolutions can achieve victory.

The publication of the book in Spanish coincided with a period of growing activity in different areas of class struggle in the country. At the time of the event, teachers in Madrid were continuing their indefinite strike, while protests against the housing crisis were also taking place in various cities across the country. High rents and the increasing transformation of housing into a means of generating profit have intensified the reaction of working people, while a call for a general strike in the coming period is also on the country’s political agenda. Against this backdrop of heightened activity, issues such as the organization of revolutionary struggle, the relationship between social movements and political struggle, and the role of the revolutionary party were also reflected in the questions raised during the Madrid presentation.

First published in 2025 by Yazılama Publishing House, the book sold out its first print run within a few days and had reached its sixth printing. There have been editions in English and German. Editions in Russian and Portuguese will be published soon. With the Spanish edition, Tinta Roja aims to bring to Spanish-speaking readers the debates that the book has opened up within the working class in Turkey.

Following the event, Tinta Roja Publishing House issued a statement on its social media accounts, thanking those who attended the presentation and announcing that the discussion with Kemal Okuyan would be shared on the publishing house’s social media accounts in the coming days.