.
"There could be no socialist program for France alone. The dilemma,
'liberty or servitude, "socialism or barbarism' is one that goes beyond
our country " (Program, p. 108).
"The
Socialist Party is a Party at one and the same time national and international" (Documentation Socialiste,
supplement to no. 2, p. 50).
"Socialism
is international by nature and vocation " (Program, p. 126).
"The
Socialist Party adheres to the Socialist International" (Statutes of the SP, article 2, in Documentation Socialiste,
supplement to no. 2, p. 51).
"The
moment it no longer identifies with a universal message, France ceases to
exist. France is either a collective ambition or it does not exist"
(Program, p. 163).
"France,
therefore can be the pole of attraction of a new internationalism, (Program, p. 164).
"A
country like ours ... has immense possibilities for carrying high and far,
in Europe and in the world, the universal message of socialism" (Program, p. 18).
"France
will contribute to the democratization of the [European
Economic] Community, it will use its institutions to favor directing social
struggles toward a common goal" (Program, p. 352).
"The
Socialist Party. . . aims at a socialist transformation of international
society" (Resolution
of the Congress of Nantes in 1977, in Documentation Socialiste,
supplement to no. 2, p. 130).
"Socialism
is either international by nature or it denies itself" (Documentation
Socialiste, supplement to no. 9, p. 153).
"The
search for the autonomy of our development is inseparable from the
international perspectives of self-managing socialism. In guiding our action
abroad as well as inside our borders, it bases our participation in
international cooperation on solidarity with the exploited classes" (Program, p. 339).
In
this regard, it should be remembered that Mitterrand is one of the
vice-presidents of the Socialist International (cf. L'Express, May 22 to
28, 1981).
He
is also a founding member of the International Committee for the Defense of the
Sandinist Revolution (cf. Le Figaro 6/26/81). This makes it easy to
understand how Comandante Arce, of the Sandinist National Liberation Front
greeted Mitterrand as "a militant of the Nicaraguan cause" and
a "friend of the Sandinist revolution" whose victory in France
has "an immense political value in Nicaragua and Latin America"
(cf. Le Monde, 5/13/81).
On
the day of his inauguration, Mitterrand chose to pay homage, with a luncheon
in the Elysee Palace, to European socialist leaders and chiefs of state, as
well as to representatives of the Latin American left. At his express desire,
the widow of Marxist ex-president Allende sat at his right (cf. El
Espectador, Bogota, Colombia, 5/24/81).
As
President, Mitterrand declared France's support of the fight of the Salvadoran
people as an "urgent priority" and he promised to help
Nicaragua "in its difficult job of reconstruction. Latin America does
not belong to anyone. It is trying to belong to itself, and it is important
that France and Europe assist in the realization of this goal." Mitterrand
declared (cf. Jornal do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, 7/19/81).
Thanking
Fidel Castro upon receiving his congratulations, Mitterrand sent him a telegram
expressing his joy at the personal ties uniting him to the communist tyrant
and manifested his hope to "strengthen the friendship between France
and Cuba" (cf. Le Monde, 6/3/81).
Confirming
that intention, Antoine Blanca, personal assistant of Prime Minister Mauroy
and the man in charge of relations between his Party and Latin America and the
Caribbean, declared that the French SP will not tolerate any aggression,
economic blockade or discrimination against Cuba (cf. Folha de Sâo Paulo,
Sâo Paulo, 7/27/81).
More
recently, the French and Mexican governments signed a joint communique
categorically supporting the "Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front,
guerrilla organization made up of five Marxist groups working to overthrow the
regime in El Salvador. The communique, released simultaneously in Paris and in
Mexico, was delivered to the UN for distribution among member countries (cf. Folha
de Sâo Paulo, 8/29/81) and provoked a strong reaction from twelve Latin
American countries, which declared the attitude of France and Mexico a
"'flagrant interference, in El Salvador's internal affairs (cf. Jornal
do Brasil, 9/4/81).