thumb|right|[[J. Posadas, founder of Posadism]]
The Fourth International–Posadist () is a Trotskyist international organisation whose followers are known as Posadists (). It was founded in 1962 by J. Posadas, who had been the leader of the Latin America Bureau of the Fourth International in the 1950s, and of the Fourth International's section in Argentina.
Between their split from the International Secretariat of the Fourth International in 1962 and Posadas' death in 1981, Posadists developed a strain of communism, known as Posadism, that included several fringe ideas, which brought them into conflict with more mainstream left-wing groups.
Posadism attempts to introduce elements of ufology into Marxist thought. Arguing that only communism can allow the development of interplanetary travel, they concluded that visiting aliens from other planets must live in highly advanced communist societies and are bound to help Earth-based communists with bringing about the world revolution.
History
Origins
When the Fourth International (FI) split in 1953, Posadas and his followers sided with Michel Pablo and the International Secretariat of the Fourth International (ISFI). The Posadists began quarrelling with the majority of the ISFI in 1959 over the question of nuclear war with Posadas being a proponent as, he claimed, it would destroy capitalism and clear the way for socialism. The Posadists finally split with the ISFI in 1962 to form the Fourth International (Posadist). The group initially had a following in several countries, particularly among railway workers in Cuba, tin workers in Bolivia and farm workers in Brazil.
There was a significant Posadist group in Cuba. Posadist guerrillas fought alongside Castro and Che Guevara in the 1959 revolution. When the Posadists split from the Fourth International in 1962, they took the Cuban section with them, meaning no other Trotskyist group was represented in Cuba in the 1960s.
The Posadist group was accused by Soviet-friendly forces in Cuba of arguing that the Cuban government should forcibly expel the American military base at Guantanamo Bay and of trying to organize workers in the town of Guantánamo to march on the nearby military base. That was taken as a justification by the government for imposing a ban on them, Castro denouncing their influence as "pestilential" at the Tricontinental Conference held in January 1966. Cuban Posadists went on to claim that Castro had Guevara killed when, it turned out, he was actually in Bolivia fighting with the guerrilla movement there. Conversely, after Guevara was executed by Bolivian authorities, Posadas claimed in 1967 that Che Guevara was not actually dead but was being kept in prison by Castro's government. By 1968, a Posadist movement began to develop in Europe; however, the ufology elements of the movement caused it to fail to garner much traction.
Posadas' death in 1981 meant the virtual dissolution of the organization, with only a few isolated groups continuing to operate to the present day.
In the 2010s online interest in the Posadists increased, particularly in regard to their views in ufology. Several satirical and non-satirical "neo-Posadist" groups emerged on social media, making Posadas "one of the most recognizable names in the history of Trotskyism".
Theories
Posadist society
Posadists advocate for a society akin to those proposed by general Marxist theory. A proletarian revolution will destroy the bourgeois state, replacing it with a socialist state.
Posadas vocally opposed the Partial Test Ban Treaty signed in 1963 by the United States, the USSR, and the United Kingdom, believing that a nuclear war between the US and the USSR was inevitable and desirable, and would create the conditions for socialism, with the "workers' states" winning and resetting society.
Scientific progress
Posadas was highly interested in the way scientific advancement could improve human lives when used for the common good, rather than for profit. In an essay written entitled "Childbearing in space, the confidence of humanity, and Socialism" (1978), he espoused his vision of a Utopian future under the guidance of science:
Posadas was also a supporter of space exploration by the former USSR and the People's Republic of China. He praised an alleged plan by the USSR to have a woman give birth in space, considering such endeavors the mark of an advanced society: