Tribute to Comrade Sergio “Turko” Abad (Pascual Duarte)

The International League of Peoples’ Struggle mourns the loss of ILPS Regional Vice Chairperson for Latin America and the Caribbean, Comrade Sergio “Turko” Abad,  known throughout the movement as Pascual Duarte, a revolutionary whose life embodied courage, resilience, and unwavering dedication to the liberation of the people. Born in Rosario, Argentina, he carried the struggles of his community and country on his shoulders, and transformed personal hardship into collective strength. His journey reflects the story of Argentina’s working class itself—marked by repression, resistance, and the relentless hope of building a better future.

Comrade Sergio “Turko” Abad passed away on 8 August 2025 after a long battle with cancer. His departure leaves a profound void in Argentina’s people’s movement, in the ILPS, and among all who knew him. Yet his legacy endures in the organizations he helped build, the campaigns he spearheaded, and the countless militants he inspired. His life reminds us that the struggle is larger than any one individual, but that individuals of principle and courage can shape the course of that struggle for generations.

From an early age, Sergio placed himself on the front lines. During the Hunger Uprising of 1989, when economic collapse drove thousands to protest hunger and poverty, he stood with the people in Rosario. For his commitment he was jailed for a month, but imprisonment only deepened his conviction. That experience defined a lifetime of militancy: never abandoning the people, even in the harshest of conditions. He understood that the struggle was not only for bread, but for dignity and sovereignty.

As a revolutionary organizer, Sergio became one of the driving forces behind the Self-Convened Movement for the Suspension of Debt Payments and Investigation of the Debt, challenging the illegitimate obligations forced on Argentina by dictatorship, corruption, and international financial institutions. His voice rang clear in declaring that the people must not pay with their livelihoods for debts they did not incur. He linked the fight against debt with the defence of social services, workers’ rights, and national independence, and helped build bridges between grassroots movements, unions, and international networks.

He was a true internationalist who saw the importance of international relations and the anti-imperialist struggle. He was lead organiser of the annual Anti-Imperialist and Revolutionary Days (Jornadas Anti imperialistas Revolutionaries – JAR) since its inception in 2015. The JAR featured ILPS leaders and prominent members in several annual editions. It also included speakers from Asia Pacific Research Network at People Over Profit speaking on debt issues. Pascual helped to set up an office of the ILPS in Rosario, Argentina, in the same building where Commandante Che Guevara had lived.

He was known to many of his younger comrades as “El Tio,” (uncle) and as a leader with a fine sense of humour. Pascual loved life and was a fine poet, musician and cook who had “a deep sensitivity, a stubbornness to never give up, and was constantly searching for clarity through study”.

Within Argentina, Sergio was a leader of the Marxist Leninist Revolutionary Party (PRML). Under his guidance, the PRML consistently stood on the side of the workers and the oppressed, mobilizing against imperialism and neoliberal plunder. His leadership in the PRML was matched by his internationalist vision through the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS). As Chair of the ILPS Chapter in Argentina, and later as Regional Vice-Chair for Latin America and the Caribbean, elected at the 7th International Assembly, he carried the struggles of Latin American peoples to the global stage, helping unite movements from across continents in a common front against imperialism.

Despite serious illness in his later years, Sergio never stepped back from his responsibilities. In a demonstration of his determination, he traveled to Malaysia to attend the 7th International Assembly of ILPS, participating actively and standing alongside comrades from around the world. Even as his health declined, his presence was a testament to his character: disciplined, humble, and unyielding. Up until his final days, he contributed to campaigns, assemblies, and solidarity work, never allowing illness to silence his revolutionary voice.

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His name will live on in the chants of those who resist, in the banners carried in marches, and in the victories of the future. For Sergio, the fight for liberation was life itself—and in that fight, he will forever remain among us.

Signed,

International League of Peoples’ Struggle