By Peter Gellert
April 30 marks the 50th anniversary of the victory of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, the defeat of the U.S. military, and the unification of the Southeast Asian country.
A national holiday in Vietnam, April 30 commemorates the reunification of the country and the end of the war. It is a powerful symbol of peace, unity, and national pride.
For the millions of people who participated in the anti-war movement throughout the world, this was no ordinary victory. It was the mother of all victories!
The struggle and resistance of the Vietnamese people, fighting against the most powerful imperialist army in the world—deploying 550,000 troops in Vietnam—inspired and shaped an entire generation of social and revolutionary fighters across the five continents.
From all corners of the globe, internationalist solidarity with Vietnam played an important role, but clearly, the U.S. anti-war movement had a very special role to play. The military losses had to become too great, the economic cost of the conflict too high, the legitimacy of U.S. imperialism too severely undermined, and a political crisis had to erupt in 1972 with the Watergate scandal—forcing Richard Nixon to resign—for Washington to throw in the towel.
Indeed, from within the belly of the beast, a powerful movement emerged in the streets. Its vanguard, composed of hundreds of thousands of young people—including soldiers and young veterans—quickly realized that the enemy was not the “communist menace”, rather was at home, and that the Vietnamese fighters were their brothers in struggle.
The victory in Vietnam provides important lessons.
First, that despite its vastly superior military power and unlimited resources, imperialism can be defeated. And second, that it is possible to build a mass internationalist solidarity movement that can influence the outcome of a conflict.
It must be acknowledged that the Vietnamese themselves understood and valued the key importance of this international solidarity and developments on the home front in the United States as an essential factor in their victory.
Of course, the role of the Communist Party of Vietnam and its historic leader, Ho Chi Minh, was key throughout this process.
However, the cost of victory was high. The country was devastated after nearly 30 years of war. Out of a population of around 38 million, two million civilians and 1.1 million fighters from the National Liberation Front and the army of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (and up to 250,000 troops from the puppet regime) were killed.
At the end of the war, a long process of reconstruction began.
Starting in 1986, Vietnam launched a process of economic renovation known as Doi Moi.
On the one hand, it reflected a lesson that left-wing forces have come to understand in almost all countries with successful revolutionary processes—that there are no recipes, valid for all times and places. There are, of course, experiences, but not models. Each country must choose its own path to socialism based on its specific, historical, and political traditions. More concretely, socialism must make room for private initiative, without abandoning the leading role of the state and the goal of a society of wellbeing benefiting the vast majority of the population.
The results of Doi Moi place this Vietnamese policy, this experiment, among the great experiences of revolutionary forces worldwide. And in this case, the result is beyond question: it has been a resounding success.
For example, in 2024, Vietnam’s GDP registered an impressive annual growth of 7.0%—one of the highest in the world—with inflation below 4%.
By 2029, the country is projected to be among the 20 largest economies in the world.
It was estimated that 60% of the population lived in poverty at the beginning of Doi Moi, and this figure had dropped to 1.93% by last year.
Health insurance coverage, which reached 90.2% of the population in 2024, now stands at 94.1%.
The quality of life and standard of living have significantly improved in all areas.
In 2025, Mexico and Vietnam also celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Both countries are facing new opportunities and challenges stemming from the global and regional context, as well as their respective domestic situations.
For Mexico, the Fourth Transformation has brought major achievements in many areas and is embarking on the implementation of important goals in its second phase, including Plan Mexico. Meanwhile, Vietnam has made significant progress in its Renewal process in terms of economic and social development and international integration.
It can be said that the decision to launch Vietnam’s Renewal process in 1986 was a historic one, a turning point that created the peaceful and stable Vietnam we see today. Like Mexico, Vietnam is implementing major reforms in governance policies, administrative structures, economy, finance, and human resources, with the efforts of the entire political system and people to lead the country into a new era of development with the goal of becoming a developed industrial country with a high average income by 2030.