Anarchism in Argentina Part 2 ft. Andrew

I think you know the answer. Nineteen ninety marked the year of La Simana Tragica or the Tragic Week, when several metal workers were killed by strike breakers. This led to a general strike that shut down the entire country and pushed Buenos Aires into a state of chaos for several days. The anarchist paper A protester noted the complete shutdown and praised worker's solidarity. But despite the revolutionary atmosphere, the movement lacked a clear objective, which weakened its long

term impact. They had the power, but didn't do too much with it. Eventually, the police and Argentina's first fascist organization, Lega Patriotica, were able to subdue the rebellion. The fascists, by the way, we were backed by military figures like Rare Admirals Burmech Garcia and O'Connor. They attacked and killed with impunity, and in the end the fifty five thousand were detained, with anarchist sent to Martin, Garcia, Ireland, and as many as seven hundred were killed and four thousand

were injured. The anarchist movement persisted, as they always do. The protester continued publishing, alongside the launch of new papers like Mandera Roja and Tribuna Proletaria. Even after the government banned anarchist press in March nineteen nineteen, the movement continued to organize, culminating an extraordinary Congress of two hundred unions

in September nineteen twenty. Throughout the nineteen twenties, four or five remained a powerful force in Argentina's lable movement, pushing for causes like the six hour weekday and resistant rise in nationalists and military sentiments, but throughout came more oppression. In nineteen twenty one, Argentinian workers and that for A style in the Chaco region were brutally killed for demanding

better wages and conditions. The anarchist four her proposed solidarity actions, but the more reformist FORA the Ninth Congress, distanced itself,

leaving the movement unsupported. This indifference, unfortunately also extended to other violent incidents, such as the murder of workers were the fascist legal Patriotica in Guaalles guaid and we're still with the largely unreported massacres of striking rural workers in Patagonia by the army, sending fifteen hundred to death by firing squad, an event ignored by most media except for

anarchist outlets like that Protester. In this case, at least the anarchists got their get back somewhat later, when German anarchists could Wilkins assassinated Hector Valera, the military leader responsible for the killers. That whole story is so wild because the German assassin was also a pacifist, but it's just like fuck it with ball Yeah.

in his acts of violence. Italian anarchists Severino the Giovanni, carried out bombin's against the American embassy to protest the trial, bombings against the Italian consulate to protest Italian fascism, and robberies throughout the country. The Giovanni's actions sparked debate among anarchists about the issue of quote unquote anarcho banditry. Some papers like Landtorchia defended the Giovanni, others like La.

and anarchists. Many were imprisoned, deported, or killed, including prominent figures like Juan Antonio Moran and Joaquin Penina. Anarchist groups and unions were oppressed under Uriburu's martial law, whither more moderate Confederacio and General del Trabajo or SGT, dominated by reformers. Socialists survived and became the main representative of workers in the country. Thanks to Uriburu's corporative stance. Martial law was

peeled back slightly by nineteen thirty two. With such heavy blows the movement, Anachus had to pull back to the more countercultural efforts to define their movement. In the eighteen eighty for Our resumed publishing activities, with That Protester returning as a daily, but government pressure, including action against his editors and restrictions and postal services, made it difficult to maintain this daily schedule. Eventually, La Protester transitioned to a weekly,

then bi weekly, and family monthly publication. Despite these challenges, a group of anarchist militants and via devotoprism, conceived the idea of a national Anarchist Congress. This congress first met in September nineteen thirty two in the Rosario, with that it gets from across the country and one key outcome of this congress was the creation of the Committee Rijonal

de re Laciones Anarquistas or the CRORA. This later foundation for became the Argentine Anaco Communist Federation or FACER in nineteen thirty five, although the organization never really gained a mass following. In nineteen thirty five, anarchists also establish a taker Popular Jose in Hiniros a library and social center. While initially founded the support of socialists, the anarchist took

full control after the socialists left. Around this time, anarchist group's campaign fiercely to free Voto Maini and the Diago comrades, who had been tortured and imprisoned for over a decade. The newspaper just this year was created solely to advocate for their release, who was finally granted in nineteen forty two.

Throughout this period, the anarchist press remained active, the number of publications diminished, Several publishing houses like not Review, Iman Tupac, and Reconstrier kept anarchist literature alive, publishing key works and essays. In nineteen thirty three, Accion Libertaria emerged and eventually became the voice of FACER, later owners the Federacion Libertaria Argentina

or FLA until nineteen seventy one. But the most significant international event for Argentine anarchists during the nineteen thirties was the Spanish Civil War. The rise of fascism among the resistance, led by the CNT and Federacion and Anarchista Iberica or FAI, inspired Argentine anarchists to provide solidarity and support. Many traveled to Spain to join the fight, with Jose Grenfeld becoming

the secretary of the FAI. Campaigns to support anti fascists in the Spanish Civil War were also launched, with FACA publishing books and pamphlets in the struggle. FACCA launched Saladari Dad Opera in nineteen forty one, edited by Juan Corral and Loreano Rieira, though it was later shut down by the first Justicialista government under Peron. FURA also began publishing a series of booklets, including Toros coundre la Guera in nineteen thirty five and Lucca Constructiva pola lebordad i justicia

in nineteen forty four. One notable libertarian cultural journal, Ombre de America, ran from January nineteen forty until the end of nineteen forty five, covering nearly the entire duration of the Second World War. FACA was clear about its position on the global conflicts of the time. In nineteen forty two general Plennary, the group denounced both Western democracies, which they saw as vlain capitalist exploitation, and the Soviet Union,

which they deemed bureaucratic capitalism. However, they saw the greatest threat in national socialism the Nazis and the rise of the Third Reich, one in the total Tyranism was the worst danger of their era. Faker's statement of solidarity with the oppressed under the Nazi barbarity also recognized the threat posed by Soviet expansionism and the force promises of post war democracies. Domestically, Faca and fa faced a new challenge with the rise of Juan Domingo Pern. His populist approach,

while beneficial somewhat to workers, was paradoxical for anarchists. Prone's government promoted a state centered, jingoistic project that co opted labor movements through control networks, undermining annuine proletarian and democracy. Anarchists rejected Peranism Seniors as a threat to the revolutionary ethos of Wuker's Hilarity. Despite this, fora retained some influence, especially among agricultural workers, who were caught between the identities

of peasants and workers. In June nineteen forty six, anarchists launched a new newspaper, Reconstruire, with Luista Nusi as editor. The first issue featured Jacobo Prince's critique of Peranism in an article titled El totali Tarismo falsea il Principio de Justicia social, calling out the regime's distortion of social justice. By the late nineteen forties and early nineteen fifties, Fora's influence had waned, and anacocynicalism was reduced to a smaller

rule in Argentina's labor movement. However, the societ Dad there Resistencia del Pers del Puerto, aligned with FORA, demonstrated their commitment to anarchosynicalism in nineteen fifty two by rejecting a compulsory wage tax to fund a monument to Eva peron Jesus Christ.

Argentina's most brutal ditatorship. But before we fast forward in nineteen seventy six, we need to explore it took place in the sixties. The sixties are own as the New Left era in many parts of the world thanks to

the rise of student radicalism. The new Left is marked by a notable libertarian and democratic impulse, an emphasis on cultural as well as political transformation, an extension traditional lefts focus in class struggle to achnowledge multiple forms and basis of oppression, including race and gender, an emphasis and anti imperialism and anti colonalism, and a rejection of bureaucracy and traditional forms of political organization in favor of direct action

and participatory democracy. Many youth were searching for a third way outside of Soviet and Western models, so during the nineteen sixties and seventies, a new generation of Argentine youth turned to anarchism, so they struggled to collaborate with the older anarchist movements. Cultural and political differences were the heart of this divide, with younger militantsiligning themselves more to global anti impurelest movements of the time than with the anarchist

legacy already within Argentina. In some ways, this generational riff left a scar in the anarchist struggle. In other ways helped younger anarchists to develop a clearer ideological stance compared to their counterparts in countries where such internal conflicts were less prevalent. One of the most significant anarchist groups to emerge during this period was Resistancia Libertaria. Operating colandestantly and with a cellular structure, RL aimed to ignite mass resistance

and ultimately spark a prolonged popular war. The group was active in neighborhoods, labor movements, and student circles, and it had a small armed wing for defense and expropriation.

security doctrine. The aim was allegedly to maintain stability in the region that America considers its backyard, and US officials, including Kissinger, were short to meet with Argentine military leaders after the coup, encouraged them to wipe out the opposition quickly and brutally before any winy human rights concerned started to be raised internationally. The junta remained in power until December nineteen eighty three, during which time some thirty thousand

people were disappeared or executed. URL militants were particularly targeted by the regime. One particularly horrible story I have to share. The military men responsible for the killings often spared pregnant women, kept them in custody until they gave birth, then killed the mothers and gave their influence to childless military families.

In the final years of the tatorship and follow on their re establishment of civil government in nineteen eighty three, new and relatively anti authoritarian social movements emerged Argentina, among the most prominent with the Madres Tela Plaza de Mayo a group of mothers advocating for justice for those who had been disappeared under the military regime. Alongside them, they are psychologists, feminists, and other grassroots activists began to make

their voices heard. This shift marked a significant departure from traditional state centric leftist politics, with a growing inclination towards more decentralized approaches. While this climate sparked renewed interest in anarchism, it didn't lead to a substantial increase in the membership of older anarchist organizations. Instead, it highlighted the transformation and how social movements approached to activism and sought to address issues of justice and accountability. And then we come into

the twenty first century. In the early two thousands, Argentina, which was once a poster child for neoliberalism thanks to the actions of the didataship, found itself in the throes of a devastating economic crisis. This s meltdown didn't just affect the economy, ignited a wave of social movements that were far more confrontational, radical, and anarchistic than before, which was the rise of militant neighborhood assemblies, factory takeovers, and

intense street protests. What was happened in Argentina was a direct result of more than two decades of so called free market reforms and structural adjustment programs. These policies had left the economy in ruins, with poverty and unemployment levels soaring. By the time the crisis hit, poverty had shot up from thirty one percent to fifty three percent, and unemployment had jumped to twenty one point four percent, nearly a

quarter of the country's population. Out of this chaos came the Pictaros, a new movement of unemployed workers who turned their anger into direct action. They didn't just march in protest. They blocked roads, demanded work and dignity. But what said the Pictero is apart from traditional unions was they commit months to horizontal organizing and direct action. They knew that those unions didn't represent them, and they wanted something more than just jobs. They wanted dignity, and they wanted us

say in how society was run. One of the voices from this movement, a woman from the Solano neighborhood in Buenos Aires, captured the spirit when she said, I dream of my children finding a way of life here away from the despair the system gives us. Were building something new. Politics without political parties encode the Pictaro's in just demand employment. They wanted meaningful work that gave them control over their lives. They weren't looking to be folded back into the capitalist

system that had failed them. Instead, they called themselves autonomous workers in envisionous society where people took charge their communities and their futures.

battles with police, the government collapsed. In the wake of this upheaval, neighborhood assemblies popped up everywhere, and the Pictaros intensified their efforts. Millions of workers across Argentina joined a general strike and put as Airis alone. Over a million people defied a government imposed state of emergency. Flood in the streets and protest. It wasn't just about events and

frustration with what reclaiming their power. In a way, the ideas of anarchism, self management, the centralization, and direct action were be input into practice on a truly massive scale, even though anarchist groups themselves didn't necessarily lead the charge. The fight wasn't just on the streets, though, It had to happen in the factories, the fields, across all the

sectors of society. They couldn't just remove politicians. They had to dismantle the entire system of exploitation and replace it with something radically different. A key piece of this puzzle was the rise of the fabricas, ricuperradas, or reclaim factories. These takeovers didn't start with the two thousand one up prizing, though. The first occupation happened back in nineteen ninety six, when workers in a cool storage plant to control after the

bosses abandoned it. More factory followed suit, with workers stepping in with an owner's fled. But they weren't even trying to launch an offensive against capitalism. They were simply trying to survive, to hold on to their livelihoods and an economy that had pushed them to the edge. By the time of the Argentine uprising in December two thousand and one, over one hundred and seventy factories had been reclaimed, with some ten thousand workers taking part in this new form

of collective labor. The message was clear, when the bosses leave, the workers are more than capable of keeping things running. In these reclaimed factories, they got rid of the traditional management hierarchies and made collective decisions and shared income equally. It was a living example of one potential way society

could function without the capitalist class. In the midst of the Argentine economic collapse, these workers didn't just resist, they were also producing, hence their banner of occupy resistar prosir occupy resids to produce the new was possible, to not just fight, but to build something new from the ground up, not just to survive, but to lay the foundations for

a new society. The cries of kissevayan totros or basically out with all of them, echoed the widespread dissolution with the entire political class, but the sentiment needed to be transformed into something more substantial, a proper political framework to drive the momentum forward. But it's also into this framework. This potentially anarchist framework wasn't fully developed among the population

at the time. There were some comrades who were working towards build in such a framework, but much of the movement, particularly of the left, were focused on elections as a way forward.

the government, and that needed to be understood. The fight was about building a true popular power. Kiss if Ian Totos out with all of them rejected not just individuals, but the entire political, social and economic power structures. Even though the Argentine people will not identifying as anarchists, they will apply on anarchist principles in many aspects of their struggles, just like the Appatistas and Chiappas who ruse up in nineteen twenty fourth Rally and cry yabasta or enough already.

The Argentine uprising was a clear rejection of state power and capitalism. Votes can't last forever, but they could plant the seats of a new society, one built from below. But the movement was torn between the two approaches of whether factory to be managed by workers under state ownership or if they should be completely worker owned. Some argue the demanding expropriation why the state wasn't a real solution within a capitalist framework, because the state itself was responsible

for the conditions they found themselves in. But even though they argue that true worker's power came from the workers controlling their own production, are the flip side? Cooperatives don't really address the deeper issues of capitalism. Cooperativism doesn't inherently challenge capitalist relations of production, just tinkers with the service issues like monopolies, internal structures, and competition. Building a network of cooperatives can be valuable, but it's not going to

create a subsystem capable of topling capitalism. Anarchism and specifically anarchist communist ideas proposed something far more transformative abortion, all forms of power exercised by minority, whether the bourgeoisie or the state, assuming control of not just factories and fields, but all of society. It's not a choice between cooperatives or state managed workplaces. It's about creating conditions for all

workers and all people to self organize. And such reforms, such as reforms for workers to have control of their workplaces a merely steps. It's what a much larger goal should be kept in mind in that struggle. These experiences, in this history in Argentina shows us that anarchist ideas are not just lofty dreams.

foundation of a new society. And to the people of Argentina who now face the rule of a new right way menace, I employees to stand up and say, once again, kissevan Toros out with all of them, all power to all the people.