Argentina: Lessons for Anarchism

Since winter inhabitants of Argentina are attacking the State, holding its
accomplices from left and extreme left to ridicule. They challenge
capitalism, create general assemblies to a large scale never seen since
1936 Spain; and all that without any leader coming on the stage. They chose
to struggle freely against state and capitalist terrorism. In Buenos Aires
the inhabitants are organizing themselves in neighbourhood general
assemblies and are trying to control their lives.

Whatever will the result be, this movement has already broken the old
ideological moulds trough the praxis of two new assets (that will be now
those of the internationalist class struggle): Direct democracy, the
refusal of state institutions. [1]

This new situation of the international revolution should make anarchists
happy. But, in France, as elsewhere, anarchist movement is too often
trapped in practices showing its vulnerability toward mainstream ideology:
participation to antiglobalization spectacle, reformism in the workplace in
the name of "efficient syndicalism", pathetic alliances, here with
nationalist-regionalist, there with leftists? It's time, if we really want
to pro-pose and participate to the building of another society, free and
just, to come back to our sources, praxis coherent with our ideas, an
horizontal praxis, autonomous and non-spectacular. Events in Argentina are
giving to worldwide anarchists a lesson.

Surprising position of some left libertarians [anarchists]

On December 20th 2001 the population is fighting against the state and
there's an alliance of the
poorest with middle class. This alliance is mainly the result of a failed
political scheming.

At the beginning, middle class wanted only to get their investments back and
didn't care about others' misery. At the same time the poorest, starving,
were looting for several weeks. The government, to preserve interests of
international capitalism, prepared a new coup and was ready to present
itself as the defender of order against "anarchy". The government thought
that the middle class would stay on the right side, accepting that deal: to
be ruined but without insecurity. The cornerstone of the strategy,
promulgation of state of emergency, had the opposite effect: it sealed
alliance of all the discontented. The cause is simple: in Argentina, an
incredible number of people understood how the system works and decided to
end with it and all that it represents. That's why, as soon as December
20th, there has been a rejection of political parties and labour unions.
This rejection will bring astonishing declaration by parts of the anarchist
movement. Argentina OSL declared: "But curiously, one of the distinctive
attitude of the demo (of 02/12/20) was the complete refusal of political
parties. This attitude, promoted by medias, was playing in favour of
disorganization and fragmentation, favourable to the right". That position
was published, without commentaries, by OSL Switzerland, and by other
anarchists' medias such as "Alternative Libertaire" in France and "Tierra y
Libertad" in Spain.
It is an appalling defence of parlementarism. It supports the
counter-revolutionary idea that without politician apparatus and labour
unions, the popular movements cannot exist!

What happened on the 20th of December? The crowd is in the streets, the
state is overwhelmed,
parties and labour unions are rejected, police kills thirty-one persons,
there's a lot of confusion. Should we be afraid of that confusion? All
revolutionary movement is forced to organize with the contradictions of
those who are doing revolution. It is the role of each anarchist militant to
work hard, to use all its potential to clarify and unify, with
communist-libertarian perspective, the oppressed classes fighting against
the state and capitalism.

How could parties and the unions play a role in that revolutionary task?
What does it mean to pose the problem in terms of "right" or "left" when it
is clearly in terms of "revolution" or
"counter-revolution"? On the contrary we thanks argentina insurgents for
having accomplished this first necessary step, this truly revolutionary
step.

Clarifications

There is in argentina, some "anarchist militants" who joined the way of
thinking of leftists groups in their will to sabotage all attempt of popular
self-organization.

On the other side, argentina anarchist federation, F.O.R.A (argentina
section of IWA) and other
militants acknowledged positive aspects of that struggle. As soon as
January 2000, "Organizacion
Obrera" (Workers Organization) the paper of F.O.R.A explained the main
aspects of the fight.
Labour unions and left and extreme-left politicians were clearly denounced
as enemies of the
workers. Their rejection by the population is an encouraging sign. Then
"Organizacion Obrera"
insists on the definition of anarchists' concepts and their methods. It is
remind that if the state and the institutions are denouncing situation for
now in Argentina as anarchy, it is not anarchy in the country! What is
happening is a step toward the decay of power. In fact the chaos in
argentina is caused by the state and capitalism, not by anarchists ideals.

Argentina's anarchosyndicalists know that the period is important but that
the people has a lot to do to organize a society with social and libertarian
bases. That's why they insist to make their project real. "We F.O.R.A
activists are a worker organization who has for social finality anarchist
communism and that do not mean that we spend all day breaking windows. This
is what the liars are saying to protect their economic well-being and their
political power. Anarchism, on the contrary, means a new society with
horizontal structure, without benefices for ones against others, where
everyone can decide in free assemblies of economic and daily orientations.
That society is only possible in a framework of social and economic equality
for all persons in the society?" In the same paper, an article proposes the
creation of general local assemblies, one assembly of neighbourhood
delegates, mandated and removable, some local, regional and international
delegates, always removable, and the control of production and consumption
by these assemblies.

Lessons for the future

These contributions are not only coherent with our ideas, they reflect
reality. Here is the proof. At the very time when resources of F.O.R.A allow
only a confidential diffusion of its ideas, argentina population,
rediscover, invent practices similar to the propositions of FOR A. As soon
as mid February, an article in Le Monde (02/02/20) notes that "In Buenos
Aires the residents are organizing in neighbourhood assemblies (?) "they
must all go!" This slogan designates politicians, judges, bankers or labour
unionists (?) Every Sunday the different neighbourhood delegations have
general meetings where the speakers are informing of the work in each
neighbourhood and propose new struggles instructions?All decisions are taken
with a vote by show of hands, no speaker can speak in the name of a
political party, there's a systematic turnover of delegates positions?"
Other testimonies shows the difficult position for politicians and unionists
leaders, who are forced to disguise themselves to be able to go in the
street, Of course we can imagine all the pain it inflicts on wanna be
leaders!

Argentina population is having an amazing struggle. But one should temper
its optimism. For many
reasons. The main one is that those who are strong enough to usually
present themselves as the
supporter of the oppressed, but who are only the pimps, are already trying
to penetrate, infiltrate, corrupt the bases structures by stressing the many
contradictions and difficulties they have to deal with daily. Because praxis
of direct democracy is not easy. Above all when the social conditions, such
as collective re-appropriation of the means of production, are not carried
out. Scoundrels of bourgeoisie, politics and unionism are having hard times.
They're waiting. If the struggle weakened, if those who have to work to live
are getting tired, if they go back to earn their daily food, then the
scoundrels will be able to seize power and restart capitalism. Until the day
when all world proletarians, inspired by the events in argentina, will take
necessary measures in order to abolish economic slavery.

Yvon

Combat Syndicaliste # 73 - April/May 2002

(1) These events reminds those in Algeria in April 2001 following the
assassination of a young man by the police " The most outstanding aspect of
the Algerian insurrection is its self-organisation. The hostility toward
political parties and "any proximity with power", the distrust with any
uncontrolled representation, the refusal to be, once more, rank and file for
political schemes; all that resulted in the spreading and coordination of
villages and neighbourhood assemblies, rapidly recognized by everybody as
the only authentic expression of the movement." Jaime Semprun, "Plaidoyer
pour l'insurrection algerienne", Encyclopedie des nuisances.
http://bibliolib.net/Semprun-Algerie.htm

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