October 18, 2024 • 26 mins
Andrew and Mia stride boldly into the future as time and anarchism in Argentina march forth.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
The media. Hello, and welcome back to it.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
He am Andrew Sage Farm you on YouTube at Andrew's
I'm here once again.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
With oh beer hah. That was by c Yeah, indeed, yeah,
she's She's here.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
And today we'll continue in the Latin American Anarchism series
with our exploration of anarchism in Argentina. That's the scholarship
of Chuck Moss, Jeffrey de la Focade, and hil Capelletti
and Jose Antonio Guterrez and Ian McKay. When we us
left of all FAIUS laws and government actions, we're pressed
(00:43):
hard on the anarchist cause in the country. Which when
the anarchists executed, jailed or exiled, what become of the
anarchist movement? Where things get better or worse? Sad to say,
I think you know the answer. Nineteen ninety marked the
year of La Simana Tragica or the Tragic Week, when
(01:05):
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
(01:28):
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
(01:51):
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
(02:14):
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.
(02:35):
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
(02:57):
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
(03:17):
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.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I mean sometimes they had to do what you had
to do.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Yeah, And I mean the government got it to get
back as well, because Wilkins was later murdered in retaliation
for his murder of Hector Valera. But at least that
led to general strike across Argentina.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
It truly is a wild story.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Anarchists in Argentina further agitated in opposition to the trial
and execution of Italian American anarchists Sacco and Fanchetti in
the United States in nineteen twenty seven. This was a
notorious case, by the way, but we'll pull that string
another time. There was a certain anarchist who took the
protest in a different direction, though known to be prolific
(04:19):
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
(04:41):
papers like Landtorchia defended the Giovanni, others like La.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Protester, attacked him.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
The Giuvanni's fight came to an end in nineteen thirty one,
when he was arrested and executed for carrying out the
murder of one of his fascest fellow anarchist critics, a
certain La Protester editor named Emilio Lopez a Ango. As
it could probably imagine, they weren't any general strikes to
protest the Giovanni's execution. General Jose Felix Uriburu led a
(05:11):
coup in nineteen thirty that marked the rise of fascism
in Argentina and the continuation of systematic persecution against workers
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
(05:34):
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
(05:56):
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,
(06:17):
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
(06:41):
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.
(07:05):
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.
(07:28):
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
(07:51):
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
(08:11):
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
(08:32):
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
(08:54):
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
(09:16):
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
(09:41):
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.
(10:02):
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.
(10:26):
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
(10:48):
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.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
This act of defiance led to the imprisonment of several
militants for six months.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Imagine you decide you want.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
To reject extra taxes because the dictator's wife demands a
monument like that's the e throw in jail because you
decide you don't want to pay that tax.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
God, this terrible stuff.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
While Peeran's regime weakened free unism, he did so by
means of corruption rather than violence, contrasting with the methods
of his predecessor.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Uriburu.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Faca continued its work well then several congresses, including the
fourth in nineteen fifty one and the fifth of nineteen
fifty five, just before Peroans overthrew In nineteen fifty five,
FACA rebranded as the Federacion Libertaria Argentina with the FLA,
and the FLA held its sixth congress in nineteen sixty one,
and its journal records career published regularly from nineteen fifty
(12:07):
nine until nineteen seventy six, coincided with the onset of
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
(12:30):
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
(12:51):
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
(13:12):
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
(13:34):
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
(13:56):
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.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Purposes.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Although it was formerly a national organization, ril's main operations
were in La Plata, Cordoba and Punas airis A. Argentina
grew increasingly polarized in the mid nineteen seventies. Rile activists
became targets. Many were disappeared even before the military coup
of nineteen seventy six. But then it hit Henry Kissinger
(14:29):
at the United States Machinations or Fruit.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
Yeah yeah, yeah, we go in there.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
A military coup overthrew President Isabel Peron, the third wife
of the original Perone, and installed a junta led by
Lieutenant General jorgueer Rafael Videla, Admiral Emilio Eduardo Masserra, and
Brigadier General Orlando Ramon Augusti. This coup was part of
Operation Condo, a coordinated effort between Latin American dict leatorships
(15:00):
back with the United States under its Cold War National
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
(15:23):
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,
(15:46):
kept them in custody until they gave birth, then killed
the mothers and gave their influence to childless military families.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Is christ.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
That's the kind of evil with dealing work. Yeah, And
despite the dangers, URL continued to activities until nineteen seventy eight,
when a series of coordinated police raids dismantled much of
the group. Around eighty percent of URAL members were detained
in concentration camps where they were tortured and most were
eventually executed. And that is how you kill a social movement.
(16:18):
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
(16:42):
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
(17:03):
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
(17:26):
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
(17:51):
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
(18:18):
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
(18:39):
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.
(19:02):
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
(19:23):
and their futures.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
And then came.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
December two thousand and one. On the nineteenth, the crisis
hit a boiling point. All across the country. People took
to the streets, unemployed workers, middle class families, and whole neighborhoods.
They were united in their demands an end to the
government's economic policies and the resignation of the deeply unpopular
President Fernando de la Rua. After two days of street
(19:47):
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
(20:11):
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
(20:33):
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
(20:54):
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,
(21:18):
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.
(21:40):
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
(22:02):
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
(22:26):
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.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
The logic was simple.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
A left leading government could introduce policies to leave the
situation and prevent the open repression of popular movements. What
does this really achieve. It risked the transfer and of
the struggle from the streets, from the workplace, from the
hands of the people into the hands of a new
set of politicians, shifting the focus from the masses to
a few leaders operating within clearly capitalist institutions. The elections
(23:12):
were not important. The fight wasn't about winning seats in
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
(23:33):
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.
(23:55):
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
(24:16):
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
(24:37):
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
(24:58):
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
(25:22):
are not just lofty dreams.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
They're grounded in real struggles of working people.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Consciously or unconsciously proven that a society without bosses, managers
and expectation is possible. Every social struggle, every revolutionary action,
is another step towards building that world. Through these movements,
through these actions, through these struggles, we can see the
foundation of a new society. And to the people of
Argentina who now face the rule of a new right
(25:50):
way menace, I employees to stand up and say, once again,
kissevan Toros out with all of them, all power to
all the people.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Peace. It could Happen Here is a production of cool
Zone Media. For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit
our website coolzonemedia dot com or check us out. From
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
You listen to podcasts, you can now find sources for
it could happen here listed directly in episode descriptions.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Thanks for listening.
The media. Hello, and welcome back to it.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
He am Andrew Sage Farm you on YouTube at Andrew's
I'm here once again.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
With oh beer hah. That was by c Yeah, indeed, yeah,
she's She's here.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
And today we'll continue in the Latin American Anarchism series
with our exploration of anarchism in Argentina. That's the scholarship
of Chuck Moss, Jeffrey de la Focade, and hil Capelletti
and Jose Antonio Guterrez and Ian McKay. When we us
left of all FAIUS laws and government actions, we're pressed
(00:43):
hard on the anarchist cause in the country. Which when
the anarchists executed, jailed or exiled, what become of the
anarchist movement? Where things get better or worse? Sad to say,
I think you know the answer. Nineteen ninety marked the
year of La Simana Tragica or the Tragic Week, when
(01:05):
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
(01:28):
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
(01:51):
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
(02:14):
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.
(02:35):
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
(02:57):
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
(03:17):
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.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I mean sometimes they had to do what you had
to do.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Yeah, And I mean the government got it to get
back as well, because Wilkins was later murdered in retaliation
for his murder of Hector Valera. But at least that
led to general strike across Argentina.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
It truly is a wild story.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Anarchists in Argentina further agitated in opposition to the trial
and execution of Italian American anarchists Sacco and Fanchetti in
the United States in nineteen twenty seven. This was a
notorious case, by the way, but we'll pull that string
another time. There was a certain anarchist who took the
protest in a different direction, though known to be prolific
(04:19):
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
(04:41):
papers like Landtorchia defended the Giovanni, others like La.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Protester, attacked him.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
The Giuvanni's fight came to an end in nineteen thirty one,
when he was arrested and executed for carrying out the
murder of one of his fascest fellow anarchist critics, a
certain La Protester editor named Emilio Lopez a Ango. As
it could probably imagine, they weren't any general strikes to
protest the Giovanni's execution. General Jose Felix Uriburu led a
(05:11):
coup in nineteen thirty that marked the rise of fascism
in Argentina and the continuation of systematic persecution against workers
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
(05:34):
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
(05:56):
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,
(06:17):
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
(06:41):
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.
(07:05):
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.
(07:28):
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
(07:51):
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
(08:11):
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
(08:32):
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
(08:54):
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
(09:16):
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
(09:41):
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.
(10:02):
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.
(10:26):
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
(10:48):
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.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
This act of defiance led to the imprisonment of several
militants for six months.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Imagine you decide you want.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
To reject extra taxes because the dictator's wife demands a
monument like that's the e throw in jail because you
decide you don't want to pay that tax.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
God, this terrible stuff.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
While Peeran's regime weakened free unism, he did so by
means of corruption rather than violence, contrasting with the methods
of his predecessor.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
Uriburu.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Faca continued its work well then several congresses, including the
fourth in nineteen fifty one and the fifth of nineteen
fifty five, just before Peroans overthrew In nineteen fifty five,
FACA rebranded as the Federacion Libertaria Argentina with the FLA,
and the FLA held its sixth congress in nineteen sixty one,
and its journal records career published regularly from nineteen fifty
(12:07):
nine until nineteen seventy six, coincided with the onset of
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
(12:30):
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
(12:51):
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
(13:12):
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
(13:34):
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
(13:56):
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.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Purposes.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Although it was formerly a national organization, ril's main operations
were in La Plata, Cordoba and Punas airis A. Argentina
grew increasingly polarized in the mid nineteen seventies. Rile activists
became targets. Many were disappeared even before the military coup
of nineteen seventy six. But then it hit Henry Kissinger
(14:29):
at the United States Machinations or Fruit.
Speaker 1 (14:35):
Yeah yeah, yeah, we go in there.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
A military coup overthrew President Isabel Peron, the third wife
of the original Perone, and installed a junta led by
Lieutenant General jorgueer Rafael Videla, Admiral Emilio Eduardo Masserra, and
Brigadier General Orlando Ramon Augusti. This coup was part of
Operation Condo, a coordinated effort between Latin American dict leatorships
(15:00):
back with the United States under its Cold War National
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
(15:23):
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,
(15:46):
kept them in custody until they gave birth, then killed
the mothers and gave their influence to childless military families.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Is christ.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
That's the kind of evil with dealing work. Yeah, And
despite the dangers, URL continued to activities until nineteen seventy eight,
when a series of coordinated police raids dismantled much of
the group. Around eighty percent of URAL members were detained
in concentration camps where they were tortured and most were
eventually executed. And that is how you kill a social movement.
(16:18):
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
(16:42):
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
(17:03):
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
(17:26):
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
(17:51):
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
(18:18):
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
(18:39):
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.
(19:02):
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
(19:23):
and their futures.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
And then came.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
December two thousand and one. On the nineteenth, the crisis
hit a boiling point. All across the country. People took
to the streets, unemployed workers, middle class families, and whole neighborhoods.
They were united in their demands an end to the
government's economic policies and the resignation of the deeply unpopular
President Fernando de la Rua. After two days of street
(19:47):
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
(20:11):
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
(20:33):
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
(20:54):
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,
(21:18):
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.
(21:40):
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
(22:02):
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
(22:26):
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.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
The logic was simple.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
A left leading government could introduce policies to leave the
situation and prevent the open repression of popular movements. What
does this really achieve. It risked the transfer and of
the struggle from the streets, from the workplace, from the
hands of the people into the hands of a new
set of politicians, shifting the focus from the masses to
a few leaders operating within clearly capitalist institutions. The elections
(23:12):
were not important. The fight wasn't about winning seats in
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
(23:33):
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.
(23:55):
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
(24:16):
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
(24:37):
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
(24:58):
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
(25:22):
are not just lofty dreams.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
They're grounded in real struggles of working people.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Consciously or unconsciously proven that a society without bosses, managers
and expectation is possible. Every social struggle, every revolutionary action,
is another step towards building that world. Through these movements,
through these actions, through these struggles, we can see the
foundation of a new society. And to the people of
Argentina who now face the rule of a new right
(25:50):
way menace, I employees to stand up and say, once again,
kissevan Toros out with all of them, all power to
all the people.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
Peace. It could Happen Here is a production of cool
Zone Media. For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit
our website coolzonemedia dot com or check us out. From
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
You listen to podcasts, you can now find sources for
it could happen here listed directly in episode descriptions.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Thanks for listening.
It Could Happen Here News
Hosts And Creators
Robert Evans
Garrison Davis
James Stout
Show Links
AboutPopular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
Today’s Latest News In 4 Minutes. Updated Hourly.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.