La Alzada: “The revolution must include the feminist struggle, with and inside the libertarian”

By José Antonio Gutiérrez D.

Note from translator:  The word “alzada” is the feminine form of the Spanish word that means rebel, instigator, or escalator. The term “territorial work” refers to community and neighborhood work.  In Chile territorial work can refer to community organizations within, as well as those who support and offer solidarity within a network of community organizing. The word “classism” or classist is used in Latin America as putting forward a class analysis.  When someone is described as a “militant,” it means that a person is politically committed to an organization or group.   Sometimes people are referred to as a “double militants,” meaning they are politically active in two groups.  The word “población” is best defined as shantytown or poor working class neighborhood.  But poblaciones around Santiago have their own political history since they evolved as land takeovers by people who migrated from the countryside to the city.  Some poblaciones have strong political and Leftist traditions, such as La Legua and Villa Francia.  An individual who lives in a población is referred to as a pablador/a.  The term “sexual dissidence” has a particular meaning and genealogy within Chilean feminism and activism.  Sexual dissidence is critique of patriarchy, heteronormativity, and the LGBTQ movement in its alliance with the state, which has ceased to question the socialization of violence and instead seeks reforms such as marriage equality and anti-discrimination laws.  It is important to remind the reader that the target audience in this interview was the Spanish-speaking community and those who understand or have followed Chilean politics.  There are some issues and terms that might appear strange, but remember that the speakers allude to a different set of experiences and meanings beyond your immediate/lived knowledge.
–Lyudmila Read more

Posted on October 26, 2013

President Maduro and the “Anarcho-syndicalists” in Venezuela

Editorial note: The subject of the short article below by the Venezuelan anarchist group El Libertario is of particular salience, as Maduro’s attack happens to parallel recent developments here in the U.S. where top Democratic politicians and the Chelsea Manning prosecution have both used the term ‘anarchist’ to slur their opponents.

As for the strike prompting Maduro’s outburst, a piece in Venezuela Analysis provides some context:

By El Libertario

President Nicolas Maduro, the self-appointed “President Worker ,” continues his campaign of criminalization against the SIDOR strikers. In a ceremony held at the Campo de Carabobo on Saturday October 5th, he showcased a group of armed workers to face down what he has called “economic warfare.” As could be seen on state television, groups of workers from Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and CORPOELEC, sporting uniforms of blue and red shirts, raised their rifles at the event.

The head of state criticized SIDOR workers for initiating the strike in the steel mill. He called the union leaders driving the strike in SIDOR “anarcho-syndicalists and populists” for demanding wage increases that the government claims it cannot afford. He warned that if the group does not call off the shutdown, he will take the mill “with the support of the people.”

“You are with the people, or you are with the oligarchy; there are no half measures,” he added. His declaration came in response to the shutdown led by workers of Siderúrgica del Orinoco (SIDOR), who are demanding the renewal of their collective agreement, already due three years ago, among other labor claims. President Maduro has insisted that the workers are be being manipulated by imperialism, as part of the “economic war” against his government.

Meanwhile, Wills Rangel, chairman of the Federation of Petroleum Workers of Venezuela, attended the event and declared that the working class will incorporate the Bolivarian militia “from now on.” Rangel assured Maduro that he can count on “this army of workers and employees” to deepen the fight against the “economic war.”

Working translation by Steven Fake. Corrections welcome.

Posted on October 13, 2013

A History of the Solidarity Federation

By Martin, South London SF

The Solidarity Federation was formed in 1994, at a conference in Blackpool, Lancashire, called by the Direct Action Movement, industrial networks and Norwich Solidarity Centre.

To understand why and how this came about, we need to look back into developments happening in the Direct Action Movement in the 1980s and early 90s.

The DAM was the British affiliate of the International Workers Association, or IWA, the anarcho-syndicalist international organisation. It had formed in 1979 from a conference involving the previous affiliate, the Syndicalist Workers Federation, and groups of anarchists and anarcho-syndicalists across Britain. At the time, there was no real current of organised anarchism in Britain, with previous initiatives having stalled or disappeared; and the other groups that came to the fore in the 1980s – the ACF and Class War – were yet to be established.

Read more

Posted on October 13, 2013

An interview with the Iberia section of the CNT union

“Cutbacks at Iberia could force Madrid’s Barajas airport to allow other airlines to use the terminal previously reserved for the exclusive use of the Spanish flag carrier and its Oneworld alliance partners, Spain’s industry minister said on Thursday.

Loss-making Iberia, part of the International Airlines Group (IAG) along with British Airways, is undergoing a major restructuring and has shed thousands of staff and a number of routes to cut costs, reducing traffic at the airport. ….

Passenger numbers at Barajas airport so far this year are down by almost 4.5 million on the same period last year, largely because of Iberia’s reduced services.

In the first eight months of the year, 26.6 million travelers used the airport, a 14.3 percent decline year on year. In August, Barcelona’s El Prat airport overtook Madrid in monthly traffic statistics.

IAG said in August that a recovery was beginning to take hold at Iberia thanks to the restructuring. Losses at Iberia, Europe’s biggest carrier to Latin America, fell to 35 million euros ($47.6 million) in the three months to June 30, from 93 million euros in the same quarter last year.”

“Solidarity among the workers must be the cornerstone of our defense as a class beyond the boundaries imposed by states”

Translated and reprinted from El Libertario

On Wednesday March 13 in Spain an agreement was signed between the unions UGT (General Workers Union), CCOO (Workers’ Commissions), SITCPLA, Asetma, USO and CTA-Flight. We interviewed the comrades of CNT-Iberia, who are developing a struggle for the rights of workers.

Part 1

When and how did the process of dismantling Iberia begin?

This is a long process, but it can be said to have begun with the merger of Iberia and British Airways, to form the holdling IAG in November 2009. The fact is that there are previous stages that parallel the process of disintegration of the public sector in Spain since the 80s. For example, considerable business activity has been outsourced as a way to divide workers and gradually destroy social and labor rights previously won by the workers. In 1994, under the PSOE government , European laws forced a liberalization of the aviation market in the interests of “very necessary and beneficial ” competitiveness , which led to the privatization of Iberia in 1996 under the PP government . Since then the company has been outsourcing ever more of its operations and production, such as the management of certain airports, the transportation of goods within airports, flight simulators, catering, security, transportation of flight crews, etc. Read more

Posted on October 13, 2013