CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:

INTERVIEW WITH LARRY GAMBONE:

Larry Gambone of the Porkupine Blog and Red Lion Publishing has been an anarchist activist and historian for many decades now. He has recently been interviewed about two of his new books, 'The View From Anarchist Mountain' and 'The Impossibilists' (along with other subjects) on Radio CHLY in Nanaimo BC. You can catch the interview at this link. Great stuff and highly recommended by the Winnipeg cat (guess who ?).

ANARCHIST LITERATURE:

NEW FROM RED LION PRESS:

Hot off the presses from Larry Gambone of Red Lion Press. New titles to grace your library. Here's the info from Larry's Porkupine Blog.

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The View From Anarchist Mountain


It has been a busy year for me, publishing wise. First The Impossibilists, with my own Red Lion Press, then Nature of Human Brainwork was brought out by PM Press. Now I have two more to offer.
The View From Anarchist Mountain, 199 pages, $16.00 is a collection of my writings over the past 20 years on anarchism, society and history. It is available from AK Press. (For Canadians, order from me at redlionpress@hotmail.com )


Bill Pritchard – Revolutionary Socialist is a 36 page pamphlet that goes for $4.00. Pritchard is best known for being jailed under a bogus conspiracy charge in the aftermath of the Winnipeg General Strike. He was also a militant of the Socialist Party of Canada, the editor of its newspaper, The Western Clarion, and a founder of the OBU. After the demise of the SPC, he was an early member of the CCF and was Reeve of Burnaby for a number of years. Later in life, he returned to the “Impossibilist” socialism of his roots.

“Bill Pritchard – Revolutionary Socialist” - was taken from a talk he gave in 1973. It describes his adventures - and often hilarious misadventures – as a pioneer Socialist on speaking tours of Western Canada more than 90 years ago. He reminisces about a host of fascinating characters and also gives crucial eye-witness evidence about the murder of Ginger Goodwin. It is available so far, only from me.

ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS:

THE IMPOSSIBILISTS:

The history of the Socialist Party of Canada and the OBU (One Big Union) in western Canada is an often forgotten chapter of Canadian history. Red Lion Press has now corrected this with a collection of the writings of these two organizations. Here's the promo for this new book.

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The Impossibilists‏
Hot off the press, THE IMPOSSIBILISTS is a collection of writings from the Socialist Party of Canada and the One Big Union from 1906 to 1938. There is also an introductory essay which describes the growth of the party in Western Canada and how the OBU developed out of it. Articles were chosen both for contemporary relevance and historical interest. Of interest today is their insistence that socialism be of a libertarian nature and not statism and the holistic philosophy that underlay this view. Of historical interest are the origins of the OBU, the debates on the Russian Revolution and the descriptions of the working conditions and struggles of that period. Included as well are the writings of labour martyr, Ginger Goodwin, back in print after 93 years.

This is a revised and updated version of the 1995 ms., with new material added. 90 pages, $10.00. (add $2.00 postage for US orders.) Will take Pay Pal. Cheques made out to L. Gambone. Available from Red Lion Press, Box 297, Stn A, Nanaimo, BC, V9R 4W7 or redlionpress@hotmail.com

ANARCHIST THEORY:

NEIGHBOURHOOD ASSOCIATIONS:

The following, recently published at the Anarkismo website is by Larry Gambone of the Porkupine Blog. Go on over to the Anarkismo site to view the discussion that is taking place around this article.

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Neighborhood Associations – A Personal Experience:
by Larry Gambone

I have been involved in our association for three years. In that time, I have helped in neighborhood clean up, fund raisers, meetings of up to 400 residents, public art and the location of colourfully painted garbage bins. We had a successful campaign to stop noise pollution from a local industry. Our Miner's Heritage Picnic saw a thousand people participating last year. We are presently engaged in creating a neighborhood plan which is an attempt to preserve the working class nature of the neighborhood and rebuild much of the community that has been lost through businesses moving to shopping malls in the city periphery. Much of what we do takes the form of direct action. We don't ask for permission, we just do it.

Two years ago I was elected to the executive of the association. Where I speak out or take some sort of a leadership role, is where I have the applicable skills. I work to maintain a common ground approach within the organization. I helped develop a very successful neighborhood blog/newsletter. With my knowledge of labour history, I was able to put together the Miner's Heritage Photo Exhibit and to re-print the BC Federation of Labour's 1913 pamphlet on the Great Coal Strike of 1912. My next goal is to set up a "literature department" to research and publish information of interest to the neighborhood.

The neighborhood association is an important area for anarchist involvement. Of the popular organizations, such as trade unions or cooperatives, these associations are the easiest ones to implant oneself in. The reason is the lack of bureaucracy or controlling bureaucratic caste with which one must struggle in the other institutions. The neighborhood association is a natural place of involvement for militants who are retired, students, self-employed, or on social assistance.

The association gives a concerted voice to a neighborhood, creates dialogue and in doing so, helps re-build community. Where these associations do not exist, fear or prejudice-driven elements can stir up the populace, encourage hostility toward minorities or prevent positive developments within the community. Where a neighborhood association is already on the ground, it can preempt such hostility and steer the neighborhood in a constructive direction.

I have experience with such a situation. The neighborhood adjoining us has no association. An attempt to create a soup kitchen for the poor was crushed by a minority who whipped up fears about drug addicts and homeless people. In our neighborhood an old hotel has been converted into a controlled living space for people with drug and mental health issues. Some people tried to stop this chiefly due to fear, but our association was able to have a calming or moderating effect on the neighborhood.

My reason for joining our neighborhood association is no different from anyone else. I want to preserve the community that still exists in my neighborhood and to re-build what has been lost. I am a member for a real reason, a reason that relates to my personal existence. I am not there for any ideological purpose, much less to convert people to an ideology. And if you do have an ulterior motive for being there, eventually people will know it. Ultimately, there is no difference between what I am seeking, what our association seeks, and my personal beliefs. Community is also one of the foundation stones of libertarian socialism.

My approach to working in the association could be applied to any popular or grass roots organization. First and foremost, I listen to what people have to say, probably the most important thing you can do. When you listen, you will find what a truly amazing amount of talent and experience exists in the group. In most cases, it will be far more than you possess, and you will learn more from them, than they will learn from you. Those few occasions where I do stand out are those areas where I possess abilities needed by the group.

Flexibility is important. Perhaps not everything done or said by the group is to your liking – though I cannot think of an instance when this has been so. (I must point out that not all neighborhood associations are as advanced as ours.) It is important to keep your mind on the main issues such as community building, inclusiveness, direct action and democratic process, rather than getting hung up on secondary issues.

Doing is a necessity. No one likes a person who talks but does not act. Within the confines of your time limits and capability, get involved and do things. Not just the "cool" stuff either. I put up the tables and chairs, take tickets, and try to be there when I am needed.

Speaking to the essence. You can refer to the core elements of anarchism, such as direct democracy, direct action, self-management, and encourage such tendencies, without ever bringing up the "A -word." The overtly ideological will only divide people, but actual anarchist practice will unite them. Furthermore, since you are not the only one in the group possessing many of the ideas you espouse, pull these ideas out of people, rather than trying to put them in when they are already there. (Nothing loses people quicker than appearing arrogant or a know-it-all.) People will, in time, figure out where you are coming from. But since you are respected, you will not be reduced to a media caricature.

One thing you will discover when belonging to a functioning neighborhood association, is that all progressives have far more in common with each other than xenophobic or reactive elements. Whether social democrat, socialist, Green or anarchist, at the neighborhood level, it does not seem to matter a great deal. All want people to have more control over their lives, to build community and to be inclusive.

With neighborhood associations that are dominated by fearful or NIMBY ( Not In My Back Yard) people, the role of the anarchist is obvious – countering this negativity and encouraging an inclusive community-building approach. However, if the association usually acts in an anarchistic way already, what point is there in belonging to it as an anarchist? What then is the point of having your theories and ideologies?

Everyone's insight and experiences are valuable – including your own. An experienced, well-read anarchist brings with her the knowledge of the sociology of power, a rich background in mutual aid, direct action and a general history of social movements. You will, of course, not be alone in possessing such knowledge, but the difference is, that as an anarchist, you have specialized in these areas. You have the tools to strengthen the libertarian tendencies that already exist within the group.

Furthermore, you have a vision beyond the progress of the neighborhood association, the city, or even community restoration as a whole. Once again, you will not be unique in this, but anarchism envisages a form of organization completely different from that which exists at present. As the corporate state breaks down, socially, economically and environmentally, the old, centralized, top-down form of organization will become increasingly untenable. Neighborhood associations, as direct democratic, decentralized institutions, could form the nuclei of a new form of governance – one of federated neighborhood councils. When the breakdown commences, anarchists ought to be there to promote this new organizational concept.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-VICTORIA:

THE POLICE HAVE LOST THEIR MARBLES:

It's been almost 3 weeks since a highly successful anti-Olympics protest in Victoria BC (see No2010 Victoria for more news on what's happening out that way). At the time the local media picked up on some "marble throwing incident" to, they hoped, spice up their coverage and also incidentally discredit the protesters. Since then this incident has become the "incredibly shrinking story". Here's Larry Gambone of the Porkupine Blog on how the incident was far less than what was reported at first, and how it may have a totally different implication than what was originally implied in the media.

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Olympic Torch Protest - the so-called marble throwing incident.:
I have waited 3 weeks to do this story to see if anything new came up – so far nothing, so here goes...

On the night of the anti-Olympic protest the Victoria TV station was screaming about “cowardly protesters throwing marbles at police horses” and that “a young man with a back pack full of marbles had been arrested.” This way they drummed up hate among the sheeple against a rather successful protest.

Then the Times Colonist got in the act too with a similar line. Funny thing, the story then dropped out of sight.

Even odder was the fact that no one was arrested. Surely if the police had gotten their hands on someone who tried to throw marbles at them, they would be dragged off bleeding to the hoosegow.

Odd too, is the idea that NO2010 would somehow endorse such a stupid, counter-productive tactic. Of course they didn't.

Turns out no one actually threw any marbles, rather they were dropped. But then it gets muddy. Who did it and why did they do it?

There are a number of different viewpoints. First two letters to the Times Colonist:

"Just a note on the 'marble fiasco'. Maybe the media could take a second and follow-up on their so-called 'sources' (the police, and a woman who found a handful of marbles on the street) on marble THROWING. Being at the protest, I saw what happened with the marbles. None were thrown. Someone had them in his pocket (I would like to know why, but since carrying marbles is not a crime, I didn't feel it necessary to ask), his pocket broke and they FELL OUT. A number of us stopped to pick them up, and because we were afraid of being separated from the group, we weren't able to get them all. Many thanks to the woman who got the rest. I would like to see one person step forward that actually SAW anyone throw anything at the horses, because from my perspective, it didn't happen. Stop being lazy reporters, and do your job.

Lover of Horses

Nov 2
"Protesters also threw marbles at the feet of horses used by the Vancouver police mounted squad."

This is a lie. I was there when the marbles were released, at one of the intersections on Cook Street where we stopped for ten minutes or thereabouts. My friend and I commented on what a stupid thing that is, dropping marbles onto the street so that the horses, already enslaved and wishing they were in a warm barn somewhere, might slip on them. Others nearby expressed similar comments. We were at the back of the crowd, where I stayed for most of the route, and there were several police officers within earshot. It was clear that the officers were made aware of the marbles. The horses passed without incident.

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the marbles were released by agents provocateurs, who have been proven (and those from Montebello may actually go to jail for inciting violence) to be planted into crowds for the purposes of disrupting otherwise peaceful acts of civil disobedience. Janine Bancroft

Nov 2

Global Television weighs in on Nov 3:
"Anti-Olympic protesters say it was not them, but the police themselves, who threw marbles at police horses during the Olympic torch rally in Victoria Friday. They say a police "provocateur" planted among the demonstrators did so to discredit them.
The police, meanwhile, say the allegation is ridiculous.
"The public saw marbles coming from the crowd -- and Victoria police officers saw it," said Sgt. Grant Hamilton of Victoria police.
Tamara Herman, an organizer for the group No2010, said one of the protesters saw someone who was not part of their group drop marbles in the roadway.
Herman said she could not name the witness or offer other details. Nevertheless, she contends that a plainclothes police officer was trying to discredit the protesters.
"The Integrated Security Unit [responsible for Games security] stated they wouldn't rule out using provocateurs. Organizers at the back of the march saw someone they didn't recognize dropping a bag of marbles," Herman said. "

The Martlet (U Vic paper) gets it partly wrong:
"Despite fears of a potential police crackdown on protesters, there were no arrests. The only visible attempted violence came when some protesters- who were not known to No-2010 organizers- threw marbles at the feet of the seven horses being ridden by the mounted squad The Martlet

Nov 23

What really happened? Some kid who plays marbles had his pocket split? Police agent provocateur? Or could it be a free lance provocateur? Don't put it past the far right to do such a thing. One thing for certain is that the media will seize upon any incident real or imagined to intimidate and discredit the forces of progress.

BLOGGING:

MEANWHILE ELSEWHERE IN THE BLOGOSPHERE...:

I figured I'd alert my dearly devoted fan(s?) to other neat new developments out there in Blogland. First of all Larry Gambone who has been writing great common sense anarchism for several decades now is busy moving his writings that were stored on the recently deceased Geocities site (cue funeral music) over to other places. Check out the process at the Porkupine Blog. Also Larry's recent collection of aphorisms. 'Rules to Rebel By' perhaps ?

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Also (cue drum roll please), here in Winnipeg, the throbbing, pulsating centre of the universe (whatyamean 'world class', we go for 'galactic class'), the Winnipeg Wobbly Blog has been running a series on 'Labour's November Martyrs'. Long before one section of our rulers sent young men to kill others in 1914 and the 'other side' did ditto, all over a dispute about who exactly gets to beat black and brown people over the back with a stick, November 11 was remembered in labour circles as the execution date of the Haymarket Martyrs. These were four innocent anarchist labour activists who were framed and killed on November 11 during the struggle for the 8 hour day. Their remembrance led to what is now known as 'Mayday'. Many others laid down their lives during this sad month as well. Read all about at the Winnipeg Wobbly Blog.

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Finally, last but not least, the good folks down Ontario way at the Common Cause/Linchpin site have a new feature on their website (cue marching band music). Linchpin News is an online Twitter based newsfeed bringing the news of the class struggle fresh daily to your inbox. This one actually has great potential. There are other anarchist news sites, some of them with more sense than others, but none of them are Canadian. We need this up here in the frozen north. Another thing that I see about this new bouncing baby boy is that it extends its area of interest outside of the "anarchist movement" (with all its virtues and vices) and reports on the 'class struggle' (in the widest sense), not only when it has the big black 'A' tag on it. In the end anarchism will probably always remain the creed of a small minority, but the most important thing is whether a majority of the people begin to act in a libertarian way in practical actions to solve their problems. Check it out either at Twitter (follow it there) or at the Linchpin website. Tell 'em Molly sent you.

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Finally a word from out sponsor (cue Mr. Clean Commercial music). Nominations for the annual Canadian Blog Awards are now closed, and, like last year, it seems that Molly has been nominated in the category of "Best Political Blog". Voting will begin on November 29. Last year Molly made it into the top 5 finalists, but (weep, wail, moan, whimper) came in last of the five. This year I hope to do better. So here's the deal. When voting opens go over to the Blog Awards site and vote for Molly. You'd better do this or.... I'm going to give you the longest, most boring political lecture that has ever been given in human history. I mean it. Think I can't do it ? Just watch me. When I get going they could put that miserable sneaky prison maker Fidel, along with his slimy little brother Raoul and throw in that cheap Mussolini imitation the megalomaniac Chavez and when all three of the miserable old Stalinist coots had keeled over with massive pulmonary edema Molly would just be getting her second wind.

Wanna avoid a fate worse than death or Sarah Palin as President ? Vote for Molly. There's no other choice. Why settle for the best when you can get the bestest best.

CANADIAN LABOUR:
UNEMPLOYMENT RISING IN CANADA:
Whatever the Pollyanna pronouncements of our federal Conservative government the worldwide recession/depression continues to strike here in Canada. Recent statistics show a massive rise in unemployment last February. Here's the story about job losses from the CEP News.
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Canadian Job Losses Mount, Unemployment Rate Soars to Five-Year High:
(CEP News) - The Canadian economy continued to shed jobs at a fast pace in February, while the unemployment rate rose to its highest rate since mid-2003, Statistics Canada reported.




The economy shed 82,600 jobs and saw its unemployment rate climb 0.5 percentage points to 7.7%, its highest rate in more than five years.




Economists had expected a loss of 55,000 jobs, and a rise in the unemployment rate to 7.4% from 7.2% in January.




January's decline of 129,000 jobs was unrevised. Since October, Canada has lost 295,000 jobs, or 1.7% of the workforce, StatsCan noted.




Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey released Friday showed the decline in employment came as 111k full-time jobs were lost, while part-time employment edged up.




The construction sector saw a decline of 43k jobs, while 31k jobs were lost in professional, scientific and technical services. Another 15,000 were lost in educational services, bringing the total declines since October to 44,000 jobs.




The bulk of job losses were once again in Ontario, which lost 35,000 jobs, primarily in construction and finance, insurance, real estate and leasing, StatsCan said. Alberta saw its employment drop by 24,000 jobs, while 18,000 positions were lost in Quebec.
By Stephen Huebl, mailto:shuebl@economicnews.ca;,
edited by Sarah Sussman, mailto:ssussman@economicnews.ca;
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Beyond the cold hard statistics here's how Canadian labour sees this situation. From the Canadian Labour Congress, via the Canadian Union of Public Employees(CUPE).

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Lost: 83,000 jobs:
They can't have gone far. They were here a month ago. CLC President Ken Georgetti warns the recession will get worse if the government doesn't fix EI.





Today's news is all about new unemployment statistics which show that the unemployment rate has gone up half a per cent in two months.

According to the CLC's analysis of the announcement:

*The unemployment rate is up, now at 7.7% (it was 7.2% in January).
*The unemployment rate is back to where it was in July 2003, more than five years
ago.
*The number of Canadians who lost their job last month: 83,000.
*The number of full-time jobs lost last month: 110,000.
*The number of full-time jobs lost so far this year: 225,000.
*Canadian workers who have lost their jobs since October 2008: 295,000.
*Canada now has over 1.4 million unemployed men and women. This represents an increase of 23% since last October.
*The construction sector was hardest hit in February, as were men aged 25 to 54. Young workers also took a hit last month, pushing their unemployment rate to 14.2%, the highest since 2001.

The Congress is organizing rallies March 21 to protest job loss and government inaction on EI.

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Finally, here's yet another view, this time that of Larry Gambone of the Porkupine Blog. This is a libertarian socialist view of our crisis and it points the way to other solutions to the crisis rather than what has been proposed by our political elites.
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Two Thoughts On Unemployment:
1. Mass unemployment is caused by governmental and corporate policies and actions. It is social in origin and is never the fault of its victims, the now-jobless workers. Yet, that is precisely how the unemployed are treated by the authorities. They are forced to search for work and to engage in job-finding classes if they wish to collect unemployment insurance – for the minority fortunate enough to qualify. People who refuse are punished by having their meager benefits cut off. They did not cause the problem, but, in practice, they get the blame. Examine the logic behind it by this analogy. I assault you, yet the police don't arrest me, they arrest you. What happens to the unemployed in our system is a form of sociopathic inversion, where the perpetrator of a heinous crime blames his victim for what he did. Meanwhile, the guilty parties – the CEO's and politicians – still get their high salaries and perks. Those who caused the problem ought to be the ones to rectify it. They should be the ones finding you a job, and if they can't find one, pay you an income until they do.




Thing is, every unemployed person grumbles about their situation, yet no one seems ready to pin the blame where it ought to go. During our previous big economic crisis in the 1980's, groups organized unemployed workers. But they concentrated on helping the unemployed combat the Unemployment Insurance bureaucracy, certainly a worthy act, but shied away from directly confronting the system. Hopefully the situation will be different this time around.
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2. It has always angered me that whenever an industry closes in a small town the locals are expected to pull up stakes and move elsewhere to find work. How about the work coming to them instead? Now many people will regard this as a ludicrous question, and the fact that they do, shows the great extent to which people are expected to serve the economy rather than the economy serving them. What is an economy really for anyway, but to provide people with necessary goods and services? An economy is a means to fulfill needs, not a end in itself, or rather it ought to be so, if a society is supposed to exist for human beings.




Uprooting masses of people and forcing them to follow the dollar destroys community. It is natural to live among people you know, it is natural to have roots. This is the way we lived for thousands of years, and only under capitalism have we been forced to scurry from place to place like lemmings. Peasants and First Nations peoples would rather die than give up the places where their ancestors lived. In small towns across the "developed" world some of this sentiment still lingers in the sadness of leaving.




The destruction of community brings with it a host of costly social problems not factored into the economic calculations of the MBA and state bureaucrat. And when the migrants flood into the new boom towns, they bring their problems with them, as well as putting stress on housing, public services and infrastructure. All totaled, it probably is not that more expensive to leave people where they are and start new industries to employ them. Of course, we would need a new kind of economy – one based upon need and solidarity rather than the greed and lust for domination of a handful of narcissists and sociopaths.

BLOGGING:

MATTERS BLOGISH:

A couple of announcements in this category tonight. First of all, Larry Gambone of the Porkupine Blog continues his 'Self Management in Cuba' with part 3. Here he contrasts the vision of self-management now being debated in Cuba with his own ideas and the history and theory of mutualism as it has developed outside of the Communist dictatorships. Very worthwhile, and not just for the subject of Cuba. A rejoinder to those who might claim that mutualism is "self-managed capitalism". Also a couple of handy references. Pay the Porkupine a visit and see for yourself.

Also....just when the ruling class thought it was safe to go back on the internet. Heeee's back ! The ever irrepressible Eugene Plawiuk seems to be back in good form, after a brief hiatus, at his mega-blog La Revue Gauche. With swipes at 'Obama Embraces Neo-Con Agenda', 'Harper Does Right Wing Talk Shows' and a deja-vu look at this years Oscars, '1930s Oscars' and more Plawiuk proves himself once more a master of the blogging boxing ring. Have a look over there as well.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS-CUBA:

SELF MANAGEMENT IN CUBA ?????????????:

Over at the Porkupine Blog our good comrade Larry Gambone has brought forward a debate that is presently going on amongst the ruling class of Cuba. The present nominal dictator of that island seems to be following the course of death laid out by Generalissimo Franco, who he so much resembles. One piece at a time. Meanwhile the apparatchiks are jockeying for power and influence before the inevitable. What is not in doubt is that the economic, political and social system of Cuba will change with the death of the dictator. The question is "how will it change ?". Gambone argues that there is a faction of the ruling class that is willing to move towards a libertarian form of socialism, self management. Molly thinks that this portion of the Communist ruling class is inevitably small and doomed to lose. First of all it must only profit minimally from the present situation or it would advocate "no change". Second of all it has to see little opportunity to loot the public treasury after the end of Leninism, as was done in eastern Europe. This restricts and diminishes it even further.No doubt there are legitimate "idealists" in the apparat (despite the inevitable corrupting influence of power and privilege, especially communist power and privilege ), but they will be voices crying in the wilderness unless there is a mass base for their proposals. In any case, despite my expectations, see the Porkupine Blog for the details of the debate.

ANARCHIST THEORY:

THE DESTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD:

I am reprinting the following essay from Larry Gambone's Porkupine Blog as it expands what are often my own feelings, especially around a time of year like Halloween. Both Larry and I are old enough (and we both grew up in "the boondocks") to remember a time when children were allowed to be children, when their lives weren't regimented from sunup to sundown, when they weren't under the constant supervision of so-called adults.

My own childhood was hardly "injury free". From skull fractures, to a railway spike through the foot (hence my present Christ complex) to cutting my thumb to the bone on the neighbour's wood lathe to many other things, I hurt myself enough. Neither was it danger free, from plunging through the ice on a slough, to staying out in thunderstorms, to climbing up on a fence post and petting the meanest bull in the RM, to, once more, many other things, I seemed to be determined to make my parents pay for a funeral. But what I can say is that I actually lived a happy childhood. The operative term is "lived". I wasn't driven from school to home to dance classes to hockey practice to home again. I wasn't controlled and glared at (excuse me- "supervised") for every second of my waking life. My time was my own. I read, played, explored, imagined and fought the eternal countryside war against insects, crows and gophers either alone or in the company of other children whom i had freely chosen as my friends.

It's been decades since the majority, or even a significant minority, of children in North America have had such freedom. We adults may think we are doing the right thing by our obsession with control of our children, but are we really ? The "family values" of my childhood were hardly the sickly sentimental idea that you have to fill every second of your child's life that is so popular today, in both left and right wing versions. To speak as an old fart, back in dem days, you simply did what was right to protect and educate the kids. You had enough faith in them to leave the majority of their time to themselves.

But there again this is the voice of what Paul Goodman called a "neo-lithic conservative", someone who actually lived the small town life that the cultural right makes up fantasies about. It sure as hell wasn't the religiously governed totalitarian state that they imagine and want. Neither was it the opposite dystopia of the social working left and their school of indoctrination. It was what it was, not total freedom but a closer approach to it than any thing planned by present day ideologues.

Anyways, here's Gambone's essay. Read it, Enjoy. Try to imagine how we might once more let children be free people ie children rather than little robots enslaved to our illusions.

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The Day After Halloween:
Far fewer kids seem out on Halloween trick or treating these past few years. One more example of the decline of community. Halloween has been replaced by phony parties in the malls. Commercialism reigns triumphant once again. One aspect of this decline has been the fear generated by the media about what might happen to those kiddies roaming around in the dark in your neighborhood. Add to this the urban legends that always appear about this time – poisoned candy, needles in apples or oranges. The latter was current when I was a kid 50 years ago!

Halloween was part of communal culture. You went around in home made costume to your neighbors and got gifts from them. Back in my day and beyond, Halloween also served another function – a kind of safety valve in the community. Living in a very authoritarian and repressive society, the young were given this one day of the year to cause mischief and torment their tormentors. While aimed at adult authority in general, the holiday also served as pay back time to individual members of the community who were unpleasant to children, such as the nasty teacher or the hateful old man down the street. They would get their windows soaped or the air let out of their tires. And the kids would snicker about this for months after.

Today, for the most part, the brute authoritarianism is gone. Children now face a more sublimated kind of tyranny. Every aspect of their lives is monitored and organized. It is of course, like the floggings and denigrating tirades of the past, "done for their own good." For "out there" lurks an army of kidnappers, child-buggerers, and gang members just waiting to pounce on Little Jason and Amanda.

Somehow I doubt it is all that much worse than when I was a kid. The difference is the lack of community. With real towns and real neighborhoods, we kids knew who all the "pervs" were and avoided them. Today "the public"is too aware, but then, overt knowledge of such things as pedophilia and incest was suppressed. We kids understood and expressed our awareness through warnings about not bending over to get the soap in a public shower and jokes about scoutmasters, priests and choirboys.(Molly Note-Larry is a little bit older than me, but my father was born in 1895, so my old man had a few years on his. Old Tom used to tell us that the stories of priests and boys were current in his!!! day as a kid. Oh wow, I wonder how many centuries back this reaches) In real communities, as the late Jane Jacobs pointed out, there are thousands of eyes seeing what goes on. The sick can't get away with much.

The anonymity and alienation of suburban life has given a much freer rein to the emotionally sick amongst us. This creates fear, and fear in turn, further destroys community. The suburb is a vicious circle that eternally grinds down everything that makes us human.The only way Halloween and all other forms of communal, non-alienated activity will revive is through rejecting the American-style suburb and a return to living in real neighborhoods.

ANARCHIST THEORY:

ANARCHISM AND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS:

The following article has been published today on both the Anarkismo and A-Infos websites. It addresses the perennial question of 'What Is To Be Done', and the author, Larry Gambone, poses at least one answer to the question. Anarchism can become a living reality in the organizations known as "community associations". Something to do when losing street fights against the police is finally seen as the futility it is. Something to do when you get a little bit older and feel the need to both connect to ordinary people and actually accomplishes something. Something that builds a society that is a bit more libertarian. Read on to see Gambone's description and proposal.

To read more by Larry Gambone see his Porkupine Blog and also the Red Lion Press website. See also his historical site on Vancouver Yippie and ATN Magazine of which he is an editor.

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Anarchism And Neighborhood Associations:
by Larry Gambone

redlionpress at hotmail dot com
Experiences with my neighborhood association and the anarchist potential for these organizations
Anarchism And Neighborhood Associations

by Larry Gambone
Background

My neighborhood has a working class tradition, dating back to the coal miners who settled here 120 years ago. The mines are long gone, and the work has changed from blue collar to white collar, yet the area is still inhabited by working people and proud to be so. Most people live in small to moderate size single family dwellings that were built before the First World War.
Problems

We face three major inter-linked problems. There has been an influx of drug addicts from the down town core. The development of shopping malls on the outskirts killed the old city, which was then taken over by the destitute and troubled. Real estate speculation and the refusal to build affordable housing, drove up the cost of rent, which created homelessness. After wrecking the city, the business interests decided to revitalize the down town as a tourist attraction. The drug addicts and homeless were then driven out, ending up in our neighborhood, the one nearest the old city centre. Conflict arose between the addicts and families with small children who feared an increasingly seedy, petty crime and needle-laden environment.

The second problem is the potential for greedy developers to take advantage of our lower priced real estate, move in and turn our neighborhood into yuppie heaven. The third problem is a noisy, invasive glass recycling plant which threatens to drive out the people unfortunate enough to live near it. The city does nothing about this problem, yet they are quick as thieves to react to other situations. Ultimately, the three problems stem from being a working class neighborhood, if this was upper class area, none of these problems would be allowed to exist, but as workers, both at work and in our homes, we are expendable.
Our Neighborhood Association

Attempting to deal with these problems is our neighborhood association, a group that has been around for close to thirty years and had its ups and downs in terms of support and influence. We are not the only group in the neighborhood, but are the best organized and most respected. A vocal minority demand a vindictive, confrontational approach to the addiction problem. We do not, favoring a positive approach, one that emphasizes an active, clean neighborhood with public art and public activities. We have gotten absentee landlords to clean out their crack houses, favor support for the addicts and public housing for the homeless.

As to real estate development, we have made it clear the kind of multi-family dwellings we want – affordable ones – and with one exception, potential construction has been kept within our guidelines. We will also be working on a Neighborhood (development) Plan which will specify exactly the direction we wish our neighborhood to take. We keep up the pressure on the city about the glass plant, but so far not much progress.

This is not all we do. Part of the neighborhood is a river delta. The Association worked and encouraged the development of an Estuary Park to preserve this area for the wildlife. Each June we put on Miners Heritage Day, to remember and celebrate the coal miners who built this town. About 600 people usually attend and enjoy a large number of activities such as live music, barbeque, pancake breakfast, speeches, photo displays, rides for the children and a neighborhood heritage walk. We also do tree planting and annual neighborhood clean-ups. Several of our members are artists, so we have public art displayed on the chain link fence surrounding our neighborhood park. Since the city refuses to install street trash bins, we have provided our own, and painted them in bright colors and designs, under the guidance of our artist members.

Our association has about 25 core members, but many other people help at events. From 100- 450 people, depending on the issue at hand, attend our public meetings. The association newsletter goes out to at least 200 families. Most core members are supporters/members of the social democratic New Democratic Party or the Green Party, but there are also Liberals and Communist Party people. Among those 25 people is a wealth of trade union, community and environmental activism, not to mention local history and culture. I am the only anarchist in the "core group", though several other anarchists are there to help out. Here is something interesting and important. Regardless of ideology, when dealing with neighborhood, or even city issues, we all tend to see eye-to eye. The real division is between the Association and the reactionary/developer crowd. This is something I have also seen in trade union work, practical, local issues unite people. No matter what our other beliefs, we all desire more control of the neighborhood by the people living there. We all want a humane and democratic process. We all want the protection/restoration of the environment. We all oppose NIMBYism and welcome social housing and social services in our neighborhood.
The Potential of Neighborhood Associations

City government, like all levels of government is centralized, hierarchical and in the hands of capitalists and their friends. At best, it poorly expresses the wishes of the working class majority. Neighborhood associations in working class areas are, on the other hand, grass roots expressions of that class. Furthermore, such associations attract the most advanced militants – the natural leadership of the neighborhood. We are not the only association in the city and a Neighborhood Association Network exists, but to date, not much is happening with it. We do, however, work very closely with the association of the neighborhood next to ours. The idea of a network (or federation) is a good one and has great potential. But here is where the real future lies: Should dissatisfaction continue to grow against authoritarian forms of governance, the possibility exists that these associations form the nucleus of Neighborhood Assemblies which could then supplant city council.

Anarchists ought to consider joining their neighborhood association, and if one does not exist, forming one. These associations are an excellent way of getting involved in the community, meeting other militants and laying the groundwork for genuine self-government through a federation of neighborhood assemblies.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:

REPORT FROM THE VICTORIA ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR:

The following first person report on the recent Victoria Anarchist Bookfair is from Larry Gambone's Porkupine Blog. Drop on over there for the original and for much more on politics, anthropology, history. Always an interesting read. Also don't forget the upcoming Edmonton Anarchist Bookfair, the last of the season, coming up in early October.

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Victoria's Third Annual Anarchist Book Fair. Sept 12-13 :

I was impressed by last years book fair, and this year I was not disappointed.. There seemed to be at least as many people in attendance as previously, but I was pleased to see a broader cross section of the population than before. Although still largely "Euro" there was a significant contribution from First Nations people and I saw some Latino youth and other people of colour were present.The age range seemed broader too, not overwhelmingly young students, not that there would be anything wrong with that, but the movement has to expand into other sectors of the population to become a significant force. A fair number of babies too. Good going!

Had a fine time talking and networking with folks from Victoria, Montreal, San Francisco, and Edmonton. The workshops seemed well attended – at least those in the morning-early afternoon. I only got to attend one of these, since I was tabling most of the time. This was about actualizing radical projects and was hosted by the amazing and brilliant surrealist poet, zinester, clown, and performance artist Paula Belina from Montreal. Sadly, I had to leave early, but found her workshop inspiring.

The place I was going in such a hurry was the Camas Books Dinner, to help support this anarchist book shop and infocenter. About 70 people sat outside on trestle tables, chatting, listening to a guitar-mandolin-accordion duo by two very talented and beautiful young women. The food was great too, and had amusing names such as "Federated Commune Salad" While sitting there, surrounded by people of all ages and origins, it came to me that a line had been crossed. The scene was much like what I found in European anarchist circles – a sense of community, and though relatively few in number, grown beyond being a tiny, inward-looking sect, into something that has put down roots. Later at Camas Books the Anniversary Show of music and spoken word was held, but I could not stay for long, now feeling the length of the day.

I should point out that the events I describe were not the only ones occurring. A whole week of film, discussions and music preceded the Book Fair. (See www.victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca/ ) I salute the volunteers who put in so much effort and looked rather tired by Sunday afternoon!

MOUVEMENT ANARCHISTE DU CANADA/CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:

WHAT'S IN A NAME ?:

I love it. I love it. I love it. On Sunday, June 15, anarchists from the NEFAC branch in Québec City celebrated the 400th anniversary of the founding of the city in their own way- by renamed rue Saint-Paul in Vieux-Québec after Edouard Beaudoire, an anarchist worker who was murdered by Canadian soldiers on this street in 1878. I reproduce both the French and English versions of this story below from the posts on the A-Infos board, though I have changed the English title so that it is closer to the French one. The French and English versions contain complementary references for those who want to see more about the action.

This exemplary action brings Molly into one of her infamous digressions. In a comment on a earlier post on this board Larry Gambone of Porkupine Blog fame remarked that he was impressed by the existence of the Lycée Louise Michel in France, and he asks us to make the migraine-producing effort to imagine an "Emma Goldman High School" in Canada or the USA. Well this got Molly's little fingers twitching, and she had to search down places across the world that are named after anarchists. In the USA there is indeed no "Emma Goldman High School". there is, howver, a Ricardo Flores Magon Academy in the Denver Colorado area. This is a kindergarten and primary school insitution, rather than a high school, but it at least a start. This school is what is called a "charter school" in the USA- something of an alternative education set-up, but it differs from many "free schools" in vehemently holding to high academic standards. Check it out.

In Russia Molly has long been familiar with the Moscow subway station named after Kropotkin, but she also discovered that there is a Moscow street named after old Peter as well. Down Italy way Bologna has a Via Malatesta Errico. Some other Italian cities such as Roma and Modena have streets or piazzas with the Malatesta sobriquent, but this may or may not be named after the anarchist Errico Malatesta, as there are other Malatestas in Italian history.

While visiting Barcelona some years back Molly became quite familiar with the Placa Joan Peiro, pretty much the central bus hub in downtown Barcelona, named after the Spanish anarchist who is one of Molly's favourite historical anarchists. There is also apparently a Calle Durruti somewhere out in the suburbs of Barcelona, but I never laid eyes on it, merely read its name on a city map. I also understand that there are other places in Mexico named after Magon, but I am unable to name them. takes a little more research.

In light of all this Molly proposes the following. Being as much more important world cities such as Moscow and Barcelona have seen fit to name transportation facilities after historical anarchists, Winnipeg Manitoba could do worse than name the new bus depot that Greyhound plans to build out near the airport after Winnipeg's most famous anarchist son- George Woodcock. I see it now- the George Woodcock Transport Centre. dream on Molly, dream on.

Molly would also like her readers to submit any other examples of places named after anarchists. But in the interum here is the story from Québec City. The city should really keep the name.

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Des anarchistes changent le nom d'une rue du Vieux-Quebec:

Dimanche le 15 juin 2008, des membres de la Fédération des communistes libertaires du nord-est (NEFAC) ont souligné à leur manière le 400e anniversaire de la ville de Québec : ils et elles ont « débaptisé » la rue Saint-Paul, à l'angle de la côte Dambourgès, en la renommant « rue Édouard-Beaudoire ».

Qui était Édouard Beaudoire?

Édouard Beaudoire était un ouvrier et un socialiste d'origine française ayant participé à la Commune de Paris. Le 12 juin 1878, il fut tué d'une balle dans latête par des militaires au coin de la rue Saint-Paul et de la côte Dambourgès. Beaudoire prenait part à une manifestation organisée en réaction aux mauvaises conditions de travail des ouvriers affectés à la construction d'édifices gouvernementaux.

Alors que la classe dirigeante de Québec, le maire Régis Labeaume en tête, s'apprête à offrir à l'armée canadienne le « Droit de cité », les membres de la NEFAC ont voulu rappeler par leur geste l'un des épisodes les plus tragiques de l'histoire des luttes ouvrières de la ville tout en dénonçant le rôle sanglant joué par les militaires dans la répression des revendications populaires. La vie et le combat d'Édouard Beaudoire nous rappellent que la lutte pour la justice et l'égalité reste plus que jamais une nécessité. Aujourd'hui comme hier, on a raison de se révolter !

Fédération des communistes libertaires du nord-est

N.b.: Il y a un petit vidéo de l'action sur notre blogue:

http://voixdefaits.blogspot.com/2008/06/des-anarchistes-changent-le-nom-dune.html

Nouveau: Le blogue de La NUIT

http://voixdefaits.blogspot.com/

--Collectif anarchiste La Nuit (NEFAC-Québec)

a/s Groupe Émile-Henry

C.P. 55051,

138 St-Vallier Ouest

Québec (Qc),

G1K 1J0

--nefacquebec(a)yahoo.ca

http://www.nefac.net/

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ANARCHISTS CHANGE THE NAME OF A STREET IN OLD QUÉBEC:

Sunday, June 15th, members of the Northeastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists (NEFAC) celebrated in their own way the 400th anniversary of Quebec City: they renamed Saint-Paul Street, at the corner of the Côte Dambourgès, the Edouard-Beaudoire Street.

---- Who was Edouard Beaudoire? ----

Edouard Beaudoire was a worker and a socialist of French origin who participated in the 1871 Paris Commune. On June 12th 1878, he was shot in the head by soldiers at the corner of the Saint-Paul Street and the Côte Dambourgès. Beaudoire took part in a demonstration organized in response to the poor working conditions of workers engaged in the construction of government buildings.

While the ruling class of Quebec, starting with the mayor Régis Labeaume, is preparing to offer the Canadian Army the "Droit de cité", members of NEFAC wanted by their gesture to remember one of the most tragic episodes in the history of working class struggles in the city, while denouncing the bloody role played by the military in suppressing popular demands. The life and struggle of Edouard Beaudoire remind us that the fight for justice and equality remains more than ever a necessity. Today as yesterday, we're right to rebel

Northeastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists

There's a little video of the action --our first ever try at video propaganda-- on our blog

http://voixdefaits.blogspot.com/2008/06/des-anarchistes-changent-le-nom-dune.html

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Pictures:

http://www.anarchistblackcat.org/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1019

The magic of the red & black flag...

CANADIAN POLITICS:

HARPER APOLOGIZES (SORT OF) TO VICTIMS OF NATIVE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS:

The media has been full of Stephan Harper's recent apology to the victims of Indian residential schools in the last few days. All that Molly can say about this is that it confirms her opinion of Harper's intelligence- very high. He has managed to fool almost everybody and thrown a spanner into the works when the public perception of the sleeze of his government is growing. He even managed to put the screws to a member of his party who expressed the real Conservative (Reform party Mark II) opinion about native claims, and made said member lie in public via a craven "apology". But this sort of backroom thuggery is what Harper is best at, and no matter how much he offends the neandertals in his Party they will tow the line because they recognize an "ubermensch" in his leadership. It fits their own emotions anyways. The statements of the NDP and the Bloc Québecois about how Canada has yet to sign the UN convention about the rights of aboriginal peoples (Canada is one of only four refusniks) have been lost in the great national back-patting that Harper's theatrics have produced. Jesus H. Christ aren't we great !!!. Harper's own religious affiliation to an evangelical sect that has never disavowed the purpose of assimilation has also been lost in the fireworks.

Rather than comment upon this masterful performance of political sleeze further, however, Molly would like to refer her readers to the Porkupine Blog where her comrade Larry Gambone has discussed this matter much more fully. All that I will say further is that I wish that Stepan Harper was "on our side" because such an ability to bullshit and squish nuts would be an asset to any political movement. But leftism, let alone anarchism, would hardly afford Sneaky Stevie such opportunities as he has now. Full kudos for the false tears Stevie.

CHILE:

CHILE TODAY PART 5:

MORE FAILURES OF NEOLIBERALISM:

The following is Part 5 of Larry Gambone's presentation of what he saw on his latest trip to the country of Chile. Stay tuned to his Porkupine Blog for further installments. In the following Gambone lays out even more evidence of how Chile is hardly the shining success that neo-liberals make it out to be.

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Chile Part 5 - More Failures of Neoliberalism
I have already touched on the problem of rapid economic growth coupled with price inflation and wage stagnation. (With the exception of the 1998 Asian Tigers Crisis, GDP growth has averaged between 5 and 10% annually. (1) ) I also referred to the grotesque level of inequality, one of the worst in the world (2), and the refusal of the government to create proper social welfare and education systems in an attempt to rectify this. But there are more problems than these facing Chile.

An export-dependent economy. What happens when the global economy goes into the toilet? What will happen to Chile in the coming years when the rising oil prices make it uneconomic to export fruit?

The central part of the country where most of the population lives and most of the fruit growing occurs is drying up and may well become desert in the coming decade. Due to global warming, the Andes get less snow, lowering the water table and river flow. Furthermore, clear-cutting and poor water usage are contributing factors, Chileans have told me.(Yet, you read not a word about global warming in the Chilean press.)

Chile has almost no oil and natural gas. This at a time when prices for these resources are sky-rocketing. Power brown-outs are blamed upon Argentina's refusal to renew its natural gas export contract, as it seems that country needs its gas for its own use. And since there is less water, hydro projects don't seem to be the answer. The electricity problem is a fine example of the failure of neo-liberalism. Central and North Chile get sun 365 days a year. The coastline gets wind off the Pacific. You would think solar and wind power would have been introduced. But no, Chile is 30 years behind other countries in this technology. Utilities were corporatized under Pinocho and thus cannot see any further than this years profit margins.

Meanwhile, the authorities have applied the US model of suburban sprawl and vast shopping malls everywhere. (It was never so evident as this trip, and the disease was only beginning in 1996.) At a time of water and power shortages and rising oil prices, the most energy-inefficient way of living in the world is being actively promoted.

Agribusiness is driving campesinos off the land. They crowd into the cities and exacerbate the problems there. The remaining campesinos are being forced into mono-crop sub-contracting for the corporations. This further undermines campesino life and threatens the farmer's markets, the one source of cheaper food for the populace.

The inability of the Peruvian state to deal with its economic problems is forcing many Peruvians to immigrate (legally and illegally) into Chile, a country that is wealthy by comparison with theirs. The Peruvians add to the number of poor in the cities and due to racism are blamed for "stealing jobs." and a rising crime rate.

I am left with the feeling that these problems will tear the country apart in the coming years.

One final point that I didn't know where to fit in. Chile used to be one of the most socially progressive countries in Latin America. Thanks to the Pinochet dictatorship, this is no longer the case. It was a deliberate policy of the dictatorship to stamp out socially progressive ideas and it shows. Chile is in many ways like stepping back 40 years. "White" Chileans will cheerfully tell you that People of Color are inferior and that Indians are stupid, the sort of talk that went out of style among middle class Canadians a good while ago. Even though blonds only make up maybe 15% of the population, most women in advertisements are rubias. There are no women bus, taxi or truck drivers and no women tradespeople or construction workers. Only 30% of Chilean women are engaged in wage work, the lowest in Latin America and the same as Canada in 1960. This dependence upon one income is a contributing aspect of the poverty in the country and is a direct and long-term expression of the social reaction of the Pinochet regime.

NOTES:
1.) Average GDP growth between 1990 and 2001 was 4.7% Average growth, 2002-2007 was 4.71% (2007 at 5.2%) Sources, CIA Fact Book
2.) The GINI Index. Zero would equal absolute equality and 100 absolute inequality. Chile stands at 58.3, Costa Rica 48.9, Brazil, 56.7, and by way of comparison, Canada at 33.1, France at 32.3 and Norway at 25.7. Sources CIA Fact Book

CHILE:

CHILE TODAY

PART 3

THE RADICAL LEFT:

BY LARRY GAMBONE

The folowing is Part 3 of Larry Gambone's report on the present political situation in the country of Chile. See The Porkupine Blog for previous installments and for still more in the next few days.

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Chile Today Part 3 - The Radical Left
I have already written about the Chilean anarchist movement and will say no more about it here, other than to say it is an important part of the opposition to neoliberalism and the corporate state.

The Communist Party. Like other Communist Parties I have observed, the Chilean party seems to have benefitted in the long run, ideologically and in practice, from the collapse of the USSR. Freed from having to give support to the policies of an ever-more conservative Soviet bureaucracy, these parties now adapt to their own national situations. (It must be remembered that during the Unidad Popular days, the CP was a conservative force in that alliance.) These reformed CP's now attempt to become a voice for the trade unions and social movements and do not seem to engage in the sectarian practices of yore. They are now willing to unite with other forces more radical than themselves. Their actual politics are left-social democratic, making them far more radical than the contemporary socialist and social democratic parties, which, as we have seen, have been corrupted by neoliberalism. However, while more militant than before, the CP is still on the "moderate" wing of the radical left.

While visiting Chile the only large circulation newspaper I could find that was worth reading was El Siglo, the CP weekly. There may have been other socialist weeklies but I never found any, and El Siglo was sold at most kiosks.

The party plays a major role in the CUT, the main trade union federation. (There is much criticism of the CUT by anarchists and other radicals. For an example of a more militant labour federation see CGT Mosicam.) Graffitti evidence of the Young Communists abounds. The CP gets about 5% of the vote and due to the restrictive nature of the voting system has no seats in either the Senate or Chamber of Deputies. They do have a fairly large number of municipal councellors, however.

The MIR. During the UP years the MIR was the most promising revolutionary force. It had thousands of members and was involved in land and factory occupations as well as the occasional armed action. For this it won the implacable hatred of the Pinochetistas and many members were tortured and murdered. The party broke apart in the 1980's and more or less dissolved by 1989. It reformed in 1990 and gave up armed struggle in 1997. Its original policies were supposedly Castroist, however, from what I read now the group seems to have adopted a Bolivarian approach. (See below.) I think the group is rather small and only saw one MIR graffitti. MIR has united with a host of other parties and groups in a broad anti-neo-liberal front called Junto PODEMOS Mas .

Junto PODEMOS Mas unites most of the non-anarchist left – including the Communist Party. Its policies are Bolivarian or left-wing populist i.e., broadly anti-neoliberal, favoring direct democracy, return of national resources, social reforms, trade union rights, Latin American unity, and opposition to racism and sexism. (I should add that I find this desire for unity a very positive direction.) PODEMOS got about 7% in the election to the Chamber of Deputies, but as in the case of the CP did not get any seats. The following groups belong to this front:
Partido Humanista
Partido Comunista de Chile
Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR)
Movimiento Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez
Izquierda Socialista
Movimiento Por el Socialismo
Identidad Rodriguista
Movimiento Fuerza Ciudadana
Partido Comunista Chileno Acción Proletaria
Izquierda Cristiana
Partido Alternativa Socialista
Cambio Democrático
Comité de Defensa y Recuperación del Cobre
Frente Amplio de Profesionales de Izquierda
Asambleas Populares
Comité de Defensa de Derechos Humanos y Sindicales
Coordinadora Metropolitana de Usuarios de la Salud Publica
Corporación Urracas de Emaus, and 36 other social, trade union and environmental groups.

Partido Ecologista. In the early 1980's there was a reasonably strong Green tendency in Chile. I don't know what happened to it, but there are a number of ecological groups. And judging by the millions of plastic bags polluting the countryside, the air pollution and the clear cuts, they cannot be all that effective. Just recently, Chilean Greens came together to form the Partido Ecologista and will be running in the up-coming election.

Trotskyists. I saw no overt evidence of Trotskyism in Chile. I know that a Trotskyist party, the PRT does belong to PODEMOS. But it is not one of the major groupings of the tendency, and is a split-off from the horrible Healyite WRP! Indeed, there does not seem to be any Mandelist, ISO or IMT organizations in Chile. Of course, compared with Argentina, Peru or Bolivia, Trotskyism has been weak here. I think it might be due to the fact that strong movements to the left of the Communist Party have always existed in Chile and people who would otherwise become Trotskyists join these organizations instead.

CHILE:

CHILE TODAY:

BY LARRY GAMBONE

The following is the second installment of Larry Gambone's writings(see the Porkupine Blog for the original and further installments) on his recent visit to Chile. The first installment was presented earlier on this blog, and it dealt with the present anarchist movement in Chile. This article deals with the general political situation in Chile, relating to the government and its main opposition.

Chile Today Part 2 The Social Neoliberals
Chile has been governed by a coalition of Christian Democrats (DC) and social democrats (Socialist Party and Popular Democrats) since the return to so-called democracy. Back in the days of the Unidad Popular, the DC was old style social democratic and the SP was more radical than the Communist Party. Today, all these parties are economically neo-liberal, lock stock and barrel, ironically (or perhaps not so ironically) adopting the underlying ideology of their old torturer and murderer, Augusto Pinochet.

When a socialist or social democratic party tosses aside its basic principles, it announces to the world that it is corrupted in spirit. Thus, it comes as no surprise when such a party becomes corrupted in practice. True to form the Concertacion, (the name given to the DC-SP-PD coalition) is now mired in scandal. The Alianza (the Pinochetista opposition coalition or Los Momios) is making hay out of this situation, an amusing situation where the corrupt are calling the corrupted to account!

The scandals relate directly to the neo-liberal methods adopted by the Concertacion. Rather than instituting a proper state or community-run system of education – like in Canada or Europe – they chose to funnel government money to private concerns. Naturally, along the way some officials also dipped their hands in this pig trough. Then there is the hideous mess that is Santiago transit. Pinocho had destroyed the previous public system, handing transit over to scores of private concerns, resulting in a kind of Wild West in the streets. Rather than rectifying this disaster by creating a public transit system – like every other large city in the world – the Concertacion shovelled money into the hands of 10 or so capitalist transit corporations, and the result, as one might expect, is chaos. (Remember, I am talking about a city with six million inhabitants, not some one horse town)

Then there is that favorite of brown shirts the world over – the crime problem. And it does exist – people get ripped off all the time by pick pockets, muggers and burglars. The mass media, if anything even more vile than our own, spare no effort in reminding the readers of this situation. But then what do you expect in a society without any social welfare and a great mass of unemployed and under-employed people, some of whom are still living in tin shacks on dried up river beds or beside highway overpasses? And even if you have a job, 75% of Chileans earn less than $420 a month in a land where most prices are about as high as in Canada. There is a lot of petty crime. Gee, I wonder why? The Alianza blame the Concertacion for being soft on crime and drag out the no brainer of harsher punishment.

There is an election coming and it is quite possible the Pinocho crowd may gain the upper hand. I look upon this with some trepidation, for as bad as the Concertacion is, they have refused to be a stooge for the US in relation to the growing popular movements in Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia. The Gringostate already has death squad and narcotrafficante-run Columbia as its stalking horse. I would hate to see Chile as part of this criminal endeavor.