Foundation of the Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (FASP)
Dan Clore
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/15095
Foundation of the Federa��o Anarquista de S�o Paulo (FASP)
The Federa��o Anarquista de S�o Paulo (FASP - Anarchist Federation of
S�o Paulo) was founded on 18th November 2009!
Though already in existence under the name Pro-FASP since early 2008,
the organization was formally founded at an event last weekend that
brought together FASP members together with delegates from the Federa��o
Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro (FARJ).
During the founding ceremony, the organization's Foundation Manifesto
was read, a video was presented in which militants reported on the
theory and practice of this last year of activities, and statements of
solidarity were read from the following organizations: the FARJ,
Organiza��o Resist�ncia Libert�ria (ORL), the Federaci�n Anarquista
Uruguaya (FAU), the Federa��o Anarquista Ga�cha (FAG) and Rusga
Libert�ria, as well as messages from a variety of individuals.
Also present were militants from Ativismo ABC and the Ay Carmela centre,
where the event was held.
The event continued with comrades speaking about the foundation,
welcoming the newly-born organization and its members. This was followed
by a party, with food and drink.
Finally, we would like to quote briefly from the FASP Manifesto (see below):
"We too adopt the slogans of other organizations in declaring the
foundation of the Federa��o Anarquista de S�o Paulo!
�tica, compromisso, liberdade! - Ethics, commitment, freedom!
N�o t� morto quem peleia! - Those who struggle will never die!
Arriba los que luchan! - Up with those who struggle!
Viva o anarquismo!
Viva a FASP!"
Founding Manifesto of the Federa��o Anarquista de S�o Paulo (FASP)
Comrades,
After just over a year since the call to establish an especifista
anarchist organization in Sao Paulo, we meet today to bring the stage of
the Pr�-Federa��o Anarquista de S�o Paulo to an end. Exactly 20 months
ago, a few comrades - motivated by the experiences of organized
anarchism in Brazil and having seen the need for organized action by the
anarchists in the popular movements - decided to start discussions to
form an especifista anarchist organization. These discussions culminated
in the 1st Pr�-FASP Encounter held in July 2008 and in the 2nd Encounter
in July 2009, that was well participated, with a lot of interest shown
in the proposal.
Over this period, we have formed a group of militants and a support
group that have met regularly and have already engaged in practical
work, based on what had already been achieved by militants individually.
Today, Pr�-FASP's social activities are divided into two fronts: the
rural, indigenous front, which carries out activities together with the
Movement of Landless Workers (MST - Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais
Sem Terra) and the indigenous movement; and a community front, which
carries out activities with the National Movement of Collectors of
Recyclable Material (MNCR - Movimento Nacional dos Catadores de Material
Recicl�vel). Internally, we have formed relations with individuals and
other organizations, and have begun internal political education
programmes. After countless hours of meetings and activities, we now
feel ready to take this further step towards the next stage: the
foundation of our organization.
The FASP is part of a tradition that has always been a majority in the
libertarian camp, that of "social anarchism" or "anarchism of the
masses", which was responsible for the rise of certain phenomena of
great importance such as revolutionary syndicalism. However,
notwithstanding our belief in the need for anarchism to act within the
popular movements - what some have called the "vectors of social
anarchism" - we believe that in order to do this it is essential for
there to be specific anarchist organization, a position that has not
always been a majority one. This is, though, the position historically
held, since the birth of anarchism, by Bakunin (Alliance of Socialist
Democracy), Malatesta, and even Kropotkin at certain times, and also by
the Russian anarchist communists of Delo Truda and the Federation of
Anarchist Communists of Bulgaria (FAKB). In Latin America there have
been important experiences such as the Junta of the Partido Liberal
Mexicano, the Federaci�n Anarquista Uruguaya and Resist�ncia Libert�ria
in Argentina.
In Brazil, this mass tradition of social anarchism has existed for over
100 years, and was responsible for the union mobilizations that were so
important in the early 20th century. It was comrades from this tradition
who organized the Brazilian working class that started the struggle for
gains such as the eight-hour working day. They inspired events such as
the 1917 Strike, which had significant anarchist participation. With
regard to specific anarchist organizations, there have been groups who
tried to organize militants, but without much success, given that at
that time, anarchism in Brazil - like elsewhere in the world - was
hegemonised by syndicalist ideas, which did not deem the establishment
of anarchist organizations important for work in the unions. Examples of
organizations of this type are the first Brazilian Communist Party
(1919), the Anarchist Alliance of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo groups
that formed around newspapers at the time, and which supported
differentiated levels of activity - the anarchist organization and the
popular movements, known by some as "organizational dualism".
Anarchism was prominent and instrumental in the class struggle in Brazil
until the 1930s, when a series of external and internal factors were
responsible for it losing ground in the unions; it became unable to find
new space for action in the other struggles that appeared in the
following decades. This situation resulted in the emergence of cultural
centres, libertarian study groups and anarchist groups which, though on
the one hand found themselves excluded from the field of class struggle,
were on the other hand important in keeping the flame of the anarchist
ideal alive, allowing it to survive the military dictatorship.
1980 was an important year politically thanks to the re-inauguration of
one of these centres - the Centro de Cultura Social de S�o Paulo
(CCS-SP), founded back in 1933. The rebirth of the CCS-SP and the
mobilization for its activities had a significant importance for the
resurgence of anarchism in post-dictatorship Sao Paulo. Lectures and
debates on various issues led to broad participation and an attempt to
engage in union activity developed, seeking to revive the Brazilian
Workers Confederation (COB - Confedera��o Oper�ria Brasileira). We pay
due homage to the CCS-SP, which was instrumental in the 1990s and early
2000s in training the militants who launched the idea for the FASP. Our
contact with its older militants such as the late Jaime Cubero, the late
Ant�nio Martinez and Jos� Carlos Morel was very important for our
education. Along with them, we also wish to acknowledge the educational
value in better understanding anarchist ideas that is represented by the
work of Pl�nio A. Co�lho, whose works were published by Novos
Tempos/Imagin�rio.
The development of anarchism in the 1990s and early 2000s has taught us
much. We have had contacts with experiences like the Federa��o
Anarquista Ga�cha, the Federa��o Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro and other
initiatives that derive from the process of building an anarchist
movement here in Sao Paulo. At the same time over these years, some of
us have been active in the popular movements, primarily in community
mobilization in the inner-city areas, in the landless and homeless
movements, among others. In addition, we have participated in the
"global movement of resistance" and various demonstrations, occupations
and other forms of direct action.
What we have learnt from both the positive and negative aspects of these
experiences, albeit modest, has made us sure of some things:
* The grassroots movements in which the exploited classes that
suffer the effects of class struggle organize themselves are in our
opinion the only means to achieve a revolutionary transformation of
society in order to build socialism.
* Our efforts should therefore be concentrated on building and
participating in these movements.
* In this process of construction and participation it is not
enough to be a part of the movements individually, in a disorganized
manner. It is essential that we participate with a programme, in an
organized fashion.
* We should pay special attention to the relationship between the
anarchist organization and the popular movements, so that we do not make
the mistakes of the past: neither be behind the movements, allowing
ourselves to be pulled along, or at its head, seeking to act as a
vanguard party.
* In order to do this, it is not enough to identify as anarchists,
but with a definite programme. We need an organizational model that
takes into account the goals that we intend to achieve.
* These premises point to the need to create a specific anarchist
organization whose unity of theory and practice can enable responsible
militants to come together with a common strategy which gives the
cohesion our work requires.
So, that is what we hope to achieve here today. We are humbly planting
another seed of anarchism in this Latin soil and will work hard to
ensure it sprouts and bears promising fruit. Let us benefit from lessons
learned in the past, to work on building the future. And, through our
example, we will win new militants and bring back old militants to our
cause.
The date chosen for our foundation represents a key moment in the
history of anarchism in Brazil. On 18th November 1918 the anarchists
launched an insurrection in Rio de Janeiro with the aim of creating the
first Soviet in the country. Although defeated, the experience inspires
us to represent one of anarchism's historical moments within the popular
movement, with a great fighting spirit in the struggle for social
revolution.
Finally, we too adopt the slogans of other organizations in declaring
the foundation of the Federa��o Anarquista de S�o Paulo!
�tica, compromisso, liberdade! - Ethics, commitment, freedom!
N�o t� morto quem peleia! - Those who struggle will never die!
Arriba los que luchan! - Up with those who struggle!
Viva o anarquismo!
Viva a FASP!
Federa��o Anarquista de S�o Paulo (FASP)
18 de novembro de 2009
Translation by FdCA-International Relations
Related Link:
http://www.anarquismosp.org
--
Dan Clore
New book: _Weird Words: A Lovecraftian Lexicon_:
http://tinyurl.com/yd3bxkw
My collected fiction: _The Unspeakable and Others_
(Wait for the new edition: http://hplmythos.com/ )
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Skipper: Professor, will you tell these people who is
in charge on this island?
Professor: Why, no one.
Skipper: No one?
Thurston Howell III: No one? Good heavens, this is anarchy!
-- _Gilligan's Island_, episode #6, "President Gilligan"