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Foundation of the Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (FASP)

category brazil/guyana/suriname/fguiana | anarchist movement | press release author Thursday November 26, 2009 17:34author by Federação Anarquista de São Paulo - FASPauthor email fasp at riseup dot net Report this post to the editors

The Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (FASP - Anarchist Federation of São 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 Federação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro (FARJ). [Português] [Français][Italiano]
Federação Anarquista de São Paulo
Federação Anarquista de São Paulo


Foundation of the Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (FASP)


The Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (FASP - Anarchist Federation of São 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 Federação 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, Organização Resistência Libertária (ORL), the Federación Anarquista Uruguaya (FAU), the Federação Anarquista Gaúcha (FAG) and Rusga Libertária, 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 Federação Anarquista de São Paulo!

Ética, compromisso, liberdade! - Ethics, commitment, freedom!
Não tá 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 Federação Anarquista de São 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 Pró-Federação Anarquista de São 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 Pró-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, Pró-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 Reciclável). 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 Federación Anarquista Uruguaya and Resistência Libertária 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 São 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 - Confederação Operária 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 Antônio Martinez and José 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 Plínio A. Coêlho, whose works were published by Novos Tempos/Imaginário.

The development of anarchism in the 1990s and early 2000s has taught us much. We have had contacts with experiences like the Federação Anarquista Gaúcha, the Federação 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 Federação Anarquista de São Paulo!

Ética, compromisso, liberdade! - Ethics, commitment, freedom!
Não tá morto quem peleia! - Those who struggle will never die!
Arriba los que luchan! - Up with those who struggle!

Viva o anarquismo!
Viva a FASP!


Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (FASP)

18 de novembro de 2009


Translation by FdCA-International Relations

Related Link: http://www.anarquismosp.org
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