Portugal: "Luta Social", No.14: Editorial

iberia | anarchist movement | opinion / analysis Thursday April 27, 2006 21:48 by Luta Social - Colectivo Anti-autoritário de luta de classes luta_social at sapo dot pt

We began this adventure of giving and receiving, of sharing and of exchanging just one year ago... not just between ourselves, here in the "Luta Social" Collective, but in dialogue with our readers and friends...

"Luta Social", No.14: Editorial

Perhaps it is time we asked ourselves about the causes of these highs and lows in social and political activity: one thing is sure, that electoral cycles are related.

Election campaigns are usually frenetic periods, full of false debates and vain hopes. And many people exhaust their curiosity in conjectures on who will end up as the winner of the next elections.

However, in any case, neither the new arrangement of the parties in the parliament (be it in Portugal or other countries) or the new tenant of the presidential palace will really change our lives.

The persistent illusion of the political circus keeps the people passive, even when they feel frustrated, as they substitute genuine civic participation for an absurd faith in the vote. A more or less "worthy" vote. A more or less "fervent" faith, without any rational basis.

And as soon as they feel betrayed (and they really do feel it, in most cases), they repress the sensation, minimizing their own hopes of yesterday, without ever questioning their support for this absurd "lottery".

So, the political circus permits the alternation, in short cycles, between periods of glory and hope with periods of indifference and retreat... Such is the game; this is how the "masses" are kept under control.

But our work is not a short-term task, but a long-term one.

Our goal is to build another way of living, starting with a new way of looking at things.

We began this adventure of giving and receiving, of sharing and of exchanging just one year ago... not just between ourselves, here in the "Luta Social" Collective, but in dialogue with our readers and friends.

And we intend to go on with our task in this way.

Journal of the "Luta Social" anti-authoritarian class-struggle collective