Today's Topics:
1. Britain, brightonsolfed: Council's scandalous incompetence
leaves vulnerable tenant facing homelessness!
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. Holand, vrijebond: Joke Kaviaar, activist, has been arrested
- Support Group 13 September calls for protest (nl)
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. Britain, anarchist communist group ACG: Mexican carworkers
show the way (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. France, Alternative Libertaire AL #290 - Energy
Alternatives, Biomass and fight against climate change (fr, it,
pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. France, Alternative Libertaire AL - Support or adhere (fr,
it, pt)[machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. i-f-a.org: Successful Libertatia solidarity tour in England
- January 2019 (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
7. US, black rose fed: CHILE'S FEMINISTS INSPIRE A NEW ERA OF
SOCIAL STRUGGLE (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
8. anarkismo.net: Lessons from the Yellow Vests by Melbourne
Anarchist Communist Group (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
Patrick, a tenant we have been organising with for the past year, is facing homelessness
after disgraceful treatment by Brighton Council, who have systematically failed to carry
out their most basic duties, leaving Patrick with no protection against eviction by his
landlord. For details of the history of this case see here: ----
http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/brighton/the-arrogance-continues-and-so... ---- During
Patrick's year-long fight for his landlord to make his home a fit state to live in, he
contacted the council and requested an Environmental Health inspection, which the council
has a statutory duty to do. As well as requiring the landlord to do repairs on the
property, this would have given Patrick legal protection against revenge eviction, which
the landlord had been attempting to conduct. However, the council's Environmental Health
Officer, Martin Keane, has consistently acted in contravention of his statutory duties and
legal obligations.
As a show of good faith, we gave the Council 10 working days to respond to our demand
before publicising their actions (their own timescale for formal complaints), but having
refused to meet even their own basic rules in this case, we are forced to make this matter
public. The Council now claim that since this matter has been escalated to a stage 2
complaint, they have an extra 10 days to respond - which is nice for them, but of no help
to Patrick who faces a ticking clock down to homelessness due to their actions.
To briefly recap the situation: Patrick lived in this home for 15 years. There were
serious issues with damp, mould, dry rot, and collapsing ceilings. These issues were
reported to the council's Private Sector Housing department in March 2018. Following this,
Martin Keane visited the property and undertook an inspection, but failed to produce a
written report. In spite of follow-up correspondence urging him to produce this report
from both Patrick and councillor David Gibson, no report materialised.
Patrick submitted a complaint to the Council about this in August 2018. After significant
effort on the part of Patrick and Brighton Solidarity Federation to follow this complaint
up, Mr Keane eventually returned to the property at the end of August to carry out a
second inspection - a tacit admittance that the first visit was not written up. Following
this, and again only after considerable prompting, Mr Keane issued an Improvement Notice
on Patrick's landlord at the end of September 2018.
In a stunning display of - at best! - incompetent negligence, the Improvement Notice
issued by Mr Keane was sent to not only the incorrect address for Patrick's landlord, but
also to the wrong address for the landlord's agency Youngs. This had the effect of
rendering the notice invalid. When Patrick demanded that Martin Keene re-issue the notice
to the correct address, he claimed he wasn't able to do this as it would require another
(that is, a third!) inspection. That is, he wouldn't reissue his own report, exactly the
same, except sent to the correct address, because...well, for no explicable reason.
Patrick was therefore left without an Improvement Notice which would have been a
definitive defence against the section 21 eviction notice that was served late 2018. The
landlord has been able to state that he did not receive the Improvement Notice, and claim
it wasn't a revenge eviction. Patrick has thus had to accept the eviction order and is
left with no option to move out of the property, his home of 15 years.
At this point, we'd just like to recap, since the chain of events is so ludicrous. First,
the council's Environmental Health Officer wouldn't do an inspection without the issue
being forced. Then, he didn't do a report. Then when he finally came back, he didn't
issue another report without being pressed. Then after all this, he managed to send the
report to the wrong address. Twice. And finally, just to rub it in, would not reissue
his own report to the correct address. Whether Chuckle Brothers style incompetence or
malice, the chain of events is as unbelievable as it is disgraceful.
Now for the legal bit. The council's failures in this situation are multiple. First,
section 5(c) of The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) (England) Regulations
2005 states that an inspector must 'prepare and keep such a record in written or in
electronic form'. Indeed, guidance for operation of the HHSRS states that '[t]he
Regulations require an accurate record to be prepared and kept of the inspection in
written or electronic form'. Mr Keane failed to do this for his first inspection, delaying
remedy to Patrick's flat and meaning that he had to live in what - by the council's own
later inspection and definition - were hazardous conditions. Further, this situation would
have gone unresolved had Patrick not put a considerable amount of his own time and effort
into pursuing Mr Keane to carry out his statutory duty.
Perhaps most damningly, when Mr Keane did finally undertake and write up the inspection,
he issued it to the wrong address for both the landlord and the agent (we're sorry to say
this once again, but honestly, the situation is so obscene we have to keep reiterating
it!). To do it once is incompetence; to do it twice is gross negligence, and has directly
resulted in Patrick's eviction from his home of 15 years. To add to the comedy of errors,
it is likely also a breach of Data Protection Law, since the first report was sent to some
strangers at an incorrect address! Finally, had the notice been issued correctly and in
reasonable time following the initial request, Patrick likely would never have had to
address this matter in court, as it would have been clear the landlord was legally unable
to issue Section 21 (a 'no fault' eviction) against him.
The facts of this situation speak for themselves, and it is for these reasons that we are
fully supporting Patrick to demand that he is place on the council house waiting list in
band A, and that he is compensated with the sum of £3000 for the council's negligence.
An injury to one is an injury to all!
http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/brighton/councils-scandalous-incompetence-leaves-vulnerable-tenant-facing-homelessness
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Message: 2
Joke Kaviaar has been arrested. That news has become known today, 24 January 2019. Her
arrest was a matter of time after her earlier conviction became definitive after appeal
and cassation on 8 January 2019. Joke Kaviaar will now do a prison time for two months and
two weeks. Three days will be subtracted because of pre-trial arrest. That means there
will be 71 days inside a cell. ---- Conviction and prison sentence were the outcome of
state persecution against Joke Kaviaar, writer, activist, fighter against the persecution
and oppression of refugees. She was sentenced to a two month suspended prison sentence,
for publication of texts that the public persecution considered to be incitement. That
sentence became unconditional after she was arrested during her probation time because she
participated in an action in the municipal council hall of Zeist, against the building of
a prison for refugee children on Kamp Zeist, which led to a two-week prison sentence as
well. Together with the two months, that means two months and two weeks altogether. More
on the case can be found via a press release of 8 January 2019 (scroll down for English)
The Support Group 13 September speaks out strongly against this whole state of affairs and
calls for people to protest against her persecution and arrest. Joke Kaviaar is being
persecuted and now imprisoned because she offers resistance against the deportation of
refugees. Joke Kaviaar is being persecuted and now imprisoned because she uses the written
word for this purpose in a sharp way. She uses that freedom of expression that is sacred,
except in cases that it is a bit inconvenient. Joke Kaviaar fights criminal state
behaviour in words and in deeds. According to the Support Group, she does not deserve
convinction and prison sentence.
The Support Group calls for support and solidarity. Support can be expressed through the
writing of letters and post cards as soon as the prison in which she will be held has
become known. Solidarity can mean: spreading the forbidden texts of Joke Kaviaar further
and further. Solidarity can mean: participating in protest actions, or organizing such
actions yourself. The Support Group will organize an noise demonstration at the jail where
the state holds her, and calls for people to take part. More information will become
available through the website of the Support Group. The motto of all this: Freedom for
Joke Kaviaar!
Also, the Support group is preparing the publication of a booklet on the case against Joke
Kaviaar. It will include the texts for which she has been convicted. This small book will
be presented in a series of information meetings in several cities. Again, you can find
the relevant information on the website of the Support Group.
Steungroep 13 September
https://www.vrijebond.org/activiste-joke-kaviaar-gearresteerd-steungroep-13-september-roept-op-tot-protest/
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Message: 3
70,000 car workers in Matamoros, Mexico, went out on strike recently shutting down 50
plants. They are striking over a 20 percent wage increase, a $1,700 bonus, a shorter
working week, and cuts to union dues. Thousands marched to the city centre of Matamoros,
shouting out "Bourgeoisie, get out!". They have called for all Mexican workers to join
them in a national general strike which they are calling "A Day Without Workers". A
section of the carworkers marched behind the banner "The union and company kill the
working class". ---- Workers are organising outside the union, which they detest as an
ally of the bosses, there to police the workers in the car plants. They have set up their
own coordinating committee, with two delegates from each plant.
So far the strike has cost the car companies at least a $100 million in profits. The
strike is having an effect on General Motors and Ford assembly plants in the USA, to which
the Mexican car industry supplies parts, causing a shutdown in production in Flat Rock,
Michigan.
The car bosses and the State are replying with lock-ins of workers, putting up physical
barriers in order to stop them walking out. Demonstrations are threatened by gun-toting
cops, soldiers and sailors.
Realising the severity of the situation the newly elected "left populist" President of
Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (commonly referred to as AMLO), has responded by
stating: "We are looking for conciliation and agreement above all in Matamoros," he said.
"There is inconformity, and they haven't reached an agreement. It seems the workers have
rebelled against their union leaders, and the matter has grown out of control. Although it
is not a matter of our direct attention to put ourselves into the life of the unions, we
must be respectful if we are looking for a fix and conciliation." He is counting on the
unions to restore order.
In the USA, workers are organising to support the strike in Mexico and against the
shutdown of their own plants, with plans for a demonstration in Detroit on February 9th.
This shows that workers can realise that they have the same class interests, despite
borders and despite talk of a Wall. Whilst union leaders spout about forfeiting wage rises
and bonuses to "save jobs", Matamoros workers marched to the border crossing between their
city and Brownsville, just over the border in Texas, in a bid to win the solidarity of US
workers.
https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/2019/01/24/mexican-carworkers-show-the-way/
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Message: 4
The question of the conversion of coal-fired power plants, the closure of which is planned
for 2022, poses many social and environmental questions that can only be solved
satisfactorily in the context of a convergence of social and ecological struggles. ----
Concretely biomass is to use logs to heat, put in the tank of his car a " biofuel ",
produce methane from agricultural residues or electricity in biomass thermal power
stations ... ---- However, if using agricultural residues or logging is a common sense,
cultivating plants or cutting trees specifically for energy use of biomass helps to
increase deforestation and divert agricultural land from food production. .
We will not dwell on the so-called biofuels that today combine the negative consequences.
The development of bio-methane production on farms seems much more promising. It allows
the recovery of waste to produce both a renewable energy and an organic fertilizer.
The use of forest waste to eventually produce electricity raises much more complex
questions and can not find a single answer. It is mainly this question that we are going
to deal with here, in particular by examining a conversion project for the Cordemais
coal-fired power plant near Nantes.
Power plants at Biomasse ?
Certainly the project presented is based on the recovery of residues from the size of
gardens, wood waste building or wood industry. But as the director of the Cordemais plant
notes, " it must be demonstrated that these wood resources can be found locally " [1].
Friends of the Earth believes that the reconversion project will require significant
logging. " Such a supply would lead to an increase in truck transport and a very strong
pressure on the resource on the entire Atlantic coast " [2].
Other considerations are raised. In particular, the combustion of wood waste polluted by
paints, varnishes, glues or others, can cause the emission of pollutants dangerous to
public health which could not be treated by the filters provided for the combustion of coal.
Finally, it is the size of the installation that poses a problem. Thermal power plants
convert about 33 % of the energy consumed into electricity. Cogeneration systems make it
possible to use the rest of the energy to inject it into local heating networks. But the
amount of heat produced in Cordemais makes such a system inapplicable. This is why the
Friends of the Earth advocate that " rather than finance a reconversion project whose
viability is uncertain, the government should make the choice to (...) boost new
industrial sectors in the territories, compatible with the ecological transition " .
While the need to converge social and ecological struggles is increasingly necessary in
our daily struggles, a fight for a dry closure of coal plants, without leading a real
fight for the construction of biomass plants to meet the needs ecological is harmful to
ecological combat. It is time for trade unionists and ecologists to talk to each other and
fight for joint reconversion projects that will prevent the workers of the power stations
from being the turkeys of the government's pseudo-ecology joke. So, does the Cordemais
reconversion project have to be - at least temporarily - implemented ?
Jacques Dubart (AL Nantes)
[ 1 ] Le Monde of July 9, 2018
[ 2 ] www.amisdelaterre.org
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Biomasse-et-lutte-contre-le-dereglement-climatique
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Message: 5
There are many ways to engage, depending on your motivation or availability. What matters
is to participate ! ---- The adherents are generally in agreement with the Manifesto for a
Libertarian Alternative and regroup to act. They are involved in the development of LA
guidelines. ---- The Friends of Alternative Libertarian do not necessarily want to join
AL, do not necessarily share all the directions, but want to help the libertarian
communist current to exist, and therefore participate in a permanent subscription . They
are invited to the biennial congress, receive monthly monthly and, sometimes, a special
letter . ---- Donors support the libertarian Alternative monthly by paying money through
Press and Pluralism . These donations are deductible at 66% of taxes.
Subscribers to the monthly Alternative libertarian, ensuring its financial balance, help
to make live a libertarian
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Gilets-jaunes-Commercy-etait-motivant-structurant-porteur-de-perspectives
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Message: 6
Earlier this month, the Anarchist Federation and friends in England hosted Greek comrades
from the Anarchist Political Organisation to talk about the political situation Greek and
to raise awareness of the destruction by fire, by neo-fascists linked to local football
firms, of the Libertatia social centre squat in Thessaloniki (Northern Greece). The squat
has been run as an anarchist centre for several years and is now being rebuilt. Funds are
being raised, with international solidarity, for its resurrection. ---- The comrades
arrived in London on 14th January 2019 and left on the 20th. Talks and gigs were held at
various venues in London (DIY Space for London), Manchester (Partisan),plus venues in
Leeds and Exeter thanks to Red & Black Leeds and Exeter A Party. More than 200 people came
to the London gig supported by punk bands ( Eskorputas +Killdren + Romantik Dick + The
Chain of Panic + Inner Terrestrials). Over £1000 was raised to support the reconstruction
effort. The London gig also raised funds for legal cost of Russian antifascists imprisoned
and tortured as part of a fit up aimed at identify other individuals the state wishes to
repress (see also rupression.com ).
Last Thursday (24th January), another anarchist squat in Thessaloniki was attacked by the
same fascists throwing petrol bombs. Bookmarks bookshop in London was visited yesterday
(Saturday 26th January by a person who was involved in an attempted attack on the
Bookmarks solidarity event in the summer of 2018. showing the need for continued vigilance
about the potential for right-wing attacks across Europe.
More background on AF site:
http://afed.org.uk/call-for-transnational-action-in-support-of-the-libertatia-squat-in-thessanoliki/
http://www.i-f-a.org.gridhosted.co.uk/2019/01/27/173/
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Message: 7
Image from Encuentro Nacional de Mujeres que Luchan (Women In Struggle Conference) in
Santiago December 8-9, 2018 in preparation for national feminist strike in March 2019.
Feminism has a deep history in Chile and the powerful organizing that has emerged over the
last year provides a number of lessons to draw from. We republish this piece from ROAR
Magazine which is a summary of the longer piece, "A Feminist Movements to End Capitalism,
Part I" originally published on our website. ---- By Bree Busk, ROAR Magazine ---- It is
May 2018 and as winter descends on Santiago, Chile, a new wave of feminist activity is
exploding into life. Anti-patriarchal graffiti covers the city walls and streets are
littered with the evidence of recent marches. Tension is rising in the universities and
social media are flooded with posts ranging from cautious inquiries to joyous
declarations: "Is the downtown campus of PUC occupied?" "Was UCEN taken over?" "Instituto
Arcos on feminist strike!"
Almost every day, a new selection of feminist banners can be spotted hanging from the
fences of Santiago's most prominent institutions. One by one, the universities and high
schools are falling to feminist occupations, but somehow it still only feels like the
beginning. Feminism is on the rise, and while there may be messages of sorority in
abundance, they are sharpened by an intense anger directed squarely at those who have
wielded patriarchal power against the women of this country.
To an outsider, the feminist movement in Chile might come across as a strong, unified mass
movement, with a large number of diverse organizations joining the annual mobilizations.
But what at first glance might be taken as a well-developed expression of feminist power
was in reality much more fragmented. The movement was in chaotic transition, disrupting
and challenging the left as a whole, but without a clear vision of what new practices
would replace the old.
A New Wave of Chilean Feminism
The frustration and outrage felt by women, trans people, and queers had clearly been
intensifying for years, but the tension had yet to find release in a mass, popular
movement. Everyone could feel something coming, but no one was sure which combination of
events would finally crack the dam. The flood would come in April 2018, with a massive
wave of university and high school occupations, all carried out in the name of feminism.
The Chilean student movement has a long, rich history, most recently marked by periods of
struggle in 2006 and from 2011 to 2013 and can seem quite exotic to foreign audiences,
thanks to iconic photos of occupied schools and massive mobilizations. However, there is a
danger in romanticizing these superficial images of struggle. The risk is that without
historical grounding or contextual analysis, this current spectacle of youthful, feminist
rebellion will obscure the far more intriguing political developments taking place away
from the cameras.
"Contemporary Chilean feminism is refreshingly experimental and resilient ... By
maintaining a class struggle orientation and infusing their analysis with lessons learned
from Black and Indigenous feminisms, this generation of feminists has advanced the
struggle much farther than was previously considered possible."
The students may have been the first to throw open the door, but many more may soon walk
through it. Feminist activity has re-awoken in the working class neighborhoods of Santiago
and is stirring in the rapidly expanding migrant community. Workers' movements are
integrating an analysis of reproductive labor and even some traditionally masculine unions
are considering going on strike for feminist demands.
This new wave of Chilean feminism will be explored in a series of three articles with a
specific focus on the multisectoral and transversal tendencies within the movement which
arguably hold the potential to unite Chile's diverse social movements into a force capable
of presenting a real challenge to the triad of capitalism, patriarchy and the state. This
first part in the series looks at the conditions that gave rise to this fresh cycle of
struggle as well as the emergence of La Coordinadora 8 de Marzo, the coalition currently
serving as the primary vehicle for this political approach.
Feminists Against Femicide
Currently, the wave of strikes is already subsiding and the movement is charting a new
course. However, Chilean feminists are still struggling to analyze the moment in which
they have found themselves. It is not enough to simply react; we must understand where we
have been in order to determine where we will go from here. This process of reflection
will be ongoing, but several contributing factors can be clearly identified: the surge in
global feminist visibility, the parallel ascensions of other social movements and the
pressure exerted on all Chileans and Indigenous peoples through the continued application
of the neoliberal policies instituted since the return of democracy.
Chileans are very sensitive to international political trends. The #metoo movement in the
US and its equivalent in Spain, #yotecreo ("I believe you"), aligned neatly with Chile's
history of funas - a tactic where people congregate around the homes of public figures or
known abusers in order to denounce and shame them for human rights violations or
patriarchal violence. This tool is used when people believe there is no other recourse for
justice, which is often the case with individuals who escaped criminal prosecution for
their roles during the military dictatorship. Unfortunately, this also applies to abusers
who are often free to live their lives and perpetuate violent behavior without
experiencing any consequences.
WATCH: Video greetings from BRRN to the Chilean feminist movement, August 2018.
In the modern era, funas have gone digital and young women bravely post photos of their
bruised faces on social media accompanied by explicit accounts of their abuse. These women
are naming names and sharing screenshots, taking advantage of modern means of
communication to highlight their daily struggles.
#NiUnaMenos ("not one[woman]more") is a slogan against femicide which originated in
Argentina and resonates strongly with Chilean feminists, giving life to such organizations
as the Coordinadora #NiUnaMenos (NUM Coordinator), which successfully instigated massive
mobilizations throughout 2016 and into 2017. Femicide is a dominant theme in Latin
America, so much so that it feels like every week brings a fresh headline about a woman
murdered out of jealousy or as a punishment for stepping beyond traditional gender
expectations.
June 25, 2018, for example, marked the second anniversary of the death of Nicole Saavedra,
a young lesbian from a rural community who was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. Family
members and activists have charged that the investigation of Nicole's death was neglected
due to the lack of importance placed on the lives of women, and those of lesbians in
particular. This is a recurring theme for Chilean feminists, who are met with resistance
from both the government and media when they insist on the existence of femicide as a
unique category that cannot be understood or combated in the same way as other homicides.
For many who organize to combat the persistent themes of domestic abuse, sexual violence,
and femicide, the fight against apathy and resignation is a struggle in and of itself. In
Chile, remembering is not only about personal reflection. Rather, it is political process
that prevents the loss of collective knowledge and preserves the memory of martyrs.
Contemporary feminists use the politicization of memory in the same way as the older
generation who lived under the dictatorship: by honoring victims of femicide through art
and political struggle.
In late 2017, the struggle against femicide and gendered violence converged with the
immigrant rights' movement with the death of Joane Florvil, a young Haitian woman accused
of abandoning her infant daughter. She was subsequently arrested and held in detention
until her death 30 days later, allegedly due to injuries incurred during her arrest. As a
recent migrant who didn't speak Spanish, Joane was placed in a position of
hyper-vulnerability, unable to explain her actions to the police or to defend herself
against their accusations. Her death has since become emblematic of growing xenophobia, a
problem which is further exacerbated by anti-black racism and misogyny.
As migrants continue to surge into the country in unprecedented numbers, the left has
struggled to adapt to this new political landscape. Chilean feminists have been some of
first to extend a hand to the Haitian community, building bonds through activism and
popular education projects. With the passage of a new decree that singles out Haitians for
a more restrictive immigration process, feminism has the potential to become the lens
through which this crisis is understood and confronted.
Multisectoral Movements
The themes of income disparity, reproductive labor, and precarity have been taken up most
notably by the Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras No Más AFP (National
No More AFP Workers' Coordinator, or No+AFP), the coalition organized to reform or replace
the corrupt pension system. This movement has been propelled forward by female trade
unionists - among others - and hasn't hesitated to highlight how women are uniquely
disadvantaged under the current capitalist system due to gender-based income disparity and
the uncompensated nature of work in the home. The women of No+AFP are often active
participants in neighborhood assemblies and political organizations and represent a
traditional image of Chilean working class activism.
Tension emerges when the feminism of the labor movement and poblaciones - shantytowns or
working-class communities - intersects with the feminism of the student movement, which
has largely, but not exclusively, been developed in the context of the most politicized
high schools and universities. Certainly there is a vast gulf of experience between poor,
rural Chileans and those who are able to attend the best universities in the capital city
of Santiago. That said, it is the project of every social movement to identify the common
threads capable of binding these groups together across and through their diverse experiences.
The neoliberal policies instituted under the dictatorship and expanded on by subsequent
right-wing governments have impacted the lives of all Chileans and indigenous people.
Therefore, movements against state violence and privatization in the areas of education,
social security, healthcare and labor have everything to gain from recognizing and acting
on their complementary objectives.
This multisectoral approach is exemplified by the national organization Movimiento Salud
para Todas y Todos (Healthcare for All Movement, or MSpT), which unites healthcare
workers, medical students and patients to demand healthcare as a public right. They pursue
this goal through many diverse campaigns, including support for Mapuche hunger strikers,
improvement of patient conditions, public health education workshops and the
decriminalization of abortion. In the language of the Chilean left, sectors are defined
areas of struggle, such as labor, territorial - land and community - and student.
Multisectoralism means having a cross-sectional analysis of these social movements and
developing relationships of solidarity across these sectors, resulting in multisectoral
support for specific demands.
The multisectoral movements of today reflect the experiments and advances of the past, as
evidenced by the Chilean student movement which has proven itself to be remarkably
flexible, capable of incubating new ideas and putting them into practice. One such idea
was "sexual dissidence," a radical answer to the neoliberal politics of inclusion and
diversity. Popularized by such groups as Colectivo Universitario de Disidencia Sexual
(Sexual Dissidence University Collective, or CUDS), sexual dissidence denotes "constant
resistance to the prevailing sexual system, to its economic hegemony and its postcolonial
logic" and rejects the idea of subversive identities - gay, lesbian, queer, trans, drag,
etc. - in favor of subversive analysis and action. The result is an inclusive, combative
politics that cannot be easily co-opted or institutionalized, no matter how many
individuals are peeled away by token reforms.
Since the theorization and practice of sexual dissidence developed in conjunction with the
growth of student feminist activity, there is a significant tendency that has proved
resistant to trans-exclusive radical feminism. This influence is most visible in feminist
assemblies and demonstrations in Santiago where trans and nonbinary feminists show up in
far greater numbers than can be seen in the US and even hold leadership positions in their
organizations.
Contemporary Chilean feminism is refreshingly experimental and resilient, grounded in
historical leftist analysis, but open to integrating new theories and tactics as they
emerge on the global level. By maintaining a class struggle orientation and infusing their
analysis with lessons learned from Black and Indigenous feminisms, this generation of
feminists has advanced the struggle much farther than was previously considered possible.
However, there are a number of forces that stand in ideological opposition and seek to
sabotage the movement at every opportunity.
Bree Busk is an American anarchist living and working in Santiago, Chile. As a member of
both Black Rose Anarchist Federation (USA) and Solidaridad (Chile), she is dedicated to
building international coordination across the Americas. She currently contributes to
movements in both countries through art, writing, and providing the invisible,
reproductive labor that organizations need to survive and flourish.
http://blackrosefed.org/chile-feminists-new-social-struggle/
------------------------------
Message: 8
The only realistic approach to climate change is one that recognises the inequality in our
society. The policies of neo-liberalism, in particular carbon pricing, are a prescription
for failure. Workers and communities currently reliant on unsustainable industries deserve
a just transition. Working class living standards as a whole must be protected to maintain
social support for a transition to a carbon free economy. The price of the transition must
be borne by those who built and profited from unsustainable industries - the capitalists.
In short, we need to abolish capitalism. It is the only strategy that can work. ---- The
Yellow Vests movement in France began on 17 November and, after peaking in early December,
has continued to this day. It was triggered by the decision of the French Government to
increase taxes on petrol and diesel fuel at the start of 2019 and to justify it on
environmental grounds, in particular to mitigate climate change. Opinion polls report that
the movement has the support of the vast majority of people in France.
Hundreds of thousands of people have participated in militant actions across France, with
many of the demonstrations encountering massive police violence. The movement has been
politically heterogeneous from the outset. At the beginning Right wing tendencies were
predominant, but after about a month, the Left gained the upper hand. At all times, the
movement has resisted the appeal to affiliate itself with any of the mainstream French
political parties. The Government abandoned the fuel tax increases, but the movement had
already transformed into one protesting against the Government's economic policies generally.
It is unclear what the eventual result of the Yellow Vests movement will be, but one thing
is already clear. The Government's attempt to use price signals in the capitalist market
to bring about a transition from fossil fuels has been killed off. The people of France,
emphatically and almost unanimously, have rejected the neo-liberal prescription for
addressing climate change. The climate movement around the world ignores this lesson at
its peril.
The world needs to stop climate change. Left unchecked, global temperatures will rise by
between 40 and 70 Celsius. This would result in the destruction of most ecosystems, render
large parts of the world uninhabitable due to summer heat and kill billions of people.
This is not just about the Great Barrier Reef or the Amazon jungle, important as they are.
This is about the survival of industrial civilisation and, in a worst case scenario, the
human race itself.
Action to mitigate climate change, however, does not occur in a vacuum. The same
capitalist system which brought us unsustainable fossil fuels also created a vastly
unequal society, and inequality continues to increase. When a government uses neo-liberal
policies like a carbon price to address climate change, it aggravates the tendency in
capitalism to produce inequality. Just as for electricity prices, when fuel prices rise,
workers suffer and the capitalists hardly notice.
For us in Australia, the consequences should be clear. The media are dominated by hard
Right wing climate denialist voices. They will channel justified working class anger
against declining living standards into a deadly weapon against any form of carbon
pricing. The Right will promote mass scepticism about the scientific basis for taking
action against climate change. This is precisely what occurred to the Labor Government of
Julia Gillard in 2010 and the consequences are likely to be the same - or worse - if that
strategy is repeated.
The only realistic approach to climate change is one that recognises the inequality in our
society. The policies of neo-liberalism, in particular carbon pricing, are a prescription
for failure. Workers and communities currently reliant on unsustainable industries deserve
a just transition. Working class living standards as a whole must be protected to maintain
social support for a transition to a carbon free economy. The price of the transition must
be borne by those who built and profited from unsustainable industries - the capitalists.
In short, we need to abolish capitalism. It is the only strategy that can work.
A JUST TRANSITION MEANS ABOLISHING CAPITALISM
Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group
Related Link: http://melbacg.wordpress.com
https://www.anarkismo.net/article/31281
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