Today's Topics:
1. federacion anarquista uruguaya FAU: Declaration before the
repression in the march against the interference of UPM in
education (fr, it, pt) [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
2. France, Union Communiste Libertaire AL #297 - Back to
school: Five challenges launched by Macron (fr, it, pt)[machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
3. Santiago Anarchist Federation: THIS SEPTEMBER 5: AGAINST THE
PRECARIZATION OF OUR LIVES AND THE DEVASTATION OF
THE TERRITORIES SOLIDARITY, ORGANIZATION AND FIGHT!
(ca, it, pt) [machine
translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
4. US, First of May Anarchist Alliance: Ukrainian anarchist
anti-fascist Olexandr "Tundra" Kolchenko is free!
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
5. Union Communiste Libertaire Toulouse & Alentours: Film
debate on prisons (fr, it, pt)[machine translation]
(a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
6. Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement AWSM: Interview With
German Anti-authoritarian Anti-Fascists (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
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Message: 1
The Uruguayan Anarchist Federation repudiates the police repression of the mobilization
against UPM and the detention of five protesters on September 5 and the set of events that
arose from there: detention of two other protesters at the door of the 7th and the
beatings carried against the detainees in the dungeons of the police station. ---- Why
this police repression? It is due neither more nor less, to the government's servile and
submissive attitude towards the greater investment of a multinational company in our
country. UPM is given land, water, free zones, tax exemptions, legal certainty and
guarantees to minimize all labor disputes that occur while the pulp mill is being built;
but the railroads and the railroad are also delivered and said infrastructure is built
with the resources that should be turned over for the benefit of the population and not
for a multinational.
The delivery of sovereignty cannot be greater. This is another chapter of the looting
policies of our wealth before "their mirrors with brightness." It is the organization of
dispossession of natural assets that must be in the hands of the people, to deliver them
to the ruling classes at international level. In this way, the dependent insertion of the
Uruguayan economy in the world deepens, we continue to be a country that produces raw
materials but is increasingly caught up in the gears of world capitalism.
This forest-cellulosic project transcends governments, it is a country project that
began in 1987 with the approval of the Forestry Law and is crowned with these pulp mills,
which take the raw material processed to make paper in Finland, in this case. On the other
hand, in Uruguay they have closed practically all the paper mills, which although it seems
contradictory, is the concrete expression of the "country model" that those above want to
impose on us: producing raw materials, unemployment and growing misery. All accompanied by
club.
In these latest mobilizations, police violence has increased. Squeezes, arrests,
beatings, use of "strips", presence of the Republican Guard and order to disperse
mobilizations with rubber bullets without more, are becoming part of the new elements of
this situation. It is that a right turn is being processed, whoever wins the elections
wins. A twist of adjustment with stick, what is in discussion is the "dose", but not the
adjustment itself.
The truth is that UPM needs guardians and has them. Capital has its repressive forces to
impose its projects. The people know about Resistencia, they know about Lucha.
OUT UPM!
AGAINST MISERY AND GARROTE, BUILD POPULAR POWER!
UP THOSE WHO FIGHT!
URUGUAYAN ANARCHIST FEDERATION
http://federacionanarquistauruguaya.uy/declaracion-ante-la-represion-en-la-marcha-contra-la-injerencia-de-upm-en-la-educacion/
------------------------------
Message: 2
Act II of the government looks like two drops of water in Act I: authoritarianism, social
breakdown, flight productivist despite the ecological crisis. In July, the Red and Black
Summer Meetings organized by UCL cleared some of the topics that will punctuate the year
to come. ---- The start of the season promises to be busy with mobilizations, with
September 3, gatherings pointing the responsibilities of the state in feminicides. On this
day, Marlène Schiappa launches a " Grenelle of domestic violence " . A new stroke of com
', after that in 2017 on gender equality declared " great national cause " . ---- In July,
150 people - including the UCL group Saint-Denis - have traveled outside the police which
Leila, the 74 th woman to die at the hands of her spouse since the beginning of the year,
had unsuccessfully sought protection . On 6 July in Paris, 2,000 people called for
immediate action. Since then, several women have been murdered, bringing the number of
femicides to 85 for 2019.
Still in September, several sectoral strikes will follow one another. In health on the
11th - while the strike in emergencies continued throughout the summer [1] -, at the RATP
on the 13th, at the taxes on the 16th, then the 19th at EDF. At the same time, the yellow
vests, which have not completely disappeared during the summer break, will test their
ability to bounce back. In addition to these appointments, several topics will impose
themselves on us.
Climate: a contempt displayed
In July, the Ministry of Ecological Transition passed into the hands of Élisabeth Borne,
who drags a particularly uneconomic resume. Under Holland, then under Macron, she worked
on the privatization of highways, ADP, the rail industry and the promotion of air
transport, a major emitter of greenhouse gases [2]. His appointment is an insult to the
very idea of " ecological transition ".
An international week of mobilization for the climate is announced between 20 and 27
September. On Friday the 20th, youth calls for the first time the entire population to a
global strike. Some unions support the move in England, Germany, the United States or
France. More typically, climate marches will be held on Saturday, 21 September, although
actions targeting fossil fuels are also scheduled for that day.
It is up to us to emphasize the incompatibility of the capitalist system with the
preservation of the planet, while at the global level, greenhouse gas emissions are not
declining and biodiversity is falling apart.
Retreats: work longer, earn less
The pension battle begins. On 18 July, High Commissioner Delevoye unveiled his
recommendations: end of all special regimes ; replacement of contributory quarters by
points the value of which, as determined by the Government, will not be known until the
time of asserting its rights ; introduction of an age of equilibrium at age 64, evolving
according to life expectancy and including a discount in case of previous departure. In
summary: it will be necessary to work later to benefit from a pension with full rate, and
the pensions will fall with the end of the taking into account of the 10 (in the public)
or 25 (in the private) better years in the calculation of the rights.
Édouard Philippe will receive the unions and employers' organizations on the 5th and 6th
of September to " build the method and timetable for consultation " with a view to a
presentation of the bill in cabinet at the end of the year and a parliamentary debate
probably in the aftermath of the municipal elections of March 2020. On the side of the
mobilizations, FO will demonstrate solo on Saturday, September 21st, and the CGT three
days later. In short, an overall battle remains to be built.
Unemployment: liquidate the rights of the precarious
The unemployment insurance file mobilizes little. Yet the attack is major. The government
will make 3.4 billion savings on the backs of the unemployed. From 1 st November, he will
have worked six months for a period of twenty four months to open rights to benefits,
instead of four months and twenty-eight today. In the same way, it will take six months of
work instead of one to recharge one's rights.
As the minimalist bonus-malus scheme for companies abusing short-term contracts will not
change the precariousness of work, the unemployed will pay the price. According to a
Unédic study, more than 1 million unemployed people will have their rights reduced or
eliminated [3]. Especially that from 1 st April 2020, the calculation of daily allowances
will also change, bringing about lower income people alternating periods of work and
unemployment.
The struggles of the unemployed and precarious could take on a new dimension when they are
mass excluded from unemployment benefits from November.
The opposition to the privatization of Aéroports de Paris (ADP) - voted with that of the
French Games, and with the transfer of the share of the State in Engie - will occupy the
space. The deadline to collect 4.7 million signatures to demand a referendum run until
March 12, 2020. Remember that the procedure of the referendum of shared initiative (RIP)
is designed so that the referendum never happens [4].
Privatizations: the case Aéroports de Paris
Nevertheless, given the ecological and social issues, this issue will polarize political
debates at least up to the municipal level. The opportunity to lead a broad debate on the
destruction of public services - closed schools, rail open to competition, highways sold
to monopolies - and advocate for their social reappropriation, their reorientation at the
service of the people and their direct management by women workers and the workers.
SNU: the submission of youth
Finally, we will have to mobilize against the recruitment of youth that represents the
National Universal Service (SNU). With this device, the government confirms the
authoritarian tropism of Emmanuel Macron's five-year term, after the repression of
demonstrations and its inhuman policy towards migrants. Starting this year, 40,000 15- and
16-year-olds will have to perform twice a fortnight of national service, where attention
will be mingled with Marseillaise, initiation to defense and other patriotic and
militaristic rejoicings. By 2021, 800,000 young people will be affected by this management
and submission company.
With a unitary collective of associations and trade union and political organizations, the
UCL claims the abandonment of the SNU whose cost is estimated at 1.5 billion euros per
year. A real campaign is coming in the coming months.
Stéphane (UCL Montpellier)
[1] " Emergency strike: The return of striker coordination ? ", Libertarian Alternative ,
July-August 2019.
[2] " Élisabeth Borne, to her to make you prefer the plane ", Libération , July 17, 2019.
[3] Les Échos , July 4, 2019.
[4] " ADP: why refuse the big Macronian sellout ", Libertarian Alternative , July-August 2019.
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Rentree-sociale-Cinq-defis-lances-par-Macron
------------------------------
Message: 3
We live a critical moment for the life of ecosystems, where the precariousness of life
intensifies, and it is expressed with the onslaught that the patriarchy-capital and its
colonial strategy, accentuate before the ecological, humanitarian and migratory crisis,
geopolitical disputes such as the commercial war and the new processes of neo-colonialism,
which at the same time allow the rise of conservative and fascist sectors. ---- In the
Chilean region the system of domination managed by the dominant bloc has intensified and
deepened its neoliberal policy. These two years of Piñera's government have dismantled the
little and no social rights that the dominated class possessed, and in turn it has
intensified its repression against the sectors in struggle:
1.- In the world of wage labor, labor flexibility instruments have been strengthened,
expressing this: the Youth Labor Statute, and the Law Initiative that has sought to
increase the precariousness of work under the false discourse of reducing hours of
exploitation, canceling the possibility of collective bargaining with the employer and
making work conditions more flexible.
2.- The Tax Reform ensures the safeguarding of the rates of profit for local and
transnational entrepreneurs, in a context of crisis and economic slowdown, considerably
damaging the dominated class.
3.- In the world of the population, the Law of Social Integration has consolidated the
monopoly of land access to the real estate world, eradicating the production and
management communities of the city and its territories, making it impossible to achieve
self-managed projects and Participatory
4.- Extractivism and the commercialization of land and water, today our territories have a
serious ecological situation, with an increasingly complex water crisis, expanding the
areas of sacrifice and the alteration of ecosystems, as happened with the contamination of
drinking water in Osorno, where the commodification of water sources is visible through
health companies; the situation of Puchuncaví-Quintero that has not been resolved; the
death of peasant life, flora and fauna in drought-devastated areas, and the false exits
posed by the dominant bloc through COP 25, and economic treaties such as TPP-11 and APEC,
which they come to reinforce the looting of bodies and territories.
5.- Currently we are witnessing a resurgence of the repressive apparatus and the
criminalization of social protest. Safe classroom law, Short Terrorism Agenda, Migrant
Law, are clear signs that the state apparatus updates and deepens its control and
discipline tool. Hitting the oppressed class strongly: street vendors, horticulturalists,
migrants, Mapuche communities in resistance and secondary students. In addition to the
above, the murder of social fighters such as: Macarena Valdés, Camilo Catrillanca,
Alejandro Castro, and the increasingly frequent feminicides in public spaces,
homo-lesbo-transphobia and racism, shows us the State of Permanent Exception We inhabit
Recognizing the above, some have opted for the institutional struggle as a way out of our
problems, however, this route has only demonstrated its zero capacity to stop the
neoliberal outpost, which predates our bodies-territories of the dominated class, which is
why the failure The electoral, institutional and parliamentary route is the clear and
unequivocal finding that exploitation and domination only stops with fighting in the
street and building organized communities. Who today take advantage of this instance of
popular protest to raise electoral illusions only demobilize and keep intact the
domination and its expressions.
We call, on September 5, to the sectors in struggle to lift this protest day in all
territories, organizing our anger and multiplying the forms of resistance, in order to
defend our lives and communities.
In each territory to raise the Struggle and Unity from the streets!
Against the Precarization of life!
Top those and those who fight!!
SANTIAGO ANARCHIST FEDERATION
https://www.facebook.com/Federaci%C3%B3n-Anarquista-Santiago-143813436259330
------------------------------
Message: 4
Down with Russian occupation of Crimea and Donbas! No to empire East and West! Down with
the capitalist oligarchs! Freedom for the working-classes and all oppressed people in
Ukraine, Russia, and across the world!
------------------------------
Message: 5
"ON BOTH SIDES OF THE WALL - AGAINST A SOCIETY OF CHARACTER" in the presence of GENEPI
Toulouse. ---- TROUBLE DEBATE PROJECTION # 20: ---- For those inside, the struggle against
prisons is often a fight for survival, a constant struggle to preserve your dignity in a
place designed to defeat you. ---- For those who are outside, the prison is a battle to
maintain links with people that the state would like you to forget. ---- Prisons are built
to be impenetrable fortresses, sanctuaries of power and a daily threat that forces us to
accept a life of exploitation and abuse. ---- It is a perpetual experiment on the
regulation and psychology of people, and a clandestine factory that uses forced labor of
prisoners. --- Date: Thursday 5th September at 8.30 pm --- Place: Associative café
l'Astronef (3 airplanes - Rangueil / 300 meters from Saouzelong metro station)
Duration: 39 minutes in VOSTFR then debate
Price: Free participation
ABOUT GENEPI
The beginning of the years 1970 is marked by violent riots within the penitentiary
establishments. The public authorities then decide to open the doors of the prisons to
external actors by establishing a link between the students and the prisoners. Thus, on
May 26, 1976, GENEPI was born.
For more information on Genepi: Website[4], Facebook[6]
ABOUT SUBMEDIA
Trouble is a monthly documentary series intended to be
screened in a group, crewed, public. We hope these
videos will help foster critical discussion and generate local organizing and action
initiatives.
Founded in 1994, SubMedia is a video production collective that aims to promote anarchist
and anti-capitalist ideas and to help social struggles through the broadcast of radical
films and videos.
For more information about SubMedia: Website[7],
https://sub.media/
https://alternativelibertairetoulouse.wordpress.com/2019/09/03/film-debat-sur-les-prisons/
------------------------------
Message: 6
Friends with the Institute for Anarchist Studies project, perspectives on Anarchist
Theory, sent us this recent interview with members of the German revolutionary
organization, ...ums Ganze!, which comes out of the Autonomous/Autonome and revolutionary
Antifascist left of the 1980s and 1990s. ---- Founded in 2006, ...ums Ganze! Has attempted
to develop politics and approaches to struggle based on those previous histories and the
changing dynamics of both national and global capitalism and emerging far-Rightism and
fascism. ---- ...ums Ganze! is part of different struggles such as the feminist women‘s
strike, confronting the housing crisis, and antifascism. We think that the very principles
of capitalist society are the roots of these crises, so we do not advocate for reform or
aim for a greener and more social capitalist society, but rather try to push for a social
revolution.
While the interview is very much centered on antifascism and "antifa" within the German
context, the members of ...ums Ganze! offer both critical estimates of those histories and
the ongoing difficulties of developing explicitly revolutionary anti-capitalist and
anti-statist politics within needed popular organizing outside of "autonomous
subcultures". These analysis contain points of discussion on developing lessons towards a
more general assessment of not just a broad antifascism but of the struggle within
antifascism to identify, define and expand a revolutionary anti-capitalist,
anti-authoritarian liberatory current beyond specific localized or national experiences.
Right now, we learn from the success of the AfD that just doing antifa work, meaning
following the fascists around and trying to counter each of their moves, is important but
not enough. We have to think about how to build a strong radical left that has answers for
the problems of our time. So, we are trying to update our own movement.
...................................................
"Push Back the Enemy, and Build Your Own Movement:" An Interview with German
Antiauthoritarian Antifascists
This discussion is with Linda and Miro, German comrades who did a speaking tour in the US
in the fall of 2018. They have been antifascist activists for over 10 years and are part
of the ...ums Ganze! alliance. Both are involved in the campaign "Nationalism is No
Alternative" that tries to finds answers to the new tactics of the extreme Right. This
interview was conducted via email following discussions during their time in the US. Their
organization, ...ums Ganze!, is an anti-capitalist, antiauthoritarian alliance currently
consisting of eleven groups based in Germany and Austria. It was founded in 2006 in order
to organize radical Left critiques and analysis in both theory and practice. The term
"...ums Ganze!" can be roughly translated as "...to the whole (thing)!" and means that the
alliance's focus lies in an antiauthoritarian analysis and critiques which cover the whole
complexity of the state, nation, and capital. ...ums Ganze! made its first appearance
during the anti-G8 protests in Heiligendamm, Germany in 2007.
The interview was conducted by the Perspectives on Anarchist Theory journal collective, a
project of the Institute for Anarchist Studies (IAS).
Tell us about your organization(s). What are their roots in different political groups and
movements of the past? What is their political orientation?
We are part of ...ums Ganze!, which was founded in 2006 and is basically an alliance of
anti-authoritarian communist groups. ...ums Ganze! is part of different struggles such as
the feminist women‘s strike, confronting the housing crisis, and antifascism. We think
that the very principles of capitalist society are the roots of these crises, so we do not
advocate for reform or aim for a greener and more social capitalist society, but rather
try to push for a social revolution. Therefore, we talk, fight together, and organize with
people outside of leftist scenes and bubbles - at least we try to. Our aim is to actually
win (there a some texts in English that can be found here:
https://umsganze.org/other-languages/).
We have our roots in the German antifa movement. In the early 1990s, the radical Left
collapsed and the fascist movement grew exponentially, especially in the former East
Germany (GDR). Many within the strong subculture of autonomous anarchists thought
antifascism was the most important struggle and joined antifa groups. But the autonomous
antifascist movement was heavily divided between traditional anarchists who did not want
to work together with unions, Social Democrats, or the media, and a more pragmatic wing
who built large autonomous groups and tried to leave the subculture by strategically
working with non-radical leftists. The latter groups sought to influence public opinion
through media campaigns and push popular youth culture to the Left through youth
organizing. These large antifa groups and their strategic concept to be openly radical,
anticapitalist, and anti-state, but also to be accepted by normal people and able to
actually build power in your town or city through self-organized but very committed
groups, are the roots we are coming from. uG! is also part of a European network of
antiauthoritarian groups called Beyond Europe (https://beyondeurope.net/).
Discuss the idea of being "post-antifa." Can you put this idea into historical context?
How has the German antifascist movement developed after struggling so long against
neo-Nazis? What lessons do you have from this struggle that you bring into your work today?
In the early 2000s, the antifascist movement was entrenched in bitter discussions and
split up along various lines. For example, the Left leaning government started to mobilize
society, and sometimes even the police, against fascists, sometimes the state even
supported antifascist education programs with money, so the antifascist movement had to
reevaluate what they thought of the state. Also, they discussed what to think about 9/11.
Some thought the Islamist jihadists were allies in the fight against the imperialist
United States, while others thought it was another form of fascism that needed to be
fought against. Some of those antifascists were even in favor of the "global war on
terror" and the invasion of Iraq. (We think that neither is correct).
Some in the antifascist movement and in the broader radical Left discussed how to be
successful outside of antifascist struggles and rebuild the radical Left, since
antifascism often did not have the answers for many urgent problems. For example, in 2005,
the government composed of the Social Democrats and the Greens slashed unemployment
benefits and introduced a benefit system that pushed a lot of people into poverty and
consisted of degrading procedures. Antifascists criticized the movement against these cuts
for its reformism and tried to push fascists, anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists, and other
enemies of emancipation out of the movement, which is a very important job. But they were
unable to present a credible way forward that would lead to improving living conditions.
In order to build a radical Left that is part of social movements and able to radicalize
and win, two new organizations were formed: the interventionistische Linke
(Interventionist Left) and ...ums Ganze! Both are called "post-autonomous" and
"post-antifa" since we are trying to use the experiences of the autonomous and antifa
movement but use them in different social struggles, as well as to organize outside of
autonomous subcultures without repeating the mistakes the orthodox communists usually make
when they build their hierarchical party structures.
How has the movement and its various organizations responded to the rise of the
Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland (AfD))? How have you adapted and
changed tactics in response? Is this party continuing to grow, or have they reached their
peak and are starting to decline?
The AfD, even though it is now controlled by fascists, is not a traditional neo-Nazi
party. They employed tactics that you probably know from Donald Trump‘s campaign. They
present themselves as rebels against an imagined leftist elite that has nothing but
contempt for the average working man(!). They disguise their racism as concerns for
cultural preservation, they make use of conspiracy theories, and they appeal to older men
by marking feminism and feminists as enemies. They don't give a fuck about the truth and
are happily contradicting themselves. They are kind of clever in using social media and
the traditional media.
In the last national election in 2017, the AfD won 13% percent of the vote and therefore
now has 94 members of parliament and all the infrastructure and money that comes with
that. In some parts of Eastern Germany, the AfD passed the conservative party and is the
leading party, polling at 25%. The next local elections in these states this fall can
yield significant gains for the AfD. The European elections this spring showed that, in
many areas, the AfD stabilized their outcome somewhere between 8% and 15% of the vote. So,
except for several large regions in Eastern Germany, they are neither growing nor declining.
With the help of some billionaires' money and support from the media, the AfD was and is
able to push their narrative. The established parties (mostly the social democrats and the
conservatives) reacted by condemning the AfD as an organization but moved themselves to
the right, and incorporating the AfD‘s politics into their own programs and rhetoric.
In part, the antifascist movement had to adapt its tactics to the new threat. Traditional
neo-Nazi skinheads can be doxxed, and most people are unhappy when they learn about the
neo-Nazi background of their neighbor or co-worker. But antifascists experienced that
doxxing an AfD party official, in a country where at least 15% support the party, is not
causing any problems for the party official; it is, rather, free publicity. When
antifascists show that the party official is an anti-refugee racist and bigot, many people
do not have a problem with that. They voted for him becausehe publicly stands for that.
Another problem is that the AfD‘s organizing today is, to a large degree, done online, and
we have not yet found a way to deplatform their Whatsapp chatgroups and Facebook pages.
The rallies of the fascist movement are a mere spectacle to provide content for fascist
YouTube channels. So, antifascists may be able to stop people from going to those rallies,
but that does not help because they are able to listen to the speeches on their computers.
To be fair, some of the old militant antifascist tactics are still working fine. In some
urban areas where the movement is strong, militants are able to put so much pressure on
AfD members that the party is unable to build local structures, because it is just no fun
to be the face of the AfD in some cities. Also, all over the country, antifascists were
able get a lot of party meetings canceled by putting pressure on venues. For example, the
campaign "Kein Raum der Afd" (No Space for AfD) researched the pubs in Berlin where the
AfD would hold their meetings and put pressure on them. Right now, it is impossible to
find any restaurant or bar within Berlin that is still willing to host AfD events.
Right now, we learn from the success of the AfD that just doing antifa work, meaning
following the fascists around and trying to counter each of their moves, is important but
not enough. We have to think about how to build a strong radical left that has answers for
the problems of our time. So, we are trying to update our own movement. We came up with a
campaign called Nationalism is No Alternative (NIKA). NIKA is not trying to convince AfD
voters to not be fascist anymore, but rather tries to organize all those young people who
are outraged by the AfD rhetoric. In order to do that, we have stepped up our social media
presence, updated our style, and held easily accessible, open meetings that everybody who
is willing can attend. But we did not disguise our politics; we are still openly
anti-capitalist and anti-state.
What is the overall political situation in Germany now? What are the prospects for
fundamental social change there? What are the reasons for despair? What are the reasons
for hope?
In the years directly following 2015, the right was able to mobilize tens of thousands in
the streets. It was a proper movement. Right now, the dynamic phase is (temporarily) over,
even though they still have the groups and networks to restart mobilizing masses if the
occasion arises. We saw that in late August, 2018 in Chemnitz. Following the murder
committed by a refugee, a local rightwing party, the AfD, and fascist football hooligans
organized huge demos and attacks on perceived migrants and leftists.
The right is now settling and establishing themselves. They are building structures that
are here to stay, which is very dangerous. So now we have a situation where the right is
still very motivated from their earlier successes, and that is also dangerous. In the last
two years, there have been several cases of right wing terrorism committed either by
people that were part of the new right wing movement or have been neo-Nazis for a long
time and felt that now is the time to act. In June, 2019 a neo-Nazi murdered a
conservative politician on his porch because he was pro-refugee in 2015. Also, the
fascists within the state have seemingly woken up: leftist media uncovered a network of
police and military special forces who built their own terrorist infrastructure and
trained for civil war. One chapter of this group already ordered 200 body bags and kept a
list of 25,000 people they wanted to kill
(https://taz.de/taz-Recherche-auf-Englisch/!5558072/).
But society is not just moving to the right; rather, it is polarizing. The Left is still
pretty small and the organizations are weak, but we are more able to intervene in debates.
There is a huge new movement to stop climate change that is openly confronting the fossil
fuel industry, in many major cities there are big leftist movement against the rent
increases, and in Berlin, there is a large movement pushing to expropriate every business
that owns more than 3,000 apartments in the city. While the AfD dominated the talk show
debates in 2015, now they aren't even invited anymore, and that is not because the TV
stations suddenly learned about the importance of deplatforming fascists, but because they
don't have any answers apart from "close the borders" or "deport refugees." Being able to
dominate the public discourse around key topics such as housing or climate change is
important antifascist work.
Looking at what is going on in the US from Germany now, what are your observations? How
would you compare what you see happening here to what you are experiencing in Germany?
A lot of things are quite similar: we both live in a society where a lot of people feel
that there are hard times coming and that the standard of living might decline. They
think, therefore, it is a good idea to keep competition out by building border fences,
etc. The countries are heavily divided, and the right is established or even hegemonic in
parts of the country. In both countries, the antifascist left seems to be able to confront
the fascists in the streets, but in my opinion needs to think more about the fascists
within the established institutions, such as the secret service, the police, the military,
official politics, and important think tanks. The fascists seek to transform society very
subtly, and there is little to be done about that with small demos and small scale
affinity groups.
When we went to the US, we got a feeling of how much more the police and the fascists are
militarized. Also life seemed harder with the horrible healthcare system. We felt so much
respect for all the comrades who get up and fight and risk getting injured or imprisoned.
(While their comrades tried to block an important AFD assembly, antifascists of
"Nationalism is No Alternative" intervened into a liberal antifascist event with a banner
that reads, "If You Organize Deportations Then You Had Better Keep Quiet about Fascism,"
which paraphrases Max Horkheimer who said "If you don't want to talk about capitalism then
you had better keep quiet about fascism.")
What lessons can you share from your experience fighting fascism, sexism, racism and
nationalism in Germany to those of us struggling against these things here in the US?
The main things we are thinking about right now are to not just think about how your
activity helps to push back the enemy, but to always aim to build your own movement, as
well. Does this activity help to convince and organize my target audience? Who is my
target audience? And maybe, how do we break through our isolation and start talking to
people who are not yet convinced?
If you liked this interview please support the work that made it possible. You can make a
one-time donation - or become a monthly sustainer - to the Institute for Anarchist Studies
(IAS), the organization that produces Perspectives on Anarchist Theory (who did this
interview) by clicking Here!
This interview originally appeared on the Institute for Anarchist Studies website here:
https://anarchiststudies.org/push-back-the-enemy-and-build-your-own-movement-an-interview-with-german-antiauthoritarian-antifascist-comrades/
http://threewayfight.blogspot.com/2019/08/from-perspectives-on-anarchist-theory.html
https://awsm.nz/?p=3486
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