Update: anarchist news and information from all over the world - 30.11.2019

Today's Topics:

   
1.  Russia, avtonom: Anarch-feminist bloc against violence
      against women [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  Vrije Bond: Vrije Bond Amsterdam leesgroep - Revolutions in
      Reverse (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  freedom news: The Revolt in Iran - There is open revolt in
      Iran and for some reason, no one seems to be talking about it.
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
4.  Belarus: Extremism in Belarus (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
5.  freedom news - Greece: Anarchists defiant amid eviction
      threat to occupied social centres, World, Nov 27th
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
6.  alas barricadas: Vincenzo Vecchi released (ca) [machine
      translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
7.  US, black ros efed: CUBA AND THE DEMONIZATION OF 
     ANARCHISTS: A LESSON FOR OUR TIMES By Rafael Uzcategui 
     (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


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Message: 1






November 25 is the International Day against Violence against Women. In Moscow on this day
from 18 o'clock a mass (agreed) picket will be held on Yauzskie Vorota Square, at the
monument to the Frontier Guards of the Fatherland. Anarchists and anarchists intend to
take part in the action. ---- Recently, in Russia there have been several resonant cases
of domestic violence against women, which ended in the murder or severe injuries of the
victim. Women have practically no right to self-defense - if they manage to kill their
offenders, who sometimes mocked them for years, the police, which does nothing on
allegations of violence, initiate criminal cases of murder. About 80% of female prisoners
convicted of murder actually sit in self-defense. A vivid example is the case of the
Khachaturian sisters, who are charged with the composition of "murder by a group of
persons by prior conspiracy."

Anarchists and anarchists agree with the initiators of the picket that Russia needs to
create an effective network for protecting victims of violence and preventing such crimes.
In other countries, this reduces the number of violent crimes.

However, we believe that the root of the problem lies in social inequality, in limited
access to resources for women and other vulnerable groups. This is what often puts them in
a dependent position and allows them to use violence with almost impunity, until it ends
in the murder of the victim or offender in self-defense. Only by building a society based
on genuine (rather than formal) equality and self-government can we finally overcome
violence in interpersonal relations!

On International Day Against Violence Against Women, participants and participants in the
anarchist-feminist bloc also intend to express solidarity with Kurdish women who are
struggling to resist the Turkish invaders in Rojava! Unfortunately, if captured, they are
in no way protected from brutal violence by soldiers and mercenaries.

Look for us in black and purple flags!

Meetings of the anarch-feminist bloc in social networks
on facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/525194248031659/

in contact with https://vk.com/event189117009

general meeting of the event https://www.facebook.com/events/408681453350852/

https://avtonom.org/news/anarha-feministskiy-blok-protiv-nasiliya-nad-zhenshchinami

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Message: 2






Op donderdag 28 november is de maandelijkse leesgroep van de Vrije Bond Amsterdam. Deze
vind plaats in de Nieuwland (Pieter Nieuwlandstraat 95). De leesgroep zelf begint om
19.30. Daarvoor is er de kans om gezamenlijk met ons vegan te eten tussen 18.30-19.30. Het
is fijn voor ons als mensen kunnen aangeven als ze willen mee-eten, zodat we daar rekening
mee kunnen houden bij het koken. Maar je kan natuurlijk altijd onaangekondigd aanschuiven!
Deze maand zullen we de tekst ‘Revolutions in Reverse‘ van David Graeber bespreken. In
deze tekst benadert David Graeber het concept van revolutie op een radicaal andere manier
dan vaak voorgesteld wordt. Interessante stof dus! Wil je verschillende visies over de
komende revolutie bespreken? Kom dan naar de leesgroep!
https://www.vrijebond.org/vrije-bond-amsterdam-leesgroep-revolutions-in-reverse/

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Message: 3






Protestors first hit the streets over the issue of rising fuel prices and were met with a
brutal crackdown by the Iranian regime. The situation escalated at an alarming rate with
an internet blackout starting on the 16th of November near masking the news while comrades
international were focused on Hong Kong, Bolivia and Chile. ---- By the 19th, Amnesty
International said that at least 106 people had been killed and that the number may be
much higher. The Iranian government called it "baseless allegations and fabricated
figures." Meanwhile, a UN agency said that it was looking to be more like 200 and
Anarchists on the ground put the figure closer to 3/500. ---- It's hard to pin a figure on
the dead with only the broadcasts of the Iranian government to turn to, and they were
pouring out a mixture of protestors burning Qurans in Tehran and pro-government rallies in
an attempt to alienate the protestors from their communities. Through VPN's and the
occasional bit of signal the odd status update or picture leaked out, however, these calls
for support seem to been drowned out in the reams of shocking footage coming from elsewhere.

So here is the situation.

In 2015, the US imposed crippling economic sanctions on Iran and there was a subsequent
economic collapse. This, of course, overwhelmingly affected the working class Iranians,
while the parasites in control remained quite comfortable. President Hassan Rouhani's
solution was to raise the fuel price (as opposed to say increasing the taxation of the
economically wealthy) and this saw an explosion of civil unrest. Iran has the cheapest
petrol prices in the world. Sitting on top of the fourth largest oil reserves, petrol is
seen as something which should be accessible to all in abundance. A rise of nearly 200%
was simply intolerable to working class Iranians. --- However, the fuel price increase is
simply the straw that broken the camels back as the people face a constant waves of
government corruption and widespread poverty which sees millions unemployed or living
extremely precarious lives, depriving them education, healthcare, food, and housing.
Protestors were initially met with water cannons and tear gas. This quickly escalated to
live ammunition and local Anarchist comrades reporting tanks on the streets and people
being shot at from helicopters.

On the 25th November, the internet was restored. Reports came out indicating at the very
least there were 400 deaths, 4000 injuries and some 10,000 arrests. Anarchists comrades
report protests in 170 cities being composed of a mixture of workers, students and the
homeless, identifying it as a class war. The protesters were now demanding the overthrow
of the Iranian regime, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and the
Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) due to their corruption and the plague of economic problems
and the lack of freedom and fundamental rights.

A statement by The Iranian leftist diaspora in the United Kingdom, France and Germany,
formed by a loose coalition of academics and militants calling upon the global left to
express solidarity with those struggling in Iran was issued later that day:

"Our world is on fire. Not only forests but also cities are burning all over the world.
Social conflicts of all sorts are erupting, spreading their flames across the planet:
Algeria, Chile, Ecuador, Haiti, Hong Kong, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, you name it. Located
within this global context of struggles against the social hell of neoliberal,
financialized capitalism, there has been another mass uprising in Iran since November 15 ...
.... There are many videos showing the police shooting demonstrators in the head and chest
- as we observed before in the case of Iraq. This happened mainly in the Kurdish and Arab
provinces whose discriminated people are once again at the very forefront of the uprising
and have paid the highest price...

... The left needs to learn from the oppressed classes to simultaneously oppose US
imperialism (especially US sanctions) and the Islamic Republic's interventions in the region.

We, the undersigned academics and militants, urge the global left to break its silence and
express its solidarity with the people of Iran and their resistance.

It is pointless for us to demand anything from the Islamic Republic, but we will demand
from our comrades and progressive forces all over the world to be - in any possible form -
the voice of the oppressed people in Iran suffocated by the forced isolation. We also call
on the international left to condemn the atrocities of the regime against its own people.

Finally, we stand in solidarity with the Iranian protesters who are reclaiming their
dignity by refusing austerity, authoritarianism, militarization of society, as well as any
other form of domination that stifles their autonomy and freedom."

Here is a link to those who have signed.
The full text and the contact to add signatures can be found at ROAR.

This was subsequently followed by The Anarchist Union of Iran and Afghanistan issuing a
statement for a call to arms on the 26th:

"The Anarchist Union of Iran and Afghanistan believes that the Islamic Republic of Iran's
regime will not hesitate to massacre millions of Iranians, like it has done in Syria and
Iraq as well as in Iran these these last few days. Therefore, the Anarchist Union of Iran
and Afghanistan is prepared to declare that it will cooperate with all Kurdish, Arab and
Baloch armed opposition forces. With respect to the widespread repression of defenseless
people in Iran, we must be able to provide them with the right tools to defend themselves,
before there are more dead and the people's movement has been permanently suppressed.
Therefore the need to form an armed revolutionary front to support and defend the people
against the Islamic regime's executioners is urgent and necessary. If it is possible to
transport weapons to people inside Iran, you should not hesitate for a moment to prevent
more people from being bled and buried. The duty of the revolutionary and radical
opposition outside of Iran is to provide logistical and strategic support to the struggles
and resistance of the people inside Iran"
These statements come just days after President Hassan Rouhani celebrating on the 20th
remarked "our people have been victorious against... the enemy's conspiracy" stating that
"Those anarchists who came out onto the streets were few in number," he said, insisting
"this is the biggest display of the power of the nation of Iran".

Two days later protestors burnt down the central bank in Behbahan.

It would seem he is wrong.

It would seem that Iran is gearing up for a revolution.

Express your solidarity.

Peter Ó Máille

https://freedomnews.org.uk/the-revolt-in-iran/

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Message: 4






Since last years, the repressive apparatus of Lukashenko developed sophisticated
legislature and media discourse aiming to prove that everyone who criticizes the state in
a radical way are "extremists" and almost terrorists. Specific efforts are put in
criminalizing anarchists. Our comrade have made a video analyzing how state defines
"extremists", how does it manipulate the term to brainwash the people and what should we
do regrading to that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDB-o6_I0Mo&feature=emb_logo
https://pramen.io/en/2019/11/extremism-in-belarus/

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Message: 5






The Greek State has given occupied social centres a deadline of December 5th to leave or
face heavy force aimed at removing them. ---- New Democracy (ND), which took power in
July's elections, has continued and escalated a wave of evictions previously helmed by
Syriza against self-organised migrant and anarchist squatted buildings as part of its
promise to "bring order" following years of austerity imposed by the formerly leftist
government. ---- The government previously attacked the anarchist enclave of Exarcheia,
Athens, in August as part of this campaign of violence, and has kept up the pressure
since. Talking to Enough is Enough, one member of the Notara 26 squatted centre commented:
"Since the evictions of Spiro Trikoupi 17 and other squats on 26 August, we are living in
occupied territory, with riot cops stationed all around us. They are here all day, all
night, causing trouble and provoking us - shouting racist abuse, banging on the windows,
trying to force the door, and so on - until they get the order to evict."

That's not to say the anarchists haven't been getting their licks in ...

And it doesn't look like the ND will be getting things all its own way this time round
either. Alongside Notara's own retort on the eviction threats, two housing occupations in
Thessaloniki, including Mundo Nuevo which has been repeatedly targeted in recent months.
said in a statement:

"As squatters and individuals fighting against any form of power, we are not going to
abandon our homes, our hangouts, the places in which we move and fulfill our needs and
desires. The State is trying to build a strategy of tension and their efforts at
disorientation produce  nothing more than a determination to defend the political choices
we have made, realising the weight of them. We will be here now and after any evictions to
remind them of the consequences of their actions.

"Concerning the houses we live in and how the media tries portray them, we have to say
that they are neither close to collapse nor crumbling. We have dedicated significant time
to maintain and repair these spaces and they are fully sustainable. What is probably
hidden is that they are ‘castle-like' (that is, houses built essentially on the Byzantine
walls of the city due to the lack of financial resources of the people originally housed
there) and form an important role in housing the refugee population. In the upper city,
which of course is not in line with the standards of the glorious and glorious ancient
Greek and Byzantine past, the conflict between the villagers and the authorities has been
going on for many years, with victories and defeats on both sides, and of course we are
eager to continue that fight. We realise that the mild interventions already made in
various neighbourhoods of Thessaloniki, part of which is the demolition of the houses we
live in - as they say "roadblocks and green space" - are linked to the effort of
gentrification and tourism. They wish to "upgrade" the city, which already has many woes
already evident with the extreme increase in Airbnb rents in these neighbourhoods,
alongside the installation of new control systems and their general sterilisation of any
spontaneous creation and intervention.

"The "crime" we have committed is that we envision and build a reality beyond economic
bargaining, believing that housing, water and energy are basic needs and therefore should
not be considered products where prices will be driven by profit, supply and demand laws.
And this for capitalism is something unforgivable. On the other hand we see politicians
and all high-ranking officials, accused and convicted of financial scandals and
corruption, but enjoying a special immunity and privilege. To whoever is blinded to this
reality, we have to say that the repression currently underway by the competing movement
is simply to lay out the red carpet for extreme neoliberal policies that are coming."

Ten, 100, 1,000 squats against a world of organised rot.

"Investors, municipalities and government agencies are not leaving the ruins.

"See you on the streets!"

https://freedomnews.org.uk/greece-anarchists-defiant-amid-eviction-threat-to-occupied-social-centres

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Message: 6






We collect good news (for a change) that we read to the countermadriz compas who have
taken care of the translations: ---- Extracted and translated from Insuscettibile di
Ravvedimento . More information in Italian and English on the link. We recall the news of
the arrest of comrade Vincenzo last August, sentenced to 11 years and 6 months in prison
for crimes of devastation and looting in the revolt against the G8 in Genoa in 2001. ----
The State does not forgive and neither do we! ---- We learned that on 11/15/2019 the
anarchist Vincenzo Vecchi was released from prison in Rennes, France. Vincenzo was
arrested on August 8 of this year, also in France, thanks to the joint work of the French
and Italian police, with the contribution of the Italian "anti-terrorism." Wanted and
fugitive since 2012, after the final sentence of approximately 11 years and 6 months in
prison on charges (specifically, the crime of "devastation and looting") in relation to
the days of revolt against the G8 in Genoa (July 2001 ). Prosecutors from Genoa and Milan
issued two international arrest warrants against him (the latter linked to a four-year
prison sentence for participating in an anti-fascist demonstration against the "Fiamma
Tricolore" party in Milan in 2006).

During these months, the Rennes court did not grant the extradition of Vincenzo requested
by the Italian State, judging the documents provided by the latter as insufficient or
deficient. Finally, the Rennes Court of Appeals, after detecting "irregularities" in the
arrest warrant linked to the sentence issued for the days of Genoa (2001), established
that it should be released. Vincenzo was then released from prison on November 15 and
should be able to stay in France for now.

  http://alasbarricadas.org/noticias/node/42567

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Message: 7






Originally titled "Authoritarian Demonization of Anarchists, Cuba and the Gaona Manifesto"
---- The possibilities anarchism points toward have many enemies. Its fiercest opponents,
however, are those authoritarian regimes which, distorting and subverting the ideas of
socialism, have promoted themselves historically as embodying the values of liberty,
equality and fraternity. In every situation, state capitalist governments, applying
religious categories to secular contexts, have over-simplified conflicts by defining them
as being between "the faithful"-those who support them, and "heretics"-those who oppose
them. In this alleged confrontation between the two positions (in religious terms the
struggle of "good" against "evil"), the authoritarians need to claim that all the world's
revolutionaries are with them confronting the forces that oppose them-even though this
isn't certain.

As we know, ever since the Russian Revolution of 1917, nationalists and authoritarian
leftists who have come to power have developed various strategies to dismantle, co-opt,
and fragment whatever revolutionary organizations remain. They do this precisely because
such groups constitute opposition to their plans from the left, because they denounce the
contradictions and abuses of the ongoing process of the centralization of power. In the
case of anarchism-an attitude and way of thinking which is highly resistant to
bureaucratic reorganization of power and authority-tragic examples abound. In Russia (and
later the Soviet Union), China, Spain, and dozens of other examples, statists have
systematically persecuted and exterminated anarchists. The killing, however, has been
accompanied by lies, misrepresentation, and the creation of nonexistent support to confuse
and paralyze the international anarchist movement.

Cuba 1961
Those who know the history of anarchism in Latin America know that Cuba developed, along
with countries like Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay, an anarcho-syndicalist movement
that played an important role in the labor conflicts of their times. As is well documented
in the book El anarquismo en Cuba by Frank Fernández[published in English as Cuban
Anarchism by AK Press],[1]anarchists on the island were prominent in several unions,
published newspapers and magazines for discussion, propaganda, and agitation, as well as
providing social centers for people to meet and interact.

The Cuban anarchists, as interested people can confirm, joined the popular struggle
against the dictator Fulgencio Batista and, his ouster in 1959 aroused in them the same
positive expectations about the future of the island as in the rest of society. As
Fernández relates, the anarchist publications of the day, Solidaridad Gastronomica and El
Libertario, expressed a favorable and hopeful attitude regarding the new government, while
not trusting it unthinkingly.[2]But, in late 1959, any criticism of the government, no
matter its source, began to be labeled "counterrevolutionary" in the new language of
power. At the same time, the Castro clique began inviting representatives from all the
revolutionary tendencies of the world to the island in order to convince them of the
regime's goodness.

Among those invited was the German anarchist Augustin Souchy, who visited Havana in the
summer of 1960 to learn about the experiments with land reform. His inquiry resulted in a
lengthy article, printed in an official publication, reporting on what he had seen during
his visit. Souchy also wrote a pamphlet entitled Testimonies on the Cuban Revolution[3],
which was published without going through official censorship, and had a tone different
from what the regime had hoped for. In this pamphlet Souchy warned of the authoritarian
turn the new administration was taking. Soon after he left Cuba, the entire print run of
the pamphlet was seized and destroyed by the government, following a recommendation by the
Cuban Communist Party (PCC). But the pamphlet was made available outside the country
thanks to an edition published by Reconstruir of Buenos Aires. The anarchists could not be
easily convinced by the Castro government's propaganda. A new strategy was needed.

Many Cuban anarchists of the time belonged to the Asociación Libertaria de Cuba (ALC). In
1961 its Secretary of Relations, Manuel Gaona Sousa, was in charge of maintaining contacts
with the international anarchist movement. However, from early on, Gaona was enthusiastic
about both the July 26 Movement (M26J) and Fidel Castro. Gaona's prestige and record of
participation within the anarchist movement, his key role in communications with the
outside world, and his desire to cooperate with a government that he supported were used
to maximum effect by the Cuban authorities. Gaona wrote a manifesto, "A clarification and
a statement of the Cuban anarchists"[4]which asserted that "nearly all anarchist
activities are now integrated in the various agencies of the Cuban Revolution." It also
denied that anarchists were being imprisoned for their activism. Both assertions were
contradicted repeatedly by anarchist publications on the island.

Gaona's manifesto, which was sent to all anarchist publications of the time, contained
five key ideas: The first that there were no anarchists arrested for their convictions;
second, that there was no political or religious persecution in Cuba; third, that
anarchists supported Castro's government; fourth, that Castro's government represented the
ideals for which the anarchists fought; and the fifth part was a crude and literal copy of
the government's propaganda about the purported political and economic benefits delivered
by the Castro regime. Finally, the document stated: "We want to alert fellow anarchist
Movements in Mexico, Latin America, and the world, and fellow Spanish-speaking exiles in
America, so that they won't be taken unawares by the malicious and deceitful information
sent out by people who serve, consciously or unconsciously, the Cuban counterrevolution."
Although the manifesto claimed to express the position of Cuban anarchism, it was signed
by just 25 individuals, and it later became known that some signatures were collected by
Gaona through deception. Many anarchists who he asked refused to sign a text that they
regarded as renouncing the basic principles of anarchism. Among them was the well-known
comrade Marcelo Salinas y Lopez; they were persecuted and sooner or later forced into exile.

The Isolated Anarchists
Gaona's manifesto brought about several dire consequences for the anarchist movement of
the island. From the point of view of the Cuban authorities, it divided the anarchists
into "good," the small group that supported Gaona's position, and "bad," the rest. It also
sowed confusion in anarchist organizations outside Cuba, especially in Latin America.

At this time there was also a U.S. government offensive against Cuba. And in this context,
on the left there was a lot of admiration for the bearded July 26 Movement (M26J) as a
model for guerrilla insurgencies in Latin America. On the other hand, there was poor
communication with the anarchist activists on the island. Under the circumstances, the
manifesto literally paralyzed anarchist criticisms and questioning of the new regime. In
fact, the isolating of the Cuban anarchists promoted their persecution and extermination.
To give a few examples: Augusto Sánchez was imprisoned and murdered; Rolando Tamargo and
Ventura Suárez were shot; Sebastian Aguilar Jr. was shot; Eusebio Otero was found dead in
his room; Raúl Negrín was burned alive. Casto Moscú, Modesto Piñeiro, Floreal Barrera,
Suria Linsuaín, Manuel González, José Aceña, Isidro Moscú, Norberto Torres, Sicinio
Torres, José Mandado Marcos, Plácido Méndez and Luis Linsuaín were arrested and sentenced
to prison. Some comrades could not stand the torture in prison, such as: Francisco
Aguirre, who died in his cell; Victoriano Hernández, sickened and blinded by the abuse,
committed suicide; and José Álvarez Micheltorena, died a few weeks after his release.

Manuel Gaona was actively involved in promoting the persecution of his former comrades.
Although the accusations against the genuine anarchists employed the typical Stalinist
epithets-such as labeling them "CIA agents" among other things-they proved to be
effective. According to Fernández, "The confusion in the international anarchist camp
regarding the Cuban situation was promoted by the Cuban government's propaganda machine,
which had enormous resources, talent, imagination, and great political skill." Even exiled
Cuban anarchist groups, like the Cuban Libertarian Movement in Exile (MLCE),[5]were
accused by other anarchists and anti-authoritarians of being "counterrevolutionaries." For
example, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, at the International Anarchist Congress of Carrara in 1968
accused the MLCE of "being funded by the CIA." The abandonment of Cuban anarchists by
their peers is one of the worst mistakes in the history of the anarchist movement. It was
not until 1978, with the publication of The Cuban Revolution: A Critical Perspective by
Sam Dolgoff,[6]that the world's anarchists began to understand what really had happened on
the island. But it was too late.

Half a Century Later, The Farce
Fifty years after the Gaona manifesto, there are attempts to use the same strategy again.
At a time when various self-described leftist and progressive governments have come to
power in Latin America, the new bureaucracies are trying to spread the idea that all
revolutionaries, including anarchists, are on their side. Some converts, inventing phantom
organizations and initiatives, spread the idea through the Internet that the "true
anarchists" support the governments of Rafael Correa, Evo Morales, Cristina Kirchner, and
Hugo Chávez, among others, and that those who criticize them are "false anarchists", and
are "far from the popular struggles."

One of the most extravagant attempts has been made by a freewheeling "Revolutionary
Anarchist Federation of Venezuela," which in its first statement expresses support for the
Bolivarian government of Hugo Chavez and affirms the need to join in its electoral
coalition, the Gran Polo Patriótico, contending in the upcoming presidential elections.
However, there is a big difference between now and Manuel Gaona's times. Information
technologies nowadays make it almost impossible for people to lack information in the way
that allowed ignorance of the real nature of Fidel Castro's government in the past. Anyone
interested and concerned can now research and find out the different opinions and
initiatives in the popular and revolutionary milieus which expose the contradictions of
these governments and their increasing involvement with today's globalized capitalism.
They can learn about these regimes' criminalization of those who are involved in social
struggles, and the protection of the new bourgeoisie through state capitalism. History
repeats itself-the first time it is tragedy, the second time it is farce.

Originally published in Spanish in Tierra y Libertad. Translated into English by Charlatan
Stew and friends, June, 2014. Republished from The Anarchist Library. An earlier English
translation by Christie Books can be found titled "Authoritarian Chimeras, Cuba, and the
Gaona Manifesto."

For more content related to anarchism and Cuba we recommend "To my compañerxs on the Left
- A Reaction to the Death of Fidel" and "Cuban Anarchists Announce Opening of ABRA Social
Center." For more on Latin American anarchism generally we recommend "Land and Liberty: A
Review of Anarchism in Latin America."

Footnotes
[1]Published in English as Cuban Anarchism The history of a movement. San Francisco: See
Sharp, 2001. Available online here.

See especially Chapter 4: Castroism and Confrontation (1959-1961), and Chapter 5: Exile
and Shadows (1961-2001).

[2]In Cuban Anarchism: the History of a Movement, Chapter 4, Fernández relates how the
anarchists in Cuba decided to issue a Declaración de Principios (Declaration of
Principles), in the summer of 1960, accusing the Castro regime of strengthening government
centralization, and moving toward a Marxist dictatorship. The eight points of the
Declaración also outlined the ways in which their anarchist perspective differed from the
policies of the regime: "1) it defined, in accord with libertarian ideas, the functions of
unions and federations in regard to their true economic roles; 2) it declared that the
land should belong "to those who work it"; 3) it backed "cooperative and collective work"
in contrast to the agricultural centralism of the government's Agrarian Reform law; 4) it
called for the free and collective education of children; 5) it inveighed against
"noxious" nationalism, militarism, and imperialism, opposing fully the militarization of
the people; 6) it attacked "bureaucratic centralism" and weighed forth in favor of
federalism; 7) it proposed individual liberty as a means of obtaining collective liberty;
and 8) it declared that the Cuban Revolution was, like the sea, "for everyone," and
energetically denounced "the authoritarian tendencies that surge in the breast of the
revolution."

[3]Augustin Souchy, Testimonios sobre la revolución cubana. Buenos Aires: Editorial
Reconstruir, 1960. Available online here.

[4]For a discussion of the use of the terms "libertarian" and "anarchist" interchangeably,
especially in places outside North America, see: An Anarchist FAQ (02/17), The Anarchist
FAQ Editorial Collective, Published June 18, 2009. Version 13.1.

See Section A.1.3, Why is anarchism also called libertarian socialism?: "Anarchists have
been using the term ‘libertarian' to describe themselves and their ideas since the 1850's.
According to anarchist historian Max Nettlau, the revolutionary anarchist Joseph Dejacque
published Le Libertaire, Journal du Mouvement Social in New York between 1858 and 1861
while the use of the term ‘libertarian communism' dates from November, 1880 when a French
anarchist congress adopted it.[Max Nettlau, A Short History of Anarchism, p. 75 and p.
145]The use of the term ‘Libertarian' by anarchists became more popular from the 1890s
onward after it was used in France in an attempt to get round anti-anarchist laws and to
avoid the negative associations of the word ‘anarchy' in the popular mind (Sebastien Faure
and Louise Michel published the paper Le Libertaire-The Libertarian-in France in 1895, for
example). Since then, particularly outside America, it has always been associated with
anarchist ideas and movements. Taking a more recent example, in the USA, anarchists
organised ‘The Libertarian League' in July 1954, which had staunch anarcho-syndicalist
principles and lasted until 1965. The US-based ‘Libertarian' Party, on the other hand has
only existed since the early 1970's, well over 100 years after anarchists first used the
term to describe their political ideas (and 90 years after the expression ‘libertarian
communism' was first adopted)."

[5]"Una aclaración y una declaración de los libertarios cubanos", available online here.

[6]Montreal: Black Rose Books (1976). Available online here.

https://blackrosefed.org/cuba-demonization-of-anarchists

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