The FAGC (Federación de Anarquistas Gran Canaria - Anarchist Federation of Gran
Canaria) continues neighborhood anarchism in the northwest of Africa, where it isgeographically and politically located. She started a free breakfast programinspired by an initiative developed by the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s,first in Oakland, California, and later in many other American cities. Accordingto the Canary Collective, "anarchists must do anarchist things. Build acommunity, nurture bonds within it, seek ways out without expecting anything frominstitutions. Mutual support and direct action are not just slogans from posters.They are useful and practical methodologies that can be used every day and inevery relationship." ---- This initiative launched by the federation is not anaction separate from the larger-scale struggle, but contributes overall toawareness-raising and social mobilization. Solidarity breakfasts supportcommunity building in neighborhoods; it is the best antidote to capitalism andthe promotion of far-right discourse. Social dynamics are not random, nor do theyappear neutral, they are determined by the social system we live in, i.e.neoliberalism. If we look more closely, we find that our social relations aregoverned by the conditions determined by capital, where we usually figure asconsumers of services in the vortex of interests aimed at enriching this greatmachine. By developing such forms of social relations and encounters that do notgo through this logic of capital, for example sharing breakfast, we support newspaces and ideas on the basis of which a different social organization is created.The territory of the Canary Islands is a victim of gentrification and touristexploitationThe Canary Islands are the territory with the highest poverty rate in Spain. Injust five years, between 2013 and 2018, the proportion of the Canarian populationliving in extreme poverty increased from 10.7% to 15.7%. In 2020, 36.3% of theCanarian population was at risk of social exclusion, and the socio-healthsituation due to covid-19 most affected those households that were victims ofsocial inequality. In addition, rents have increased in the poorest Canarianmunicipalities, while they have stagnated in the richest, mainly due togentrification. Companies that trade in apartments colonize central and touristareas and push the poor population to the periphery.Despite what is always claimed, tourism does not create wealth, but ratherpromotes social inequality and undermines communities. All territories that havebeen forced to base their economy on tourism are generally poorer. The CanaryIslands are fully touristic, have the lowest wages, are crippled by insecurityand have the highest rates of child poverty. The impact of the social crisiscaused by covid-19 has had the effect that, in the face of an economy that is notat all diversified and that has been structured solely in the interests ofcapital, the living conditions of families have been severely degraded. Thisconsequence is not due to any geographical, human or political problem, althoughcapital always tries to explain poverty as a factor inherent in certainsocieties. The problem is colonial in nature, as the market rolls over theperiphery with everything that is overvalued as culturally, politically andeconomically correct for capitalist interests.Facing Poverty: Social Organization, Survival and StruggleConsidering that almost 8% of the population of the Canary Islands cannot afforda diet at an optimal level of nutrition and that the only source of food for manychildren is school canteens and breakfast grants, the Anarchist Federation ofGran Canaria created the mentioned program of solidarity breakfasts. On weekendsand holidays, many families do not have the means to feed their children, so inJune the anarchists in La Isleta started organizing breakfasts. The initiativehas drawn criticism from the far-right in the Canary Islands and ultra-CatholicNGOs, whose intention is to keep the poor poor and to convince them that theyhave only themselves to blame. A Canary friend realistically warns: "What we areproposing may be nothing more than survival politics. But it is impossible tochange social conditions unless we first ensure the survival of our people, ourclass, and especially those who represent our future."FAGC has been dealing with basic needs for ten years, be it housing projects orfood independence. Social communities grow stronger when they learn to manage andsolve problems they take for granted. Our friends say: "Faced with theincompetence, unwillingness and lack of interest of the institutions in thissituation, aggravated by the consequences of the pandemic and wars, we startedthis initiative, which tries to provide dozens of children with healthy food,without the suffering of animals." Revolutions are made on the barricadespreferably with a well-fed stomach.https://www.afed.cz/text/7701/snidane-solidarity-na-kanarskych-ostrovech_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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