WORLD WORLDWIDE ITALY News Journal Update - (en) Italy, Sicilia Libertaria, May: THE XII INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ANARCHIST FEDERATIONS (IFA) (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 The 12th Congress of the International Anarchist Federations (IFA) was hosted by

the "Teatro Artigiano" in Massenzatico (Reggio Emilia). The Theater stands where
the first Casa del Popolo in Italy was built in 1893, a place rich in history,
anchored in that first phase to the legalistic socialism of Camillo Prampolini. A
few hundred meters from the theater, the "Cucine del Popolo", an Arci club
managed by the Reggiana Anarchist Federation, worked at full speed to churn out
meals for about 80 delegates from Europe and Latin America. But they were also
the place for fraternization, sociality and some of the "working tables"
organized to explore the 9 items on the Congress agenda (see the other articles
on this page).

The comrades from Reggio have shown great organizational ability in managing the
assembly and the numerous technical and logistical aspects, on top of which is
that of translations from different languages, resolved in the best possible way.

We publish below not a sort of report of the congress (whose resolutions must be
submitted to the ratification of the member Federations) but a brief report
focused on some of the most characteristic aspects that emerged during the work
and collected by the five delegates present of the Sicilian Anarchist Federation.
The latter, together with the Kurdish KAS, was admitted to the International by
acclamation during the plenary assembly of 9 April.

Transversal to the whole debate was the question of Eurocentrism, underlined with
emphasis by the Latin American comrades (Brazilians, Mexicans, Argentines,
Cubans) who, with their interventions, reaffirmed the existence of different
points of view on central themes be it the war in Ukraine or the anti-religious
struggle; their accusations of the processes of domination in the world, and in
their continent in particular, have also been a clear warning to their own
anarchist comrades in the West (not so much geographical as political-cultural)
to avoid underestimating distant contexts, which have their peculiarities and
facets, historical dynamics and ongoing struggles.

It thus emerged that the most relevant issue for us Europeans, the war in
Ukraine, in the other hemisphere has a marginal importance compared to the daily
class war that states and bosses wage with extreme violence against the
exploited, the poor, the indigenous, women, the LGBTQ+ world. It follows that
antimilitarism, confirmed as the cornerstone of world anarchism, encounters
different modalities and realities in which it defines and redefines itself,
outside of any dogma, in an anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist,
anarcho-indigenist, feminist, etc. key.

The work of the congress was carried out for the most part in small groups whose
reports were reported daily to the plenary assembly. It was an intense work,
often difficult due to the need to translate concepts and words clearly, and also
due to the debate that developed on numerous aspects and of which it was
necessary to take care of shared synthesis.

The final moment was held in the plenary assembly of 10 April, during which the
transfer of the IFA secretariat to the Slovenian-Croatian Federation was
sanctioned. Agreements were also established on the management of the "IFA
Magazine" and the website, and on the methods of managing the ratification of the
documents proposed by the working tables or of preparing those that are still
incomplete in a short time.

On the sidelines of the congress works, three public events were held: on the 7th
a meeting to present the imminent Anarchist Book Fair of the Balkans; on day 8
the concert by Alessio Lega and Francesco Pelosi & The Bouncing Brothers; on day
9, a film on social struggles in Brazil: everyone was very involved and appreciated.

WAR IN UKRAINE AND INTERNAL WARSThe most important discussions took place around
the first item on the agenda ("Capitalism, war and authoritarianism: how to deal
with global capitalism, globalization, liberalism and how to improve anarchist
strategies"), both in the "plenaries" , and in the table dedicated to further
information. The Brazilian comrades denounced the "extractivist" policies, the
destruction of popular farms, the nefarious work of the Bolsonaro government and
that of the current left-wing "fossil rulers", who see anarchists directly
involved, having also suffered attacks and death threats . The Kurdish-Iraqi
comrades dwelled on the destruction of local communities and the permanent war
that the Kurdish people suffer, especially in Rojava which is currently under
attack. Our Federation has described Sicily's role in the Mediterranean as an
energy and commercial "hub", its widespread and suffocating militarization, the
fight against the military bases, those of Niscemi and Sigonella in the first
place, of which the USA and NATO they serve to fight their wars and manage the
intervention in Ukraine. We have proposed a meeting of anarchists from the
Mediterranean area in order to create a stable coordination of anti-militarist
struggles. The French-speaking comrades summed up the work of concrete solidarity
with the Ukrainian comrades undertaken with various convoys of medicines, food
and clothing and the help provided to those fleeing the war-torn country and
especially to those unable to cross the borders; these comrades are also active
in providing support to Sudanese and Senegalese comrades who, suffocated by the
critical situations in which their countries find themselves, they were unable to
speak at the congress. The British comrades have informed us of their commitment
against arms factories and exhibitions, but also of the solidarity shown to
collectives of Ukrainian comrades engaged in armed resistance: they have
therefore invited the IFA to seek a united position on this point which respects
of the various positions. The Bulgarian comrades described the deep rift that
crosses their country and society over the conflict in Ukraine, between those for
and against the Russian intervention, and they proposed to promote direct actions
of protest against the war. Mexican comrades spoke of drug trafficking and
internal war, grappling with the anti-terrorism laws used by the central
government against political opponents: a low-intensity war is underway in
Mexico, which also reaps victims among women and indigenous people, aimed at
favoring the policies of multinationals. The war in Ukraine in this context
appears to be a completely marginal issue. The Italian Anarchist Federation
reaffirmed the content of the document "For a new antimilitarism", drawn up last
year, and the need to desert wars starting from one's own reality, mobilizing
against arms factories, armies and military bases: it is on these points that a
unified position should be reached. The Greek comrades presented a general
picture of their reality in which they inserted the internal war that the state
carries out against the movements: the oppressive nature of the system becomes
more and more evident. They then described the process of expanding NATO bases
and the attempt to involve Greece in the Ukrainian conflict. The comrades of the
Slovenian-Croatian federation recalled how the war has shaped the geography of
their countries and how its consequences are still alive in their societies. They
then supported the right of every individual or community to defend themselves
against a foreign occupation, as the Ukrainians did in the face of the Russian
invasion: for this reason they do not criticize those comrades who have decided
to fight even by enlisting in the state army in order to express this right.
Theirs was an autonomous choice that must be respected even if it has little or
nothing to do with anarchist practices. They then spoke of the patriarchal roots
of every war and invited to reject any distinction between good or bad refugees.
Nationalism, patriarchy, militarization must also be disarticulated with the
action of small groups and the construction of networks of solidarity. The
Brazilian comrades have once again underlined a different point of view: the
Brazilian people pay the price for yesterday's colonialism but also for that
implemented today by oil companies and Western masters, instigators of a daily
war against indigenous peoples and communities. They therefore proposed an
international campaign against the multinationals that exploit the resources of
Latin America. In turn, the Italian comrades focused on the emergence of
nationalist and sovereignist identities in response to the crisis produced by
neo-liberal globalization, from the war against migrants, from internal wars
against social antagonism; they reiterated the need to erase the borders and
actively show solidarity with the Ukrainian comrades who support the victims of
the bombing and with the Russian comrades who are boycotting the war. The
Argentine delegate described how "extractivist" capitalism is exploiting the
country in continuity with the 400 years of its colonization. From Mexico it
proposes to accompany the indigenous struggle but without appropriating it:
therefore launching campaigns in favor of indigenous peoples and all those who
suffer forced removal from their lands, also opposing the gender war of the
intolerant patriarchy and machismo. Finally, the Cuban comrade denounced the
false anti-imperialism of states such as Cuba, Nicaragua or Venezuela, who use it
to repress domestic opponents and seek legitimacy for their authoritarian
policies. All the interventions revealed the need for direct action at an
international level.

THE NINE WORK TABLES

 From the table on  Capitalism, war and authoritarianismwe have already given an
extensive account. Let us add here that the political-theoretical debate was
aimed at defining the bases around which each individual Federation will
implement its own initiatives and actions, without any kind of foreclosures,
where the contingency should make them necessary. Among other things, strikes
against wars were discussed, but also territorial sovereignty and nationalism,
the latter issue on which our FAS tried to make a distinction between the
"nation-state" and the "national culture" , as the latter also a product of the
history and struggles of the exploited, and therefore the basis for a path of
self-determination and valorisation of differences, against cultural flattening
and statist uniformity, with a view to federalist internationalism.

The roundtable on Migrations highlighted a lack of interest compared to the
previous congress in Ljubljana. However, he has carried out analyzes on the
interventions in the various territories, on the exploitation of immigrant labor
in tourism, in the service sector and in agriculture, on the new migration
routes, on the obstacles placed in the way of NGO ships, on the growing
militarization in African areas.

Women and gender struggles was a very complex and animated work table, in which
many points were explored, from violence in the workplace to the issue of
abortion and the attacks that reactionary and neo-fascist governments carry out
to limit its use; but binarism and gender issues were also discussed, including
violence within anarchist groups, boys and girls, rapes and other aspects of the
international feminist and libertarian debate. Several delegates focused on their
respective realities, and even on problems

personal (how to deal with the transition, for example), enriching the debate
with many facets and testifying to a particular interest and activism among
anarchists.

Religion tablehas re-proposed the centrality of the anarchist commitment against
churches and religious institutions, their interference in society and in
government policies, their claim to monopolize solidarity and welfare services,
their role as a crutch of the system (both in covering the voids left behind by
cutting welfare and inculcating a servile mentality), as underlined by the FAS
delegate. The debate then focused on the necessary distinction between the
presence and pre-eminent role played by the Catholic Church in the colonization
of indigenous peoples, and religious forms of pre-Hispanic culture that survive
among the native populations. It is a mistake to think that atheism can be
imposed on populations that live their own particular spirituality linked to
natural phenomena. It is necessary to avoid that Eurocentrism also gives birth to
forms of cultural imperialism among anarchists. Starting from these points,
expressed in particular by the FAS and the comrades from Latin America, it is
possible to build a broad and participatory network.

The table intended to bring out the anarchist and critical points of view of
education and the conventional school system led to a broad reflection and to the
illustration of a series of alternative experiences from below, particularly in
some realities (Greece, Spain, Brazil, Cuba and the Caribbean, Argentina and also
Italy) and in populations marginalized by the system, such as the indigenous
people of the Amazon. On the one hand, there is particular attention to cultural
specificities that favor an anti-authoritarian attitude, on the other, the work
carried out in the university movement of some countries, such as Greece, is
highlighted. Finally, the creation of a specific space within the IFA dedicated
to education and the exchange of experiences among those working in this sector
was proposed.

The debate on environmental struggles it was very rich and articulated. At the
table dedicated to this we talked about environmental disasters, agro-industry,
petrochemicals, multinationals, nuclear power, and how to undertake initiatives
to fight that do not get ensnared by the false environmentalism of the States.
Among the alternatives, the FAS delegate proposed that of "self-consumption
groups" and "energy communities", self-sufficient and self-managed, which must be
removed from the pretensions of states to regulate them and make them marginal
players in a "green" transition based on mega- plants (biofuels, wind,
photovoltaic, hydrogen, etc.) controlled by the state, big capital and the
mafias. A very important question, already underlined by the Mexican comrades,
that of the mafias which, in cahoots with capitalists and governments, they
manage a large part of the underground economy and of the international
trafficking of hazardous waste, weapons and drugs. Most environmental disasters
today are linked to the production of energy that is not needed by the people but
by multinationals, companies, bosses, etc. With regard to the theme, also widely
covered, of alternative agriculture and peasant struggles (conducted in France,
Mexico and Kurdistan), the FAS delegate proposed to reintroduce the practice of
civic uses, through the collective expropriation of land and buildings ,
conducted by "agrarian communities", local communities and citizens' associations
in an anti-state and anti-capitalist perspective. On the proposal of Italian and
Brazilian comrades, it was decided to create a permanent working group on
environmental issues within the IFA,

The proposal to create a specific working group within the IFA also emerged from
the table on Class struggles and anti-government struggles , in which to deal
with the different forms of repression in use in each country, and common
strategies to counter them.

The table on the low-tech Perspective was very attended and lively ,where the
discussion recorded accents of strong criticism of digital technologies, social
networks and Artificial Intelligence. Extreme position that of the Greek comrades
according to which digital technology tends to make us slaves and transform us
into future robots; while other comrades (British and Argentinian) have supported
the need to make use of the Internet for long-distance communications. In the
end, shared points emerged: 1. the functioning of an anarchist group is
incompatible with "virtual meetings"; 2. The Internet leads to adapting thought
to the language of the machine and does not allow adequate reflection and
communicative exchange; 3. We must educate ourselves not to collaborate with the
system; 4. the telematic tool should only be used to exchange information but not
for debate and decisions among classmates, which must be carried out
face-to-face. Another part of the debate was dedicated to cultivation techniques,
in particular to the need not to separate the aspects linked to the market from
those linked to production, and to recover techniques which, respecting nature,
lead to cultivating what is strictly necessary, against consumer logic.

Last table, but not least, the one relating to Global growth and the rise of
fascism, which is the most violent expression of state repression on the popular
masses. Since the subject deserves timely and more detailed study, the delegates
of the various federations have decided to organize new meetings which will allow
for the elaboration of specific analyzes and response strategies. The short time
available has not allowed this, like other topics, to be developed adequately and
therefore the XII international anarchist congress, although declared concluded,
will continue to act in the permanent tables, in the debates that have remained
open, in the political relations and friendships woven into days of intense work,
confirming a method which, not claiming to override the autonomy of individuals
and federations, is fundamental for solidarity, mutual support and the common
battle for anarchy.

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