On October 27th and 28th, 1956, the founding congress of the Federación
Anarquista Urugaya (fAu) took place in Montevideo. ---- This step didn'tfall from heaven. Many comrades who now joined forces in the fAu werealready active in struggles and organizing in companies, inneighborhoods and at universities. Some of them were anarchist exilesfrom Italy and Spain who had fled fascism. As diverse as theirbackgrounds were, they recognized one thing: in order to give greatereffectiveness and continuity to their participation in the varioussocial struggles, a nationwide anarchist political organization was needed.In the coming years, the fAu continued to expand its political work andinfluence, especially in the workers' movement. It played an importantrole in the trade unions in various economic sectors. She countered thedivision of the workers' movement into different organizations with herperspective of a common, large trade union federation. In 1964 the timehad come: the Uruguayan CNT saw the light of day. In it, the fAu tookpart in the development of an organized class struggle tendency to pushback the influence of the Communist Party and its bureaucracy in favorof strengthening the base and more radical tactics in labor disputes.In the 1960s, the fAu sharpened the character of its organization. Sherecognized the need for a common analysis of social conditions, a sharedideological foundation and a coordinated strategy. This was the only waythe organization was able to concentrate its limited forces in thestruggles from below and gain real influence. With its theoreticalelaborations, which were derived directly from the experiences of itspractice, the fAu laid the foundation for what we know today as Especifsmo.The increasing strength of the workers' movement, which led toincreasingly massive industrial action, was also accompanied by anincrease in state repression. A state of emergency was declared, manysocialist organizations were banned and the military was present in moreand more areas of life. The fAu now also had to work from underground.Like many other organizations, it recognized the need for armedstruggle. However, in its concrete strategy it contradicted theMarxist-oriented groups. For them, the armed struggle of a revolutionaryminority was not the path to revolution. It was simply a tool tostrengthen and defend existing struggles from below. Its armed wing,OPR-33, was used, for example, when bosses simply refused to give ineven after several months of strikes.In 1973, the military staged a coup to restore security in the countryagainst growing fighting from below. Most of the members of the fAu wentinto exile in Argentina, from where they constantly moved back and forthbetween the two countries. When Argentina also experienced a right-wingcoup in 1976, the situation worsened again. Many members of the fAu andits allied anarchist groups in Argentina were arrested, tortured andalmost three dozen anarchists were also murdered. It was only when themilitary dictatorship in Uruguay fell in 1985 that those who hadsurvived were able to return to their homeland. But their organizationwas almost destroyed after 15 years of intense state persecution.However, giving up the political struggle was out of the question formany of the members who had lost comrades, friends and siblings in thefight for a better society. They set to work rebuilding theorganization. At the same time, they increasingly looked to thesurrounding Latin American countries. Here they came into contact withanarchist groups and passed on their experiences. From this process anumber of organizations related to Especifismo emerged in Brazil,Argentina, Chile and Colombia. It didn't take long for fAu's experiencesto reach other continents. In Europe, the similarity of the especifstapproach to platformism was quickly recognized and collaboration wasdeveloped. Today, the espcifist and platformist organizations in theAmericas, Europe, Asia and Oceania form a common international coordination.We as a platform are also part of this association. We also drawinspiration from the struggle, experiences and rich theory of fAu. Weare happy to know that our comrades are still at our side even after 67years. May another 67 years of fighting for freedom and socialism follow.Long live the fAu!Long live anarchism!Arriba lxs que luchan!To learn more about the history of the fAu, it is worth taking a look atthese English-language texts:Overview of the organization's history:https://www.acmeanjin.org/articles/65-years-of-revolutionDetailed insight into their history:https://www.akpress.org/anarchist-popular-power.htmlObituary for Juan Carlos Mechoso, founding member and militant of thefAu: https://blackrosefed.org/juan-carlos-mechoso-obituary/Interview with fAu on many different topics:https://www.redblacknotes.com/2022/01/10/an-organization-of-militants-the-federacion-anarquista-uruguaya/Theoretical document from fAu on the difference between theory andideology: https://blackrosefed.org/huerta-grande/https://www.dieplattform.org/2023/10/29/vor-67-jahren-gegruendet-viva-la-federacion-anarquista-urugaya/#more-2741_________________________________________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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