1. Introduction ---- From Batzac Joventuts Llibertaries, we make a
critical political analysis in the format of an assessment of the strikeof 15-O with a constructive will to continue deepening the strategic and
revolutionary debate to approach libertarian socialism. With this
objective in mind, we understand the spaces of self-organization of the
working class as the protagonists of our emancipation, and, for this
reason, we direct this assessment to this entire space. In addition, we
also direct it to any other political organization with the intention of
thinking and assessing the current situation strategically.
We understand the strike of 15-O as a day of struggle, and not so much
as a general strike. Our reflection is on the way to situating the tool
of the general strike as a key tool of the working class, criticizing
the approach of the strike of 15-O. However, we also want to point out
its successes. With this, we understand the organizational successes of
the unitary space of "revolutionary militancy", and we criticize the
movementist logic of the general strike, betting on a strategic approach
to the strike by revolutionary labor unionism.
2. Positive assessment
As we have said, the libertarian youth of Catalonia positively evaluate
the general strike of 15-O, understanding it as a day of struggle. First
of all, we want to highlight the predisposition of the popular
organization since the assault on the flotilla on October 2. Our
positive assessment is based on the following reasons:
First, the organization of various sectors of the class through
neighborhood, district or town committees. This tool allows us to
politically organize a specific territory and introduce the protest of
the specific mobilization into it, in this way it becomes the space for
self-organization of the specific territory. Despite obvious limitations
such as its short duration, we find the capacity to introduce the
struggle into the daily life of the different people who make up the
working class. This tool, used other times recently, shows us the
potential it has as a space for organization, mobilization and broad
participation of the social base, necessary facts if we want to fulfill
the objective of creating spaces for class organization that make a
revolutionary common sense mature. Despite this, they still lack depth
and scope: How do they coordinate and organize among themselves, and
what do they respond to? Do they defend the class interest? Questions
that will need to be resolved in the spaces of political dispute, side
by side with our comrades in struggle.
Furthermore, it demonstrates the capacity we have to advance together,
based on a specific agitation and organization in workplaces, study
centers, neighborhoods, towns and cities. It is precisely this
transversal organization that makes successes possible in organizational
terms and mobilizations.
Second, because it was a demonstration of the capacity we have if we
organize all sectors of revolutionary militancy in unitary spaces. This
is confirmed by the fact that, despite the short time available for
preparation, and the lack of grassroots work, the day developed as planned.
October 15th was the culmination of several days of struggle that have
served to put the class perspective of the Palestinian genocide at the
center of the political agenda and demonstrate that throughout the
territory, the working class will be by the side of the Palestinian
people whenever necessary, feeling that the internationalist struggle is
the path that will free us from all oppression.
3. Criticism of the approach to the strike
However, as we have stated, it is necessary to make a critical political
assessment. For us, a strike is a political tool of the working class
that is used to win, to advance as an organized class, to mature a
revolutionary common sense and, ultimately, to move closer to
libertarian communism. We consider that in this case there is a loss of
meaning regarding the strike.
In this context, the phrase par excellence that needs to be recovered is
that strikes are not called, they are won. From here comes a fundamental
question that we need to have clear to try to overcome the faults that
incline us to these cycles of movementism that we consider
self-complacent: what does it mean to win?
We are often filled with simple and redundant answers, possibly
necessary to maintain the meaning of the struggle. Winning is to make
the social revolution, to end capitalism as a system of domination, in
short, winning is to live communism. But while we must not lose sight of
them, in order to reach these new worlds, we must first aim closer and
refine specifically: what does it mean to win, in this case, a general
strike in this context?
In our opinion, 15-O, more than a general strike, has remained just a
day of struggle, since we believe that the approach has not been the
right one to organize, call and win a general strike. We believe that we
must overcome certain limitations to ensure that the strike that is
called is won, and allows us to advance as an organized class.
Labor unionism
However, despite the relative success of the territorial committee form,
these spaces have strategic limitations in terms of ensuring the success
of the strike, and, therefore, they need the mobilization of labor
unionism, which in our opinion failed.
In this sector, the follow-up was very low. In Education, for example,
the Department of Education has estimated that 1.83% of the total
workforce followed the general strike in solidarity with Palestine.
These are ridiculous and alarming figures that show us the gaps that
need to be fixed.
As a general strike, the 15-O represents a political failure of labor
unionism for two reasons. The first, which is clear from the figures, is
a lack of effective mobilization, that is, not knowing how to mobilize
the working class from the workplaces; and, on the other hand, the lack
of concrete and clear objectives with a revolutionary direction. Two
palpable failures that are surely the result of the same problem, which
we could summarize in a lack of meaning and effective revolutionary
direction of labor unionism.
Despite the growing popular mobilization that has occurred in recent
years towards housing unions and spaces of struggle more focused on a
specific place or problem, labor unionism has stagnated in mere
survival. A trend that we can gradually see changing with the growing
numbers of affiliation that the anarcho-unions in our territory have. To
fully understand the political failures of the day of struggle of 15-O,
it is necessary to understand the justification behind the political
need to build a mass labor unionism, effective and with a revolutionary
leadership.
The political meaning of the general strike
The strategic failure of mobilization for the sake of mobilization is to
believe that the mobilization of the working class already has a
political potential in itself. However, mobilizing for the sake of
mobilizing does not serve us. As the working class, by selling our labor
power, we have the power to stop or reduce the production and
reproduction of capital. Therefore, a strike is an organized expression
with a specific objective of this political capacity that we have.
For this reason, a general strike is a tool of the working class that
serves us, among other things, to fulfill two objectives: The first, in
a material sense, to extract concessions from the bourgeoisie: reforms,
partial improvements or better conditions. The second, in a symbolic
sense, for the hegemonization of a revolutionary common sense
demonstrating the capacity of our class power. In short, it is a tool to
be able to lead the sense of the class struggle in the direction we
want, or in more epic words: to move the rudder of history. The latter
involves asking ourselves that, if here and now we have the power to
change our immediate living conditions, why shouldn't we be able,
ultimately, to end the system that oppresses us? A question that we
should repeat to ourselves until we internalize it, until we ignite
within ourselves and the whole of society a spirit of struggle that,
moved by the love of a better life, without genocides or exploiters, can
be capable of advancing towards the emancipation of all workers.
However, without a clear direction, without a specific objective in
mind, a strike loses its strategic potential as a revolutionary tool and
can easily fall into the inertia of mobilization, turning into a day of
struggle. The triumph of the day of struggle is to bring many people out
into the streets, generate conflict, make themselves present, etc. The
triumph of the general strike is to manage to stop the production and
reproduction of capital by making the political agency of the working
class evident to make its demands real. In other words, it implies
having a specific, clear and accumulative objective.
Having said that, we see clearly that the 15-O highlights certain
political shortcomings of the revolutionary struggle today. Some
shortcomings that are palpable in the struggle of labor unionism and
that crystallize in the inability we have to break out of the cycles of
mobilization for mobilization. Some shortcomings, which in order to
overcome, we need to take a critical balance of the mobilizations and
ask ourselves: Have we shaken the organs of capital? Have we posed a
threat to the employers? Who has made progress with this general strike?
What political project has it allowed to take steps forward? Are we, the
working class, stronger and more organized after this strike?
Have we made revolutionary common sense against capitalism and its
barbarity, the direct cause of the Palestinian genocide in its
imperialist forms, a little more hegemonic? We believe that not much.
Youth
We cannot fail to mention the student and youth movement. Young women
are organized everywhere and our role in labor unionism is more than
remarkable, especially in youth and precarious sectors as well as in
leisure. But the student movement is also a clear example.
Both on October 15 and with the immediate response to the flotilla
attack, the student movement demonstrated its ability to bring together
and mobilize a large number of young people from high schools and
universities throughout Catalonia. Many of us young people left the
classrooms and took to the streets to participate in student and unitary
demonstrations, becoming an important part of this day.
However, working-class students do not occupy a strategic position in a
strike, since we do not have the ability to control production in our
hands. Thus, the student movement, despite having great capacity,
becomes a form of organization very prone to mobilization for the sake
of mobilization with a tendency to be uncoordinated or isolated from the
rest of the movement. That is why it is necessary to think about the
best way to articulate this force so that it remains coordinated with
the rest of the organizational forms and that, as students, we can
contribute to the revolutionary objectives of future strikes.
4. Political lines to draw a response
Thus, as revolutionary organizations we have the political duty to
resolve these questions to stop falling into the complacency of
mobilization for the sake of mobilization, and to be able to accumulate
the day-to-day struggle with a revolutionary leadership. Therefore, we
must define what it means to win a strike before calling it, we must be
clear about what our specific objectives are, we must define a clear and
grounded strategy. We must organize in the unions, go to the workplaces,
we must listen to the organized working class, move and activate
ourselves. It is in us as workers that the power to move the world lies
and, therefore, it is in us the power to stop it and transform it. May
it serve to make us believe that another world is possible and that
stopping the genocide is in our hands: In the hands of the working class
organized on an international scale. With this, we see clearly, as we
already know, that the mobilization, with a revolutionary leadership, of
the majority of our class, is the only way to guarantee our success.
In conclusion, and as we have said from the beginning, we criticize the
strike of 15-O with a complete constructive will to continue
participating in these spaces but with the strategic aim of organizing a
general strike that really allows us to move forward. Let us prepare our
work in time, activate workers from labor unions and territorial
committees, spread the need for organization and the idea that only
organized can we do everything. Let us increase the power of the working
class, mature our revolutionary common sense and deepen the path towards
libertarian socialism, towards a society without states or classes.
Batzac - Joventuts Llibertarias
https://regeneracionlibertaria.org/2025/12/10/un-balanc-politic-de-la-jornada-de-lluita-del-15-o/
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