We publish the report of the last IFA congress, written by a comrade from the British Anarchist Federation on behalf of the federations present. ---- The 13th Congress of the International of Anarchist Federations (IFA-IAF) took place in Athens over the weekend of April 3-5, 2026, hosted by Anarchist Political Organization-Federation of Collectives) - APO). Other participating federations include: the Italian Anarchist Federation (FAIT, Italy), the Francophone Anarchist Federation (FA), the Sicilian Anarchist Federation (FAS, Sicily), the Argentine Libertarian Federation (FLA), the Federation for Anarchist Organization (FAO, Slovenia & Croatia), the Federation for the Anarchist Community in Bulgaria (FACB, Anarcho-Communist Federation of Bulgaria), and the Anarchist Federation (AF, Great Britain), with observers from Brazil (Aurora Negra & Terra Livre) and Serbia (Solidarity of the Class - Klasna Solidarnost). Federations and associated groups from Mexico, Brazil, and the Kurdish Anarchist Forum (KAF) did not participate, the latter due to the situation in the Middle East. Cuban comrades were also invited, but contact became increasingly difficult due to the economic blockade.
To ensure the conference ran smoothly, the Congress was held in a single location, the Lelas Karagianni 37 squat (LK37), a beautiful historic building and the oldest squat in Greece. Lunch and dinner were prepared by comrades from the squat, and some accommodations were made available to the delegations. Translation equipment was rented to provide live translations, although the primary language was English. LK37 also hosted a public meeting on Saturday evening, entitled "The Anarchist Position on Military Conflicts and the Threat of Generalization of War," organized by the APO.
The IFA Congress is held every three to four years with interim delegate meetings (CRIFA) used to connect the federations and plan programs and activities, develop documents for discussion, and build consensus. The decision-making process is bottom-up, with the federations first proposing agenda items and then producing their own documents and positions on the issues to be presented at the congress. The congress was structured into plenary sessions with all the federations present, for example, on the topic of anarchist perspectives on global uprisings (such as the uprisings in Iran, the Mediterranean, Madagascar, Indonesia, and Nepal). Additionally, the federations participating in the congress co-organized a series of workshops on the following topics: Sudan, the far right, struggles in education, the environment, patriarchy and gender violence, the digital world (online materials and cybersecurity), and some organizational aspects of the IFA.
The first plenary session, "Against the Modern Totalitarianism of the State, Capitalism, and War," discussed perspectives on antimilitarism. Topics included opposition to NATO bases (Italy, Sicily, Crete) and NATO expansion into Eastern Europe, the reintroduction of conscription (Croatia, France), state repression of Palestine solidarity activity (such as the anti-terrorism law used against Palestine Action in the UK), and increased military spending, including dual-use investments such as airports, ports, or railway developments, in which workers can influence.
Although consensus is not always possible, the conference made significant progress on numerous issues. Among other things, FAI and APO produced detailed documents on gender struggles, with insights into gender-based violence (APO) and transfeminism (FAI). For example, in the FAI document: "The rooting and expansion of transfeminist and queer movements is increasingly essential in the face of the current intensification of patriarchal oppression, in which, in various parts of the world, the link with religious oppression is increasingly strong. In Italy, the Meloni government has produced specific patriarchal and familist legislative acts to support birth rates within the traditional family. Familism and the defense of the traditional, sexist, and hierarchical family, however, are not only the heritage of the reactionary right, because a familism also exists in the tradition of the left." The FAI also links the increase in militarization to a rise in macho culture.
APO focused on patriarchal violence: "In a period in which modern totalitarianism is mobilized to repress rebelling peoples and nationalist and fascist voices are rising, women everywhere, particularly those from the poor[working class], face, in addition to the risk of death, deportation, hunger, and disease, the daily threat of gender-based violence, sexual torture, and executions used as tools of conquest and subjugation." APO highlighted attacks on abortion rights in the United States and the systematic use of gender-based violence as a weapon of war in Sudan and Palestine, but also, similar to what happened in Italy, nationalists' recourse to "female nature" to assert the role of motherhood in the national interest.
The workshop "The Rise of the Far Right and the Anti-Fascist Response" was presented by AF and FA. AF used the context of the rise of Reform UK to discuss the cultural aspects of far-right ideologies and activities. There was great interest in gaining insight into the use of public order laws in Britain to limit protests. While pre-trial detention on conspiracy charges is nothing new in the UK, it seems more difficult for the state to justify in countries with a history of dictatorship or where anti-fascism is even part of the constitution. In Italy and Greece, the roots of fascist dictatorships run deep. But culturally fascist themes such as "God, Country, and Family" are resurfacing, and anarchists are now being specifically targeted by the police under Meloni's far-right government in Italy. Although Golden Dawn's peak in Greece has passed, partly due to state measures following the murder of an anti-fascist singer[Pavlos Fyssas], their members' ties to the far right, which presents a friendlier face to the media, have not disappeared.
While it may be possible to appeal to history in some countries, the threat of neo-Nazi street violence remains a serious problem in Brazil, Bulgaria, and Serbia. They operate, meet, and organize events openly, as well as directly attacking and sometimes killing comrades in the streets. Anarchists have also found creative ways to combat them, such as encouraging mass self-defense courses in neighborhoods, such as in Brazilian favela communities.
The education workshop was an important opportunity to understand the changes in Greece, where private partnership models are being imposed on high schools and teachers who oppose privatization and selection are under attack. There is also a growing threat to anarchist organization in universities. Therefore, the need for strong grassroots unions is vital. On the libertarian pedagogy side, the Congress heard presentations from a free high school, Escuela Libre de Constitución (ELC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which aims to use anarchist methods of education for those over 18 who are pursuing a baccalaureate degree, and from the Laboratory of Anarchist Education (LEA) in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Centro de Cultura Social (CCS). The LEA initiative, implemented by the Terra Livre Library, aims to study, produce, and test pedagogical practices for children and participates in anarchist book fairs to facilitate meaningful child involvement.
The workshop on "The Plundering of Nature" was introduced by the APO, focusing on the political, cultural, and social issues related to the climate crisis and the plundering of environmental resources and local communities by the state and capital. The session included a discussion of popular opposition to resource extraction, green capitalism, and the control of nature and local communities. The session also addressed increasing urbanization, commercialization, and gentrification. Strong links to antimilitarism were identified in protests against infrastructure development. The problems with the $1 trillion investment in the UN Climate Change Agenda were highlighted.
The 13th IFA Congress ultimately produced a joint declaration, "Against the Global Dictatorship of the State and Capitalism, Against War and Fascism," which focused on antimilitarism. A declaration of solidarity with Cuban anarchists was also drafted. There was great applause when Klasna Solidarnost (Serbia) announced its intention to apply to join the IFA as an associate group (a status used for groups intending to grow into a federation). The FA agreed to take on the role of the new Secretariat, following the good work done by FAO in recent years. A process was agreed upon for organizing a new Mediterranean anarchist meeting, as well as for a future issue of the IFA magazine dedicated to antimilitarist perspectives. Following the informational workshop on Sudan led by FAS and FA at the Congress, a new solidarity manifesto highlighting Sudanese anarchist struggles was presented. After the congress, a solidarity meeting with Sudanese migrants was held in Athens, offering those who remained longer the opportunity to learn more about the situation. IFA comrades were also invited by the FAO to the next Balkan Anarchist Book Fair in Skopje, Macedonia, in September. The congress concluded with a moving tribute to IFA comrade Jean-Marc Raynaud-founder of Éditions libertaires and the Bonaventure anarchist school-who passed away at the end of March.
https://umanitanova.org/atene-3-5-aprile-2026-resoconto-del-13-congresso-dellinternazionale-delle-federazioni-anarchiche-ifa-iaf/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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