By way of preamble ---- This article, originally written for issue 180 of Todo Por Hacer the last of its runis humbly included in Regeneración as recognition and tribute to our colleagues for their work over the past fifteen years. Ending a project of such magnitude, depth, and scope as Todo Por Hacer may leave a substantial void among those of us who enjoyed the high-quality content published within its pages each month.
Throughout its 180 issues, Todo Por Hacer has been a role model for activist journalism. Creating a school of thought and fostering class pride in equal measure, we are aware that the effort invested in producing this publication month after month has been nothing short of Herculean. With coverage from Madrid of various social, self-organized, and libertarian movements, published both digitally and in print in spaces aligned with its vision since 2011, its focus on raising awareness and combating narratives that serve more as propaganda than information has allowed many of us to see beyond the immediate, to realize that all is not lost, that tomorrow can be built by working from the present. That defeat never prevailed.It is certainly the end of an important chapter, but this is always followed by the beginning of a new one. Therefore, we say, the best tribute: to continue the fight. Words will always transcend deeds if the legacy we leave is worthy of being honored.
Regeneration Editorial Staff.
Introduction
Anarchism, as a revolutionary current of struggle for the oppressed class, emerged in the mid-19th century. From its inception, militant workers' journalism arose as an essential tool for organization, education, and propaganda among the popular sectors. Faced with a bourgeois press that defended the interests of capital, workers began to create their own organs of expression, where critical thinking, social denunciation, and political education came together to foster class consciousness. In this context, anarchism played a leading role: newspapers such as Le Révolté , La Solidaridad , Tierra y Libertad, Freedom, Umanitá Nova, and La Protesta became true schools of libertarian thought, combining theoretical analysis with the daily realities of factories, workshops, and working-class neighborhoods.
These media outlets not only disseminated ideas, but also forged international networks of solidarity, promoted strikes, debates, and political campaigns, and contributed decisively to the construction of trade unions and revolutionary organizations. The anarchist press articulated a discourse of comprehensive emancipation—economic, political, and social—that granted anarchism hegemonic influence in large regions of Europe, America, and parts of Asia during the first decades of the 20th century.
Over time, despite repression, exile, and censorship, this journalistic tradition reinvented itself: it evolved from clandestine newspapers and pamphlets to cultural magazines, union bulletins, and today to digital media and counter-information networks. Its essence remains, as we always strive to do in this medium of our movement: to be a combative press, critical of the system of domination and deeply connected to social struggles. It upholds the idea that writing and disseminating free thought is not only a cultural act, but a revolutionary practice. At a time when some historical projects are coming to an end and new ones are being born, it is especially relevant to look back and review the red and black ink that has accompanied anarchism from its origins to the present day.
Le Revolté (France)
Founded in Geneva in 1879 by Kropotkin, with later support from Élisée Reclus and Jean Grave, it was one of the first widely recognized anarcho-communist newspapers. It introduced a strategic theoretical framework for libertarian communism, combining economic analysis, critiques of private property, and proposals for social organization. Despite its relatively modest circulation, it had a strong impact in France, Switzerland, and Belgium. It suffered severe state repression, including Kropotkin's expulsion from Switzerland, so publication continued from Paris in 1885, transitioning from a bimonthly to a weekly. Just a couple of years later, it changed its name to La Révolté to avoid financial penalties. It later evolved into the newspaper Les Temps Nouveaux, which was published in France until 1921. It became one of the most influential vehicles for disseminating libertarian thought in its time and is key to understanding the evolution of internal debates within European anarchism.
Freedom (United Kingdom)
Founded in 1886 by Kropotkin and other London libertarians, most notably the anarchist Charlotte Wilson, who served as editor for nearly a decade, it is one of the oldest English-language anarchist newspapers still in circulation. It has served as a platform for debates on communist anarchism, antimilitarism, cooperativism, and British social movements. Its style combines theoretical analysis, local campaigns, and international chronicles. Until 1888, it was printed at the Socialist League's workshop, thanks to William Morris's connections. During the First World War, it broke with Kropotkin over his support for the Allies, and its anti-war stance led to its offices being raided and its editor, Thomas Keell, being arrested. It has withstood wars, financial crises, and repression, remaining a living historical archive to this day and a barometer of the transformations within Anglophone anarchism.
Land and Liberty (Spain and Mexico)
Arguably the most important anarchist newspaper in the Spanish-speaking world. Founded in 1888 in Barcelona, it was later published in Madrid as a supplement to Revista Blanca, and subsequently edited independently by the anarchist Federico Urales. It achieved its greatest prominence as a daily newspaper from 1903 onwards, reaching massive circulations among workers, cultural centers, and unions in Catalonia. Suppressed in 1919, and later during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, it reappeared in 1930 as the official publication of the FAI (Iberian Anarchist Federation). It played a central role in disseminating anarchism in the period leading up to the founding of the CNT (National Confederation of Labor), but its influence was also significant during the Social Revolution of 1936. It offered analysis, workers' chronicles, anticlerical campaigns, and strategic debates. Under Franco, it continued publication in exile in Mexico between 1944 and 1988, and then resumed publication in Spain after the Transition. It is key to studying the Iberian libertarian imaginary and its cultural networks.
The Protest (Argentina)
This publication, which has survived to the present day, is the longest-running voice of Argentine anarchist political thought. Founded in June 1897 in Buenos Aires, it was initially known as "La Protesta Humana" (Human Protest). It emerged driven by migrant and native workers from various trades, with the Catalan Gregorio Inglán Lafarga as its first editor. Inglán Lafarga had also written for the newspaper "El Perseguido" (The Persecuted) and had founded the publication "La Revolución Social" (The Social Revolution) in 1896. From its inception, it served as a mouthpiece for the anarchist movement, significantly influencing workers' struggles and the need for union organization. Its revolutionary columns featured contributions from rank-and-file workers and union members, as well as anarchist thinkers from various countries. Although it began as a bi-weekly publication, it eventually became a weekly and, later, a daily morning paper from 1904. At its peak, it had large circulations that reached not only Argentina but also had a significant impact in other Latin American countries. It later served as the mouthpiece of the Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (FORA), and its workshops and publications suffered raids, closures, and continued repression at various stages of its history. Over time, it participated in internal debates within the anarchist movement among different currents, and its archive, which remains to this day, reflects the complexity of the Argentine anarchist movement.
Regeneration (Mexico)
It was the leading newspaper of Mexican anarchism in the early 20th century and the mouthpiece of Magonism, championed by the Flores Magón brothers. Founded in 1900, it evolved from a liberal critique of the Porfiriato to an openly anarchist and revolutionary stance. From its pages, it denounced the dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, state repression, worker exploitation, and the dispossession of land from peasant and indigenous communities. The newspaper played a key role in the organization and propaganda of the Mexican Liberal Party, for which it served as the dissemination platform. It was published both in Mexico and in exile in the United States; on both sides of the border, it suffered censorship, persecution, and constant closures. " Regeneración" disseminated ideas of direct action, mutual aid, and libertarian communism, influencing strikes and uprisings prior to the Mexican Revolution. Its denunciations of U.S. capitalism and strategic reflections on social revolution, delivered in a direct and combative style, made it very popular. His legacy places him as one of the most important experiences of anarchism in Latin America and a benchmark of militant revolutionary journalism worldwide.
Heimin Shinbun (Japan)
This "Communards' Newspaper," as its original translation would be, was founded in Tokyo in 1903, becoming one of the first socialist and anarchist newspapers in Japan. Driven by figures such as the Japanese anarchist Kōtoku Shūsui and the socialist Sakai Toshihiko, and emerging in a context of industrialization and state authoritarianism, it arose in opposition to the growth of militarism and the Russo-Japanese War. Despite its brief existence, it was the first to influence organized anarchist ideas through the writings of Pyotr Kropotkin and other internationalists. Its repression and early closure marked the beginning of a harsh persecution of Japanese anarchism, and this publication was key in the formation of socialist anarchism not only in Japan, but also in its spread to Korea and China through exile and Asian militant networks. His influence articulated Asian anarchism with a strong emphasis on anti-imperialism, anti-nationalism, and solidarity among oppressed peoples.
Mother Earth (United States)
It was an influential anarchist magazine published in the United States between 1906 and 1917, founded and edited by Emma Goldman and her partner Alexander Berkman. It emerged as a platform for disseminating revolutionary anarchism in a context marked by pre-Fordist industrialization, state repression, and labor conflicts. The publication addressed topics such as class struggle, antimilitarism, freedom of expression, feminism, and free love. For a decade, " Mother Earth" fostered debates between anarchism, socialism, and revolutionary syndicalism, connecting the American libertarian movement with Mexican Magonism and European currents. The magazine gave voice to international intellectuals and activists, becoming a central hub of English-language anarchism. Its clear stance against the growing militarism of World War I led to its closure under the Espionage Act and the persecution of its editors. However, he left a profound ideological mark on the revolutionary left in the US, consolidating and renewing a combative, cultural and political anarchist tradition.
Workers' Solidarity (Spain)
This publication was founded in 1907 in Barcelona as the newspaper of the workers' federation of the same name and soon became the official organ of the CNT (National Confederation of Labor). From its inception, it was a key tool for propaganda, education, and coordination within the nascent Spanish anarcho-syndicalist movement. It disseminated the ideas of direct action, revolutionary syndicalism, and anti-capitalism, closely linked to the labor conflicts and workers' strikes of the time, a period marked by the growth of anarcho-syndicalism. During the Second Republic and the 1936 Revolution, it achieved enormous influence, reflecting key debates on collectivization, popular power, and the leading role of the organized working class. It was harshly repressed during the Franco regime, forced underground and into exile. With the reorganization of the CNT during the Transition, " Solidaridad Obrera" reappeared as the voice of contemporary anarcho-syndicalism. To this day, it remains a historical and political touchstone, keeping alive the critical, combative, and self-management tradition of anarchist syndicalism.
Umanitá Nova (Italy)
Founded in Milan in 1920 with the participation of Errico Malatesta, this publication became the most important newspaper of Italian anarchism. During the so-called "Biennio Rosso" (Red Two-Year Period), it achieved massive circulation, connecting with the reality of occupied factories, unions, and anarchist circles. Its articles defended libertarian communism, workers' federalism, and the need for organization in the face of scattered anarchist individualism. However, the rise of Italian fascism to power led to its closure and the brutal persecution of its editors, including Malatesta himself. It later reappeared in exile and even after World War II. It has continued to be published, albeit intermittently, as the organ of the Federazione Anarchica Italiana (FAI), and its archives allow us to trace the complex evolution of the Italian anarchist movement in the face of fascism, republicanism, and contemporary neoliberalism.
Dielo Truda (Europe, Russian exile)
This magazine, first published in Paris in late 1925, was edited by Russian anarchists such as Nestor Mahkno, Grigory Maksimov, and Ida Mett, who were in exile after the collectivist revolutionary experience in Ukraine, which had been crushed by the Bolshevik Party. It was a key bimonthly publication for examining the Russian Revolution and the Civil War from an anarchist perspective, ultimately concluding that greater strategic and ideological unity was necessary. Its most significant contribution was the General Union of Anarchists, a platform that aimed to correct the deviations that had prevented an organized confrontation with the bureaucratized USSR, by analyzing the role of the soviets and workers' autonomy. It had a profound doctrinal impact, resulting in the platformist current, which remains highly influential today. After Nestor Makhno's death, it moved its headquarters to Chicago, where it was published until 1939, later merging with an anarcho-syndicalist magazine, published until 1950 by Gregori Maksimov.
Black Flag (United Kingdom)
Founded in 1970 by Albert Meltzer and, above all, Stuart Christie, a key figure in British anarchism, the newspaper was linked from its inception to insurrectionist movements and support for international anarchist prisoners. It had a direct and combative tone, covering workers', anti-fascist, and anti-prison struggles in the UK and other countries. Its content combined political analysis and research with international solidarity campaigns, primarily those of the Anarchist Black Cross. It was never a mass-circulation newspaper, but it was a significant reference point for autonomous anarchist youth activism. Despite several periods of interruption in its publication, its legacy endures as a historical and political reference for British anarchism, culturally influencing subsequent generations of anarcho-punk, Anglo-Saxon autonomism, and related publishing projects.
Everything to Do (Spain)
And finally, we conclude with a publication to which we wish to pay heartfelt tribute after its recent closure. Born as a special issue in the context of the 2010 general strike, it continued uninterruptedly as an anarchist print periodical for fifteen years until February 2011. It was always an independent, free, and accessible newspaper, reaching beyond the anarchist movement, offering social analysis and critique from Madrid, where it was deeply rooted in social movements. It undoubtedly represented a new generation of anarchist media, unaffiliated with traditional organizational structures, combining investigative journalism with chronicles of social struggle from anti-punitive, feminist, ecological, and, of course, anti-capitalist and class-conscious perspectives. Supported by autonomous networks of social centers, collectives, and subscriptions in Spain, Europe, and the Americas, it embraced digital access without losing the essence of the monthly print edition.
Although of modest print run, they have reached a multitude of activist spaces and have become a voice for both local and international struggles. Their archive will remain available for anyone who wishes to use it as a reference in current struggles, and those yet to come, which anarchism must strategically address. Other projects continue or new ones are born, because for something to emerge and gain strength by breaking new ground, sometimes the old must be allowed to die. Everything is still to be done, but a significant legacy has been left by contributing the printed word each month to the trenches of revolutionary literature.
Ángel Malatesta, a member of Liza Madrid.
https://regeneracionlibertaria.org/2026/04/17/la-palabra-impresa-como-trinchera/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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