WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, Monde Libertaire - Ideas and struggles: They were in the process of doing it (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Self-Management in Spain (1936-1939) ---- Syllepse publishers had the excellent idea of combining two works under the title They Were Doing It: Self-Management in Spain (1936-1939): one by Frank Mintz, Self-Management in Revolutionary Spain, and the other by Luis Buendia Garcia and José Luis Carretero Miramar, The Self-Management Experience During the Spanish Civil War. This revolution, in the publishers' view, "tinged with the red and black of the ideals of libertarian communism[...]remains even today a virtually unique example in history." ---- In the introduction, they make the observation: "Anarchism has been the breeding ground for almost all social unrest in recent Spanish history, to the point that all left-wing organizations and political parties have emerged from it." It is a powerful mass trade union movement, and in many provinces, it holds a majority. "The importance and grandeur of the Spanish anarchist movement inevitably raise the

question of why it developed so profoundly in Spain and not in other countries." The rivalry between Marxists and anarchists is well known. Engels would later level slander against the anti-authoritarians. But the anarchists possessed tools and a system of thought that resonated with Spanish society. After a brief historical overview, Frank Mintz organizes his analysis around three questions: Why collectivization? How (imposed by force, decided by local assemblies)? What were its original contributions and characteristics? With the work of Luis Buendia Garcia and José Luis Carretero Miramar, we have a scholarly compendium on this notion of self-management, combining reflection with a concrete, thorough presentation that delves into the organization of the system. The reader will appreciate the precision in the analysis of the functioning of both rural communities and the organization of businesses. We are confronted with the concrete realities, the difficulties, and the threat
of the front. It's always the same difficulty to lead a revolution under enemy fire.

The key role of the CNT

Understanding this revolution requires knowing the context of this society, distinguishing between the peasantry and the emergence of an industrial Spain. The CNT took root because it was open to all workers, regardless of political or religious affiliation. Its leaders were workers themselves. It advocated direct action, a single trade union, and federalism. It never limited itself to trade unionism; it addressed social issues, hosted literacy classes and Ferrer-type schools, and developed numerous newspapers and magazines. However, its policies and organization were a source of confusion. It was this same CNT that mobilized during the putsch and organized transportation, energy, communications, supplies, and entertainment in Catalonia. Its activities spread to other provinces, such as Aragon and the Levant. We see the process of establishing rural communities, taking into account the opposition of
fascists within the villages. Consider the repression suffered by the supporters of self-management. The informers were present.

How to organize?

The book also addresses very concrete questions such as the use of money, the place of those who refused collectivization, local democracy, education, the socialization or nationalization of businesses, competition between them, not forgetting the difficult question of equal pay in a society that still required financial incentives. The authors provide numerous testimonies and quotations. They demonstrate, as early as October 1936, the opposition of the institutional left to this self-management (law of October 7, 1936). The Communist Party defended the bourgeoisie and intended to eliminate the anarchists and the militants of the POUM. Confusion ensued, or rather, the conflicts between authoritarians and anti-authoritarians resurfaced. Nevertheless, this self-management, as recounted in this book, continues to raise fundamental questions that remain relevant today and constitutes a concrete basis for our reflection on a libertarian society.

* They were in the process of doing it, Self-management in Spain (1936-1939)
1 Frank Mintz, Self-management in revolutionary Spain
2 Luis Buendia Garcia and José Luis Carretero Miramar, The self-management experience during the Spanish Civil War
Ed. Syllepse, 2026

https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=9140
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca