WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, Monde Libertaire - For an objective history of the CNT and the FAI (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

In 2014, Jesús F. Salgado, in his seminal work on Amor Nuño and the CNT (Amor Nuño y la CNT. Crónicas de vida y muerte, Fundación Anselmo Lorenzo), lamented the lack of a Spanish translation of César M. Lorenzo's book, Le Mouvement anarchiste en Espagne: pouvoir et révolution sociale (Ed. libertaires, 2006)... Julián Vadillo Muñoz has not only aptly filled this gap, but has done so far better than a translation of Lorenzo's work could have. Indeed, while this work possesses many qualities, beginning with its pioneering spirit, it suffers from significant flaws, notably the emphasis it places on conflicts and biases within the libertarian movement and its persistent personalism, particularly regarding the figure of its father, H. Martínez Prieto. Julián Vadillo, however, avoids these pitfalls and offers us first and foremost a history of the CNT, in which he revisits the origins of Spanish anarcho-syndicalism, restoring the French movement, the Bourses du Travail (labor exchanges), the CGT (General Confederation of Labour), and the Charter of Amiens to their rightful place. He also makes sure to address internal debates through sources that are often largely unpublished and little known in France. He avoids the trap of personalism, and each activist who is too well-known here finds a more appropriate place in the work, while simultaneously highlighting others.

He also emphasizes one of the CNT's strengths during the Civil War: the creation of the National and Regional Federations of Industries. And while in this work on the CNT he stresses the apparent difficulty of writing a history of the FAI due to its seemingly more elusive nature, he rises to the challenge brilliantly, again thanks to rich and previously unpublished original sources. He brings to life the process of the FAI's creation, revisits the internal debates by citing the forces at play with the groups involved, which take us beyond the well-known Los Solidarios and Nosotros, and discusses the debates that led the FAI to evolve from a specific organization composed of affinity groups to a mass organization.

He concludes with the final break with the CNT, having definitively debunked the myths of the FAI as the CNT's puppet master, once again contradicting César M. Lorenzo, who uses the unfortunate term "Redskins" to refer to the FAI's supposed influence over the CNT. In both works, he provides an extensive conclusion covering the history of both organizations, during and after the Franco regime. And if these sections leave us wanting more, it's only a matter of time: Historia del movimiento libertario español (Catarata), published in 2023, is one I'm eager to read! So, yes, truly, for those who read Spanish, these two books are essential!

Gwenolé Kerdivel, La Sociale group, Rennes

VADILLO MUÑOZ, Julián, Historia de la CNT. Utopía, pragmatismo y revolución (Catarata, 2019) and Historia de la FAI. El anarquismo organizado (Catarata, 2021).

https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=9137
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca