The Uruguayan Anarchist Federation (fAu) is celebrating the seventieth anniversary of its founding. From its inception, it has defined itself as belonging to the specificist current of organized anarchism. --- Specificism supports the need to build a specific anarchist political organization, endowed with theoretical, strategic, and tactical unity, capable of intervening permanently in popular struggles in order to contribute to the development of social force and processes of revolutionary transformation.
The Origins of SpecificismThe fAu's main theoretical reference since its founding has been Errico Malatesta, from whom it adopted the idea that anarchists must organize themselves politically in order to intervene coherently in social reality, avoiding both spontaneity and militant fragmentation. Contributions from Bakunin were also incorporated, particularly his concept of a revolutionary organization operating within popular processes without transforming itself into a new authority or replacing popular initiatives.
Specifism cannot be defined solely by an organizational doctrine. It is also expressed in a way of analyzing reality, developing a strategy, and engaging with popular struggles. Its distinctiveness lies not only in the existence of an anarchist organization, but also in the attempt to make this organization a tool capable of addressing the concrete problems of each situation.
One of the central characteristics of specificism is the rejection of the mechanical importation of political models developed for other contexts. From its earliest years, the fAU maintained that Latin America must be understood from its own historical, economic, and cultural perspective. This did not imply rejecting theoretical contributions from Europe or other regions, but rather avoiding their automatic application. Conceptual tools had to be tested in the concrete reality of our peoples and adapted to their specific circumstances.
Porto Alegre (1997) - Congress of the Federação Anarquista Gaúcha (FAG), bringing together activists from different regions of Brazil as well as the Federación Anarquista Uruguaya (FAU), at a pivotal moment in the development of an organized anarchism that would become deeply rooted in Brazilian social struggles.
Federación Anarquista Uruguaya
From this stems another fundamental element: a constant awareness of the current situation. For specificism, political organization does not exist to repeat formulas or administer doctrines, but to understand the transformations of capitalism, the changing forms of domination, and the concrete possibilities for popular organization that exist at each historical moment. Revolutionary strategy cannot be built outside of these conditions.
Links with Platformism
Unlike Leninist conceptions, specificism does not consider that political organization should lead the people or replace their decisions. Nor does it conceive that revolutionary construction consists of strengthening a party to conquer the state. On the contrary, anarchist organization exists to strengthen the self-organizing capacity of the dominated, exploited, and oppressed classes.
This is why we distinguish two complementary levels of organization: the anarchist political organization, which brings together activists on the basis of ideological, strategic, and programmatic agreements; and popular organizations and social movements, which must maintain their independence and develop according to their own dynamics. The task of anarchists is to act within these movements by promoting practices of direct democracy, federalism, direct action, solidarity, and self-management, without attempting to transform them into mere instruments of political organization.
The centenary of the Platform offers an opportunity to reflect on the points of convergence and differences between this experience and the specificism developed by the fAu. The Platform constituted one of the first systematic attempts to address a problem that would mark much of 20th-century anarchism: how to build an effective revolutionary organization without reproducing the authoritarian forms that were beginning to consolidate in the Soviet Union.
"Let us sing so as not to forget the working class and its struggle for survival." Specificism is a Uruguayan anarchist current that affirms the necessity of a specific anarchist organization. This organization must be rooted in popular struggles and act within them as an active minority to build popular power through direct action and self-organization.
During the formation of the fAu (Front d'Action pour la Révolutionnaire Uruguayan), the classic documents of platformism did not have a direct influence, although they were probably known to some of its activists. The organizational tradition that gave rise to Uruguayan specificism was primarily nourished by Malatesta, the experiences of Río de la Plata anarchism, revolutionary syndicalism, and decades of debates led by generations of local activists.
This does not mean, however, that there was an open opposition between these two currents. Platformism and specificism both affirmed the need for an anarchist political organization capable of intervening in reality, developing a strategy, assuming collective responsibilities, and actively participating in popular struggles.
However, while some historical platformist currents emphasized the construction of a libertarian communist organization, specificism tended to stress the link between political organization and social integration, the building of popular power, and the need to develop strategies adapted to each specific reality.
In our view, the differences lie primarily in their historical trajectories and the specific problems they sought to solve. While the Platform was developed in the context of the defeat of the Russian Revolution and the rise of Bolshevism, specificism developed within a reality deeply marked by imperialism and the particularities of Latin American social formations.
Beyond these differences, the historical value of the Platform remains undeniable. Faced with the concentration of political power in the hands of a ruling elite, it asserted the need for coordinated organization, strategy, and intervention, without abandoning the principles of federalism, collective responsibility, and popular participation.
Therefore, on the centenary of its publication, we can affirm that both platformism and specificism are part of the same organizing tradition within revolutionary anarchism. This tradition, arising from different contexts, has sought to address a common challenge: to build political tools capable of bringing about profound transformations without replacing the initiative of the oppressed classes or reproducing new forms of domination.
Uruguayan Anarchist Federation
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?En-1926-et-1956-Trajectoires-de-l-anarchisme-organise
_________________________________________
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten