Images of a revolt in progress
The footage has been recorded in the city of Antofagasta in Chile during a riot on 10 December 2019, almost 2 months after the mass protests begun in October 2019. (Video published on Facebook by World Riots)
Meanwhile in Chile:
– The process for an Anarchist Congress in Chile begins –
Santiago de Chile. Chile. Call for a pro-Federative Assembly on January 5, 2020.
It has been a month since the social explosion started, and we see that our efforts in the various organizations and the calls to work from the territories have been arduous, a situation that perhaps was not fully prepared and during these intense days it is normal to see a physical, mental and discursive fatigue. On the other hand, it is also thought that the response as anarchists could have been different and more coordinated, in order to capture the principles and purposes of anarchism in the population in the face of the generalized aversion to the hierarchical institutions that dominate us. We see that in several territories the abuse and domination of the privileged class continue to be questioned, but without this having as its purpose the search for a true liberation and transformation of our lives, we could exemplify that the current focus of discussions that led to only a change in constitution, which we understand as the restructuring of a new oppressor. In other territories, we can also see political parties through social organizations sticking their noses in, making them believe that they are representatives of the people because they have been leaders or “social actors” for years, trying to validate the same power structures and privileges of one over the other that this social explosion has originated. What would lead these new “social actors” to be the new bourgeoisie?
The different anarchist organizations have been able to articulate various activities; in other territories new organizations are being born, but we consider that this effort is only the first step. History has allowed us to know that this social explosion and the level of people’s response do not happen when we want to, nor is it immediate, or by chance, they are processes that take decades of work and it is a great opportunity to advance. The strength to continue the struggle will depend on each one, and we need each other to dream together and to make a collective effort. It’s time to be self-critical because of the lack of unity, because in several situations it has not been possible to create a federation of anarchist organizations, without the occurrence, through these calls, of individualization, exclusion of people, organizations or self-marginalization, because we mistakenly think that this or that person or organization is not similar to the one we call upon or because it is better when we work separately with our own objectives.
We believe it is urgent that we anarchists get organized and call for unity, leaving aside personal differences; without that, we realize that we would not be aware of the seriousness of certain facts, but, at the same time, we believe that anarchism is the only political philosophy that is constantly self-critical, which is why we question and improve our actions.
Through the Assembly that we propose, we hope to do practical work in the short and long term in order to create a united anarchist movement and aspirants for social transformation.
It is important to mention that although the call is being made through a specific organization, ideologically driven by anarcho-unionism, the call is not only for anarcho-unionists and sympathizers, since our goal is not for a group or trend to position itself as spokesperson for anarchism. This is why we would like all the organizations that seek anarchist principles to participate.
We call for a process to be initiated throughout Chile, where anarchists from all communes and regions hold local assemblies, in order to finally hold an anarchist congress in the Chilean region.
As a union of various professions in Santiago, belonging to the metropolitan region, our original call is for the neighboring municipalities of Santiago, but we urge the organization of each territory, generating the necessary calls and thus achieving a cohesive movement.
In the process, no selection will be made or projects will be neglected, from editorial projects to territorial organisations, from advertising groups to student groups, from liberated spaces to cooperatives, all and everyone, including individuals who are not currently agitating, are invited to participate.
The assembly will be held on Sunday, January 5, 2020, and anyone wishing to participate, please contact by e-mail:
[email protected]
accion-directa.org
