(en) FOB-CTL: Solidaridad #24 - building popular power from the territories of Argentina and Chile by Adela Velarde (ca, pt)

[machine translation]

The Federation of Organizations of Base FOB and the Libertarian Territorial Coordination 
(CTL) developed two meetings, one in the City of Santiago Banner and another in 
Valparaiso, with the purpose of discussing its main lines of work. The multi-sector, 
self-management and people power are presented as key concepts for the strategy starts to 
build from the territories. ---- Unit grassroots to hit hard from the neighborhoods ---- 
The FOB arises as a result of a joint effort of various neighborhood organizations on the 
outskirts of Buenos Aires, in response to the crisis of the neoliberal model in Argentina 
in the nineties. privatization of a number of public companies, the lack of employment, 
and the failure of the unions forced the population to seek new organization outside of 
the structure and a democratic form of horizontal participation forms. In a process of 
struggle several years were coming together numerous organizations established 
construction criteria common. This resulted in a series of projects and countermeasures to 
pressure governments, demanding improvements in benefits and quality of life of Argentine 
neighborhoods. The organization of neighbors, without partisan delegations or 
intermediaries, and direct action were essential. Though not follow any particular 
anarchist, yes promotes "social anarchism" based on the experience of the daily work in 
the community. Inside, every move is tactical autonomy to each other, has its own 
assemblies, the dynamics of internal operation, space and time is respected. meetings also 
develop productive and work in general, militant training workshops-in history, politics, 
education- workshops health, gender and economic struggles for health, housing, work, 
education, dining, drinks milk and especially cooperative work projects. This force today 
allows them to be present in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Chaco, Corrientes, Cordoba and 
Rosario.

The territory as a dynamic concept beyond the population

CTL includes the territory as a concept that suggests a multiplicity of communities living 
and socially constructed a specific geographic area. That is, an area may refer to a set 
of territories with some characteristic in common. In this sense, encompasses a much 
broader perspective working population, which is mechanically linked territorially in most 
organizations left. It often happens that there are jobs that are not population think 
territorial perspective, and vice versa. For CTL " If the policy of any organization is 
oriented to the settlement with grassroots community roots and local intervention 
perspective at least in the first instance, then we can say that we have a land policy . " 
Regarding Review recurrent territorial work understood as a series of workshops without 
clear prospects, says CTL; " While he understands the need to run workshops for other 
purposes, the only way that such initiatives have a useful projection to the people is 
through coordination and joint work among similar organizations, live together or not in a 
same place. It is therefore important to have serious diagnoses, and study the dynamics 
that exist between organizations (...) "

People power from and to the territories

The idea of an alternative to state power has appeared numerous times in Marxist and / or 
libertarian tradition, and has been developed as a political praxis in various 
revolutionary movements throughout history. In Latin America, the notion of a power that 
has to oppose the dominant power has been extensively developed by theoretical and 
revolutionary organizations in different sectors. For CTL bet people power is understood 
as a gradual expropriation of political and social power of the state and its regional 
branches, for example, municipalities, either by the inability of these institutions, or 
because it is part of a process of building a new society must face these tools in the 
hands of the people. 's FOB for their hand, understands people power " as the construction 
of a force from grassroots organizations, capable of assuming the functions now fulfilled 
the states and their governments, a form of power different than from the top down, so 
Horizontal and built by all players . " Thus, the perspective of both organizations 
provides that the development of popular power is inherently contradictory to state power, 
but this contradiction is not to deny the possibility of both forms of power throughout 
times. In fact most of the time, while some form of power is to become hegemonic, must 
live in a troubled and unstable relationship. According to the FOB, " we are not an art 
that descends to the neighborhood to give directions, we are part assembly work in a space 
where nucleation concrete prospects for establishing claims. Each region has its own 
struggles and local assemblies, and nationally there is a job that gives joint federal and 
forces the rest of the territory . "

Challenges for libertarians in the territorial field

The libertarian militancy territorial institutions must assume that there is, and thus in 
each step progresses will encounter a state that seeks to integrate community organizing 
in their logic, or reject it and neutralize it. Accordingly, the CTL believes " should 
bring to the organization of their own, independent forms of popular power, considering 
that the higher levels of development, the people will be in a better position to address 
the institutional cooptation maneuvers . " Thus, coordinated work between the libertarian 
militants, as well as all the revolutionary forces embedded in the work area, are the only 
guarantee to stand and face so successful that the State and can even control some 
instrumentalized and open spaces to the extent that they promote the development of 
people's power. In this sense, the territory is presented as a space in which different 
subjects and social and political expressions of the same social class. What unifies the 
population struggle fronts union, student and leftist and libertarian political project is 
one of the working class they all belong; not this global political project, it will be 
difficult to find meeting points of solidarity and mutual support. According to the CTL " 
territorial construction is a time that class configuration, which has the potential to 
make flesh their unity around specific tasks multisectoral. In other words, a 
multisectoral strategy is essential foundation territories in which people organize, and 
that is its strategic value . " opens The challenge is to agree on a common revolutionary 
strategy and the specific role that fits him to the territorial building on it. Surely 
this can not be settle in overnight, but can be proposing some guiding thesis pave the way 
for a strategy that will result from the deliberation of the popular movement as a whole, 
and its various fronts of struggle . Is essential for the period beginning have the 
ability to connect our forms of territorial self and claiming struggles with defined 
political horizons, setting in perspective the scope and objectives having the tactical 
struggle for reforms within the framework of a strategic path revolutionary.

Related Link: http://www.periodico-solidaridad.cl/