A-Infos (en) Brazil, Foundation of the Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (FASP)

The Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (FASP - Anarchist Federation of São Paulo) was 
founded on 18th November 2009! Though already in existence under the name Pro-FASP since 
early 2008, the organization was formally founded at an event last weekend that brought 
together FASP members together with delegates from the Federação Anarquista do Rio de 
Janeiro (FARJ). ---- During the founding ceremony, the organization's Foundation Manifesto 
was read, a video was presented in which militants reported on the theory and practice of 
this last year of activities, and statements of solidarity were read from the following 
organizations: the FARJ, Organização Resistência Libertária (ORL), the Federación 
Anarquista Uruguaya (FAU), the Federação Anarquista Gaúcha (FAG) and Rusga Libertária, as 
well as messages from a variety of individuals.

Also present were militants from Ativismo ABC and the Ay Carmela centre, where the event 
was held.

The event continued with comrades speaking about the foundation, welcoming the newly-born 
organization and its members. This was followed by a party, with food and drink.

Finally, we would like to quote briefly from the FASP Manifesto (see below):

     "We too adopt the slogans of other organizations in declaring the foundation of the 
Federação Anarquista de São Paulo!

     Ética, compromisso, liberdade! - Ethics, commitment, freedom!
     Não tá morto quem peleia! - Those who struggle will never die!
     Arriba los que luchan! - Up with those who struggle!

     Viva o anarquismo!
     Viva a FASP!"

-------------------

Founding Manifesto of the Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (FASP)

Comrades,

After just over a year since the call to establish an especifista anarchist organization 
in Sao Paulo, we meet today to bring the stage of the Pró-Federação Anarquista de São 
Paulo to an end. Exactly 20 months ago, a few comrades - motivated by the experiences of 
organized anarchism in Brazil and having seen the need for organized action by the 
anarchists in the popular movements - decided to start discussions to form an especifista 
anarchist organization. These discussions culminated in the 1st Pró-FASP Encounter held in 
July 2008 and in the 2nd Encounter in July 2009, that was well participated, with a lot of 
interest shown in the proposal.

Over this period, we have formed a group of militants and a support group that have met 
regularly and have already engaged in practical work, based on what had already been 
achieved by militants individually. Today, Pró-FASP's social activities are divided into 
two fronts: the rural, indigenous front, which carries out activities together with the 
Movement of Landless Workers (MST - Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra) and the 
indigenous movement; and a community front, which carries out activities with the National 
Movement of Collectors of Recyclable Material (MNCR - Movimento Nacional dos Catadores de 
Material Reciclável). Internally, we have formed relations with individuals and other 
organizations, and have begun internal political education programmes. After countless 
hours of meetings and activities, we now feel ready to take this further step towards the 
next stage: the foundation of our organization.

The FASP is part of a tradition that has always been a majority in the libertarian camp, 
that of "social anarchism" or "anarchism of the masses", which was responsible for the 
rise of certain phenomena of great importance such as revolutionary syndicalism. However, 
notwithstanding our belief in the need for anarchism to act within the popular movements - 
what some have called the "vectors of social anarchism" - we believe that in order to do 
this it is essential for there to be specific anarchist organization, a position that has 
not always been a majority one. This is, though, the position historically held, since the 
birth of anarchism, by Bakunin (Alliance of Socialist Democracy), Malatesta, and even 
Kropotkin at certain times, and also by the Russian anarchist communists of Delo Truda and 
the Federation of Anarchist Communists of Bulgaria (FAKB). In Latin America there have 
been important experiences such as the Junta of the Partido Liberal Mexicano, the 
Federación Anarquista Uruguaya and Resistência Libertária in Argentina.

In Brazil, this mass tradition of social anarchism has existed for over 100 years, and was 
responsible for the union mobilizations that were so important in the early 20th century. 
It was comrades from this tradition who organized the Brazilian working class that started 
the struggle for gains such as the eight-hour working day. They inspired events such as 
the 1917 Strike, which had significant anarchist participation. With regard to specific 
anarchist organizations, there have been groups who tried to organize militants, but 
without much success, given that at that time, anarchism in Brazil - like elsewhere in the 
world - was hegemonised by syndicalist ideas, which did not deem the establishment of 
anarchist organizations important for work in the unions. Examples of organizations of 
this type are the first Brazilian Communist Party (1919), the Anarchist Alliance of Rio de 
Janeiro and Sao Paulo groups that formed around newspapers at the time, and which 
supported differentiated levels of activity - the anarchist organization and the popular 
movements, known by some as "organizational dualism".

Anarchism was prominent and instrumental in the class struggle in Brazil until the 1930s, 
when a series of external and internal factors were responsible for it losing ground in 
the unions; it became unable to find new space for action in the other struggles that 
appeared in the following decades. This situation resulted in the emergence of cultural 
centres, libertarian study groups and anarchist groups which, though on the one hand found 
themselves excluded from the field of class struggle, were on the other hand important in 
keeping the flame of the anarchist ideal alive, allowing it to survive the military 
dictatorship.

1980 was an important year politically thanks to the re-inauguration of one of these 
centres - the Centro de Cultura Social de São Paulo (CCS-SP), founded back in 1933. The 
rebirth of the CCS-SP and the mobilization for its activities had a significant importance 
for the resurgence of anarchism in post-dictatorship Sao Paulo. Lectures and debates on 
various issues led to broad participation and an attempt to engage in union activity 
developed, seeking to revive the Brazilian Workers Confederation (COB - Confederação 
Operária Brasileira). We pay due homage to the CCS-SP, which was instrumental in the 1990s 
and early 2000s in training the militants who launched the idea for the FASP. Our contact 
with its older militants such as the late Jaime Cubero, the late Antônio Martinez and José 
Carlos Morel was very important for our education. Along with them, we also wish to 
acknowledge the educational value in better understanding anarchist ideas that is 
represented by the work of Plínio A. Coêlho, whose works were published by Novos 
Tempos/Imaginário.

The development of anarchism in the 1990s and early 2000s has taught us much. We have had 
contacts with experiences like the Federação Anarquista Gaúcha, the Federação Anarquista 
do Rio de Janeiro and other initiatives that derive from the process of building an 
anarchist movement here in Sao Paulo. At the same time over these years, some of us have 
been active in the popular movements, primarily in community mobilization in the 
inner-city areas, in the landless and homeless movements, among others. In addition, we 
have participated in the "global movement of resistance" and various demonstrations, 
occupations and other forms of direct action.

What we have learnt from both the positive and negative aspects of these experiences, 
albeit modest, has made us sure of some things:

     * The grassroots movements in which the exploited classes that suffer the effects of 
class struggle organize themselves are in our opinion the only means to achieve a 
revolutionary transformation of society in order to build socialism.

     * Our efforts should therefore be concentrated on building and participating in these 
movements.

     * In this process of construction and participation it is not enough to be a part of 
the movements individually, in a disorganized manner. It is essential that we participate 
with a programme, in an organized fashion.

     * We should pay special attention to the relationship between the anarchist 
organization and the popular movements, so that we do not make the mistakes of the past: 
neither be behind the movements, allowing ourselves to be pulled along, or at its head, 
seeking to act as a vanguard party.

     * In order to do this, it is not enough to identify as anarchists, but with a 
definite programme. We need an organizational model that takes into account the goals that 
we intend to achieve.

     * These premises point to the need to create a specific anarchist organization whose 
unity of theory and practice can enable responsible militants to come together with a 
common strategy which gives the cohesion our work requires.

So, that is what we hope to achieve here today. We are humbly planting another seed of 
anarchism in this Latin soil and will work hard to ensure it sprouts and bears promising 
fruit. Let us benefit from lessons learned in the past, to work on building the future. 
And, through our example, we will win new militants and bring back old militants to our cause.

The date chosen for our foundation represents a key moment in the history of anarchism in 
Brazil. On 18th November 1918 the anarchists launched an insurrection in Rio de Janeiro 
with the aim of creating the first Soviet in the country. Although defeated, the 
experience inspires us to represent one of anarchism's historical moments within the 
popular movement, with a great fighting spirit in the struggle for social revolution.

Finally, we too adopt the slogans of other organizations in declaring the foundation of 
the Federação Anarquista de São Paulo!

Ética, compromisso, liberdade! - Ethics, commitment, freedom!
Não tá morto quem peleia! - Those who struggle will never die!
Arriba los que luchan! - Up with those who struggle!

Viva o anarquismo!
Viva a FASP!

Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (FASP)
18 de novembro de 2009


Translation by FdCA-International Relations
Related Link: http://www.anarquismosp.org
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