negations

Outside Carlitos (raising money through a sidewalk sale).

Inside Carlitos, during a break between the film & the discussion.

While gentrification is not a new phenomenon in American cities, it has assumed tsunami-like intensity in recent decades. The combination of declining incomes and soaring real estate prices has meant that formerly “undesirable” neighborhoods have been evacuated, remade, and resold at dizzying rates.

This is happening in New York City’s East Harlem (AKA Spanish Harlem or El Barrio). While the area has a long history of radical community organizing–think of the Young Lords, for example–its historic destitution and poverty has made it particularly vulnerable to real estate speculators. Thanks to their handiwork, luxury condos now seed the streets that weave between the old and enormous housing projects. Of course there are also cops, cops, and more cops.

Among those fighting back are the good people at Carlitos Café y Galeria. Housed in a narrow storefront at 1701 Lexington Avenue, this bar/café serves as a meeting place, gallery, and hangout for local radicals and artists. It is a sub-project of Art for Change, a non-profit organization founded in 1998 to advance “progressive social change by using art as a catalyst for disseminating information to people.”

The BarrioCine film series is one of the initiatives sponsored by Carlitos Café/Art for Change. Its purpose is to bring independent film to the area. Yesterday my friend Gatsby and I attended the second of a two part series of movies about gentrification.

Flag Wars was the movie of the night. This POV/PBS documentary (by Linda Goode Bryant and Laura Poitraan) explores the gentrification of the Old Towne section of Columbus, Ohio. It shows how the longtime residents of this traditionally black neighborhood were being pushed out by a wave of young, gay, white men in search of relatively affordable housing in the urban core. It also reveals the toxic mix of racism, homophobia, and greed that made the transformation of this particular locale possible.

The film presents no clear villains and discourages facile moralizing by treating a conflict between two historically oppressed groups. This enables it to underscore the systemic burdens of gentrification: specifically, it shows that generalized displacement results when housing practices are determined by the market. African Americans lose their homes, but the newcomers never really make them, given that their constant fear of and anxiety about their neighbors stops from feeling “at home” in any meaningful sense.

It was easy to meditate upon the lessons of this excellent ninety minute film while sitting on the cozy benches in Carlitos (air-conditioned) Café. I’d guess that there were about fifteen of us in the audience altogether and BarrioCine co-curator Padmini Narumanchi went out of her way to make us all feel welcomed.

There was a discussion after the documentary ended, although Gatsby and I were tired by then and decided to depart.

This was a modest event, but I believe that it is exactly the type of activity that will have to occur if we are to build a movement that can reclaim our cities.

The city is full of signs of resistance. Here is a mural in East Harlem, just off Lexington Avenue.

The South Central Farm was an oasis in the midst of one of Los Angeles’s grittiest, most distressed neighborhoods. In a profoundly anti-ecological city, the farm provided nourishment for locals, respite from the grueling sun and endless concrete, and an example of the beautiful things that ordinary people can produce when they work cooperatively with one another and the natural world. I took the above photo on June 4, at a time when the farmers and their allies were mobilized to defend the land against a developer and his government lackeys. The image offers only a glimpse into the luxuriant fourteen acres that made up the farm.

Authorities seized the farm nine days later. The following photo (from www.southcentralfarmers.com) shows the result of their efforts:

The battle over the farm continues. For more information, see http://www.southcentralfarmers.com/

(From The New Formulation, June, 2002)

The Battle of Seattle: The New Challenge to Capitalist Globalization
Edited by Eddie Yuen, George Katsiaficas, and Daniel Burton Rose
New York: Soft Skull Press, 2002

On Fire: The Battle of Genoa and the Anti-capitalist Movement
By various authors
London: One-Off Press, 2001

- – -

What was remarkable about the movement that erupted in Seattle 1999 was not so much that previously adversarial sides of the progressive opposition—the “teamsters and turtles”—had started working together or that old revolutionary flags were flying once again. These things had happened at various times in recent history to no great effect. What was extraordinary was the dialogue that emerged between members of the revolutionary, ideological Left (anarchists and communists) and activists whose primary interest lay in pragmatic, bread-and-butter reforms. These two tendencies have long been divided and often regarded one another suspiciously, but somehow the anti-globalization movement created a political space in which they could come together and jointly imagine a movement that is utopian and yet faithful to the demands of day-to-day activism.

The challenge was to figure out how to hold these dimensions together in one more or less unified movement—how to be realistic and demand the impossible—and activists across the world confronted this challenge with a vigorous campaign of education from below. They held teach-ins, Internet discussions, and sponsored countless other activities designed to flesh out the contours of this compelling new movement. Although their work helped raise the level of discourse among activists immeasurably, the movement’s common principles remained embodied in a sensibility and shared activist experience rather than in clear political statements.

Thus the significance of On Fire: The Battle of Genoa and the Anti-capitalist Movement and The Battle of Seattle: The New Challenge to Capitalist Globalization. These anthologies attempt to constitute the anti-globalization movement as a coherent project. They draw upon its history and culture to elaborate its internal cohesiveness, identify its continuities and discontinuities with other political tendencies, and clarify its problems. They reveal a movement that is exciting and dynamic but also struggling with difficult theoretical and political questions. In fact, the future of the anti-globalization movement will be determined to a great extent by our response to many of the issues raised by these books.
Continue Reading »

(From Perspectives on Anarchist Theory, fall, 2003)

Colectivo Situaciones emerged from Argentina’s radical student milieu in the mid 1990s and, since then, have developed a long track record of intervention in Argentine social movements. Their books are dialogues with the unemployed workers movement, explorations of the question of power and tactics of struggle, and conversations about how to think about revolution today.

Their radical views pertain to practice as much as theory. They are genuinely a collective and all of their projects are collectively produced. Presently, in addition to their publishing work, they are also working in a collectively run, alternative school.

In a note printed on the back of many of their books, they describe their work as follows:

[We] intend to offer an internal reading of struggles, a phenomenology (a genealogy), not an “objective” description. It is only in this way that thought assumes a creative, affirmative function, and stops being a mere reproduction of the present. And only in this fidelity with the immanence of thought is it a real, dynamic contribution, which is totally contrary to a project or scheme that pigeonholes and overwhelms practice.

More information can be found on their website at www.situaciones.org. The IAS awarded a grant to Nate Holdren in July 2003 for a translation of their book 19 and 20: Notes for the New Social Protagonism (see “Grants Awarded” for more information) .

(From Perspectives on Anarchist Theory, fall, 2003)

Interview by Marina Sitrin

Introduction:

The social movements that exploded in Argentina in December 2001 not only transformed the fabric of Argentine society but also issued a ringing testimony to the possibility of a genuinely democratic alternative to global capital. The whole world was watching.

For all the theories about what constitutes and how to make revolutions, in essence they are nothing more than ordinary people coming together to discuss and fight for social possibilities that were previously beyond the horizon of historical possibilities. At its root, it is about the creation of new dialogues.

Colectivo Situaciones is a radical collective in Buenos Aires dedicated to stimulating these dialogues. They have tried to facilitate the most far-reaching aspects of the discussions that have unfolded among the social conflicts in Argentina through their books, which are (literally) structured as dialogues.

These discussions transcend national boundaries. Marina Sitrin interviewed Colectivo Situaciones while in Argentina this spring, where she was working on her forthcoming book, which will be a collection of interviews exploring the Argentine uprising through the political and personal experiences of those involved. She was awarded a grant by the IAS in July 2003 in support of her work (see “Grants Awarded” for more information).

Reprinted here is an excerpt from her interview. This interview explores the difficulty of creating concepts adequate to the new Argentine social movements, some of the political vocabulary that has emerged from these movements, and the meaning of engaged theoretical work. It was conducted in Buenos Aires on April 25th, 2003.

~ Chuck Morse

See About Colectivo Situaciones

- – -

Continue Reading »

(From The New Formulation, February, 2003)

Review by Fernando López

Anarquistas: Cultura y Política libertaria en Buenos Aires, 1890-1910
By Juan Suriano
Buenos Aires: Manantial, 2001

La Estrategia de la Clase Obrera 1936
By Nicolás Iñigo Carrera
Buenos Aires: Pimsa-La Rosa Blindada, 2000.

– - –

Few new works on the history of the Argentine anarchist movement have appeared in the last decade, despite the fact that this movement was one of the most significant in the world (together with those in Spain, Italy, and North America). One can only mention the work of Jorge Etchenique(1) and some re-editions of the already classic works of Osvaldo Bayer. This is why Juan Suriano’s book produced a sense of excitement prior to its appearance: it was presented as the definitive work about the period (in which the author is a renowned academic specialist). Nicolás Iñigo Carrera is also a renowned academic researcher, although his specialty is not anarchism but rather the Argentine workers’ movement, in whose history anarchism occupies a significant place. Both authors offer a distinct—and problematic—approach to the relationship between anarchism and the Argentine labor movement.

Suriano’s investigation into the anarchist movement from 1890 to 1910 is both arduous and complex. It is complex because it is not limited to the relationship between the workers’ movement and anarchism, like the well-known texts of Bilsky, Oved, Abad de Santillán, Solomonoff, Zaragoza Ruvira and others,(2) but also focuses on analyzing anarchism’s “cultural apparatus”: its specifically anarchist propaganda, its rationalist schools, its local associations, libraries and cultural centers, theater, the characteristics of its press, its enormous publishing endeavors, the organizational methods used in the formation of affinity groups, and the conditions and particularities of its ideological discourse.
Continue Reading »

(From The New Formulation, February, 2003)

Review by Chuck Morse

Cronica Anarquista de la Subversion Olvidada by Oscar Ortiz
and Contribución a una Historia del Anarquismo en América Latina by Luis Vitale
Santiago, Chile: Ediciones Espíritu Libertario, 2002

Anarquismo y Anarcosindicalismo en América Latina
By Alfredo Gómez
Paris: Ruedo ibérico, 1980

Anarquistas en América Latina
By David Viñas
Mexico City: Editorial Katun, 1983

- – -

There are important reasons for anarchists in English-speaking parts of North America to study the history of Latin American anarchism.

One reason is political. We need to form principled, collaborative relationships with our Latin American comrades to fight global capitalism globally and, to do so, we obviously need be able to identify our real comrades among the countless groups in the region that make claims upon our solidarity. Should we “defend the Cuban Revolution” or toast Lula’s social democratic victory in Brazil? Should we adopt the Zapatista ski-mask as our emblem or devoutly align ourselves with small anarchist groups? A genuine confrontation with these questions requires a deep appreciation of the history of Latin American opposition and certainly the anarchist movement has played a significant role in this history.

Another reason is more theoretical: it is necessary to develop a vision of a worldwide anarchist movement that takes into account the very different conditions that exist in “underdeveloped” parts of the world (such as Latin America) as opposed to Europe or the United States. It is necessary to understand how these conditions affect the form and content of anarchist activity. For example, clearly Belgian and Bolivian anarchist movements will have different characteristics, but exactly what type of differences and why? Certainly a good way to begin exploring these questions is by looking at the actual experience of anarchist movements in Asia, Africa, or, in the case of this review, Latin America.

Finally, the Latino identity is central to economic and cultural contradictions in the United States. Of course it is a positive source of community, tradition, and sense of self for millions of Latinos within U.S. borders and it is also used as a negative signifier to justify exploitation and racism. The constantly changing meaning of the Latino identity is highly dependent upon ideas about the history of Latin America and radicals can encourage the most expansive, utopian elements of this identity by making sure that liberatory historical experiences in the Americas are not forgotten.

Unfortunately those who try to research the Latin American anarchist tradition will immediately discover that the historical literature on the movement is remarkably poor. There are no books on the topic in English or Portuguese and only five in Spanish, of which one is an anthology and another is a very brief overview.(1) The paucity of studies does not reflect the significance or dynamism of the movement but rather that social democrats and Marxists, who have produced the richest literature on social movements in the Americas, are hostile to the anarchist tradition and have attempted to erase or diminish its presence in this historical record.(2) Both groups need to construct the revolutionary Left as fundamentally statist to justify their social projects: the Marxists to defend their authoritarian regimes and the social democrats to present their free-market policies as the only socially conscious alternative to Marxist authoritarianism. Of course the existence of the anarchist tradition—a revolutionary, anti-authoritarian alternative—complicates their assertions.
Continue Reading »

(From The New Formulation, June, 2002)

Review by Chuck Morse

Mexico under Siege: Popular Resistance to Presidential Despotism
By Ross Gandy and Donald Hodges
London: Zed Books, 2002

Homage to Chiapas: The New Indigenous Struggles in Mexico
By Bill Weinberg
New York: Verso, 2000

- – -

Everyone knows that Mexico has a long and vibrant revolutionary tradition. This fact is easy to discover, whether you read Wall Street preoccupations about Chiapas or crack open any given left-wing magazine.

What is more challenging is to understand the inner logic of the tradition, both historically and in its contemporary manifestations. It is also essential: U.S. activists need to develop a substantive grasp of this tradition to build meaningful alliances with comrades south of the border as well as a movement in the United States that embodies the best aspects of the political traditions brought by the millions of Mexican immigrants.

Ross Gandy and Donald Hodges’s Mexico under Siege: Popular Resistance to Presidential Despotism and Bill Weinberg’s Homage to Chiapas: The New Indigenous Struggles in Mexico provide excellent points of entry into this topic. Both books offer a comprehensive introduction to the Mexican revolutionary tradition and thus should be read by all U.S. activists seeking to develop a more international perspective. Their problems are also helpful because they indicate some of the difficulties we will face while envisioning a revolutionary movement in the Americas.
Continue Reading »

(From The New Formulation, winter-spring, 2004)

Review by Chuck Morse

El Magonismo: historia de una
pasión libertaria, 1900-1922
(Magonism: History of a Libertarian
Passion, 1900-1922)
By Salvador Hernández Padilla
México, D.F.: Ediciones Era, 1984

El fenómeno magonista en México y en Estados Unidos 1905-1908
(The Magonist Phenomenon in Mexico and
the United States, 1905-1908)
By Ricardo Cuauhtémoc Esparza Valdivia
Zacatecas: Centro de Investigaciones Históricas,
Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, 2000

Ricardo Flores Magón is one of the most important anarchists in the history of the Americas. The movement he led and inspired shook the Mexican state in the early 20th century and helped lay the foundations for the Mexican revolution of 1910. He was also a participant in radical movements in the United States and a security concern that reached the highest levels of the U.S. government.

The literature on Magón and the Magonists (as his comrades were known) has expanded considerably in recent decades and it is now possible to develop a fuller appreciation of the movement than at any previous time. One can explore the personal dilemmas of Magón and his co-conspirators through various scholarly biographies, read about the Magonists’ impact on specific regions of the United States and Mexico, or study Magonist contributions to Mexican radicalism generally.(1)

Anarchists should welcome this not only because our predecessors are finally receiving the historical recognition that they deserve but also because we now have the resources necessary to undertake a deep confrontation with the Magonist legacy. It is now possible to develop a very clear idea of how the Magonists tried to create an anarchist revolution, the consequences their activity yielded, as well as determine whether there are aspects of their activity that we should emulate today.

The books reviewed here are particularly useful. El magonismo: historia de una pasión libertaria, 1900-1922 (Magonism: History of a Libertarian Passion, 1900-1922) by Salvador Hernández Padilla studies the entire history of Magonism from its emergence at the turn of the century to its disappearance from the political scene in the 1920s. El fenómeno magonista en México y en Estados Unidos 1905-1908 (The Magonist Phenomenon in Mexico and the United Status, 1905-1908) by Ricardo Cuauhtémoc Esparza Valdivia examines Magonist activity in Mexico and the United States in the years indicated by the title.
Continue Reading »