Anarchism in Ecuador appeared at the end of the 19th century. [1] At the beginning of the 20th century it started to gain influence in sectors of organized workers and intellectuals. [2]
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Anarchism in Ecuador appeared at the end of the 19th century. [1] At the beginning of the 20th century it started to gain influence in sectors of organized workers and intellectuals. [2]
Alexei Páez in his book El anarquismo en el Ecuador reports that "at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th we find the first evidence of the existence of a group that was a friend of libertarian ideals". This was a group that published a newspaper called El Pabellón Rojo and its first edition appeared in Guayaquil in 1899. In this issue the authors defend French illegalism and the events protagonized by Ravachol and Sante Geronimo Caserio. [1]
At the beginning of the 20th century the Ecuadorian worker's movement was more combative in Guayaquil and the first attempts at anarchist propaganda appeared inside the workers movement. "It has been noted the existence of certain anarchist propaganda in the Jamaican workers movement who worked in the railroad in the beginning of the century". [3] According to Paez "the railroad workers were the most combative alongside the carpenters and the workers on the cocoa fields, for the age, being later the cocoa workers and the railroad ones the best agitators for the founding of the anarcho-syndicalist Federación Regional de Trabajadores del Ecuador (FTRE). [3]
In Guayaquil "In 1910, the Center of Social Studies...distributed La Protesta (Argentina), Solidarity (USA) and Claridad (Chile), in 1911 in the catalog of Liberia Española we could find texts of important libertarian theorists such as: Bakunin, Malatesta, Kropotkin, etc. These are acquired and employed for the establishment of anarchist groups which with the passage of time will continue to clarify their ideas. In 1920 there appears the Centro Gremial Sindicalista (CGS), editor of El Proletario." In El Proletario starts to write the important Ecuadorian anarchist "José Alejo Capelo Cabello, who with his example and tenacity collaborated with the first anarchist groups and trade unions.
In Quito there was "a newspaper called La Prensa which went on to be a part of the diaries chosen by Max Nettlau in his book Contribución a la Bibliografía Anarquista en América Latina, since it allowed some libertarian articles in its pages." [4] Another important libertarian media dedicated space to the International Workers' Day was Tribuna Obrera, newspaper of "Ideas y Combate", published by the Asociación Gremial del Barrio del Astillero (AGA), an important place of anarchosyndicalist activity.
The anarchist ideals had support in middle-class intellectual sectors which are the first effective organizing sectors of anarchist and socialist positions. The thinker and labor leader Juan Elías Naula in Principios de Sociología Applicada manifests a profound admiration for the positions of Pierre Joseph Proudhon. [2] There also appeared the newspaper Alba Roja which was published by the group "Verbo y Acción" and it included Colón Serrano, Tomás Mateus and Francisco Illescas". [5] On the arrival of anarchist positions in Ecuador "the presence of some foreign elements who lived in Ecuador" were considered important. So the Chilean Segundo Llanos was responsible for the edition of El Proletario. Also a Spanish sailor from his travels brought "newspapers such as La Protesta de Argentina, Solidarity of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) ... and even Spanish anarchist periodicals." [6]
"Another tendency of the first Ecuadorian libertarian organizations was the organization of feminist groups." [7] In Guayaquil there also appeared in 1910 the Center of Social Studies who participated in the International Workers' Association congresses of Berlin of 1922 and 1923. [8]
"The original core of anarchism in Ecuador" converged around the group that published the newspaper El Proletario and it included Manuel Echeverría, Justo Cardenas, Narciso Véliz, Segundo Llanos and Alejo Capelo. [9]
In the following years, a prominent tendency led by Narciso Véliz centered on the group "Hambre", which published El Hambriento. The group included Alberto Díaz, Juan Murillo, Jorge Briones, José Barcos, J. Villacís, Urcino Meza, Segundo Llanos, Máximo Varela and Aurelio Ramírez. [10]
There were five groups active in the late 1920s: Redención, Tierra y Libertad, Solidaridad, Hambre, and Luz y Acción. [11]
The Chilean Néstor Donoso was deported to his country after he was imprisoned. The group Luz y Acción decided to establish the Bloque Obrero Estudiantil Revolucionario so it could act in the universities. [12]
In 1934, the anarchosyndicalists decide to reorganize the FTRE and after some failed attempts decide to create another syndicalist organization, the Unión Sindical de Trabajadores. In that organization were militants such as Alejo Capelo, Eusebio Moriel, M.E. López Concha, Able Gonzáles and Alberto Diaz. [13] Around the time of the Spanish Civil War, the Ecuadorian anarchists manifested their solidarity with the CNT, which was a protagonist of the Spanish Revolution. [14]
Alejo Capelo and Alejandro Atiencia collaborated in the Mexican anarchist newspaper Tierra y Libertad. Atiencia died in 1971 and Capelo in 1973. [15]
Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems. Although usually contrasted to social anarchism, both individualist and social anarchism have influenced each other. Some anarcho-capitalists claim anarcho-capitalism is part of the individualist anarchist tradition, while others disagree and claim individualist anarchism is only part of the socialist movement and part of the libertarian socialist tradition. Mutualism, an economic theory sometimes considered a synthesis of communism and property, has been considered individualist anarchism and other times part of social anarchism. Many anarcho-communists regard themselves as radical individualists, seeing anarcho-communism as the best social system for the realization of individual freedom. Economically, while European individualist anarchists are pluralists who advocate anarchism without adjectives and synthesis anarchism, ranging from anarcho-communist to mutualist economic types, most American individualist anarchists of the 19th century advocated mutualism, a libertarian socialist form of market socialism, or a free-market socialist form of classical economics. Individualist anarchists are opposed to property that violates the entitlement theory of justice, that is, gives privilege due to unjust acquisition or exchange, and thus is exploitative, seeking to "destroy the tyranny of capital, — that is, of property" by mutual credit.
Anarchism in Spain has historically gained some support and influence, especially before Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939, when it played an active political role and is considered the end of the golden age of classical anarchism.
The Argentine Libertarian Federation is a libertarian communist federation which operates in Argentina, out of the City of Buenos Aires, San Pedro, La Pampa Province, and Rosario. Founded in October 1935 with the name of the Anarcho-Communist Federation of Argentina the FLA adopted its current name in 1955. It is governed by the Declaration of Principles and the Organic Charter approved by its congress. Its structure and operation are federative and are coordinated by Local Councils and the National Council.
The Argentine anarchist movement was the strongest such movement in South America. It was strongest between 1890 and the start of a series of military governments in 1930. During this period, it was dominated by anarchist communists and anarcho-syndicalists. The movement's theories were a hybrid of European anarchist thought and local elements, just as it consisted demographically of both European immigrant workers and native Argentines.
Individualist anarchism in Europe proceeded from the roots laid by William Godwin and soon expanded and diversified through Europe, incorporating influences from individualist anarchism in the United States. Individualist anarchism is a tradition of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. While most American individualist anarchists advocate mutualism, a libertarian socialist form of market socialism, or a free-market socialist form of classical economics, European individualist anarchists are pluralists who advocate anarchism without adjectives and synthesis anarchism, ranging from anarcho-communist to mutualist economic types.
Anarcho-naturism, also referred to as anarchist naturism and naturist anarchism, appeared in the late 19th century as the union of anarchist and naturist philosophies. In many of the alternative communities established in Britain in the early 1900s, "nudism, anarchism, vegetarianism and free love were accepted as part of a politically radical way of life". In the 1920s, the inhabitants of the anarchist community at Whiteway, near Stroud in Gloucestershire, "shocked the conservative residents of the area with their shameless nudity". Mainly, it had importance within individualist anarchist circles in Spain, France, Portugal and Cuba.
Anarchism in Bolivia has a relatively short but rich history, spanning over a hundred years, primarily linked to syndicalism, the peasantry, and various social movements. Its heyday was during the 20th century's first decades, between 1910 and 1930, but a number of contemporary movements still exist.
Anarchism in Venezuela has historically played a fringe role in the country's politics, being consistently smaller and less influential than equivalent movements in much of the rest of South America. It has, however, had a certain impact on the country's cultural and political evolution.
The anarchist movement in Chile emerged from European immigrants, followers of Mikhail Bakunin affiliated with the International Workingmen's Association, who contacted Manuel Chinchilla, a Spaniard living in Iquique. Their influence could be perceived at first within the labour unions of typographers, painters, builders and sailors. During the first decades of the 20th century, anarchism had a significant influence on the labour movement and intellectual circles of Chile. Some of the most prominent Chilean anarchists were: the poet Carlos Pezoa Véliz, the professor Dr Juan Gandulfo, the syndicalist workers Luis Olea, Magno Espinoza, Alejandro Escobar y Carballo, Ángela Muñoz Arancibia, Juan Chamorro, Armando Triviño and Ernesto Miranda, the teacher Flora Sanhueza, and the writers José Domingo Gómez Rojas, Fernando Santiván, José Santos González Vera and Manuel Rojas. At the moment, anarchist groups are experiencing a comeback in Chile through various student collectives, affinity groups, community and cultural centres, and squatting.
Anarchism as a social movement is one of the manifestations of the political left within the working classes of Puerto Rico, having its peak during the late 19th and early 20th century. Anarchism was predominantly present within, but not exclusive to, the working classes that emerged as the sociopolitical environment changed. The municipalities of Caguas and Bayamón were the epicenters of the movement. It was also recorded in other industrial centers, such as Ponce, San Juan, Arecibo, Cayey, Cidra, Juncos, Vega Baja, Utuado, Lares, Yauco and Mayagüez. Despite sharing some core values, Puerto Rican anarchism was heterogeneous in nature. In general, Puerto Rican anarchism was distinctly anti-organized religion, in particular against the Catholic Church that had retained considerable influence since the beginning of Spanish colonialism. Following the Treaty of Paris, it also grew to oppose American sovereignty, as it perceived that the island was being forced into servitude with an Americanization initiative, leading to distinct antiauthoritarian stances against both foreign and local politicians, the wealthy higher classes and American labor unions. However, on principle the anarchists opposed joining the independence movement.
The Black Hand was a presumed secret, anarchist organization based in the Andalusian region of Spain and best known as the perpetrators of murders, arson, and crop fires in the early 1880s. The events associated with the Black Hand took place in 1882 and 1883 amidst class struggle in the Andalusian countryside, the spread of anarcho-communism distinct from collectivist anarchism, and differences between legalists and illegalists in the Federación de Trabajadores de la Región Española.
Anarchism in Peru emerged from the Peruvian trade union movement during the late 19th century and the first two decades of the 20th century.
Anarchism in Paraguay has held influence among the urban and rural working classes since the end of the 19th century. Its main figure was the writer and journalist Rafael Barrett.
Anarchism in Portugal first appeared in the form of organized groups in the mid-1880s. It was present from the first steps of the workers' movement, revolutionary unionism and anarcho-syndicalism had a lasting influence on the General Confederation of Labour, founded in 1919.
The Spanish Regional Federation of the International Workingmen's Association, known by its Spanish abbreviation FRE-AIT, was the Spanish chapter of the socialist working class organization commonly known today as the First International. The FRE-AIT was active between 1870 and 1881 and was influential not only in the labour movement of Spain, but also in the emerging global anarchist school of thought.
Anarchism in El Salvador reached its peak during the labour movement of the 1920s, in which anarcho-syndicalists played a leading role. The movement was subsequently suppressed by the military dictatorship before experiencing a resurgence in the 21st century.
The Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region was a Spanish anarchist organization founded in the Barcelona Workers' Congress of 1881 by the initiative of a group of Catalan anarcho-syndicalists headed Josep Llunas i Pujals, Rafael Farga Pellicer and Antoni Pellicer, after the dissolution of the Spanish Regional Federation of the International Workingmen's Association founded in the Barcelona Workers' Congress of 1870. It only had seven years of life since it was dissolved in 1888. Its failure, in which the episode of La Mano Negra was key, opened a new stage in the history of anarchism in Spain dominated by propaganda of the deed.
The Disinherited was a Spanish clandestine anarchist group that defended the use of violence framed in the doctrine of propaganda of the deed.
The Seville Congress was the Second Congress of the newly created Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region held in Seville in September 1882.
El Descamisado was the first anarchist newspaper in Argentina, founded in 1879 and closed in 1887, in Buenos Aires, and played a leading role in the anarchist scene of the time.
