Aguman ding Maldang Talapagobra

League of Poor Laborers

Aguman ding Maldang Talapagobra
Predecessor	Aguman ding Talapagobra ning Pilipinas
Founded	1933 (1933) [1]
Founder	Pedro Abad Santos
Location	Philippines
Membership	approximately 70,000 (1938) [2]
Affiliations	Socialist Party of the Philippines

The Aguman ding Maldang Talapagobra (AMT) (Kapampangan, League of Poor Laborers or League of Poor Workers) was a trade union in Pampanga, Philippines, organized by Pedro Abad Santos in 1933. ^[3] It was influenced by European socialism and anarchism, functioned as a mutual aid association, and participated in electoral politics. ^[4]

Activities

See also: 1937–1941 Pampanga sugar peasant uprising

The AMT was supported by the Partido Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (Socialist Party of the Philippines), a socialist party established by Abad Santos when the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (Communist Party of the Philippines) was outlawed in 1932. The AMT employed strike actions and mass demonstrations against landowners. ^[5]

There were occasions during the 1930s when members of the AMT were found dead, having been killed by security personnel of the sugar centrals or private armies of landowners. ^[6] The AMT had an estimated 70,000 members by 1938, one of the largest peasant organizations in Central Luzon alongside the Kalipunang Pambansa ng mga Magsasaka sa Pilipinas (KPMP). ^[2] The AMT was also involved in assassinations of high-profile landlords and businessmen. In early 1942, for instance, AMT peasant forces assassinated Pasudeco executive Jose Tapia. ^[7] It was reported by several newspapers that the AMT had been engaged in armed conflict with Pampanga governor Sotero Baluyut's private army, Cawal ning Capayapan or simply called the Cawals, between 1939 and 1941. ^[8]

References

1. Bowman, John Stewart (2000). Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture . Columbia University Press. pp.  495. ISBN   0-231-11004-9. Aguman ding Maldang Talapagobra.
2. Galang, Roberto Martin (January 1, 2012). "A Brief History of the Philippine Communist Movement". Leadership and Strategy Faculty Publications.
3. "Pedro Abad Santos Info". San Fernando, Pampanga. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
4. Clarke, Gerard (2013). Civil Society in the Philippines: Theoretical, Methodological and Policy Debates. Routledge. p. 148. ISBN   978-0-415-57272-9.
5. Schirmer, Daniel B.; Shalom, Stephen Rosskamm (1987). The Philippines Reader: A History of Colonialism, Neocolonialism, Dictatorship, and Resistance . South End Press. pp.  63. ISBN   0-89608-275-X. Aguman ding Maldang Talapagobra.
6. Simbulan, Dante C. (2005). The Modern Principalia: The Historical Evolution of the Philippine Ruling Oligarchy. University of the Philippines Press. p. 227. ISBN   971-542-496-1.
7. Larkin, John A. (1993). Sugar and the Origins of Modern Philippine Society. University of California Press. ISBN   978-0-520-07956-4.
8. Kerkvliet, Benedict J. (January 1, 1977). The Huk Rebellion: A Study of Peasant Revolt in the Philippines. University of California Press. p. 56. ISBN   978-0-520-03106-7.