Today in Labor History January 8, 1933: Anarchist uprisings began in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. While the northern uprisings were quickly suppressed, another anarchist uprising broke out in the Andalusian town of Casas Viejas on January 11, led by members of the anarchosyndicalist CNT union. The Civil Guards ultimately quashed it, too, slaughtering 24 people. For more on the Casas Viejas incident, read the detailed history in, âThe Anarchists of Casas Viejas,â by Jerome R Mintz.
Today in Labor History January 7, 1920: Jewish anarchist Albert Meltzer was born in London. He became an anarchist at age fifteen through the boxing lessons he took with Billy Campbell, a seaman, boxer and anarchist. During the Spanish Civil War, Meltzer smuggled arms from Hamburg to the CNT in Spain. Meltzer was a co-founder of the anarchist newspaper Black Flag and wrote several books, including âAnarchism, Arguments For and Against,â âThe Floodgates of Anarchy, and his autobiography, âI Couldn't Paint Golden Angels, published by AK Press.â He was also was involved in the founding of the Anarchist Black Cross prisoner support movement. In the early 1980s, he joined the anarcho-syndicalist Direct Action Movement.
Today in Labor History November 20, 1936: Buenaventura Durruti, Spanish anarchist militant, was shot dead during the Battle of Madrid. His body was buried in Barcelona, in a ceremony attended by over 200,000 people. Durruti was a member of the anarchosyndicalist CNT labor union and the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI). In 1920, along with several Basque anarchists, he formed the paramilitary group Los Justicieros, who unsuccessfully tried to assassinate the king. After this, he went to Barcelona, to help organize workers with the CNT. There he formed one of Spainâs most famous affinity groups, Los Solidarios. In 1923, the group was implicated in the assassination of Cardinal Juan Soldevilla y Romero, as a reprisal for the killing of an anarcho-syndicalist union activist Salvador SeguĂ. After this, Durruti went in hiding in South America, where he robbed banks to raise money for the cause. He returned to Spain in the 1930s, where he formed the Durruti Column, which won numerous battles during the Civil War.
Today in Labor History November 17, 1947: Revolutionary and author Victor Serge died. Serge lived in Paris in the early 20th century, where he was loosely associated with the Bonnot gang of anarchist bank robbers, and where he collaborated with Raymond Callemin on the newspaper Lâanarchie. He was in Barcelona during their anarchist uprising and contributed to the CNTâs newspaper, âTierra y Libertad.â He went to Russia in 1918, initially in support of the communists. However, he quickly became disillusioned with the repressive, autocratic rule, criticized the party and was imprisoned. He wrote numerous books, including the classic âBirth of Our Powerâ and his autobiographical âMemoirs of a Revolutionist.â
Today in Labor History October 6, 1934: The Catalan republic was declared following the workers' uprising in Asturias, and other worker uprisings taking place throughout Spain. Workers were trying to overthrow the right-wing regime. In Asturias, they murdered a large number of police and religious leaders with dynamite and machine guns and took control of the region. In Catalan, they declared an antifascist state. By 1936, Catalonia was fully under the control of the workers, led predominantly by the anarchosyndicalist union, CNT, and the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI).
Parece que mucha gente ignora que en la CNT hubo una ruptura, hace tres años. Un grupo de secciones sindicales abandonan la Asociación Internacional de Trabajadores (AIT) y expulsan a quienes se mantienen adheridos a la Internacional.
Dicho grupo, que se denomina CNT-CIT, es señalado de autoritario y estar vinculado con el Estado, pues utiliza a las instituciones para destruir a la CNT-AIT.
AdemĂĄs la CNT-CIT se ha posicionado afĂn con ideologĂas de odio (Terf/Swerf). La reciente actividad transfĂłbica de Cataluña fue organizada por CNT-CIT, mientras la CNT-AIT manifestĂł su rechazo.