It Could Happen Here - Anarchism In Argentina, Pt. 1 feat. Andrew

Episode Date: October 17, 2024

Andrew and Mia discuss the origins of anarchism in Argentina and its first uprisings.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

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Starting point is 00:00:22 You can listen to Sniffy's Cruising Confessions, sponsored by Gilead, now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday. Welcome to Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get real and dive straight into todo lo actual y viral. We're talking música, los premios, el chisme, and all things trending in my cultura. I'm bringing you all the latest happening in our entertainment world and some fun and impactful interviews with your favorite Latin artists, comedians, actors, and influencers. Each week, we get deep and raw life stories, combos on the issues that matter to us, and
Starting point is 00:00:55 it's all packed with gems, fun, straight up comedia, and that's a song that only nuestra gente can sprinkle. Listen to Gracias Come Again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second season digging into tech's elite and how they've turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google Search, Better Offline get your podcasts from. 2025 iHeart Podcast Awards are coming. This is the chance to nominate your podcast for the industry's biggest award.
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Starting point is 00:02:17 On Thanksgiving Day, 1999, five-year-old Cuban boy Elian Gonzalez was found off the coast of Florida. And the question was, should the boy go back to his father in Cuba? Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home and he wanted to take his son with him. Or stay with his relatives in Miami? Imagine that your mother died trying to get you to freedom. Listen to Chess Peace, the Elian Gonzalez story, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. CallZone Media Hello and welcome to It Could Happen Here. I'm here with Mia. How are you doing?
Starting point is 00:02:56 It's abominably early, which is not even podcast early. It's like 8 a.m. here, so it's going to be... We've done the caffeine. We're holding on for dear life. It's like 8 a.m. here, so it's going to be where we're... We've done the caffeine. We're holding on for dear life. I feel you. I feel you. I have to ask, have you noticed that the continents are dripping a little bit?
Starting point is 00:03:17 Continents are dripping? Yeah, yeah. And I don't mean like blinged out. I mean, like if you take a look at a map and you assume that North is up and South is down, you'll find it kind of looks like our major landmasses are melting a little bit. You know, okay. Now that you say it, I can kind of see it. Yeah. This is a concept known as continental trip.
Starting point is 00:03:40 And I'm not tripping on anything. I'm not the first person to notice. Incredible. You can look it up. There'm not the first person to notice. Incredible. You can look it up. There's a whole Wikipedia page about it and everything. And well, South America alongside India, they're kind of seen as the quintessential examples of this continental trip. And this is a very odd way that I've decided to segue into the next nation
Starting point is 00:04:03 in our exploration of Latin American anarchist history. It's right to the east of Chile and south of every other country in its hemisphere. That is, of course, the Argentine Republic, more commonly known as Argentina, which is derived, by the way, from the Latin word for silver. My name is Andrew Sage. You can find me on youtube as andrewism and thanks to the scholarship of chuck morse jeffrey de la focade and angel capuleti we're going to take a journey into the history of anarchism in argentina also gotta do
Starting point is 00:04:39 the shout out for capuleti's anarchism in lat America. Great book. Also great cover. Got a big bird on it. Good stuff. Oh yeah, shout out, of course. Of course. So I suppose the best place to start is in the beginning. So there was this thing called the Big Bang, right? The universe expanded extremely fast.
Starting point is 00:05:00 In like picoseconds of time. There was a large movement. A large expansion of matter. Yeah, but seriously, Argentina has been peopled since the Paleolithic period. In particular, we find evidence of ancient peoples butchering the meat of an armadillo relative as early as 21,000 years ago. Jeez. So, you know, we've been around. We've been around. From then on, as far as we can tell, for now at least, because, you know, the timelines are constantly getting updated with new information, as it should be, the area to be known as Argentina
Starting point is 00:05:39 was pretty sparsely populated by a variety of diverse cultures with diverse social organizations, including foragers and farmers. To make a long and largely unknown history of indigenous coexistence and conflict short, people continue to live and the earth continues to spin for the next few millennia until a few ships on the horizon spell doom for all to see. These are, of course, the Europeans, who first arrived in the region with the 1502 voyage of Amerigo Vespucci, with the Spanish navigators Juan Díaz de Solís and Sebastián Cabo in particular visiting the territory in 1516 and 1526, respectively. Then in 1536, Pedro de Mendoza founded this small settlement of Buenos Aires.
Starting point is 00:06:28 Maybe you've heard of it. But it was abandoned in 1541 thanks to continuous indigenous resistance and had to be refounded in 1580. As for the rest of what would be Argentina, the Spanish Empire that was running most of the continent, was busy looting the silver and gold mines in Bolivia and Peru, so Argentina was kind of seen as a backwater. It wasn't as much of an interest by comparison. Argentina stayed under the Viceroyalty of Peru until the creation of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata in 1776, with Buenos Aires as its capital. Plata in 1776 with Buenos Aires as its capital. After two failed British invasions in 1806 and 1807,
Starting point is 00:07:14 and as you can see, the British and Argentina have had a bit of a scuffle for some time now, the Buenos Aires capital would be the stage of revolution, as the 1810 May Revolution replaced the Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros with the first Junta, a new government made by and for the locals. And then there was a Royalist Counter-Revolution, some anti-colonial alliance with the then Spanish Philippines, divisions between centralists and federalists over the newly formed Argentine state, proposals to crown a Sapa Inca as monarch of an independent Argentina, and the official declaration of independence for a republic on the 9th of July, 1816.
Starting point is 00:07:52 Just to go back a bit, to be clear, there is an alternate history scenario in which Argentina was briefly or continuously under an Incan monarchy. That would have ripped. Literally, I believe it was a cousin of Tupac Amaru III was being considered for the position. Incredible. Incredible. Incredible indeed. See, people tend to see South America as just like, eh, you know, it's just the extra continent.
Starting point is 00:08:21 I don't think people think about how much has gone on down there. Or rather, it's not really present in the English-speaking world's imagination. You know, we tend to focus on more of the Northern Hemisphere side of things, or whichever specific region we find ourselves in, whether it be the Caribbean or Australia, New Zealand, UK, US, Canada. We tend to think about English- colonial history but latin america had a lot going on in its time i mean come on they had an alliance with the spanish philippines yeah rips yeah so i mean civil war go as they say between the centralists and the federalists
Starting point is 00:09:02 and that will continue for a while after the Declaration of the Republic in 1816. And it was only resolved in 1831 with a federalist victory. Basically, it was a division over how they should organize the state, whether it should be in a federal manner or more centralist unitary manner. So the federalists won, which would lead to the War of the Confederation
Starting point is 00:09:23 between 1836-1839, the establishment of the Constitution in 1853, and a temporary secession of Buenos Aires, which was forced back into Argentina by 1861. And as in much of Latin America, anarchism would establish itself fairly early on thanks to the waves of migration from Europe, and particularly from France, Italy, and Spain. There are so many Italians. So many Italians. Just an absurd amount of Italians. These folks fled political repression and poverty in their home countries.
Starting point is 00:10:00 Refugees from the Paris Commune and anarchist literature from the aforementioned lands would find themselves in the streets of Buenos Aires City and the countrysides of Buenos Aires Province. They circulated anarchist ideas through group meetings such as the group El Miserable in the port city of Rosario and publications like La Revolte which was founded by Kropotkin all the way back in Switzerland. Kropotkin's words of a rebel would also make frequent appearances throughout Argentina and his conquest of bread received a translation by Catalan carpenter Juan Villa. As with the splits internationally, the First Internationale's local section in Buenos Aires, which was founded in 1872, would split between the supporters of Marx and the supporters of Bakunin. The former
Starting point is 00:10:43 were predominantly French, the latter predominantly Spaniard and Italian. Three decades of substantial migration started in the 1880s would spark significant growth in the anarchist movement, as the migrants found crushing economic deprivation and repressive governance where they'd hoped they'd find prosperity and liberty. governance where they'd hoped they'd find prosperity and liberty over three million people arrived leading to the country having a foreign-born population of 33 percent by 1914 nowadays as in much of the world unfortunately that once foreign-born population some percentage of them are now unfortunately anti-immigration. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:11:26 And violently so. It's a cruel irony that we find ourselves with. Just mere decades ago, there were ancestors with migrants. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly. I am talking to a felon right now, and I cannot decide if I like him or not. Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko.
Starting point is 00:11:52 It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot. Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show. I live with my boyfriend and I found his piss jar in our apartment.
Starting point is 00:12:19 I collect my roommate's toenails and fingernails. I have very overbearing parents. Even at the age of 29, they won't let to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it. Hey, I'm Jack Peace Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep
Starting point is 00:12:49 into the rich world of Black literature. I'm Jack Peace Thomas, and I'm inviting you to join me in a vibrant community of literary enthusiasts dedicated to protecting
Starting point is 00:13:00 and celebrating our stories. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while commuting or running errands, for those who find themselves seeking solace, wisdom, and refuge between the chapters. From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture.
Starting point is 00:13:20 Together, we'll dissect classics and contemporary works while uncovering the stories of the brilliant writers behind them. Blacklit is here to amplify the voices of Black writers and to bring their words to life. Listen to Blacklit on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Starting point is 00:13:37 wherever you get your podcasts. Hola mi gente, it's Honey German and I'm bringing you Gracias, Come Again, the podcast where we dive deep into the world of Latin culture, musica, peliculas, and entertainment with some of the biggest names in the game. If you love hearing real conversations with your favorite Latin celebrities, artists, and culture shifters, this is the podcast for you. We're talking real conversations with our Latin stars,
Starting point is 00:14:00 from actors and artists to musicians and creators, sharing their stories, struggles, and successes. You know it's going to be filled with chisme laughs and all the vibes that you love. Each week, we'll explore everything from music and pop culture to deeper topics like identity, community, and breaking down barriers in all sorts of industries.
Starting point is 00:14:18 Don't miss out on the fun, el té caliente, and life stories. Join me for Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get into todo lo actual y viral. Listen to Gracias Come Again on the iHeartRadio app,
Starting point is 00:14:31 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second season digging into how Tex Elite has turned Silicon Valley
Starting point is 00:14:44 into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, better offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech from an industry veteran with nothing to lose. This season, I'm going to be joined by everyone from Nobel winning economists to leading journalists in the field. And I'll be digging into why the products you love keep getting worse and naming and shaming those responsible. Don't get me wrong, though. I love technology. I just hate the people in charge and want them to get back to building things that actually do things to help real people. I swear to God things can change if we're loud enough, so join me every week to understand what's happening in the tech industry and what could
Starting point is 00:15:23 be done to make things better. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever else you get your podcasts. Check out betteroffline.com. On Thanksgiving Day, 1999, a five-year-old boy floated alone in the ocean. He had lost his mother trying to reach Florida from Cuba. He looked like a little angel. I mean, he looked so fresh. And his name, Elian Gonzalez, will make headlines everywhere. Elian Gonzalez. Elian, Elian.
Starting point is 00:15:54 Elian, Elian. Elian, Elian. Elian Gonzalez. At the heart of the story is a young boy and the question of who he belongs with. His father in Cuba. Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home and he wanted of who he belongs with. His father in Cuba. Mr. Gonzales wanted to go home, and he wanted to take his son with him. Or his relatives in Miami. Imagine that your mother died trying to get you to freedom.
Starting point is 00:16:16 At the heart of it all is still this painful family separation. Something that as a Cuban, I know all too well. Listen to Chess Peace, the Elian Gonzalez story, as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Among the migration wave came the likes of Hector Matei, an Italian anarchist who helped publish Il Socialista, which is a weekly paper. And of course, believe it or not, the one and only Erico Malatesta, who keeps making guest appearances
Starting point is 00:16:53 in these Latin American anarchists on the show. He's just like all over the place. He's traveling everywhere. If I recall correctly, he made an appearance in Cuba. He made an appearance in Cuba. He made an appearance in the Egypt episode as well. Yep. He just keeps showing up.
Starting point is 00:17:10 He's really, truly a globetrotter in a mold that we haven't really seen. Hey, I mean, move aside Pitbull, you know, he's the real Mr. Worldwide.
Starting point is 00:17:20 So, Errico Montesta, he actually fled Italy in 1885 after escaping imprisonment. And he helped to establish the Circulo de Studio Socialis, where he and others gave public speeches promoting anarchism. And he worked to organize the Sociedad Cosmopolita de Obreros Panaderos, an anarchist baker's union. I didn't know he could bake.
Starting point is 00:17:41 Maybe he could bake, maybe he couldn't. Maybe he was just there, you know, helping them set up. But in my head, I'd like to imagine that he was pretty good at baking bread and making cookies, you know? I'm pretty sure he was like an ice cream salesman too at one point. I thought I might be getting that confused with like some other anarchist who was going around everywhere who was also selling ice cream. You know, I wouldn't be surprised. I have vague memories of there being a story about him having an ice cream cart and trying to make money and he couldn't do it
Starting point is 00:18:08 because he kept giving ice cream to children. I think I remember that story. I think Zoe Baker had a video on it. You know those ads that used to show on TV about a decade ago? The most interesting man in the world? Yeah. He was based in Urquhart. Yeah, so Manal Tessalito returned to Europe in the world. Yeah. He was based on Errico Manatesta.
Starting point is 00:18:27 Yeah, so Manatesta later returned to Europe in 1889, yet he left a lasting legacy in helping to organize workers and sow the seeds for a powerful anarchist movement in Argentina. In the early 1890s, the anarchist paper El Perseguido became one of the most popular
Starting point is 00:18:43 and prominent voices of anarchist communism in Argentina, despite ongoing repression and government censorship. The anarchist press continued to expand during this period, with publications like La Voz de la Mujer and Anarchist Feminist People emerging in Rosario. The 1880s and early 1890s also involved significant internal debates, particularly around the role of workers' unions in revolutionary tactics. Some groups embraced anarchist cynicalism, while others believed smaller affinity groups as catalysts of social revolution were the way to go. While in the midst of a massive, rapid industrial growth and dealing with the worsening economic situation for the working class, such a society was ripe for transformation of the anarchist
Starting point is 00:19:25 variety. Initially, the anarchists had been focused on counter-cultural concerns, particularly in the field of education. But as their ranks swelled in number, the stage was set for the debut of a mass anarchist movement among Argentine workers. In 1897, the anarchist workers were found La Protesta Humana, later shortened to La Protesta, which would become an enduring anarchist paper throughout Latin America. But the anarchists didn't just stick to papers, though. In 1901, anarchists were instrumental in the founding of the Argentine Workers' Federation, or the FOA, which was Argentina's first labor federation.
Starting point is 00:20:05 which is Argentina's first labor federation. The federation was founded in a congress that assembled some 50 delegates representing 30 to 35 workers organizations from both capital and interior. The aim of the federation was an entity that included all workers without regard to their races or beliefs based on a solid foundation of direct action and economic struggle. Though initially including Marxists, those would later depart to found the General Workers' Union, or the UGT, which was more amenable to party interests, of course, which left the FOA in anarchist hands. The FOA stood at the forefront of the struggles, advocating for higher wages and better working conditions. At the time, the typical workday was 10 hours or more, with wages barely covering essential needs. Strikes broke out across industries, with notable successes.
Starting point is 00:20:53 Painters in Mar del Plata secured an 8-hour workday, and dockworkers in Buenos Aires won a 9-hour workday along with a wage increase. But despite the repression, the workers' movement continued to grow stronger. The FOA's membership surged, with 42 unions and over 15,000 members in 1903, rising to 66 unions and nearly 33,000 members a year later. In 1904, at its fourth congress, the group was renamed the Regional Workers' Federation of Argentina, or the FORA. Their reasoning was ideological. By adding the adjective regional, it made plain that Argentina was not considered a state or political unit, but a region of the world in which workers struggled for their liberation. This fourth Congress also approved a solidarity pact that proclaimed the establishment of a
Starting point is 00:21:43 classless society with neither state nor private property as the ultimate aim of their struggle. The anarchist influence was clear, but it gets even more explicit in the following year. The UGT had been subordinate to the Marxist Socialist Party, but even their third Congress in 1905 had a syndicalist emergence that preferred workers' associations to political parties. Basically, even the non-Anarchist workers' organizations were being influenced by the Anarchist wave. So much so that the UGT wanted to form a solidarity pact with Fora. But the Anarchists and Fora didn't quite trust the parliamentary socialism of the UGT. Still, they did work with them to call a general strike in 1907 in solidarity with
Starting point is 00:22:26 cart drivers in Rosario, joined by some 150,000 workers from around the republic. That strike ended in victory for the workers. In 1905, two years before and at its fifth congress, Fora made its commitment to revolutionary anarchist communism explicitly known. Quote, we advise and recommend to all our followers the broadest possible study and propaganda with the aim of instilling in workers the economic and philosophical principles of anarchist communism. This education, not concerned with achieving the eight-hour workday, will bring total emancipation and consequently the social evolution we pursue.
Starting point is 00:23:07 End quote. Fora was among the largest federations of workers' organizations and it was officially anarchist-communist. The 1906-1907 general and tenant strikes garnered greater fervor and in response, Buenos Aires police head Colonel Falcón swore to finish off the anarchists. Buenos Aires Police Head Colonel Falcón swore to finish off the anarchists. 1907 saw Fora and UGT attempt a merger, but since the majority sought adherence to anarchist communism, the merger could not be achieved. Fora was militant and effective in achieving many of its goals, including wage increases, reductions in the length of the workday, and various rights of association. Port workers, crown transport workers, seamen's unions, beakers, metal workers, construction workers, and ship workers were all prominent in the Federation and were well positioned to paralyze the Argentine economy and win their demands.
Starting point is 00:24:00 In the first decade of the 20th century, these unions led six general strikes and many more partial strikes. And women were more involved than in any other radical movement of the time, taking part in consumer boycotts and rent strikes as well. But the anarchists knew that ruptures in the capitalist economy wouldn't be enough. I found out I was related to the guy that I was dating. I don't feel emotions correctly. I am talking to a felon right now, and I cannot decide if I like him or not. Those were some callers from my call-in podcast, Therapy Gecko. It's a show where I take real phone calls from anonymous strangers all over the world as a fake gecko therapist and try to dig into
Starting point is 00:24:47 their brains and learn a little bit about their lives. I know that's a weird concept, but I promise it's pretty interesting if you give it a shot. Matter of fact, here's a few more examples of the kinds of calls we get on this show. I live with my boyfriend and I found his piss jar in our apartment. I collect my roommate's toenails and fingernails. I have very overbearing parents. Even at the age of 29, they won't let me move out of their house. So if you want an excuse to get out of your own head and see what's going on in someone else's head, search for Therapy Gecko on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the one with the green guy on it.
Starting point is 00:25:27 Hey, I'm Jack Peace Thomas, the host of a brand new Black Effect original series, Black Lit, the podcast for diving deep into the rich world of Black literature. I'm Jack Peace Thomas, and I'm inviting you to join me in a vibrant community of literary enthusiasts dedicated to protecting and celebrating our stories. Black Lit is for the page turners, for those who listen to audiobooks while commuting or running errands, for those who find themselves seeking solace, wisdom, and refuge between the chapters.
Starting point is 00:25:59 From thought-provoking novels to powerful poetry, we'll explore the stories that shape our culture together. We'll dissect classics and contemporary works while uncovering the stories of the brilliant writers behind them. Blacklit is here to amplify the voices of black writers and to bring their words to life. Listen to Blacklit on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,
Starting point is 00:26:22 or wherever you get your podcasts. Hola mi gente, it's Honey German and I'm bringing you Gracias, Come Again, the podcast where we dive deep into the world of Latin culture, musica, peliculas, and entertainment with some of the biggest names in the game. If you love hearing real conversations with your favorite Latin celebrities, artists, and culture shifters, this is the podcast for you. We're talking real conversations with our Latin stars, from actors and artists to musicians and creators, sharing their stories, struggles, and successes. You know it's going to be filled with chisme laughs and all the vibes that you
Starting point is 00:26:53 love. Each week, we'll explore everything from music and pop culture to deeper topics like identity, community, and breaking down barriers in all sorts of industries. Don't miss out on the fun, el té caliente, and life stories. Join me for Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get into todo lo actual y viral. Listen to Gracias Come Again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second season
Starting point is 00:27:26 digging into how tech's elite has turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, Better Offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech from an industry veteran with nothing to lose. This season, I'm going to be joined by everyone from Nobel-winning economists to leading journalists in the field, and I'll be digging into why the products you love keep getting worse and naming and shaming those responsible. Don't get me wrong though, I love technology. I just hate the people in charge and want them to get back to building things that actually do things to help real people. I swear to God things can change if we're loud
Starting point is 00:28:04 enough, So join me every week to understand what's happening in the tech industry and what could be done to make things better. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever else you get your podcasts. Check out betteroffline.com. On Thanksgiving Day, 1999, a five-year-old boy floated alone in the ocean. He had lost his mother trying to reach Florida from Cuba. He looked like a little angel. I mean, he looked so fresh. And his name, Elian Gonzalez, will make headlines everywhere.
Starting point is 00:28:38 Elian Gonzalez. Elian Gonzalez. Elian. Elian. Elian Gonzalez. At the heart of the story is a young boy and the question of who he belongs with. His father in Cuba. Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home and he wanted to take his son with him.
Starting point is 00:28:54 Or his relatives in Miami. Imagine that your mother died trying to get you to freedom. At the heart of it all is still this painful family separation. Something that as a Cuban, I know all too well. Listen to Chess Peace, the Elian Gonzalez story, as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It could never be enough to merely confront the system and refuse to cooperate with the system as it is. The social revolution also demands consciousness,
Starting point is 00:29:34 solidarity, and the prefiguration of an enlightened, progressive society and social organizations. Thus, anarchists engaged in counterculture. Multiple papers in multiple languages, theater and poetry, mayday marches, social centres, popular education centres, popular libraries and discussion circles. All of these efforts were seeded throughout the cities and linked to various unions to create a veritable and dynamic network of revolutionary causes. And since the government understood the anarchist threat, they tried their best to raise the cost of revolutionary activism. The actions included petty police harassment, the humiliating and inconvenient searches and gratuitous demands
Starting point is 00:30:16 for identification, which were a familiar experience for the anarchist militants. There was also the outlawing of radical publications, the suppression of the right to public assembly, mass arrests, martial law declared for a total of 18 months between 1902 and 1910, and of course outright violence to the police, the army, and other formal forces, in addition to thugs acting on their behalf. The government also attempted to undermine the anarchist movement through legislative means. The government also attempted to undermine the anarchist movement through legislative means. The Residence Law in 1902 granted the government the right to deport foreigners that are deemed undesirable without trial. After the law had been in effect for a few years, Fora called a general strike against its oppressive conditions. Fora's leadership condemned the law as a violation of human rights, laboring it as a tool by the state to suppress free thought and working class movements. The government did not budge.
Starting point is 00:31:18 On May day 1909, police violently attacked a peaceful protest organized by transport workers and anarchists, killing eight people and wounding many others. Colonel Falcone, the recurrent villain who ordered the attack, later became the target of a retaliatory bombing by young anarchist Simón Radowitzky in November 1909. This act of defiance shook the whole country. In the meantime, the anarchist cause also resonated internationally. In response to the execution of Francisco Freire, a Spanish educator and anarchist, FORa led a series of strikes in Argentina, joining global protests against his death. 1910 marked Argentina's preparations for the centenary celebrations of its first national government, portraying itself as a beacon of prosperity.
Starting point is 00:32:00 But oh, here come the workers with their unrest and protests to sour the vibes and demand the release of political prisoners and the abolition of the law of residence. Naturally, the government responded by declaring a state of internal war, arresting hundreds of anarchists, including foreign leaders, and imposing extreme censorship and restrictions on civil liberties, shutdowns of publications, and the declaration of a state of emergency. The government also introduced the social defense law, which levied a series of penalties against anarchist activities specifically. As the centennial celebrations unfolded, Argentina had transformed into a heavily militarized state, with more than 2,000 anarchists arrested or deported. So much for a grand celebration of their free democracy. Despite the repression, the workers' movements continued to grow.
Starting point is 00:32:57 Forest General strikes forced the government to make concessions and release jailed workers. But divisions began to appear within the movement. After dealing with so much repression for their radical ideas, a split occurred in 1909 with the formation of the syndicalist group Cora, which adopted much of Fora's structure and retained some anarchist ideas but leaned towards a less radical approach, hoping to be less of a target. The anarchists took yet another hit when, in 1912, the science peña law made voting secret and obligatory, thus making anarchist abstentionism as a tactic illegal. Their range of possible actions was being intentionally closed.
Starting point is 00:33:39 While dealing with these external pressures, anarchists also had to deal with pressures from within the workers' movement by even more folks who wanted to compromise the revolutionary goals. Another split between the syndicalists and anarchists occurred at the Fora's 9th Congress in 1915. Unions were increasingly led by reformists, social democrats, and uncommitted anarchists, which led to the thesis of a neutral syndicalism focused on winning workers' rights becoming the dominant position within fora. The syndicalists dropped their commitment to anarchist communism and claimed the name the fora of the 9th congress, while the minority of anarchists that maintained their commitment to anarchist communism took the name the fora of the 5th congress. The timing of this split was impeccable though. You see, as has been a recurring theme in this series
Starting point is 00:34:27 The Russian Revolution of 1917 had a significant impact on Argentinian anarchism In a sense, it reignited the revolutionary fervor within the movement And led to the reformist and cynicalist 409 losing influence While revolutionary ideas once again gained momentum. For a brief moment, there was hope. But the Bolsheviks would waste little time in crushing that hope. By 1920, Argentinian anarchists, like their European counterparts, began to distance themselves from Leninism. They began to recognize the authoritarian nature of the Bolsheviks, from Leninism.
Starting point is 00:35:02 They began to recognize the authoritarian nature of the Bolsheviks, took note of Kropotkin and Lenin's correspondences, and soon came to reject the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat. On his part,
Starting point is 00:35:13 alongside his mass slaughter of the anarchists in Kronstadt, Lenin also ordered the confiscation of anarchist texts, which he saw as influencing the conflict within the Bolshevik ranks. Tale as old as time.
Starting point is 00:35:27 Anyway, next time we'll see if and how the anarchists in Argentina managed to navigate the tumultuous 20s, 30s and beyond to leave a lasting mark on Argentine history. But things aren't looking too good for them right now. Until then, all power to all the people. This has been It Could Happen Here. It Could Happen Here is a production of Cool Zone Media.
Starting point is 00:35:55 For more podcasts from Cool Zone Media, visit our website, coolzonemedia.com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can now find sources for It Could Happen Here listed directly in episode descriptions. Thanks for listening. Curious about queer sexuality, cruising, and expanding your horizons? Hit play on the sex positive and deeply entertaining podcast, Sniffy's Cruising Confessions. Join hosts Gabe Gonzalez and
Starting point is 00:36:19 Chris Patterson Rosso as they explore queer sex, cruising, relationships, and culture in the new iHeart podcast, Sniffy's Cruising Confessions. Sniffy's Cruising Confessions will broaden minds and help you pursue your true goals. You can listen to Sniffy's Cruising Confessions, sponsored by Gilead, now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes every Thursday. Hi, I'm Ed Zitron, host of the Better Offline podcast, and we're kicking off our second season digging into tech's elite and how they've turned Silicon Valley into a playground for billionaires. From the chaotic world of generative AI to the destruction of Google search, Better Offline is your unvarnished and at times unhinged look at the underbelly of tech brought to you by an industry veteran with nothing to lose. Listen to Better Offline on the iHeartRadio app,
Starting point is 00:37:05 Apple Podcasts, wherever else you get your podcasts from. Welcome to Gracias Come Again, a podcast by Honey German, where we get real and dive straight into todo lo actual y viral. We're talking música, los premios, el chisme, and all things trending in my cultura. I'm bringing you all the latest happening in our entertainment world and some fun and impactful interviews with your favorite Latin artists, comedians, actors, and influencers. Each week, we get deep and raw life stories,
Starting point is 00:37:32 combos on the issues that matter to us, and it's all packed with gems, fun, straight-up comedia, and that's a song that only nuestra gente can sprinkle. Listen to Gracias Come Again on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. But hurry, submissions close on December 8th. Hey, you've been doing all that talking.
Starting point is 00:38:07 It's time to get rewarded for it. Submit your podcast today at iHeart.com slash podcast awards. That's iHeart.com slash podcast awards. On Thanksgiving Day, 1999, five-year-old Cuban boy, Elian Gonzalez, was found off the coast of Florida. And the question was, should the boy go back to his father in Cuba?
Starting point is 00:38:32 Mr. Gonzalez wanted to go home and he wanted to take his son with him. Or stay with his relatives in Miami? Imagine that your mother died trying to get you to freedom. Listen to Chess Peace, the Elian Gonzalez story, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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