WEBVTT - Anarchism In Uruguay feat. Andrew, Pt. 2 0:00:01.720 --> 0:00:06.640 Cauzone Media. Hey, and welcome to you. It happen here. 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:11.280 Today we'll continue our journey through Latin American anarchism where 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:13.480 we last left off with a look at the anarchist 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:18.320 history of Uruguay. We talked about Uruguay's general history. It's 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:22.239 radical influences anarchism, this period of popularity in the early 0:00:22.320 --> 0:00:28.000 twentieth century, it's radical experiments and it's cultural influence. So today, 0:00:28.880 --> 0:00:31.800 James and I, because James is here, Hello, James. 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:32.120 Hi Andrew. 0:00:32.800 --> 0:00:35.199 Today we're going to look at what Uruguaian anarchists have 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:38.720 been up to from the fifties onward, paying special attentions 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:43.000 the activity of the Ferracion Anarchista Uruguaya and the idea 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:47.280 of especifismo. By the way, as James is indicated, I 0:00:47.360 --> 0:00:49.640 am Andrew Andrew Saige. You can find me on YouTube 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:54.160 as Andrewism. But all that aside, let's get into it. 0:00:55.880 --> 0:01:01.440 The Feracion Anarchista i Uruguaya or FAU, was founded in Montevideo, Uruguay, 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:05.400 in nineteen fifty six. According to Paul Sharki in Di 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:10.480 Ferraci and Araquista Irauguaya, the FAU had very strong work 0:01:10.520 --> 0:01:13.400 in class roots, as many of the militants came from 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:17.800 labor heavy districts like Zero, which definitely shaped their outlook. 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:22.080 The FAU was also very much emphasized in direct action 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:27.720 over electoral strategies. It favored armed struggle as a necessity 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:33.280 in reaction to safer pression and economic exploitation, and the 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:39.080 FAU had a very strong stance against Marxist Leninism. Although 0:01:39.120 --> 0:01:43.240 some members sympathized with aspects of Marxism, many of them 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:49.400 resisted bureaucratic and authoritarian tendencies that influenced that milia. Unlike 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:52.360 in many other Latin American countries, as you may have 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:56.720 recalled us covering in the past, anarchism persisted in mainstream 0:01:56.760 --> 0:01:59.680 relevance even after the rise of the Bolsheviks and the 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:03.200 Wents globally, and of course the coincide and fall of 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:06.800 the anarchists in Spain. According to all of us Zenkos 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:10.239 sixty five years of Revolution, the FAU came about in 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:12.840 a time when uriquires prosperity coming out of World War 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:16.160 Two had come to an end, as its agricultural exports 0:02:16.200 --> 0:02:19.359 were no longer needed to feed the Allies massive standing armies. 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:24.360 This economic downturn triggered major social unrest which the anarchist 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:27.480 presence was able to spring upon. One such instance of 0:02:27.600 --> 0:02:31.720 unrest involved one hundred and fifty thousand workers going on 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:35.079 strike in solidarity with their fellow workers in a tire factory. 0:02:35.919 --> 0:02:41.000 During the strike and after, the FAU involved students, unionists, intellectuals, 0:02:41.000 --> 0:02:44.040 community organizers, and even a few exiles from the Spanish 0:02:44.040 --> 0:02:47.560 Civil War to build up a more united labor movement. 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:52.359 So rather than having unions split along political ideological affiliations 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:57.040 like moderates, socialists, anarchists, right populists and so on, there'll 0:02:57.120 --> 0:03:01.840 be one big tent just focused on labor. Now, I 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:06.239 personally think a big tent has its benefits and its drawbacks, 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:09.519 as with any other strategy. I think the benefit is 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:12.119 obviously that it has the ability to mobilize a large 0:03:12.200 --> 0:03:15.080 number of people. But I think the difficulty in the 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:18.160 drawback is it having so many affiliations under that big 0:03:18.200 --> 0:03:20.120 tent can mean it there's not really much of a 0:03:20.200 --> 0:03:26.000 shared goal left behind, Like, yeah, the anarchists want anarchy, 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:29.720 the right populists might just want to secure some benefits 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:32.600 and protections, and the socialists will be interested in launching 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:36.000 a party. Sure they all proclaim to have some interest 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:39.360 on the side of the workers or how that manifests 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:43.080 looks different from group to group. But we'll see how 0:03:43.080 --> 0:03:47.160 that big tent approach turned out for the FAU. So 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:51.720 they formed the National Confederation of Workers or CNT as 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:56.520 that big tent in nineteen sixty four. But even before 0:03:56.600 --> 0:03:59.840 that there was a split, not too much of us 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:04.520 as after the Cuban Revolution. The FAU is actually divided 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:08.000 between those who were opposed to Castro and those who 0:04:08.040 --> 0:04:12.720 critically supported the revolution. Those who were opposed to Castro 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:15.800 eventually broke away from the FAU in nineteen sixty three 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:19.800 as Castro entrenched himself in the Soviet Bloc, while those 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:23.160 who remained in the FAU were critical of Castro and 0:04:23.200 --> 0:04:27.920 his government but still supported the fall of Batista. Of course, 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:32.919 with the Cuban Revolution came that very noticeable shift in 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:37.120 American and foreign policy. They saw that with all that 0:04:37.200 --> 0:04:40.279 happening right in their backyard, they need to take a 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:42.920 very different approach if they wanted to win the Cold War. 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:46.200 Such a zign coo actually describes how in nineteen sixty 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:50.279 one JFK changed the approach of the now infamous school 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:54.400 of the Americas from preparing for Soviet invasion to preparing 0:04:54.520 --> 0:05:01.280 for anti communist counterinsurgency against homegrown revolutions. So as a result, 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:06.080 militaries across Latin America became more right wing and seized 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:10.640 power for themselves to protect civilians from the danger of 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:14.680 their rights. In nineteen sixty four, it was Brazil. In 0:05:14.760 --> 0:05:17.680 nineteen sixty eight, it was Peru, in nineteen seventy three 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:21.080 was Chile, and Uruguay fell, and in nineteen seventy six 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:26.360 Argentina fell. So Zenko noted in jest. Over a decade, 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:30.600 Uruguay and anarchists will becomes surrounded by right wing dictatorships 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:34.720 which collaborated to round up and extillminate left wing dissidents 0:05:35.080 --> 0:05:39.679 of all flavors. Not to mention, the economic situation wasn't 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:44.520 exactly getting better. According to Paul Sharky, between nineteen fifty 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:47.680 five and nineteen fifty nine, the cost of living doubled 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:51.799 and wages did not keep peace. By nineteen sixty five, 0:05:52.240 --> 0:05:55.800 inflation was running at one hundred percent, by nineteen sixty 0:05:55.800 --> 0:06:00.080 seven at one hundred and forty percent. Madness. 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:03.560 Yeah, well, just wait and see Andrew. 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:05.600 Oh yeah, yeah, we are living in some interesting times. 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:08.880 Yeah, yeah, you never know. 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:14.240 So the president that preceded the military dictator imposed a 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:19.360 wage freeze and devalue the currency. That was his bright idea, 0:06:19.440 --> 0:06:24.440 his solution to the crisis. So people's lives were obviously 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:28.960 getting worse and the time had come for some decisive action. 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:33.920 So the CNT aided in strikes across sectors, had even 0:06:33.960 --> 0:06:37.400 tried to call for a general strike as ale rights. 0:06:37.480 --> 0:06:39.279 The FAU decided that they were going to take on 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:42.960 a strategy of urban guerrilla warfare, so they tapped into 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:47.320 a coalition of leftist groups to robin hood food from 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:49.520 the corporations to be able to the poor. 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:51.560 Awesome, have just hit it. 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:57.080 Yeah, But sadly the coalition couldn't last very long. Differences 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.520 in strategy would lead to the FAU doing its thing 0:06:59.640 --> 0:07:02.640 by in defense councils similar to those organized in the 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:06.360 Spanish Civil War. Yeah interesting, while the other groups copied 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:11.160 a Sheikwavara style gorilla army approach, forming the National Liberation 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:14.040 Movement to Permeros or the mL and T. 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:19.480 The existential debate among anarchists in arms is this that 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:24.120 you've just like highlighted, right, it's need we form authoritarian 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:28.200 structures similar to those using, for example, the Cuban Revolution, 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:33.960 the Russian Revolution, these kind of statist revolutions which characterize 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:36.880 the left in the twentieth century in some ways. Or 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:40.120 is it possible for us to go from our community 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:43.640 defense and the defense committees like the six person groups 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:48.280 that the CNT organized in Spain to a more egalitarian 0:07:48.880 --> 0:07:52.440 large formation, like a like a truly revolutionary army, And 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:55.280 like the split that you're talking about is the split 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:57.040 that almost every movement has. 0:07:57.240 --> 0:08:02.160 Yeah, although the MLANTE was necessarily anarchists. 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:05.880 Right, they were like following the Castro model, is that right, 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:08.320 Like the Shaghavara kind of guerrilla warfare. 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:10.840 Doctrine, pretty much the Gravara sort of model. 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:11.440 Yeah. 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:14.280 Although I'm glad that you bring up this point because 0:08:14.280 --> 0:08:18.400 there's actually something that I was writing about earlier today 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:23.040 and preparation for a video. I think there's a conflation 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:27.440 that anarchists need to be careful with between leadership in 0:08:27.440 --> 0:08:30.920 the sense of authority, as in the right to command 0:08:31.000 --> 0:08:35.400 and control and that kind of thing, versus leadership in 0:08:35.440 --> 0:08:42.600 the sense of guidance, advice, coordination, expertise. Yeah, I think 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:45.679 that just as that you might have. Even you might 0:08:45.720 --> 0:08:50.560 have an anarchist construction collective, right, and they're building a house, 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:55.760 you might have something like a foreman who is coordinating 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:58.240 all the actions and all the different builders and all 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:02.160 the different treatment of engaging in to ensure that the 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.720 different parts of the house come together cohesively and seamlessly, 0:09:05.720 --> 0:09:09.160 that nobody's like stepping on anybody's tools, that everything is 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:12.880 being done in a proper time. And that is an 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:17.600 instance where there will be coordination without necessarily having authority. 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:20.680 It's just really a division of labor to ensure that 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:24.680 the task that everybody is there to accomplish can be accomplished. 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:28.120 And the person who is given that particular task within 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:32.520 that division of labor is doing so by taking all 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:36.040 that responsibility. But just as they have the responsibility, others 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:39.120 will also have the responsibilities and that does not elevate 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:43.720 them above the other people in that association, right, Yeah, 0:09:43.760 --> 0:09:45.280 And so kind of in the same way that you 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:49.640 have that in a construction site, I think that that 0:09:49.760 --> 0:09:51.600 is the kind of approach we need to take in 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:56.480 a military formation where the person who is you know, 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:01.040 respected for their knowledge of military strategy or has the 0:10:01.080 --> 0:10:03.680 information or the expertise to be able to handle the 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:06.640 planning of that approach, because we're all here to win, right, Yeah, 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:08.800 We're all here to defend our freedom and to defend 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:11.880 the freedom of the people we love. So there's no 0:10:12.000 --> 0:10:14.400 sense in splitting off into a bunch of different groups 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:18.120 and failing out our task when we can come together 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:23.719 where necessary to engage in the coordination of our strategy 0:10:24.000 --> 0:10:27.599 to improve the chances of our success. You know. And 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:31.040 of course there is a vulnerability in times of warfare 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:35.200 that we do have the knowledge because warfare historically is 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:37.920 one of the times that is the most ripe for 0:10:38.160 --> 0:10:43.560 authoritaria and seizure and control. But because that vulnerability exists 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:45.480 in those times is when I think we have to 0:10:45.520 --> 0:10:48.560 be extra vigilant of how that could potentially manifest. You know, 0:10:48.640 --> 0:10:51.839 we don't sacrifice our course and defense of the cause, 0:10:51.920 --> 0:10:52.800 you know what I'm saying. 0:10:53.080 --> 0:10:55.960 Yeah, definitely, because it's easy to do that. It's easy 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:58.280 to be persuaded that this situation is unique and different, 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:01.280 and therefore we need to accept some kind of compromise 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:04.080 of the very essence of what we're doing. The method 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:06.840 that like the people I have spoken to, both those 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:11.840 within formations today in Rajava and most in Rejava, but 0:11:11.880 --> 0:11:14.960 also in the Emma and those for instance in the 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:18.880 Eyeing Column, which was a FI column in the Spanishivil War. 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:21.440 They're probably the most famous for leaving the frontline to 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:23.360 attack the cops because they felt like they didn't have 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:26.160 enough weapons and that the cops had too many. And 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:29.040 what they did was that they created a concept of 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:32.640 the minimum necessary discipline, discipline being something that one has 0:11:32.640 --> 0:11:36.359 for oneself, not the hunting that comes from above. And 0:11:35.960 --> 0:11:39.480 they had leaders who would lead in times of combat 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:42.960 right when we needed to make swift and decisive action. 0:11:43.480 --> 0:11:47.880 There wasn't time to obtain consensus. They used consensus to 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:52.560 arrive at those leaders. Those leaders were able in times 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:56.080 of urgency to make urgent decisions, but that didn't confer 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:59.960 to power or status outside of that moment. 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:03.599 Yeah. Yeah, It's just like in an emergency scenario, you know, 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:07.720 somebody is, you know, leading a surgery for example, or 0:12:08.280 --> 0:12:13.000 leading a rescue operation. That doesn't mean that they're elevated 0:12:13.000 --> 0:12:15.040 above everybody else. It just means that they have the 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:19.360 knowledge and the skills to accomplish that particular task and 0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:23.440 the others of their own free will. Respect that knowledge 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:27.920 enough to go out with what the person is recommending exactly. 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:30.720 Yeah, and that, yeah, that doesn't mean that that person 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:33.960 is inherently capable of bossing you around, exactly. 0:12:34.040 --> 0:12:36.720 And I like the mention of discipline in particular because 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:39.800 that really is the distinction, because he will talk about, oh, 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:41.800 you need to have military discipline, how you supposed to 0:12:41.800 --> 0:12:46.840 have military discipline without blind obedience to authority, And sure, 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:48.320 we're not going to have we're ever going to have 0:12:48.360 --> 0:12:53.120 discipline to the extent that soldiers are dehumanized and treated 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:56.640 like cannon fodder as you would find in a traditional 0:12:56.920 --> 0:13:03.360 authoritarian military. But the discipline is derived from solidarity, is 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.120 derived from the responsibility people have for each other, the 0:13:06.240 --> 0:13:08.800 capable have for each other within their formation, and the 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:12.080 responsible do they have for their own actions as being 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:14.560 part of that formation, and for how their actions will 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:15.600 affect those around them. 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:18.560 Yeah, exactly, And I think that's something like you see 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.640 it again and again when you read the column, the 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:23.439 Deruty column newspaper, right, they talk about discipline and how 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:26.000 we have to have a discipline comes from our commitment 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:28.640 to our cause into each other, not from any fear 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:33.160 of repercussions or like quote unquote disciplinary action, but from 0:13:33.240 --> 0:13:35.920 like the fact that we we don't want to let 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:37.440 our comrades down, or do we want to let our 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:41.080 course down, and like when people do do that. Right, 0:13:41.280 --> 0:13:43.320 there are It doesn't mean there aren't disciplinary reactions, but 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:46.360 it means that those are like like you said before, 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:48.400 you don't break away from the core of what you're doing. 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:52.200 So they agree by consensus to include with the person 0:13:52.240 --> 0:13:55.120 who has done the thing that is considered to be wrong, 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:59.400 what a suitable punishment would be or a suitable set 0:13:59.440 --> 0:14:03.040 of repercussions would be. So then it reinforces the idea 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:07.200 of like consensus and like discipline coming from oneself rather 0:14:07.240 --> 0:14:08.439 than from fear of punishment. 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:12.760 Yeah, I think there is, of course the potential for 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:18.360 processes to potentially become how do I want to put this? 0:14:19.080 --> 0:14:21.239 But what I will say is I think it's necessary. 0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:27.480 But even in engaging with those who have you know, 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:34.080 broken trust, or who have seemingly split from the association 0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:37.960 or have jeopardized the safety and security of the association, 0:14:38.040 --> 0:14:40.520 that you find we used to deal with those situations 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.880 on a case by keys basis. You know that you're 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:48.400 responsive to the particular circumstances that cause that action that 0:14:49.120 --> 0:14:53.920 particular outcome, rather than as you would find in modern militaries, 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:57.000 where you have like a very clear this action has 0:14:57.040 --> 0:14:59.400 this consequence, this action has this concert this action like 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.840 a lot more flexibility is required because we understand that, 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:06.120 you know, we don't have this matrix of crime that 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:09.960 authorities do. You know, we're dealing with calm. They deal 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:13.600 with crime, right, and so in dealing with harm, we 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:17.360 have to approach each of these situations in the context 0:15:17.400 --> 0:15:21.760 of their situations rather than in some sort of cold, 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:25.800 like distant calculation, you know. And I think in approaching 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:28.560 it in that way, people are more willing I think, 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:33.320 to fess up or to take accountability for their harm 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:36.600 because they know that there's that relationship there that you're 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:39.480 going to try to work through it that well, there 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:42.440 may be many potential consequences to their actions. There's an 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:46.240 openness to dialogue there rather than a rigidity of this 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:49.080 is what you did, so this is the outcome automatically. 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:51.840 Yeah, I mean that is the latter is like a 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:55.800 system that looks not at people but quote unquote crimes, right, 0:15:56.320 --> 0:16:00.000 and like this this is the opposite of a restored 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:02.400 raative justice system which looks at people in the situation 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:04.680 they are in and not just the worst thing that 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:05.680 they happened to have done. 0:16:05.840 --> 0:16:05.880 It. 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:09.480 We should return to South America and really once again diverted. 0:16:10.000 --> 0:16:14.120 Yes, yes, although I feel like these digressions always get 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:17.320 to something essential and brings out something extra to what 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:31.040 I would have, you know, prepared in advance. So we 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:34.000 had this split, right, we had the FAU and then 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:36.520 you had the m L and T. And they did 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:39.080 collaborate where there was common cause, but it wasn't a 0:16:39.160 --> 0:16:44.680 permanent collaboration, you know. And while this was taking place 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:48.200 in the urban guerrilla warfare sphere, you had different things 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:51.840 taking place in the labor movement. The FAU was dealing 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:55.640 with the consequences of big tent organizing as they found 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:59.920 that the Uruguayan Communist Party or PCU had pretty success, 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:04.720 they claimed significant influence in the cnt SO. In response, 0:17:05.240 --> 0:17:08.480 according to Suzenko, the FAU created a rank and file 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:13.000 alliance called the Combative Tendency, which pushed for more militancy 0:17:13.080 --> 0:17:17.520 and less bureaucracy in the union movement. Through that alliance, 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:20.160 the FAU was able to accomplish a lot more outreach 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:24.320 and action, but in return, the President of Uruguay introduced 0:17:24.400 --> 0:17:29.400 emergency laws executed by the military to counter the unrest. 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:34.199 The revolutionary left continued to fight against military's involvement in 0:17:34.240 --> 0:17:38.200 civilian life and also formed a daily people called Ipoka. 0:17:38.920 --> 0:17:42.160 Then the government was like, stop, don't do that, that's illegal. 0:17:42.840 --> 0:17:44.680 And when the governments has stopped on that, that's a 0:17:44.720 --> 0:17:48.000 legal that means they put boots on the ground and 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:51.520 you know, raided their offices. And so the people fell 0:17:51.560 --> 0:17:55.920 apart and the group's involved went underground, and like I said, 0:17:55.960 --> 0:17:59.919 the military raided their bases. But then when the FAU 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:04.600 was like, let's get the band back together. Unfortunately, the 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:10.720 other groups were too scared to resurface, understandably, and so 0:18:11.760 --> 0:18:16.479 because of that fear, the PCU kind of had a 0:18:16.520 --> 0:18:19.560 fall from Greece. You know, for a while they were 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:25.159 big boys on campus in the CNT. But after the 0:18:25.280 --> 0:18:29.000 FAU kind of came to the forefront again and it 0:18:29.080 --> 0:18:31.600 was all its bravery and stuff, they kind of end 0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:35.800 up falling back. And you see, the PCU had chosen 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:38.880 to appease the military because they believed that a leftist 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:42.240 faction within the rounds the army might support their bid 0:18:42.280 --> 0:18:45.280 for power, kind of like what happened in the Russian Revolution, 0:18:46.480 --> 0:18:48.800 and so you know, they really thought they were cooking something, 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:53.560 but as it saying goes, the store was not even on. 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:55.680 Heard. 0:18:56.880 --> 0:19:00.000 Yeah, the military saw them as pretty much in signific 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:03.360 so much so that while other leftist groups were facing 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:08.919 severe oppression, the PCU was actually pretty much left alone. 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:11.719 And so when the union rank and files saw that 0:19:12.440 --> 0:19:15.119 and tilling their backs on the PCU, they ended up 0:19:15.480 --> 0:19:18.680 turning their focus toward the combative tendency because at least 0:19:18.680 --> 0:19:22.159 they were doing radical and serious stuff. And so the 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:26.120 unions were under attack from all sides, the police, the military, 0:19:26.160 --> 0:19:29.960 and even neo fascist gangs, and the FAU led combatitive 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:34.040 tendency was focused on defending these workers' movements from those threats. 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:38.000 According to Suzenko, the FAU held a secret congress and 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:42.240 formed their own armed wing, the OPR thirty three, which, 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:45.400 unlike other gorilla groups in the region, wasn't a top 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:49.560 down organization. Instead, individual cells had the freedom to decide 0:19:49.600 --> 0:19:52.440 how they carried out missions and which actions it took 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:56.520 part in. The FAU still set the overall strategy, but 0:19:56.600 --> 0:20:00.359 it wasn't about becoming some kind of Vanguard. Some of 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:03.200 the actions bad the way, according to Sharki, included bank 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:06.639 robberies and factory owner kidnappings. 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:09.400 It's like old school Spanish anarchism. 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:12.960 Yeah, well there were some old school Spanish anarchists within 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:16.199 their ranks. Yeah, so it really can't be surprised. 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:20.080 Yeah, yeah, Drew, there's this wonderful line in Abel Pass's 0:20:20.119 --> 0:20:24.040 book about Ruti that de Ruti was very fond of children, 0:20:24.119 --> 0:20:26.600 so he risked his life robbing banks to fund their education. 0:20:27.040 --> 0:20:28.040 Oh that's beautiful. 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:32.520 It's such a wonderful Like, yeah, it's beautiful. Yeah, I 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:34.440 don't know, I just enjoy it very much the whole 0:20:34.480 --> 0:20:37.359 Like you never know what direction that sentence is going 0:20:37.440 --> 0:20:37.840 to go in. 0:20:38.840 --> 0:20:43.160 That is a quintessential example of that. Yeah, I think. Yeah, 0:20:43.200 --> 0:20:44.679 so you know, you do what you have to do 0:20:45.040 --> 0:20:45.640 pretty much. 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:48.800 Yeah. Yeah, And like I think it's really like he 0:20:48.840 --> 0:20:51.600 wasn't maximalist for the sake of maximalism. He was maximalist 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:54.600 for the sake of like educating children. Yeah, yeah, it 0:20:54.640 --> 0:20:57.240 wasn't it. He didn't see the violence as and ended. 0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:02.280 Itself exactly exactly. It had a reasoning behind it, and 0:21:02.400 --> 0:21:05.240 the FAU was the same way or Their reasoning was 0:21:05.359 --> 0:21:07.880 just that if the capitalist class was going to use 0:21:07.920 --> 0:21:10.760 force to protect their interests, then the workers should be 0:21:10.800 --> 0:21:12.360 able to use force to defend theirs. 0:21:12.560 --> 0:21:15.240 Yeah, yeah, fannel and stuff. 0:21:15.320 --> 0:21:17.480 And so they did what they had to do. Meanwhile, 0:21:17.520 --> 0:21:21.320 the PCU was stuck to their policy of appeasement, which 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:24.960 actually had a detrimental effect in the broader movement. As 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:28.520 a military kept growing in strength, and so the very 0:21:28.560 --> 0:21:31.720 anti communist military's involvement in breaking up all the work 0:21:31.760 --> 0:21:36.280 activities embolden their role in politics. And then, once they 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:39.400 defeated the m l n T, with the FAU struggling 0:21:39.400 --> 0:21:43.359 to resist isolated by the PCU's in action, the military 0:21:43.400 --> 0:21:47.080 to on the opportunity to coop the government, leading to 0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:51.080 the rise of Juan Maria Porterberi, the first president of 0:21:51.119 --> 0:21:56.119 the civic military dictatorship in nineteen seventy three. In the aftermath, 0:21:56.160 --> 0:21:58.720 the FAU made the tough call to move the operations 0:21:58.720 --> 0:22:03.360 to Argentina, which hadn't yet fallen to military distatorship. From there, 0:22:03.560 --> 0:22:07.080 they worked within the CNT to organize a massive fifteen 0:22:07.160 --> 0:22:10.959 day general strike. It shut the country down for a time, 0:22:11.480 --> 0:22:14.119 but it wasn't enough, and the efforts to keep up 0:22:14.160 --> 0:22:18.040 the fight were constantly undermined by the PCU, which still 0:22:18.040 --> 0:22:23.240 insisted on negotiating instead of taking real action. Meanwhile, the 0:22:23.280 --> 0:22:26.919 people were suffering. According to Sharky, between nineteen seventy one 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:29.479 and nineteen seventy six, there was a thirty five percent 0:22:29.560 --> 0:22:33.440 fall in real wages, and by nineteen seventy nine inflation 0:22:33.680 --> 0:22:37.200 was running at eighty percent, with wages limping behind at 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:42.240 forty five percent. So until nineteen seventy six, the FAU 0:22:42.320 --> 0:22:46.760 continued to work between Argentina and Uruguay, but after Argentina's 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:51.280 coup that was it. The coach is Zenko directly. During 0:22:51.280 --> 0:22:56.720 the US's Operation Condo, dictatorships across Latin America continued coordinated 0:22:56.760 --> 0:23:01.679 to kidnap, torture, and murder leftists across the continent. Between 0:23:01.760 --> 0:23:05.520 sixty eight thousand and eighty thousand leftists were killed and 0:23:05.640 --> 0:23:09.480 more than four hundred thousand were placed in political prisons. 0:23:10.080 --> 0:23:13.320 End Court, Jesus and I think we need to sit 0:23:13.359 --> 0:23:17.600 with those numbers, because it's very easy to hear numbers 0:23:17.600 --> 0:23:21.119 like that and just think, you know, that's just a statistic. 0:23:21.240 --> 0:23:23.520 Pretty much, we hear big numbers on mine kind of 0:23:23.520 --> 0:23:27.880 goes statistic. Yeah, but to like think about the impact 0:23:27.880 --> 0:23:30.440 that would have for tens of thousands or hundreds of 0:23:30.440 --> 0:23:33.400 thousands of people to be just taken out, whether killed 0:23:33.480 --> 0:23:39.800 or imprisoned, leaven like a keeping hole of knowledge, of experience, 0:23:40.520 --> 0:23:46.520 of education, of radicalism. Yeah, a country may take decades 0:23:46.600 --> 0:23:50.480 to recover from something like that. It's a cultural death 0:23:50.520 --> 0:23:53.880 in a sense. You know, this is the political movement, 0:23:55.040 --> 0:23:59.200 but it's kind of similar to how during cluingism, elders 0:23:59.200 --> 0:24:02.640 would be white out and with them all of their knowledge, 0:24:02.720 --> 0:24:07.439 all of their oral histories, all their languages, just wiped 0:24:07.520 --> 0:24:08.680 out in an instant. 0:24:09.280 --> 0:24:09.840 Yeah. 0:24:09.920 --> 0:24:12.159 This is different, of course as a political ideology as 0:24:12.160 --> 0:24:15.720 opposed to an entire culture and ethnicity, but it's still 0:24:16.680 --> 0:24:20.880 just a massive loss of all that history, all that experience, 0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:24.760 all that radicalism and information and just gone right. 0:24:24.880 --> 0:24:27.760 Yeah, it's hard for a movement to recover from that. Yeah, 0:24:27.840 --> 0:24:30.440 it's not like a genocide or like the colonial kind 0:24:30.480 --> 0:24:33.119 of you could call it a well, it's like a 0:24:33.160 --> 0:24:34.880 decapitation of the movement, I suppose. 0:24:34.920 --> 0:24:37.399 Well, I would say it's more than a decapitation because 0:24:37.440 --> 0:24:40.680