Dictators and Anarchists
Last week was the thirtieth anniversary of the coup d'etat that put General Videla and power and led to seven years of dirty war and dictatorship in which 30,000 people "disappeared". It's a time of reflection, of making the past present, refusing to forget, saying "never again". It's also a time when political groups and figures make a bunch of noise to make sure everyone knows they're anti-dictatorship.
On Wednesday I went to a concert in front of the Casa Rosada (the President's residence), right in the center of Buenos Aires. Two of my favorite Argentine bands played - Las Manos de Felippi and Todos Tus Muertos. The show was organized and funded by the city government and for this reason the revolutionary lyrics rang a bit hollow. Still, I couldn't imagine a popular band performing an analogous show in the US, 30 meters in front of the White House, singing:
Hay que matar a presidentes
Hay que matarlos a todosWe have to kill presidents
We have to kill them all
Still, it was just a show, just a bunch of musicians milking city funds, just a bunch of kids having a good time. I felt that I had been pacified, especially as I had missed a march against police brutality to attend the show.
The march was organized in response to police abuse against an anarchist. Apparently this kid was leaving a political event for International Women's Day when some gendarmería (not sure exactly how to translate this - something like militarized police or national guard) grabbed him. They took him to the station and spent 45 minutes beating and insulting him, making it clear that the motive was political with comments like "fucking leftist". Finally they cut off his mohawk and threw him out on the street.
The fact that this can happen today, that the police seem to still be largely above the law, led Cristina, a committed anarchist, to comment that things weren't really better now than under the dictatorship, that all government is inherently dictatorial. She provided other examples of political problems in Argentina - Kirchner, supposedly a progressive president, recently sent the gendarmería to stop strikes at Argentina's oil wells, abortion is illegal, the so-called democracy is essentially a one-party system.
Tigre, another anarchist, responded that while it's true that the current government, like all governments, is reprehensible, the government isn't our main problem right now, it's not the main thing holding back the anarchist movement. According to Tigre the biggest thing holding back the anarchist movement in Argentina right now is us, our lack of organization.
That comment has had me thinking a lot. He's right of course. And it's sad, sad that with so little in our way we're able to do so little. But I suppose it's also hopeful, because it means our biggest problem is something we have control over. All we have to do is get our act together, get organized, and we can make things happen.
On Wednesday I went to a concert in front of the Casa Rosada (the President's residence), right in the center of Buenos Aires. Two of my favorite Argentine bands played - Las Manos de Felippi and Todos Tus Muertos. The show was organized and funded by the city government and for this reason the revolutionary lyrics rang a bit hollow. Still, I couldn't imagine a popular band performing an analogous show in the US, 30 meters in front of the White House, singing:
Hay que matar a presidentes
Hay que matarlos a todosWe have to kill presidents
We have to kill them all
Still, it was just a show, just a bunch of musicians milking city funds, just a bunch of kids having a good time. I felt that I had been pacified, especially as I had missed a march against police brutality to attend the show.
The march was organized in response to police abuse against an anarchist. Apparently this kid was leaving a political event for International Women's Day when some gendarmería (not sure exactly how to translate this - something like militarized police or national guard) grabbed him. They took him to the station and spent 45 minutes beating and insulting him, making it clear that the motive was political with comments like "fucking leftist". Finally they cut off his mohawk and threw him out on the street.
The fact that this can happen today, that the police seem to still be largely above the law, led Cristina, a committed anarchist, to comment that things weren't really better now than under the dictatorship, that all government is inherently dictatorial. She provided other examples of political problems in Argentina - Kirchner, supposedly a progressive president, recently sent the gendarmería to stop strikes at Argentina's oil wells, abortion is illegal, the so-called democracy is essentially a one-party system.
Tigre, another anarchist, responded that while it's true that the current government, like all governments, is reprehensible, the government isn't our main problem right now, it's not the main thing holding back the anarchist movement. According to Tigre the biggest thing holding back the anarchist movement in Argentina right now is us, our lack of organization.
That comment has had me thinking a lot. He's right of course. And it's sad, sad that with so little in our way we're able to do so little. But I suppose it's also hopeful, because it means our biggest problem is something we have control over. All we have to do is get our act together, get organized, and we can make things happen.