Oct 23, 2007

Educate, Agitate, Vote?

This Sunday, Oct. 28th, the Argentine General Elections will be held, electing a new president for the nation. With the number of social organizations participating in the electoral arena, it's hard to see that this is the same country that only six years ago saw a total collapse of confidence in the political and economic system.

"Que se vayan todos" -- They all must go. That was the chant heard in Buenos Aires during the December uprisings of 2001. Referring to the entire governing class and their ideologies, huge numbers chanted and sang outside of the Argentine Congress and the Casa Rosada. The political and economic crisis caused the country to go through 5 presidents in under one month as the people lost all faith in the institutions that governed their lives.

But today, after 4 years of the center-left Kirchner government, it seems that much of that lost faith has been restored. While the government has demonstrated some progressive attitudes, it has also shown itself to be just as willing to repress the people's will as past governments. Many today see through the "progressive" Kirchner image. They recognize it through the lens of Argentina history as a tool to divide and weaken social movements in an effort to save the same institutions and social structure that was so recently exposed for what it truly is. As the government appears to be friendly, many no longer see the need for an organized and militant people.

In recent months there has been an ongoing campaign by the Red Libertaria of Argentina (http://www.inventati.org/rlba/) to remind the people of Argentina that true change comes from below through organized people and communities not from the electoral battles of politicians. In fact, the current progressive attitude of some parts of government is a response to the level of social organization and mobilization in past years.

Through community discussions and forums, concerts, rallies, postering and literature distrubution the Anti-Electoral Campaign of the Red Libertaria has reminded sections of Buenos Aires that it is their organization in workplaces, communities, and schools that truly forces social change. The hope of these discussions was to dispel the myth that basic participation in elections gives the people any real and lasting power. If the elections aren't capable of changing any of the basic institutions that run our society, then they are only the illusion of power.

I can't help but put this in the context of the movements back in the United States. As the US prepares to enter an electoral year, I can only hope that movements there can learn the same lessons being taught by the Red Libertaria. After the 2006 elections and the supposed anti-war mandate sending the Democratic Parties victory, we have seen very little substantive change concerning the war in Iraq. I desperately hope that the memory of our movements in the United States is longer than 2 years and that they don't fall for the same traps again.

Why Am I Writing?

After an inspiring year following the social and political movements of Argentina, I returned to my hometown of Buffalo, NY intent on beginning the process of actively building local movements with the lessons I had learned in Argentina.

One of those lessons was the importance of participants in our movements telling their own stories and actively analyzing their organizations. That's exactly what I plan to do here, and I hope that some people find it relevant and interesting.