Apoyos internacionales a la Huelga General convocada por CGT para el 29 de septiembre

El Estado español es, de cuantos componen la Unión Europea, uno de los que afronta una de las situaciones económicas más difíciles, con un desempleo real cercano al 20% de la población activa. Las medidas de ajuste presentadas por el gobierno para llenar las arcas del Estado y estimular la economía, hacen cargar todo su peso sobre las clases populares, en forma de bajada de salarios, impuestos sobre el consumo, reducción de las pensiones, recortes en las prestaciones por desempleo, privatizaciones y trabas a la organización de los trabajadores (como más facilidades para el despido y restricciones a la contratación colectiva).

International support for the General Strike in Spain on 29 September

Of all the European Union countries, the Spanish State is facing one of the most difficult economic situations of all, with 20% of the potential workforce unemployed. The measures proposed by the government to fill the State’s coffers and stimulate the economy place all the burden on the popular classes in the form of lower wages, consumer taxes, pensions cuts, cuts in unemployment benefits, more privatization and the introduction of more obstacles to workers organizing (such as making it easier for employers to lay off workers and more restrictions on collective agreements).

Why Women Should Join Political Organizations

By Dolores

In Miami Autonomy and Solidarity, we have discussions with people that might identify with the  “left” in general to see where our political agreement lies; as well as to learn from each other with the goal of reaching enough unity to become members of MAS.

While these discussions have helped us engage with a lot of different people, and have lead to new membership there is a noticeable hole in our group- a severe lack of women members.  MAS has prioritized recruiting more women and we have had many continuous discussions with women from different backgrounds, yet none have joined.

Hunger Strike for a real solution to the complex conflict between the Mapuche nation and the Chilean State

The untenable situation which the various communities of the Mapuche people have faced for centuries has once again reached crisis point.

Mapuche political prisoners, tired and weary of violations of their rights, torture and persecution, even against minors, and excessive and arbitrary treatment by the Chilean State and Judiciary, took the grave decision to go on hunger and thirst strike from Monday, 12 July this year.

These prisoners are all accused of attempting to occupy land or damage property of lumber companies, strategic businesses in Chile ‘s primary export model who have been occupying the ancestral lands of the Mapuche people.

Today, all 31 political prisoners who are split up in various high-security prisons in southern Chile (in Concepción, Temuco , Valdivia , and Angol), have risen once again as a single body and taken the difficult decision to forgo food and water, demanding a real solution to this political conflict.

Given this situation, the undersigned libertarian organizations from various parts of the world declare their full solidarity and denounce the Chilean State and judiciary.

1. Being the only country where members of an indigenous community make up the majority of political prisoners, is evidence of racism, discrimination, oppression and of an ideology typical of States managed through policies of colonial occupation, somewhat close to fascism.

2. The State of Chile has a legal structure that does not provide a fair and transparent process, i.e. what is known as the “rule of law” does not exist for the Mapuche people, since there is no equality of conditions, but only privilege for strategic economic interests of the current Chilean neoliberal accumulation pattern, i.e., lumber companies, mining companies, hydroelectric plants, big landlords, etc.

3. A systematic policy of annihilation of the Mapuche people, not only promoted by the State and the judiciary, but also by the economic and political Right, which is implemented through:
a) the Anti-Terrorism Law, created during the years of the authoritarian regime of the genocidal dictator Augusto Pinochet. This legislation aimed at crimes against life, yet so far no Mapuche has been charged with murder. However, some prisoners have received sentences of 50 and even over 100 years.

b) application of double trials, in other words, the Mapuche are tried and sentenced twice for the same offence, both for the civil justice system for the filthy military justice system, which is applied only in this country and those among the most conservative throughout the world.

c) militarization of the territory over which the Mapuche communities assert their political and territorial rights. This consists of a series of measures to apply the military and police arsenal, such as helicopters and tear gas, and the harassment of women and children without the protection of adult men, most of whom are in prison.

d) media corporations, who have ensured invisibility by ignoring the hunger strike and who, on the other hand, have consistently criminalized the Mapuche’s historic social protest and their just and legitimate struggle by generating quick and widespread condemnation among the public opinion.

e) false testimony from witnesses and testimony from witnesses with their faces covered, paid by both the prosecution and by individuals. An example is the attempt by State prosecutor Francisco Ljubetic to link the organizations of the Mapuche people with the FARC in Colombia , thus trying to create a false and disproportionate parallel between each country’s internal conflicts.

f) investigation secrecy imposed during almost the entire legal process, an action that severely impedes the right of defence.

g) most prisoners remained detained for the entire process of investigation (for over a year), a matter that does not respect the presumption of innocence, supposedly guaranteed by the current Chilean legal system.

h) prosecution and incarceration as a result of media farces stirred up by the Public Prosecutor.

i) and finally, the government continues to ignore the demands of the strikers, hoping to wear down the movement and playing with the health of community members on strike.

We thus demand:

JUSTICE AND FREEDOM FOR THE MAPUCHE POLITICAL PRISONERS AND OTHERS OF A DIFFERENT ETHNIC BACKGROUND WHO SUPPORT THEIR STRUGGLE

AN END TO THE ANTI-TERORIST LAW AND MILITARY JUSTICE

DEMILITARIZATION OF THE AREA

LAND AND AUTONOMY FOR NATIVE PEOPLES
Organizations that have signed the statement:

Convergencia Juvenil Clasista “Hijos del Pueblo” (Ecuador)
Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (Italy)
Revista Hombre y Sociedad (Chile)
Organización Revolucionaria Anarquista – Voz Negra (Chile)
Estrategia Libertaria (Chile)
Red Libertaria Popular Mateo Kramer (Colombia)
Grupo Antorcha Libertaria (Colombia)
Workers Solidarity Movement (Ireland)
Unión Socialista Libertaria (Peru)
Organisation Socialiste Libertaire (Switzerland)
Anarchist Black Cross Wellington (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
Workers Solidarity Alliance (USA/Canada)
Red Libertaria de Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Federación Anarquista Uruguaya (Uruguay)
Aotearoa Workers Solidarity Movement (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
North-Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists (USA)

Miami autonomy and solidarity (USA)

For updated information on the struggle and the conflict, see:
http://www.mapuexpress.net/
http://www.azkintuwe.org/