On November 1, 1910, in the Fine Arts Center of Barcelona, the CNT –
Confederación Nacional de Trabajo in Spanish or the National
Confederation of Labor – was founded. This organization, successor to
the Spanish chapter of the 1st International (1870), was born in the
workers movement as the first independent union organization in Spain.
Adopting
the internationalist theme of “the emancipation of the workers will be
the undertaking of the workers themselves, or will fail,” CNT held in
safekeeping popular rebellion which, as a undercurrent of society
itself, opposes Power throughout history. This popular feeling emerges
triumphal at times throughout history, from the Egyptian Middle Empire
to the French Revolution, planting the seeds for the only historical
events where humanity has made giant strides in gains of liberty,
justice, equality, dignity and progress.
CNT began its
anarchosyndicalist activity making the simple decision to create a labor
organization that was independent of political, religious and economic
powers, this being an indispensable condition to improving the lives of
the workers until exploitation was ended once and for all. In just a few
years, the Confederation brought together most of the labor movement,
achieving important social and economic improvements that are a legacy
of incalculable value to today’s society.
The 8-hour working day, the
36-hour week, the prohibition of child labor, the equality of women and
the application of the values of solidarity, federalism,
environmentalism, feminism, free love, anti-militarism and atheism,
among others, now back in fashion, are all part of this legacy, one that
reached its apex during the Social Revolution of 1936, when the utopia –
libertarian communism – became an everyday reality for all the people
in the freed territories.
International capitalism reacted
immediately and gave Franco’s fascist army free rein to turn this
revolutionary dream into a nightmare for thousands of people persecuted,
assassinated and disappeared after the coup was victorious in 1939. Not
one of the guilty parties – all identifiable, all active politicians –
who formed part of that regime of terror, one of the most criminal in
history, was publicly denounced. For this disgraceful situation we can
thank the pact of impunity with the Franco regime that the national
democratic left (the socialist – PSOE – and communist – PCE – parties,
and major unions – UGT and CCOO-) signed to surrender to capital, known
as the “Spanish transition” (1977).
Despite everything, the
people continued to defend the simple principles of anarcho-syndicalism,
many times at the cost of their lives: independence, autonomy,
federalism, self-management, assembly, mutual aid and direct action; the
right to organize ourselves to reject any interference from political
parties or other economic or religious institutions workers matters.
Strikes, marches, repression and torture were the daily news during the
dictatorship (1939-1976), until, with its disappearance, the workers
movement recovered its enthusiasm and regenerated its yearned-for CNT
(1977). We lived new years of continuous achievements for the
workingmen. The days of Montjuich or in San Sebastián de los Reyes
marked the strong comeback of the confederation in the 70s.
The
labor movement’s advances, once again self organized by CNT through
exemplary battles like the gas station workers strike of 1978, provoked
capitalism’s reaction, this time backed by the democratic state and its
institutional apparatus (governments, parties, judges, union
bureaucracies,…). CNT’s union success was repressed by the police
(Scala Case, 1978) which, combined with campaigns of silence and slander
in the media, had disastrous consequences for the workers movement in
this country.
The weakening of anarchosyndicalist presence in the
labor movement opened the door to the loss of rights won after a long
and hard union battle. State deregulation and increased job insecurity
by liberalizing contracts was ushered in by the worst sort of corruption
a country can suffer: Union Corruption. A corruption with an official
rag stuffed in its mouth that perverts unionism as a whole in the eyes
of the workers but which is fundamentally lead by the institutional
unions – CC.OO. and UGT. Their union yuppies earn subsidies and millions
of euros from the government and different companies to pay for their
treachery to accept the measures seen fit to defend capital and its
growing accumulation of profits (Labor Force Adjustment Plans, Labor
Reforms, the right to unilaterally terminate the employment
relationship,…).
Thousands of working men and women today are
still members of this true labor organization we call CNT, sustaining it
exclusively with our own work, turning it into the only living example
of class unionism, able to take on oppression and social control, the
destruction of the planet and economic over-exploitation, all inherent
to capitalism.
2010 has a special connotation for us: CNT celebrates a
100 years of existence. It’s the centennial of a people and the
invaluable fights of thousands of people who during these 100 years have
given the international working class an exemplary tool to be followed,
through its own culture, self organizing capacity, radical tactics,
popular extension and revolutionary actions with the aim of building an
anti-authoritarian and mutually supportive society.
These ideals are the basis of the noble cause we invite you, here and now, to join.
