“Already in this issue - we read in the to the A readers of "A"31 (August-September 1974) - is almost a special news about Portugal, mainly based on material collected by an editor who went specially to Lisbon. Trips like this are unfortunately necessary due to the slow the incomplete information exchange among international anarchists (and national!). But we can not afford for special occasions (as we did last year for the occupation of the LIP. And this time for end of fascism in Portugal). The state of our finances, notwistanding the generous support of readers and friends to subscribe, it is always precarious. The program to increase circulation and launch a national distribution business was postponed ... to better times. "
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Lisbon
1 May 1974.
"Our destiny will be
the work of ourselves":
so it is written in one
of the many banners
that characterize
the large presence
of anarchists to the
memorable parade
of May 1 (over half
a million workers in
the streets of Lisbon). |
In the presentation of the "dossier Portugal", states: An editor of this magazine went to Lisbon July 19 to 22. Over two thousand people at the rally commemorating the social revolution of '36, in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and heartfelt sharing. Proud of their old anarchist black ribbon together with many young getting close recently to the anarchist movement. Interesting interview with our correspondent of Emidio Santana senior anarchist and anarcho-syndicalist militant, the only survivor of the anarchist group that in '37 failed to assassinate the fascist dictator Salazar. The full text of a long interview to our reporter by a young anarchist Julio F., exiled in France, returned to Lisbon to help the rebuilding of the anarchist movement. The proletarian matrix of Portuguese anarchism from the glorious struggles of the twenties of current efforts in the autonomous struggle of the proletariat. The counter-revolutionary role of the Communist Party and its inter-classist policy. Towards the resumption of publication of the glorious daily anarcho-syndicalist "A Batalha". Reality and hopes Portuguese anarchism today."
Among the other articles from this issue, stands The voracity of the state is the main cause of inflation, Emily Cipriano (i.e. Luciano Lanza), who continues his interesting series of articles on economic and finance - that are one of the strands of the original "A", a real novelty in the field of anarchist publications (usually only occasionally attentive to this aspect of capital).
Closes this issue of "A" the publication of the "condensed" in an essay ("Technology and libertarian revolution") North American anarchist Murray Bookchin, in a way that marks the beginning of the "relationship" between "A" and the father of social ecology. A report in the history of our magazine, based on intense political and human relations, publication of books (by the Edizioni Antistato first and Eleuthera then), and then seminars, lecture tours in Italy the same Bookchin, until the book Selva Varengo recently published by Zero in Condotta and presentation of the many conferences that Selva is doing all over Italy, and which are further opportunities to learn and discuss one of the most original and stimulating thinkers of anarchism.
We like to think that everything has originated with the publication of those 4 pages, 37 years ago.