A-Infos (en) Brazil, ANA[Capixaba - FACA]: "It's not just about destroying, but also about building a new world" By A.N.A. (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The Espírito Santo Anarchist Federation (FACA) gave an interview to the 
Anarchist News Agency (ANA) on April 29, 2024. Check out the interview 
below. ---- Anarchist News Agency > Well, let's start our conversation 
with the usual question. How did the Espírito Santo Anarchist Federation 
(FACA) come about? In what context? Is it a federation of groups or 
individuals? ---- FACA < The Espírito Santo Anarchist Federation (FACA) 
was born in 2022. We are still a new collective. And this birth took 
place in the context of the reorganization of anarchism in the territory 
dominated by the state of Espírito Santo. At the beginning of the 20th 
century, anarchism was present in this region, initially from the 
railway workers in the city of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, and later 
expanded to other cities.

However, with brutal repression, this history was erased. There are 
almost no historical records and it was only after the military 
dictatorship of 1964 that individuals began to organize themselves 
again. Punk culture helped spread the ideal, and little by little other 
individuals came closer, culminating in the founding of FACA, which is a 
federation of individuals.

ANA > Do you have any federation as a reference?

KNIFE < Not really. There certainly were and are other federations that 
are the same or similar to ours. However, the configuration of our 
collective occurred due to the local situation, as a response to such a 
situation.

ANA > And which fights are they involved in?

KNIFE < Today we are all over Espírito Santo, with comrades working with 
the black movement, trade union movement and neighborhood movement.

We hope that as we grow, in every way, we can deepen and improve our 
operations. Espírito Santo is a highly unequal, prejudiced and violent 
state, so we have countless battle fronts to act on!

It is worth noting that we are also affiliated with the Federalist 
Anarchist Initiative of Brazil (IFA Brasil) and this, in turn, with the 
International of Anarchist Federations (IFA), which keeps us in contact 
and articulation with various groups throughout Brazil and the world.

ANA > Not long ago anarchist groups were dominated by men, they were the 
majority. Is there a balance between men and women in the composition of 
FACA?

KNIFE < Without a shadow of a doubt, this is an important issue! 
However, unfortunately, today this imbalance exists in our federation as 
the majority of people are men. However, we are actively working to 
resolve this issue!

ANA > Are there FACA projects to have its own space, something like an 
Athenaeum? It would boost your work, wouldn't it?

KNIFE < Yes! This is on our radar. We know that to get this off the 
ground we need a suitable organization and enough people willing to work 
in this direction. We believe that this objective can be achieved in the 
medium term.

ANA > What are FACA's biggest challenges? Is there a growth target?

FACA < Espírito Santo is a territory, which despite being located in the 
southeast of the country, considered the most developed region, is in 
fact a coronelist state controlled by families considered "traditional" 
and powerful. Repressive institutions (church, state, police...) do not 
think twice about repressing any kind of dissent in any way. So, as the 
first major challenge, FACA works to rescue a culture of resistance, 
anti-capitalist and anti-statist, which is consistent with our anarchist 
ideal.

We work to spread anarchism not only in the theoretical aspect, but we 
also want practical, concrete and popular initiatives. In other words, 
our intention is to create forms of resistance today, in the now, so 
that the exploited and the exploited can join together and see that a 
life outside political parties, the State and capital is possible.

Therefore, we hope to grow consistently as our projects also grow.

ANA > What are the biggest environmental problems today in Espírito 
Santo? Deforestation, monoculture, livestock farming, mining...

KNIFE < The territory of Espírito Santo is a large supplier of 
commodities. In the north of the state, the exploitation of eucalyptus 
monoculture degrades ecosystems, especially the soil, air and people's 
lives. Traditional quilombola communities, for example, suffer immensely 
from the enclosure of their lands by "green deserts" of eucalyptus 
trees, destruction of water sources and food annihilation.

Coffee plays an important role, along with livestock farming, in also 
degrading what remains of forests. Not to mention the problems caused by 
pesticides.

The Doce River, which passes through Minas Gerais and ends in Espírito 
Santo, has been dead since the Mariana tragedy. All those affected, to 
date, have received nothing and are struggling to survive, as fishing 
(and many depended on it) is no longer an option.

Mining also makes up a large part of the state's GDP, spread throughout 
the territory, but with more noticeable intensity in the South, 
especially in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, which is considered the world 
capital of marble and granite, which already shows how the activity 
mining company is strong in the region.

And it is in the midst of all this that FACA stands up, with a proposal 
radically contrary to the direction of the capitalist economy and 
politics that contaminates, destroys and kills!

ANA > How do you evaluate the Lula 3 Government? Is it worse than 
ordered? (laughter)

KNIFE < The institutional left is just one face of capital, with a 
parliamentary echo. They are to the left of capital, but not against 
capitalism. It's always good to make this clear.

Lula is just one more (and he will not be the last) who channeled the 
expectations of working women, making a political career and 
contributing to the strengthening of the bourgeois state and the 
capitalist economy. Expecting any socialist or revolutionary "turn of 
the key" from the PT or Lula is a pipe dream. There is no adherence of 
such a thesis to material reality - and therefore, the webanarchists who 
voted (whoever they were for) made a terrible mistake.

And we affirm this, because voting is legitimizing the State. Instead of 
voting, what do these people do in their daily lives to create 
alternatives to the State? Alternatives against the State and Capital? 
It's a question to reflect on...

ANA > Speaking of "anarco-voters"... In addition to voting for Lula to 
"stop fascism", some also defended "democracy", the "rule of law", that 
"democracy was at risk" with Bolsonaro. It's quite an anachronism to 
defend this so-called "democracy", this horror show, isn't it?

KNIFE < Indeed. It seems to us that either there is a lack of training 
on what anarchism is, or there is a lack of good faith. The supposed 
"rule of law" and its paraphernalia is the right of the bourgeoisie, of 
the ruling class that far back in the bourgeois revolutions managed to 
impose itself, continuing to exploit us to this day. It seems redundant, 
but bourgeois law is not the law of the exploited, it is, in fact, the 
law ABOUT the exploited.

True social, economic and political change will occur when capitalist, 
state, authoritarian institutions cease to exist. And it is not by 
voting and validating such institutions that we will achieve this.

ANA > In general, anarchist ideas continue to be full of meaning, 
radicality, lucidity... But why in the real world does it not grow 
steadily, become stronger? (laughter)

KNIFE < Interesting question. We believe that the causes are various, 
just as the very conception of what anarchism is is varied.

Our federation believes in the creation of initiatives, spaces and 
experiences against Capital and the State are fundamental for social 
transformation. It's not just about destroying, but also about building 
a new world. It's not just about criticizing (which is very easy), it's 
about getting your hands dirty and doing it!

ANA > Following the line of the other question.... High cost of living, 
ecocidal projects, corruption, glaring inequalities, police violence 
from North to South. In fact, the Brazilian police are one of the ones 
that kill the most in the world! Anyway, why doesn't the average 
Brazilian revolt? Don't we see massive and long-lasting protests in the 
streets? What mystery is this? (laughter)

KNIFE < The lack of perspective, of ideas for tangible social changes, 
as well as the brutal repression that any uprising faces in Brazil 
speaks directly to this question.

Furthermore, we cannot underestimate the alienation, the domestication 
of revolt and the EVERYDAY disservice that the institutional left and 
Marxists do.

For all this and much more, in general, to say the least, Brazilians are 
skeptical when we present an idea from another social organization. Only 
with a lot of patience, persistence and resilience will we be able to 
change this situation that is largely unfavorable to us...

ANA > That's it. Thanks, long live KNIFE! Any final message?

KNIFE < We appreciate the space and appreciate your patience with us! We 
welcome all comrades out there and visit our blog. We always publish 
something there! Libertarian greetings! Long live ANA too!

Contact: fedca@riseup.net

Blog: https://federacaocapixaba.noblogs.org/

https://noticiasanarquistas.noblogs.org/post/2024/05/03/nao-se-trata-apenas-de-destruir-mas-tambem-de-construir-um-mundo-novo/
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