A-Infos (en) Brazil, OSL, Libera #182 - GRASSROOTS WORK AS A POLITICAL-ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Much is said about grassroots work, which is a recurring theme and even 
more necessary today. But it's common to confuse grassroots work with 
agitation and propaganda, leafleting, door-to-door visits, sporadic 
mobilizations, or those held only during elections. All of this can be 
part of grassroots work, but it's not limited to these actions. 
Grassroots work also can't be reduced to inconsequential activities or 
events. Nor can it be thought of as holding a bunch of meetings-which 
are important, but serve primarily to prepare an action and then 
evaluate it, rather than being an end in itself. Or worse, thinking that 
grassroots work can be done through social media or WhatsApp; on the 
contrary, it requires contact with the people.
Grassroots work is part of a political project, which defines its 
intention. It is part of a political-organizational strategy that seeks 
social transformation. In other words, it establishes objectives and 
priorities, avoiding falling into task-orientedness or wanting to 
"embrace the world," or succumbing to vices such as reformism, 
economism, welfare, or activism. This ensures the sustainability, 
continuity, and achievements of the struggles.
Doing grassroots work is "planting our flag" for the social movement, 
building social strength in a given space to gain control of the 
territory economically, politically, organizationally, and culturally.
It is also common for the momentum to cool after the conquest of housing 
(by a homeless movement) or land (by a rural movement), and for each 
person to "mind their own business." This is also when grassroots work 
must continue to maintain the organic nature of the occupation and 
settlement, encouraging people's participation in the daily development 
of the movement and its decision-making.
It is also important to consider different ways to finance and structure 
grassroots work, from individual contributions, no matter how small, to 
outside supporters, solidarity from other movements and unions, among 
others. And always involving the people in thinking about and solving 
these processes.
Furthermore, under capitalism, the ruling classes organize and join 
forces to increase their power and demobilize the people, hijack their 
agendas, reduce their capacity to fight, atomize the subjects, and 
channel indignation into individualistic solutions. Therefore, 
grassroots work requires a revolutionary political project that 
articulates and unites the working class and all oppressed classes, 
building relationships of class solidarity.
Therefore, we can say that grassroots work constitutes all efforts of 
organization, mobilization, and training (technical, political, 
cultural, etc.) that prepare the working classes for the exercise of 
popular power, which they must necessarily conquer.
Principles of grassroots work:
* Only the masses make changes, the people as a potential force in 
building self-managed popular power;
* Intentionality. Grassroots work is carried out by activists who 
galvanize this mass, channeling revolt and indignation into a project of 
social transformation;
* Direct action. Involve the people as protagonists, as subjects. The 
people must take responsibility and build struggles in housing, 
education, and work spaces.
Objectives of grassroots work:
* Solve everyday problems. Grassroots work is not abstract; it takes 
place in a given moment and territory to fight for and solve people's 
everyday problems (land, education, food, health, housing, work, etc.), 
that is, to fight for basic social rights.
* Politicize the struggle. That is, fight for basic social rights, but 
it cannot stop there. Activists need to politicize the process so that 
the people understand the roots of their problems, that there is a 
capitalist system that exploits, dominates, and oppresses the working 
class and social subjects. Therefore, their problems are not just 
individual and particular, but suffered by all oppressed classes. It is 
necessary to connect the local, the particular, with the whole, with the 
macro.
* Train and recruit new activists. Grassroots work also seeks to 
increase the ranks of the social struggle, who will be part of this 
political project of social transformation. Grassroots work method:
* There's no way to do grassroots work without "getting involved" in the 
territory, inserting oneself into a social base (based on criteria), 
embodying that reality, and "building one's shack" there and then. In 
other words, the left with revolutionary intentions needs to have a 
concrete and relevant presence in the different dimensions of people's 
lives.
* You can't start with everyone; you have to prioritize certain people 
and experiences. Activists must identify and develop leaders who exist 
among the people; they tend to be curious, proactive, and critical, 
thinking beyond their families. The process begins small, without 
megalomania, with many well-organized grassroots groups that form a 
movement. Thus, a "small circle" feeds a "larger circle."
* Establish priorities and avoid trying to "embrace the world." To 
achieve this, certain methodologies are important, such as territorial 
analysis and action planning, identifying the most viable and achievable 
objectives, rather than the megalomania that is never achieved and 
generates frustration.
Ongoing tasks of grassroots work:
* Connect with the people;
* Get to know the territory (its economy, geography, culture, social 
actors, etc.);
* There is no grassroots work without action, no matter how small. And 
it must be as large as the people are willing to undertake. Action also 
has a formative character; it is through it that the people and the 
territory are discovered. The people must be involved as participants in 
the division of tasks to organize and carry out the action;
* Training. Knowing how to ask questions, that is, problematizing so 
that people can move beyond the conventional wisdom about reality;
* Grassroots work must lead to social movements, taking to the streets, 
building alliances, and supporting mass action.

https://socialismolibertario.net/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en