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evolution Anarchy Works Borkenau remarked on the changed conditions of women in Spain. In the uprising spurred by Argentina's economic collapse in 2001, participation in the popular assemblies helped formerly apolitical people build an anti-authoritarian culture. Another form of popular resistance, the piquetero movement, exerted a great influence on the lives and culture of many of the unemployed. The piqueteros were unemployed people who masked their faces and set up pickets, shutting down the highways to cut off trade and gain leverage for demands such as food from supermarkets or unemployment subsidies. Aside from these activities, the piqueteros also self-organized an anticapitalist economy, including schools, media groups, clothing giveaway shops, bakeries, clinics, and groups to fIx up people's houses and build infrastructure such as sewage systems. Many of the piquetero groups were affiliated with the Movement of Unemployed Workers (MID). Their movement had already developed conSiderably before the December 2001 run on the banks by the middle class, and in many ways they were at the forefront of the struggle in Argentina. Two Indymedia volunteers who traveled to Argentina from the US and Britain to document the rebellion for English-speaking countries spent time with a group in the Admiralte Brown neighborhood south of Buenos Aires.lO!l The members of this particular group, similar to many of the piqueteTos in the MTD, had been driven to activism only recently, by unemployment. But their motivations were not purely material; for example, they frequently held cultural and educational events. The two Indymedia activists recounted a workshop held in an MID bakery, in which the collective members discussed the differences between a capitalist bakery and an anti-capitalist one. "We produce for our neighbors ... and to teach ourselves to do new things, to learn to produce for ourselves;' explained a woman in her fIfties. A young man in an 108 101m Jordan and Jennifer Whitney, Que Se Vayan Todos: Argentina 3- Popular Rebellion, Montreal: Kersplebedeb, 2003, pp. 42-52. Iron Maiden sweatshirt added, "We produce so that everyone can live better:'lo The same group operated a RopeTo, a clothing shop, and many other projects as well. It was run by volunteers and depended on donations, even though everyone in the area was poor. Despite these challenges, it opened twice a month to give out free clothes to people who could not afford them. The rest of the time, the volunteers mended old clothes that were dropped off. In the absence of the motives that drive the capitalist system, the people there clearly took pride in their work, showing off to visitors how well restored the clothes were despite the scarcity of materials. The shared ideal among the piqueteros included a firm commitment to non-hierarchical forms of organization and participation by all members, young and old, in their discussions and activities. Women were often the first to go to the picket lines, and came to hold considerable power within the piquetero movement. Within these autonomous organizations, many women gained the opportunity to participate in large-scale decision-making or take on other maledominated roles for the first time in their lives. At the particular bakery holding the workshop described above, a young woman was in charge of security, another traditionally male role. Throughout the 2006 rebellion in Oaxaca, as well as before and after, indigenous culture was a wellspring of resistance. However much they exemplified cooperative, anti-authoritarian, and ecologically sustainable behaviors before colonialism, indigenous peoples in the Oaxacan resistance came to cherish and emphasize the parts of their culture that contrasted with the system that values property over life, encourages competition and domination, and exploits the environment into extinction. Their ability to practice an anti-authoritarian and ecological culture-working together in a spirit of solidarity and nourishing themselves on the small amount of land they had-increased the potency of their 109 Ditto, pp. 43-44. 228 229
evolution Anarchy Works resistance, and thus their very chances for survival. Thus, resistance to capitalism and the state is both a means of protecting indigenous cultures and a crucible that forges a stronger anti-authoritarian ethos. Many of the people who participated in the rebellion were not themselves indigenous, but they were influenced and inspired by indigenous culture. Thus, the act of rebellion itself allowed people to choose social values and shape their own identities. Before the rebellion, the impoverished state of Oaxaca sold its indigenous culture as a commodity to entice tourists and bring in business. The Guelaguetza, an important gathering in native cultures, had become a state-sponsored tourist attraction. But during the rebellion in 2006, the state and tourism were pushed to the margins, and in July the social movements organized a People's Guelaguetza-not to sell to the tourists, but to enjoy for themselves. After successfully blocking the commercial event set up for the tourists, hundreds of students from Oaxaca City and people from villages across the state began organizing their own event. They made costumes and practiced dances and songs from all seven regions of Oaxaca. In the end the People's Guelaguetza was a huge success. Everyone attended for free and the venue was packed. There were more traditional dances than there had ever been in the commerical Guelaguetzas. While the event had previously been performed for money, most of which was pocketed by the sponsors and government, it became a day of sharing, as it had been traditionally. At the heart of an anti-capitalist, largely indigenous movement was a festival, a celebration of the values that hold the movement together, and a revival of indigenous cultures that were being wiped out or pared down to a marketable exoticism. While the Guelaguetza was reclaimed as a part of indigenous culture in support of an anti-capitalist rebellion and the liberatory society it sought to create, another traditional celebration was modified to serve the movement. In 2006 the Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday that syncretizes indigenous spirituality with Catholic influences, coincided with a violent government assault upon the movement. Just before the 1st of November, police forces and paramilitaries killed about a dozen people, so the dead were fresh in everybody's minds. Graffiti artists had long played an important role in the movement in Oaxaca, covering the walls with messages well before the people had seized radio stations to give themselves a voice. When the Day of the Dead and the heavy government repreSSion coincided in November, these artists took the lead in adapting the holiday to commemorate the dead and honor the struggle. They covered the streets with the traditional tapetes-colorful murals made from sand, chalk, and flowers-but this time the tapetes contained messages of resistance and hope, or portrayed the names and faces of aU the people killed. People also made skeleton sculptures and altars for each person murdered by police and paramilitaries. One graffiti artist, Yescka, described it: This year on Day of the Dead, the traditional festivities took on new meaning. The intimidating presence of the Federal Police troops filled the air-an atmosphere of sadness and chaos hung over the city. But we managed to overcome our fear and our loss. People wanted to carry on with the traditions, not only for their ancestors, but also for aU those fallen in the movement in recent months. Although it sounds a bit contradictory, Day of the Dead is when there is the most life in Oaxaca. There are carnivals, and people dress up in different costumes, such as devils or skeletons full of colorful feathers. They parade through the streets dancing or creating theatrical performances of comical daily happeningsthis year with a socio-political twist. 230 231
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Anarchism is the boldest of revolut
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Introduction Anarchy would never wo
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introducr.ion Anarchy Works system
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human nature Anarchy Works the rest
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human nature Anarchy Works for them
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human nature Anarchy Works warlike
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Anarchy Works 2. Decisions Anarchy
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decisions Anarchy Works villages jo
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decisions Anarchy Works attack in O
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decisions Anarchy Works who do not
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decisions Anarchy Works still exist
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Anarchy Works 3. Economy Anarchism
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economy Anarchy Works possible will
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economy Anarchy Works had won by re
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economy Anarchy Works Who will take
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economy Anarchy Works Ground clinic
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economy Anarchy Works occupied land
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Page 142 and 143: Bibliography Emily Achtenberg, "Com
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