A deliberative assembly is a meeting of members who use parliamentary procedure .
113-639: The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) ( National Confederation of Labor ) is a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist trade union confederation . Founded in 1910 in Barcelona from groups brought together by the trade union Solidaridad Obrera , it significantly expanded the role of anarchism in Spain , which can be traced to the creation of the Spanish chapter of the IWA in 1870 and its successor organization,
226-705: A Catalanist coup d'etat , planned in November by Estat Català . Halfway through February 1937, a congress took place in Caspe with the purpose of creating the Regional Federation of Collectives of Aragon . 456 delegates, representing more than 141,000 collective members, attended the congress. The congress was also attended by delegates of the National Committee of the CNT. At a plenary session of
339-677: A revolution was carried out by the CNT. The first acts of the insurrection took place on January 1, with bombs exploding in La Fulguera , Asturias , and street riots in Seville , Lleida and Pedro Muñoz . By 8 January the revolution had spread to most of Spain reaching its greatest resonance in Andalusia. The revolution was violently suppressed: in Bugarra , where the workers had proclaimed libertarian communism after an intense combat with
452-455: A corrupting influence on the labour movement . In order to achieve their material and economic goals, anarcho-syndicalists instead practice direct action in the form of strike actions , boycotts and sabotage . Anarcho-syndicalists also attempt to build solidarity among the working class , in order to unite workers against the exploitation of labour and build workers' self-management . The foundations of anarcho-syndicalism were laid by
565-490: A given country to meet the needs of the entire populace nationwide, while the industrial unions established workers' control over the means of production and transportation . In contrast to political parties that seek to enhance the political power of states over society , anarcho-syndicalists aim to restrict the ability of the state to act and influence society. Anarcho-syndicalism also seeks to abolish capitalism and replace it with socialism , which it does by lowering
678-464: A head at the CNT's 10th Congress, held in Córdoba in 2010. The congress resolved to reinforce the CNT's industrial action by hiring a technical team of lawyers and economists , refine its organiser training methods and refocus its efforts on recruiting more members and electing more workplace representatives. Although this resulted in the growth of the organisation, a number of local branches rejected
791-649: A little boy. The police then gathered all villagers who owned a gun, marched them to the ashes of the burned house and shot them dead. The third insurrection carried out by the CNT during the Second Spanish Republic was in December 1933 after the 1933 elections. It had its epicenter in Zaragoza and more generally in Aragon and La Rioja and it extended to parts of Extremadura, Andalusia, Catalonia and
904-578: A minimum of five people. If this number cannot be reached, four or fewer workers can form a confederal group. Due to the small size of the CNT, a majority of its unions are various posts unions. The decision-making power of the industry and various posts unions resides in the union assembly : decisions are taken by all of the workers of the union in question via a system of direct democracy and consensus . These assemblies may address any number of issues, whether "local, provincial, regional, national or international". Unlike organizations that are organized from
1017-467: A new course for the CNT. The "official" sector of the CNT dismissed members of the commission, who also received death threats and were physically assaulted, prompting the dissident faction to establish self-defense units and eventually forcing the "official" sector of the CNT to prohibit further violence. At the CNT's Barcelona Congress, held in January 1983, a dispute broke out between the two factions, as
1130-574: A new society. A local assembly of an organized society , which is a membership meeting of a local chapter or branch of a membership organization . Examples include local chapter meetings of organizations like the Sierra Club . A convention , which is a meeting of delegates who represent constituent units of a population. Conventions are not permanently established bodies, and delegates are normally elected for only one term. A convention may be held by an organized society, where each local assembly
1243-405: A new system of works councils , in which workers in a given workplace would elect union representatives to negotiate with their employers. By the 1980s, the issue of participation in these union elections [ es ] had caused a split in the CNT. In July 1980, delegates that supported electoral participation, representing 100 of the CNT's trade unions, established a commission to chart
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#17327981057351356-540: A particular municipality constitute the local federation of unions that are coordinated by means of a local committee which has the same characteristics and powers as the union committees. The local committee is selected in the local plenary assembly to which every industry and various posts union can send delegations with written agreements previously adopted in their assembly. CNT has Local Federations in Madrid, Barcelona, Granada , and Seville . Direct representatives of
1469-564: A revival in anarcho-syndicalism, with syndicalist unions once again being established throughout the globe. The history of anarcho-syndicalism can be traced back to the anarchist faction of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA), which called for trade unions to overthrow the state in a general strike . This syndicalist model of trade union organisation was adopted by anarchists in Spain , Cuba , Mexico and
1582-449: A series of general strikes for the eight-hour day. Attempts to establish international links between these anarcho-syndicalist organisations culminated in the convocation of a revolutionary syndicalist congress in 1913, although further movements towards the creation of an international organisation were halted by the outbreak of world war. The outbreak of World War I split anarcho-syndicalists into internationalist and defencist camps ;
1695-405: A show of hands. The problem arises when decisions have to be made in local or regional plenaries or congresses. It has already been explained that the basic structure of the CNT is the industrial union branch, or where these do not exist, the union of various occupations. Well then, there is no completely fair method for making decisions through voting: The CNT attempts to minimize this problem by
1808-591: A society that traditionally had held women in lower regard. Women acquired power they had not previously had in Spanish society, fighting at the front and doing heavy jobs, things that had been forbidden to them until then. Free love became popular, although some parents' distrust produced the creation of the revolutionary weddings , informal ceremonies in which the couples declared their status, and that could be annulled if both parties didn't want to continue their relationship. Following Largo Caballero 's assumption of
1921-483: A system of limited proportional voting. Even so, this system has some failures and may discriminate against unions with larger memberships. As an example, "ten unions with 25 adherents would total 250 members having 10 votes. This would be more votes than a union of 2,500, which with 10 times more members would only have the right to 7 votes." Within the CNT this isn't considered a major problem, because agreements tend to reach consensus after long discussions. However, due to
2034-402: A vehicle for authoritarianism and state capitalism , and criticised social democrats for bureaucratic inaction. Anarcho-syndicalists see trade unions not only as a means by which workers can organise for immediate improvements to their living and working conditions; but also as a means of training workers for management , with the goal of establishing workers' control over production and
2147-469: Is also concerned with issues beyond the working class, desiring a radical transformation of society through revolutionary syndicalism . To achieve their goal of social revolution , the organization has outlined a social-economic system through the confederal concept of anarchist communism , which consists of a series of general ideas proposed for the organization of an anarchist society. The CNT draws inspiration from anarchist ideas, and also identifies with
2260-634: Is based on the foundations of libertarian socialism , as formulated by the anti-authoritarian faction of the International Workingmen's Association , while its organisational forms were adopted from revolutionary syndicalism , which was first put into practice by the French labour movement in the early 20th century. Anarcho-syndicalism is distinguished from other forms of syndicalism by its anarchist political philosophy, where other syndicalist tendencies distance themselves from anarchism or even deny any political alignment. Other varieties of syndicalism include:
2373-473: Is represented by a delegate. A legislative body , which is a legally established public lawmaking body. It consists of representatives chosen by the electorate. Examples include national legislatures such as parliaments , and local government councils such as state legislatures , regional assemblies and city councils . A board , which is an administrative, managerial, or quasi-judicial body. A board derives its power from an outside authority that defines
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#17327981057352486-552: The Federación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI), an association of anarchist affinity groups , was created in Valencia . The FAI would play an important role during the following years through the so-called trabazón (connection) with the CNT, that is, the presence of FAI elements in the CNT, encouraging the labor union not to move away from its anarchist principles, an influence that continues today. After
2599-604: The Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region . Despite several decades when the organization was illegal in Spain, the CNT continues to participate in the Spanish worker's movement , focusing its efforts on the principles of workers' self-management , federalism , and mutual aid . Historically affiliated with the International Workers' Association (AIT), in 2018, the CNT and other unions founded
2712-687: The Free Workers' Union (FAU), were expelled from the AIT; they were the three largest union federations in the international, representing up to 90% of its working membership. In 2018, the CNT, USI and FAU established the International Confederation of Labour ( Spanish : Confederación Internacional del Trabajo ; CIT), which also attracted the affiliation of the North American Industrial Workers of
2825-728: The International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam , convened by the anarcho-syndicalist Christiaan Cornelissen in 1907, a conflict between the two tendencies broke out; while the syndicalist Pierre Monatte and the anarchist Errico Malatesta debated their respective ideologies, Amédée Dunois attempted to synthesise the two into a "workers' anarchism". Anarcho-syndicalism soon became the dominant form of trade union organisation in Spain , Argentina , Brazil , Mexico , Paraguay , Uruguay and many other Latin American countries, where anarcho-syndicalists organised
2938-425: The International Confederation of Labour (ICL-CIT). The CNT says of its membership, "We make no distinction at the time of admission, we require only that you are a worker or a student, employed or unemployed. The only people who cannot join are those belonging to repressive organizations (police, military, security guards), employers or other exploiters". As a union organization, and in accordance with its bylaws,
3051-604: The Revolutions of 1917–1923 spread throughout Europe, anarcho-syndicalists became keen participants in the revolutionary wave, during which they faced rising political repression. Anarcho-syndicalists in Europe, Latin America and Asia organised general strikes, sometimes reaching revolutionary proportions, but were ultimately suppressed by nationalist or communist dictatorships. Following the suppression of their movements and
3164-610: The Revolutions of 1917–1923 , anarcho-syndicalists established the International Workers' Association (IWA). Anarcho-syndicalism reached its apex during the Spanish Revolution of 1936 , when the National Confederation of Labour (CNT) established an anarcho-syndicalist economy throughout much of the Spanish Republic . Anarcho-syndicalism went into decline after the defeat of the anarchists in
3277-551: The Spanish Civil War . The movement split into two factions: the "orthodox" faction, which held to traditional syndicalist principles in spite of changing material conditions; and the "revisionist" faction, which aimed to achieve a mass base and work within the framework of newly-established welfare states . By the end of the 20th century, the rise of neoliberalism and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc had led to
3390-614: The Spanish Republic . With the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War , the CNT led the defeat of the Nationalists in Catalonia , where they ignited an anarcho-syndicalist revolution that collectivised three-quarters of the Republican economy. The CNT's decision to join the Republican government caused controversy within the IWA and the social revolution was eventually suppressed by the government. The Republicans ultimately lost
3503-566: The United States , where syndicalism became the dominant organisational form. Elsewhere, the development of reformist tendencies such as social democracy sidelined anarchists within trade unions. But tensions between rank-and-file trade unionists and their social-democratic leadership eventually gave way to the development of revolutionary syndicalism , which called for workers themselves to take direct action in order to improve their own material conditions. Revolutionary syndicalism
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3616-495: The anti-fascist resistance . After the war, anarcho-syndicalism experienced a rapid decline, as anarcho-syndicalist unions were either marginalised by rising social corporatism or repressed by newly-established authoritarian states. Anarcho-syndicalists proved unable to keep up with the changes in the post-war capitalist system, which hastened the decline of the anarcho-syndicalist movement and forced its organisations to choose between marginalisation, reform or dissolution. Despite
3729-419: The civil and political rights that workers have achieved from political reaction . Anarcho-syndicalism is driven by the practice of direct action , which eschews legalistic methods in favour of workers forcing their employers to make concessions. Methods of direct action include boycotts, sabotage and strike actions , the latter of which syndicalists framed as a "revolutionary drill" to prepare workers for
3842-416: The division of labour , considering the ideal of a stateless society to be one of decentralised , small-scale social units, anarcho-syndicalism foresees trade unions as taking over a large-scale and centralised industrial economy. Anarcho-syndicalists believe that the establishment of a syndicalist system could lead to the withering away of the state and as such to anarchy and communism . Some support
3955-543: The eight-hour day and the weekend , the union turned away from revolutionary syndicalism towards reformism. However, by this time, revolutionary syndicalism had already spread throughout Europe, with syndicalist unions being established in the Netherlands , Italy , Portugal , Germany and Sweden . The concurrent development of industrial unionism led to the establishment of the Industrial Workers of
4068-496: The profit margins of business owners and raising the workers' share in the product of their own labour. Anarcho-syndicalists consider the state to be a result of class stratification , established and maintained in order to protect the monopoly of capitalists over the economy. As such, anarcho-syndicalists predict that the dissolution of the state will be an inevitable consequence of the abolition of capitalism. While moving towards this, they also consider it necessary to protect
4181-430: The wealth that society relies upon. For anarcho-syndicalists, trade unions represent the prefiguration of a future socialist economy, the foundation that a new syndicalist society will be built on. Workers' education is therefore at the centre of anarcho-syndicalism, which aims to use trade unions to prepare workers to take over management of the industrial economy. Anarcho-syndicalism organises itself according to
4294-587: The "neutral" revolutionary syndicalism, which separates itself from other political theories; Daniel De Leon 's conception of industrial unionism , which infused it with a Marxist influence; and an authoritarian form of syndicalism developed by Georges Sorel , which advocates for vanguardism and mythmaking to drive the masses towards a general strike. Anarcho-syndicalism also distinguishes itself from other forms of anarchism, due to its favourability towards industrialisation and organisation. While other forms of anarchism reject economic centralisation and
4407-436: The "orthodox" faction, which rejects any diversity of tactics or collaboration with statist forces, in favour of waiting for the right conditions for a revolutionary situation ; and the "revisionist" faction, which is open to participation in systems of social welfare and pursues gradual reforms towards the democratisation of the economy. Anarcho-syndicalism is an apolitical or anti-political ideology, opposed to
4520-719: The 11th Division, under Enrique Líster , entered the region. On 11 August 1937, the Republican government, now situated in Valencia, dismissed the Regional Council for the Defense of Aragon. Líster's division was prepared for an offensive on the Aragonese front, but they were also sent to subdue the collectives run by the CNT-UGT and in dismantling the collective structures created the previous twelve months. The offices of
4633-488: The 1960s, as its membership became increasingly preoccupied with theory. The anarcho-syndicalist movement began to experience a revival in the wake of the protests of 1968 and the Spanish transition to democracy . While the Spanish CNT experienced a rapid growth, new anarcho-syndicalist organisations were established throughout Europe. As globalisation and neoliberalism led to the dismantling of welfare states in
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4746-482: The Anselmo Lorenzo Foundation, which was created in 1987. The CNT generally avoids bringing matters to a vote, preferring consensus decision-making, which it considers to be more in tune with its anarchist principles . While pure consensus is plausible for individual base unions, higher levels of organizations cannot completely avoid the need for some type of vote, which is always done openly by
4859-586: The CNT grew stronger. Around that time, panic spread among employers, giving rise to the practice of pistolerismo (employing thugs to intimidate active unionists), causing a spiral of violence which significantly affected the trade union. These pistoleros were known to have killed 21 union leaders in 48 hours. The CNT had an outstanding role in the events of the La Canadiense general strike , which paralyzed 70% of industry in Catalonia in 1919,
4972-656: The CNT in March 1937, the national committee asked for a motion of censure to suppress the Aragonese Regional Council. The Aragonese regional committee threatened to resign, which thwarted the censure effort. Though there had always been disagreements, that spring also saw a great escalation in confrontations between the CNT-FAI and the Communists. In Madrid, Melchor Rodríguez , who was then a member of
5085-485: The CNT is based on direct democracy . The industrial unions (sometimes referred to as "branch unions") form the base structure of the CNT. Each industrial union groups together workers of different crafts within an industry. When there are fewer than 25 people working in one particular industry, a various posts union is formed for that industry, rather than multiple industry unions. A various posts union can include workers from different crafts and industries; it requires
5198-600: The CNT joined the Central Committee of the Anti-Fascist Militias, which joined the Generalitat on 26 September. For the first time, three members of the CNT were also members of the government. In November, Caballero once again asked the CNT to become part of the government. The leadership of the CNT requested the finance and war ministries, as well as three others, but were given four posts,
5311-728: The CNT may have their own media. Solidaridad Obrera ("Workers' Solidarity") is the journal of the Regional Confederation of Labor of Catalonia. It was established in 1907, being the oldest communication medium of the CNT. Other media are La tira de papel , the Graphic Arts, Media and Shows National Coordinator bulletin; the Cenit , newspaper of the Regional Committee of the Exterior; and BICEL , edited by
5424-918: The CNT reached 1.58 million) the CNT participated only from the background. However, the CNT's Regional Confederation of Labor of Asturias, León and Palencia actively participated in the revolution because of its loyalty to workers' alliances, this time formalized through the Uníos Hermanos Proletarios (UHP; Unite Brothers of the Proletariat) in the pact with the UGT and the Asturian Socialist Federation . Thus, in La Felguera and in El Llano district of Gijón there were short periods when anarchist communism
5537-565: The CNT took place in Alt Llobregat , Catalonia. In some places the workers took control of the streets and proclaimed libertarian communism replacing the republican flags with the red and black ones. The strike was suppressed by the use of the police and the military and several leading figures of the workers' side were arrested and some deported to Spanish colonies in Africa ( Spanish Morocco , Western Sahara and Guinea ). In January 1933
5650-426: The CNT were destroyed, and all the equipment belonging to its collectives was redistributed to landowners. The CNT leadership not only refused to allow the anarchist columns on the Aragon front to leave the front to defend the collectives, but they failed to condemn the government's actions against the collectives, causing much conflict between it and the rank and file membership of the union. In April 1938, Juan Negrín
5763-447: The CNT's Barcelona regional committee declared a general strike . The CNT controlled the majority of the city, including the heavy artillery on the hill of Montjuïc overlooking the city. CNT militias disarmed more than 200 members of the security forces at their barricades, allowing only CNT vehicles to pass through. After unsuccessful appeals from the CNT leadership to end the fighting, the government began transferring Assault Guard from
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#17327981057355876-559: The CNT, and director of prisons in Madrid, published accusations that the Communist José Cazorla , who was then overseeing public order, was maintaining secret prisons to hold anarchists, socialists, and other republicans, and either executing, or torturing them as "traitors". Soon after, on this pretext, Largo Caballero dissolved the Communist-controlled Junta de Defensa. Cazorla reacted by closing
5989-827: The CNT-in-exile) stood against further collaboration with the government. Even Federica Montseny, who had joined the Republic as Minister of Health changed her stance on collaboration, describing the "futility of...participation in the government." In January 1960, the MLE was formed by the CNT, the FAI, and the FIJL. In September of the next year, a congress was held in Limoges , at which the Sección Defensa Interior (DI)
6102-598: The CNT. In 1989, the Supreme Court of Spain banned the dissident faction from using the name of the CNT. The pro-electoral faction subsequently reorganised into the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), which began to participate in union elections, while the CNT itself continued to oppose electoral participation. Participation in the union elections resulted in the growth of the CGT, which became one of
6215-685: The Franco years, as well as conducting activities from exile, and some members kept on fighting the Spanish State until 1948 through the guerrilla actions of maquis . There was much disagreement amongst factions of the CNT during these years. There was a major split after the National Committee inside Spain chose to support members of the Republican government in exile, while members of the Libertarian Movement in Exile (MLE) (basically
6328-629: The UGT had agreed to arbitration. In retaliation to the attacks by the Falangists, anarchists killed three bodyguards of the Falangist leader José Antonio Primo de Rivera . The government then closed the CNT's centers in Madrid , and arrested David Antona and Cipriano Mera, two CNT militants. The Civil War era also showed a spirit of sexual revolution . The anarchist women's organization Mujeres Libres established an equal opportunity for women in
6441-622: The West, while the Eastern Bloc collapsed, anarcho-syndicalists once again began to present libertarian socialism as a necessary alternative to the state and capitalism. By the turn of the 21st century, anarcho-syndicalism had experienced a resurgence, as anarcho-syndicalist organisations re-emerged throughout the globe. Existing anarcho-syndicalist unions once again began taking direct action and organising strikes, while new anarcho-syndicalist unions established large support bases and achieved social reforms. The political theory of anarcho-syndicalism
6554-549: The World (IWW) and the Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (FORA). At the time of its founding, the new international counted 10,000 working members, of which the CNT itself represented 5,000 members. Anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict . Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and
6667-403: The World (IWW) in countries throughout the English-speaking world . By the 1910s, syndicalism had spread throughout every country in Europe and anarchist tendencies started to develop within the movement. Although anarchists widely participated in the syndicalist movement, syndicalists were divided into separate tendencies, many of which rejected the ideological prescriptions of anarchism. At
6780-431: The action of such intermediaries as official state organisms or professional unionists. This is why the union criticizes union elections and works councils as means of control for managers, preferring workers' assemblies, union sections and direct action . Also, when possible, the CNT avoids taking legal action through the courts. Administrative positions in the union rotate and are unpaid. The organizational structure of
6893-404: The aims of the CNT are to "develop a sense of solidarity among workers", hoping to improve their conditions under the current social system, prepare them for future emancipation, when the means of production have been socialized, to practice mutual aid amongst CNT collectives , and maintain relationships with other like-minded groups hoping for emancipation of the entire working class . The CNT
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#17327981057357006-429: The anti-authoritarian faction of the International Workingmen's Association (IWMA) and developed by the French General Confederation of Labour (CGT). Anarcho-syndicalism was constituted as a specific tendency following the International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam , which led to anarcho-syndicalism becoming the dominant form of trade union organisation in Europe and Latin America . After facing suppression during
7119-427: The beginning of Spain's transition to democracy , the CNT was the only social movement to refuse to sign the 1977 Moncloa Pact , an agreement amongst politicians, political parties, and trade unions to plan how to operate the economy during the transition. In 1979, the CNT held its first congress since 1936 as well as several mass meetings, the most remarkable one in Montjuïc. Views put forward in this congress would set
7232-476: The cartels then group together on a regional basis, up to the national level, providing larger-scale coordination between its member organisations. Under this model, each trade union is also federatively linked with other unions of the same trade and related trades in industrial unions , which allow workers a greater scope of solidarity actions in struggles relevant to their economic sector. Anarcho-syndicalists see this federative form of industrial organisation as
7345-423: The changes, which they denounced as "reformist" and "un-democratic", and split off from the CNT. The strategic changes also caused conflict between the CNT and other members of the AIT, particulary the Confederation of Russian Anarcho-Syndicalists [ ru ] (KRAS) and the Union of Syndicalists of Poland [ pl ] (ZSP). In 2016, the CNT, along with the Italian Syndicalist Union (USI) and
7458-460: The council, while Cipriano Mera 's 70th Division provided military support, and Melechor Rodríquez became mayor of Madrid. In 1939 the Law of Political Responsibilities outlawed the CNT and expropriated its assets. At that time the organization had a million members and a large infrastructure. According to one estimate, roughly 160,000–180,000 members of the CNT were killed by the Franco government . The CNT acted clandestinely inside Spain during
7571-443: The creation of a socialist economy . Anarcho-syndicalists believe that trade unions are better suited for these tasks than socialist political parties, as workers often still require trade unions to protect their rights even under socialist governments. Anarcho-syndicalists consider trade unions to be the vanguard of the labour movement; they believe workers' power resides in the economic sphere, as they are responsible for producing
7684-435: The crime. CNT members declared that the prosecution sought to criminalize their organization: In 1996, the Economic and Social Council facilities in Madrid were squatted by 105 CNT militants. Following the Spanish transition to democracy , the Moncloa Pacts outlined the new structure for Spanish society and was approved by all social movements, with the exception of the CNT, which refused to ratify it. The pacts established
7797-400: The economic changes, the IWA chose to reaffirm traditional anarcho-syndicalist principles, causing its Dutch and Swedish sections to split from it. The SAC chose to revise its principles in order to adapt to the new Swedish welfare state , within which they aimed to establish workers' control over welfare and the democratisation of the economy. The IWA declined to its lowest point during
7910-429: The economy and society in a social revolution . According to the anarcho-syndicalist model, federal organisations are built from the bottom-up, on both a territorial and industrial basis: first, workers join together in independent trade unions; the trade unions in a given city or district then combine into a cartel , which act as centres for popular education and build solidarity between workers of different trades;
8023-438: The fall of the monarchy in 1931, the CNT offered minimal support to the Second Republic . This support decreased progressively during the years between 1931 and 1933 because of constant confrontations with the republican authorities in the successive general strikes, including the 1931 Barcelona rent strike . The end of that period was marked by so-called revolutions of January and December, both of which were swiftly suppressed by
8136-507: The fighting was over. These events , the fall of Largo Caballero's government, and the new prime ministership of Juan Negrín soon led to the collapse of much that the CNT had achieved immediately following the rising the previous July. At the beginning of July, the Aragonese organizations of the Popular Front publicly declared their support for the alternative council in Aragon, led by their president, Joaquín Ascaso . Four weeks later
8249-459: The following characteristics of a deliberative assembly: Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised identifies several types of deliberative assemblies. A mass meeting , which is an unorganized group meeting open to all individuals in a sector of the population who are interested in deliberating about a subject proposed by the meeting's sponsors. Examples include meetings to discuss common political concerns or community interests, or meetings to form
8362-437: The formation of socialist political parties and participation in parliamentary politics. Anarcho-syndicalists argue that socialist participation in politics, rather than moving society closer to socialism, has damaged the labour movement by substituting self-help for representation . They have further criticised socialist parties for abandoning anti-capitalism in favour of nationalism , which they believe to have resulted in
8475-518: The former declared themselves against both sides of the war, while the latter supported the Allies against the Central Powers . The conflict ultimately demonstrated the inability of the international syndicalist movement to prevent war and discredited "neutral syndicalism" in the eyes of many workers, causing revolutionary sentiments to once again begin rising within the workers' movement. When
8588-457: The front to Barcelona, and even destroyers from Valencia. On 5 May, the Friends of Durruti issued a pamphlet calling for "disarming of the paramilitary police… dissolution of the political parties…" and declared "Long live the social revolution! – Down with the counter-revolution!" The pamphlet was quickly denounced by the leadership of the CNT. The next day, the government agreed to a proposal by
8701-494: The government to send larger police forces to arrest rioters and stop the rebellion. Many peasants fled the town but a group of anarchists resisted arrest and were barricaded in the house of an anarchist, Francisco Cruz Gutiérrez. When the guards under the command of Captain Rojas arrived, they set the house on fire with the anarchists and their families still inside. Everyone inside the house was killed except for Maria Silva Cruz and
8814-452: The government. In those days the CNT functioned primarily in Catalonia, but was also gaining importance in other regions, such as Andalusia and Aragon (where it had a higher membership than the UGT). In Ceuta , the CNT's organ was the weekly Despertar , launched in December 1931, but its publication was discontinued the next year. Tensions between the radical faístas , or FAI members, and
8927-559: The grocery stores who controlled the number of neighbors in each street and produced the distribution of food. This street-by-street control made it easy to determine the amount of bread and other goods needed. The Supply Committee managed the general control over the available stock, especially flour. The CNT held a congress in Saragossa on 1 May 1936, ratifying the position that the union should make no pacts with any political party, despite UGT leader Largo Caballero 's attempts to persuade
9040-582: The industry and various posts unions attend the CNT Congress with agreements from their own assemblies, independently from the local and regional levels. Among its duties, the Congress has to decide upon the CNT general line of action, and can appoint new National Committees. The initial constitutional congress was in September 1911, a year after the CNT's foundation. All organs and trade unions within
9153-423: The largest union centers in the country, while the CNT maintained a relatively small membership. By the 21st century, the CNT had split into two factions: the anarchist faction, which saw the CNT mainly as a political organisation ; and the syndicalist faction, which viewed the CNT as a workers' organisation for taking industrial action . The anarchist faction concentrated on maintaining the ideological purity of
9266-530: The leadership of the CNT-FAI, that called for the removal of the Assault Guards, and no reprisals against libertarians that had participated in the conflict, in exchange for the dismantling of barricades, and end of the general strike. However, neither the PSUC or the Assault Guards gave up their positions, and according to historian Antony Beevor "carried out violent reprisals against libertarians" By 8 May,
9379-462: The mining basin of León. It lasted about a week before being completely dominated by law enforcement and in some places by the intervention of the army. The two years governed by the coalition of the center to center-right Partido Republicano Radical and the right to far-right CEDA were marked by mostly clandestine CNT activity, in the face of severe government repression. During the socialist Revolution of October 1934 (at which point membership in
9492-414: The ministries of health, justice, industry, and commerce. With Federica Montseny became Minister of Health, the first female minister in Spain. Juan García Oliver , as minister of justice, abolished legal fees and destroyed all criminal files. Shortly afterwards, despite the disapproval of the anarchist ministers, the capital was moved from Madrid to Valencia. In Catalonia CNT was instrumental in preventing
9605-659: The moderate non- faístas were constant and difficult to analyze because of the decentralized and sectorial nature of the organization. Finally, in 1931 a group of moderates published the Manifesto of the Thirty , which would give rise to Treintism (from treinta , thirty in Spanish), and in 1932 Ángel Pestaña split from the CNT to create the Syndicalist Party . In January 1932 a revolutionary strike organized by
9718-513: The nature of consensus decision-making, the final agreements consensed to may bear little resemblance to the initial proposals brought to the table. In 1910, in the middle of the restoration, the CNT was founded in Barcelona in a congress of the Catalan trade union Solidaridad Obrera (Workers' Solidarity) with the objective of constituting an opposing force to the then-majority trade union,
9831-416: The nucleus for the reorganisation of the economy and society, as it would be able to take over the management of production in every economic sector. In such a revolutionary situation , cartels would take over production in their communities, determine the needs of their local population and organise the economy to meet those needs. A national federation would likewise be able to organise production throughout
9944-527: The offices of Solidaridad Obrera . In Catalonia, the Catalan Communists in the Catalan government made several demands that provoked the ire of the anarchists, in particular the call for turning all weapons over to the control of the government. The 8 April 1937 issue of Solidaridad Obrera opined, "We have made too many concessions and have reached the moment of turning off the tap". In May,
10057-689: The organisation, in opposition to reformist tendencies ; it was opposed to any rapprochement with the CGT, believed there to be a conspiracy to reunify the two confederations, and staunchly refused to cooperate with any other organisation. On the other side, the syndicalist faction was chiefly concerned with the marginalisation of the CNT in the labour movement, which it believed to have resulted from its failure to organise trade unions. The syndicalists prioritised union activities and believed that anarcho-syndicalism needed to be updated for modern material conditions; they also advocated for cooperation with other organisations in industrial actions. The anarchist faction
10170-574: The other side, Blanco was responsible for installing other CNT members into the ministry of education, and stopping the spread of "Communist propaganda" by the ministry. In March 1939, with the war nearly over, CNT leaders participated in the National Defense Council's coup overthrowing the government of the Socialist Juan Negrín. Those involved included the CNT's Eduardo Val and José Manuel González Marín serving on
10283-517: The overthrow of capitalism and the state. Deliberative assembly In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the British Parliament as a "deliberative assembly", and the expression became the basic term for a body of persons meeting to discuss and determine common action. Merriam-Webster's definition excludes legislatures. Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised by Henry Martyn Robert describes
10396-448: The pattern for the CNT's line of action for the following decades: no participation in union elections, no acceptance of state subsidies, no acknowledgment of works councils , and support of union sections. One year before, the 1978 Scala Case affected the CNT. An explosion killed three people in a Barcelona night club. The authorities alleged that striking workers "blew themselves up", and arrested surviving strikers, implicating them in
10509-524: The police, the Guardia Civil retook control of the town and killed 10 peasants while also detaining 250 more. The most well-known case of repression was the Casas Viejas incident which discredited the government partly leading to its electoral defeat in 1933 elections . During riots in Casas Viejas , where workers had proclaimed libertarian communism, two police officers were wounded, leading
10622-426: The position of Prime Minister of the government, he invited the CNT to join in the coalition of groups making up the national government. The CNT proposed instead that a National Defense Council should be formed, led by Largo Caballero, and containing five members each from the CNT and UGT, and four "liberal republicans". When this proposal was declined, the CNT decided not to join the government. However, in Catalonia,
10735-630: The practice of syndicalism , anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both a means to achieve immediate improvements to working conditions and to build towards a social revolution in the form of a general strike , with the ultimate aim of abolishing the state and capitalism . Anarcho-syndicalists consider trade unions to be the prefiguration of a post-capitalist society and seek to use them in order to establish workers' control of production and distribution . An anti-political ideology, anarcho-syndicalism rejects political parties and participation in parliamentary politics , considering them to be
10848-523: The principles of federalism and free association , in which the self-determination of each individual is upheld. Anarcho-syndicalists are staunchly opposed to centralised , hierarchical forms of organisation, which they believe stifle independent initiative with bureaucracy . In anarcho-syndicalist organisations, individual unions carry out their activities on a voluntary basis; for any larger-scale activity that requires delegation , representatives are typically elected for single terms and are paid
10961-536: The pro-election "renovators" and anti-election "officials" held roughly equal voting shares. At a subsequent Extraordinary Congress, held in Torrejón de Ardoz in March-April 1983, the "officials" blocked the "renovators" from speaking or voting, resulting in the passage of anti-electoral resolutions. The "renovators", including general secretary José Bondía , resigned in protest and joined the dissident faction of
11074-498: The reinforcement of capitalism and the integration of the labour movement into the nation state . To anarcho-syndicalists, political careerism corrupted socialist politicians, while electoralism transformed socialism from a constructive project into a reformist one . Anarcho-syndicalists are thus opposed to unions affiliating with political parties and attempt to prevent the capture of unions by party politicians. From this position, anarcho-syndicalists have denounced Bolshevism as
11187-495: The rising influence of Marxism-Leninism throughout the world, anarcho-syndicalists moved to establish their own international organisation: the International Workers' Association (IWA). Theoretical discussions within the IWA led to debates on the issues of platformism , insurrectionism , industrialism and reformism , while the Spanish National Confederation of Labour (CNT) rose to prominence in
11300-475: The same amount as the workers they represent. Anarcho-syndicalists believe that centralism weakens and inhibits workers' capacity to take independent action and make decisions, and that centralised organisations inevitably tend towards inertia and stagnation. In contrast, they believe that federalist organisations provide workers with both the means to take rapid action in individual struggles and also connections that could allow them to establish workers' control of
11413-433: The scope of its operations. Examples include an organized society's or company's board of directors and government agency boards like a board of education . A member of a deliberative assembly has the right to attend meetings and make and second motions , speak in the debate, and vote. Organizations may have different classes of members (such as regular members, active members, associate members, and honorary members), but
11526-415: The socialist UGT and "to speed up the economic emancipation of the working class through the revolutionary expropriation of the bourgeoisie". The CNT started small, counting 26,571 members represented through several trade unions and other confederations. In 1911, coinciding with its first congress, the CNT initiated a general strike that provoked a Barcelona judge to declare the union illegal. From 1918 on
11639-400: The struggles of different social movements . The CNT is internationalist , but also supports communities' right of self-determination and their sovereignty over the state . The CNT is rooted in three basic principles: workers' self-management or autogestión , federalism and mutual aid , and considers that work conflicts must be settled between employers and employees without
11752-407: The temporary establishment of a collectivist system of distribution " to each according to their contribution ", until a state of post-scarcity is achieved, at which point it would give way to an anarchist communist system of distribution " from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs ". In the contemporary period, anarcho-syndicalism is divided into two main factions:
11865-514: The top down, the CNT organises itself in an anarchistic fashion, from the bottom up, through different levels of confederations, following the Principle of Federation. The reason for favoring this structure is intended to limit homogeneity in committees, and keep them from having politics or programs. It is also intended to minimize the power of individuals who may be more active in the organization. The different industry and various posts unions of
11978-464: The union to stand in unity with the UGT. On 1 June, the CNT joined the UGT in declaring a strike of "building workers, mechanics, and lift operators." A demonstration was held, 70,000 workers strong. Members of the Falange attacked the strikers. The strikers responded by looting shops, and the police reacted by attempting to suppress the strike. By the beginning of July, the CNT was still fighting, while
12091-535: The war and the Spanish anarcho-syndicalists were imprisoned, killed or forced into exile by the victorious Francoist dictatorship . During World War II , anarcho-syndicalists initially adopted an "internationalist" position, taking up the slogan "Neither Fascism, nor Antifascism." But following the Nazi occupation of Europe and the subsequent suppression of their organisations, anarcho-syndicalists throughout Europe reorientated themselves towards anti-fascism and joined
12204-452: The year the CNT reached a membership of 700,000. In 1922 the International Workingmen's Association (later International Workers' Association) was founded in Berlin; the CNT joined immediately. However, the following year, with the rise of Miguel Primo de Rivera 's dictatorship, the labor union was again outlawed. In 1927 with the "moderate" positioning of some cenetistas (CNT members)
12317-430: Was asked to form a government, and included Segundo Blanco , a member of the CNT, as minister of education, and by this point, the only CNT member left in the cabinet. At this point, many in the CNT leadership were critical of participation in the government, seeing it as dominated by the Communists. Prominent CNT leaders went so far as to refer to Blanco as "sop of the libertarian movement" and "just one more Negrínist." On
12430-509: Was created, to be partially funded by the CNT. By this point, a great majority of the CNT-in-exile had given up on political action as a tool, and one of the main goals of the DI was to assassinate Franco. These divergent attitudes combined with Franco's repression to weaken the organization, and the CNT lost influence among the population inside Spain. After Franco's death in November 1975 and
12543-530: Was first propagated in France , where the Bourses du Travail (English: Labour Exchanges ) were established to provide mutual aid to workers and organise strike actions. By the 20th century, the bourses had joined together to establish the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), which rose to include 60% of French workers within its ranks. But after the CGT launched a general strike, which won French workers
12656-471: Was largely led by charismatic leaders , who acted as unifying forces within their organisations and were driven by their visions of a future anarchist society. In contrast, the syndicalist faction was led by administrators , people who were experienced in organising and were easily replaceable. Both factions competed for control over the organisation, causing internal conflicts that disrupted operations and even drove away members. The internal conflict came to
12769-549: Was put into practice: In the El Llano barricade they proceeded to regularize life according CNT postulates: socialization of wealth and abolition of authority and capitalism. It was a brief experience of great interest, as the revolutionaries did not rule the town. ... A procedure was followed similar to the one in La Felguera. For organization of consumption a Supply Committee was created, with street delegates established in
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