Anarchism inBolivia has a relatively short but rich history, spanning over a hundred years, primarily linked tosyndicalism, the peasantry, and various social movements. Its heyday was during the 20th century's first decades, between 1910 and 1930, but a number of contemporary movements still exist.
The first recorded anarchist movement in Bolivia was theUnión Obrera Primero de Mayo in 1906, in the small southern town ofTupiza. The organization edited the newspaperLa Aurora Social. Other contemporary libertarian publications wereVerbo Rojo,El Proletario andLa Federación, published in the cities ofPotosí,Cochabamba andSanta Cruz de la Sierra, respectively. Several minor trade unions came together to form theFederación Obrera Local (FOL) in 1908, and in 1912 theFederación Obrera Internacional (FOI). They adopted thered-and-black flag ofanarcho-syndicalism. In the city ofLa Paz, FOL maintained the periodicalLuz y Verdad, while FOI published theDefensa Obrera, which launched a campaign for aneight-hour day. 1918 the FOI was renamed theFederación Obrera del Trabajo (FOT), which moved ideologically towardsmarxism.[1]
During the 1920s, the presence of anarchism within thelabor movement was at its highest point, with anarchist participating in the struggles of the Bolivian miners. Many strikes - such as inHuanuni in 1919 - were started to demand an eight-hour work day. The anarcho-syndicalist FOL, later associated with the internationalAsociación Continental Americana de Trabajadores confederation, published the weekly newspaperLa Humanidad. Numerous anarchist movements were active in La Paz, such as theCentro Cultural Obrero, theCentro Obrero Libertario, theGrupo Libertario "Rendición",Sembrando Ideas,Brazo y Cerebro, and the groupLa Antorcha (founded in 1923) led by Luis Cusicanqui, Jacinto Centellas and Domitila Pareja. Other groups elsewhere in the country were theCentro Obrero Internacional inOruro, theEscuela Ferrer i Guardia inSucre, and the newspaperTierra y Libertad.[2]
Women had a prominent role in the anarcho-syndicalist movement. In 1927 theSindicato Femenino de Oficios Varios was founded. Also founded in 1927 was theFederación Obrera Femenina, a branch of FOL and merger of several other all-female unions. Among female anarchist activists were Catalina Mendoza,Petronila Infantes, and Susana Rada. During the Third National Workers' Congress in 1926, the Boliviancommunists proposed that the labor organizations should affiliate with theThird International, an idea which was rejected by the anarcho-syndicalists. The FOL was also present in the agrarian peasantry, organizing theFederación Agraria Departamental (FAD), which later disappeared due to intense government repression.[3][4]
Bolivian anarcho-syndicalism had a strong presence of foreign activists, many of which had fled their countries due to political persecution. Among them were one Fournarakis, an activist of theArgentine Regional Workers' Federation (FORA) sent into exile, Armando Treviño who was aChilean cobbler belonging to theIndustrial Workers of the World, thePeruvian Francisco Gamarra and Paulino Aguilar, and theSpanish Nicolás Mantilla and Antonio García Barón, the later who came to the country in the 1950s.[1][2]
In 1930, encouraged by theArgentine FORA, theConfederación Obrera Regional Boliviana was founded. The organization, which lasted only two years, publishedLa Protesta. In the 1930s the groupIdeario emerged in Tupiza. It publishedLa Voz del Campo. At this point the anarchist movement was in decay, having faced growing government persecution. TheChaco War also caused many problems. Later, anarcho-syndicalist unions saw themselves forced to join theBolivian Workers' Center to survive. Some anarchists tried to influence the BWC from within, among them Líber Forti. In 1946 theNúcleo de Capacitación Sindical Libertario was formed. Unlike its mother organization FOL, theFederación Obrera Femenina weathered theinterwar period, surviving until 1964.[1]
The Spanishexpropriative anarchist, and notorious bank robber and forger,Lucio Urtubia participated in planning the kidnapping ofKlaus Barbie, the "Butcher ofLyon", a formerNazi German officer and war criminal who after fleeing to Bolivia with the help of theCIA helped the government fight Communist guerrillas, later aiding a coup d'état in 1980. In the 1950sAntonio García Barón (1921–2008), described by theBBC as the last surviving member of theDurruti Column, an anarchist militia in theSpanish Civil War, and a former prisoner of theMauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, moved to Bolivia with his wife Irma. There he started a self-described anarchist community, deep in the jungle ofSan Buenaventura.[5]
In the modern period anarchism has seen a minor renaissance in Bolivia. Several groups exists, prominently among themMujeres Creando, ananarcha-feminist collective. The organization participates in a range of anti-poverty work, including spreadingpropaganda,street theater anddirect action. The group was founded byMaría Galindo, Mónica Mendoza and Julieta Paredes in 1992 and members include two of Bolivia's only openlylesbian activists. It publishesMujer Pública, produces a weekly radio show, and maintains a cultural café namedVirgen de los deseos. In 2001, Mujeres Creando gained international attention due to their alleged participation in an armed occupation of the Bolivian Banking Supervisory Agency.
Other groups and collectives include theGrupo de Apoyo a los Movimientos Sociale in Cochabamba,Combate La Paz andEl Alto,Acción Anarquista Quepus im Sucre,Quilombo Libertario e Infrarrojo in Santa Cruz, and theColectivo Libertario Gritos inTarija. Since 2005 there exists an anarchist student movement in the southern region of theGran Chaco, theAutonomía Frente Universitario. Anarchist newspapers andfanzines includeContraataque,Insumisión andOveja Negra.[6]
The Black Bridge International, a defunct "decentralized anarchistmutual aid network", had a local group in Bolivia. In 2003, an affiliated collective inNew York City produced a Black Bridge documentary entitled "Bolivia Calling".
TheInformal Anarchist Federation (FAI), aninsurrectionary anarchist organization, with cells throughout Europe and Latin America, is active in Bolivia. On May 30, 2012, four youths were arrested in connection to a dynamite attack on a military barracks and the bombing of a car dealership. Both attacks were claimed by the FAI.[7]
