TheZabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF, also known asZabFront or simply asZabalaza), formerly known as theZabalaza Anarchist Communist Federation (ZabFed), is aplatformist–especifistaanarchist political organisation in South Africa, based primarily inJohannesburg. The wordzabalaza means "struggle" or "active rebellion" inisiZulu,isiXhosa,siSwati andisiNdebele. Initially, as ZabFed, it was a federation of pre-existing collectives, mainly inSoweto andJohannesburg. It is now a unitary organisation based on individual applications for membership, describing itself as a "federation of individuals". Historically the majority of members have been people of colour. Initially the ZACF had sections in both South Africa and Swaziland. The two sections were split in 2007, but the Swazi group faltered in 2008. Currently the ZACF also recruits in Zimbabwe. Members have experienced oppression in South Africa and Swaziland.
As a platformist–especifista organisation, the ZACF subscribes to the idea of an "active minority". This means that the ZACF, unlike certainanarcho-syndicalist organizations, does not seek to build purely anarchist mass movements or unions; nor does it seek to turn existingsocial movements into anarchist-only movements. Rather, in the tradition ofsocial insertion championed by theFederação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro (FARJ, or Anarchist Federation of Rio de Janeiro), the ZACF works within existing movements to fight for the "leadership of anarchist ideas". This entails the implementation of anarchist principles within such movements, along with a revolutionary anarchist programme. This is because the ZACF holds that the strength of trade unions, social movements and other organizations of the working class lies in their ability to unite the greatest number of workers regardless of their political, religious orideological affiliations. At the same time, the ZACF believes such movements can only undertake a revolutionary transformation of society when they are won to revolutionary anarchist positions.[1]
TheWorkers' Solidarity Federation dissolved in 1999. It was succeeded by two anarchist collectives: the Bikisha Media Collective and Zabalaza Books. These two groups co-producedZabalaza: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism,[5] which has since become the journal of the ZACF.[6]
The ZACF, as ZabFed, was part of the short-lived International Libertarian Solidarity (ILS),[7] as were its predecessors Bikisha Media Collective and Zabalaza Books.[8]
Following the disbanding of the ILS, the ZACF became part of the platformist–especifista Anarkismo network.[9] As such, the ZACF has close links to the member organizations of the Anarkismo network; particularly with theWorkers' Solidarity Movement (WSM) in Ireland,Common Struggle – Libertarian Communist Federation (formerly NEFAC) in the United States, theFederazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (FdCA, or Federation of Anarchist Communists) in Italy, the FAU in Uruguay,Alternative libertaire (AL, or Libertarian Alternative) in France, theFederación Anarco-Comunista de Argentina (FACA, or Anarcho-Communist Federation of Argentina), the FARJ inRio de Janeiro, theOrganização Anarquista Socialismo Libertário (OASL, or Libertarian Socialism Anarchist Organisation) inSão Paulo and theFederação Anarquista Gaúcha (FAG, orGaúcha Anarchist Federation) inRio Grande do Sul. (The latter three are members of theCoordenação Anarquista Brasileira, or Brazilian Anarchist Coordination.) It has also had intermittent contact with theAwareness League in Nigeria and with numerous smaller anarchist collectives in Africa.[10][11] It retains contact with syndicalist unions linked to the erstwhile ILS, such as theConfederación General del Trabajo (CGT, or General Confederation of Labour) in Spain.
The ZACF publishesZabalaza: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism. This journal is the organization's theoretical journal and contains ideological and analytical articles aimed to benefit the anarchist communist movement in general, and the southern African anarchist communist movement in particular. Additionally, it publicizes and promotes the official line of the ZACF as determined by the organization's membership. The ZACF's other major publication isZabalaza.net, the official website of the organization.[6]
Zabalaza Books is an anarchist publishing project linked to the ZACF. It is an anarchist literature mail order project that publishes and distributes classic and contemporary anarchist books, pamphlets, music, and videos in the southern African region. It originated as an underground collective in the 1990s at the end ofapartheid. The topics covered includeanarchism,revolutionary unionism,women's liberation, revolutionary history, national liberation and decolonization, and many others. It distributes much of the literature inPDF format on its website.[12]
