The FIJL in the Spanish Revolution
Jun 21 2006 09:31
The Federation of Libertarian Youth - they were part of the CNT-FAI but opposed joining the government. I believe they were much bigger than the Friends of Durruti, having at least 1-200,000 members no?
Is there anywhere good to learn about them, websites or books? Why does it seem there so much less written about them than other Spanish anarchist orgs like CNT, FAI, Mujeres Libres, FoD?
Jun 21 2006 10:57
#2
FIJL (aka JJLL or Juventudes Libertarias) had about 115000 members in 1937. However they were far from being a homogeneous body. Catalan JJLL were inside FAI [imagine a 14 teenager beign a member of the powerful FAI]. Peirats was in the JJLL, and he was the director of the paper Acracia. He strongly opposed CNT-FAI policies of joining the government. In fact, most of JJLL opposed the decision, but they had sort of an inferiority complex and didn't complain much.
FIJL broke with CNT-FAI in the 60s, because those two organizations didn't want to continue the armed struggle against Franco. They were very confortable in the french exile.
Jun 21 2006 11:41
#3
Right because I know the FIJL was involved in the ongoing armed resistance - but that pretty much ended in the 60s didn't it? And by then most of its members weren't young any more were they?
The FIJL still exists today doesn't it? Anyone know if it's active, have many members? Did it re-join the CNT-FAI later on?
Oct 4 2006 08:41
#4
FYI, we now have a tag of FIJL-related articles:
http://libcom.org/tags/fijl
Oct 6 2006 11:13
#5
I have a short history of the FIJL in preparation. Want this?
Oct 6 2006 12:23
#6
that would be amazing battlescarred - definitely.
Oct 7 2006 09:48
#7
I had a copy of a book- I think by Meltzer perhaps?- on the FIJL, I think old gawkroger borrowed it off me, sort of like how John. 'borrowed' my copy of Reading Capital Politically
I had no idea they were so big. What age did they admit people from?
Oct 7 2006 11:33
#8
John. wrote:
Right because I know the FIJL was involved in the ongoing armed resistance - but that pretty much ended in the 60s didn't it? And by then most of its members weren't young any more were they?
Nope - it was ongoing into the 70s. I think Puig Antich was executed in 1974, for example. The resistance went under lots of different names but there was a link to the JJ.LL, I think.
John. wrote:
The FIJL still exists today doesn't it? Anyone know if it's active, have many members? Did it re-join the CNT-FAI later on?
It exists, and is bigger than anything we're likely to be in 
I think it is also linked again to the "libertarian movement" as the CNT and FAI style themselves, as is Mujeres Libres. I don't think it has much presence outside the big cities though.
regards
Martin
Oct 7 2006 12:26
#9
were the JJLL basically the same as FIJL?
Oct 8 2006 18:08
#10
They're the same. JJLL is short for FIJL!
Oct 8 2006 22:46
#11
Ah. Though it has the same number of letters...
Oct 9 2006 09:32
#12
It's the strange spanish systems. If initals are plural they put them twice. So Libertarian Youths (Juventuedes Libertarias) becomes JJLL. It's also why Workers Commissions (Comisiones Obreras) becomes CCOO.
Oct 9 2006 09:34
#13
i didn't know that
Oct 9 2006 11:08
#14
nastyned wrote:
It's the strange spanish systems. If initals are plural they put them twice. So Libertarian Youths (Juventuedes Libertarias) becomes JJLL. It's also why Workers Commissions (Comisiones Obreras) becomes CCOO.
wow, i had wondered about those for ages. Cheers ned!
Oct 9 2006 11:32
#15
martinh wrote:
John. wrote:
Right because I know the FIJL was involved in the ongoing armed resistance - but that pretty much ended in the 60s didn't it? And by then most of its members weren't young any more were they?Nope - it was ongoing into the 70s. I think Puig Antich was executed in 1974, for example. The resistance went under lots of different names but there was a link to the JJ.LL, I think.
The Kate Sharpley Library (bless 'em) have a lot of stuff on this forgotten period of the resistance to Franco -- potted biogs & that. IIRC, a lot of the people involved were in the FIJL.
Tellez makes the point that a lot of fighters stayed involved with the FIJL into their 40s, just to retain their membership of an organisation that was actively involved in the resistance.
Oct 9 2006 18:21
#16
Yeah most of our FIJL stuff is from KSL. We weren't allowed all of it though
Oct 10 2006 11:09
#17
Battlescarred wrote:
I have a short history of the FIJL in preparation. Want this?
Too right.
Where is it, where is it...
Oct 8 2009 07:09
#18
Battlescarred wrote:
I have a short history of the FIJL in preparation. Want this?
Did you ever do this chief?
Oct 8 2009 13:20
#19
The FIJL was, to a large degree, the backbone of the post-Franco victory resistance. I believe someone else mention Tellez.
A lot of the surviving members of the CNT were members of the FIJL, makes sense since they are now in their 80's or older.
I recall the publication "Frente Libertario" coiming out of Paris, I think, in the 1970s. Very critical of the mainstream CNT- exilio. Was very much for direct action against Franco.If I recall, members of the FIJL were involved with FL.
The offical publication of the FIJL was "Ruta". http://struggle.ws/spain/ruta.html
This was published for many years in exile. I believe, one of the more recent incarnations of the FILJL publisehd also nder that name.
I'm not a situationisy, but here's an interesting Guy Dubord 1967 document concerning the FIJL, the CNT-exilio and so forth: http://www.notbored.org/debord-9April1967.html
Oct 8 2009 14:19
#20
I haven't done this yet, but as you will probably see I've done a lot of other things for libcom. One day, one day...maybe soon
I remember going to an FIJL Conference in Paris briefly in 1971 or 1972 in Les Halles quarter of Paris ( didn't stay long- couldsn'yt speak Spanish!!)
Oh and I knew Pasamar at that time, who was the editor of Frente Libertario- a very nice, gentle and retiring man, very cultured.
Oct 20 2009 13:30
#21
Steven. wrote:
The Federation of Libertarian Youth - they were part of the CNT-FAI but opposed joining the government. I believe they were much bigger than the Friends of Durruti, having at least 1-200,000 members no?Is there anywhere good to learn about them, websites or books? Why does it seem there so much less written about them than other Spanish anarchist orgs like CNT, FAI, Mujeres Libres, FoD?
Sorry to resurrect this again but does anyone know the answer? Also, were the entire FIJL as a body opposed to colloboration? Was this recognised within the CNT? Was this reflected consistently in the pages of Ruta?
Oct 23 2009 01:05
#22
Quote:
The offical publication of the FIJL was "Ruta". http://struggle.ws/spain/ruta.html
This was published for many years in exile. I believe, one of the more recent incarnations of the FILJL publisehd also nder that name.
The FIJL evolved in some kind of insurrectionary anarchism. They don't publish any paper now (I think). A few years ago it was created other youth organization called FIJA (more or less, Iberian Federation of Anarchist Youth). Ideologically they're near to the anarcho-syndicalism of the Spanish CNT. They publish a paper called 'El Fuelle'.
I don't know much but if I recall correctly they did have some sort of solidarity with the F.O.D.. I think that Christie mentions them, I dunno about Peirats.
I'm gonna go to the bookstore and snoop around on that one tomorrow.