''¡A Luchar!'' was a political movement in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, formed as a coalition of various progressive
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
ist and social movements.
Background
With the launching of the policy of national dialogue by the
Belisario Betancur government in 1984, various underground left-wing groups began exploring the possibility of building up legal movements. With the social struggles in North-Eastern Colombia, the petrol workers' struggle in
Arauca, and the leadership of the
Spanish priest
Manuel Pérez inside the movement, the
National Liberation Army (ELN) began to orient itself towards non-military social struggles.
[Palacios, Marco/Safford, Frank. ''Colombia: PaÃs fragmentado, sociedad dividida: su historia''. ]Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
: Grupo Editorial Norma, 2002. p. 651
''¡A Luchar!'' emerged from a long process of discussions and cooperation between three groups within the Colombian leftwing: ELN,
Workers Revolutionary Party (PRT), and the
Revolutionary Integration Movement - Free Fatherland (MIR-''Patria Libre''). The three parties had begun cooperating in 1984. 18 months later, ''¡A Luchar!'' was founded at a ''Workers, Peasants, People's Meeting,'' held as a commemoration of
José Antonio Galán on March 16–March 17, 1985. In its initial organization phase, ''¡A Luchar!'' mobilized a national civic strike on June 20 against the policies of the Betancur government regarding
economic liberalizations and peace negotiations.
However, the build-up of ''¡A Luchar!'' aggravated internal divisions between the 'military' and 'political' tendencies inside ELN.
1986 congress
From June 28–June 30, 1986, the movement held its first congress in the
Jorge Elicier Gaitan Theatre in
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
; the organizations that took part in the congress were:
* ''
Colectivos de Trabajo Sindical'' (politically linked to ELN)
* ''
Corriente de Integración Sindical'' (politically linked to PRT)
* ''
Movimiento Pan y Libertad'' (politically linked to MIR-PL)
*
Socialist Workers Party (Colombia)
*
Revolutionary Workers Commandos
*
FER-Sin Permiso (students front of ELN)
* ''
Comité de Activistas Creditarios''
* ''
Opinión Obrera'' and other groupings.
In total 850 delegates took part, as well as some 1000-1500 observers.
Political activity
Nelson BerrÃo was the main leader of ''¡A Luchar!''.
''¡A Luchar!'' called for a 'popular tribunal' for President Betancur. His successor,
Virgilio Barco, was characterized by the movement as serving the interests of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and big capital.
Repression
Similar to the
Patriotic Union, ¡A Luchar! became a target for
paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
violence. Many of its
cadres were murdered.
External links
Letter to PST (C) on ¡A Luchar! by
Nahuel Moreno
Nahuel Moreno (real name Hugo Miguel Bressano Capacete; April 24, 1924 – January 25, 1987) was a Trotskyist leader from Argentina. Moreno was active in the Trotskyist movement from 1942 until his death.
Biography 1950s–1960s
During the 1953†...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:A Luchar
Political history of Colombia