The Iberian Federation of Libertarian Youth ( es, Federación Ibérica de Juventudes Libertarias (FIJL)), sometimes abbreviated as Libertarian Youth (''Juventudes Libertarias''), is a

libertarian socialist Libertarian socialism, also known by various other names, is a left-wing,Diemer, Ulli (1997)"What Is Libertarian Socialism?" The Anarchist Library. Retrieved 4 August 2019. anti-authoritarian, anti-statist and libertarianLong, Roderick T. (201 ...

organisation created in 1932 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

.Esenwein, p.269

History

The FIJL was created in 1932 in

. In February 1937 the FIJL organised a plenum of regional organisations (second congress of FIJL). In October 1938, from the 16th through the 30th in Barcelona, the FIJL participated in a national plenum of the libertarian movement, which was also attended by members of the

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( en, National Confederation of Labor; CNT) is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions, which was long affiliated with the International Workers' Association (AIT). When working wi ...

(CNT) and the

Iberian Anarchist Federation Iberian refers to Iberia. Most commonly Iberian refers to: *Someone or something originating in the Iberian Peninsula, namely from Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. The term ''Iberian'' is also used to refer to anything pertaining to the fo ...

(FAI).

During the

May Days The May Days, sometimes also called May Events, refer to a series of clashes between 3 and 8 May 1937 during which factions on the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War engaged one another in street battles in various parts of Catalonia, ...

purge of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (

POUM The Workers' Party of Marxist Unification ( es, Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista, POUM; ca, Partit Obrer d'Unificació Marxista) was a Spanish communist party formed during the Second Spanish Republic, Second Republic and mainly active a ...

) and other

anti-Stalinist The anti-Stalinist left is an umbrella term for various kinds of left-wing political movements that opposed Joseph Stalin, Stalinism and the actual system of governance Stalin implemented as leader of the Soviet Union between 1927 and 1953. Th ...

organisations, which took place in Barcelona towards the end of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

, many FIJL members were murdered by those acting under

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's orders. After the Civil War, FIJL acted in two branches: one in exile in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and one secret and illegal domestic organisation under

Franco's regime Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Sp ...

. Some FIJL members were associated with the militant First of May Group. FIJL was banned in France in 1963. The organisation's most famous member was

Federico Borrell García Federico Borrell García (January 3, 1912 – September 5, 1936) was a Second Spanish Republic, Spanish Republican and Iberian Federation of Anarchist Youth, anarchist militiaman during the Spanish Civil War, commonly thought to be the subje ...

, the subject of

Robert Capa Robert Capa (born Endre Ernő Friedmann; October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a Hungarian-American war photographer and photojournalist as well as the companion and professional partner of photographer Gerda Taro. He is considered by some to ...

's most well known photograph, ''

The Falling Soldier ''The Falling Soldier'' (full title: ''Loyalist Militiaman at the Moment of Death, Cerro Muriano, September 5, 1936'') is a black and white photograph by Robert Capa, claimed to have been taken on Saturday, September 5, 1936. It was said to depic ...

''. The image, taken in 1936, depicts the moment of García's death during the Spanish Civil War. FIJLsede

21st century

During the early 2000s, the FIJL started to evolve towards

insurrectionist Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory and tendency within the anarchist movement that emphasizes insurrection as a revolutionary practice. It is critical of formal organizations such as labor unions and federations that are based ...

positions and its differences with anarcho-syndicalism became more evident; this was due to the influence of the black block in alterglobalization protests and the influence of developments on from Italy and Greece. Following this it suffered a period of significant state repression, resulting in inactivity.Comunicado de la FIJL
/ref> In 2006, a new generation of anarchist youth decided to establish a new FIJL. The new organisation differentiated itself from the insurrectionist FIJL, defending anarcho-syndicalism critically. In 2007, after a period of no communication from the original FIJL, the new group re-established itself as the FIJL, but upon learning of a communique by the insurrectionist organization named itself Iberian Federation of Anarchist Youth ( es, link=no, Federación Ibérica de Juventudes Anarquistas (FIJA)), but claimed to represent the ideological heritage of the FIJL. They publish a newspaper called '' El Fuelle''. In March 2012 the insurrectionist FIJL disbanded, prompting FIJA to once again claim the name. Today, this FIJL has a presence in Asturias, Cádiz, San Sebastián, Granada, Lorca (Murcia), and Madrid.Directorio de la Federación Ibérica de Juventudes Libertarias

References

Sources

*Esenwein, George Richard. ''The Spanish Civil War: A Modern Tragedy'', Routledge, 2005. *Gómez Casas, Juan (1986). ''Anarchist Organisation: The History of the F.A.I.'', Black Rose Books Ltd., .

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Anarchist organisations in Spain Libertarian socialist organizations Youth organizations established in 1932 Anarchist Federations