Autonomia Operaia ( Italian for "Workers' Autonomy") was an Italian

far-left Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...

movement particularly active from 1973 to 1979. It played an important role in the Italian

autonomist Autonomism or ''autonomismo'', also known as autonomist Marxism or autonomous Marxism, is an anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose ...

movement in the 1970s, alongside earlier organisations such as Potere Operaio, which was created after May 1968, and Lotta Continua.

Beginning

The autonomist movement gathered itself around the free radio movement, such as Onda Rossa in Rome, Radio Alice in Bologna, Controradio in Firenze, Radio Sherwood in Padova, and other local radios, giving it a diffusion in the whole country. It also published several newspapers and magazines which were circulated nationally, including ''Rosso'' in Milan, '' I Volsci'' in Rome, ''Autonomia'' in Padua and '' A/traverso'' in Bologna. It was a decentralized, localist network or "area" of movements, particularly strong in Rome, Milan, Padua and Bologna, but at its height in 1977 was also often present in small towns and villages where not even the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...

(PCI) was present. There was also an armed tendency known as ''autonomia armata'' (armed autonomy). People such as Oreste Scalzone, Franco Piperno, professor in Calabria University,

Antonio Negri Antonio Negri (; ; 1 August 1933 – 16 December 2023) was an Italian political philosopher known as one of the most prominent theorists of autonomism, as well as for his co-authorship of ''Empire (Hardt and Negri book), Empire'' with Michae ...

in Padova or

Franco Berardi Franco "Bifo" Berardi (born 2 November 1949) is an Italian Marxist philosopher, theorist and activist in the autonomist tradition, whose work mainly focuses on the role of the media and information technology within post-industrial capitalism. ...

, aka Bifo, at Radio Alice were the movement's most well-known figures. The movement became particularly active in March 1977, after the police in Bologna killed Francesco Lo Russo, a member of Lotta Continua. This event sparked a series of demonstrations in various parts of Italy. Bologna University and Rome '' La Sapienza'' University were occupied by students. On orders from Interior Minister Francesco Cossiga the ''

carabinieri The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign poli ...

'' surrounded Bologna's university area. This repression met with some international protest, in particular from French philosophers

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze (18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes o ...

and

Félix Guattari Pierre-Félix Guattari ( ; ; 30 March 1930 – 29 August 1992) was a French psychoanalyst, political philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, social activist, and screenwriter. He co-founded schizoanalysis with Gilles Deleuze, and created ecosophy ...

, who also denounced the

's (PCI) opposition to the University occupation. The PCI was supporting at this time Eurocommunism and the historic compromise with the Christian Democrats.

The clash between the PCI and Autonomia

On 17 February 1977 Luciano Lama, secretary-general of the CGIL, the trade union closest to the PCI, gave a speech inside the occupied La Sapienza University. During the speech, the ''autonomi'' and the CGIL's security organization had a violent clash. This resulted in Lama being chased away. This confrontation prompted the expulsion of the students by the police. The clash between the PCI and Autonomia reinforced the more radical current within Autonomia. The ''creative'' current, which included extravagant components, such as the Indiani Metropolitani movement, found themselves in a minority. Some of the ''autonomi'' decided that the time had come to ''alzare il livello dello scontro'' (escalate of the conflict), in other words, to start using firearms.

References

External links

Storia di Autonomia
(History of Autonomia), Tactical Media Crew website, 1978 (in Italian) * (Political documents), Autonomia Operaia website (in Italian)
Convegno di fondazione di Autonomia Operaia
Autonomia Operaia founding convention, 3-4 March 1973 (in Italian) * {{Antonio Negri Autonomia Operaia 1970s in Italy Autonomism Factions of the Years of Lead (Italy) Left-wing militant groups in Italy Libertarian socialist organizations Workerism

Beginning

The clash between the PCI and Autonomia

See also

References

External links