MALAGA SPAIN:

CONFERENCE ON THE COORDINATION OF BASE UNIONISM AND SOCIAL CONNECTION IN EUROPE AND THE MAGHREB:

The Spanish CGT, very much the largest of the three anarcho-syndicalist confederations in Spain, is carrying on with the impulse set forth at the I07 conference in Paris last April to try and coordinate libertarian union struggles in the Mediterranean region. The Spanish CGT has arranged for a conference at the end of this September at the southern Spanish city of Malaga which will focus on union struggles in both Europe and North Africa (the Maghreb). The press release of the CGT follows:

"...Organized by the Spanish CGT that will take place in Malaga on 28,29 and 30 September 2007. Lately there have been various meetings between different union organizations, as much in the European as in the Euro-Maghrebi, or, to put it another way, the Mediterranean sphere. These meeting have had the objective of opposing the current neo-liberal politics. Also, and in parallel to these meetings, a network of relations, information and solidarity actions has been developing between organizations on the northern and southern sides of the Mediterranean, with the common objective of opposing in some form the current neo-liberal politics. For different reasons, at today's date, we find ourselves without a space that has the stability necessary to develop action against neo-liberalism that is characterized not just by demands but also by a union practice independent of institutions, parties and religion, etc., by a functioning that is participatory, horizontal and from the base, and by a combative attitude that goes beyond formal declarations.

The organizational side of the conference is already well advanced. It will be held at a hostel in Malaga. There will be simultaneous translation into English and French during the course of the conference. The principal objective is not to share long expositions on the different problems but to achieve a consensus to establish some minimal agreements that will allow us to develop actions in a way that shows a clear and organized response to neo-liberalism.

We hope to see you in Malaga.

Secretariat for International Relations CGT

For more info (in Spanish) see the CGT-Andalucia website at http://www.novedadescgt.info/spip.php?article511

Molly has only visited Malaga briefly, but it is a destination much recommended. For further information on the majoritarian aspect of Spanish anarchism today visit the CGT site bookmarked above. Also the Rojo Y Negro site, the official paper of the Spanish CGT. For the curious who don't speak Spanish the motto in the above graphic translates as "Liberty is Conquered Not Begged For".