CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT- QUEBEC

MOUVEMENT ANARCHISTE DU CANADA-QUÉBEC:

BROCHURE-CRITIQUE ANARCHISTE DU PROGRAMME DU PCR(QUÉBEC):

PAMPHLET- ANARCHIST CRITIQUE OF THE PROGRAM OF THE PCR(QUEBEC):

The following announcement originally appeared at the Québec City blog Voix de Faits. Voix de Faits is a platformist blog produced by members of NEFAC, the North Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists. The PCR (Parti communiste révolutionnaire) is a Maoist outfit "formally" only a year old, though it has a longer prehistory of "pre-party" formations. NEFAC in Québec has cooperated with this party in a peripheral fashion in terms of jointly sponsoring at least one demonstration.

This may seem like a rather strange thing for an anarchist group to be doing, but it can be explained by the rather unique history of Québec leftism. In past decades Québec was actually the locus of what was probably the strongest Maoist tendency in the developed world. At one point there were no less than 3 major Maoist groupings in the province, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that the province of Québec held more Maoists than all of the continent north of the Panama Canal. It even contributed what may be something unique in human history, an intelligent Maoist whose intelligence went beyond low reptilian cunning. Gilles Duceppe, present leader of the Bloc Québecois in federal politics, was once a Maoist, though his present politics are far from such.

All this is in the past, and Québec's Maoists have undergone decline just as Maoism has worldwide. Yet, the wider the grin of the Cheshire Cat the longer it takes to fade away. In the rest of the developed world (and almost all of the developing countries) having contact with Maoists is not just a matter of "ethical contamination". It is even more a matter of common sense in that any such alliances make those who collaborate with the Mickey Mao Club look either as morally bankrupt as the Maoists or as silly as them. It's hard to say which is worse, but any political movement would be well advised not to make alliances that make them look either immoral or silly. In Québec, however, there is just enough of a Maoist residue to make them seem like desirable allies. Molly is of the opinion that, outside of leftist circles, the correct public perception-in Québec as elsewhere- of what Maoism is all about should dissuade anarchists from allying themselves with such a political current, but she can see how the situation might look different within Québec.

In any case, anarchism, of course, is nothing like Maoism. The NEFAC comrades in Québec have produced a pamphlet to explain the differences. The pamphlet is available for reading at the NEFAC website. The English translation of the announcement follows the original French one below.

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Brochure -Critique anarchiste du programme du PCR (Quebec)

Ils sont anticapitalistes et antinationalistes, boycottent les élections et l'Etat,se disent communistes et révolutionnaires. Ils sont très critiques del'institutionnalisation des mouvements sociaux et conspuent les leaders de la gauche réformiste. Dans les manifestations, ils sont souvent masqués et n'hésitent pas à recourir à l'action directe. A priori, les maoïstes du Parti communiste révolutionnaire (PCR) sont proches des anarchistes. Et pourtant? Un fossé sépare nos conceptions du monde et de la stratégie révolutionnaire

.==> une brochure éditée en mai 2008 à partir de textes publiés sur le blogue Voixde faits et de nouveau matériel.

À lire sur: http://www.nefac.net/fr/node/2384

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Pamphlet-Anarchist Critique of the Program of the PCR (Quebec)

They are anticapitalist and antinationalist, are boycotting the state elections , they say they are communists and revolutionaries. They are very critical of the institutionalization of social movements and the corruption of the leaders of the reformist left. In demonstrations, they are often masked and don`t hesitate to resort to direct action. A priori, the Maoist Communist Party Revolutionary (PCR) are close to anarchists. And yet? A gap separates our conceptions of the world and the revolutionary strategy.

==> A booklet published in May 2008 from texts published on the blog Void de Faits and new material.

To read it see:

http://www.nefac.net/fr/node/2384