Anarchist Do Not Vote, They Fight!

We consider elections are a part of a corrupt, oppressive and exploitative system. This is not new, at the origin of the modern conception of anarchy that is around 250 years old, the spirit of anarchism have always been towards the direct struggle for self-management and decentralized federalism. This is marked by the construction of legitimate political force at the grass roots, by the oppressed and exploited. There has always been a resistance to all proposals that remove this autonomy and elections are the removal of autonomy and they violate the freedom of people to make policy directly, without representation, without parties, and without a state.

In this moment of time here in Brazil we are forced to another electoral process that removes the agency of the people, sowing division and weakens the struggle for emancipation. Despite this, many people who call themselves anarchists are propagating the “useful critical vote,” for fear of consolidating totalitarian, fascist forces. We believe that these people are unaware the reality of the margins of society, that they do not live in the poor conditions of the Brazilian favelas and are not targets of daily violence that our oppressed and exploited people suffers.

By assuming the “left / right” stereotype and still vowing to “vote” is to demean the struggle and resistance that our people have been holding since the invasion of this land by the Europeans. Even worse, it is betraying the principles of social freedom, equality and justice so prevalent in the anarchist struggle that have led thousands of anarchists to die throughout the world in the struggle against the oppression and exploitation of tyrannies, be they economic, social, political or cultural. Our clashes have occurred with the right and left governments, so we know that none of them are reliable for a single vote. We have not forgotten how we have been beaten by the forces of repression over the past 10 years, nor have we forgotten the persecution and threats against our activists, in which they have been arrested for demonstrating on the streets against the state.

We are not interested in the result of the polls, in them our protest has always been and is void or not vote. The important thing is to maintain and expand the struggle and resistance for the emancipation of all the oppressed and exploited and that will happen regardless of who wins the electoral tax process. Our actions are in the communities where we build direct democracies , with wide popular participation, without parties, without bosses.

We guarantee that the fight in this way expands the anarchist experiences and favours the process of social emancipation that we seek. We reinforce that in 2019 we will be at the forefront of the struggle for freedom, equality and social justice for the social emancipation of our oppressed and exploited people, regardless of who is elected, because we know that our struggle will always be against all political parties, against tyrant and authoritarian groups that live off the exploitation and oppression of all our people.

Anarchist do not vote,they fight!