For Mariano González. - Guatemala, March 24, 2010
magopsi@yahoo.com.mx
In the early nineties, when I first started as a college student, "down to the ship" meant going to the headquarters of the AEU. The AEU. That is, the institution that symbolizes the struggle and rebellion student and which was disclosed in the demonstrations: "University Students Association Oliverio Castañeda de León Present in the fight!".
may be a member of a generation for whom the AEU and the student movement was more a symbol and an ideal than an actual practice, as it was in the heyday of popular struggles in the late 70 and early 80's. But it was a symbol that mobilized, condensing sociohistorical aspirations of rebellion and struggle. That was effective.
I know the above statement (to be more symbolic than practical effect) is debatable, especially for those also risked their lives or spent much effort and hard work to keep the student movement and the struggle required by the situation (they were the years of struggle against the coup de Serrano, increasing the rate of the buses, the murder of Alioto Lopez, among other memorable events.) I would therefore like to clarify.
The point at which it had "deluded dream of the bankruptcy of the bourgeois world", ie the revolution was over. And this new time also affected the student movement. With all the idealism and rebellion that were typical of the students involved, working in the organization and participation were also times when giving a process of decomposition and disorganization in the popular sectors.
At the suppression, at the neglect of organizational practices, by fear, by a different cultural climate ... but also for internal reasons. It was the moment many flaws and many problems as the emergence of so-called "autonomous." Groups that fought (and still now remain) Dolores Strike against student unions, the legitimate student representatives in each academic unit.
above do not know if it was the case, but began to appear young gang members, along with an address very "pragmatic" or very misguided (to put it mildly), began to take effective control of the strike, until they got control of the associations and the AEU. Therefore, it is fair to say, those of us in those years also have different responsibilities for the subsequent debacle.
I know that what is now AEU is not representative of all groups found in associations (I sincerely wish). But the student movement, constantly reminding that the figure of Oliverio Castañeda de León no longer exists or is well hidden. Symbol of this loss is in the nave, one passes in front of the AEU and is a disgrace.
I do not know if it still says "go down to the ship." Most likely not. It is safest to say "go to Cafe Gitane" which is one of the premises is operating in what was the ship.
In any case, the space that had a lot of symbolic about student movements and popular, has become a place of business. And businesses that have the smell of corruption. There is hardly a space for meetings. Now are surely, business meetings.
has lost not only a physical space for meeting and discussion, organization and participation, but has lost the symbolic space that came to represent the identity of the university youth rebel USAC.
Frankly I have no idea about what to do in this case. There are other problems that require urgent action: hungry children, or the ongoing violence. But we must recognize that the AEU could well be one of those symbols of the current situation of lack of political horizons of pragmatism. In short, everything which helps to make this country what it's about now.
A few days after the strike, at least had to express the shame I feel, today, when I look at what has become the AEU, the ship.
0 comments:
Post a Comment