izquierda80
17th October 2006, 00:12
Greetings, fellow comrades.
I wouldn't want to be overly long, but let me take the time to introduce myself and my views: During most of my early life, I lived in ignorance of how much the capitalist system exploited the world both internationally and specifically in my own country, Colombia. However, as the years went by, I started to study more, to experience more and to see more with my own eyes. The truth is that once I awakened my consciousness, as a leftwinger, my perspective radically changed, revealing many things that I had ignored.
I am very convinced that revolutionary change is necessary, to turn the system on its head. We may disagree on methodology and on timing, but we should agree on the ultimate outcome, at least as much as possible.
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(Edited: Now, this next part is indeed a bit longer...so forgive me for it. Not sure what the Mods think though)
I think that, being Colombian, I am more or less doomed to address the issue of FARC. I find FARC to be a political and military insurgency and not a mere "narcoterrorist" organization. Historically, it was born with popular legitimacy and, to this day, continues to have a significant following in certain parts of Colombia, which should not be understimated. Nevertheless, it is unfortunate that FARC has degenerated, even if they themselves do not admit it, perhaps because they fear that it will weaken their position. On the contrary, excessive militarism and authoritarism, to name but two factors, limit FARC's real possibilities for growth and for final success. The existence of FARC is justified, and as such I have no doubt that they will persist in their struggle, but not all its actions nor all of its positions are worthy of praise. Some are even outright rejectable and shouldn't be excused.
As a revolutionary, I am not necessarily calling for the immediate disappearance of FARC per se, but rather for its realizing that it could gain wider support by modifying its behavior and some of its postulates.
Not to "please" capitalists, that would be naive, but for the sake of all social and political movements, many of which do not feel themselves properly represented by FARC in this day and age. My point is that the struggles of Colombian peasants, workers, indigenous, students and others go far beyond FARC as an entity, which is only one part of the equation, not the totality.
I wouldn't want to be overly long, but let me take the time to introduce myself and my views: During most of my early life, I lived in ignorance of how much the capitalist system exploited the world both internationally and specifically in my own country, Colombia. However, as the years went by, I started to study more, to experience more and to see more with my own eyes. The truth is that once I awakened my consciousness, as a leftwinger, my perspective radically changed, revealing many things that I had ignored.
I am very convinced that revolutionary change is necessary, to turn the system on its head. We may disagree on methodology and on timing, but we should agree on the ultimate outcome, at least as much as possible.
---------------
(Edited: Now, this next part is indeed a bit longer...so forgive me for it. Not sure what the Mods think though)
I think that, being Colombian, I am more or less doomed to address the issue of FARC. I find FARC to be a political and military insurgency and not a mere "narcoterrorist" organization. Historically, it was born with popular legitimacy and, to this day, continues to have a significant following in certain parts of Colombia, which should not be understimated. Nevertheless, it is unfortunate that FARC has degenerated, even if they themselves do not admit it, perhaps because they fear that it will weaken their position. On the contrary, excessive militarism and authoritarism, to name but two factors, limit FARC's real possibilities for growth and for final success. The existence of FARC is justified, and as such I have no doubt that they will persist in their struggle, but not all its actions nor all of its positions are worthy of praise. Some are even outright rejectable and shouldn't be excused.
As a revolutionary, I am not necessarily calling for the immediate disappearance of FARC per se, but rather for its realizing that it could gain wider support by modifying its behavior and some of its postulates.
Not to "please" capitalists, that would be naive, but for the sake of all social and political movements, many of which do not feel themselves properly represented by FARC in this day and age. My point is that the struggles of Colombian peasants, workers, indigenous, students and others go far beyond FARC as an entity, which is only one part of the equation, not the totality.