Revolutionaries Commemorate the Madera Barracks Assault in Oaxaca, Mexico
Current of the People – Red Sun shared a report about the Madera Barracks anniversary on September 23rd, 1965. The event commemorated “the beginning of the armed struggle for Socialism in Mexico, breaking away from social-pacifism that both nationally and internationally attempted to suppress revolutionary movements”.
To commemorate this date, people from various organizations gathered in Oaxaca, including the League of Communities for Agrarian Revolution, the People’s Student Movement, People’s Youth Brigades, People’s Women’s Movement, Current of the People – Red Sun, and Mural Newspaper.
The event first screened the Historic Speech by President Gonzalo, done on September 24, 1992. Afterwards a documentary was presented about how the Madera Barracks assault was carried out. Before this assault, several agrarian conflicts erupted, and escalated due to the exploitative and oppressive role of big landlords, mining companies and the anti-people’s attacks. In this context, the People’s Guerrilla Group emerged, breaking with the pacifism of the moment through ambushes against the army of the old State. These and other military actions would be the immediate precedent in preparation for the Madera Barracks assault.
The discussion began with the presentation from the Center of Culture and Studies of Science for the Proletarian Revolution (CCECRP) about the national and international context in which the assault took place. The relevance of several events was highlighted, such as “the triumph of the Cuban Revolution and the Great Debate between the Communist Party of China, under the great leadership of Chairman Mao Tsetung, and the PCUS, by that time already hijacked by the revisionist Khrushchev”.
The reports point out that “during the past years, opportunists” and “capitulators from various guerrilla groups” attempted to appropriate the date and its meaning. At the same time, “revisionists of many kinds” criticized the action and “traffic with the struggles of the people and conciliate with the regime, by defining the bourgeois elections as a “way of struggle”; following this path are the Hoxhaists, Trotskyists, Castro-Guevarists, and their like”.
Arturo Gámiz, Emilio Gámiz, Salomón Gaytán, Pablo Gómez, Rafael Martínez, Miguel Quiñones, Óscar Sandoval, and Antonio Scobell were commemorated at the event.
During the event, focoism was criticized as “a military theory of the radicalized petty bourgeoisie,” which, as the speakers explained, favored the creation of small armed groups isolated from the masses. The speakers countered this theory with the theory of Prolonged People’s War “as a universal military strategy of the proletariat.” However, homage was paid to those who combated and carried out the assault, stating: “The assault on the Madera Barracks indeed ended in a clear military defeat… However, the assault itself marked two everlasting victories: one moral and another political.”
After the event questions were raised and the youngest comrades could take position for the Historic Speech and the Madera Barrack Assault. The debate was enriched by the participation of comrades who were inside the movement during the “dirty war” in the 90s and during the first years of this century.
The event finished with the following slogans:
Long live the assault on the Madera Barracks!
Long live the people’s heroes of September 23, 1965!
Long live Chairman Gonzalo’s Historic Speech!
Eternal honor and glory to Chairman Gonzalo!
The website Sol Rojo Mexico is the source of all the pictures used.
