To All Revolutionary Movements and Organisations in the World

The ‘1^st of May Group’ has, for several years now, come to support, in practice, the necessity of carrying out the struggle against dictatorship by means of revolutionary violence as the only possible way of answering the repressive violence of the regime of General Franco and of reconquering freedom for the Spanish people in accordance with the strategy drawn up by the Iberian Federation of Libertarian Youth (FIJL).

Being aware of the backing given to various dictatorships and national oligarchies, by reactionary imperialist governments which enables them to maintain their oppression of the people—we address ourselves to revolutionary movements throughout the world who fight for the freedom and independence of all people. Fully convinced, also, of the sterility of the so-called ‘legal and pacifist’ struggles, as a means of ending the oppression and forcing Imperialism and its lackeys to end warlike aggression and military interventions, we have come to the following conclusions:

1. We believe that the present struggles for freedom (eg. the revolutionary struggles of the guerrillas in Latin America, the blacks in the United States) have provoked a crisis of conscience, and forced a reaction against the reformist line, from authentic revolutionaries of various brands—these have finally understood that the only sure and dignified way to make Imperialism and its lackeys retreat, and clear the path to Revolution, is an armed struggle against the forces of fascist oppression (the main props of capitalist society and Imperialism).

2. We believe that the serious divergencies and divisions existing between various revolutionary movements, in each country are the result of absurd and negative ideological sectarianism (with which, until now, the different revolutionary ideologies have expressed and applied themselves) and have contributed to the division of the international proletariat and facilitated the increasing depoliticisation of the masses who cannot logically be attracted by a revolutionary praxis divided by contradictions and confrontations resulting from anti-revolutionary dogmatism which have been the cause of all revolutionary schisms and ideological internecine quarrels.

3. Together with the Latin American groupings and their most well known exponents, we believe that ‘the Revolution’ is not the inheritance of any single Party, but of all who decide to fight for it with guns in their hands, that the struggle against oppression, and for the freedom of the people, theoretically and historically belongs to, and is assumed by, the people and classes who suffer the oppression and decide to fight against it. Parties and ideologies are only transitory tactical instruments—particularly interpretations of this struggle, whose object is the Revolution—and they must therefore be subordinated to the true essence of social history.

4. We believe that international revolutionary solidarity will only be effective between those movements which do not maintain contact, nor involve themselves in compromises, with Imperialism, and who do not give support to the politics of ‘peaceful co-existence’ which enable Imperialism to carry out its massacres and spoliations with impunity which will continue as long as there is no coherent response to military interventions whose purpose is to stifle fights for freedom, and revolutionary outbreaks throughout the world.

5. We believe that the real revolutionary objective is the achievement of freedom for the masses and for each individual, and that neither private capitalism nor state capitalism can be conducive to the freedom of man nor to an authentic free society. Private capitalism pretends to give freedom while maintaining the exploitation of man by man—state capitalism pretends to end exploitation by suppressing freedom; each of them has their roots in economic and political alienation and therefore cannot even offer the hope of gradual evolution towards liberation. For the authentic revolutionary the achievement of freedom and the ending of exploitation are inseparable and complimentary aspirations.

6. We believe that all revolutionaries who truly wish to see the Revolution triumph must, and can, admit the unavoidable necessity of an ideological restatement which will resolve more effectively the problems of freedom and social justice—in other words: means and ends, tactics and objectives, revolutionary strategy and the ethic of revolution—in order to end the damaging differences and doctrinal antagonisms which have hindered until now the union of all revolutionaries against the common enemy. The important thing is that they should now recognise that Imperialism and Capitalism, of any variety, are the real enemies, and revolutionaries can only confront them by uniting their forces, or at least to support each other by effective revolutionary solidarity, national and international, thus preventing the enemy from taking advantage of everlasting contradictions and divisions.

7. We believe that the time has come for revolutionaries to put aside their ideological divergencies, sectarianisms and various ‘objective conditions’ of constitution and location — all revolutionary movements should unite and co-ordinate their efforts through a vast Movement of Revolutionary Solidarity in order to oppose coherently imperialist aggression and the cronies of dictatorship, and to back with deeds the revolutionary struggles of the people and so make the way to revolution secure. We can testify to this Revolutionary Solidarity by—

   • acts of propaganda and solidarity in favour of all peoples who are fighting against fascism and imperialism;

   • acts of violence against the diplomatic and military corps, imperialism and dictatorships, as effective reprisals against their outrages.

REVOLUTIONARIES OF ALL COUNTRIES UNITE FOR AN EFFECTIVE REVOLUTIONARY SOLIDARITY TO PREVENT THE EXTERMINATION OF THOSE WHO FIGHT FOR THE REVOLUTION IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD!

LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL REVOLUTIONARY SOLIDARITY!

August 1967

1^st of May Group/FIJL (Iberian Federation of Libertarian Youth)