A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #13-26 - Athens, April 3-5, 2026. Report of the 13th Congress of the International of Anarchist Federations (IFA-IAF) (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

We publish the report of the last IFA congress, written by a comrade 
from the British Anarchist Federation on behalf of the federations 
present. ---- The 13th Congress of the International of Anarchist 
Federations (IFA-IAF) took place in Athens over the weekend of April 
3-5, 2026, hosted by Anarchist Political Organization-Federation of 
Collectives) - APO). Other participating federations include: the 
Italian Anarchist Federation (FAIT, Italy), the Francophone Anarchist 
Federation (FA), the Sicilian Anarchist Federation (FAS, Sicily), the 
Argentine Libertarian Federation (FLA), the Federation for Anarchist 
Organization (FAO, Slovenia & Croatia), the Federation for the Anarchist 
Community in Bulgaria (FACB, Anarcho-Communist Federation of Bulgaria), 
and the Anarchist Federation (AF, Great Britain), with observers from 
Brazil (Aurora Negra & Terra Livre) and Serbia (Solidarity of the Class 
- Klasna Solidarnost). Federations and associated groups from Mexico, 
Brazil, and the Kurdish Anarchist Forum (KAF) did not participate, the 
latter due to the situation in the Middle East. Cuban comrades were also 
invited, but contact became increasingly difficult due to the economic 
blockade.

To ensure the conference ran smoothly, the Congress was held in a single 
location, the Lelas Karagianni 37 squat (LK37), a beautiful historic 
building and the oldest squat in Greece. Lunch and dinner were prepared 
by comrades from the squat, and some accommodations were made available 
to the delegations. Translation equipment was rented to provide live 
translations, although the primary language was English. LK37 also 
hosted a public meeting on Saturday evening, entitled "The Anarchist 
Position on Military Conflicts and the Threat of Generalization of War," 
organized by the APO.

The IFA Congress is held every three to four years with interim delegate 
meetings (CRIFA) used to connect the federations and plan programs and 
activities, develop documents for discussion, and build consensus. The 
decision-making process is bottom-up, with the federations first 
proposing agenda items and then producing their own documents and 
positions on the issues to be presented at the congress. The congress 
was structured into plenary sessions with all the federations present, 
for example, on the topic of anarchist perspectives on global uprisings 
(such as the uprisings in Iran, the Mediterranean, Madagascar, 
Indonesia, and Nepal). Additionally, the federations participating in 
the congress co-organized a series of workshops on the following topics: 
Sudan, the far right, struggles in education, the environment, 
patriarchy and gender violence, the digital world (online materials and 
cybersecurity), and some organizational aspects of the IFA.

The first plenary session, "Against the Modern Totalitarianism of the 
State, Capitalism, and War," discussed perspectives on antimilitarism. 
Topics included opposition to NATO bases (Italy, Sicily, Crete) and NATO 
expansion into Eastern Europe, the reintroduction of conscription 
(Croatia, France), state repression of Palestine solidarity activity 
(such as the anti-terrorism law used against Palestine Action in the 
UK), and increased military spending, including dual-use investments 
such as airports, ports, or railway developments, in which workers can 
influence.

Although consensus is not always possible, the conference made 
significant progress on numerous issues. Among other things, FAI and APO 
produced detailed documents on gender struggles, with insights into 
gender-based violence (APO) and transfeminism (FAI). For example, in the 
FAI document: "The rooting and expansion of transfeminist and queer 
movements is increasingly essential in the face of the current 
intensification of patriarchal oppression, in which, in various parts of 
the world, the link with religious oppression is increasingly strong. In 
Italy, the Meloni government has produced specific patriarchal and 
familist legislative acts to support birth rates within the traditional 
family. Familism and the defense of the traditional, sexist, and 
hierarchical family, however, are not only the heritage of the 
reactionary right, because a familism also exists in the tradition of 
the left." The FAI also links the increase in militarization to a rise 
in macho culture.

APO focused on patriarchal violence: "In a period in which modern 
totalitarianism is mobilized to repress rebelling peoples and 
nationalist and fascist voices are rising, women everywhere, 
particularly those from the poor[working class], face, in addition to 
the risk of death, deportation, hunger, and disease, the daily threat of 
gender-based violence, sexual torture, and executions used as tools of 
conquest and subjugation." APO highlighted attacks on abortion rights in 
the United States and the systematic use of gender-based violence as a 
weapon of war in Sudan and Palestine, but also, similar to what happened 
in Italy, nationalists' recourse to "female nature" to assert the role 
of motherhood in the national interest.

The workshop "The Rise of the Far Right and the Anti-Fascist Response" 
was presented by AF and FA. AF used the context of the rise of Reform UK 
to discuss the cultural aspects of far-right ideologies and activities. 
There was great interest in gaining insight into the use of public order 
laws in Britain to limit protests. While pre-trial detention on 
conspiracy charges is nothing new in the UK, it seems more difficult for 
the state to justify in countries with a history of dictatorship or 
where anti-fascism is even part of the constitution. In Italy and 
Greece, the roots of fascist dictatorships run deep. But culturally 
fascist themes such as "God, Country, and Family" are resurfacing, and 
anarchists are now being specifically targeted by the police under 
Meloni's far-right government in Italy. Although Golden Dawn's peak in 
Greece has passed, partly due to state measures following the murder of 
an anti-fascist singer[Pavlos Fyssas], their members' ties to the far 
right, which presents a friendlier face to the media, have not disappeared.

While it may be possible to appeal to history in some countries, the 
threat of neo-Nazi street violence remains a serious problem in Brazil, 
Bulgaria, and Serbia. They operate, meet, and organize events openly, as 
well as directly attacking and sometimes killing comrades in the 
streets. Anarchists have also found creative ways to combat them, such 
as encouraging mass self-defense courses in neighborhoods, such as in 
Brazilian favela communities.

The education workshop was an important opportunity to understand the 
changes in Greece, where private partnership models are being imposed on 
high schools and teachers who oppose privatization and selection are 
under attack. There is also a growing threat to anarchist organization 
in universities. Therefore, the need for strong grassroots unions is 
vital. On the libertarian pedagogy side, the Congress heard 
presentations from a free high school, Escuela Libre de Constitución 
(ELC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which aims to use anarchist methods of 
education for those over 18 who are pursuing a baccalaureate degree, and 
from the Laboratory of Anarchist Education (LEA) in São Paulo, Brazil, 
at the Centro de Cultura Social (CCS). The LEA initiative, implemented 
by the Terra Livre Library, aims to study, produce, and test pedagogical 
practices for children and participates in anarchist book fairs to 
facilitate meaningful child involvement.

The workshop on "The Plundering of Nature" was introduced by the APO, 
focusing on the political, cultural, and social issues related to the 
climate crisis and the plundering of environmental resources and local 
communities by the state and capital. The session included a discussion 
of popular opposition to resource extraction, green capitalism, and the 
control of nature and local communities. The session also addressed 
increasing urbanization, commercialization, and gentrification. Strong 
links to antimilitarism were identified in protests against 
infrastructure development. The problems with the $1 trillion investment 
in the UN Climate Change Agenda were highlighted.

The 13th IFA Congress ultimately produced a joint declaration, "Against 
the Global Dictatorship of the State and Capitalism, Against War and 
Fascism," which focused on antimilitarism. A declaration of solidarity 
with Cuban anarchists was also drafted. There was great applause when 
Klasna Solidarnost (Serbia) announced its intention to apply to join the 
IFA as an associate group (a status used for groups intending to grow 
into a federation). The FA agreed to take on the role of the new 
Secretariat, following the good work done by FAO in recent years. A 
process was agreed upon for organizing a new Mediterranean anarchist 
meeting, as well as for a future issue of the IFA magazine dedicated to 
antimilitarist perspectives. Following the informational workshop on 
Sudan led by FAS and FA at the Congress, a new solidarity manifesto 
highlighting Sudanese anarchist struggles was presented. After the 
congress, a solidarity meeting with Sudanese migrants was held in 
Athens, offering those who remained longer the opportunity to learn more 
about the situation. IFA comrades were also invited by the FAO to the 
next Balkan Anarchist Book Fair in Skopje, Macedonia, in September. The 
congress concluded with a moving tribute to IFA comrade Jean-Marc 
Raynaud-founder of Éditions libertaires and the Bonaventure anarchist 
school-who passed away at the end of March.

https://umanitanova.org/atene-3-5-aprile-2026-resoconto-del-13-congresso-dellinternazionale-delle-federazioni-anarchiche-ifa-iaf/
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