World Struggles

The Tupamaros countries. We are continuing this series on Latin America and in the short photogr aphing, spying and gathering Yet it was neither from among the space available each week we will try to give a general background to the information which might lead tenant farmers nor in the cities that country as well as the various revolutionary and reactionary forces operating them to the Tupamaros cells.

the Tupamaros developed. In 1962, there. Another problem was that the from the countryside to Montevideo ese new ects aera aee demanding rights to form unions and 4 :

underground cells of the ‘Movement CXPCTOROT OL Uae wey eee ce Se for National Liberation”. They . revolutionary socialist societies. agricultural expert’ and Dan Mitrone workers and cane cutters! became the Tupamaros and hit the The success of the Tupamaros the ‘traffic expert’, this last was - A giant offensive was prepared to state right in the middle of the has been their refusal to divide people _ described in the film “State of Siege”. end the cease fire after the elections. economic crisis of 64-65. This crisis into political/military or active service/ During a6 month period, the Uraguay where industry, banks, appeal which enables them to cover Every movement has times of success ei a pt one i * Z: ranches, all fell into the hands of a fficir losses in action and has helped and times of defeat. The problems for wei at f sg aheaies -new Uraguay/U.S. ruling class. them carry out guerilla warfare for the Tupamaros began with elections, — M©MDEFS OF the Army Meath squad.

10 years now. Raoul Sendic himself After a great escape of another But Sendic was arrested along with Jupenatcr Popular Accor SP ne OPCS Oe 105 eilitanes Siough 4 COs ere killed, 26 wounded and 247 : : ; : =f 1,986 other militants, 29 Tupamaros The Tupamaros revolutionaries mass jailbreaks included tunnelling tunnel in ’71 they decided to call a wer ed, pie 38 women out of a Montevideo ‘oi dumps discovered. A heavy casualty attacked hundreds of banks, hijacked <i cease fire and join a popular front for 3 . : as rison into a sympathisers house : . list for any movement. Since 1972 food lorries, stormed army and P ympatin u the general elections. Some see this ae police barracks. They believed in \ decision as a fatal one, which led to their sta Be ia a vid? ' : ; E across the street. They also executed ici the Tupamaros have been rethinking ‘popular’ actions that would ‘speak two American spies, Claude Fly: an defeats of the organisation in ’72 peek rategy to av simila journalists and students established Uraguay today situation.” a sae in clothes In 1972, the Uraguayan President week of solidarity with latin camenca semaine de Soldarite avec | amerique latine ae aa the streets murdering individuals was replaced in parliament by his in order to create an atmosphere colleague Bordaberry. In an of terror and fear. The gangs are atmosphere of crisis and civil war he trained at a special police school in lasted only 12 months, and in <i ee Washington and co-operate with the February ’73 army tanks took over Brazilian and Argentinian army to Montevideo and established a : prevent militants escaping into exile. military dictatorship. Parliament was Spying techniques or ‘low intensity abolished, and all opposition whether operations’ are carried out behind the they were religious, bourgeois, doors of so-called welfare groups like liberal or communists, were _ “Agency for International imprisoned. Trade unions were banned pea, Ss Development’ and Peace Corps — and civil rights abolished. The word pe social work groups. : “Tupamaro’ was forbidden. Uraguay is a small underdeveloping Wide support for Tupamaros nationalism. Like Ireland it exports The Tupamaros have wide popular semaine de sohdarite avec bamnenque iatwe i soldicrs andtenmien captiel : Semana de soidaridad con america lating 1% 5 24 darcy wit Late ameres apne 19 to 25 cattle and people... and imports Workers’ Army (E.R.P.) in ' A good book on the Tupamaros is ‘The Argentine and the Revolutionary j . Tupamaros’ by Alain Labrousse (paperback ) Army (M.I.R.) in Chile, they formed Pie This article draws on Regis Debray’s book this summer, a revolutionary ‘junta’ : ‘The Tests of Fire’ which is not yet on sale to overthrow U.S. imperialism from here, In French its called ‘La Critique des Latin America and establish Armes. '74 Vol. I + 2.

Uruguay is a tiny south American coastal country of rich pastureland and only 2% million people. It is surrounded by Argentine and Brazil and is a former Spanish colony.

Uruguay is the country of the Tupamaros, one of the most amazing guerilla movements of Latin America.

The economy of Uruguay is basically agricultural — based on beef and wool, but 57% of the land is owned by 4% of the people, the big ranchers who overgraze the plains with their herds, forcing the tenant farmers into the meat factories of Montevideo the capital. Half the population live in the capital where 25% of those employed are in services like banks, civil service, tourism, insurance — all controlled by U.S. imperialism. just after the Cuban revolution, Raoul Sendic, a young militant from the socialist party went into the countryside with some comrades and for two years lived the wretched for themselves’. Bank clerks secret circles of sympathisers (C.A.T.) ‘around them. In 1968 they published their first real political statement, called ““Thirty Questions to-a Tupamaro”’. Asked what was the difference between them and other ~ left groups, a Tupamaro replied:

. the majority of them seem to have faith in theoretical speeches and manifestos to prepare their militants, they don’t see that basically it’s revolutionary actions which bring about a revolutionary ~ support in Uraguay. Along with the Rev nteeas Over the past few weeks ‘Unfree Citizen’ has been carrying a series of articles on struggles and revolutions in other countries particularly Latin American Key . from which they are only now Gg “ on the strength of their campaigning, | eee ele o” Lad*798 police and army in civilian clothes rie ee \ pe pretty bad. Assassination gangs of “einas solilaridan ¢ regrouping.

This is what happened. During the elections, the Tupamaros’ support groups, who normally carried out secret propaganda, acted as a security filter and recruiting base, had to open themselves up to ordinary elections campaigning. This isolated them from the cells they were protecting, whose security and 6 Qe existence obviously suffered. Then, new recruits flooded the Tupamaros recruits that they had no way of absorbing or grouping on the spot.

Meanwhile, the army, which by then had responsibility for “‘anti-subversion’ were resting.and relaxing in their barracks, recovering from action. Army intelligence however was having a field day Marxist principle of bringing the organisation into the lives and homes EG of the people, had been turned upside down, and people were coming to the organisation, as if the Tupamaros with all kinds of new ideas Today there are 4000—5000 political prisoners in Uraguay. Like in Ireland physical and mental torture is used by specially trained torturers from Brazil and the U.S. The drugs Penthotal and Taquiflaxin are among their = sophisticated torturing equipment. . Although they have in the past tried to execute one soldier for every * militant tortured, the situation is ; country, with a tradition of

RESPONSIBILITY OF operating car-checks after dark deter any would-be assassins and could prevent more killings in any area.

In the final analysis though the assassins will attempt to operate as long as the

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life of the cane-pickers. They Pl ; Tupamaros were some sort of organised mass marches of canepickers Li & re ae exp or s peop iS agi against rye

ees Se oi darosteel ete a and ‘tendancies’, but basically they The canepickers Ae d the city all pr 0 é § were hoping for some action and did militants together formed the first = BS ny ag ie ae

was the result of the movement of overground or worker/farmer Problems facing Tupamaros Tupamaros a Ay oe hs identity U.S. and international capital into categroeis. Hence they have a mass But it woul¢ be foolish to exaggerate. Pe in vicar 6 er lion 3 ey