[A-List] Argentina: Hebe at Zanon Factory

[Sabri Oncu <soncu@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Forwarded from the PGA list. Sabri

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The following are excerpts from the speach Hebe de Bonifini,
leaders of the organization  Mothers of Plaza de Mayo  gave on
October 24,2002:



"Companeros, you no doubt know that last week I was at the Zanon
factory.  I went in representation of the Mothers,  of our
University,  and the Plaza itself which the Mothers represent.



It was an incredible day....A year and a half ago the companeros
took over the factory.  They were for some time outside, in
tents, and had nothing to eat. But thanks to a group of men and
women  that is called "Sainuco" who work in the jail,  the
ordinary prisoners gave up half of their food.  The strikers had
nothing to eat and did not want to give up their tents where they
were.



I was surprised when I entered the factory because it is a
factory of 74 thousand cubic meters, more than four blocks long.
It is now working at least 20% of capacity creating new ceramics.
These have to be watched  over because the trade union bureacrats
want to take it away to give to the government so that the
government sells it  for nothing to the Chileans, and then the
government will say its just losing money.



Nevertheless, with 20% functioning,  it is making a profit.  This
shows the bosses really just want to throw the workers in the
street.  There are more than 200 companeros working and they have
given work to 10  more unemployed workers.



Everybody earns the same:  800 pesos  (about  $230 dollars)  But
the unemplyed said  "we prefer to earn 400 peosos apice and then
we can create 10 more jobs."

Now there is 20 unemployed earning  400 pesos each.

They eat there.  They have a spectacular dining room, clean,  a
well kept, irrigated garden.  We are seeing a demonstration of a
new form of governing, a new form of showing we don't need the
bosses, that we don't need the powerful, that we are capable of
many more things if we believe we can do them....



We believe a solidarity commission is very important with these
companeros, but it shouldn't be tied to the political parties:
we have to be the most independent possible:  The parties can
come but they cannot take over....



On another issue, the students have taken over the Rectory of the
University. They have 5 points which they are not going to
negotiate.  They want to impose a negotiating commission on them,
but the kids do not want it.  The Mothers are marching at 8PM to
the demonstration...



There are a lot of things happening:  the Peoples Assemblies,
the piquetero unemployed movement....  We tried to get into the
Court today, but they didn't want to let us in.  I pushed a
policeman against the wall and all the Mothers got in....The
police and everybody there couldn't believe that we had such
strength to get in....

Finally they let me  into courtroom.  But they told me I had to
take off the handkerchief that I have worn for  25 years. Then a
judge and a prosecutro told me that no one can go into a
courtroom wearing a political symbol.



I told him to stick it up his ass...The handkerchief identifies
us,  that handkerchief stregthens us,  it shows our struggle of
25 years still bothers the powerful.  If it bothers the judges,
and bothers the prosecutors,  and bothers the politicians and the
cops,  it bothers them all.

It it bothers them,  it serves a function.....

(translated by Earl Gilman)